No 1423 of Living Life Series 1
Life cannot be without fun. Fun cannot be all that is in life. We need to attend to routines and to work for a living.
Routines and work need not be serious matters. We need to inject some fun even in serious matters.
Even for fun, there need to be some purpose for fun. There need to be some element of seriousness in fun. We cannot be aimless even with fun or we waste away and be lost to life.
There is a place and time for rest and fun and a place and time for serious work.
Bo Tien 武 天 states the obvious. Most rest by night and work by day. What is day will still end up as night and what is night will still end up as day. Fun and rest are needed to make the world go round and life to go on. But work and the serious realities of life must still take the centre stage for man.
Life too is a serious matter but must still be fun or it will be drudgery.
If life is all fun and no work, we will just be wasting life away. If life is all work and seriousness and no fun, we will tire out and wear ourselves away.
Even monks serious about spiritual cannot do without serious work. Though supported by the masses, they have to have routines, like cleaning up and maintaining the monastery.
When we say that they are not into the serious work, we mean they do not have worldly life. But they are in life and in the world. They cannot do away with worldly life. They need to eat, work and toil in monastery and they do need to interact with those in society and be in tune with them and their aspirations.
They cannot be dead serious about spiritual life but must still have some worldly fun in life. They need to know the joy and fun side of life. They need to make spiritual life for themselves not boring and still have the fun side. They need to enjoy spiritual life.
The common men who are not monks too can be like monks though they may be on different sides of the fence of life. Bo Tien 武 天 says that we need not be monks.
We can go about the worldly life but still live in the truth or doctrine of life. We too can have inner peace and in fact we are in somewhat better position to do so when we are in worldly life. We are fully immersed in the reality of life with the ups and downs, the storms and calm seas - the yin and the yang.
We are not insulated in a monastery but even monks in monastery face the same yin and yang though some say there will be less. Life for the laity is obviously more challenging. It is rich with the yin and yang of life providing us with wealth of learning. Life is the greatest spiritual teacher.
There is greater tendency to be derailed from achieving inner peace because the laity faces head-on the yin and yang of life. Life is rich with yin and yang and is fertile ground for learning to have inner peace for the laity.
But some degree of fun must punctuate this serious pursuit. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Too much of dead spiritual pursuit can be a liability more so for the many who have some long way to go to achieve the lasting and higher levels of inner peace.
The bottom line for the laity is that there is no excuse not to pursue spirituality and reap inner peace.
Inner peace from spirituality is within the reach of all. No need to be monks, priests or pastors. Spiritual calling is not for the few but for all.
But do not say that we cannot have all the fun just because of this calling. Aimless and excesses of fun of course will put us way off course. Have spiritual life but not give up the worldly life.
No need to forgo fun and be dead serious on spirituality. The road for spirituality is long and what matters is to stay on course.
Bo Tien 武 天 adds that the guiding spiritual values that ensure that we have more and more of inner peace despite the yin and yang will if applied to worldly life contribute to worldly success but not the reverse.
Worldly success cannot be the end in itself but only the means to the spiritual end of attaining more and more of divine inner peace. Then we are attuned to the divine peace of God and saints and be with God and saints.
We can do so without giving up the worldly life. We can have some honest and pure fun along the path for inner peace. We can have duality of worldly and spiritual life with touch of fun as well.
In fact this is true in any religion. We cannot forgo the family and the world of our job and social circles just to be hero to champion the call of God and saints.
If we do so, we are irresponsible and sacrificing the family and the friends and colleagues we have at home, at our office and at the community. We may speak at length about our concern for family, friends and society but we do the exact opposite and stay away from society and hide away in churches or temples half the week. This would be ironical.
That is not loving and that is misplaced spirituality - no honesty and purity expected in the religious. What inner peace can we have then?
We will be doing the exact opposite of what God wants in us and this is due to ignorance and fear that God will disown us. We will only find solace that we will not incur the displeasure of God. But is God like that? Is God so demanding and insecure?
We will then be far though we intend to be near God and saints. No wonder Bo Tien 武 天 says the near may be far, didn't he?
God and saints want us to serve men, family and society. We are not to serve only ourselves and least of all God. If God is God, he will not need us to serve him but to serve the world instead so as to bring peace and heaven to all in this world.
So spend more time with the world - with family and society. Do not use God as excuse to neglect the world, family and society. Do not end up ungodly in the name of God.
Don't neglect and give up the world in the name of spiritual pursuit. Be with the world and be with spiritual life that requires us to be with the world, and enjoy the fun that is in daily life that way.
Bo Tien 武 天 says that the true temple is the world with heaven God and saints as the roof. All below the roof are in this temple - the ultimate holy place. This world is the world or universal temple for all religions. Religions are the pillars that uphold the roof of God and saints.
As the world is the universal temple, for spiritual life, we have to be in the world, embrace and not deny it - no where can we leave the world. Do not try to leave the world. You will only be rattled and be lost to life and the world. Do not deny some fun in life even in spiritual life.
For spiritual, choose the world, be with the world and deny not the simple fun in life. There must always be the light side of life. Make it sort of fun to have the spiritual life. Choose the world and not deny it.
Embrace the light moments of life. There must be fun too in spiritual life. Be true to what is in our hearts and not put up pretence. We cannot be the holiest of the holy overnight, and even in just one lifetime. We cannot make it otherwise.
What matters is what is in our hearts and not what we do to show other men. That would be putting up a show and sheer pretense. What matters is not what goes through the gut but what goes through the heart.
This is the noble advice by Ji Gong 济公. He did not leave the world. He left the monastery to be with the world and he made it. He helped many to see the spiritual light and be happy and have fun even while living the worldly life.
He is full of fun to be with and he ensures that those he come across and assisted too have fun while becoming more spiritual without leaving the world - without denying the world, family and friends. In fact, they will have more life, more friends, more of family and more of the world.
Do not live as though you must deny life and the world and to show that you have given up the little joys and fun in life. That will be tormenting yourself and making yourself creating and carrying more unnecessary burdens - all self created.
For spiritual, choose and not deny the world and the light hearted and pure fun side of life. What matters is to be pure at heart and to be at peace with life and the world and not battle with the world.
Do not carry the cross of the burdens of life. By being with life and the world, we can better be on top of life burdens, and not be crossed with life and the world.
Expect not others to carry your burdens. God and saints can only show you how not to do so. Without their teachings, we will end up picking up more burdens every time we are relieved of burdens.
Routines and work need not be serious matters. We need to inject some fun even in serious matters.
Even for fun, there need to be some purpose for fun. There need to be some element of seriousness in fun. We cannot be aimless even with fun or we waste away and be lost to life.
There is a place and time for rest and fun and a place and time for serious work.
Bo Tien 武 天 states the obvious. Most rest by night and work by day. What is day will still end up as night and what is night will still end up as day. Fun and rest are needed to make the world go round and life to go on. But work and the serious realities of life must still take the centre stage for man.
Life too is a serious matter but must still be fun or it will be drudgery.
If life is all fun and no work, we will just be wasting life away. If life is all work and seriousness and no fun, we will tire out and wear ourselves away.
Even monks serious about spiritual cannot do without serious work. Though supported by the masses, they have to have routines, like cleaning up and maintaining the monastery.
When we say that they are not into the serious work, we mean they do not have worldly life. But they are in life and in the world. They cannot do away with worldly life. They need to eat, work and toil in monastery and they do need to interact with those in society and be in tune with them and their aspirations.
They cannot be dead serious about spiritual life but must still have some worldly fun in life. They need to know the joy and fun side of life. They need to make spiritual life for themselves not boring and still have the fun side. They need to enjoy spiritual life.
The common men who are not monks too can be like monks though they may be on different sides of the fence of life. Bo Tien 武 天 says that we need not be monks.
We can go about the worldly life but still live in the truth or doctrine of life. We too can have inner peace and in fact we are in somewhat better position to do so when we are in worldly life. We are fully immersed in the reality of life with the ups and downs, the storms and calm seas - the yin and the yang.
We are not insulated in a monastery but even monks in monastery face the same yin and yang though some say there will be less. Life for the laity is obviously more challenging. It is rich with the yin and yang of life providing us with wealth of learning. Life is the greatest spiritual teacher.
There is greater tendency to be derailed from achieving inner peace because the laity faces head-on the yin and yang of life. Life is rich with yin and yang and is fertile ground for learning to have inner peace for the laity.
But some degree of fun must punctuate this serious pursuit. All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. Too much of dead spiritual pursuit can be a liability more so for the many who have some long way to go to achieve the lasting and higher levels of inner peace.
The bottom line for the laity is that there is no excuse not to pursue spirituality and reap inner peace.
Inner peace from spirituality is within the reach of all. No need to be monks, priests or pastors. Spiritual calling is not for the few but for all.
But do not say that we cannot have all the fun just because of this calling. Aimless and excesses of fun of course will put us way off course. Have spiritual life but not give up the worldly life.
No need to forgo fun and be dead serious on spirituality. The road for spirituality is long and what matters is to stay on course.
Bo Tien 武 天 adds that the guiding spiritual values that ensure that we have more and more of inner peace despite the yin and yang will if applied to worldly life contribute to worldly success but not the reverse.
Worldly success cannot be the end in itself but only the means to the spiritual end of attaining more and more of divine inner peace. Then we are attuned to the divine peace of God and saints and be with God and saints.
We can do so without giving up the worldly life. We can have some honest and pure fun along the path for inner peace. We can have duality of worldly and spiritual life with touch of fun as well.
In fact this is true in any religion. We cannot forgo the family and the world of our job and social circles just to be hero to champion the call of God and saints.
If we do so, we are irresponsible and sacrificing the family and the friends and colleagues we have at home, at our office and at the community. We may speak at length about our concern for family, friends and society but we do the exact opposite and stay away from society and hide away in churches or temples half the week. This would be ironical.
That is not loving and that is misplaced spirituality - no honesty and purity expected in the religious. What inner peace can we have then?
We will be doing the exact opposite of what God wants in us and this is due to ignorance and fear that God will disown us. We will only find solace that we will not incur the displeasure of God. But is God like that? Is God so demanding and insecure?
We will then be far though we intend to be near God and saints. No wonder Bo Tien 武 天 says the near may be far, didn't he?
God and saints want us to serve men, family and society. We are not to serve only ourselves and least of all God. If God is God, he will not need us to serve him but to serve the world instead so as to bring peace and heaven to all in this world.
So spend more time with the world - with family and society. Do not use God as excuse to neglect the world, family and society. Do not end up ungodly in the name of God.
Don't neglect and give up the world in the name of spiritual pursuit. Be with the world and be with spiritual life that requires us to be with the world, and enjoy the fun that is in daily life that way.
Bo Tien 武 天 says that the true temple is the world with heaven God and saints as the roof. All below the roof are in this temple - the ultimate holy place. This world is the world or universal temple for all religions. Religions are the pillars that uphold the roof of God and saints.
As the world is the universal temple, for spiritual life, we have to be in the world, embrace and not deny it - no where can we leave the world. Do not try to leave the world. You will only be rattled and be lost to life and the world. Do not deny some fun in life even in spiritual life.
For spiritual, choose the world, be with the world and deny not the simple fun in life. There must always be the light side of life. Make it sort of fun to have the spiritual life. Choose the world and not deny it.
Embrace the light moments of life. There must be fun too in spiritual life. Be true to what is in our hearts and not put up pretence. We cannot be the holiest of the holy overnight, and even in just one lifetime. We cannot make it otherwise.
What matters is what is in our hearts and not what we do to show other men. That would be putting up a show and sheer pretense. What matters is not what goes through the gut but what goes through the heart.
This is the noble advice by Ji Gong 济公. He did not leave the world. He left the monastery to be with the world and he made it. He helped many to see the spiritual light and be happy and have fun even while living the worldly life.
He is full of fun to be with and he ensures that those he come across and assisted too have fun while becoming more spiritual without leaving the world - without denying the world, family and friends. In fact, they will have more life, more friends, more of family and more of the world.
For spiritual, choose and not deny the world and the light hearted and pure fun side of life. What matters is to be pure at heart and to be at peace with life and the world and not battle with the world.
Do not carry the cross of the burdens of life. By being with life and the world, we can better be on top of life burdens, and not be crossed with life and the world.
Expect not others to carry your burdens. God and saints can only show you how not to do so. Without their teachings, we will end up picking up more burdens every time we are relieved of burdens.
