It depends on the heart

No 374 of Living Life Series 1

The far may be near and the near may be far. This did Lord Bo Tien say.



Lord Bo Tien

 

Pioneers of any mission or spiritual organisation, elders included may think they are near  to their prophet or saint. But do not be surprised that those in subsequent generations who know not the early days may in fact at times too be near even if they knew less of the doctrine and the history.
 

Often, they are the ones who want to be different and will not buy the thinking and ways of the pioneers or elders in their respective temple or church. This does not mean they are lost or in the wrong. On the contrary, the reverse may be true.

 

It really boils down to simplicity and pureness. For religion has to be simple and spirituality is not the purview of the know-allot. Generally speaking, the elders and pioneers of any temple or church are the ones who know allot but they are not representatives of God and any saint. They too are humans.

 

It depends on the heart and if there is the heart and the commitment, knowing little is no disadvantage. In fact, the little we know if we know it well and practise it well is better than knowing allot and being muddle headed, conceited and with eyes looking at the clouds. But do not misconceive that those more into doctrine will be conceited and muddle headed. This may not necessarily be so for many well versed in doctrine.

God and saints must address the needs and feelings of the whole range of human society and beings. The doors of Heaven will never be closed to those who cannot cope with more or simply who are not ready for more doctrine.

Often, for the majority of men and beings, only simplicity will open them to God and saints. There must always be simplicity and openness to new ways and ideas.  Most of these ways must be simple and down to earth to be fathomable and meaningful to the many. Religion  will only put people off if it is complex and daunting to the many

 

Men of any religion or of a temple or church should want to be with society and close to society and do things that may on surface seem to be driven by society agenda rather than spiritual. For sometimes and often, divinity must be peddled out in small doses with sugar coating to make it that more palatable and easy to assimilate.  Societal agenda is the sugar coating. Only then will a temple or church be acceptable to the many and be  able to reach out to more and not frighten away the masses.

Pioneers and elders being fundamentalists and obviously usually and more likely more into doctrine may press the wrong buttons and undo the very good work they have put in. They must however not lose heart. There will be some who in time will want to go the mile for doctrine. But religion must be simple to be accepted and doctrine must not be forced down the throats of people. Religion has to be like society and not appear to be something out of this world of society. Religion has to be simple if it is to reach out to the masses.

 

This reality, like it or not, can be very true for any mission, any temple and any church. There is need to be simple, to be humble and to be accommodating and to present religion in the way that society can identify with. There is need to make a temple plain and down to earth something akin to what men in society is accustomed with. Only then will a temple be welcoming and not frighten away the folks in the streets.

 

Do not be upset if others do not see eye to eye with you, even if they are elders and more in the know. Respect them for their contributions and there is no need to be subservient and to think that you must believe in what they say. But there must still be that respect of sorts. They are rich in resources spiritually.

 

You may disagree with their ways but let them be what they want to be but you should ever be what you want to be and what you want to do. Never be in the clouds and think you can be a priest, monk or a saint today when you cannot even be a civil man of society with less wants and more peace with society. Many of the pioneers and elders may give this impression of high pedestal approach. Hardly a decimal few could be a monk, or priest, let alone end up as saint though all can be on the path to salvation and to better their souls in some way.

 

The far may be near and the near may be far. Be ordinary and be with society and be at ease and peace with society and its ways. Do not try to change society over night and think that you can do better than society. Learn from life and you will not regret and be confused.

Have the heart for life and for society. Have the heart for God and saints. The lord saint Lord Bo Tien stress on love and for all to take heart. Love life and take heart that those who go to the saint wholeheartedly, the saint doth know. Those who seek his blessings, the saint will come to them and facilitate the needful though there is element of fate and self effort will ever always remain the main cornerstone  for spiritual enhancement. But however low down in spirituality or even if none for the present,  there is always hope and the way forward.

Doctrine is in life and we learn from life - the events and experiences in life.  Spiritual cultivation must be in steps, one step at a time. Do not try to leap frog and do not bite off more than you can chew by combing the books and written scriptures.

Go for what you can be comfortable with and even a little is adequate. Be simple and be what you are and can be.  A temple too is the same and must be more like the society it serves  and not be unlike the society for which it is set up.

It is always the heart (commitment) that counts, not how clever and how capable one is, be it for mundane life or spiritual life. All depend on the heart. When there is the heart, there is sincerity, fellowship and brotherhood of men. Then there will be no or less hypocrisy and less camouflage of social agenda under cover of the cloak of spirituality.

Remember that no one is a saint at least for now and for many life times to come. Everyone has erred and has done right  but what is important is to try to be better by commiting his heart to goodness. Even with imperfections, such a person with a good heart will find more peace amidst the trials and tribulations of the yin yang world even if he cannot be atop and balance the duality of life - the yin and yang as symbolised in the ba gua

 The Ba gua

In whatever man sets out to do, be it spiritual or otherwise, man must have heart and love for life.  It is the heart that makes the difference. That is so and so be it.

 

 




Bo Tien Temple
at Woodlands Singapore in the old days
a simple temple
the people could identify with
and be inspired.
Those were the good old days.
when even the less literate and
limited in resources and status
can be spiritual
and leaders of sorts.
This did set the stage
for better days
now and in the future
for the Mission.

 

 

 

Let there be no religious myopia

No 373 of Living Life Series 1

This post is motivated by inputs of real life case histories from Elder Ling an active missionary of the lord saint Lord Bo Tien even at age 76 +

Elder Ling Diung Kwong
a retired Police Inspector
Singapore

It is alright to be religious but so long as we are yet fully enlightened and not  one of the saints and amongst the saints, we must guard against religious bigotry. Bigotry is such that man sees only one angle and forget to look at more angles and pronounce that he is right and others wrong.

It is one thing to have faith and confidence in a saint of a temple but let not this blind us to see only the light that comes out of a tunnel and not the light of the whole wide sky. Elder Ling has come across believers who believe in the word of God and saint and who take what said by man on behalf of saint as gospel truth. Such is the magnitude of faith and absorption in the spirituality so much so that believers often cast themselves in the narrow world they create though still in the real world of man.

They have tunnel vision of life and even when sick would rather seek the instruction of the man they cherish as speaking for divinity. If the instruction is to seek only spiritual healing and to leave the hospital bed though sick, then if the sick man does so out of sheer faith, what would happen to him. He would perish and yet not be wiser as to where he went wrong and he would be perplexed as to why divinity has failed him.

Lord Bo Tien reiterates the need to have balanced approach in life and his image with him seated with both feet astride the elements illustrates what he teaches on wholesome or balanced yin yang approach to life.

In Lord Bo Tien's 1984 Anniversary Message, "he pointed out to the Taoist Octagon or Pakua, which showed two fish-like symbols the yin and the yang. Both must exist and if there was only one, then there will be no balance and peace. Man must seek the inner peace through balance of yin and yang. A temple or organisation must find balance in the yin and yang elements of people that constitute the temple. Only then will there be peace and harmony."

Lord Bo Tien

For every angle of approach to an issue, there are perhaps many other angles that should not be ignored. Let us be more complete and whole in approach. The lord refers to this in yin yang terms.

The various angles to an issue fall into passive and active aspects or what others refer to as feminine and masculine or even positive and negative. But his human intermediary the late Senior Brother P. Philip in the closing years of his life referred yin and yang as passivity and activity and that perhaps is closest to the meaning of yin and yang. (reference page 15 of  book LORD BO TIEN'S GUIDANCE)

Published in year 2000 by Bo Tien Temple
Singapore** for its 32nd anniversary
with Forward by Bro Peter Kong Meng Sin
the then incumbent temple Chairman.
The book was complied with advice
of the late Senior Bro Philip Png
and extracts of the early literary contributions 
of Dr. H H Xiao and
of the late Commonwealth Colombo Plan
scholar and Kedah state civil engineer
Brother Tay Chong Sim.
Many of the near verbatim transcriptions
of Lord Bo Tien Chinese Hokkien messages
were by Brother William Chew
who was the Hon. Gen Secretary
of the Bo Tien mission-related temple
at Jurong Singapore
  

Balance does not mean one yin and one yang but can be judicious mix of a few of either with one or even two of the other. So if one is very sick, one must seek medical help but one needs to seek divine providence to open the way. Sometimes it is more of one or the other. There is no magic formula but when the balance is reached, there is solution and presto, "lo" and behold resolution of the sickness in the most optimum way that brings peace and ease even if there is no immortality in sight.

What is said with regards to serious sickness, applies also to to any human problem or contingency. There are many who think that their way or sect is right and others wrong. There too are those who think that good works alone and getting acclaim from men of repute for their good works is the end-all. There are those who think that purifying their souls and nothing else matters. All these can be considered religious myopia.

Let everyone reflect on the issues the next time they sit in quiet meditation as part and parcel of the divine approach that Lord Bo Tien wants us to cultivate - 静坐，学法，救世，救万人。Jing zuo, xue fa, jiu shi, jiu wan ren.

Elder Ling shares with inner truth netizen real-life case histories of religious myopia. There is the need for there to be no religious myopia which sometimes border on ill-conceived bigotry. But men who inevitably end up with religious myopia should by all means seek solace by opening divine door but they should not close other doors when they open the divine door.

Let us feel for those with religious myopia who may be scorned at by some men as superstitious men or even bigots. Forgive them and feel sorry for them.  They know not what they do and suffer at the hands of their own folly which they did not bargain for and which they least expect. Help them before they become victims of their religious myopia.

God have mercy on them for they know not what they do. That be so and so be it.



 Bo Tien Temple Singapore**

Why is worship not the end all?

No 372 of Living Life Series 1

Why is worship not the end all? Do we need to worship and who do we end up worshipping when we go to a temple or place of worship? What's wrong and how do we right the wrong in worship of God and saints. The best worship is to live in the doctrine of God and saints but the correct doctrine in life is beyond worship.

Do read series 2 post, Living in doctrine better than mere worship  before reading further below.

When men worship more than living in doctrine, they focus more on adoration, dependence and subjugation. This is good to a point but may limit the growth of the spirit or soul. They end up over believing and fantasizing on the wonders of their saint or prophet.

 

They believe in the written word of men and with time, more are revealed and they take these as true but the moment others cast doubts and show that not all that were said actually took place or were facts, they feel let down but insist that what they feel or  know and believe of their saint or prophet cannot be wrong.  

 

Then they may say that it is the devil or evil forces trying to deny them of their faith and shaking their conviction when in fact it is due to overemphasis on worship, adoration of the personality behind the faith and lack of substantiation and practice of the doctrine that is the problem.

 

If there is substantiation and practice of doctrine, the believer or follower will be no worse off when it is shown that what history has said about the saint or prophet is in some ways not factual but it is alright to believe in "legend" for legends can better deliver moral lessons and messages. Otherwise, religions will be too doctrinal, academic and profound and beyond the reach and interest of the many. History and historians will not be accomodating to religions but religions will be accomodating to them.  

What God and lord saint decide, let no man put aside

No 371 of Living Life Series 1
Reference in series 2: It is God's will

What God and the lord saint decide, let no man put aside. It would take man with self-righteousness and finite regard for the lord saint to do so. Such self-righteousness is to be expected of men at times and the flower should not be blamed for insects coming to it.  Elder Ling and Mission Hiccups

 

 

These are what men should not put aside;-

The religions and the sects. Let not men say that theirs are right and others are not. It is God's will that there must be more than one religion and sect. They may appear different and at times at odds. They appeal to vast majority of beings and are stepping stones for all beings to be on the path to be with God.

It is God's will that even in a temple, those who are far from spiritual are given the chance to make good. Though religious in their own way, they may even orientate the temple more for their social and individual agenda. They may even connive to orientate the temple for their secondary gains, conceal their secondary aims or agenda and still put the front that they are  better men of God and consign the more arduously spiritual men of God to oblivion of sorts by ensuring they have less say.

They may even give honorary memberships and titles to such men who are pioneers and elders so that such men of God have less say and roles.

God does not consider such men who connive, conceal and consign as transgressors but as those who need to learn and so long as there is some spirituality in them which they would invariably be not short off, they should be welcome to the house of God and saints.

So the more arduously spiritual men of God cannot say that a temple is not for men with conniving, concealing and consigning ways. It is God's will that insects can come to a flower for nectar as Lord Bo Tien had said.

It is God's will that we learn from life and these basically good men too must be given opportunities to learn. So all the more goody two shoes, please do not cry foul and say why God allows such less spiritually attuned good men to take over and run a temple.

Men who are better in doctrine and closer to God should not ask why God allow a temple or place of worship to be run over by otherwise good men of lesser spiritual attributes for such men too need to learn to be more good by whatever way. It is God's will.

They too are concerns of God and men who are better in the know and closer to God must not put them aside when God allows them to be inside a temple or place of worship. They have every right to be in a temple or holy premise.

It is because the majority of men who come to a temple or place of worship are likely to come for social agenda and likely to be less spiritually attuned, that in any temple or place of worship, there must be dual key systems of management with an administrative body or committee chosen by the majority and a council of elders who can override the excesses of the administrative body and yet the council has no say in the administration.

Then there will be yin yang balance with neither (1) runaway from spiritual to social agenda which is the way of most good men, nor (2) overplay of spiritual agenda that will put off those who are not ready or spiritually inclined.

The council of elders is a must in any temple or place of worship and it must co-exist with the administrative body of that temple or place of worship.

Cheers be to all men who in the eyes of God are good but can of course be better in goodness






Cross Reference The divine test a temple has to undergo and also What God put together, let no man take apart
 

Bo Tien Temple Outreach

No 370 of Living Life Series 1

The true temple of Lord Bo Tien is the universe. The sky or heaven is the roof of the temple. There is need to reach out to all realms under the sky and under the heavens. Hence the title of the 5th blog in Living Life Series - Bo Tien Temple Outreach. Lord Bo Tien like the great ocean reaches out to many a land and his outreach is way beyond the existing good work of any temple of man. This blog is launched on 20th Oct 2012 seven days before mission day anniversary the 13th day of 9th lunar month -- 27th Oct 2012. http://www.livinglifeseries5.blogspot.sg





 

Anniversary Messages of Lord Bo Tien pre-1974 to 1984

1. Messages before 1974

2. Lord Bo Tien's 1974 Anniversary Message
 
3. Lord Bo Tien's 1975 Anniversary Message

4. Lord Bo Tien's 1976 Anniversary Message

5. Lord Bo Tien's 1977 Anniversary Message

6. Lord Bo Tien's 1978 Anniversary Message

7. Lord Bo Tien's 1980 Anniversary Message

8. Lord Bo Tien's 1981 Anniversary Message

9. Lord Bo Tien's 1983 Anniversary Message

10. Lord Bo Tien's 1984 Anniversary Message

2012 Mission Day Messages

  

 

The 13th day of the ninth lunar month is Mission Day. It is time for reckoning and reflection for those who are not aligned with the mission of the lord saint Lord Bo Tien and even for those who are aligned but yet not exemplary, that is, not effecting the doctrine of the lord saint in the way they speak, act or think. Time to not only believe, understand but to practise the doctrine in life. Time to make use of doctrine as raft to cross the river of life and not admire or carry the raft on shoulders and risked being drowned by the river of life. Day for reckoning


The anniversary day of the descent of the lord saint Lord Bo Tien falls on 13th day of the 9th lunar month which is the 27th day of October 2012.

Inner Truth Netizen has dedicated the following posts as the mission day messages.


 

Paradoxical behaviour of many in a temple or church...


Two wrongs a temple or church should not have

That a temple will not make it is to be expected

  

God and the genesis of life and religions 

 

Heaven here and now and not wait for the afterlife...

  

God's way of reaching out to the many

  

Day for reckoning

  

Relativity of Creation and the Created

  

Belief in a saint is in the Word

  

Completeness and emptiness are vexations in life

 

 

 

Relativity of Creation and the Created

No 369 of Living Life Series 1

God creates us and we come to this world. But we are not born equal and can never be so. This does not mean that God is not fair.

 

God is the Jade Emperor sent by the first of the Three Pure Ones to the apparent universe of Heaven and the realms under Heaven.

 

The Three Pure Ones reside in the universe beyond the apparent universe and arise spontaneously from the prime of primordial energy.

 

Primordial energy gives rise to the universes and the yin and yang energy that Chinese sages refer to.

 

This is the Tao concept of origin of the universes which differ from the Indian story of Lord Sakra which is the close equivalent of the Jade Emperor.

 

The Brahma world, the formless realms in Buddhism is the equivalent of universe beyond the apparent universe.

 

In the apparent universe, beings take on form and this can be astral from or physical form eg of the latter is the human body of flesh and blood.

 

Coming to God, he has form and was sent down by the first of the Three Pure Ones to oversee and further create the apparent universe.

 

Buddhas and Boddhisatvas (saints) are holy ones who are beings in all realms be it in the apparent universe or in the universe beyond the apparent universe. They are the holy ones or priests in the various realms who cultivate themselves and attain thea apex of spiritual purity and they are on their own but act as advisers to the governing lords of the various realms.

 

The lords of the various realms are the government of the realms and are themselves caused, created and originated.  But they too can cause, create and condition events and beings in their respective realms.

 

In the human realm, men are caused, created and conditioned but men can create cause and condition events, beings and entities as well.

 

In the heaven of the apparent universe, the lords can create their own sectors of heaven and can cause, create and condition beings and realms  to be under their purview or that are already under their purview.

 

Thus each religion too through their prophets or saints can create sectors of heaven for their followers to go to after death but being in heaven is not the end all but the beginning of spriritual development.

 

There is rebirth and one comes from previous life to be born in present life and at end of the present life will go on to next life be it in heaven or any other realm. The beings and lord in heavenly realms too are subject to rebirth but at less propensity or hardly if some consider that be so.

 

Only the poverty of human imagination would make men narrow down the concept of life as pivoting between one earth, one heaven and one hell but even this though simplistic is not wrong but may be worthy of belief so long as such belief helps in bringing more to take on and ascend the spiritual path to be with God, the Pure Ones and the Buddhas.

No one would say that there is only one country in the world but it is alright to say that there is one world body called the United Nations. Likewise there cannot be only three realms of earth, heaven and hell.

Concepts and reality may not match. Concepts are the creation of the human mind. There is the created and the creator. The creator is created and the created is also a creator.

There is relativity of creation and the created. The egg is the creator of the chicken and the chicken is the creator of the egg. Even a young child knows that but many are blissfully simple minded when they say the egg is from the chicken (hen) and not the chicken from the egg. The creator precedes creation and creation precedes the creator. There is completeness of the cycle of creation. This is just like saying calm follow storm and storm precedes calm.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heaven here and now and not wait for the afterlife

No 368 of Living Life Series 1
Duplicated from series 2 post of same name: Heaven here and now and not wait for afterlife

When we go for the spiritual life, the same values for spiritual life if applied to our worldly life give adequate optimum comfort and success in worldly life as well.

  

The spiritual values include having inner peace come what may, neither denying or giving up life nor overindulging in life, neither living in the past(thinking and brooding over the past or living on past glory) nor living only for the future. These are aspects of balance of yin and yang, the polarities of life. Such balance can bring inner peace come what may.

There is also the need to be balanced with respect to God, neither denying His existence nor fearing his existence but ever loving and practising the doctrine God and His saints stand for.

God is like a father. What a father wants out of a child is not adulation and fear of the father but to be able to grow up, be an embodiment of the values the father stand for.

 

These spiritual values allow us to gain spiritually simultaneously while leading worldly life as the values bring peace and comfort to both worldly and spiritual life. This is possible because our moment to moment life, that is, our daily life is the very ground for our spiritual practice and cultivation. We can have heaven and inner peace here and now in this life and not wait for heaven beyond this life. We have both worldly and heavenly gains. Worldly comfort comes with avoidance of denial of worldly life at one extreme and overindulgence in worldly life at the other extreme. The latter will result in suffering as the person is effectively the slave of life and not the master of life.

Our worldly life is our gospel. We learn from the gospel of life as it unfurls. The whole wide world and web is our temple for spirituality - for spiritual understanding and cultivation. We learn to be one with God. God is everywhere in the nature or world we live in and even in us and in our life.

We certainly can have heaven by having more inner peace here and now in this life and not wait for heaven beyond this life.

We practise the doctrine behind the Bagua. The bagua embodies the flux of yin and yang, the polar or dual contingencies of life like gain & loss, love & hatred, joy & sorrow, praise & blame, success & failure, denial & indulgence etc --- the balance of which yields inner peace. Inner peace is the essence of Heavenly experience which would lead to enlightenment - oneness with Divinity

The Bagua

Elaboration of extract from The shrine hall at Bo Tien Temple was designed based on the doctrine of Heaven.

 

God's way of reaching out to the many

No 367 of Living Life Series1
Duplicated from series2: God's way of reaching out to the many

In 1981, the emissary of Lord Bo Tien said, "Heaven however will not forsake the well being of the significant numerical many... Divinity will always reach out somehow to their hearts and souls and endeavour to change their ways." Lord Bo Tien's 1981 Anniversary Message

Thus there are many religions, and many sects per religion, many schools per sect and many styles of leadership and premises per school. This is the will of God or Divinity that all souls must be saved by more than one way but the underlying inner truth is the same inner peace leading to harmony of souls with the holy spirit of God, Pure Ones, Buddhas and Saints.

Thus even in a temple of the lord saint Lord Bo Tien, the few who know the doctrine though near to him may not be the ones to run a temple. But the many who know not the doctrine but still find interest in the temple albeit for the less noble motives may well end up running a temple.

This is a lord saint's way of reaching out to the many and not just to the few who know the doctrine. They are given the chance to make good but whether they can make good or may well end up like insects coming to a flower is the issue. They are given places in the sun by the grace of the lord and not by their goodness and value. Lord Bo Tien's 1984 Anniversary Message

Many may be taken aback that in any church or temple (such as that of Lord Bo Tien), the leaders may be loud mouth or unbecoming in other ways such as loose morals and even socially tainted and corrupt. Ordinary folks will find them distasteful and lose faith. They would think that the saint or god of that temple doesn't exist and just the concoction or mere figment of imagination of men. But perhaps this too may be that temple saint's way of reaching out to the many, not just the goody-goody. Often the popular priest, pastor or monk is no goody-goody.

In the first place, perhaps goody-goody men are rare and even non-existent. Thus even any anchor pioneer may have his dark side. After all, who does not have dark side? Only "pharisees" think they are angels and above all others, as they deem themselves as having no dark side.

At best, men can only be an unpolished diamond and thus far only one man has been referred by Lord Bo Tien as an unpolished diamond. Who is he? He must be an elder in the mission of the lord saint.