Have you ever wondered why newbies to a temple often get their prayers for worldly blessings answered while those who have been there for long time often ask why they cannot have more?
This observation was made known to the lord saint Lord Bo Tien by Elder Ling at Bo Tien Mission in the early years.
The lord saint asked "if more means better and that more may well mean more problems and issues down the road and the disciple may be worse off ". This is food for thought.
Certainly saints do think of the welfare of the many and welfare should not be in all in monetary or worldly terms. Saving a person's soul is beyond ensuring more of the worldly needs. Ample worldly resources that are are not excessive for that person will be the platform to launch him to bliss spiritually and mundane.
Saving of soul has to be holistic and has to go beyond worldly entrapment. There must be the balance in life so that person is not entwined in worldly indulgence but have enough or ample of them to go beyond that to have peace in life. Cultivating this peace will put one on path to save his soul - to be enlightened like the saints.
Thus a newbie will have worldly blessings but with time the blessings he get will be no longer of the mundane but beyond mundane.
Even Buddha have to step away from the laps of indulgence as Prince Siddhatra Gotama and from the woes of worldly denial as acetic Gotama before he can find the balance between the mundane world of life and the spirituality of life. Only then could he reach the apex which is Buddhahood.
Thus do understand why those who are new but not spiritually attuned may seem blessed in worldly sense. They may well even take on the helm of administration of a temple and hold on to the reins of management so tightly that they ostracise the pioneers and the more spiritually attuned.
Yet, they seem to get worldly blessings and readers should know why. Do not doubt the wisdom of the heavenly saint of that temple but be perceptive of the way of the saints.
Saints put men through the mill of the spiritual path - three phases: induction phase, social phase and doctrine phase.
In the induction phase, the individual receives (from heaven) and in the social phase he gives (charity) and in the doctrine phase, he must go beyond receiving and giving but cultivating the Tao or Way.
Many are stuck in the first two and are lost in self indulgence and their worldly gains prove to be losses and they may think that the heavenly saint appears no longer with them. Worldly gains must not be excessive or they may prove to be the undoing of that person's well being.
They are just means to the end but not the end in themselves. Thus there will be pastors or monks who run foul of the law and get caught up by the law.
Greed never pays but many say they do not have enough. Abject poverty or impoverishment too will not be good either.
Worldly gains are good servants but not good masters. Without some worldly endowment, the body will suffer and no way can the person be spiritual to attain peace and wisdom.
The lord saint thus want all to reflect "if more means better and that more may well mean more problems and issues down the road and the disciple may be worse off ".
Men must see the logic (tou-li) in what the lord saint said. Omitofo.
Thus do understand why those who are new but not spiritually attuned may seem blessed in worldly sense. They may well even take on the helm of administration of a temple and hold on to the reins of management so tightly that they ostracise the pioneers and the more spiritually attuned.
Yet, they seem to get worldly blessings and readers should know why. Do not doubt the wisdom of the heavenly saint of that temple but be perceptive of the way of the saints.
Saints put men through the mill of the spiritual path - three phases: induction phase, social phase and doctrine phase.
In the induction phase, the individual receives (from heaven) and in the social phase he gives (charity) and in the doctrine phase, he must go beyond receiving and giving but cultivating the Tao or Way.
Many are stuck in the first two and are lost in self indulgence and their worldly gains prove to be losses and they may think that the heavenly saint appears no longer with them. Worldly gains must not be excessive or they may prove to be the undoing of that person's well being.
They are just means to the end but not the end in themselves. Thus there will be pastors or monks who run foul of the law and get caught up by the law.
Greed never pays but many say they do not have enough. Abject poverty or impoverishment too will not be good either.
Worldly gains are good servants but not good masters. Without some worldly endowment, the body will suffer and no way can the person be spiritual to attain peace and wisdom.
The lord saint thus want all to reflect "if more means better and that more may well mean more problems and issues down the road and the disciple may be worse off ".
Men must see the logic (tou-li) in what the lord saint said. Omitofo.
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