Are we worshiping Ego instead of God in a church?

Learning Point No 368

Many of us go head over heels in love with a saint or founder of religion and that can be interesting for us not to reflect and analyse further. We don't even know the saint except for what others say or what was written. 

He is likely to tell us that above him there is God or Buddha but we are more likely to have the affinity with him than God or Buddha. 

Many may even die to life out of commitment to the saint. Why is this so? 

Faith and affinity seem to be reasons. But more likely, the saint we idolize personify the ideal we somehow do subconsciously want to have which we cannot find in ourselves or our fellow men. 

So psychologically, this more often than not is a projection of our subconscious and a cover up of our own inadequacies, our mortality and our very lack of mortality and perfection. This is the way we find solace, satisfaction and perfection. This we in religion call faith. 

But such faith may not withstand the test of time and the weathering by the trials and tribulations of life, what we often attribute to as temptations. That is why the prophets and saints say that what is more important than idolising of a saint is the embracing of the doctrine he professes, effecting it in life and making it come to life. 

Haven't we heard that the Word is God? Lord Bo Tien said that he who sees and knows the doctrine sees and knows him. He who does not, does not see and know him even if he or his image is before him. 

The gospel may be before us and in life. Life is the living gospel. We may have read it, known it but if we live not in the Word, we know neither the Word nor God and his saints even if we are in a temple or church umpteen times a day. 

This realisation is not new but somehow, men avoid reality and prefer to live in denial and they deceive themselves into thinking they know and they care. But what they really care is themselves. 

God or saint merely becomes a projection of their own ego. When they see God or saint, they really see themselves, the ideals in themselves  and cling on to themselves. So men must know the Word and the Word is God. If not, when they worship God or saint, they end up worshiping their own ego. 

Worshiping Ego or God depends on knowing the Word and living in the Word. Are we worshiping Ego instead of God in a church or temple? Small wonder some even say that God is the super Ego! 

This is cause for reflection and concern and is the very reason why the lord saint Lord Bo Tien has to undertake the mission to bring to life the Word or Doctrine in the existing religions and sects and not start a new one. 

The Word has been lost or diluted by changes over the centuries since the days of the founders or pioneers. Dogmas evolved over time are supposed to help in this direction but may not do as well as intended, or worse still have the unintended effects. 

Somehow, we must reinvigorate, reintegrate or reconstruct the pioneering spirit and Word which our forefathers the pioneers knew and wanted us to know. Only then could we know the Word and live in the Word. Only then can we live in God. The Word is God. 

Otherwise we may well be worshiping Ego instead of God and saints in a church or temple. So do ask ourselves thus. Are we worshiping Ego instead of God in a church or temple? 

There is really no need at all for guilt or fear in doing the unthinkable but such negative attributes the lord messenger Lord Bo Tien said can only harm and distance us from God and living in the Word. (God is no Ego and does not need to instill fear or guilt to elicit subservience.)

Just make good and live in the Word. Be happy and rejoice that we can make the start and move on in the Word. There is no place for fear and guilt. There is no need for sin mentality please, for having this is not good at all. But never say that having this is sinful!

Conversion woes and wows

Learning Point No 367

Conversion is no issue and the trend throughout the world. Conversion takes many forms and does not need to be from one religion to another. There is no real significance to Heaven when one changes from one religion to another as the same God is behind all religions. 

But if conversion can make a person more spiritual and closer to God, that would be wholesome and God-worthy. If conversion can transform a person to be more good than good, that is the spirit of conversion. 

But if conversion makes a person denounce his past religion or sect for the new religion or sect, that would be distasteful and will not be wholesome and pleasant for all sectors of society. 

The ideal conversion is from bad to good, from darkness to light, from emptiness to fulfillment, from wanting to contentment, from not knowing to knowing, from having no life to having more of life. Religion may not be the only determinant or be involved. 

There is really that much more to conversion than we know or care to know. 

In the mission of Lord Bo Tien, the purpose is to make all realize the oneness of religions and to make a follower of a religion that more spiritually better than before. That is the most ideal type of conversion but not all will concur. 

A Buddhist will be a better Buddhist. There is no need to jump ship, but just a more complete understanding of the same inner truth behind the religion he or she is in. 

There is absolutely nothing wrong in jumping ship, so long as the person is happy and end up better motivated and closer not only to God but to all men around him, even those who are of religions other than his own.

The end result or outcome must invariably involve the person's conversion to a better and more complete grasp, understanding and appreciation of all religions and sects. 

Conversion must inject awe and bring more wows. It must not create any woe to society and to men. 

The Mission of Heaven of which Lord Bo Tien is messenger is directed at the conversion of the person to be a better adherent of his or her existing religion through the grasp of the same basic inner truth behind all religions. 

He or she knows his or her religion better and learns to appreciate other religions as well. How wholesome can this be!

Mission paradox or reality?

Learning Point No 366

Nothing is near perfect. As long as this is the case, whatever one believes in, be it in religion or any other issue is an individualized perspective most of the time. That is why in spiritual matters, there will be differences, sects and religions. There is always ultimately the individual choice. Even with the same perspective, each person sees it differently. 

Lord Bo Tien's Mission that all religions serve the same God and are built on the same building block of inner truth is controversial to those who are of view that this is not the case. Some men even think their sect, not just their religion is the one and only correct sect. 

The inner truth is that there is God and saints. Men and beings are separated from God due to their defilements and have to undergo rebirths. They need to cultivate themselves and be pure so that they can be with God and saints. 

If upholders of the mission of Lord Bo Tien is worried that Four Pillar Doctrine (that all religions in the four cardinal directions serve the same God) is that controversial, then the mission should not be there and they are not true to the lord saint. 

Exactly because many in any mission-related temple in the name of the lord saint think that this doctrine can actually evoke controversy and ridicule, many may prefer to go on a lower level of mission, which is that of mere welfare and charitable activities. If this be so, why the need for the lord saint to say his mission is for all religions and sects and for all beings and men?

Why the need for the Four Pillar Doctrine? The Inner Truth or rather The Four Pillar Doctrine is that the religions in all directions are there to serve the same God but in their own ways. 

There will, of course, be many in the mission who are uneasy and uncomfortable to identify with the mission. These people can even be pioneers. Why this is the case? Well, there always will be those who like to avoid realities. They somehow live in a dream or perhaps are that more pragmatic. They are uncomfortable with taking on the mission head-on and prefer to sidestep it somehow. 

Even in the early phase or years of the mission, there was more harp on welfare. The Four Pillar Doctrine though important and central to mission was relegated to the backyard. This perhaps is because people were not ready or not rightly poised for the mission which is primarily doctrine. 

The doctrine mission is the prima-facie mission proper. Many were not really ready for or prepared to take on doctrine and bigger things. They were only ready for welfare and self pursuits. 

Perhaps, they were and are only good enough for that. They were prudent to leave doctrine mission in the backdrop and not bring it to the fore, for fear of evoking ire and discomfort of some. 

They are in their own ways wise and pragmatic and the mission if it is going to have any more headway forward must not and should never ever be poised in any way to elicit dis-ease to anyone. 

We do believe that Lord Bo Tien would not take issue with them for such approach.

What exactly is God like?

Learning Point No 365

It is sometimes better not to belong than to belong to a religion, sect, temple or institution if you want to be free to relate with and think of God and saints. 

You do not have to worry if you need to think and act like other men. The sad part is that man is still animal. Monkeys see and monkeys do. Men like to ape other men. 

If someone at the pulpit shout that it is alright to commit more, many will just do so and amazingly without much of a thought. This they say is faith. 

But is this well placed faith or just blind faith? Is there wisdom? Is this faith in God and saints? Is this just faith induced by manipulative men in the name of God and saints? 

There is freedom of thought and democracy in the secular world but in the religious world, if we try to do so, we are out of tune. We may be accused as weak in spirit and being tempted by the evil one. 

Why is there less freedom in religion than in secular world? Well, this is not true or is it? God has no part in restricting freedom of thinking on spiritual matters. 

It is sometimes the few men at the top who dictate how others worship and what they should think or believe spiritually. This like it or not is true but yet not true. 

Well, the rare wise ones prefer to be left alone in matters of how to relate with God and saints. Ji Gong in his youth as man did just that. 

He refused to toe the line and was considered eccentric and mad. He drank wine, ate meat and followed not the decorum of monks in the famous Linyin monastery in age-old ancient China. 

He was defrocked and asked to leave, literally expelled from the temple. That was more a blessing as he could then be ever more free to relate to God in his own way. The rest you know is history. 

He succeeded and became saint. He left behind a legacy but he refused and still refuse to overpower others, restrict or impose on others just because he is above them. In fact, he would never want to be above others and prefer to sit and roll on the floor. That is the Ji Gong we know. 

That is exactly what God is like. He is not like men but man like Ji Gong can be like God. God never impose, restrict or curtail how we relate to him. 

How come some men make him out to be different and want us to fear him. God like Ji Gong is our friend. God does not lord over us though he is lord. 

The hopeless deadlost idealists

Learning Point No 364

There will be some who know the doctrine but not well enough to know how to go about it. They want to attain sainthood and enlightenment and think they can do so overnight!  

They may end up creating new sects and even think that anyone can be a saint or buddha this minute if they can just simply will to stop wanting and give up everything this minute, here and now. They are like children in early elementary school thinking that they can be professors at a university overnight. 

They try to convince others to follow suit. But they are day dreaming and the great dream just vaporise and evaporate in their face and they are hopelessly dead lost. 

They give up taking life step by step and feel hopeless the next day waking up and realise that not only are they no where near sainthood but also they are outcast of society, in fact, failures and societal dropouts. 

They end up denying life and lost to society and ways of society. They are delusional and that is sad. Isn't this the case? 

They are the hopeless dead lost idealists. They can only dream on but have no idea how to realise their dream. 

It is far better to be a pragmatist and take life one step at a time, be it in spiritual or mundane life. It is better to be a little somebody than try to be a very big somebody and end up being nobody. 

It is better to be a slow but sure-footed tortoise taking one step at a time than to be a hare which can hop and jump but decided to sleep away its time, beguiled by sloth and torpor thinking that heaven can wait while it daydreams away. 

A man may know little but if he is like the sure footed wise tortoise which crawls slowly, perhaps even painfully to the destination, he can succeed spiritually far faster and perhaps even better than another man who knows allot but daydreams like the hare in the above story. The hare in the story is but a hopeless dead lost idealist.

Let us not be hopeless dead lost idealists who talk and boast allot but are plagued by complacency, sloth and torpor. 

Even in a mission of a heavenly saint, it is better to have a little or no building than to have a majestic concrete building but beset by complacency and social cultural distractions, ever always resting on laurels and not moving on with mission based on doctrine. 

Living Life Series is championing the Mission of Heaven but has no building at all as platform for mission. It has been able to make foray globally to far corners of the world despite having no building, no members and no funds. It has been regarded as insignificant like the poor but hardy tortoise in the hare and tortoise story. 

The double whammy

Learning Point No 363

Even the most secular minded would still believe in life beyond though they may be wrongly orientated to think that what matters is the present life and that man should enjoy himself to the fullest. Some even do so without any heed to morals. This is far too worldly and leaves much to be desired.

Then there is the other extreme when men think that what matters is to give allegiance to God and nothing else matters. Just call out to God and just believe in him. They say that doing good works and personal cultivation, meditation and mindfulness, all that do not matter. 

What matters is to have allegiance to God. Believe and you will be saved. Well this is good for a start but after sometime there is questionable benefit if one does not think deeper and develop more insight. 

Both approaches are toxic to life. 

The first with more of mundane life will result in man wanting more and more. Man must know when to pull the brakes of want or he will be victim of wants. He will perpetually ever want more and more and be ever dissatisfied and not have peace. 

The second approach is a spiritual one but only superficially so. The sad consequence is to leave everything to God and many may even develop crutch mentality. Many end up having false sense of security and peace. 

If the two approaches are combined, men may well think God is with them. They need not do good works and all they need is to fear and believe in God. They may even take the step further and say that since God is with them, they might as well enjoy worldly life to fullest.   

This merely makes matters worse though initially they may think they are in paradise. They can never placate their desires and senses. They grow the addiction for more and more of things that do not last and will only inflict pain because they do not last or the joy from these do not last. 

Thus combining the two erroneous views may be the worst approach to life - a double whammy....

What they the adherents wish for, God will fulfill so long as they believe in Him. It is God's will that they live the life of luxury and plenty. Thus it is not inconceivable for the rare instance of those who end up having cult culture and even a harem - taking on god-wives. 

Is this God sent? Could well be and the adherents would want you to believe this as the case. To them, there is no double whammy but paradise on earth so long as they believe in God. There don't seem to be any need at all for good works or self cultivation. 

Are they delusional? So what if they are or not? The strange and paradoxical double whammy sure will make religion ridiculous and ludicrous. 

Demystifying religion

Learning Point 362

Religion tends to be shroud in mystery, strange vagueness and double talking. That however is the norm and to be expected. That is typical of many men and goes without saying. 

God is known and yet unknown. Allot of talk and substance but who has ever seen God? Some vouch they did. God knows. 

Plenty of descriptives of God but do we know beyond these? Small wonder that some or perhaps even many do not believe. But countless many still do. 

Yet they have different perspectives and views. Each think he is more right and knows better. All they can do at times is say others are wrong and these others will wrong God by being wrong. 

Then to stress the point, they inject the fear factor. Better repent or face consequences. If God is God, there is no need for that. He is loving and perfect.

Why don't he show himself? But are men ready and fit to see the saints let alone God? Many in the various levels of Heaven have yet to see God and the pure ones like the Buddhas. 

So what we and they can do is just believe but believe is not enough. We must go for the Word for the Word is God. What is the Word? It is the gospel. But what is the Gospel? It is life and the nature of life, the lessons that we learn from life. The Gospel is written into the life of men.

Till we have learnt life well and purify and enhance our spirit, we cannot feel God, let alone see Him and His pure ones, the heavenly saints. 

We are separated from divinity of God and saints by our defilements or pollution of our very being through the years and the multiple rebirths  We do not defile divine God and saints but rather we defile ourselves such that we are not able to see and know the doctrine or Word in its simplicity and purity, let alone feel God and saints. 

Seeing God and saints is thus out of question for now and perhaps in afterlife as well. Yet if a man promises you that, you would believe but what is worse is that you will think that that same man is representing and speaking for God and saints.  

That may be good for a start but can be delusional if carried too far. Then we will end up with cult culture and this will further separate men from God and his saints. 

The problem of money

Learning Point No 361

Money is a means to an end but not the end in itself. Money is needed even in religion but religion must not be driven by money. 

This had been said umpteen times by various religions but yet religions of today are plagued not infrequently by money woes, not just lack of money but at times by having too much and mishandling. 

Many a priest, leader or pastor meet their downfall due to monetary concerns. This is sad as they who lead the flocks must be models of sorts. 

Temples or churches often start off well when they have little in their kitties but once they have more and could afford concrete and majestic premises, they end up having less in spiritual terms. Isn't this sad? 

It is also easier for the poor to be religiously observing daily spiritual routines but the rich often have no time and are less committed and disciplined for this. 

All they would want is to attend church or temple once in a while and pamper their senses through pop culture even at a church or temple. 

They need to placate their senses and they go for more of the sense desires even in a church or temple. This is the way of men in the era of the sense desires. How far can men go spiritually? 

But who knows as they may well go far if they be resolved even when their senses are stimulated and titillated to the limits. Men can be strange and have quaint and queer ways to reach God. 

Many prophets give up or arose in poor monetary conditions and live in relative poverty but if they were filthy rich, would they be who they were or reached their full potential as prophets? Well, the answer would at best be mere speculation. 

The unspoken but well positioned design of God

Learning Point No 360

People involved in mission of a temple, church or saint are no volunteers but perhaps they are doing so because they are indebted to God and the lord saint in that temple or church. They are not bound to do the mission but will reap good if they can do so. 

If they could not but instead undo the mission or go against the doctrinal objective, then they are in for it, not that God or the lord saint would punish but that they know not what they do. 

They are supposed to be motivated by the very blessings of God and the lord saint either in this life or in the past life. They gravitate towards the temple or church due to divine affinity but they fail to be properly grounded in doctrine to want to further the mission. 

They end up like insects coming to the flower for nectar. Will all be lost? Certainly, this will not be the case. Why? 

To err is human and to wake up one day and to realise the opportunity costs are part of the learning process and all will augur well in the long run. This is due to the divine design of God and saints. 

Thus the many wrong done in the name of God and saints may well be bad. These wrong do however afford such great learning lessons in life not only for those who err but also for those who can learn from their errors and not commit the same flaws. 

There is thus the unspoken and unspecified design of God and his saints. Divinity has in place the various systems that are in position to make men learn at their own pace and with free will at that. 

Men must pilot their own lives and live their own lives. There invariably will always be the unspoken but well positioned design of God and saints that is operative in the background to make men learn to be not only good but also be better than good.  

They have to be inclined towards and be with God and saints in all ways. Doctrinal insight is the main thrust and there is no question about that. Haven't we heard time and again that the Word is God? 

God is not only great but benevolent. All who have erred but are able to learn (The Word) are like his sons even if other men may call them prodigal sons. God don't. 

They are and ever will be truly his sons even if they somehow do the unthinkable and are plagued by the unthinkable, such as being persecuted, defrocked, derogated, criminalised or crucified. 

Indebted to a lord saint

Learning Point No 359

A saint does more for us than we do for him. It is not in the nature of a saint to want absolute allegiance to himself. If he is a heavenly saint, he does not need men more than men need him. He does not need men to fawn on him. 

Only the insecure in men do need others to fawn on them. If someone tells you that he is the one and only one who could be of benefit to you, would you believe in him? 

Action speaks louder than words. A saint does not need to talk you into allegiance. He just does what is right and will help not because he needs to prove to you or to get your allegiance but because it is in the nature of a heavenly saint to reach out and to help all those who come his way. 

There is totally no preconditions, no meeting of qualifications before he will do so. You don't have to be baptized or be anointed as his follower before he will help you. Only self-centered and ego-centric man does that. 

Thus a saint helps all and even if they do not make good after his help, it does not matter. But there will be many of those he reached out to who will make good and be well motivated. They will feel indebted to the heavenly saint and be attracted to his philosophy and mission. 

There is no way they can please him more than he can please them. But that is beside the point. The point is that he is a heavenly saint and is beyond and does not have the flaws of men. 

Men will be indebted to him and call him lord not out of fear, not out of wanting his favor but out of awe for his love for all beings regardless of their plus and minus points. His glory is in the love of men and not in how much men fawn on him. 

Thus there is a universal prayer to all heavenly saints at Bo Tien mission related temple. 

"To all heavenly saints we greatly adore. 

We believe in your existence and 

thy glory is in the thought of men. 

We seek for thy protection and guidance 

so as to live better for the time to come." 

We will always be indebted to a lord saint so long as he is one. But a good saint may be portrayed in bad light, as insecure, jealous and as being needy of allegiance. This is the wrong of men and not at all the fault of the heavenly saint. 

Debt to God is not the debt that we know as debt

Learning Point No 358

Synopsis: Debt to God is not the debt that we know as debt. You get richer instead of poorer though indebted to God. You can never give back enough. God does not need you to do so. But you do need to give to others the more you receive. You are indebted to God and others are indebted to you. Just as God sets you free to give to others, you too must also set your debtors free to give to others. Let God be god to you and you to others. This way you let God work through you to reach to other men. God also works through these men as well. Let you and more men be men of God. 

The sages of old refer to the grace of God and saints helping beings to overcome hurdles in life and with their grace, they are able to make good and be in paradise. 

But having made good, they owe to God and saints social debts of sorts. These are not financial debts or favors to be repaid but have more to do with the practice of virtue of gratitude. 

The perfection of gratitude will be that more good for the person for his spiritual development. He may have to commit himself and on his own accord, (that is, not because of the will of God and saints) to come down to earth to be man again to fulfill his debt so to speak. 

This is not the usual money debt of sorts, not even karmic debt at that. You can say that he has a personal mission to fulfill and this will make good the blessing from God and saints he had the good fortune to receive in previous life. 

The Chinese refer to this as 'debt' but this is not the financial debt and the debtor needs not pay back but will usually, on his own merit be motivated morally and spiritually to show his gratitude by coming down to earth as man to make good, not that he was bad before but he has to be more good than good. 

It is not the issue that he owes to God and saints but that he has gained and learnt from God and saint. Having learnt and gained, he feels the need to be like God and saints to come down to mankind to do likewise to help or bless other men what God and saints had done for him. 

So he has debts of sorts to discharge and such debts are not real debts and are in no way liabilities but assets or blessings instead. He learns to be like God and saints to be God to other men. This is a divine attribute he is cultivating and you may say that he is on the path to sainthood. 

He has definitely not done wrong. On the contrary, he has been good. Do know that he is not reaping consequences of wrong, what many would refer to as karmic debt. This is not an issue of bad karma. 

There is no question or issue of asking God and saints for forgiveness for debts but for want of better word, the translation in any scripture always refer to forgiveness from God and saints. 

This is not that the person is a sinner or a criminal, not that he has wronged or offended God and saints but that he was helped by the grace of God and saints. Out of sheer gratitude and humility, he feels that there is no way he could repay God and saints other than to do good for other men in like manner. But even if he can do so, what he does may not be enough, so it seems.

Of course, what he can do may be good but to him, this would pale in comparison to what God and saints had done for him. He is well aware of that. That awareness is on its own a virtue in itself - something positive and good, not negative and bad. 

Thus this is how the element of forgiveness of debts does come into perspective. But unfortunately the word debt or forgiveness does sound very negative and bad. That is just due to sheer imperfection of translation.

Even in the old testament, biblical times refered to asking God to forgive debts and that men in turn must forgive debts that are due from fellow men. This does not sound right but translation from complex and elaborate languages like Hebrew to less elaborate and complex languages like English does have shortcomings. 

If we cannot make good the debt we owed to God, we surely too should not expect men who owed us to make good what they owed. At best what they can do is to pay back dollar to dollar but there are other opportunity costs that cannot be measured. Do learn to let go and be like God and saints. Our fellow men too must do likewise. 

The Lord's Prayer is one example of problem and sheer limitation of language translation. There will be some misinterpretations and misrepresentations. That is why it too somehow has its fair share of revisions to its translation. The scholar may have to master the old Hebrew language to get to the true original Lord's Prayer and experience first hand the wonders of the prayer.

Lord's Prayer in Hebrew
Do read from right to left

The prayer as it occurs in Matthew 6:9–13

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come,

your will be done,

on earth, as it is in heaven. 

Give us this day our daily bread,

and forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from evil.

It is what we learnt and not what we gained that matters

Learning Point No 357

Success in life is not in the outcome in whatever we do but in what we learnt in the process even if the desired outcome is not achieved. It is the learning process that matters. 

What if the desired outcome is attained? Are we better person both spiritually and in secular sense? 

We would be better off if we come to terms with life and are stronger in spirit even if we failed to get the desired worldly outcome. It is the mental or spiritual outcome that will stand us in good stead for the future, not only in this life but for the next. 

Are we that more enabled, more self assured, more robust, more resilient, more focused and more able to move on in life with less strive and more life? Are we more in control of life, the changes in life? 

Are we worse off in the long run if we lose what we have gained in the long run? Are we in a more attached more and addicted to our worldly success that we fear the end or loss of what we achieved at the end of life? 

Are we in more difficult position to detach and to let go when the time comes to say adieu to this world? Ultimately, dear readers, it is what have we learnt in this life that is the only consideration or determinant? 

That is the real gain for what we gained will not last forever and is of no use if we have learnt nothing but are worst off from it. 

Are we better off from the experiences or lessons of this life? Are we stronger and more robust in spirit from whatever gains or losses that we have in this life? It is the 'are we' and the 'have we' that matter. 

Do we dare to take up life or any issue in life and having taken up are we able to put down what we have taken up, be it life itself or or any issue in life? 

If we can see through the reality and nature of life and be better off in spirit, we have succeeded spiritually. 

If we can see through, let go and not be held down by life issues, if we can live life and neither run from life nor cling to life, we are like the saints. 

It is what we learnt and not what we gained that matters. That is perhaps the purpose of life. What we gained, worldly wise, be it money or status will not be there beyond this life. 

What we learnt are for keeps even in the afterlife, way way beyond the present life. These enhance the spirit or soul and become part of the spirit.

Thou shall not want

Learning Point No 356

Synopsis: 

This post 356 is a rather refreshing and perhaps even an unexpected and unintended inter-religious reflection and discussion on none other than the tenth of the Ten Commandment in the Old Testament? 

It bears testimony to the depth and width of very ancient yet absolutely wholesome philosophy even in the Old Testament. Do read on if you don't mind or do you? 

The principle behind it is also exactly the spiritual philosophy proper of many religions and sects around the world though the treatment of this same philosophy may however vary somewhat and as a result can be that more interesting and colorful. 

This commonality of truth is not just due to mere coincidence but a definite evidence of oneness of religions as well as the oneness of God behind religions and sects. 

This is what Lord Bo Tien as a messenger of God will always want all to know, regardless of their religious affiliation. 

He reiterates that he favors no religion and does not in any way represent or vouch for any religion or sect though he uses the Chinese cultural platform as springboard to illustrate and demonstrate that the same inner truth abounds. 

His purpose is to demonstrate that the same God and truth exist even in the gamut of age old culture and traditions that are more often than not mistaken and misconceived.

Thou shall not want (covet). Many believe in this, whether it is said by Jesus or by any other saints.  

In the Buddhist texts, this refers to clinging or attachment which will inevitably bring suffering and more frustrations or dissatisfaction in life. But having a goal or life stations in life is not clinging so long as it is within means. 

We only suffer because when the more we have the more we want and the more we covet what we don't have which others have. This can be endless. 

We forget that what we have others may not have. We forget to count our own blessings.

It is not just mere coincidence that Jesus also said so, that wanting can be detrimental. But somehow, there is that added connotation that if we have saint like Jesus as our shepherd, there is really no need to want or covet because all would be provided, so it seems.... 

Saints will provide. This many would expect. But then, God helps those who help themselves. This too is a biblical truth. So we must first want to help ourselves and be able to resolve to do so within our own means before we can expect God and saints to help us. 

For example, can all believers of a saint say that they will strike first prize in the lottery draw. This is impossible. 

What is meant when someone says, "Thou shall not want" ? 

Well, it means that we go for only what are within our reach and means and we must be pragmatic. God willing, we can have such blessings and perhaps a little more. Blessings do not just drop from the sky. God and saints can bless but nothing will come about if the person does not want to bless himself or create the conditions for fruition. 

Not wanting does not mean we give up on life and run away from life. If we do so, we are running away from everything even God. That is just not possible. Like it or not, we have to be with life and the world around us and in us. 

We cannot run away from ourselves and others. We cannot run away from life even at point of death. 

At the same time, our faith in God and saints to the point that we think there is no need to want for they will provide can be at times ridiculous. It does not mean that just because God and saints are behind us, we can reach for the sky and the sky is the limit. That is exactly or precisely why saints like Jesus said, "Thou shall not want." 

It means that we moderate expectations and do the do-able, reach for the reachable and want not more than these. With shelter of saints like Jesus, Bo Tien or Ji Gong, big issues will at least be small issues even if they cannot be no issue. Small issues will be no issue. 

Saints are like shepherds tending to sheep. Sheep can graze under the care of the shepherds who make sure they do not stray and go for more and be lost. The basic and what they need are readily and easily available, sort of provided but the sheep must graze on their own and live their own individual life, albeit as part of the flock. 

Shepherds do provide safety and guidance while flocks of sheep are on the move. They ensure the sheep move together as flocks and no sheep will stray and be pounced on by wolves. But then, even with the best of good shepherds, misadventure do occur and that is fate. Some sheep will still be prey to wolves. 

But even with the many good shepherds or saints, let there be no crutch mentality please. We do need to live our own life and God and saints cannot live for us. Yes, they can shelter our life but we need to live our own life.  

In summary, we cannot just run away and give up on life. At the same time, we cannot live other peoples' lives. We have to be ourselves. God and saints too cannot live for us.

We cannot covet what others can have which we don't have. We must also not be boastful and cause others to be green with envy over what we have or can have. 

The extreme case of wanting or covetousness is to covet "our neighbors wives" or anything to do with our neighbors as stated in the tenth commandment - Thou shall not covet.

We neither want nor cause others to want. We neither covet nor cause others to covet. That way we are at peace. 

That way we are contented. Contentment Gautama Buddha says is one of the four great blessings. The others are health, self-confidence and nirvana or enlightenment. 

He said thus, 

"Health is the highest gain. 

Contentment the greatest wealth. 

Self confidence the greatest friend. 

Nirvana the greatest bliss." 

Do compare what is in Psalm 23 of the Bible - a psalm of David. 

"The Lord is my shepherd I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me ; your rod and staff they comfort me." 

But perhaps, he would have added that he has to live his own life but with confidence and assurance that the lord is behind him. 

For those who see the universality of truth in all religions, there is concordance of teachings of all saints and religions but for those who do not, well one fine day (and that day will come), they too will soon come to this realization or awakening. That will be the day when all are one and one is in all. God is great.

"Thou shall not want" may be seen from another angle. With regards to religions and sects, we must want to see the oneness of religions and not the rare ugly sad reality of the conflicting and hair splitting side of man-made religions and sects. 

We must see no evil, hear no evil and talk no evil, perhaps even think no evil. Men must be more civil and humane, perhaps a bit more Godly towards one another, be this on any issue secular or otherwise 

"Evil" here refers to the inert desire or "want" of  a some bigoted men to ever want to champion what they believe and derogate that of others, thinking that by doing so, they please God. They might sadly even go overboard and hate rather than love, all because others do not go along with them. They might have forgotten that God is love always and evermore. 

That is not what God and saints expect. Luckily they are few, rare and the exception in any religion or sect. Thank God for that. 

In conclusion, the writer is grateful to Lord Bo Tien for showing the way to the universality of the same basic inner truth and oneness of religions and sects despite diversity of approaches and emphasis.

A friend in Ji Gong

Learning Point No 355

- a hymn of joy to call on Ji Gong

What a saint we have in Ji Gong, 

All our tears and woes he bear!

What joy and blessing to carry 

Everything to Him in prayer!

O what peace all of us will miss, 

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not ferry 

Everything to Him in prayer.

Are there issues that big or small? 

Is there problem anywhere?

You would never need to des-pair; 

Take it to the good lord in prayer.

You would need a saint to befrien-end 

Who will all your problems care?

Lord Ji he knows every is-sue; 

Take it to the lord in prayer.

Are you sad and disheartened, 

Tied down by life load to bear?

Ask Ji Gong to be your shelter, 

Take it to Lord Ji in prayer.

Do others chide and forsake you? 

Take it to Lord Ji in prayer!

With His fan He’ll bless and shield you; 

You will find more joy and peace there.

Chorus 

O mi to fo, O mi to fo?

Ji Gong is always there.

Like all the saints any where eh,
Ji Gong will ever care.

Easy to be wayward but not easy to be good.

Learning Point No 354

变好几年，变坏几天.. It takes years to become a good person, but it may just take days to be the opposite. It is easy to be wayward in mere days but years just to be good, even a wee bit more good. 

This reflects the reality of the spiritual path. You can cultivate that little bit of spirituality for many years but it takes only mere days to undo it and go back to square one. It is easy to be bad but not easy to be good. 

To be good is like rowing up stream against the current to reach the beginning of the river of life where one can taste pure water. To be wayward is just to go downstream and be swept along with the muddy water. 

Follow the crowd and one will stand to gain and have company of the often merry fools. But to stand alone and stand out to be more right than the many, that takes effort and can be onerous. This reality reflects the picture of religion in the present century. 

We need to go to the upper source, the basic teaching of the founders and know first hand their original teaching. This is going against the current and is onerous as one needs to sieve out the original basics from the added views, interpretations and dogmas by men over the centuries. 

This is the pursuit of the inner truth, the lord saint Lord Bo Tien talked about. This is the reason why many religions may not be able to bring the truth to many if seekers only follow the crowd. 

Religions are necessary to bring men to God and saints. They can attract the crowd and that will be good for a start but not good enough. 

The intent of institutional religion is good but the seeker must be mindful and make the effort and not flow along down stream with the crowd. He will gain more wisdom that way. 

There is no doubt that some good will come about by going along with the crowd but there are limitations and other issues. But more good there will be if he can stop and think and do more than just flowing with the crowd. 

Not only must one not flow along downstream but one cannot and should not stand still. One will fall if one tries to standstill and one will be swept down stream with the crowd. There is gain by going along but more if he is proactive. 

The truth seeker must ever steel himself and marshal the resolve, resilience and strength to go upstream for the pure water of truth the founders want men to know in any religion. 

It is easy to be wayward or to join the crowd but not easy to be really good and set the pace to be more good than mere good. . 

God made in the image of Man ?

Learning Point No 353

God creates man in his own image. Therefore, be this figurative or literal, man is capable of the highest good. Man can be Godly like the Buddha and saints. That in a way speaks well of Man. 

But the problem is that Man conceptualizes God in the image of Man and attributes to God the same attributes of Man himself. That is not right. 

Man wants to be recognized. Thus the good God is also projected as wanting allegiance, subservience and recognition all the time. 

Man can be angry if slighted and thus Man portrays God as angry and wrathful if slighted. 

Man can be jealous and God too is projected as a jealous God. 

This is perhaps just plain odd and an attempt by Man to be recognized as perfect and alright even if he is not so. 

If God is like that, then it cannot be that bad if man too is like that. It may well even be good. 

Man is made in the image of God. Subconsciously, man wants to say he is alright and still Godly so long as God has the same attributes as man. 

So is it the case of God made in the image of Man or Man made in the image of God? 

The Chinese of old said thus.  "As in Heaven so also on Earth and as on Earth, so also in Heaven." This was in the days of the emperors and dynasties. 

Thus God is none other than The Pure August Jade Emperor Yu Huang Shang Ti. Doesn't this ring a bell? There is the emperor above and the emperor here below just as in the good old days of the dynasties. 

In the East, people in China in the old days would shudder at the mention of the emperor and never even dared to mention the emperor in their social interactions. They too regarded God the Jade Emperor in like manner. He is to be feared and the lives of men are at his discretion. 

Likewise in the ancient West, in the days of Roman Emperors, the people then had to appease God the way they appeased the lords of the Roman Empire. They lived in morbid fear of the emperor, be him the human kind or the One above. 

This culture of fear and total subservience has been carried on to this day in some religious circles. Isn't this not much different from the fear of thunder and lightning as in the days of cave dwellers?  

Men must be so respectful of God to point of fear. Being frozen in fear or God fearing is strangely considered as a virtue but then men will no longer be as logical and rational. 

It will also be easy for unscrupulous men to control and manipulate other men to do their bidding in the name of God. This would be discrediting God and tarnishing his image. 

This will be undesirable and lead to plundering of the limited wealth of  ordinary men and fostering of terrorist tendencies in the name of God.  

Do not ever make God out in the image of Man. But alas, history will repeat itself for religion like the flower will attract insects to it. Blame not the flower for the insects. This the lord saint Lord Bo Tien did say. 

Blame not God and saints for the unscrupulous  coming to religion and manipulating religion and the hearts of men. They put God in bad light and do disservice to God and men. God will forgive them though and this is the greatness of God. 

This culture of fear in religion is not the cup of tea of Ji Gong. Once in freezing cold of Winter, Ji Gong to the protests of his disciples took down the wooden image of Buddha and chopped it up as firewood to keep his disciples warm. 

Ji Gong liberated men from fear, even fear of God and saints like Buddha. God and saints never want to instill fear in men. 

He did not conform to the rules of the monastery. He was ever carefree, eating meat and drinking wine. He irked the abbot till he was asked to leave but he cultivated the Way. 

What is important is what goes through the heart and not what goes through the gut or what one does to please other men or out of fear of reprisal.