Mission to place life on inner truth perspectives

No 296 of Living Life Series 1

of love and inner peace

Old temple premises in the 1970s

In the 1976 message at the old place at Woodlands Singapore, the emissary of Lord Bo Tien said,

"The Lord Saint reminds that His presence is not to initiate a new religion. Rather, His aim is to further spiritual insight in all beings and men (regardless of religious affiliation)."

"He wishes to extend to all beings and men the values of divine and universal love (loving kindness)."

"He calls for all to develop this divine love as part of their nature and integrate it into their being."

"This is because a spiritually inspired organisation or person has to be spiritually orientated based on the approach of the enlightened ones (eg the Buddhas and pure ones)."

"Many have misconstrued practices and veered from that of the spiritual way of enlightened and pure ones."

"His mission is to put things right and to enable better spiritual understanding, insight and practice (in whatever religion, sect, school of practices and spiritual station they may be)."

"His intention is simply and primarily targeted for all to understand better about life and religion."

The last sentence amplifies what the lord saint wants us to know.  His mission is to put things right and to enable better spiritual understanding, insight and practice in whatever religion, sect, school of practices and spiritual station they may be. His intention is simply and primarily targeted for all to understand better about life and religion.

We must know why we are here and what each has to learn, and how to learn within the limited time?  Each of us have our own combination of finite resources, both the good and not so good. Why can't we be equal in gifts from the point GO?  Why health is so difficult for some and less for others? Why some can fare better and some cannot even do so with better resources? 

The issue is to have insight of why we came to be what we are now in this life and how much can we change our fate? Are we not master of our own destiny? Why at times we feel we are not? Why is life so ironical to want us to be at disadvantage and sometimes very disadvantaged? The questions do beg further questions and there is no end to the 'whys', and the blame game simply goes on.

Whatever belief systems we ascribe to, the common denominator is that we want to love life and to be at peace. This should be what we want and yet they can be elusive. Thus we end up abhorring life and develop hate when love is elusive because of our perceived notion of divine unfairness.

But we fail to remind ourselves that we are what we were and will be what we can be and make ourselves to be. We have learnt lessons in the past and now we are here to continue to learn other lessons. How and what we need to learn differ from person to person. We must know ourselves and have insight in ourselves. This personal insight must come first before we can understand others.

It is true that Lord Bo Tien in 1975 advised us to know 'thyself' and know others as well. We learn that we are different and never the same. We learn from our our own life, our strengths and flaws as well as learn from those of others around us.

Life is the living gospel and we must accept and realise this through and through. When we realise the very nature of our own lives and the lives of others, we can then have grasp of why we are happy and yet unhappy, why we live more by the day and yet closer to grave by the day. This makes us realise why we are so unsettled.  Do we need to be so unsettled?  Finally, we need to settle and find peace by handling life and not avoiding life. We should also not overindulge and be overwhelmed.

We need to know what best and how best we can do for this or that. We must hold ourselves back and not expect the sky. We must know and go for our comfort limits beyond which we will just tear ourselves apart. We need to hold ourselves together as one and not be torn and tethered asunder in all directions.

We need to have the correct perspectives. We need to look at life calmly and handle life with ease and in peace. We need to be steady and to be at peace from within before we can be at peace with the conflicting demands and perceived incongruities in life.

Lord Bo Tien wants us to know how to place life in the correct perspectives so that life will be a haven of learning and a bedrock for us to cultivate peace amidst the ups and downs and the trials and tribulations, the joy and sorrow, and the to and fro.

We can be of different faiths and sects but what is important is that we are able to make life meaningful through whatever sect or faith. We can do so when we can place life in the correct perspectives. We need to find the peace within which sages say is divine and of God and saints.

This way we can  save ourselves and show to others how to save themselves from difficulties and ultimately to save the souls by capturing and developing the love and peace of the spirit in life. This is the mission we need to know. We need to make it a part of our lives. Then we would have arrived at the inner truth behind all the religions and sects that God and saints provide for us.

Tien that there is oneness of faiths and sects --- namely the inner truth that yields inner peace.

The mission of the lord saint is to emphasize the need to place life on love and peace based on the inner truth of life through whatever religion or sect we are in or even if none.

Let us recapitulate what He said:

"The Lord Saint reminds that His presence is not to initiate a new religion. Rather, His aim is to further spiritual insight in all beings and men (regardless of religious affiliation)."

This of course is based on the insight of the inner truth, the one truth that says that all are of God and though different will converge on that oneness of God --- the need to bring all to God, the need to save all in difficulties and to make them one again through the truth of oneness of God and saints.

"He wishes to extend to all beings and men the values of divine and universal love (loving kindness)." 

The pivot of that oneness in God and saints is loving kindness when we have inner peace which is in harmony and synchrony with the peace of God and saints --- that is the Holy Spirit or 'Leng' (Hokkien dialect word).

"He calls for all to develop this divine love as part of their nature and integrate it into their being."

The Holy Spirit has to do with divine love for all what we refer to as loving kindness that has no boundaries and limitations but based on wisdom and grasp of the inner truth behind all religions - that of need for inner peace and union with Divinity --- that of God and saints.

Cheers. Let us be part of the Mission to place life on inner truth perspectives of (a) inner peace and (b) the divine love that arises from inner peace.

The third temple of the lord saint at Singapore

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Living life well and setting out for next phase

No 295 of Living Life Series 1

Old premise of Bo Tien Temple
at Woodlands Singapore 
where Lord Bo Tien
delivered his messages

The emissary of Lord Bo Tien in 1976 said thus. "The Lord Saint is of view that a temple or spiritual organisation is like mother earth (soil). As the soil or temple is worked on with hoe and spade, the faithful members would toil and perspire. But as they continue to persevere to dig deeper and more extensively, water (of truth) would eventually be reached. By then, they would be tired and thirsty. Their reward would be the water (of truth) to quench their (spiritual) thirst."

The advice applies equally well to personal life as well. As the soil of life  is worked on with hoe and spade, the person would toil and perspire. But as he continues to persevere to dig deeper and more extensively, water would eventually be reached. The reward would be the water of life to quench his thirst.

This is how we should live our life. We must relish the chance to cultivate our life every day in all aspects, be it worldly, family or social life.

Enjoy the process even if this means toil and sweat. We will be healthily and productively occupied rather than idling away. But we must be at peace and be always comfortable with what we are doing. Otherwise we cannot last and carry on. That is the way to live life well and at the same time setting out for the next phase - perhaps sort of killing two birds with one stone.

The fruits of our efforts may not be obvious but the process itself must be nourishing and invigorating.  How can this be done?

We need to keep our mind and body engaged but not to extent that we do not last the mile. We need to moderate and do what we can do for the long stretch, and not huff and puff and give up after a short stint.

We must enjoy the process and to do so, we must be at peace with our efforts and have the balance between doing nothing and overdoing. To do nothing, means, the goals will stay as dreams. To do something, that is, to put efforts, we must have the resources, the health and  above all, we must be able to relish in the process. Otherwise, the sweat and toil will be painful and we will not be at peace.  

With the right mental positioning, we will enjoy the efforts even if there is toil and sweat. We will do within comfort zones and resources, and generate more resources in our pursuit of the goals.

This is how we can have peace in the process even before we reach the joy and peace of the goals. We must be both goal and process orientated. That is not exactly killing two birds with one stone but making the best of life. Live life meaningfully now and at same time reaching out to the next phase when we will have achieved the goal of the first phase.

To succeed, it is better that we be not alone. We need to have fellowship and be like a collection of candles rather than solitary candles. This is the advice of Lord Bo Tien in His 1975 message. To better ensure the candle flame of our life does not flicker but can grow and glow in luminance, we need the shelter of the heavenly saints to give us strength, be comfortable with and be at peace with the process of life. That is the way to go to last the mile. Then, we can transit from the current to the next phase. We would have live life well and set out to the next phase.

The principles elaborated are part of the inner peace way to life as embodied in the image of Lord Bo Tien with feet astride and balancing the two polarities of giving up and overdoing, of doing nothing and trying to do everything. The peaceful approach steers clear of the two extremes and generates more peace and understanding of life as we live life itself. Lord Bo Tien has stressed that the doctrine is in the image and the image is the doctrine.

Lord Bo Tien the Messenger of God Almighty
The doctrine is in the image and the image is the doctrine.
The doctrine too is our life and our life is the doctrine
Life is the living gospel

This same modus operandi brings to the individual fulfilment in the process or path in life as well as the meeting the ends of life, both spiritual and worldly. 

When applied to spiritual organisation the same outcomes apply as for the individual. The doctrine that spells out success in a temple and success and fulfilment in an individual's life are the same. This is the perspective of the inner truth behind life that all religions try to bring to us in their respective approaches.

This has to do with living life well and setting out for the next phase. Give this some thought time and time again and you will know better each time.

The truth in life is often simple but at times may be too profound for us to fathom when we are caught up with the yin and yang tangles and complexities of life. No wonder the late Bro Philip who was no saint in his lifetime but yet saintly enough to tell us thus:

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

We must be like the lotus serene and majestic amidst the swirl and mud of the pond of life. That way be are boon to self and to others in mud of life so that they too can be lotuses themselves so as to live well and set out for next change or phase with ease and peace.

Do live life well  here and now.  This is not only best for now but will also set us out for next phase. Do however remember not to end up with nothing (running away) or try to have everything. That is simple advice isn't it ? - but insightful as well. Such is the way of saints. Ji Gong the Living Buddha is adept in the giving of simple but often insightful advice

Ji Gong the Living Buddha

We need to live life well and to do so, we need the shelter of the heavenly saints so that the candle flame of our life will grow and glow.

Let us pray to all heavenly saints

"To all heavenly saints, I greatly adore. I believe in your existence and thy glory is in the thoughts of men. I seek for thy protection and guidance so as to live better for the time to come."

The concrete 3rd temple premise of Bo Tien Temple is  a marvel to behold

Surely we can

No 294 of Living Life Series 1

In 1976 message the emissary of Lord Bo Tien said thus.

"The Lord Saint shares and reiterates that not all who though blessed enough to listen to doctrine would necessarily benefit and turn good. There is no certainty and predictability of outcome."

"There is invariably individual choice, effort and decision. Men are not perfect, do have free will to choose, do have weak moments and can make mistakes. They may fall and falter despite the best divine intention, repeated efforts and intervention."

"But His grace is heartened that there will still be those who can understand and who will turn good. They will be rewarded. Heaven will persist time and again to reach out to those who may falter. They will not be left behind and be left on the side line. This is the eternal and infinite love and compassion by divine Heaven for all beings."

Lord Bo Tien

There is much meaning to what the lord saint said. The ones who appear to be near to Heaven may well end up far from Heaven. But even if they are disappointment to God and saints, divinity will not forsake them but they will of course bear the consequences of their own actions.

They may dig their own graves but it is sad that they may cause much discomfort to others and shake the confidence of others in the works of the heavenly saints.

Lord Bo Tien has  advised us to be mindful and to learn  from life, not only from our own lives but from the lives of others as well.

There is much to be unhappy about when the leaders amongst men in spiritual organisations end up far from good examples.

This is to be expected when men adore men as though they are of God and saints. Worship God and saints but not men.

Be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of men and let us learn from the two sides of men - the yin and the yang. Then we will come out wiser and more steady and calm amidst the dark and bright sides of life.

Do not be disheartened even if they do not seem to turn over to a new leaf.  Even if they do not seem to do so, there will still be those who having been blessed with association with divinity will eventually right themselves even though they may falter ever so often.

Don't forget what Lord Bo Tien said that we should be mindful to give others the chance. There may be many who go down the path of darkness even though given the eminence to be torches amongst men.

There will be those who can turn around and that alone is good reason for the saints not to lose hope and to extend their benevolence to them.

We too should do likewise and be tolerant and benevolent though we must be prudent not to nurture the wrong but not to pass judgement either. Heaven can wait and why can't we?

The lesson to learn is that to err is human and to forgive is divine.

Man always will have weak moments but that is no excuse but that too should energise us to be more mindful and to be more good even if there be wrong ever so often. 

There should be no guilt and men should not harbour that saints will forsake them and condemn them just because they still have human weakness from time to time.

It is important not to moan and groan when one falls but to pick oneself up again and again. That is the way to go.

Even if the candle flame of one's life flickers and blows out ever so often, do light it up again and seek for the guidance and shelter of the saints.

Even if one has soiled oneself, this does not mean one is not worthy.  All both the one who soils his life and others who are on-lookers  can learn and learn we must.

That is why the story of the prodigal son in the Bible is a good reminder that we will always be worthy of God and saints even if we think we do not deserve their love and blessings.

The issue is can we learn and make good. Surely we can and God and saints believe we can even if we are in the pits of hell, be it on earth or in the deepest level of Hell. They will always be there for us.

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A revisit of the 1976 message of Lord Bo Tien

No 293 of Living Life Series 1

The emissary of the Lord Saint descended through the late Snr Bro Philip on the 13th day of the 9th lunar month of 1976.

Lord Bo Tien

"The Lord Saint is heartened to note that those present are inclusive of both adherents and non-believers. What is most noteworthy is that all, be they the adherents, non-believers or otherwise, are capable of performing good and bad deeds. The good that were done could even be considered synonymous with and of similar dimensions as the Saint' s respect for and service to Heaven and God Almighty."

"The Saint reiterates that a temple or spiritual organisation be solid like the concrete pillar. The pillar is made up of many elements. Members of the organisation are like the elements of the pillar. If they have the oneness of heart and commitment and if they are equipped with the Doctrine of Truth, they should not fear where the pillar be moved or where it is sited. It is important that they should remain solid as a concrete pillar and must not be fragmented. A spiritual organisation could exist anywhere and even in the open without a building if members are united, equipped and fortified by the Doctrine."

"The Lord Saint is of view that a temple or spiritual organisation is like mother earth (soil). As the soil or temple is worked on with hoe and spade, the faithful members would toil and perspire. But as they continue to persevere to dig deeper and more extensively, water (of truth) would eventually be reached. By then, they would be tired and thirsty. Their reward would be the water (of truth) to quench their (spiritual) thirst ."

"The Lord Saint reminds that His presence is not to initiate a new religion. Rather, His aim is to further spiritual insight in all beings and men (regardless of religious affiliation). He wishes to extend to all beings and men the values of divine and universal love (loving kindness). He calls for all to develop this divine love as part of their nature and integrate it into their being . This is because a spiritually inspired organisation or person has to be spiritually orientated based on the approach of the enlightened ones (oeg the Buddhas and pure ones). Many have misconstrued practices and veered from that of the spiritual way of enlightened and pure ones. His mission is to put things right and to enable better spiritual understanding, insight and practice (in whatever religion, sect, school of practices and spiritual station they may be). His intention is simply and primarily targeted for all to understand better about life and religion."

"His lordship is aware that in a spiritual organisation or group, there will be those embarked on and involved in certain spiritual practices. These practices may harbour on and harness the invisible and supernatural existing alongside the human world. There are bound to be misperceptions and issues arising from the practices. Nevertheless, they do open up avenues to facilitate understanding of heaven and earth. This should foster insight and add better clarity to enable understanding of life, its truth and nature more completely."

"The Lord Saint shares and reiterates that not all who though blessed enough to listen to doctrine would necessarily benefit and turn good. There is no certainty and predictability of outcome. There is invariably individual choice, effort and decision. Men are not perfect, do have free will to choose, do have weak moments and can make mistakes. They may fall and falter despite the best divine intention, repeated efforts and intervention. But His grace is heartened that there will still be those who can understand and who will turn good. They will be rewarded. Heaven will persist time and again to reach out to those who may falter. They will not be left behind and be left on the side line. This is the eternal and infinite love and compassion by divine Heaven for all beings."


(Explanatory notes by inner truth netizen: Thus there are not just one religion but many religions and many sects in any one religion. For every sect, there are many schools. This is so that Heaven can reach out to and meet the diverse needs of all the beings in all corners of the universe of planes and dimensions of life. No two individuals are alike. One size fits all solution will never ever work. Even a few sizes will not be adequate to meet needs. Heaven knows. Men usually may not know. Heaven or Divinity never give up even if men and beings do so once too often. Man is man and saint is saint. The way of man is not that of God and saints. Never see the man in God and saints, and the God and saints in man. Thank God and Heaven. Man is not God or saint, and God and saints are not men ....... though many may become saints in time to come and be no longer men. Cheers and rejoice in the love of Divinity)


Message re-phrased and re-scoped in English for relevancy for all. The above transcript a revised version in English hopes to amplify more effectively the message delivered in Hokkien in 1976 through the late Senior Bro Philip and is done with encouragement of fellow old time brethren.

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The boss of our life

No 292 of Living Life Series 1

The boss in our life must be some one who can shelter us and yet let us live our own life. He must be able to pick us up when we fall and cheer us up when we are down. Who is such a person?

Divinity or God must be that boss. But how do we relate to Him.

Lord Bo Tien, a heavenly saint of Divinity has taught us the universal prayer which tells us clearly that heaven should be the boss of our life

"To all heavenly saints I greatly adore. I believe in your existence and thy glory is in the thoughts of men. I seek for thy protection and guidance so as to live better for the time to come." 

Issues in life are many and plentiful. On our own we can help ourselves only that much but when sheltered by heavenly saints, we can do more.

By ourselves we can have that much of peace but with the umbrella of saints, we can have more. 

Saints multiply our blessings and even if there be problems, we can pray to the saints. Those who worship the saints the saints do know. Those who seek them out the saints will be with them. 

Remember that the ways of men are different from the ways of saints.

Saints help those who help themselves by complementing the efforts of men, by opening up options for men and by showing to men that there is more to life than men may think they must have or do.

Saints show us that in every limitation or hardship, there is hope.

Every dark cloud has a silver lightning.

Every storm will end up with calm sea. 

Drought cannot be forever. "When we worked the ground of life, we will soon reach the fountain of the water of life." Lord Bo Tien said.

The saints shelter us and lift up our spirit when we are faced by the scorching sun of life - by the problems of life. But it is matter of time, we will reach the fountain of  life to cherish and quench our thirst. This did Lord Bo Tien remind us.

The man who plants his life in divine principles or ground of life will be able to flourish like the tree at the fringe of plantation even when drought withers all the trees in the plantation.

Why? That tree is planted in ground with sub-terrain water or the divine fountain of life - the inner truth that spells out the way to overcome difficulties and save our souls.

He may not flourish in abundance but he will not wither either. But, he will be steady and have peace and live always - neither suffering from wants nor suffering from over indulgence.

God through saints can help us in issues of life by blessing us and sheltering us. Even if there be obstacles, big issues will be small issues even if they cannot be no issue. Small issues be no issues

Let divinity be the boss of our life but we must do the work of life and not leave it to the boss to do the work. Divinity our boss through saints like Lord Bo Tien helps those who helps themselves.

More important is for us to go the extra mile and contributing our part to do His good works. We must believe in the mission of God through saints. What is this mission?

We need to help others to overcome difficulties by helping them though they too must be taught and given the tools to help themselves. This is the beginning to the end of saving souls. This is the Mission of Heaven which all religions work towards in their own differing but complementary ways.

Do make it a point to let God through heavenly saints be the boss of our life.

For us at Bo Tien Temple, God is the boss of our life through Lord Bo Tien. We need to take part in His good works that is the Mission to save souls without starting a new religion but through any religion or in secular society.

But remember that the mission is that of Heaven and we take part in the work of the saints so that we will be able to share the joy and peace with God and saints. This joy and peace would be immensely more than if the mission is only the mission of men. So that's why Lord Bo Tien gives us the chance to be a wee bit of the Mission of Heaven. We should never degenerate and turn it into a mission of man.

Lord Bo Tien

 

Lord Bo Tien as the boss counts on us and to be His good executive assistants, we need to cultivate the three spiritual aspects of the Way or Tao. There are three aspects to the way to save souls not only our own but others as well. This is referred to as 'Tou-li'

Firstly, we need to meditate and be mindful on need for as much inner peace as possible amidst the ups and downs in life.

Secondly, we need learn the spiritual ways to make good in life - both mundane and supramundane. The principles that bring spiritual rewards if applied to mundane life will bring worldly comforts but not excess. With comfortable mundane life, we will be better poised for spiritual progress and to channel say through practice of divine spiritual art the blessings of the leng - Holy Spirit in Chinese Hokkien. But any excess or overindulgence in worldly life will hinder spiritual progress. We need to cultivate the way to gain mastery of divine or inner peace unaffected and yet with the yin and yang of life. We learn also to tap into the infinite peace of the leng

Thirdly, let us pray to the heavenly saints and take part in their Heavenly Mission to help those in difficulties and save the myriad souls and beings.

For us at Bo Tien Temple, the patron saint Lord Bo Tien takes the driver seat. He is the boss of our life. We are passengers and do what each of us can in our own small way in the Mission to help those in difficulties.

Every one in sentient sphere has difficulties in one way or other. Difference is only in type and magnitude.  We are blessed to be at least passengers of the Mission of Heaven to save souls. We should try to be more than passengers but not take over the driver seat.

The Mission is the  Mission of Heaven and will always be that way. Never should it be usurped to be the mission of men. So long as it is the Mission of Heaven, there will be more pleasantness and less of human issues.

Otherwise with men trying to be the boss,  it  can turn wayward and devolve to be the mission of men as the issues of men tend to be many and plentiful to the extent that we may see terrorism, bigotry, struggles and wars within and amongst nations.

When men think they know better and  be intolerant of the differing ways of other religious beliefs, things can turn ugly and they end up far from spiritual and may even shake the often finite and fragile peace we have on earth.

Let us pray therefore in earnest that men must let Heaven be the boss and not let men be bossy to other men. Sages and the wise amongst men are few and finite but sages and wise in Heaven are that much more. Associate with the holy, divine and wise, and let heavenly saints be boss to be overseers of our lives.

"To all heavenly saints I greatly adore. I believe in your existence and thy glory is in the thoughts of men. I seek for thy protection and guidance so as to live better for the time to come." 

Let Heaven be the boss of our lives

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Do live with the gods and saints

No 291 of Living life Series 1

Whoever says we cannot be with the gods? We can do so if we know how. To begin with, we must want to be like the gods and that is the starting point. To prevent confusion, let us use the term saints in place of gods for many prefer to reserve the word 'god' to God Almighty, the Jade Emperor.

We must be gods or saints amongst men. We need to be at peace and grow the peace so that we can love ourselves and treasure life.

This starts with our own life.

We must love ourselves for being different from the rest. We must accept that we cannot be the same or have that which others have or experience. Even if we have the same, that which we have in common with another will not be the same as the impact and values will differ. We  may have the same father, but the impact of the father for the different children will differ.

We must have self worth. We must cherish what we have and not lament what we could not have. No two are born equal and the genes differ from person to person.

We must be alive to life. We must be energised by the thought that life is what we can make out of it.

With self love, self worth and being alive to life, we can create our own world within the context of our own life. 

We must be our own candle flame to shine on life, especially our own and learn from life. Every up and down, every gain or loss and every whim and fancy evokes mental experiences both pleasant and unpleasant. We make each moment and event a blessing by learning from the many lessons in life. We turn a woe into a blessing by being stronger and wiser from the experience. We learn from life and life is the living gospel. This did Lord Bo Tien said.

Lord Bo Tien

 

We must have that indomitable spirit. We must make our life a torch to light up our life as mentioned by Lord Bo Tien in His message in 1975. But we must realise that we are never alone.

When we love, cherish and be alive to life, we create boundless energy that are magnetic and create loving ambience which attracts not only like minded men but also the gods or saints for we are in a way a god or saint in our own mortal way. We kindle the love of life in fellow beings and those who scorn life will either leave us or be changed by us and be saved.

Lord Bo Tien said further that other lights will be attracted to us.  A collection of candle flames or torches is better than the lone torch or flame.

If one spirited individual can lift up the spirit of life not only for himself but also others, what more can many spirited individuals do. Surely, there will be a heavenly enclave of sorts . Men can have heaven on earth in this way, here now and not wait for the afterlife.

The saints or gods above are attracted to those who try to light up their life, and will come to shelter them more so if they seek for their divine shelter. A sheltered flame grows and glows ever brighter and will be less likely to flicker in the wind of life.

Better still is for us to not only seek divine shelter when faced with difficulties but also to associate not only with wise and spirited men. In that respect, why not associate with the gods and saints above! We must live and walk with gods and saints even though we are mere mortal. That way we stand tall, model after the gods and saints and try to be good and make good with what we can have. We can make life tick and work.

Do not associate with the unwise who moan and groan, who grumble and rumble, who curse and swear, who have thoughts of anger and hatred for you may be affected and be sunk into the depths of hell on earth.

Associate with the wise.  Do live in a suitable locality and have a suitable job. That way we will have blessings in life. So said the Lord Buddha in the Mangala Sutra first stanza.

Associating with the wise can be at different levels. Why not associate with the sages, the holy ones and the gods and saints? That would be the best collection of candle flames. Obviously, this will be keeping with what Lord  Bo Tien said in 1975. That would be better for sure.

Do live with the gods and saints not only amongst men but also with the gods and saints above. Do remember and recite the universal prayer.

"To all heavenly saints I greatly adore. I believe in your existence and thy glory is in the thoughts of men. I seek for thy protection and guidance so as to live better for the time to come." 

There is need for men to be with the saints, and the saints to be with men.

To be with the saints, men must do their small part to further the good work the saints set out to do which is to help those in difficulties so as to eventually save their souls. Go to their temples to take part in their divine work amongst men.

For the saints to be with men, men must invite saints into their homes and into their lives.

Let men invite saints into their homes. Let the homes of men be filled with the presence of gods and saints.

Let men too invite saints into their life beyond home. This is the way to live with the gods and saints. 

The sages of old did say in ancient China,  

"A home must host the pantheon of gods and saints. Such home is a blessed home. 

Merits and blessings will be more than what men can have by virtue of their capabilities and efforts. 

Life will be smoother with less problems and obstacles. There will be more health, calm, peace, progress and contentment with less suffering, clinging, strive, trials, misfortune and tribulations as all these matter no more or less to the men who live with the gods and saints. Even death is no issue or at least less of an issue. Though there is element of fate, fate matters less and perhaps no more.

Lord Bo Tien

In short, as reiterated by patron saint of Bo Tien Temple, Lord Bo Tien, if there be problems, big issues will at least become small issues  even if they cannot be no issue. Small issues will be no issues. "

Do live with the gods and saints.

In fact, there is the western biblical saying by Lord Jesus that "man shall not be saved by good works alone but by the grace of God (and his saints) "

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Feeding the multitudes may seem to be the mission apparent but is for real

No 290 of Living Life Series 1 

--- the views expressed are personal to the writer

Bo Tien Temple

The Mission objective is to save souls and those in difficulties. True to this goal, the most important is to ensure that people can better make ends meet and have at least two square meals a day.

The first thirteen years of the Mission saw the introduction of the principles of inner truth behind all religions and that all religions are of the same Divinity and that souls must be saved.

Thereafter, the temple of the lord saint levelled off with more actions of charity with mutual help and care being spearheaded to help the needy amongst the populace in Singapore.

This has grown by leaps and bounds and appears to be out of proportion to the spiritual drives. But what that matter most are not words but actions to put across the essence of saving souls.

Beings of flesh and blood cannot have meaningful sustenance if they cannot make ends meet and fill their stomach, let alone go for other goals and aspirations.

Even Lord Buddha as Prince Siddhartha who left his palace to be ascetic had to give up asceticism and fill his stomach before He could be enlightened under the Bodhi Tree.

Bo Tien Temple has for decades after the first decade focused on quiet community outreach and cooperation to bring food provisions to the table of many hundreds and thousands of needy in Singapore.

This is the mission outreach that is beyond words and which will not be faulted by others even those who are non-believers of the mission set into motion by Lord Bo Tien.

This approach to feed the multitudes will always be universal and all will agree to this, irrespective of their religious background or even if none

The later third and fourth generations of volunteers, devotees and lay leaders are convinced of the social cause. They know not at first hand the messages of the lord saint but they do know at first hand the value of feeding the multitudes and are heartened that this can be effective by a Chinese temple like Bo Tien Temple.

They come in droves and grow in number. They congregate at the temple faithfully two to three times per week to do the good works. This brethren is the true mission. Action speaks louder than words to show the loving kindness of divinity effected by men with faith in the lord saints, of whom Lord Bo Tien is but one.

Many may wonder how such great works can come from a temple and what motivates the great work. This has led many to wonder what is the spiritual impetus behind and who is Lord Bo Tien?  What He stands for? How is it that people can flock to support the mission to save souls by taking part in initiatives that contribute to the filling of the stomach of the needy? What are the spiritual principles that are able to fuel such great works?

Those involved simply flock to join in the good works and the numbers continue to grow. The new to the temple are well entrenched in the mission to save souls via the mission to feed the multitudes.

For many, there are no spoken words by the lord saint (other than those in temple archives) but  but the unspoken words of the lord saint were and are translated into actions of trying level best to help the needy in some way to have food and provisions

This is meaningful and cuts across religious, sectarian, cultural, racial and national boundaries. All irrespective of background benefit.  

Even those who are not needy have free vegetarian meals on new and full moon days in addition to festive occasions.

This is doctrine in event language and actions. This spells out in actions the divine message that all religions are working towards the will of God and divinity which is to save beings in difficulties.

Men may differ in religious approaches but when reduced to the basic, all are the same - all can have difficulties and there is need to save beings in difficulties.  For men to be able to overcome difficulties, they must have basic provisions.

Whilst many can do so most of the time, some could not do so most of the time. The saints do want to help those even in Hell, be it hell on earth or the Hell religions refer to.

Feeding the multitudes may seem to be the mission apparent but is for real.  The mission to feed the multitudes has captured the hearts of many without the lord saint Lord Bo Tien uttering a single word after the first thirteen years, that is after 1984.

He teaches us through our day-to-day life and life is the living gospel. By involving men in feeding the multitudes, the temple of the lord saint is able to emplace men on the first and most important step to save those in difficulties and to save souls.

From then on, men must learn to understand life and the gospel of life that is personal to every man.

There is no need for the lord saint to appoint a stand-in amongst men. Man is man and saint is saint.

For those won over by the saint and entrenched in the mission to feed the multitudes, they will soon ultimately want to know more.

They need only to look at life and they will know better. Even the Living Life Series  is only an aid - a means to the end. Life is the living gospel and feeding the multitudes is the beginning to the end of saving souls --- the Mission of Heaven.

Feeding the multitudes may seem to be the mission apparent but is for real. No one can say that helping those in difficulties is not the one universal objective or mission behind all religions and sects. This is the manifestation of inner truth behind and underlying all religions.

There is much to be done and the problem and issues of beings are many and plentiful. Divinity cannot depend on only one or a few ways and sects to reach out and extend the helping hand.

The multitude of sects and schools serve as the voice of divinity to extend the divine outreach to all corners of existence. There is oneness of world religions. There is one truth behind many approaches, hence inner truth. This is simple yet difficult to perceive.

Diversity effects outreach for good of many. Faiths and sects are pillars of Divinity. Differences enrich, add color, liveliness and spirit. Differences are not divisive but complementary. This elaboration summarises the inner truth behind religions in a nutshell

Only men with bigoted tendency politicise and polarise spiritualism. God and saints are above the weakness and folly of men. All they want is to save souls and help those in difficulties. But men too must help themselves and fellow men. God and saints will help those who help themselves.

The urn of God Almighty is symbolic of the Mission

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The lord saint is like the vast ocean - 2011 perspective

No 289 of Living Life Series 1

Many years after 1984, a representative of Lord Bo Tien reflected. "The excuses and issues of humans are common and plentiful even amongst those in spiritual fold. This is to be expected of human imperfection. The lord saint is like vast ocean. No amount of human yin yang mud can make an impact on the the ocean. This is true too of the Mission He rolls out for Heaven." 

The lord had fortold that one day some may doubt on His existence. This is due to human imperfections and doubts.

This was mentioned in the first thirteen years of His mission on earth - the mission to spread the inner truth that unites and underlies all religions and sects.

Doubts are no SINS as they do not hurt divinity. In reality, divinity, God and saints are not hurt or angry with the wrongs of men as they are pure and divine. Men only wrong themselves or others.

Doubts can be healthy and spur many to know more but doubts may at times sink many and pollute those who are weak in spirit and understanding with the mud of greed, ill-directed ego, ill-will, ignorance and derision.

That is why time and time again He reminds us that prophets and saints embody the truth of divinity, the truth that there is peace through the mastery of the balance of the yin and yang of life, the dualistic contingencies and phenomena of say fame and ill-fame, gain and loss, birth and death, rising and ebbing, to and fro, and all that are cyclical like the storm and the calm, floods and droughts.

This is depicted by the image of the lord saint with feet balancing the polarities and having peace and steady state amidst the cyclical phenomena of life as depicted by his seated posture and left hand in salutation to bid us to be steady and steadfast in pursuit of divine peace.

His right hand holds on to the sceptre - the mission of the Inner Truth which provides the wisdom and impetus to cultivate the divine peace. This divine peace is the inner peace that comes from the core of our spirit when it is purified.

He is seated on the dragon chair that depicts the Holy Spirit. He is figuratively speaking at one leg of the dragon, if the Holy Spirit is the divine dragon or 'leng' (Chinese Hokkien word) of God or Divinity.

The other saints provide the rest of the Holy Spirit with God being the head of the  Holy Spirit dragon - that is, heading the Holy Spirit of love and benevolence for all beings giving each a promise of eventual enlightenment at each being's own time and target. Every being embarks on his own life and way through not one life but through more than one life time.

The Holy Spirit is God and any saint like Lord Bo Tien is the 'son' of God. Thus we have the Divine Holy Trinity of God, the Holy Spirit and the Saints

Lord Bo Tien's divine love thus forms part of the Holy Spirit  that permeates to all corners and land like the vast ocean. This the lord doth say.

The ocean of purity of divine love will cleanse and overcome all the ignorance and erstwhile ways --- the thoughts, spoken words and deeds of not just all human beings, but all the beings in all planes or dimensions.

The lord often told us that those who are near to Him may well be the ones who try to undo His divine work. That will not be an issue for His love and tolerance is vast like the great ocean and He will right the wrong and bring all to His fold.

Then there will be doubts no more and they will be near to truth, God and saints. The ocean can reach out to all lands and continents be they far or near. "The far can be near and the near can be far." Lord Bo Tien said. 

There is no chosen or preferred ones. All are near and dear to Him even though the issues and concerns of men are many and plentiful. Fear not and do go to Him in your moments of need for He is like the vast ocean to us.

His benevolence like all heavenly saints is vast like the ocean and this applies to even the wrong doers. Open yourself to Him and harbor no fear or guilt for your shortcomings but do learn and move on. Like the vast ocean, He will back you up and  provide you with ocean of love, blessings and merits. Lord Bo Tien does not claim to be the only one who can do so but in fact He taught us to pray to all heavenly saints.

"To all heavenly saints, I greatly adore. I believe in your existence and thy glory is in the thought of men. I seek for thy protection and guidance so as to live better for the time to come."

Posat Ji Gong is one of such saints and stands out for His benevolence for wrong doers.

Ksitigarbha Buddha reaches down to Hell to enlighten and save souls. People are not condemned to hell one earth or hell in Hell but they are there to learn and to upgrade.

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