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Many saints have been men who tried to help men and right the wrong during their times as men. They were considered somehow sort of non-conformists and different from others and frowned at by the prevailing authority and culture of the times. Dua Di Ya Pek (大二爷伯) are two of such saints like the Buddha, Ji Gong and Jesus.
Buddha was one of them but he was luckier of the lot as he was a crown prince but he irked the teachers of his times by saying that what he learnt from them was not enough. Even his five fellow brethren who was with him when he practiced holy asceticism was upset when he decided to stop his fast and eat so as to be healthy and be able to go further spiritually. They left him and many must have thought he had gone nuts. But he proved his critics wrong when he became the Buddha under the fig tree now known as the Bodhi Tree. He did not proclaim a new culture or religion but just tried to right the existing culture. He succeeded and is now one of the great heritage of great India. In addition a world wide religion named after him came into being with not just him as the only Buddha but many. Some say these may be personifications of his various attributes but certainly, he did not say he is the one and only savior or saint. He did not even say he is the saint of saints. He like many saints of religions was more well known and more of a success story outside the land of his origin.
Jesus too was more of a success story outside the land of Abraham and he too in his day in flesh saw the need to see things differently from what the priests at synagogues preached. He saw the need to be less dogmatic, to be more open and to be less feudal - less tiered and class conscious. He attracted the following of the common men and his apostles were fishermen. They were downtrodden. But the times were bad and he was betrayed by the men at the synagogues and by Judas. He was tried for being a rival to the Roman Emperor as he was labelled by those unkind to him as the King of the Jews. He was tried, damned and crucified. But that just became the turning point and his teachings spread beyond Jerusalem and the land of his birth. He is now more well known outside his land of birth than in the land of his birth.
Then we have Ji Gong (济公) who as a man centuries ago became a monk in a Chan Buddhist monastery in China but couldn't make it. He broke all the rules and behaved like not any other monk. He sang and danced, drank and ate meat. He broke all the conventions expected of monk-hood. He was asked to leave. But he was pure and true at heart and did not put up a front. He was himself and he was a blessing to life and to men. From being rejected by religion, he became accepted as a Taoist deity and later as a Buddhist saint - a bodhisatva. He now virtually belongs to almost any religion. He is welcome by all. Heaven follows him where he went. His famous axiom is that what matters is what goes through the heart (mind) and not what one does or what goes through the gut. Religion sets limitation to his spirituality. His spirituality cannot be confined to a temple or a religion. Religions embrace him and he did not embrace religion. Heaven is where his heart is and when he is with men, men feels they are in heaven.
Dua Di Ya Pek (大二爷伯) - the duo guards of hell were made saints by men and God when they would rather die than continue to be forced to serve opium to men during the opium wars of old China. The imperialists wanted to enslave the Chinese through opium addiction. One end up hanging and the second followed suit by drowning. Thus the first is portrayed with long hanging tongue and the second with blackened face. Men and God were impressed and they elevated them to sainthood. They were downtrodden, made to do the unthinkable but they would rather stopped it all.
They died but they lived on as saints. They were resurrected not as men but as saints. True to their calling to be among the downtrodden and ordinary men, they became the guards of one of the courts of hell to serve men and to serve souls. They have no qualms in righting the wrong, help the downtrodden and uphold justice by providing good fortune where this is due.
Glory be to all who right the wrong. Let us all do our part, even a wee bit will do. People may not like us at first or we may have to suffer somewhat even if others appreciate what we do. In the long run, what we do however little do add up to the good of men and all beings.
It is important to always want to veer towards the truth even a little will also do. Go for the truth behind life and religions. This is what the good lord Lord Bo Tien hopes all can do, so that there is insight of the basic inner truth behind religion for men of any religious persuasion. This the good lord refers to as The God Knowledge.
In the process, we may go against the tide and flow but this is always the case but the reward is the clear water at the upper stream. This the good lord ever wants us to know.
Many may mistake the good lord as a false prophet created by the imagination of men but truth will prevail. All he wants is to right the wrong approach of many to religion. Many do not go to the basic of religion - the inner truth of God and the way to peace. They go for worldly trappings and the colorful complexity of society.
Glory be to all who follow the good lord in righting the wrong approach to religion. Go not for the colorful complexities but for the simple inner truth behind and in all religions.
Glory to all who right the wrong but the wise ones are not afraid of being misunderstood for surely truth will prevail in the end. Dua Di Ya Pek (大二爷伯) together with all saints work in concert to bring hope to all beings in the universe. No one can go it alone not even the saints and that is for sure.
Buddha was one of them but he was luckier of the lot as he was a crown prince but he irked the teachers of his times by saying that what he learnt from them was not enough. Even his five fellow brethren who was with him when he practiced holy asceticism was upset when he decided to stop his fast and eat so as to be healthy and be able to go further spiritually. They left him and many must have thought he had gone nuts. But he proved his critics wrong when he became the Buddha under the fig tree now known as the Bodhi Tree. He did not proclaim a new culture or religion but just tried to right the existing culture. He succeeded and is now one of the great heritage of great India. In addition a world wide religion named after him came into being with not just him as the only Buddha but many. Some say these may be personifications of his various attributes but certainly, he did not say he is the one and only savior or saint. He did not even say he is the saint of saints. He like many saints of religions was more well known and more of a success story outside the land of his origin.
Jesus too was more of a success story outside the land of Abraham and he too in his day in flesh saw the need to see things differently from what the priests at synagogues preached. He saw the need to be less dogmatic, to be more open and to be less feudal - less tiered and class conscious. He attracted the following of the common men and his apostles were fishermen. They were downtrodden. But the times were bad and he was betrayed by the men at the synagogues and by Judas. He was tried for being a rival to the Roman Emperor as he was labelled by those unkind to him as the King of the Jews. He was tried, damned and crucified. But that just became the turning point and his teachings spread beyond Jerusalem and the land of his birth. He is now more well known outside his land of birth than in the land of his birth.
Then we have Ji Gong (济公) who as a man centuries ago became a monk in a Chan Buddhist monastery in China but couldn't make it. He broke all the rules and behaved like not any other monk. He sang and danced, drank and ate meat. He broke all the conventions expected of monk-hood. He was asked to leave. But he was pure and true at heart and did not put up a front. He was himself and he was a blessing to life and to men. From being rejected by religion, he became accepted as a Taoist deity and later as a Buddhist saint - a bodhisatva. He now virtually belongs to almost any religion. He is welcome by all. Heaven follows him where he went. His famous axiom is that what matters is what goes through the heart (mind) and not what one does or what goes through the gut. Religion sets limitation to his spirituality. His spirituality cannot be confined to a temple or a religion. Religions embrace him and he did not embrace religion. Heaven is where his heart is and when he is with men, men feels they are in heaven.
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| Dua Di Ya Pek (大二爷伯) on coffin seats which cannot contain them. Judge them not by appearance. They died horribly but have hearts of gold. They were resurrected by God as saints Their appearance testifies to their sacrifices as men. Their appearance makes them no less saints of God. They died so that men may live better when God made them saints to be among men. They are messiahs to the lives they touched. Their images though awful to others are awesome to those who know them. They do spell out their sacrifices and their loving kindness for men. There is doctrine in the images, just like what Lord Bo Tien said. The image embodies doctrine. The doctrine is in the image of any saint, just like the doctrine behind the crucifix which is awesome to believers but not so to ignorant others. |
Dua Di Ya Pek (大二爷伯) - the duo guards of hell were made saints by men and God when they would rather die than continue to be forced to serve opium to men during the opium wars of old China. The imperialists wanted to enslave the Chinese through opium addiction. One end up hanging and the second followed suit by drowning. Thus the first is portrayed with long hanging tongue and the second with blackened face. Men and God were impressed and they elevated them to sainthood. They were downtrodden, made to do the unthinkable but they would rather stopped it all.
They died but they lived on as saints. They were resurrected not as men but as saints. True to their calling to be among the downtrodden and ordinary men, they became the guards of one of the courts of hell to serve men and to serve souls. They have no qualms in righting the wrong, help the downtrodden and uphold justice by providing good fortune where this is due.
Glory be to all who right the wrong. Let us all do our part, even a wee bit will do. People may not like us at first or we may have to suffer somewhat even if others appreciate what we do. In the long run, what we do however little do add up to the good of men and all beings.
It is important to always want to veer towards the truth even a little will also do. Go for the truth behind life and religions. This is what the good lord Lord Bo Tien hopes all can do, so that there is insight of the basic inner truth behind religion for men of any religious persuasion. This the good lord refers to as The God Knowledge.
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| 武天菩萨 Lord Bo Tien |
In the process, we may go against the tide and flow but this is always the case but the reward is the clear water at the upper stream. This the good lord ever wants us to know.
Many may mistake the good lord as a false prophet created by the imagination of men but truth will prevail. All he wants is to right the wrong approach of many to religion. Many do not go to the basic of religion - the inner truth of God and the way to peace. They go for worldly trappings and the colorful complexity of society.
Glory be to all who follow the good lord in righting the wrong approach to religion. Go not for the colorful complexities but for the simple inner truth behind and in all religions.
Glory to all who right the wrong but the wise ones are not afraid of being misunderstood for surely truth will prevail in the end. Dua Di Ya Pek (大二爷伯) together with all saints work in concert to bring hope to all beings in the universe. No one can go it alone not even the saints and that is for sure.
