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, December 28, 2014

God wants us to think and not just believe

No 782 of Living Life Series 1

If a leader of a community tells that only he is right and others wrong, then something is wrong if the people would just buy his thinking. If the society is matured, that society will not end up saying that there are no other leaders except that leader.

If followers of a sage insist that only their sage is right and other sages are wrong, then something is wrong if people would just buy their thinking. If the society is matured, that society will not end up saying that there are no other sages except that sage.

If there is respect for others, men should not tell them that they cannot think for themselves and must take what are said as gospel truth. It is when there is little or no regard for the capability of others that some men insist that others should just believe and all will be well. They will be saved by just belief and by the grace of the sage.

This is like the authoritarian regimes and the empires of the long past when only the dictator or emperor was right and had the sole right to think for others. Others had better not think for themselves or they would face ridicule.

The Buddha instructed that people should not just believe in him but should question what he had preached. His teachings should be tested like gold was tested by fire in the olden days.

The good lord Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) says that it is alright to have doubts and doubts arise because people don't understand and want to know more. There is no need to ridicule them as they would be better off once they understand and know more.

If a concept is too simple and cannot withstand question, then it may not hold water. It may be too good to be true. Only way to make many accept the simplistic thinking is to say God says so and therefore all must accept as gospel truth. Did God ask men not to think and just to belief? He never did but men did and that is the problem, isn't it?

Never say God and saints say so. Know that God and saints wants us to think and to reason. That is the way to really know them and to save our self and ultimately our souls. It is only by thinking and reasoning that we will be immune to the unscrupulous among men and not be misled by such men who used the name of God and sages in vain.

In fact, this is so true and we should think even more and apply reasoning to life, more so to spiritual matters. Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨) adds that he who knows the dao li 道理 (reasoning, logic or doctrine in Chinese) knows him - in fact knows God and all saints. Doctrine is logic and reasoning. Logic is doctrine, isn't it?

If one only believes and don't think, how can one know doctrine which is reasoning when one decides to put reasoning aside or be cowed into putting it aside. It is an affront to basic human dignity and decency to tell a person not to think and reason. It is often the tool of those who want to make the crowd do their bidding. But why do this using the name of God and sage? Won't this be a disservice to God and sage instead?

The top down or patriarchal approach of old Chinese culture had become the undoing of the people by creating the closed mindset. People simply just followed what the parents or grand parents said and did, more so in spiritual traditions and festivals. They said that God and sages wanted people to do this and that.

People ended up following traditions blindly and never bothered to think. Descendants soon thought the ancestors were superstitious and dumb in the head. Isn't this pathetic just because people did not heed the need to think and know the dao li 道理?

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.