The simplicity of life led by Ji Gong (济公) during his days of man is worth looking into. He wandered the streets and was no less blessed than one with wealth and stayed in palatial home.
The same applies to Gotama Buddha as a man centuries ago. Who could deny that he was more blessed than when he was a prince.
When Jesus started his ministry, he too led a roaming life but a blessed one at that for as he was a blessing to many, he was well received and blessed by the many. Though crucified as though a nobody, worse still a criminal, he has become a shining torch for men - a savior of lives through his simple insight of God-centered life. All we need is to follow him in life of simplicity and love.
But for modern men to live the way they did would be not possible. We would face being vagrants and at best gypsies. That is a reality - a challenge but must be wisely translated and applied in context to modern life of 2014 and beyond.
Even monks of the Buddhist order have to be housed in temples and centers. They are homeless but yet have homes. They are housed by men. They are blessings to men and men in turn supported them and house them. The alms giving and the alms seeking are just no more than mere symbolic of the practices during the times of Buddha as man.
In a way, monks may have left home but they still need to be housed and to have home. This is no contradiction at all.
If we care to analyse further, we must take cognizance of what is letting go or renunciation. It is not the letting go of life but the letting of complicated life of wanting and clinging.
We still need to meet basic needs and this too is based on wants. But the difference is that we need to be as simple and as basic in wants and not go for the sky and be buried by wants until we are immobilized by wants.
We need to be simple in needs but this does not mean we cannot be well endowed in goodness potential in life. We can accumulate resources like store of good positive merits (through doing good) and wealth but we do not flaunt our resources and throw caution and prudence to the wind.
We can have more but we make do with less. We lead as simple a life. This in modern terms mean that we do not stretch ourselves out but have more to spare be it in time, health or resources.
We do not greedily go for life but we are content with and basking in the simplicity of life as it unfurls. This does not mean there will be no gains, material or otherwise.
On the contrary, there will be gains when we lead life in simplicity as we will have less problems and able to move on and make headway both spiritually and otherwise. We succeed both ways - in spirit and in ways of the world.
We engage life in such way we are peaceful. Whatever gains we have will contribute to peace of spirit - inner peace. We leave the world of wants but we do not disengage. On the contrary, we still engage the world but for more peace.
To do this, we still need to have wants to get the right conditions and life that promote more peace. This will need us to lead life of simplicity but not life of avoidance and emptiness - just a life of simple wants - simple taste and joy of less entanglement and worldly trappings.
We avoid living on future income if we can but not many can make it. Then we have to flow with the crowd but know when to stop and go in the other direction to have more peace. This will require effort and mindfulness - presence of mind to stay focus on inner peace.
The catch word is to have simplicity when going for life and to have more of the moments of peace in life even in the worst possible situations in life. This is what the icons and sages of past want us to have.
Be simple and do not go for glorification of oneself thinking that this will make us feel good. Glorification need is a trap and imprisons us to more unease in life. Life becomes more complex and no longer simple.
Glorification may present as glorification of the sages and pits religion against religion. Religions too must be simple and drop barriers so that men can be simple and not divided. Then there will be more of the peace.
We must have the liking and affinity for simplicity. It is often the simple joys of life that cheer us on but sometimes we forget to cherish them as blessings. Do bless ourselves with simplicity and we will be more blessed.
Learn from life and how simplicity is the key to a more blessed life. The learning from life is stressed by sages and also by Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨). Life is the living gospel.
We must have the liking and affinity for simplicity. It is often the simple joys of life that cheer us on but sometimes we forget to cherish them as blessings. Do bless ourselves with simplicity and we will be more blessed.
Learn from life and how simplicity is the key to a more blessed life. The learning from life is stressed by sages and also by Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨). Life is the living gospel.
Life is really simple but we insist in making it complicated. Who said this? Confucius said so.
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Less stuff, less work, less expense = more money, more time, more joy. This is simplicity. Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.
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| Tao |
It is in all religions but need not be referred to as Tao. We do not need to be Taoists to know and realize this. Isn't this simple to understand?
Life is simple and there is peace in simplicity if we know how. We need not go to religions to have the peace and happiness through simplicity. It is to be found in life and not the monopoly of any religion of men. That is why Ji Gong (济公) is of no religion but a saint of many men and religions.
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| Ji Gong (济公) |
