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 15, 2015

Going bonkers with three incense sticks

No 1092 of Living Life Series 1

Let us meditate on the three incense sticks. Do light up three and just look at them burning.

Now why three and not one or two? Well this has to do with Trinity. What is the Trinity we are referring to. Well, it depends on you.

With regards to the mission of the good lord to show the same oneness of God and basic doctrine in all religions and sects of the day, there are three phases - Good Belief, Good Works and Good Word.

At any temple of the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨, there is the shrine hall altar of The Three Phases and we offer three incense sticks.

Lord Bo Tien Phase for devotion - Good Belief
Goddess of Mercy Phase for charity - Good Works
and Buddha Phase for Doctrine - Good Word

Now look at the incense sticks again. There are three. To those who tread the path of Tao 道 (logic or common sense), there is the neutral onlooking self ever at peace and in control of the other two the yin and yang - the passive and the positive. The neutral self keeps the peace if it is detached, calm and neutral enough.

Now think about it. The smoke and good smell rise up to Heaven but the dust stays put. What if there are better incense, then there will be little or no ash residue. We are like the incense sticks. Our good energy or vibrations go up and are welcomed by all spiritual men around us and by God and saints around and above.

Now think again. To those who believe in God, Man and the Holy Spirit, isn't the three in one concept depicted by the three incense sticks?

Isn't the three sticks too remind us something very close to home - namely father, mother and child? Well, this is of secular significance.

Anyway the Buddha says that the first temple is the home. Parents and child form the first temple. So this is not secular but still spiritual

Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 says that a temple is not of bricks and concrete but of flesh and blood - of people. The first temple we are born into is the family - the home. If we cannot treasure the sanctity of the home, of what use is it to go to a temple?

Tibetan monks have their families too. The family at home is a temple. A monk has to run a temple. He is the father. There is the mother and the children. There is trinity aptly depicted by three incense sticks.

We must not forget that Heaven, Earth and Hell form a trinity of sorts. Hell is worthy of depiction as one of the three sticks. There are saints and Buddhas in hell to help hell beings. Hell beings can even attain enlightenment while in hell. Hell is no place for eternal damnation but a corrective dimension. Only ill-thinking men think there is eternal damnation in Hell.

People do not stay in Heaven for eternity. Heaven, Earth and Hell are like three incense sticks, ever intertwined and sometimes overlap. Those in Heaven may have to come down to Earth to learn or to carry out certain objectives set for them. They may have to put into practice what they learnt up there.

Then again there is the three advice by the Buddha. Do good, avoid evil and purify the mind. Isn't that trinity as well? This is a three in one advice.

Well, if we are more imaginative, there is for the married man, his own nuclear family with his wife and children, the family he comes from and the family his wife comes from. This is the bigger extended family trinity.

Won't all these considerations make us go bonkers with the three incense sticks. We suppose another three more incense sticks will not be too much for you.

Have you gone bonkers yet? The writer certainly had... That is why the temple of the future like the Living Life Series is of people all over the world connected by the world wide web. This internet temple will not have real incense sticks but any picture of the three will be one too many.

Please tolerate three more even if you do mind. If you are seriously put off, please go for three in one cup of coffee. That of course is trinity as well - the trinity in a cuppa of coffee. We can have all three at a go. The aromatic aroma of incense goes well with the taste of coffee and puts us into the meditative mood for life - boosting and pepping up life at least for the day.

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.