One cannot stop being fascinated by Ji Gong Posat the Living Buddha. Unlike other posats or saints, he appears different even today and will be so in the future.
Whilst others no longer live in the human world, he chooses to be with humans and live in the human realm though a pure one and his rightful abode is in the heavens. Thus he is living though enlightened and for centuries no longer of flesh and blood. He is the living buddha.
He lives the simple life and prefers not to have the typical temple shrine in his name. Just a corner tucked away in a building or under a tree near a building will do.
His image can be low down and at floor level, sending the clear message that he wants to live at human level to be like men and like anyone of us. This is him and no mistake about that.
You can stand tall above his image and even when he comes down in a human intermediary, he will be seated on the floor, at times rolling on the floor while men who come to him sit on chair or stand.
Yet he has saintly demeanour. When he speaks, it is though he is an ordinary man talking to other men. When he offers divine help and advice, it is often simple and so simple that often we wonder why we did not know in the first place.
It is due to our being caught in the web of life that we go round in circles, create more problems around the problem at hand and get lost in the process.
He likes to drink but he is not only always clear in mind but remains ever divine and enlightened. He eats meat but he is compassionate and saves lives. He is lofty being a saint but he is down to earth in his ways. In fact, he sits and lies on floor.
At times he appears to be in jest while keeping an attentive listening ear to your problems and ever so concerned. That is unmistakeably him.
He likes to be amongst ordinary men and even while a human centuries ago, he would frolic with monkeys. It won't be surprising that he is with Monkey God the Great Sage.
Unlike other gods or saints, he counts earth god Tua Pek Kong as a member of his inner circle and invites the latter to be with men so as to bless them.
He is the role model of the principle that what is important is not what goes through the gut but what goes through the heart. Purity and perfection is not for outward display but must permeate even to our core and come from the heart.
Trueness, humility and sincerity matter most. Can we be a wee bit more a human like Ji Gong and yet be saintly like him as well? Be an ordinary man and we can still make it big in the divine way like Ji Gong. Let us be ordinary man and yet be saintly.
The best tribute to this great man is to be like him. Be an ordinary man, be modest and simple in life. Then you can have peace and plenty though of modest means. Why sit on high pedestal when you can be down to earth and ironically be better off? The whole wide world will be yours as your feet are planted solidly on the ground. No need to walk on clouds and be lost.
No need to fantasize about the afterlife and what you want to be in the afterlife. Go for what you can have and what you can be in this life. Then you will be better prepared not only for the days and years ahead and better poised for what to come not only in this life but beyond.
In short, be a man but be sure to be a good man. That would suffice for the present. That would be enough. One day, we will be like Ji Gong even if we are not one now.
Everything starts from the here and now, from this very moment. Have no inertia, no sloth and torpor and no going round in circles, no procrastination and regrets please. Be positive. Do want to be happy and at peace. Make life simple and pleasant. Don't make matters worse or complicated. Don't for goodness sake make life a string of regrets and be hard on yourself and others.
Simplicity is the way to go. All the big things start with the simple things in life. Live for today simply but positively, not carelessly and ever so recklessly. Be carefree but be responsible and positive. Do live today for a better tomorrow. Don't live for the many tomorrows and worst of all for the afterlife and risk giving up and having no today.
Be mindful to be simple and pure. You would be better off for now and better off in the end. This refreshing and apparently contrasting perspective of life is consistent with the inner truth teaching common to and underpinning the diverse doctrines and teachings of all religions and sects.
(PS The inner truth and its grasp is the focus of the Mission of Heaven of which the lord saint Lord Bo Tien is the messenger of God. His purpose is not to start a new sect or religion but to let all understand that there is oneness of the basic inner truth of God behind the diverse religions and sects. That same truth is even present even in a temple with Chinese cultural religious practices, like in any Bo Tien Temple. He let any temple in his name be set up as such a Chinese cultural temple and demonstrated that the substance of inner truth is there as well. There are a few such Bo Tien mission related temples in South East Asia especially at Singapore and Malaysia but they are currently developing on their own steam and interpretation, based on the initiatives or what you may refer to as free will of their own self-styled managment committees. Elder Ling would have wished that they be stereotyped and guided by pioneers but when we love or feel for others, we must learn to set them free to learn and and grow on their own.)
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