No 831 of Living Life Series 1
Religion is not a commodity for sale or purchase but without using sales techniques, people will not come to know a religion. Can we buy a religion? Yes, in a way we can and there is a great variety of choices and freebies added to make it attractive.
Religion is at times for free but as there is no free lunch, there are hidden and unseen costs. It is like a product so low in price upfront that it is too good to be true.
Religion is at times for free but as there is no free lunch, there are hidden and unseen costs. It is like a product so low in price upfront that it is too good to be true.
By right, religion should not be peddled in the open market and only when people are primed and ready for spiritual life should people pick up a spiritual life.
Wait for them to be ready. Doing otherwise will simply distort the purpose of religion and commercialize it in a big way. The stand to wait for people to be ready may however end up as apathy as people simply don't seem to be ready. So there must be reach out and sales but will people buy?
Wait for them to be ready. Doing otherwise will simply distort the purpose of religion and commercialize it in a big way. The stand to wait for people to be ready may however end up as apathy as people simply don't seem to be ready. So there must be reach out and sales but will people buy?
How do people buy a product? They go for quality and lowest cost. Often they depend on upfront claims by the seller and it helps if many buy it.
Often if the product is not as good, but there are promotion fairs and friendly sales people, the product will still sell better than another of better quality and higher price.
With entrenched good relationships, people will continue to buy the product. This is a sure win way to sell.
This is of course better sales technique than trying to run down the products of others so that more will be coerced to buy. The latter technique is outdated and will not work for long.
Religion is not for sale but some people end up selling and buying religion and that will increasingly be the norm. There is need fun and friendly people to sell a product and once they are friends to buyers, these buyers will come for more. They will bring in their friends as well. Religion is not for sale but religion does need to be sale-able somehow.
If we do want to reach out to the world of humanity and beings, we need to display religion prominently and attractively, never mind if in the process we may water down the religion and at times distort the substantial content of religion.
If fairy tale simplicity can awe and attract, let this be emphasized so as to bring in the crowd and when they are in, then hopefully, there is a way to make at least some of them to go upstream to the upper source for clear water.
Often if the product is not as good, but there are promotion fairs and friendly sales people, the product will still sell better than another of better quality and higher price.
With entrenched good relationships, people will continue to buy the product. This is a sure win way to sell.
This is of course better sales technique than trying to run down the products of others so that more will be coerced to buy. The latter technique is outdated and will not work for long.
Religion is not for sale but some people end up selling and buying religion and that will increasingly be the norm. There is need fun and friendly people to sell a product and once they are friends to buyers, these buyers will come for more. They will bring in their friends as well. Religion is not for sale but religion does need to be sale-able somehow.
If we do want to reach out to the world of humanity and beings, we need to display religion prominently and attractively, never mind if in the process we may water down the religion and at times distort the substantial content of religion.
If fairy tale simplicity can awe and attract, let this be emphasized so as to bring in the crowd and when they are in, then hopefully, there is a way to make at least some of them to go upstream to the upper source for clear water.
But first, there must be made available the downstream with dirty water. The problem is that once people are in the downstream, they will be further swept downstream and experience more of the polluted water. How many will realize the need to go upstream to upper source for clear water?
This parable of the river and its water is provided to us by the good lord Lord Bo Tien (武天菩萨). The downstream of a river is the main part of the river. It will be more dominant, prominent and more visible than the upper source.
Selling and buying a religion is not the issue but the issue is when people attracted to a religion will get real and go to the upper source for clear water. This is the truth for all religions.
We need selling and buying to promote religion but we need to go way beyond this. Buying and selling is just the means to the end. The end is the upper source where there is clear water of truth and ultimate spiritual fulfillment.
Which quench better, polluted water or clear water. The more we drink polluted water, the more we have the thirst and that is the problem. We will end up going from religion to religion and sect to sect, house of God to house of God.
We need selling and buying to promote religion but we need to go way beyond this. Buying and selling is just the means to the end. The end is the upper source where there is clear water of truth and ultimate spiritual fulfillment.
Which quench better, polluted water or clear water. The more we drink polluted water, the more we have the thirst and that is the problem. We will end up going from religion to religion and sect to sect, house of God to house of God.
