To be in Heaven is a separate issue from sainthood. What matters is to be a saint. What is necessary for many is to be in Heaven so that it is possible to cultivate sainthood.
Whilst many believe in being assured of Heaven in the afterlife, many do not think further than that. All religions promise Heaven as the spiritual goal. Indeed for the vast majority, this is enough. This would be what we should want.
But if we probe further, many religions do stress that this is not enough. We can be in Heaven mainly by the grace of God and good deeds alone may not be enough.
Amitabha Pure Land school even said that we focus on recital of Omitofo. By doing so repeatedly say for ten times or more, by the power of the vast merits of Amitabha Buddha, we can be blessed by him in two ways.
We will be blessed in this earthly life with issues becoming no issues or less issues even if they cannot be no issue. Also, without doubt in the afterlife, we will be delivered to The Western Paradise which is the Pure Land.
But then sainthood is another matter. Many wait till they are in Pure Land to cultivate sainthood.
The world or universe we are in is ever in flux, ever changing with as many ups as there are downs. These sages of old in China refer to this as cyclical yang and yin. Both are needed for life but one is antagonistic to the other but yet complementary.
The way in life is to cultivate the complementary aspect and this requires one to be atop and balance the yin and yang. The attempt to cultivate is already more meritorious than good deeds for good deeds are often due to need to assuage the self or ego.
Cultivation of Tao, the balancing of yin and yang is beyond ego and also not denying self identity. It is neither ego-centric nor self denial. It is as depicted in the image of Lord Bo Tien with feet atop the elements.
Lord Bo Tien |
Tao will produce peace that is beyond the ups and downs - the trials and tribulations in life. Tao is the victory over yin and yang. Tao must begin now and not wait till kingdom come. We do not wait till we are in Heaven or Pure Land to harness the peace from Tao. We do so right now.
Tao puts us on the path of sainthood. Tao allows us to experience the peace of sainthood even long before we arrive at sainthood.
Without sainthood, we will have to be reborn again and again. There is no guarantee that we be in Heaven forever. Nothing not even life in Heaven is forever safe for sainthood.
Sainthood is achievable in any birth in any dimension, be it in Heaven, Hell or Earth. Even if we have yet to arrive, the cultivation of Tao is so divine and merit generating that we are likely to be in Heaven in the afterlife.
But for certain aspects of Tao, it may be necessary to be on Earth or even in rare times to be in Hell to master those aspects. Earth or life as man is the best place for Tao but it is also the place where men may fail in Tao. Most sages have to be born as man before they can be what they are.