LIVING LIFE SERIES 1

A BO TIEN (武天) MISSION INITIATIVE LAUNCHED ON 28TH SEPT 2010 BY INNER TRUTH NETIZEN 2. THE MISSION IS TO SHOW THE WAY TO HOPE, INNER PEACE AND ULTIMATELY SALVATION FOR ALL BEINGS. THE PURPOSE IS TO SAVE SOULS. IT IS WAY BEYOND NORMAL GOOD WORK LIKE CHARITY AND WELFARE ACTIVITIES. NO ONE SHALL BE SAVED BY GOOD WORKS ALONE BUT BY MORE THAN GOOD WORK. THERE IS NEED TO BE IMBUED WITH THE BASIC DOCTRINE COMMON TO AND BEHIND ALL RELIGIONS AND SECTS. LIVE IN DOCTRINE. DOCTRINE IN LIFE IS PARAMOUNT.

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The Living Life Series is dedicated to Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨). The doctrine is in His image. The image is the doctrine. He who sees, understands and effects the doctrine sees and knows Him. He who does not see, know and effect the doctrine sees not and knows not the saint even if the saint or His image is beside him. The far may be near and the near may be far. Let the doctrine and the saint be part of our life. The lord saint in your life can be any heavenly saint of any religion, sect or school. The doctrine of truth is behind all and this is the Inner Truth that leads all (regardless of their religious affiliation or even if none) to inner peace and heaven on earth here and now and not just in the after life. The ideal worship and devotion is to know and effect the doctrine of God and the saints. The best gospel is the gospel of life. We learn from our life and the lives of others. The true temple is the world we live in. The sky is the roof of the temple and religions and sects are the pillars of the temple. All under Heaven are in the temple. Needless to say that all the saints we know are in this temple. Ji Gong Posat too is no exception. The whole wide world and web is the temple and must be regarded as a sacred place --- a temple for living and learning. It is more important that everyone that counts plays a role in this universal temple if due focus is to be given to the Mission of Heaven. Men must not be distracted by the agenda of men and end up serving the mission of man. That would be a far cry from the Mission of Heaven. We worship God and saints, not man however good that man may be. There should be no hero worshiping or idolizing of man whether he is a charismatic pastor, priest, monk, medium or lay leader. We don't even idol worship the image of any saint but reflect on what the image stands for. - the doctrine in the image. Omitofo 阿弥陀佛!.

Saturday, January 3, 2015

Simplicity may often be the answer to life

No 787 of Living Life Series 1

What has Ji Gong (济公) to do with this article or post? Do read on...

For spirituality to reach out to men, it must be watered down so that it is so simple that just to live the good simple life is good enough.

There is just the need to believe in goodness of God and how men could be simple in their lives so as to have that same goodness. Men must be able to be at peace with day-to-day life. They have to lead simple lives but need neither to be poor nor too rich - just enough to have simple life.

For that, they need to work part of the day and rest after work. Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) says that men must work by day and rest by night.

But modern men have difficulty even in keeping to that. They either don't work enough, work at wrong time, work too much or have no rest.

There must be that balance and this balance differs from individual to individual and changes with the times for any individual as he progresses on in life. There will be no balance if there is too little work or if there is too much.

This in modern day parlance is called work-life balance and in language of spirituality is to be at peace with God or divinity and yet still be down to earth as men. This is what the ancients refer to as yin yang balance.

There is need to nurture the body by having work and there is need to nurture the spirit by having rest. The way to rest is not just resting the body but resting and invigorating the mind.

We must mind the body if we want to nurture the mind. A good state of mind too will go a long way to nurture the body. Mind enriches the body and the body enriches the mind.

There must be that mind body balance which requires that people do not go to excess for either the mind or the body. Simplicity is the key when we need to mind both the body and the mind. Simplicity enables people to achieve the balance.

In fact going to a temple or house of God just to socialize may rock the boat of mind and body balance as this creates another dimension for complexity. There may simply be too much focus on the body when we socialize excessively and end up networking with fellow men for pseudo spiritual matters.

We will end up making merry and partying in the name of fellowship and have no time for committed networking with God and saints. We need to be more often alone as individuals and give ourselves more chance to be in tune with God and saints rather than in tune with men which is often more difficult.

But at the same time, we must gather together to strengthen ourselves and let the individual candle flames better light up our lives. This was as mentioned by the good lord Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) in 1975.

There must be the right balance between being alone with God and saints and being with men to enhance this. But having too much networking with men often for wrong purpose may result in us having less time and distancing ourselves from God and saints or what others refer to as spirituality.

Well, we must go for simplicity and that usually will be the answer to most things in life, be it spiritual or otherwise. The good lord Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) says that the very principle that works for spiritual will do equally well for mundane or worldly life.

Simplicity may often be the answer in life, isn't it? If in life, we face problems, something is not just right and going for simplicity may just help us to be out of the woods. Cheers and do not complicate our mind or our life or there will be no peace, be it spiritual or mental peace on one hand or peace of mundane life - life of body and flesh on the other.

To further illustrate the virtue of simplicity, let us consider the house of God and saints. A simple wooden shrine may serve better for spirituality of the individual or for the group than a concrete one, as the photo below demonstrates.

Some will say those those were the good old days when people are more simple and though different have no axes to grind. They didn't rub one another the wrong way. Being more simple people then, they could come together without problems. They were more at peace then though they were not as endowed in worldly sense as now but are better off in inner peace - in spirituality.

For spirituality to reach out to men, it must be watered down so that it is so simple that just to live the good simple life is good enough.

Ji Gong (济公) embodies the simple life and his spirituality is not in doubt and his spirituality is not just seen in this or that religion but transcends religions. He has admirers and followers in all countries. He walks into the lives of men around the world. He awakens men to the virtues of a simple life. Pray to him to enter your life.

Lest you forget

Do not make the mistake of idolizing any man who tells you about the Word. He is in the same boat as you even if religion refers to him as a religious leader. Mere mention of a religious leader is as good as encouraging idolising of that man. Why must there be hierarchy in religion? Hierarchy is conventional but may end up as liability rather than a necessity or asset. There should be no caste or hierarchy system in religion. No one is to be considered above another in religion. A religious leader or follower is a servant to serve you and not a leader to be idolised. Do not put him on the pedestal and make a monster out of him.

MAY ALL BE WELL AND HAPPY

May all be well and happy. May they have peace. May our departed friends and kins be well, happy and have divine peace. The main writer wishes the best for all for those near and far. Our kins may be far when they had passed on to better lives but they are near though far. He remembers and wishes his parents Mr Siow Soo Koh and Mdm Tay Hung Siang, his uncles and aunties like Mr Tay Koon Huay, his cousins like Mr Tay Chong Sim and his friends like Mr Philip Png well and have abundance of life. May they be rich in spirit for without such ancestors, there will be no posterity - no us and no you and me. They have blessed us and we must blessed them in return forever and ever.