The end-all story of Wesak waiting to be retold

No 873 of Living Life Series 1

The story of Wesak is the story of the birth of Buddha as man Gautama, his enlightenment under the fig tree and his ascent all on the same day. 

It is not about a new religion, about a new culture but about seeing things as they really are. In his last life time as a man and no less a crown prince, he was not satisfied why there is impermanence. 

All have to undergo insubstantial nature of life be it on earth or in heavens. All need to be reborn again and again due to their attitude to life of wanting. Wanting results from false views or delusion that they can live forever in whatever life time they are in. 

A man never thinks his life will end even though he sees the end in all lives. The same applies to the one in heaven. He is no different in that he too will have an end though his time in heaven is relatively like in eternity due to long lifetime. 

But each share the problem of karma. They use up their karmic energy and create new karma that will be depleted. There must be that end-all that is not the end of existence of life. There must be life where there is new creation of karma that will be cruel to the man or being in that there will be the depletion of karma seen as the end of one life and the beginning of yet another. The cycle of rebirths go on and on. 

There must be the cessation of rebirths in this manner. There  must be the endless and the non-created - life beyond rebirths on Earth, in Heaven or in Hell. This ideal is the end-all of imperfection. This is the end-all of the irony of life manifesting as incessant rebirths.

The call of Wesak is the call to wake-up and to begin the end of delusion that life on earth and in heaven or hell is forever. The upkeep of this delusion is worsen manifold by clinging that yields two other harmful traits of (1) greed or clinging and (2) self-centered nature often manifesting as ill-will. 

We must stop cultivating the three mental roots of false views (eternity and no life beyond the present are two of the many false views), attachment and selfishness. We must cultivate the opposite positive roots of correct views, goodwill and non-clinging. 

Non clinging has nothing to do with giving up of life. It is simply put about stopping our not being at peace with life - our own life as well as the lives of others. It is about being one and at peace with life and the whole world.

No wonder the Buddha says that long is the night to him who is wakeful and long is the cycle of rebirths to him who knows not and sees not the reason for this seemingly endless rebirths. Those who see the true nature and cultivate the end of the three negative mental roots and the promotion of the three positive roots know that surely they will see the end to their rebirths and be with the enlightened ones. 

They will be lightened and be free from the burden of rebirths - be the rebirths be on Earth, Heavens or Hell. This is the end-all story of Wesak waiting to be told again and again on every Wesak. This is the end all that even God Almighty and the godly beings in all heavens, earth and hell aspire for. Yes there are godly beings in hell just as there are godly beings on Earth. 

Mind you, it is not about changing religion or culture. It is about being better at what we are and what we want in life through any religion or culture. It is about being better than what we are and this certainly does not need us to jump the band wagon and switch culture or religion. This certainly does not need us to start afresh but to continue from what we are and be better. This too was echoed by Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 who wants us to understand the oneness of all cultures and religions. 

May all beings be well and happy. May all be good, avoid evil and purify the mind by eradicating the negative mental roots and cultivating the three positive mental roots. 

Wesak and the answers to life

No 872 of Living Life Series 1

Wesak commemorates the birth, the enlightenment and final ascent of the Buddha.

Wesak will always bring a sense of bewilderment of the greatness of the Buddha Gautama. He was born on 624 BC. He grew up as a prince and had a family with one child. 

Then in his time, like in the time of all great sages, there was no institution of religion. Religion is a term coined by modern men. Religion implies that there is demarcation.

He was born into Indian culture, not religion. You may say he was born into South Asian culture and he in his course of finding the answers to life issues of birth, disease, old age and death, realized that the prevailing culture of the times did not address certain discrepancies. 

This applies to all cultures and his answers will work in all cultures. No need to adopt Indian or South Asian cultures to effect the answers. The answers are the inner truths behind life and all cultures and this was emphasized by Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨. He stressed that all cultures are one in Divinity and turn focus of man to the answers to life issues. 

There were gaps in understanding of life to be filled. Buddha found the answers. Basically, to be spiritual, one must not give up the worldly needs of the body. One will still need to take care of the body but not go overboard. 

One needs a healthy body and can not trash the body to be close to God and saints or rather to be equal or even more divine. Trashing the body can be of two types. 

One is asceticism - destroying the body thinking that by so doing one overcomes the body to be all spirit and divine. But then we are in body and that is it. 

The other is to trash the body by indulgence in senses. That too is not good and can lead to a whole gamut of both physical and all the mental sequel we know. These can be awful as well. 

Thus the Buddha believes in moderation what some say is the middle course or way. Did he start a new religion? Did he merely address the gaps and not so right in the culture of his time? 

Well, we all know and many will realize that the term religion came into being of late and only in recent centuries with the advent of globalization and spread of teachings of sages across the globe. Man coins religion. Religions are made by men and not the direct creations of the sages. Well, many may not agree and that is acceptable and in a way good.

The teachings of the Buddha are meant to give insight and promote a better thinking and culture, not change the main culture and thinking totally. Buddha set out to improve and not change culture and life of men to bring answers to life both before and after death. 

He saw the problem in life as due to ignorance. There are false views and there is a wide range of false views. 

Denial of the flesh and body is a false view. False views can lead to or are made worse by clinging to them. There will arise ill-will when people fight over what they think are right. Many think they are more right but perhaps all are like the blind men and the elephant. 

There will also arise greed or hoarding mentality - the more the better. This applies to the wants of the individual or to society or institution. 

Some authors of Buddha's higher doctrine sum up that the ails of life is due to three negative mental roots of ill-will, greed and inapt views. It is meant for those who can go beyond the Vinaya and Sutra Pitakas. Pitaka literally is basket. 

Vinaya refers to code of conduct or morality. Sutra refers to the scrolls of teachings. The holy order of monks chant these scrolls at temples to keep them for posterity. 

The third basket or pitaka refers to Abhidharma or Higher Teachings. It deals in depth with the three negative and three positive mental roots  - and much more. It has a language and terms of its own and in a way parallel to science. It is not easy to understand because of the terms or words used. 

May the blessings of the Tripitaka (three baskets of teachings) be with one and all. 

On doctrine, practice and temple - a Wesak insight

No 871 of Living Life Series 1

To many who think they know enough, what they know is like the leaves in the hand and what they have yet to know is like the leaves in the forest. This was touched on by the Buddha who commented on what he taught though some would caution that he was driving at a different angle. 

Let us all eschew this perspective in relation to Wesak. Let us be humble and know that no matter how much more we know, we too can learn from those who know little. Didn't Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 add that we can learn from fellow men? 

The little they know may be more relevant to life and if put into full practice is better than the more we know but not so relevant and cannot be effected in our current life situation. 

To worsen the situation, we may use the more we know to put down others and show our mantle. This would be awful. 

The Buddha cautions that the teaching or doctrine like a raft is for us to cross the river of divide between worldliness and spirituality and not for us to boast about or as display as exhibit to awe others on our mental capabilities. It is not for showing that we are better than others.

Those who know precious little or perhaps nothing but are devoted and go about serving a temple are more well placed spiritually than those who know allot and are loud mouth. Isn't this the case?

But be wary of those who instead of serving others, go to a temple to lord over others and be served. They want to be put on the pedestal. Some who know more are like that and if they know themselves, they should stay away from the temple. This is for their own good and for the good of others. They should go for self-isolation and be better off that way. 

Alas, there are those who care not at all for spiritual but yet attracted to a temple for worldly glory. We may think that they should not be there but Heaven often prefers that they be there for at least they are in a temple and one day can grow the light in them and make good spiritually. 

It boils down to the issue of the far and near. Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 says that far and near can be relative. The near can be far and the far near. 

Are we in a temple for the right reason? Do we need to have a reason to do so? What is our reason to know doctrine? Do we need a reason to know doctrine? Can we cultivate or practice even if we know little of doctrine? How much must we know before we decide to practice and cultivate ourselves?  

We don't need to know much if it is just to avoid evil, do good and purify the mind. All we need is the resolve to want to do good somehow. We may or may not need a platform of a temple or religion to do so but then again it may be better to have one. 

Wesak and a fresh look at the Middle Way

No 870 of Living Life Series 1 

It was on a Wesak Day that the Buddha told us his last advice "Strive on with diligence." Though he said that to the monks that gathered around him, it was meant for the world and not just his followers. Why and why on earth would he say that?  

He had also mentioned in his last lifetime as man that "Short is life as man" and he also said that "Precious is rebirth as man." Well, we need to know more. don't we?

Perhaps it is pertinent to know that even many in the heavens in order to upgrade themselves must descend to be born as man. The belief in eternity of heaven is not as it is though life in any heaven seems an eternity. 

The Buddha himself too descended from Heaven to be born as man. When he attained enlightenment, he is beyond heaven and beyond man. 

There are two sides of being man. One is to live as man and not to live as though one is not a man and for man we include woman as well. For many they get carried away by being man that they plain forget why they are here as man. 

The Buddha did not forget that, though he was born a prince and got married and even had a child. We too must follow in his footsteps though we are no royalty and not going to be Buddhas in our lifetime. 

But we must neither forget about being man and at the same time, learning to be more than man. We need to answer to both lower and higher callings. 

Life is short and time passes like the wind but unlike the wind, time will not stop. Time waits for no man. We cannot be just man. We also cannot live as though we are no longer man. We need to grasp this reality and balance the two. This is perhaps one aspect of why we have the term Middle Way to refer to the solution of life elucidated by the Buddha. 

It gives us the insight of what the Buddha was driving at when he said thus: - "Short is life as man", "Precious is rebirth as man." and with his last breath as man, he passed on into ultimate enlightenment saying, "Strive on with diligence." 

It is his message to the world - those who know him and those who don't so that all will be better at what they already are. There is no need to jump the band wagon and switch culture or affiliation. 

Do live the life that the Buddha wants us to. Keep the wheel of life turning according to the Middle Way with the avoidance of the three negative mental roots of ill-will, greed and false views through the Eight Fold Path or through the many various other perspectives explained by the Buddha and other heavenly sages of all cultures and traditions. 

The teachings of all sages and saints need to be different to conform with the times, the culture and the needs of the society they serve. But all have the common base of the need to avoid evil, to do good and to purify the mind. This is the inner truth Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 as messenger of God and saints set out to do in 1969 when he touched down in Singapore. 

Here for the wrong reasons - a Wesak perspective

No 869 of Living Life Series 1

The Bodhisattva the Buddha-to-be was born on Wesak the full moon day of the fifth lunar month in 624 BC as the crown prince of a kingdom in northern India. He had come down from the luxury of being a heavenly being to be born as man not to be an ordinary man but to be enlightened as the Buddha. 

But somehow he was born as a prince and not among the spiritual class. His reason to be born was to be the Buddha but he was born as a prince amid luxuries which would otherwise distract others from religious life. 

Though the reason of his being man for the last birth in his cycle of rebirths was for him to be the Buddha, he was born as a prince instead. Wasn't this for the wrong reason? Indeed it was in a way, wasn't it? 

Well, despite that he overcame all odds to renounce princely life to be an ascetic which was like the vagrant or beggar of modern days of 2015 and beyond. This was a complete drastic turn around from what was his worldly fate to be a prince and later emperor.

Vagrancy was the direct opposite of being a prince lapping in luxury. But it was from knowing that asceticism and princely life are both not correct that he realized the Middle Way and attained enlightenment under the fig tree to be the Buddha - the latest but not the last of all Buddhas. 

Like the Buddha, we may have spiritual lives in past rebirths but by virtue of the good merits of past lives as a result of spirituality, we may be born in lives where we will have luxury or potential for luxury instead of simple lives which will be more congenial to spirituality. Is this an instance of our residual bad karma rearing its ugly head? Learned monks will know better.

We may thus end up here for the wrong reasons. Are we here for all the wrong reasons? This we must reflect time and time again. God and saints bless us if we don't seem to know and end up living lives for all the wrong reasons. 

We end up serving the worldly callings instead of the higher callings. We are so tied down to all the worldly trappings and needs that we have no time to reflect and make good why we are born in this life as human beings. We want to keep up with the Jones and if possible surpass them. 

Instead of harnessing life and good karma or fate for spirituality, we end up depleting life and our store of karma or fate for worldly pursuits to satisfy the bottomless pit of the stomach of the ego. Instead of renouncing the ego with its ill-will and clinging, we enhance it and may well end up worse off than in previous lives. 

So please be mindful and wake up to know what we want from present life and don't end up being here for the wrong reason. Do make sure we are not here for all the wrong reasons. 

It is not that worldly life is not good. It is still good but must serve to meet our worldly calling to enable a reasonable life as stepping stone for a higher calling. If we fail to flow into the higher calling, we will end up here all for the wrong reasons when the means become the ends instead. 

Some may even end up as wolves in shepherds clothing to tend to the sheep in a house of God and end up serving their own ends instead of serving others as well as God and saints. They and what comes out from their mouths are more attractive and magnetizing than what God and saints say in the scriptures. 

Scriptures pale in comparison to what they utter. They become the stand-in for God and saints. The congregation may well end up putting aside the written Word and go for what comes out from their mouths. 

Aren't they at the helm of religious institutions for all the wrong reasons? Well, it is not as simple as that. Judge not lest ye be judged.  

The Wesak Story and Message

No 868 of Living Life Series 1

Buddha was born on 624 BC. The world is richer by the teachings of the fully enlightened one. He has stressed that his teachings will continue to be the teacher and the monks in saffron robes enable this. Thus there is The Three Refuges - the Refuge in the Buddha, the Refuge in the Doctrine and the Refuge in The Holy Order. 

This Three Refuges echoes what is mentioned by other sages in history that Divinity is the Word and the Word is Divinity. God and saints guide us on the understanding of the truth in life. By fathoming this, Divinity through God and saints come to life in our lives. The clergy in religions as global institutions ensure the continuity of the Word. 

But this is so long as they are living examples to glorify the Word. Likewise, the holy order of monks of the Buddha will continue to maintain the pristine and pure teachings of the Buddha so long as they are living examples of the Word of the Buddha. 

Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 says that there is the oneness of teachings or the Word behind all cultures and global religious institutions. This is the Inner Truth of what life is all about. 

This inner truth is presented to us through sages and saints in ways that best fit the cultures of the times. They appear different but are different out of necessity to fit the context of the times and the people that the sages must shepherd. 

But if we take care to understand, the messages of the sages are one. They are about what is the true nature of life and how to harness understanding of this to bring meaning and purpose to life. It is about understanding of the calling of life - the true and higher calling as opposed to the worldly or lower calling.

The worldly calling is how every individual wants to live the worldly life and based on this, this will decide how he can meet the higher or eventual calling of life. The wrong approach to earthly or worldly calling may derail the individual from the true or higher calling. The worldly calling is just the means to the end but if overindulged, the individual may mistake the means as the end. Then he will be oblivious to the higher or true calling.

Gautama Buddha was born as a prince and heir apparent to a kingdom in north India in 624 BC. But his princely life was too indulgent and materially excessive. This was a greater contradiction and cover up of the realities of the ails of life - birth, disease, old age and death. 

He wanted the answer and he left the palace. He followed the culture of the times by giving up and becoming ascetic - denying physical needs of the flesh. He was no where near to the answer he wanted as he became wasted and in poor health. 

He decided that denial of worldly needs is as bad as indulgence in worldly life which also promotes more issues and problems we are too familiar today e.g. diabetes, heart disease and many more. He went for what was needed just to meet worldly and bodily needs but did not see the need to go further than that. 

What he went for with good physical health was how not to go round and round and how to stop the need to be reborn, to suffer disease, decay and passing away - to end the need for rebirths. 

Under a fig tree, he attained enlightenment and shared with us the Four Noble Truths. 

There is the truth of imperfection of life. This is unsatisfactory. This leads to the second truth that there is the cause. 

The third truth is that the cause is ignorance. Ignorance perpetuates more problems of ill-will and greed. People even fight and perpetuate ill-will in the name of God and saints. This is due to false views. 

There is a wide range of false views with denial of life after death as one extreme and eternity of life in heaven or hell as the other extreme. This is in the classical texts of the teaching of the Buddha.

The fourth truth is the solution which is how to overcome false views and rid ourselves of ill-will and greed. In short, it is how to overcome clinging or attachment due to our ignorance. The Buddha offered the same solution in many ways. 

There is the Eight-fold Path - right understanding, right thoughts, right speech, right actions, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. To those who are not ready, he offered them the Five Precepts - no killing, not to be intoxicated, no lying, no stealing and no sexual misconduct to help them have less problems even in worldly life and to lead a meritorious life. 

Then there will be more peace even in worldly life and one day hopefully they will have peace of the saints through cultivating the three positive roots of goodwill, no clinging and no false views as opposed to the three negative mental roots of ill-will, greed or clinging, and false views.

The writer is motivated by Ji Gong (济公) the Living Saint to write this feature article for Wesak. Have a Happy Wesak and may the blessings of the Triple Gem - Buddha, His Teachings and His Holy Order of monks be with all - not just followers and believers but for all including non-human beings and those in Hell - yes even those in Hell that they may be saved. 

No wonder the bells are tolling and the saints in the heavens are chanting blessings round and round more so on Wesak Day. Listen and you will hear them in your heart. Omitofo 阿弥陀佛!.

Wesak, Meng Po 孟婆 and why look ahead and move on.

No 867 of Living Life Series 1

What has Wesak to do with Meng Po 孟婆and the universal teachings of all cultures and sages to look ahead and move on? All religions, all cultures and all saints teach us to be hopeful and to move forward. 

The past is history. the present is a present and the future is yet to be. There is hope for the future and it begins with the present. Let us not look back. 

In life, we need to look ahead and move on. There is neither time to while away and think only of the past nor waste precious moments of the here and now. 

Even at death, Chinese culture has it that the newly departed must cross the bridge after drinking the elixir of the giving up of the memory of past life. 

In Chinese folklore and culture, there is Meng Po 孟婆 Goddess of Forgetfulness. She is the Lady of Forgetfulness in Chinese culture. Literally Old Lady Meng, Meng Po 孟婆 serves in Di Yu, the Chinese realm of the dead. It is her duty somehow to ensure that souls who are ready to be reincarnated do not remember their previous life or their time in hell. This is more kind to them. 

To this end she collects herbs from various earthly ponds and streams to make her Five Flavored Tea of Forgetfulness. This is given to each soul to drink before they leave Di Yu. The brew induces instant and permanent amnesia, and all memory of other lives is lost. 

Having been purged of all previous hang-ups and knowledge, the dead spirit is sent to be reborn in a new earthly incarnation, and the cycle begins again. Occasionally people are able to avoid drinking the brew, resulting in past life memories surfacing in children.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meng_Po 

To those who are cultivated they have mindfulness and presence of mind neither to dwell on the past nor to hold on to the moment but to move on moment by moment. They bypass the need to drink the elixir of erasing the memory of the past life and cross the bridge to wait rebirth. 

Those with accumulated good merits would have better rebirths in heavens or on earth and those who are cultivated in purity of the spirit will not have to depend on merits alone and will know how to be at peace with life, look ahead and move on. They do not need the elixir drink to erase the memory of their past life. They could even do so long before they pass on to the next life. 

In daily life, they overcome the passing of the moment with the birth of a new moment by looking ahead and not look back at the past moment. This is the way to go to have more of hope and peace.

Do look ahead and move on. That is the short and long of the story of life if we want life to be peaceful and pleasant. Hang on not to the good or bad of the past. Do not be self-absorbed in life. 

Treasure the moment and that will prepare us for the next. Waste not the moment. Do not cling on or hold on to the moment for like it or not the moment will pass. Harness life to have peace of the moment. It will be pathetic if we are troubled even before the next moment comes for then we will end up wasting the next moment and even more moments to come. 

Look ahead and move on. We will make it easier for Meng Po 孟婆. She would have less souls to serve the Five Flavored Tea of Forgetfulness. But this is only if we could look ahead and move on. Thus for most of us, we would be too willing to drink the tea when the time comes. 

Bear in mind that we must not be afraid to move on and start a new chapter. Holding on is being brave but letting go and moving on is often what makes us stronger and happier. We cannot start on the next chapter if we keep re-reading the last chapter. 

Do not look at life through the rear view mirror but look ahead through wide front windscreen. Our past is not as important as our future. Perhaps that is why the front windscreen is so big and the rear view mirror so small.

Well, whatever it is, the future holds hope and the past is written. The lotus cannot grow in the past. The lotus can grow from what we nurture now and in the future. Perhaps this too is a story for Wesak and a story for everyone waiting to unfurl and to be told - a story waiting to come to fruition. 

Isn't this the essence of Wesak message that we look forward and move on? One day we can grow the lotus in us. 

Along the way we reap worldly success for the very same principles we seed for growing the Buddha nature. Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 says that the same values that augur well for spiritual will contribute to our worldly well being and if we are not derailed by the worldly progress, we will have more fertile worldly life to grow the spiritual lotus in us. 

Worldly progress should serve only as means to the end of a virtuous, pure and peaceful life that we know as spirituality in all cultures.  It is not the end in itself. If it is so, then we have got it all wrong and need to go back to the drawing board. 

The need for "looking ahead and moving on" is universal to all cultures. You can say that this is part of the common doctrine of all sages and all cultures. Culture incorporates readily good values of all religious systems and that makes culture so beautiful. 

The use of the story of Meng Po 孟婆 enables this value of "looking ahead and moving on" to be introduced and planted into the subconsciousness of the people of old China. It's value to modern China and the world at large should not be lost just because it is just a story. How else could the sages of old inject it into Chinese culture to be passed on over the many centuries to the present and to the future. 

Happy Wesak and may the story of Meng Po 孟婆 and why look ahead and move on add more to the richness of Wesak from the Chinese cultural perspective. Wesak is part of Chinese culture and not only that, Chinese culture gives more color, substance and dimension to Wesak. 

There is no need at all to jump culture and leave Chinese culture to celebrate Wesak. Wesak is one the world over and yet it is celebrated differently in different cultures. Wesak enriches culture and culture promotes Wesak and the universal teachings behind Wesak. 

The universal teachings common to all cultures constitutes what the good lord of no specific religious affiliation Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 refers to as The Inner Truth. This is certainly true and this makes it ever the more awesome when we realize that all cultures and religious thoughts are one in inner truth though different outwardly. 

We can embrace the diverse sects and religions as one and integrate the best practices into the culture of the land we are in. All these certainly provide ever more the cause for rejoicing and celebration of life, more so on Wesak Day. Happy Wesak once and ever more. 

Reflections on Wesak Day

No 866 of Living Life Series 1

Wesak is a holy day. It is the day of Buddha's birth. He came down to be born as man and to die in the flesh. He  showed the way out of the woes of life - the woes of disease, old age and death. He showed us how to overcome the death of the flesh and to attain the deathless state of the spirit. He showed the way out of problems of life and even the problem of death. 

He is the Buddha - the fully enlightened one and what is his basic message? He says that there are three causes or roots of the problems of life. One is ill-will or hatred. When there is ill-will, our thoughts and actions are never good. With ill-will, we cannot love life, not only the lives of others but our own. We even become dissatisfied with our lot.

Another root is greed or clinging. When we want more and more, there is pain due to this wanting and we live for more wants instead of wanting to live and having what we need just enough to allow us to live. There is the difference between wanting to live and living for wants. 

The third root is the main cause of problems in life. It is ignorance or false views. There is a range of false views There are however two extremes of false views. 

Some believe there is no life after death. Many think that animals have no life after death and they think they too will not have life after death. This will lead them to live a wanting life - going for indulgence and recklessness. 

The other is the view that there is only eternal heaven or hell of life after death as opposed to cyclical rebirths. Cyclical rebirths are painful as we start over and over again. So the belief in eternal life after death is more welcome and more than good. It is an ideal. 

But let us admit it. Beings in present life cannot be faultless and there will always be some not good actions or deeds. Eternal life after death based upon mere short life of 100 years for man is odd. How to justify eternal damnation or reward just on the short life span of man? Man is not just all good or all bad. Man has both till he is saint.

Then to say that a saint could save us by grace or by his merits come into the picture. This is possible but not for eternity of heaven but only a sojourn in heaven to allow us to be rehabilitated only to be born again to practice what we learn. 

The problems and issues of men are many and plentiful. This the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 commented. While men can help themselves and one another, many still need the help of God and saints otherwise they will be mired down by the problems and issues. God and saints can only do that much but men must do the rest eventually. How do we do so? 

Well, we need to be mindful of the three roots of problems in life and work towards freeing the mind from the three roots - to liberate the mind from the three roots. Then we will be enlightened and will just need enough to sustain life of flesh and not go for more wants. We go for what is necessary and not go for wanting of wants. We live more in peace and one day we will be like the Buddha. Meanwhile we achieve less wants and more peace. 

Our thoughts on life problems on Wesak Day should not only be for Wesak but for all days. These thoughts are not only for believers of Buddha but for all of humanity and all beings regardless of religion and culture. The Buddha did not have any intention to start any religion. 

Men create religions - not the Buddha and the saints. The Buddha is only interested in changing the thinking of the people towards life and if his understanding of life can change people and be part of culture of nations that is good enough. 

That too is exactly why the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 in 1969 descended in Singapore to reawaken men to the oneness of truth behind cultures which many have come to regard as religions. Cultures can better imbibe the views and perspective of sages throughout the ages and across the world. 

It is far better to use the term culture than the term religion. Cultures have no dogmas and can accommodate best practices of other cultures without need to renounce one's cultural background. 

Cultures are less likely to add to the woes and problems of men. We do not renounce one culture for another culture. We merely integrate the best practices of another culture into the existing main culture. Let us reflect on this on Wesak Day. 

Wesak Day is a day for the young and old to reflect that life of flesh is a stepping stone for many lives to come. Most will have many more lives to come so long as they are not yet Buddha - not yet saint. 

Human life is a means to an end. We must do well enough in life of flesh to provide the means to shape the lives to come. We must do good, purify the mind so as to be saints one day if not in present life at least in a future life. This is the teachings of all saints.

We must have the worldly means but not let the means end up as the end. The end is to cultivate some peace of spirit in life here and now and for that we must take care of the worldly calling but let not the worldly calling be the higher calling.

The higher calling is peace of the moment and eventually with many many more such moments we have peace of the saints - to be a Buddha of sorts. We achieve this through the Middle Way and the Eight-fold Path - through balancing polarities and worldly contingencies.  

This is the cultivation of inner peace the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 refers to. All religions and cultures advocate the need to arrive at inner peace. The starting points and approaches may seem to differ but the end point is same. Perhaps some may wish to learn from all sages on the approaches to inner peace and decide what are best for them. No need to be dogmatic and draw boundaries. This was what Gautama did and he became the Buddha.

If Gautama had been dogmatic and stayed put with the dogmas of his day, he would not be the Buddha we know in 2015 and in the future beyond 2015. He would never ever stop us from believing the teachings of all sages and saints. This too is echoed by Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨.

There is need to keep an open mind, to explore, to innovate, to incorporate and to improve on existing ways so as to arrive at the most appropriate for us and for the circumstances we are in. It is not that the tried ways are not correct. In fact, they are correct but just that the times and circumstances have changed and some must go for customized solutions. 

It is appropriate that we reflect on life, its problems and its solutions on an occasion like Wesak. The Buddha provided the best template for solutions to life's issues. We can apply the Buddha's teachings in any culture but may need to customize them to our needs and circumstances. 

The teachings are never meant to change our culture or social identity but to enhance our life within existing culture and social milieu. All regardless of cultures can practice the values explained by the Buddha. They must be selective and decide what to accept and how to practice. They must do things in context.

For the Buddha, there is no emphasis on worship but on Doctrine. The Doctrine is Divine. Divinity is the Doctrine. No wonder the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 says that like any saint, he too is the Word and the Word is him. 

We can be of any culture or belief systems. All the same we can benefit from the values or teachings of not only the Buddha but also the teachings of all sages and saints. All advocate that we avoid evil, do good and purify the mind. This the Buddha says is the universal teaching of all saints. Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 refers to this as the inner truth behind all spiritual cultures.

The Buddha never says that we believe only in him. In fact he wants us not to readily believe in him just because he is the Buddha. He would rather we test his teachings or the teachings of all sages and saints as gold is tested by fire in the old days. We are not in the wrong for doing this. In fact, we would be cheered on by the saints and be that more blessed for doing so. 

Well, these are pertinent reflections on Wesak. To round off, the need to believe in all sages and saints is emphasized by the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨. Cheers and have a meaningful and joyous Wesak. 

May all be well and happy and this includes those who are doubtful of the Buddha or do not at all believe in him. Doubt Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 says is good and is the platform for people to learn and be wiser one day. Buddha demands no respect but that way he earns even more of our respect. That makes the Buddha stand out even more - some would even say unequal on earth or in heaven. But let us be level-headed and not be carried away. 

This understanding adds to the beauty of Wesak. Happy Wesak for all beings be they Earth bound, Hell bound or of the Heavens up there or down here. Joy to the world. Joy to one and all. Happy Wesak not just once more but over and over again. Peace be. Peace be. That is the ultimate joy. 

Keep the silence. Silence is golden

No 865 of Living Life Series 1

While the Tao Te Ching 道德经 advocates - "Action through no (or less) action" 为无为 wei wu wei, it is increasingly more difficult for people to practice it in modern society of 2015 and beyond. 

Instead of just quietly going along with the wishes and guidance of the head of the family or company and getting things done as a group, people are now speaking out and acting up on the slightest excuse or justification without careful thought. They think this is civil rights and democracy. They think they can get their way by being loud. 

They think only of themselves and in the process it is just too easy to further promote the very mental roots that they should avoid - ill-will, greed and delusion (false views). The actions and speech that ensue add to the woes of society. 

Thus in Chinese culture heavily influenced by the teachings of the Buddha and other sages like Jesus and Confucius, there is the advice to think before we act. This means we need to be humble and mindful and if we are humble and mindful, we end up not acting out - not talking and not doing that which will hurt others and promote ill-will, greed and false views.  

This was stressed by Gautama Buddha whose teachings have heavily influenced and incorporated into many cultures not only of the East but also the West. His teachings too have colored the practice of other religions in modern days of 2015 and beyond - inevitably propelled by globalization.

To foster "Action through no (or less) action" 为无为 wei wu wei as a habit, there is the practice in Chinese traditional temples for observing silence and shutting the mouth say for half a day from midnight to noon when the sun is right above the head. Isn't this inculcation of "Action through no (or less) action" 为无为 wei wu wei.

The merits from such ritual of silence can benefit the individual and bless him or her for major life events like an upcoming wedding or an important job interview or examination.

This simple ritual in age-old Chinese culture has been there for centuries. It was encouraged by the representatives of the good lord Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 in the early years at temples in his name.

But with time, people who came to his temples frowned at this as outdated and not in keeping with the times. Is it in keeping with spiritual practice and advancement not to do so?

It is a practice similar to the more elaborate observance in Buddhist temples of Eight or Ten Precepts on New Moon or Full Moon days. This is especially popular on Wesak Day - the celebration of the Birth, Enlightenment and Ascension of the Buddha Gautama.

If only people can talk less, gossip not and keep the silence and the peace through "Action through no (or less) action" 为无为 wei wu wei, not only a temple will be a better temple with no human obstacles and issues, the world will be a better world as well.

Be mindful and shut up the mouth. Do not act or open the mouth too soon and more than necessary. Keep the silence. If you can't be kind, at least be quiet. Silence is golden. Empty vessels make the most noise and nuisance but this may not be exactly correct.

Incidentally, which is better? Do we pray aloud and let the whole world know or do we pray in silence? Are our prayers for the ears of others or for only God and saints? 

Should we be ever more meek and humble in our prayers and devotions? Is there the need to be loud and announce to the world so as to share with the world?

There are no easy answers but for many there are. What are correct for some may not be for others. One man's meat is another man's poison. 

Like Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨, favor no religion. Believe in all saints and grasp their teachings in context. All religions are good. Imbibe the values of all religions and practice them as part of culture. Do not allow religion or sect to divide men. 

Go for the common culture of the land we are in and blend silently with the culture. Where in Rome, do what the Romans do. This is plain common sense. 

Truth is common sense and is simple. Often we are short of common sense. Let us not stand out and be loud. Keep the silence. Silence is golden. This is the truth. 

Ways of the world to promote the ways of Heaven

No 864 of Living Life Series 1

While the Tao Te Ching 道德经 advocates - "Action through no (or less) action" 为无为 wei wu wei, there would be no religion of man if there are no actions made to make known the religion and attract men. 

Empty vessels make the most noise. Those who know little are more likely to make the most noise about their religion and attract others to it. 

But it is those few who know more who are better poised to explain the values of the sage of the religion. Though in essence simple, the values are too profound to be grasped by the majority who can only be attracted if delivered in worldly ways and not in the way it is put as in the Tao Te Ching 道德经. 

Thus those in the know may choose frugality of words and actions - parsimony. This means he hardly utters the values and if he does do so and act, he will speak in few words and only when others are ready and receptive. In effect, he hardly speaks and hardly find the good opportunities to speak as the opportunities hardly come by. 

He who knows will know when to keep his silence and when to speak. But he hardly speaks because most will hardly be ready to listen and to learn. He is no empty vessel and he will not make the most noise. 

But we need empty vessels to make the most noise so as to attract attention of the masses. From there, it is only when they are in will the people have the chance to go in-depth to the values in a religion. But at any one time, only a few can do so. 

We need worldly ways to bring in worldly people. We even need worldly people to helm a religion or a temple. They are the ones who know how to be with those like them. 

We have to have at least some noisy birds of the world to bring in the other noisy birds of the world to a place which is supposed to eschew silence and propriety. 

That is the way of the world. We need to have the ways of the world even in a place designated to promote not the ways of the way of Heaven. We need allot of actions and noise to promote no action -  wu wei 无为 as advocated by "Action through no (or less) action" - wei wu wei 为无为. 

Bo Tien Temple 武天宫 is a temple built based on the ways of the world to promote the ways of Heaven. This may mean that people there promote worldly agenda. It is worldly agenda that attract more people and in any temple, we need people. Worldly agenda are necessary and can still be good. 

Well, from the overall appearance and the look of things, it does not look like a temple...but this is arguable as it is indeed very much a temple and unique one at that. Just look at it and you will agree. 

The world is indeed at the stage where we need the house of God to be like a nightclub with disco lights and loud all round music to bring in the crowd. One day perhaps Bo Tien Temple 武天宫will be like that. That day may not come if the temple is not keen to attract the crowd. 

If the house of God hinders the spread of wings of those who want to introduce the outlandish or bizarre ways of the world into a house of God and saints, that will only encourage the flight out of the house of God to set up a new house of God to take the world by storm. No one can stop better ways of the world from promoting the ways of Heaven. 

But whether, they can progress to greater heights and instill greater spirituality after bringing in the crowd is another matter. That is the problem...a more upstream or uphill one.

Bringing in the crowd to be near God and saints is good but they may remain far if they do not grow in the Word. Lord Bo Tien 武天菩萨 says that the near may be far...and the far near. Those not in a house of God if they grow in the Word is near though far from a house of God. 

They are often the silent ones and are not effective in attracting others to The Word. We need ways of the world by people of worldly ways ironically at a house of God to do so. We need ways of the world to promote the ways of Heaven. This is it, isn't it?