No 1133 of Living Life Series 1
What makes us think that the majority must be right. What is believed by the majority cannot be wrong.
Well, if this was the case, then Jesus and Buddha would never be what they are. They differed from the majority and the religious authorities of their time.
But then we are not Jesus or Buddha and if we differ from the majority, is it likely we are in the right? Generally it is true that what is right for majority should apply to us.
But with different circumstances and context, we may have to adopt different approaches. So when men quote from the holy texts and try to apply to the times of today, what they do may even raise the eyebrows of God and the very saints who spoke those words.
In the Old Testament, prophets appear harsh and condemning because people of their times were like that. Without the harsh approach, things simply won't work.
Then in the New Testament with the arrival of Lord Jesus, there is the soft approach with emphasis on love rather than abiding by the law of God.
One good example is this. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth as opposed to offer the other cheek if slapped on one cheek.
In the days of the Old Testament, this would not work. People would just think that both cheeks be slapped and one slap is simply not enough.
In modern world, even one slap can be abuse - physical abuse and punishable by the law of the land. You can be sued for slapping.
Thus religious fanaticism can result if the teachings of a sage is taken out of context. People who follow the teachings verbatim will though near end up far from the spirit of the scriptures.
Thus those who are near may be far from the teachings of a saint. The good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 must have his good reason to tell us that the far may be near and the near far.
Don't be blind to logic when reading the scriptures. Don't think that just because a saint like Jesus said something to the people of the old days, this must apply to the people of here and now. Then in his time, there was hardly any religion only culture
With no common sense and just blind belief of the scriptures, the consequences may be awful rather than awesome. Awful rather than awesome outcome results when there is no logic or Tao 道 in religion.
Common sense must prevail. People must be allowed to think for themselves. They must not let others think for them, more so those at the pulpit.
For goodness sake, don't think for others. Let others think for themselves. Make sure they can think.
Ji Gong 济公 is a strong advocate of thinking. He says that what matters is not what one does or what goes through the gut but what is in the heart or what goes through the heart.
Can the person who eats no meat or drink no wine be as good and saintly like him? The flipside is that can we better off by eating meat and drinking wine?
Well this requires us to think. We need common sense but common sense is not as common after all. We need logic or Tao 道. We must think and not let others think for us.
We should not think for others either. Many in religion like to think for others and become overbearing.
Well, if this was the case, then Jesus and Buddha would never be what they are. They differed from the majority and the religious authorities of their time.
But then we are not Jesus or Buddha and if we differ from the majority, is it likely we are in the right? Generally it is true that what is right for majority should apply to us.
But with different circumstances and context, we may have to adopt different approaches. So when men quote from the holy texts and try to apply to the times of today, what they do may even raise the eyebrows of God and the very saints who spoke those words.
In the Old Testament, prophets appear harsh and condemning because people of their times were like that. Without the harsh approach, things simply won't work.
Then in the New Testament with the arrival of Lord Jesus, there is the soft approach with emphasis on love rather than abiding by the law of God.
One good example is this. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth as opposed to offer the other cheek if slapped on one cheek.
In the days of the Old Testament, this would not work. People would just think that both cheeks be slapped and one slap is simply not enough.
In modern world, even one slap can be abuse - physical abuse and punishable by the law of the land. You can be sued for slapping.
Thus religious fanaticism can result if the teachings of a sage is taken out of context. People who follow the teachings verbatim will though near end up far from the spirit of the scriptures.
Thus those who are near may be far from the teachings of a saint. The good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 must have his good reason to tell us that the far may be near and the near far.
Don't be blind to logic when reading the scriptures. Don't think that just because a saint like Jesus said something to the people of the old days, this must apply to the people of here and now. Then in his time, there was hardly any religion only culture
With no common sense and just blind belief of the scriptures, the consequences may be awful rather than awesome. Awful rather than awesome outcome results when there is no logic or Tao 道 in religion.
Common sense must prevail. People must be allowed to think for themselves. They must not let others think for them, more so those at the pulpit.
For goodness sake, don't think for others. Let others think for themselves. Make sure they can think.
Ji Gong 济公 is a strong advocate of thinking. He says that what matters is not what one does or what goes through the gut but what is in the heart or what goes through the heart.
Can the person who eats no meat or drink no wine be as good and saintly like him? The flipside is that can we better off by eating meat and drinking wine?
Well this requires us to think. We need common sense but common sense is not as common after all. We need logic or Tao 道. We must think and not let others think for us.
We should not think for others either. Many in religion like to think for others and become overbearing.
