No 1180 of Living Life Series 1
Are you the person others want you to be? Are you the person you expect yourself to be? Are you meeting your own expectations in life or are you living just to meet the expectations of others?
Well, we are always looking over our fence at others' garden and not at own own, let alone tending to our own garden. Isn't this pathetic?
In religion, too we end up asking ourselves if we have meet up with others expectations of us and not our expectations of what we want out of religion.
We are just swept along by others like in the downstream of a river. This is almost effortless. We just go along. If people say this is so, then this must be so. No effort even to think and reflect. We let others do the thinking.
We even marry into the religion and we are entrapped as such. There will be no life outside the religion. Isn't this religious entrapment?
This is no different with the worldly entrapment which we try to liberate ourselves only to be entrapped by the same in religion.
How different can this be? We no longer can think for ourselves. Others do the thinking for us. We jump from the frying pan into the fire. We are swept along by life downstream with all the rest and all the same problems and pollutants or irritants of life as in the world beyond religion.
For pure and clear water of life and spirituality, we must go upstream against the flow to the upper source. This is how to be released from worldly entrapment in life, be it religious or secular life. This is the reminder of the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 for all regardless of religion.
Some countries are wary of mind entrapment in the name of religion in the name of God and saints. External powers-that-be can easily subvert the internal social fabric in a country through mind entrapment via religion. That is why it is not uncommon for countries to exercise censorship and control over religion.
There is need to clip and limit the wings of religion. Religion must submit to national interest. Religion is still by men and not by God and saints. Mind entrapment through religion is of concern.
The interest and law of the land must not play second fiddle to religion. This is the teaching of God and all saints. This the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 reminds all of us regardless of our religion.
Obey the laws of the land. Give to God what is due to God and to man what is due to man. Religion should never be vehicle to subvert the interest of the land. All heavenly saints go along with this.
But unscrupulous external or foreign elements may manipulate religion to entrap minds of men for less religious agenda - unholy and unwholesome agenda.
Good governments exert control over religions to make sure religions steer clear of troubled waters and do not go awry. That is awesome job of governments.
Religions often may lack good governance and self-censorship. Religions somehow may allow the entrapment of minds of men and make men prone to manipulation.
This is no fault of God and saints. It has to do with men. Men decide how religion will be. Man uses God as the excuse for what they do in name of religion. The entrapment of life even in religion will not go away because man is man and not God and saints.
Well, we are always looking over our fence at others' garden and not at own own, let alone tending to our own garden. Isn't this pathetic?
In religion, too we end up asking ourselves if we have meet up with others expectations of us and not our expectations of what we want out of religion.
We are just swept along by others like in the downstream of a river. This is almost effortless. We just go along. If people say this is so, then this must be so. No effort even to think and reflect. We let others do the thinking.
We even marry into the religion and we are entrapped as such. There will be no life outside the religion. Isn't this religious entrapment?
This is no different with the worldly entrapment which we try to liberate ourselves only to be entrapped by the same in religion.
How different can this be? We no longer can think for ourselves. Others do the thinking for us. We jump from the frying pan into the fire. We are swept along by life downstream with all the rest and all the same problems and pollutants or irritants of life as in the world beyond religion.
For pure and clear water of life and spirituality, we must go upstream against the flow to the upper source. This is how to be released from worldly entrapment in life, be it religious or secular life. This is the reminder of the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 for all regardless of religion.
Some countries are wary of mind entrapment in the name of religion in the name of God and saints. External powers-that-be can easily subvert the internal social fabric in a country through mind entrapment via religion. That is why it is not uncommon for countries to exercise censorship and control over religion.
There is need to clip and limit the wings of religion. Religion must submit to national interest. Religion is still by men and not by God and saints. Mind entrapment through religion is of concern.
The interest and law of the land must not play second fiddle to religion. This is the teaching of God and all saints. This the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 reminds all of us regardless of our religion.
Obey the laws of the land. Give to God what is due to God and to man what is due to man. Religion should never be vehicle to subvert the interest of the land. All heavenly saints go along with this.
But unscrupulous external or foreign elements may manipulate religion to entrap minds of men for less religious agenda - unholy and unwholesome agenda.
Good governments exert control over religions to make sure religions steer clear of troubled waters and do not go awry. That is awesome job of governments.
Religions often may lack good governance and self-censorship. Religions somehow may allow the entrapment of minds of men and make men prone to manipulation.
This is no fault of God and saints. It has to do with men. Men decide how religion will be. Man uses God as the excuse for what they do in name of religion. The entrapment of life even in religion will not go away because man is man and not God and saints.
