God is everywhere in us and in the world we are in. But sad to say we are separated from God by our not being at peace with life. We are not at peace because of the way we handle the yin and yang around us and in us.
We seek the peace by going to a temple or church only to find that in such a place, men rather than God hold sway. We have to contend with the wishes of men at the helm before we can even be any where near God, not because God is not there but because we are made to think that we have to contend with men before we can reach God. We are separated from God by men.
Taoist elders teach us that we are intertwined not only by the yin and yang around us but by the yin and yang stirred up by the yin and yang of men at the helm at a church or temple.
This is as though we are held to ransom by these men. But it is not so but that we are in the thick and thin of the ups and downs of life not only our own but the lives of men at church or temple.
That is why Lao Tse had to leave the the post of keeper of palace archives to get out of the city to the wilderness. He could then be with nature. In nature, there is less pollution by the many issues and problems of men. There will be less human traffic and the men would lead simple lives, being more in tune with nature and they were less inclined to stir up and disturbed the yin and yang.
Lao Tse riding into nature on a buffalo to lead simple and gainful life |
According to Lao Tse, God is Tao and Tao is God. It is the same as saying God is the Word and the Word is God. Tao refers to God not just a person but also as a force and energy that is part of everything. Tao is only thrown into disarray by human actions and reactions. Lao Tse exhorts man to find his balance of yin and yang in him and in the world he is in.
From the Tao Te Ching book attributed to Lao Tse as the first author, a popular concept is expounded. This is the concept of Yin and Yang which is the very essence of true balance in nature. Examples of Yin and Yang are gain and loss, good and evil, honor and dishonor, fire and water, east and west, even and odd numbers as well as male and female.
We can be like Lao Tse. But of course we cannot wander away on a buffalo to the vast green of forest and mountains. We can live wisely by living a simple and gainful life, taking care neither to be greedily attached to the world of men and to men nor to escape from the world of men.
We can be like Lao Tse. But of course we cannot wander away on a buffalo to the vast green of forest and mountains. We can live wisely by living a simple and gainful life, taking care neither to be greedily attached to the world of men and to men nor to escape from the world of men.
We can live a simple and fruitful life that is that more balanced and wholesome. Then we can be more calm and more at peace to be able to think and to experience God and saints. Then we will be with God and saints. God and saints are always everywhere but if we are distracted and over immersed in issues of life, we see them not even if they are in front of us.
The peace of life when we can be one with God can be achieved anywhere and we need not go to a temple or church. We need not seek the approval of other men. The mistake of many is that they somehow think that they have to get the nod and approval of the pastor or clergy before they can be with God.
Thus they are separated from God and saints by men. In Tao language, they are separated by yin yang storms from God and saints. In this respect, religions often make God and saints so remote. This is not the wish or making of God and saints but the making of men. Religions so often make God remote though God is omnipresent.
Lord Bo Tien stressed on yin yang balance to have peace as depicted by his feet atop the yin yang elements in his seated pose image. He reminded us that man is man and saint is saint. Do not see man as saint and saint as man. Know who is God and saint and who is man. See the inner truth in all religions and not the dogmas and complexities of evolved religions that often separate men from God and saints.