No 1412 of Living Life Series 1
We all die one day. But should we worry about this everyday till we actually die. There are 365 days a year and if we live 70 or more years perhaps one hundred, how many days are there? You can count on that.
The wonderful part is that on all the days of our life, we don't die. We only die on one day only.
So, does it mean we not be bothered with death and think that day is long way off and will not come. Death however is not like the horizon which recedes as we go nearer it.
Death is real. But so are the many days we don't die. The many days we don't die are more real than death.
But be mindful that when one day passes, another day arise. When one day dies off, we are born into a new day.
We should therefore not waste our time. We should do what is useful and necessary.
What this is each one of us must know. What do we want out of life? What we want will not last but should be the stepping stones for us to have what we can bring forward to the next day and eventually the next life.
Goodness dear friend is what we can carry over forever and ever. Not even our body can be carried over indefinitely.
Of course we need to strike the balance or the middle way. We need to take care of this body for as long as possible. We need to have the mundane to be able to have the supramundane.
Buddha says clearly that health is the highest gain, didn't he? But physical health can only be stretched up to a limit. Also, this alone is not good enough even for the mundane world.
We need also worldly wealth but this can end up be our undoing if we want more and more and that become a bane rather than a boon. We end up unhappy and feeling not good.
What we need is to set limits or realisable goals. We need to know when enough is enough. We need to learn to be contented even if we have little or less.
Thus Buddha says that contentment is the greatest wealth. This is the second blessing.
The first blessing which we must have before we can have the second blessing is health.
In life, there is more than health and contentment. We need to feel we are alright. We need friends and relatives to make us feel secure and reassure us that we are alright.
But alas they too cannot be with us forever and they can also end up disappointing us. So what do we do?
Well, the best fellowship is the self. We need to be self-confident. This is the third blessing we can have - self-confidence. But this only comes after we have health the first blessing and contentment the second blessing.
But all these three will not be the end all. We may be better off certainly. But what we need is wisdom - enlightenment the bliss which is the greatest blessing.
We need to be good and pure in mind and to have inner peace. This will be the only asset we can bring over to the next life. While we are still in the body of flesh and blood, this will place us in best position for the next day and the day after.
With pure mind, we will be resurrected from day to day and from life to life. This is the resurrection that all saints of all religions and outside religions talk about and this is as what Bo Tien 武 天 says is the inner truth - the real and indisputable truth of life. This is in life and in religions and even outside religions.
We will be better off even with each passing day dead to us and when we die to life, we will be resurrected in goodness and in purity and peace. We can do so through any religion or even when we ascribe to no religion.
Be resurrected in purity and peace - no need to carry the cross of impermanence and uncertainty - the ups and downs in life which the good Bo Tien 武 天 refers to as yin and yang. Be resurrected in purity and carry no cross.
Be resurrected day by day. Carry no cross. This is the teaching of God and saints. Don't let others mislead you and make you more crossed with life.
This is more so when they crossed up the teachings to be that far off from the inner truth such that the later day teachings become the archaeological layers that covered, buried and hid away the inner truth - the original teaching that is simple and direct to the point.
We need to dig away layer by layer to arrive at the inner truth that is common and behind all saints and behind what men refer to as religions, sects and schools.
The teachings of God and saints become incognito and no longer recognisable over time as the teachings flow downstream in the river of life and pick up additions and traditions that overwhelmed and displaces the original.
This was and ever will be what Bo Tien 武 天 wants us to realise. We must resurrect the original basic teachings of the saints.
Not only that we have to learn from all the saints to know better the inner truth. There will be many aspects which the saints can point out to us so that we will be better at what our own saint has pointed out to us. Be resurrected every bit more day by day and moment to moment.
Learn from all saints. This way we will be less crossed up by life. The individual cross we carry in life will be lighter and lighter. One day we will carry the cross no more. This is stressed by Bo Tien 武 天.
No one can carry the cross for us. We just have to give up on hatred and ill-will. Don't think of self. Don't deny the self. Love ourselves and others.
How can God or saint take over our hatred? They cannot and this is it. We have to give up hatred and let go the cross of hatred we carry with us.
What God and saint can do is to bless us with the gift of the truth - the Word. The truth is that we have no hatred for ourselves and others.
Denial of self or others is a form of dislike or hatred. How can we hate ourselves? Deny not others or ourselves.
Replace this with love and kindness. Do be kind to self before you can be kind to others. The truth is that we must be kind to all and this starts from self.
Only when there is universal kindness or love will there be peace. This will foster inner peace for self and more peace for others around us and in our life. Isn't this awesome and whole?
The wonderful part is that on all the days of our life, we don't die. We only die on one day only.
So, does it mean we not be bothered with death and think that day is long way off and will not come. Death however is not like the horizon which recedes as we go nearer it.
Death is real. But so are the many days we don't die. The many days we don't die are more real than death.
But be mindful that when one day passes, another day arise. When one day dies off, we are born into a new day.
We should therefore not waste our time. We should do what is useful and necessary.
What this is each one of us must know. What do we want out of life? What we want will not last but should be the stepping stones for us to have what we can bring forward to the next day and eventually the next life.
Goodness dear friend is what we can carry over forever and ever. Not even our body can be carried over indefinitely.
Of course we need to strike the balance or the middle way. We need to take care of this body for as long as possible. We need to have the mundane to be able to have the supramundane.
Buddha says clearly that health is the highest gain, didn't he? But physical health can only be stretched up to a limit. Also, this alone is not good enough even for the mundane world.
We need also worldly wealth but this can end up be our undoing if we want more and more and that become a bane rather than a boon. We end up unhappy and feeling not good.
What we need is to set limits or realisable goals. We need to know when enough is enough. We need to learn to be contented even if we have little or less.
Thus Buddha says that contentment is the greatest wealth. This is the second blessing.
The first blessing which we must have before we can have the second blessing is health.
In life, there is more than health and contentment. We need to feel we are alright. We need friends and relatives to make us feel secure and reassure us that we are alright.
But alas they too cannot be with us forever and they can also end up disappointing us. So what do we do?
Well, the best fellowship is the self. We need to be self-confident. This is the third blessing we can have - self-confidence. But this only comes after we have health the first blessing and contentment the second blessing.
But all these three will not be the end all. We may be better off certainly. But what we need is wisdom - enlightenment the bliss which is the greatest blessing.
We need to be good and pure in mind and to have inner peace. This will be the only asset we can bring over to the next life. While we are still in the body of flesh and blood, this will place us in best position for the next day and the day after.
With pure mind, we will be resurrected from day to day and from life to life. This is the resurrection that all saints of all religions and outside religions talk about and this is as what Bo Tien 武 天 says is the inner truth - the real and indisputable truth of life. This is in life and in religions and even outside religions.
Be resurrected in purity and peace - no need to carry the cross of impermanence and uncertainty - the ups and downs in life which the good Bo Tien 武 天 refers to as yin and yang. Be resurrected in purity and carry no cross.
Be resurrected day by day. Carry no cross. This is the teaching of God and saints. Don't let others mislead you and make you more crossed with life.
This is more so when they crossed up the teachings to be that far off from the inner truth such that the later day teachings become the archaeological layers that covered, buried and hid away the inner truth - the original teaching that is simple and direct to the point.
We need to dig away layer by layer to arrive at the inner truth that is common and behind all saints and behind what men refer to as religions, sects and schools.
The teachings of God and saints become incognito and no longer recognisable over time as the teachings flow downstream in the river of life and pick up additions and traditions that overwhelmed and displaces the original.
This was and ever will be what Bo Tien 武 天 wants us to realise. We must resurrect the original basic teachings of the saints.
Not only that we have to learn from all the saints to know better the inner truth. There will be many aspects which the saints can point out to us so that we will be better at what our own saint has pointed out to us. Be resurrected every bit more day by day and moment to moment.
Learn from all saints. This way we will be less crossed up by life. The individual cross we carry in life will be lighter and lighter. One day we will carry the cross no more. This is stressed by Bo Tien 武 天.
No one can carry the cross for us. We just have to give up on hatred and ill-will. Don't think of self. Don't deny the self. Love ourselves and others.
How can God or saint take over our hatred? They cannot and this is it. We have to give up hatred and let go the cross of hatred we carry with us.
What God and saint can do is to bless us with the gift of the truth - the Word. The truth is that we have no hatred for ourselves and others.
Denial of self or others is a form of dislike or hatred. How can we hate ourselves? Deny not others or ourselves.
Replace this with love and kindness. Do be kind to self before you can be kind to others. The truth is that we must be kind to all and this starts from self.
Only when there is universal kindness or love will there be peace. This will foster inner peace for self and more peace for others around us and in our life. Isn't this awesome and whole?
