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, May 10, 2015

Here for the wrong reasons - a Wesak perspective

No 869 of Living Life Series 1

The Bodhisattva the Buddha-to-be was born on Wesak the full moon day of the fifth lunar month in 624 BC as the crown prince of a kingdom in northern India. He had come down from the luxury of being a heavenly being to be born as man not to be an ordinary man but to be enlightened as the Buddha.

But somehow he was born as a prince and not among the spiritual class. His reason to be born was to be the Buddha but he was born as a prince amid luxuries which would otherwise distract others from religious life.

Though the reason of his being man for the last birth in his cycle of rebirths was for him to be the Buddha, he was born as a prince instead. Wasn't this for the wrong reason? Indeed it was in a way, wasn't it?

Well, despite that he overcame all odds to renounce princely life to be an ascetic which was like the vagrant or beggar of modern days of 2015 and beyond. This was a complete drastic turn around from what was his worldly fate to be a prince and later emperor.

Vagrancy was the direct opposite of being a prince lapping in luxury. But it was from knowing that asceticism and princely life are both not correct that he realized the Middle Way and attained enlightenment under the fig tree to be the Buddha - the latest but not the last of all Buddhas.

Like the Buddha, we may have spiritual lives in past rebirths but by virtue of the good merits of past lives as a result of spirituality, we may be born in lives where we will have luxury or potential for luxury instead of simple lives which will be more congenial to spirituality. Is this an instance of our residual bad karma rearing its ugly head? Learned monks will know better.

We may thus end up here for the wrong reasons. Are we here for all the wrong reasons? This we must reflect time and time again. God and saints bless us if we don't seem to know and end up living lives for all the wrong reasons.

We end up serving the worldly callings instead of the higher callings. We are so tied down to all the worldly trappings and needs that we have no time to reflect and make good why we are born in this life as human beings. We want to keep up with the Jones and if possible surpass them.

Instead of harnessing life and good karma or fate for spirituality, we end up depleting life and our store of karma or fate for worldly pursuits to satisfy the bottomless pit of the stomach of the ego. Instead of renouncing the ego with its ill-will and clinging, we enhance it and may well end up worse off than in previous lives.

So please be mindful and wake up to know what we want from present life and don't end up being here for the wrong reason. Do make sure we are not here for all the wrong reasons.

It is not that worldly life is not good. It is still good but must serve to meet our worldly calling to enable a reasonable life as stepping stone for a higher calling. If we fail to flow into the higher calling, we will end up here all for the wrong reasons when the means become the ends instead.

Some may even end up as wolves in shepherds clothing to tend to the sheep in a house of God and end up serving their own ends instead of serving others as well as God and saints. They and what comes out from their mouths are more attractive and magnetizing than what God and saints say in the scriptures.

Scriptures pale in comparison to what they utter. They become the stand-in for God and saints. The congregation may well end up putting aside the written Word and go for what comes out from their mouths.

Aren't they at the helm of religious institutions for all the wrong reasons? Well, it is not as simple as that. Judge not lest ye be judged.

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.