Know the views of others that differ from yours and you will know your own views better. Whether you change your views or not is another issue.
Even if you don't and you hold to the belief that your views are right, by knowing the views of others and why they are different from yours and what makes them have such views will enable you know your views even better.
In short, you will gain insight of sorts. But this is not a once-off process but a continual learning process.
In time, you will wonder how you come to know more and that what you believed years ago is the same and yet different from what you know now.
This whole preceding discussion applies to any belief, be it related to the mundane or spiritual. Let us dwell on spiritual applications
To know your own religion or saint better, you must know other religions and saints better.
Initially, you may start with perspective that your religion or saint is miles apart from other religions or saints.
But with knowing better the other religions and saints, you will in time understand your own saint and religion better.
You will realize that what are different are in fact the same. It is as though they belong to different points of a circle. It is the same circle after all.
All hail from the same Divinity or God.
Even in a temple or church, members may hold different views on how to run it and what should be the mission or emphasis.
Do not run down the views of others and say yours are correct but try to understand and know their views and why they stick to them.
Learn how to accept their views and yet not agree if you cannot agree.
That way you may learn to understand your own views better and how to marry your views with that of others. That is the challenge.
The way of course is to know others views better and in process gain more insight on your own.
Others' beliefs can promote insight on your own and enable you to make your beliefs more whole, more complete and more inclusive. This will take time and requires magnanimity, patience and tolerance.
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| God and the Saints of religions |
Even in a temple or church, members may hold different views on how to run it and what should be the mission or emphasis.
Do not run down the views of others and say yours are correct but try to understand and know their views and why they stick to them.
Learn how to accept their views and yet not agree if you cannot agree.
That way you may learn to understand your own views better and how to marry your views with that of others. That is the challenge.
The way of course is to know others views better and in process gain more insight on your own.
Others' beliefs can promote insight on your own and enable you to make your beliefs more whole, more complete and more inclusive. This will take time and requires magnanimity, patience and tolerance.
Any Bo Tien mission-related temple is a role model that this is the way to go and knowing others views promote insight on your own. That way there will be harmony and oneness even in diversity of views - oneness of yin and yang as in Bagua.
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| The Bagua shrine floor at Bo Tien mission-related temple at Singapore echoes the harmony of yin and yang, the very diversity of views that seem conflicting and yet is one. Knowing more of the other views will promote insight on your own. |
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