Better to be caring and show concern than to be clever

No 257 of Living Life Series 1 

We need to be reminded from time to time that for any service by any professional individual or by any secular or religious institution, certain attributes are as important, if not more important than mere intellectual capital, savviness and prowess.

For example, we tend to want our teachers, doctors and priests to be clever and knowledgeable but often forget that other service attributes are even more critical.

We too portray our religions as profound and that may be good. But there is the flip side or the unpleasant side.

For one, others may be impressed but be put off or worse still feel alienated right from the first encounter.

A recipient of service, be it from doctor, teacher, or religion must feel comfortable with the service.

The provider need not be clever and show profoundness.

Concern and caring service attitudes with careful attention to needs of recipients are perhaps more important than the profoundness and complexity.

It is better for the doctor, teacher, leader or pastor to be careful, concerned than to be clever.

A sect or religion should show care to men rather than alienate men through profound philosophy. There is no need to make God and truth of God so profound that we fear and distant ourselves from knowing God and truth. We are not so unworthy to extent that we need stay away from divinity.

God cares and shows concern for all even those who think they fall short of the glory of God. Thus, any sect or religion should show care to men rather than alienate men through profound philosophy. God is not the preserve of elitists and the well-off in intellectual and material resources.

Truth of life and God need to be portrayed in simplicity to be within reach of all. Men in the throes of life with cyclical ups and downs often fail to see the simplicity of truth in God and life.

Many seek the truth of ancient wisdom, yet the truth often appears profound and difficult to perceive though the so-called profound truth of life is actually simple.

Man with passion sometimes stands on moral high ground to the point of  being distasteful.

Men should be caring, show concern and be careful rather than try to be clever and rub people the wrong way round.

There are two 'C's men must have with the third 'C' being good to have. Better to be caring and to show concern than to be clever.

This applies to both men as individuals as well as men as social and religious institutions.

There is need to take heart and stay connected with society and the true nature of life. It is foolhardy to be scholarly and not wise.

The exception however must be made for those at the apex of political or religious institution. They need to be clever, that is, to be scholarly as this is important and constitutes critical intellectual capital. But to be wise, the leaders at the top must not only have  intellectual capital, they must also be street smart. They must be able to connect with the ground and at same time be able to correct social imbalance or inequity.

To put things in nutshell, grey brain matter is required. IQ (Intellect Quotient)  is good but EQ (Emotional Quotient)  and AQ (Adversity Quotient) are also acutely indispensable for them to make the grade. This adds two more 'C' s - connect and correct. 

The greatness of a leader or an institution is augmented by the ability to have the two additional 'C's. He or the institution must be able to connect the different schools of apparently differing thoughts. He or the institution must be able to correct the occasional inclination to the not-so-welcome small talk of others beliefs - talk that divides society and religions rather than harmonise and bring them together

If this ideal cannot be idealised, then it is better to be not clever and to stick to the original two 'C's  - to be caring and show concern and respect for others. There is no need to be clever when cleverness takes on unwise ways and  leader or institution is unable to connect and correct. 

Cleverness is an asset only if the additional two 'C's are there,  that is, the astute abilities to connect and correct. Otherwise , it is better to  be caring and to show concern than to be clever.

To put it bluntly and coarsely, to try to be clever can make a leader or institution look stupid if that leader or institution is not able to connect (with people /other institutions) and correct (social inequity or imbalance) but instead stir up the mud....and widen the divisiveness amongst men and institutions.

This would be contrary to the will of God and His purpose of plurality. The existence of varied religious institutions, nations and even approaches to the same ideology are examples of plurality. Plurality manifested in many aspects of nature and life is the will of God.

The many segments of the pakua depict plurality but this is not the only message behind the segments. These segments of diverse aspects and sections of nature and life come together in harmony to form the pakua. They embrace the yin yang elements - the polarities of life which include the 'up's and 'down's of life.



Pakua



Cheers and praise God and lord.



Lord Bo Tien



PS This post is  motivated by the quotation from the late Senior Bro. P. Philip.

Only the wise seek the fulfilment of ancient wisdom. Yet the profound truth is so simple but difficult to perceive.




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Are we ever satisfied?

No 256 of Living Life Series 1







"Are we ever satisfied?

We never get what we want.

We never want what we get.

We never have what we like.

We never like what we have.

Yet we still live and love.

That's life."



Does the above apply to you?

If so, you are not alone.

You are a survivor

And have resilience

There is hope for you.

Heaven is attracted to the likes of you.

Do read the posts and search your heart

What must you know and do

to make life work for you

and not you work for life?

PS This short post or article may be an advertisement of sorts for living life series 1 by inner truth netizen 2


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Role of precepts and the Four Pillar Doctrine

No 255 of Living Life Series 1







There are precepts in any religion. Do we need to know more than the religion? The answer can be both 'Yes' and 'No' . In Buddhism, there is the Five Precepts. 

"Five precepts are good enough for you. You do not need to know more or do more than that." This is often told to the laymen in Buddhist temples by Buddhist clergy.

It may be a small step but it is all that we need to know and do to be big in spiritual in time to come, be it in present life or in afterlife.

Incidentally, any abuse of food, activity or substance can result in intoxication when mind is affected. One can even have water intoxication, game intoxication and gambling intoxication. Many would have come across the work alcoholic who ignores everything else in life except for work. He is far from being peaceful as well. He is intoxicated by need to work and does not lead a balanced life - no work life balance.

The five precepts are: do not kill, do not steal, do not tell lies, do not commit sexual misconduct and do not be intoxicated. 

The five precepts and for that matter the precepts of any religion are based on essential spiritual principles but translated as actions to effect easier practice. Precepts are therefore means to an end but certainly not the end in themselves. 

Some who are more serious in spiritual may find them short, wanting and even contradictory in some ways. They however effect practice at mundane day to day level. Precepts go some way to ensure peaceful and fruitful life, both spiritual and secular. The individual will also be peaceful and pleasant to others and will bring out the peaceful  and pleasant side of others.

In the long run, precepts do not replace wisdom and grasp of spiritual truth. The latter however takes time and to wait till then to practice would be unwise. 

In any religion, there will be precepts. The precepts do differ from religion to religion. They serve to be basic moral markers for followers to comply with and one of the ways to hold them to the fold of the religion.

The inner truth of Divinity is common denominator of all religions and but other than that, religions do need to differ somewhat so as to reach out to all people in all parts of the world. This is part of the  Four Pillar Doctrine of Lord Bo Tien.

The Four Pillar Doctrine states that there is Divinity or God. It is the will of God that beings must  be good and  improve in goodness. They must cultivate the way and be enlightened so as to be with God at the apex of Divinity. that is, to be part of  Divinity.

They must cultivate the Godliness in them. They can do so through any religion or sect in the four directions. The name Four Pillars refers to the religions of the world in the four cardinal directions - north, south east and west. 

They also refer to the archangels of God and any of the heavenly saints may be considered the  fifth archangel.

Each religion is free to promulgate its own tenets, precepts and belief systems so as to be able to hold on to their following and enable their followers to achieve the divine goal. 

This is the gist of the Four Pillar Doctrine but inner truth netizen prefers to use the other name of this doctrine which is the Inner Truth Message common to and underlying  the  religions we have in our world. 

Lord Bo Tien is not here to start a new religion or sect but to explain the oneness of religions and sects. He even demonstrated that the same truth of God is to be found in a Chinese temple.       .

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It is the little things in life that make the difference

No 254 of Living Life Series 1 

Big issues count but it is the small things that make the difference. 

Why small issues are important? A stitch in time saves nine. Little drops of water make a mighty ocean. Also, when we take care of small issues, big issues will not be there if we can handle the issues as they arise and nip them in the bud. Practise and cultivate peace in life a little at a time.  Never mind if you are slow or still troubled in mind and far from peaceful for now. It is important that you do not stop trying and move on in life however slow you may be.

A fruit tree rooted in subterranean water will be there and bearing fruits even if there is drought but not the trees in big plantations which will wither in drought with no subterranean water. A man rooted in inner truth and practice of inner peace may not be as well off world wise as others much better off in good times.  But in face of drought of life, he stands and still thrives. He is at peace when others many times better are not. Why? He is at peace as he is not affected by the yin and yang of life, for he stands at the centre of the pakua and not swept around by cyclical yin yang.

Nurture the candle flame of life however small and weak it may be compared to others.  If sheltered by God and saints, this flame will glow and grow and not flicker in the wind.

Go for strength in numbers. A collection of candle flames can out do a big candle flame. This was alluded to by Lord Bo Tien.

If thus far, the efforts are not enough, seek the blessing and shelter of God and saints. With combined self effort and heavenly blessings, issues however big will be small even if they cannot be no issue due to the element of fate. Small issues will naturally be no issue.

Lord Bo Tien

In going about life, go for the little blessings in life. Often it is the little things in life that make the difference. Small things in every day life do add up and big things you will have. Also, it is easier to maintain the peace when you go for the small things in life. You are less upset if they do not come your way but surely you will have no problem getting many of the small things in life which do not require great effort and are not exacting.

The man of peace goes for the daily blessings of life and treasures them however small they may be. He does not take life for granted.  He values life and often this translates to valuing the little blessings of life that come his way.

It is the little things in life that make the difference.  All good things and for that matter, even the big things in life depend on our having the little things in our daily life which we often take for granted and often not even aware of. When we have them, we are complacent but when they are not there, we feel the loss and realise that the little things do count and are not little after all.

They do add up to big things to come. They do  pave the way for more good things in life. It is from the little things that we can end up having big things. It is from starting small that one day we can end up big. All great men were small at some stage of their lives. Go for small if ever you want to give yourself the chance to be big one day.  But do not insist that you must make it big.

This holds true for both mundane and spiritual life. The principle of being peaceful means we go for small steps and not take big leaps. A little spiritual peace every now and then will one day put us to the path of sainthood.  The effort required is small  and within the capability of all men. It is not in the least daunting.

The same spiritual principle of going small if you hope for better things if applied to mundane world will ensure peace and comfort in mundane secular life as well. This is the teaching of all saints and Lord Bo Tien is one of them. 

Do not envy over what others have. Do not crave for what you yet to have. Do not rave over what you have. Do not stave off or deny life and left to waste what you have. Praise God for the little things in life. Then you will not crave, rave or stave off life. This may sound profound and complex but truth is actually so simple and yet difficult to perceive as what my late Senior Brother P Philip said.

At this juncture, let me share what I read many years ago. 50 years ago, one medical doctor at Ipoh Malaysia in the Voice of Buddhism wrote to a school boy to say that five precepts for a Buddhist is good enough.

"Five precepts are good enough for you. You do not need to know more or do more." 

It may be a small step but it is all that boy needed to know and do to be big in spiritual in time to come, be it in present life or in afterlife.

The five precepts are: do not kill, do not steal, do not tell lies, do not commit sexual misconduct and do not be intoxicated. 

The five precepts and for that matter the precepts of any religion 

go some way to ensure peaceful and fruitful life, both spiritual and secular. The individual will also be peaceful and pleasant to others and will bring out the peaceful  and pleasant side of others.

Inner truth netizen would like to add that one can belong to any religion or even if none but as long as one's beliefs enable one to go for the little joys in life, that would ensure that one's life is peaceful, pleasant, comfortable and fruitful in every day of life.

Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves. Is this an overstatement? Dear readers you have to decide for yourself. Cheers and once again God bless.

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What is Tao?

No 253 of Living Life Series 1

道

Tao is the basic eternal principle of the universe and is the source of all phenomena - of being, non-being, and change.

The many perspectives of the word Tao

There are many perspectives to the word "Tao". 

(i) Simply put, it means channel, road, path or doctrine. In many of the belief systems, Tao is used in its sense of 'way' as the right, correct or proper way of living or being - a means to achieve the end of attainment, perfection or of full coming into being. 

(ii) At a more philosophical level, Tao can be roughly thought of as the flow of life in the universe, or as some essence or pattern behind the natural world that keeps the universe balanced, ordered and in equilibrium. It is related to the idea of basic or primordial energy or qi - the essential energy of action and existence.  

(iii) Much of classical Taoist philosophy revolves around cycles. Cyclical continuity of world of nature is in contrast to the linear, goal-orientated actions of human beings. Buddhists refer to this goal directed actions as volitions which are actions based on attachments that will bring on moral consequences. The issue is how not to do so and yet be at peace and flow along with the universe without creating ripples and stir up currents in life.  In short, we must not crave for the ups when down or rave over the ups when having them

Tao in relation to Heaven, Man and Religion

Tao means a road or path --- the way in which one does something. This can be in relation to (a) Heaven, (b) Man or (c) Religion.

(a) The Way of Heaven appears beyond normal human norms and expectations, sometimes appear somewhat odd or even harsh. When autumn comes, no leaf is spared because of its beauty and no flower is spared because of its fragrance. A heavenly saint, like a flower, will not stop ants amongst men from coming to him for nectar of goodness. This did Lord Bo Tien remind us in one of His latter anniversary messages at Bo Tien Temple in the early years.

(In heavenly terms, beings(men) like gods should not go not for gain or loss, neither self gain nor others gain but mere balance and peace as one's gain should also be others' gain and others' gain should also be one's gain. Gain and loss are not as important as peace of spirit when gain and loss are immaterial but to be at peace with opposing contingencies of ups and downs of gain and loss is best. This is sometimes referred to as equanimity and the highest level of this is part of enlightenment. This is neither about running away from life of gain and loss nor being tossed about by gain and loss but to do what is best and flow along in peace)

(b) The Way of Man is procreation and self gain.  Procreation after all is self gain for man. Of course, there are more to the Way of Man than this two. With regards to self gain, few men will be like flowers to even let ants amongst men to come to them for nectar but not the case for God and saints.

(c) The Way of Religion. There are many religions and sects. Each religion or sect has its own Tao, its doctrine of the way in which life should be patterned and with which adherents need to be in conformity.

Classical Tao in Taoism

One such religion with various evolved schools of thoughts arose in ancient China and deals with Tao based on rich Chinese cultural heritage. It is known as Taoism. The word Tao meant 'the way the universe works'. 

The pa kua is a symbol used to represent the Tao and the attainment of perfection of peace of living through Tao.

Pa kua

The Inner Truth behind Tao in religions

Tao or Tou (Way) is referred to by Lord Bo Tien as Tou-li. Tou-li is the doctrine of the way and is the doctrine of life and the universe symbolised by the pakua.

Lord Bo Tien reminds that all religions, different as they may be, have the same basic truth of God or Divinity. He refers to the common underlying tou-li behind all religions as the inner truth doctrine and that each religion can have their additional guidelines, dogmas and precepts to elaborate and add on to the basics covered by the inner truth doctrine. This is so that each can hold on to their followers and enable them to succeed and be enlightened through their respective religions.

The guidelines and dogmas need not be the same, otherwise there will be only one religion and not many. Many religions and many sects in any one religion allow God to reach out to more beings. There cannot be only one way but many ways to do so, just like there are not one type but many types of beings amongst men.

Basically, the inner truth refers to the need to find peace in the cyclical world of ups and downs and in the world of opposing yin and yang.  We have gain and loss, honour and dishonour, wealth and poverty and self denial or deprecation and over indulgence and the list of opposites can go on.

We find peace by being with and yet not affected by yin and yang. We should neither run away (deny) nor must we be swept round by yin and yang.

We can do so by being at peace with life and the universe  and merge into the peace of God and saints through any religion or sect. 

But we do not run away from life when we are at peace. We move on in life and yet stand still like in the centre of the pakua amidst the cyclical yin and yang.

We must be able to balance the worldly contingencies of the opposites in life (such as gain and loss, praise and blame, fame and defame, upsets and jubilation) as depicted by the feet of the lord saint balancing the elements in his image. 

We must hold on to the tou-li of God in the same way that the image of the lord saint holds on to the sceptre of  truth of God with the right hand.

The left hand in salutation in the lord's image bids us to stay the course and be steady in balancing the yin and yang.





Lord Bo Tien

   

Saying it in ways more than one

Let the Tao be in your life and you can reap the Tao in any religion of the day.  We can say this in many ways

Let the 'the way the universe works' be in your life and you can reap the  'the way the universe works' in any religion of the day.

Let God be in your life and you can reap Godliness in any religion of the day. 

Let the Holy Spirit be in your life and you can reap the Holy Spirit in any religion of the day. 

Let Lord Bo Tien be in your life and you can reap his presence in any religion of the day. 

Lord Bo Tien is not here to start a new religion or to draw you away from your religion but to be with you in your life in whatever religion you are in or even if you have none.  He is here to help you reap the Tao in your life through the religion or belief system of your choice.

Cheers. God bless.






The Pa kua - Tao symbol at Bo Tien Temple shrine floor
Photo captured by BWY from upper floor.
Note the reflection of conical glass housing

  

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The bell curve in life

No 252 of Living Life Series 1

Whatever belief there may be, there will always be many ways of looking at that belief and how that belief will impact on the life of the individual. We should therefore allow for this seemingly wide berth in variation even for the faithful congregation or following in a spiritual organisation. Yes, there is the mean where two thirds fall into with more or less the similar outlook of the belief and all others who are also affirmative of the belief fall on both sides of the mean as they differ more strikingly, thus giving us the bell curve distribution of views on that one belief.

At the macroscopic level, there is no gross difference and all believers of that belief are one in upholding that belief but viewed from nearer the microscopic level, real differences do arise amongst the members in the congregation of the faithful.

Many in the congregation or following will have more or less the same outlook as the speaker or pastor. But mind you that they hold the same view does not mean identical view and there will always be individual preferences and emphasis. Some will believe in more and some will believe in less of the same belief. Thus in a church or temple setting, the members of the congregation comprise of people who ascribe to the sect or denomination but every belief set out, even if affirmed by all, will connote different values to different individuals and impact somewhat differently on various members. Everyone is a unique person in his or her own way.

The belief in God or Divinity is a central belief of the world. All agree somewhat in concept of core divine perfection. Call this God, Divine Essence or Primordial Force and it is still about this central belief. Statistically with regards to a belief like that of God, we refer to the 'mean' concept to refer to the two thirds who have more or less the same concept but each person still differs a bit somewhat from the rest.   Thus the variations of interpretation and impact of this belief will fall on either side of the ''mean''. 

All religions too believe in Divinity in their own respective signature styles. Hence, whilst the inner truth is that there is God or Divinity, what is understood and propagated can be a range that statistically speaking too falls into a bell curve distribution. Thus we have religions arising around the concept of God or Divinity. This is what the inner truth message of God is about and of course, Lord Bo Tien is but a messenger. We should not feel bad that men must differ in belief and practice with regards to  any belief but be very comfortable with the reality of the bell curve spread of views in respect of that belief.  

When a young individual attends a church or temple, he should not feel alienated that he cannot see eye to eye with the approach of say the pastor or priest or those senior in age with regards to beliefs. He should not be put off and feel threatened by their views. The church or temple is as much a place for him as for others with their personal approaches to the beliefs somewhat a mark or two apart from say the the old timers e.g. older folks.

Thus, in a church or temple, it is not unusual to find young people huddled and segregated in youth church or group and holding their own youth worship of God with their own youth minister or pastor.  They tend to be less archaic and conservative and tend to be more liberal in application of their belief in God to meet the likings of their peers or cohort. Those who do not understand will remark thus. How can people of such differing behavior be members of the religious group? But everyone has a place with God and no one is far from God. God will reach out to all and spare no effort to do so.

Thus far from the above, we have dwelt on the spiritual level and that there is bell curve distribution in understanding and approach to spiritual. The differences should not be viewed as heresy and blasphemy but as healthy and inevitable bell curve distribution of subtle variants of the belief in God. 

Now turning to secular or mundane level, individuals should be part of society. When they grow, they outlive the society at school and of the family and need to be part of the college or university society and later to be part of the  working society. But even for the working society, fellowship or companionship is not enough, for you cannot be too open in the working society and also you do change work or job every now and then. When job migration occurs, you will feel uprooted and lost. Thus  many to be socially anchored longitudinally over time must belong to society of religious groups like the church or temple so that they can have belonging and fellowship over the long term.  Working social environment often could not provide as readily this long term stable social milieu. One contributory reason is that in the job world, it is difficult to gel personal social space and official space.

In any society, it would be ridiculous to expect that all hold the same view of the same belief as the lead person. In fact, for the same one belief, as individuals mature over time, identical views are rare and not possible even for twins. There will invariably be divergence amidst convergence as individuals grow in the organisation. This is as per the bell curve distribution or what we refer to as normal variation in statistical terms. So do not be perturbed if you hold opinion not identical with others say with regards to a belief such as God and do not ostracise yourself  because of your unique personal way of seeing things but do remember it is still the same belief say the belief in God.

Otherwise, you will stand alone, be at odds to society and even be lost to society.  At least belong to a temple or church group of your peers that is of the same age group and interests and have good fellowship and be able to hang out together for a very long time. Never mind that you do not see eye to eye with or may be scorned at by the senior clergy outside your peer group.  It  is easier to hang out with your peers even if they do not have identical views on the same belief but at least, they are more accommodating and more tolerant of laxity and latitude. They are more in tune to the Biblical saying 'Judge not lest ye be judged'

Lord Bo Tien has advised that men should gather together as groups like groups of candles. We light up one anothers' lives and learn from the differences in our lives. This is the lesson of the candle flames which applies not only for spiritual but for mundane or secular life as well.

Lord Bo Tien

Lord Bo Tien  reminds us that it is alright to have doubts as doubts arise because of lack of grasp and as we grasp a belief, we grow that belief and we grow in self as well. Thus in a group, there will be different shades and hues to the same belief.

No one should say that his understanding and grasp is better but certainly his understanding at that point is most appropriate for him, what he chooses or what he could have. That is in  conformity with the standard bell curve distribution in statistical philosophy. Do allow for the ramifications of the bell curve in our life both spiritual and secular (mundane).

So far, the bell curve does ring a bell. But has it to do with the bell of a place of worship such as church bell or temple bell? Certainly not, but why can't we be more imaginative and be that more mindful and meditative, or to put it more succinctly be more Zen-like.

The bell rings clear and sends out peels of clanging that reach out in all directions to those far and near so that even those far away from the church or temple could hear and stop to pray and cheer. God and saints are like that. Divinity reaches out to all far and near and like the vibrations of the bell, Divinity permeates the fabric of all beings and souls. The Holy Spirit is everywhere.

Like the ringing effects of the church or temple bell, different people do experience God in differing intensity and ways depending on where they are in life, that is, the stations of life they are in. No two persons experiences and impressions of God or Divinity can be identical even if told the same concept because no two lives are the same and no two minds are alike. There will always be the obvious difference, albeit a subtle one at times.  Statistically, all beings' experiences of Divinity collectively fall into the standard bell curve distribution pattern.  

It is not surprising therefore that there must be not just one but many religions and sects to let Divinity reach out to all beings and men in a variety of ways. Praise God and lord. Om and Sadhu to all.

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Be still and peaceful while running your life

No 251 of Living Life Series 1 

even unto the end. Do so by enabling the pakua in your life

There is the need to hold on to hope in life.

Even if we are old and the main part of our life is behind us, we need to make our life ahead meaningful and purposeful. But we have to be able to reconcile with limitations of age and strike a balance.

Go along with flow in life but ride not the tidal wave of life which when we are young we have no difficulty handling. Handling two jobs or changing jobs less of issue when young but not when old. Even if we can do so in old age, the effort can be onerous and unsettling.

Go for smoothness in flow and enable peace in the process as well. This is more so for the old. The joy in life is to live life, to experience the flow and not be left on wayside even if we be old.

But to be satisfactory, there must be peace and we must be able to eschew every moment of what we do and yet not waste time or be side tracked. We must complete life issues in good time and at same time be rewarded and have fulfilment in process.

This fulfilment is best described as joyful peace or to put it more correctly, we must be serene and appear at rest even while running along in life. To be at rest while running, we must train to run without pushing to our limits. Otherwise, we may stall, perhaps even have to stop and start all over again not just in this life but in next. This is more true as we age but applies to the young as well

The important issue is to keep moving at restful pace appropriate for age. That way, we will relish life moments and be fulfilled moment by moment.  But remember to move on in life and to flow with the world and be part of this world of God. Live life. Do not leave life. Run your life at ease and peace  --- in harmony and equilibrium with the world of ups and downs, of yin and yang.

This is the doctrine embodied in the pakua and the image of Lord Bo Tien. We need to move and yet be still like in the centre of pakua with the flux of yin and yang. Enable the pakua in our life.

Enable the pakua in our life

The seated pose of the lord saint with feet astride the elements of yin and yang tells us to ride on and balance the yin and yang so as to be at peace - to be still and restful and yet move on in life. This is the way of inner truth of life.

Be still and peaceful while running your life

Stay still and be at peace even while running and moving on in life. This seems to be the silent message depicted by the the seated image of Lord Bo Tien with the left hand in salutation. We must hold on to the inner truth of life as depicted by the right hand of the lord saint holding on to the sceptre of truth.

Be still and peaceful while running your life.  Then no issue will be too small for you or too big for you to handle. Why? The simple truth is that you are cool. calm and collected because you keep still (in mind) and are at peace while running your life. 

Issues however big will at least become small issues and small issues be no issue. This will be more so when you are able to enable the inner truth in your life and able to be at peace with life to call upon the blessings of God and saints. Your life like a candle flame will glow even brighter if sheltered by the heavenly saints.

This is the reassurance of heavenly saints like Lord Bo Tien. This paves the way for heaven on earth in this life and you do not need to wait for heaven in afterlife.  

Be still and peaceful while running your life. Then no issue will be too small for you or too big for you to handle. The challenge is to be still and peaceful when you are having a bad patch or when you are old and in the last phase of your life or near the end of the rope of life. Always have hope and hold on to the cheer in life.

Give this some thought but do so peacefully and pleasantly if you can. Give this a try. No harm  in trying even if the end is nigh. Even if precious little peace you get, at least some worthwhile merits (from generating pure thoughts) you can get out of the last bit of your human life which may not come your way again at least not in the same form.

The good thoughts and wishes of the person at the end of life especially if directed for others can do wonders for the living and this in turn will prove to be a boon for the person as well, at least for the afterlife. 

Be still and peaceful while running your life even unto the end. Do so by enabling the pakua in your life. Then you can handle all ends and have no problem in handling even the end. No issue will be to big and no issue will be too small for you to handle at any point in your life.

Cheers and God bless.



 The pakua figures prominently on the shrine floor
of Bo Tien Temple at Singapore



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What is His purpose?

No 250 of Living Life Series 1

There were various religious practices before the coming down of Lord Bo Tien as even still true after His descent. Why was there the need for Him to come down more than forty years ago through our late Senior Brother Philip? One of the first messages He had for all was that He did not come down to start a new religion. The religions of the day were there to serve those in need of God's blessings. If so what was the need for Him to come down? He further said that all religions are good and are there to help people of diverse sways to be close to God. If that is so, why then must He descend to announce that He is here to carry out the Mission of Heaven? What is this Mission?

Brethren, there is no controversy or contradiction. All religions are good and are doing good. The Lord Saint did not and still does not want those who come to Him to change their religious allegiance. What is then the goal of His coming down? He merely wants us to know religions in correct perspective, to be a better follower of the religious teachings of their religious persuasion. He reiterates that despite the different identities and presentation, all are the same. All contain the same inner truth about the love of God (Heaven) and how all can perceive and practise the inner truth that there is the same God or Divinity. We need to be with Divinity. But because of the imperfections we are not able to get closer to God. There is the wide gulf separating us from Heaven.

He is merely doing His part like all past and present arahats / posats / saints or prophets to help Divinity to get beings to be with Divinity. This is the Mission of Heaven, namely to deliver beings from wrong to right, imperfections to perfections in the eyes of God. The best way to do this is to let us know that the solution is there in all religions, and all saints can help. It is never His wish to make us in awe of Him and regard Him as the latest deity or god to replace other gods or deities. He wants us to believe in all heavenly saints, “to adore them, to believe in their existence and that their glory is in the thought of men”.

In short, we can realise that it is actually simple to get to the inner truth and to attain the truth of purity to be with God or Divinity. Most of the time, we are presented with apparent profoundness when actually reality is simple. The saving of souls is possible and not profound. The "wrong", imperfection, impurity or ignorance in us separates us from Divinity and as a result we undergo repeat courses or cycles of rebirths. The "wrong" makes us to be not pure and cannot ascend to high dimensions where we can be with the saints to help beings and to cultivate the pureness of Divine way.

Lord Bo Tien is here to help God / Divinity to save us not through a new religion but through whatever religious persuasion we may be in. But He does his part by coming down to start Chinese temples to show that even in Chinese culture, the same is true and can be done. He even demonstrated that English speaking young men from various races could understand and realise inner truth even in a Chinese cultural temple. Even in Chinese culture, He can carry out the Mission of Heaven which is to save all beings and deliver them to purity of God.

We can then be more convinced that God saves beings through all the religions. It is not as profound as we think and all can in simple but diligent ways succeed. We must look beyond the apparent profoundness in religions to realise the reality, which is simple but not easily perceived. Often the sad part is that the eye of our soul is blinded by the wrong or ignorance, and we fail to see things as they are. As a result we go around in our cycles of rebirths. That is why Heaven will help all beings through all the heavenly saints. This is the Mission of Heaven. Lord Bo Tien plays His part to execute this mission. Thus He holds a sceptre of the mission in His right hand.

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Truth is just as sweet in whatever form or religion it is in

No 249 of Living Life Series 1

A rose or lotus by any name is just as sweet. The principles for inner peace can be effected in any religion, or with or without a religion.

 Painting by SBP

There is no need to be a deity worship follower to practice the inner truth to taste tranquility of inner peace.

There is form and substance in spirituality. You can go for substance and this is universal to all and within reach to even those outside religious domain.

But man cannot stand alone and must choose the social domains he needs to live in, such as work domain, religious domain, socio- cultural and even political domain. These are the forms to enable him to effect the substance and learn best how to better the peace in life.

The substance is the rose or lotus and it can take any form. The form is left to preference. What can we learn from life - our own and from others lives so as to be better at peace with life and many may say to be at peace with God.

Go for domains with people you can identify with, some common traits e.g.  same age group but expect not perfect fit.

Otherwise, you will be misfit and far from peace. You would end up wondering why no one agrees with you and why you have no friends when many you can have, albeit at more or less casual level. You will end up feeling unreal when you want to stay away from ills of society and often wondered why you are not yourself. Obviously, you will find that to feel real, you must be with society but yet above the ills of society.

Incidentally, self confidence is the best friend and faith in God and saints make this even better. Buddha Gautama did say that "health is the highest gain, self confidence the greatest kinship, contentment the greatest wealth and enlightenment the greatest bliss."

This short article is for all and the rest is for the readers to learn from gospel of life.

You can practise the universal principles to have peace in life but you can do so in any religion, sect or even in other domain.

You don't need to worship God to be Godly and to be with God and saints. You who have peace because you see the inner truth in life is near to God and saints like Lord Bo Tien even if you do not belong to any of the religious sects and far from them. The far can indeed be near and the near can be far. This did Lord Bo Tien say. But take heart that form is also useful to grow the peace as well. God bless.

However, if the seeker of truth stays away from society, the peace he can have is more elusive but if he stays with society but maintains the divine truth in life by not being swayed by worldly contingencies of men such as the ups and downs, gain and loss, honour and dishonour, joy and sorrow, then the peace he can have will grow and grow. Of course, he must stay the course and not crave, rave or stave off life.

Lord Bo Tien has reminded us that we should practise spirituality and that the principles that augur well for spiritual pursuits will enamor us to society at large. He encourages us to be spiritual and to be with society, family and with the world.

The very principles of truth of life what we refer to as the inner truth  will make us better religionists in whatever religion we are in. We will then welcome all religions and identify with all religions. Cheers to the unity of men in diversity of faiths.

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Many religions one divinity

No 248 of Living Life Series  

There are many races in a country but all are united in one nation. This gives rise to the slogan " Many races one nation "

There are many religions but only one God or Divinity.  This is  reflective of the cosmopolitan nature of society. Whilst  God is one, there is diversity amongst men not only in the number of races but also in the number of religions as well. All religions are one in God.

The world is one universal temple with Heaven as the roof of the temple, and religions are the pillars of the temple. Men irrespective of creed, race or language  are in this universal temple. When the sun shines, life goes on and when the sun sets, life takes on a different hue. This is as elucidated by Lord Bo Tien

There cannot be only one religion but many as there exists diversity. Diversity is the will of God and represents wholesome completeness. There are different races and even for a race, there are many tribes or dialects. Even for a dialect, there are many varied styles. For any given religion, there are many sects and for any given sect, there are many schools and for any given school, there are many temples or churches and for any church or temple, there can be many monks, pastors or priests.

So how can there be only one true sect that surpasses all other sects and how can there be one religion that surpasses or excludes all others as the only one that speaks out for God?

Dear readers, there is indeed not just one religion for one divinity but many religions for divinity.

"Many religions one God" is the truth of all truths.

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