No 1129 of Living Life Series 1
We need to be happy. Worldly life does contribute to this. Food, physical comforts and shelter are means to this end. But when they become the end, we go for more and never seem to be happy anymore.
Too much is less. Perhaps less can be better. Less can be more.
We only need enough to be healthy and with health we can go for more life and peace that money and worldly comforts cannot provide.
Too much of a good thing can prove to be a problem, not just worldly physical needs but religiosity as well.
Moderate and grow the inner peace a little at a time. Don't try to run and jump before we can stand and walk.
Yes spirituality is also like that. We know that we need to be good, avoid bad and purify the mind. There are many things we need to be good at but can we do so right away?
No and certainly a little good this moment is all we need. Don't be upset that we cannot do all the good at one go or that there are many good we can do for others which we cannot do now.
Just make the start and make some progress. Have no guilt or fear that we are short of goodness. That will certainly mean we are not good to ourselves.
If we want to be good to others, please make sure we are also good to ourselves. Do not feel we fall short of ourselves or of God and saints.
Be at peace with self. Then we will be better poised to be at peace with life and the world.
If we cannot do good, at least do no harm. But often, even doing no harm can be tough. Inevitably we end up hurting others or even hurting ourselves.
The important attitude is not to be judgemental even to self. The intention is important. The thought is important.
Even with thinking, we cannot be correct right away. It takes time to learn to think good thoughts. It takes time to be pure.
Incidentally, to be pure means to be pure in thinking and not just in what we do but end up having an outward show. What matters is not what we do or what goes through the gut but what goes through the heart. This is highlighted to us by Ji Gong 济公 and is the teaching of all saints.
It is the mind or heart that counts. Mind is the forerunner of all that we are and can be. Mind is chief.
We can do good things but have bad thoughts while doing good. As we think so we are. We are what we think. If there are bad thoughts and wrong motives behind good actions, how good can we be?
Doing good and being religious must be sincere. Otherwise, we will be far from being religious even if we are in a temple praying and worshipping. Otherwise we are not good enough, if we do good but have the opposite thoughts in our mind.
We will be far though near. This is what the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 always remind us. The far may be near and the near far. How to be good is not as easy as it seems. We may think we are good or religious but we may actually be far from good or religious.
Too much is less. Perhaps less can be better. Less can be more.
We only need enough to be healthy and with health we can go for more life and peace that money and worldly comforts cannot provide.
Too much of a good thing can prove to be a problem, not just worldly physical needs but religiosity as well.
Moderate and grow the inner peace a little at a time. Don't try to run and jump before we can stand and walk.
Yes spirituality is also like that. We know that we need to be good, avoid bad and purify the mind. There are many things we need to be good at but can we do so right away?
No and certainly a little good this moment is all we need. Don't be upset that we cannot do all the good at one go or that there are many good we can do for others which we cannot do now.
Just make the start and make some progress. Have no guilt or fear that we are short of goodness. That will certainly mean we are not good to ourselves.
If we want to be good to others, please make sure we are also good to ourselves. Do not feel we fall short of ourselves or of God and saints.
Be at peace with self. Then we will be better poised to be at peace with life and the world.
If we cannot do good, at least do no harm. But often, even doing no harm can be tough. Inevitably we end up hurting others or even hurting ourselves.
The important attitude is not to be judgemental even to self. The intention is important. The thought is important.
Even with thinking, we cannot be correct right away. It takes time to learn to think good thoughts. It takes time to be pure.
Incidentally, to be pure means to be pure in thinking and not just in what we do but end up having an outward show. What matters is not what we do or what goes through the gut but what goes through the heart. This is highlighted to us by Ji Gong 济公 and is the teaching of all saints.
It is the mind or heart that counts. Mind is the forerunner of all that we are and can be. Mind is chief.
We can do good things but have bad thoughts while doing good. As we think so we are. We are what we think. If there are bad thoughts and wrong motives behind good actions, how good can we be?
Doing good and being religious must be sincere. Otherwise, we will be far from being religious even if we are in a temple praying and worshipping. Otherwise we are not good enough, if we do good but have the opposite thoughts in our mind.
We will be far though near. This is what the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 always remind us. The far may be near and the near far. How to be good is not as easy as it seems. We may think we are good or religious but we may actually be far from good or religious.
