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The Living Life Series is dedicated to Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨). The doctrine is in His image. The image is the doctrine. He who sees, understands and effects the doctrine sees and knows Him. He who does not see, know and effect the doctrine sees not and knows not the saint even if the saint or His image is beside him. The far may be near and the near may be far. Let the doctrine and the saint be part of our life. The lord saint in your life can be any heavenly saint of any religion, sect or school. The doctrine of truth is behind all and this is the Inner Truth that leads all (regardless of their religious affiliation or even if none) to inner peace and heaven on earth here and now and not just in the after life. The ideal worship and devotion is to know and effect the doctrine of God and the saints. The best gospel is the gospel of life. We learn from our life and the lives of others. The true temple is the world we live in. The sky is the roof of the temple and religions and sects are the pillars of the temple. All under Heaven are in the temple. Needless to say that all the saints we know are in this temple. Ji Gong Posat too is no exception. The whole wide world and web is the temple and must be regarded as a sacred place --- a temple for living and learning. It is more important that everyone that counts plays a role in this universal temple if due focus is to be given to the Mission of Heaven. Men must not be distracted by the agenda of men and end up serving the mission of man. That would be a far cry from the Mission of Heaven. We worship God and saints, not man however good that man may be. There should be no hero worshiping or idolizing of man whether he is a charismatic pastor, priest, monk, medium or lay leader. We don't even idol worship the image of any saint but reflect on what the image stands for. - the doctrine in the image. Omitofo 阿弥陀佛!.

Saturday, June 21, 2014

Better but yet no different from days of old

No 579 of Living Life Series 1

What matters for all religions is the problems of men faced by men due to their lack of ability to handle life. This applies to all and even for those lucky ones who are much better off in worldly blessings. 

Whatever lives they lead and whatever the blessings they have in worldly terms, they all face the inevitable problems of birth, disease, ageing and death. 

Many may well turn to religion but in religion they may find solace and the hope that the next life is better but what about the here and now? 

Many even accept the carrot that if they switch religion and allegiance, they will be assured of paradise. They are indeed given such great hopes and this is good as many would vouch that this is so.

But the paradise may be there albeit in the form of fellowship and moral support and the usual assurance that if there is no paradise now, there will be the paradise after death. This they say is not a dream but a reality which they will know for sure only after death. 

Gotama was born as Prince Siddhartha and a crown prince at that. But he sensed that all was not as perfect in life as his father the King had made out. He saw outside the palace the very problems of birth, disease, old age and death. Then he left to be religious and learnt form the religions of the day if indeed they could be called religions then. 

He learnt all he could learn but what he wanted to have was the reassurance of good answers to the problems of life but all he had were the promises and attainments but no hard solutions to the problems of life till he decided to go it alone. 

Gotama Buddha under The Bodhi Tree

The rest we all knew when he sat under the Bodhi Tree and when he parted ways with the religions of the day to be enlightened. The religions of today are manned by men far less enlightened but no less devoted like in the days of old. They peddle the same promises of solutions but they will come to us only when we die and be in the afterlife. 

Much had changed from the days of Siddharta but at the same time nothing seems to have changed as problems there will be and men are still given the promises of paradise after death. So dear readers, how come life and men in religions seem to have improved by leaps and bounds but yet no different from days of old. 

Give this some thought and be realistic about our expectations of religions. Only then will religion be of more value to men. We must fathom the reality and value of religions and this is the prime driver of the mission by Lord Bo Tien when he set foot in 1969 in Singapore.

 Men will always tell other men not to worry when there is calamity of sorts like terminal cancer and disability. The problem is that there is pain for the victim there and then. 

 There is real time worry and concern. But they will assure that the solution is in form of paradise. This is assured but this has to wait till afterlife. Meanwhile the real time problems of men remain status quo but the outlook must change. 

 Men just have to believe and commit. Men just have to pay up and the goods will be delivered. But the difference is that this will be in the afterlife. Why not now - the there and then? 

 This carrot of paradise thereafter in afterlife is good enough for most but a few will not agree. Well if they the detractors think they are correct, God bless them for they are the doubters. Perhaps they know not what they do. They are not against God and saints. They just want to know more. Is this wrong? 

 Saints like Lord Bo Tien say that we should not ostracize the doubters for doubts arise because men who doubt want to know more and if one day they do know better, it would be good for them and for the others as well. Everyone will benefit. 

 The realisation must come that life as man is never perfect and complete. It ever will be incomplete and imperfect but man's heart can soar and be complete and perfect but the perfect life may not be in the afterlife or the life beyond that. 

 Men must attain sainthood but how many can do so but just go for the dream of paradise in afterlife that pastors and priests want them to have. Is this enough and how good is the promise? 

 Doubt not for bodhisatvas or great saints will create the great dream and paradise in Heaven and make it come true. That is why many a religion or sect often promise a paradise of their own. 

 The debate, the duality of approach, goes on and on. There are two options. Go direct and cultivate spiritually now or depend on great saints for the indirect route to be in the dream paradise as stepping stone to cultivate spiritually. 

 Better still men can adopt both options. This is an individual choice. Men should not be wavered by men at the pulpit. A man should make up his own mind. Spirituality is not between men and other men but between the individual men and divinity - God and saints. 
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