Respect for elders is indispensable to any society or temple

Learning Point No 398

Respect for elders is the backbone of family, society and temple. There is need for balance between meritocracy and seniority. Elders hold the key to institutional know-how and their experience would be second to none. 

But for elders to add value, they need to nurture the young and guide the young to lead and to take over. The young may lack experience and benefit of hands-on handling of problems in past. 

Society must model after the extended family of the old days where elders have those who are older than them. Such a system will have a better balance with checks and balance. 

The young will manage the front line but need to take the cue from the elders who with their wealth of experience and many years on the scene can better grasp the picture and size up the situation as well as foresee what will happen in the future if a certain line of action is undertaken. 

The men who think must not be the only ones who carry out the actions. Those who are young are likely the ones to carry out the actions in an organisation. 

They may not be comprehensive, thorough and exhaustive in thinking before leaping into action. They lack holistic insight from the wealth of past experiences that the old have. 

At the same time, the old must let the young front the running of the organisation be it a temple or society. This is so that new and progressive ways can be injected and effected for the organisation. This is to leverage on meritocracy and combine it with seniority for a better outcome.

This applies to a temple as well. One elder is not enough. We need more elders and better still a hierarchy system of elders is best. More ideal would be a council of elders to add value and augment the dynamic youthful vitality and zest of the young. 

The young cannot afford to ignore the respect for elders. There must be that yin yang combination (a) of elders with the young and (b) of seniority with meritocracy in any organisation, even in a mission temple of Lord Bo Tien or in any sect, religion, temple or church.  

Respect for elders is one of the universal precepts instituted by Lord Bo Tien. No Bo Tien Temple can function without enshrining this precept. 

Even Gautama Buddha said that our parents are our very first gods and the home is the very first temple. Respecting and honoring the elders is equivalent to respecting the Buddha. 

So if you notice that in a mission-related temple of Lord Bo Tien, there is no respect for the elders especially the founding elder, there is seriously something very wrong. But would you by any stretch of imagination ever believe that this will happen in such a temple?

Surely not... It would be simply unbelievable. It can only happen if the doctrine of Lord Bo Tien is ignored. Then such a temple should not bear the name of the lord saint.