No 1161 of Living Life Series 1
In life we must be pure and true to our life and beliefs. One practice or belief must not be contradicted by another.
Adultery is is bad. It causes hurt to families of both sides. It is robbery of sorts. If adultery is bad, what more do we say with adulteration of religion.
If the Buddha teaches renunciation and ultimate renunciation is to forgo attachment or clinging to the impermanent, imperfect and to the past, is there the justification to preserve the dead body of a human being more so a monk, not cremating it and even after cremating, scavenging it for sariras - pearls or stones left over after cremation to keep it in stupas (pagodas)
Isn't this attachment? Isn't this clinging? Such contradictory practices are not uncommon in any country or culture. They are adulteration of the teachings or values propounded by saints like the Buddha.
The saints had given up their bodies to be beyond the confines of body. They have freed themselves from the ravages of life of clinging and desires. They teach that the unmaintainable cannot be maintained forever. What is on Earth is not as awesome as we want them to be.
So when some come along and say we never die and will live forever, isn't this a contradiction of the nature of life which God and the saints accept and want us to realize? Will these some tell men that in the name of God and saints, men can go against this? They will as men won't accept reality. Truth can be painful to the unprepared. Often it is better that way - not to face reality.
But not doing so will foster more adulteration. What more, if some say that we will die but will live again not just in spirit but in flesh. Yes, this is true and yet not. True if we are reborn again in the flesh. Isn't that resurrection but not in the same life? Then by definition it is not resurrection at all.
Men who hang on to the deception that they will not die by the grace of a heavenly saint have accepted that they will die but be resurrected in body and in flesh at the divined time in the future. This is simply a beautiful thought and awesome - to mitigate the unpleasantness of death.
Let us not rock and disturb such beautiful thought. But non-believers will say isn't that a contradiction? They want not to die but they do die anyway. Then they say they will come back again.
Like it or not, adulteration of religion is in the nature of man. We do not need to read all the written words of men on life and saints. They are adulterated by the views of the writers. Just go for the basic message of a saint.
It is always about the nature of life and the need to have less wants and not let the wants be the ends. Know what is the end. The end is to find peace and meaning in life through being at peace with life.
The written texts are varied and many, at times bewildering. Better for us to know life. Life is the best gospel.
The adulteration in religion is in the nature of men. Accept that this is unavoidable and is in the nature of life. Then some who are ready and more perceptive will want to go to basics, be simple and be pure at being simple.
Often, men are told to only accept and not to think. That means we have to throw logic (Tao 道) to the wind and not even develop it as we make progress in life.
With such poise, there will be more adulteration of religion. It is here to stay.
Without adulteration, religion will not be popular and people will not be attracted to religion like insects to the flower for nectar. This analogy to the insects and the flower was mentioned by the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨. Make-belief works wonders to bring in the numbers but won't people be distracted from the basic good in religion?
The good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 says that for clear water we need to go to the upper source. We must not be swept further down in the downstream of life.
It is better to stay true to the culture and religion we are in. This already is polluted enough.
We can see the same problems in all religions. We can learn and we must go upstream for clear water of spirituality.
Go for more Tao 道. When we have Tao道, we cannot just accept and flow along in the polluted downstream with the adulterated water.
For the masses, we have to accept that adulteration in religion is in the nature of men. It is here to stay. But there is the need for the mission to bring men to the upper source of the river of life for clear water.
In life we must be pure and true to our life and beliefs. One practice or belief must not be contradicted by another.
Adultery is is bad. It causes hurt to families of both sides. It is robbery of sorts. If adultery is bad, what more do we say with adulteration of religion.
If the Buddha teaches renunciation and ultimate renunciation is to forgo attachment or clinging to the impermanent, imperfect and to the past, is there the justification to preserve the dead body of a human being more so a monk, not cremating it and even after cremating, scavenging it for sariras - pearls or stones left over after cremation to keep it in stupas (pagodas)
Isn't this attachment? Isn't this clinging? Such contradictory practices are not uncommon in any country or culture. They are adulteration of the teachings or values propounded by saints like the Buddha.
The saints had given up their bodies to be beyond the confines of body. They have freed themselves from the ravages of life of clinging and desires. They teach that the unmaintainable cannot be maintained forever. What is on Earth is not as awesome as we want them to be.
So when some come along and say we never die and will live forever, isn't this a contradiction of the nature of life which God and the saints accept and want us to realize? Will these some tell men that in the name of God and saints, men can go against this? They will as men won't accept reality. Truth can be painful to the unprepared. Often it is better that way - not to face reality.
But not doing so will foster more adulteration. What more, if some say that we will die but will live again not just in spirit but in flesh. Yes, this is true and yet not. True if we are reborn again in the flesh. Isn't that resurrection but not in the same life? Then by definition it is not resurrection at all.
Men who hang on to the deception that they will not die by the grace of a heavenly saint have accepted that they will die but be resurrected in body and in flesh at the divined time in the future. This is simply a beautiful thought and awesome - to mitigate the unpleasantness of death.
Let us not rock and disturb such beautiful thought. But non-believers will say isn't that a contradiction? They want not to die but they do die anyway. Then they say they will come back again.
Like it or not, adulteration of religion is in the nature of man. We do not need to read all the written words of men on life and saints. They are adulterated by the views of the writers. Just go for the basic message of a saint.
It is always about the nature of life and the need to have less wants and not let the wants be the ends. Know what is the end. The end is to find peace and meaning in life through being at peace with life.
The written texts are varied and many, at times bewildering. Better for us to know life. Life is the best gospel.
The adulteration in religion is in the nature of men. Accept that this is unavoidable and is in the nature of life. Then some who are ready and more perceptive will want to go to basics, be simple and be pure at being simple.
Often, men are told to only accept and not to think. That means we have to throw logic (Tao 道) to the wind and not even develop it as we make progress in life.
With such poise, there will be more adulteration of religion. It is here to stay.
Without adulteration, religion will not be popular and people will not be attracted to religion like insects to the flower for nectar. This analogy to the insects and the flower was mentioned by the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨. Make-belief works wonders to bring in the numbers but won't people be distracted from the basic good in religion?
The good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 says that for clear water we need to go to the upper source. We must not be swept further down in the downstream of life.
It is better to stay true to the culture and religion we are in. This already is polluted enough.
We can see the same problems in all religions. We can learn and we must go upstream for clear water of spirituality.
Go for more Tao 道. When we have Tao道, we cannot just accept and flow along in the polluted downstream with the adulterated water.
For the masses, we have to accept that adulteration in religion is in the nature of men. It is here to stay. But there is the need for the mission to bring men to the upper source of the river of life for clear water.
