The many levels of peace and the man of religion

No 715 of Living Life Series 1

There is the need for peace somehow in life more so with the backdrop of life where there are ups and downs. 

For the many, this peace comes from belonging to a group and have some sense of security to group belonging. Where there is still the village or community group as in a rural or agricultural setting, the village chief and elders are the rallying point for this and some semblance of peace gives certainty of sorts to otherwise uncertainty of life. 

This is cemented by the cultural roots in certain cultures of ancestral worship. The belief that the ancestors are still around to look after their welfare and bless the village adds to the sense of peace and hope for a better future even in dire circumstances. 

Then there is the family set-up, more so in certain cultures where there are big extended families and families are important avenues for more stability and peace. This is again augmented by ancestral worship or reverence. 

With fragmentation and small nuclear families, there is less of the peace and stability but society being innovative, find peace and fellowship in village or clan associations. 

In the more urbanized and westernized setting, this may not be available and the problem is that small families with one or two children may be too small to offer enough peace and fellowship. 

Society is certainly innovative and churches arise so that the young and the lonely old can find social support - peace and stability of sorts. They find solace that God will provide and rally round one another where help and support are needed. 

Thus the good lord Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) did say that men can have blessings in a few ways. Men can seek blessings and shelter from Heaven so that the candle flames of their lives can grow and glow in strength. They can help one another and effectively bless one another. As there are people with different skills and resources, men in a house of God or saint can tap on one another's strengths. Then, there will be more stability and peace. 

Men will always seek security so as to have peace but for more peace, they must refine their mental fortitude so as to have that strength of spirit to have moral or spiritual peace come what may. 

This is spiritual inner peace of the spirit but even then the good lord says that people must band together like the particles that constitute the concrete pillar. 

Thus in churches, there are fellowship groups such as cell groups or care groups which effectively try to replace the big extended family or traditional village set-ups of the old days. 

Do note that the religious ideology plays a role but even if the religious beliefs are far fetched, far moved from science and too simplistic or fairy tale like, what matters is that they stir up the fantasy of men and are rallying points to bring people together and have fellowship and peace. 

Even if people pray to a tree and this rallies people together to have peace of spirit, this is still good. Others can say their piece but this is immaterial so long as the people have their peace.

Peace in life is needed and must progress. Peace can stem from even religious beliefs that are not even realistic and cannot stand up to scrutiny. 

Often such beliefs are simple and have mass appeal even though they run counter to logic and scientific analysis. But then who cares and many hold that religion is not science. It is however best not to rock the boat and disturb the peace. 

There will however still be a few who can rise above and see things as they are. They will go for personal cultivation of their spirit so as to break away from unreal beliefs, conventions and the lot. They will have higher and more refined peace that are not based on false views and beliefs but on more hands-on and deeper knowledge. But even then what they know leaves more to be known. 

That is how Gautama Buddha rose above conventions of the day and became enlightened as the fully enlightened one. But for those who seek sainthood like Gautama, they must not even cling on to meditative peace e.g. the peace of absorption or what Buddhists refer to as jhanas (ecstasies). They must surpass this to reach enlightenment. 

There are thus many levels of peace and peace can even be based on beliefs that are largely matter of conjecture. But it is often that men will believe the simple and virtual than the real and more elaborate. 

Thus the good lord Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) exhorts that men should know why there is need to grasp on the need for inner peace, never mind if the beliefs are true so long as they are believable and motivate men to have inner peace for now. 

It is thus better for an adherent of a religion or sect to stay in his religion or sect and be better at being follower of that religion or sect as uprooting him from his background beliefs may not give him more peace and be in his best interests. 

That is why the good lord says that founding saint or sage needed to propound dogmas for followers to adhere to. Dogmas are ways to hold on to followers so that they do not stray and can have peace. All these the good lord did say in 1969 in his sermon on The God Knowledge and the Inner Truth. 

Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) descended in 1969 as messenger through the late P.Philip not to start a new religion but to show the oneness of God and divine inner peace through all saints and religions. This oneness does not mean they have the same dogmas or elaborate doctrine but that they are one in bringing inner peace to men though at different levels. 

But the ultimate inner peace is one and same. This is the peace of sainthood and way beyond the peace of being in any heaven that religions refer to in one way or other.