The Ji Gong I know

No 375 of Living Life Series 1

Often man thinks that for a heavenly saint to help beings like man with his many issues and problems, he must be made known as a saint, deity or a buddha. This is not necessary so but man expects that and wants to be awed by the majesty and heavenly radiance of the heavenly ones. In fact a good man himself can if he wants to be of great help to others even if he is no saint and history has no shortage of examples of such men.

Ji Gong was such a man and in his lifetime as man, he was sent out of the monastery as he could not keep to the norms and rules of man for monastic life. He continued his life as beggar and wanderer outside the temple he was sent out off. He did not even had the robes of a monk but continued in his own way the life of a monk wearing patchy beggar's clothes which came to be known as his holy robes.

Because he was pure and good at heart though he might had given the impression of someone who was eccentric, eating meat and drinking wine, frolicking with children and monkeys alike, he became better than lot of monks in monasteries.

His ability to solve problems and issues of men spread far and wide and he became an institution based on his own merits. His way or solution for those he helped is often simple and down to earth, often nothing miraculous or contradictory though history accredited him with many miracles.

Such miracles did happen but the greatest miracle was and is that he was able to help others through often simple and down to earth ways. No one today would doubt he is a saint and depending on where you come from, he is well accepted as a deity, buddha or a saint of God Almighty.

His axiom that what goes through the gut is not as important as that goes through the heart. Sincerity and modesty count more than heavenly majesty and divine might. His divine level is with the buddhas and the gods but he dons a tethered patchy robe, old worn out cloth shoes and a cloth hat and holds a tethered straw fan and  carries a gourd. He has a rosary of 108 beads with him and this is usually made of wood.

 

 

 

 

 

His miracle which he repeats over and over again is that he helps the many earthly issues of man which may be considered not important or perhaps frivolous. He does so in very simple and down to earth ways. He has no qualms in helping even the criminals and those who did wrong so long as they could after his help change to be good and better. That is the miracle of Ji Gong. No wonder some say that the miracle of Ji Gong is no miracle but yet truly more than any of the miracles in the history of man at least in China, if not the world.

You don't have to be a Chinese, a Buddhist or a Taoist to deserve his blessing and help. You don't have to be his follower and you don't even need to be a human being to deserve his help. He treats you as his equal and in any place of worship, his image is often at the floor or not far from the floor. His image or shrine need not be in a temple, house or shop and can be in the open, under a tree and what you can have for him.

This is the Ji Gong I know. He cannot be confined, not even to his seat in Heaven with God and the Buddhas. He is a free spirit and he often prefers the floor to be with spirits, men and all beings. The sky or heaven is his roof. The whole wide dispensation and not just the world of man is his temple. This dear readers is the Ji Gong I know.

Namo omitofo. 

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**