LIVING LIFE SERIES 1

A BO TIEN (武天) MISSION INITIATIVE LAUNCHED ON 28TH SEPT 2010 BY INNER TRUTH NETIZEN 2. THE MISSION IS TO SHOW THE WAY TO HOPE, INNER PEACE AND ULTIMATELY SALVATION FOR ALL BEINGS. THE PURPOSE IS TO SAVE SOULS. IT IS WAY BEYOND NORMAL GOOD WORK LIKE CHARITY AND WELFARE ACTIVITIES. NO ONE SHALL BE SAVED BY GOOD WORKS ALONE BUT BY MORE THAN GOOD WORK. THERE IS NEED TO BE IMBUED WITH THE BASIC DOCTRINE COMMON TO AND BEHIND ALL RELIGIONS AND SECTS. LIVE IN DOCTRINE. DOCTRINE IN LIFE IS PARAMOUNT.

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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!.

Sunday, November 23, 2014

Be wary of overboard devotion to a sage

No 745 of Living Life Series 1

There is the popular habit in people of religion to have pride of being close to the sage in the religion.

Well, this in a way is devotion and devotion can spur one to practice the teachings that lead to inner peace and oneness with God and all heavenly saints.

Like love, it can however be selfish love based on attachment and self interest and may be carried too far. Then it can be detrimental.

The individual may be so carried away that he may just adore his sage, think highly of him and be head over heels devoted to him. This may derail him from practice and seeing the doctrine in the sage. He will only have eyes for the sage and not the doctrine. Ironically, he ends up blind to spirituality

As the good lord Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) says what matters is the doctrine, knowing and practicing it, not adoring the ground a sage walks on and be carried away.

Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨)

The good lord says that he is the doctrine and the doctrine is him.

To be carried away by love and devotion to a sage can even make the individual to be a bigot. He may even think that his sage is the only true sage in the world and expect all others to join him.

He may even proclaim that if others join him in adoration, they will be saved by grace of the sage and that alone is what is needed. Isn't this a misconception and misleading?

Many scriptures have been written by followers of sages who are obviously over devoted and this is a problem to be reckoned.

We should instead see the doctrine in all sages and saints. We should be committed to doctrine and practice it. This is only logical but the over devoted rationalized otherwise.

Though supposedly near to their sage, they are indeed far. The good lord Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) did say that the near may be far and the far near, didn't he?

He also said that we learn from the mistakes of others and life is the living gospel. That way we can be better at our own respective religion and bring about more religious cohesion in men of the different religions.

Then peace will certainly abound more than ever - not just individual inner peace but peace in society at large.

Lest you forget

Do not make the mistake of idolizing any man who tells you about the Word. He is in the same boat as you even if religion refers to him as a religious leader. Mere mention of a religious leader is as good as encouraging idolising of that man. Why must there be hierarchy in religion? Hierarchy is conventional but may end up as liability rather than a necessity or asset. There should be no caste or hierarchy system in religion. No one is to be considered above another in religion. A religious leader or follower is a servant to serve you and not a leader to be idolised. Do not put him on the pedestal and make a monster out of him.

MAY ALL BE WELL AND HAPPY

May all be well and happy. May they have peace. May our departed friends and kins be well, happy and have divine peace. The main writer wishes the best for all for those near and far. Our kins may be far when they had passed on to better lives but they are near though far. He remembers and wishes his parents Mr Siow Soo Koh and Mdm Tay Hung Siang, his uncles and aunties like Mr Tay Koon Huay, his cousins like Mr Tay Chong Sim and his friends like Mr Philip Png well and have abundance of life. May they be rich in spirit for without such ancestors, there will be no posterity - no us and no you and me. They have blessed us and we must blessed them in return forever and ever.