The most profound message was in 1975

Bo Tien Temple Outreach No 15 

The late senior Bro Philip said that of all the anniversary messages of the lord saint Lord Bo Tien, the most profound message was given in 1975. 

On the 13th day of the 9th lunar month of 1975 at Singapore temple premise, the emissary of Lord Bo Tien descended with this message.  

"Among the many present here are the followers of the various religions. They together with their other brethren not present (at the temple) are keen to learn of the Doctrine of the lord saint (the Inner Truth behind life and faiths)." 

"Even the heavenly beings of the different spiritual schools and of the various planes or dimensions are also present to listen to the Doctrine." 

"The cultivation of spiritual light in life is likened to a candle flame. All beings must seek the profound truth behind life and nurture the divine light in them by cultivating loving kindness for life (not just primarily for their own life but for the life of others as well). Loving kindness is the source of divine hope and the very essence of God the Jade Emperor's will. It is the nature of the divine or holy spirit ('leng' in Hokkien). Loving kindness in all its purity is divine. Its magnificence is unsurpassed and ever glorious. Nurture ever mindfully and conscientiously this light of divine love in your inner core. This divine love for life is expounded by all religions and by all prophets, sages, saints and even contemporary world leaders in some form or other." 

"Every brethren and being here assembled and including those not here tonight but elsewhere is a candle flame to nurture the divine light in them. Some flames may be near to Heaven and heavenly saints. Some are more distant or remote. Candle flames may be different - some smaller while others are bigger and brighter. Nonetheless, bear in mind that the total collection and amassing of candle flames is more effective than a lone candle flame to light the way for the those in shades of darkness, more so for the less endowed and not so fortunate." 

"Bear in mind that every disciple of a heavenly saint is a candle flame for the profound truth in life. This applies in particular to the followers here of the lord saint. Collectively, the amassing of candle flames is more effective. The intensity of the emission would better reach the far and darker corners to effect the spread of the profound truth (behind life, faiths and sects). The saint is a messenger of Heaven for this cause or mission of Heaven. Disciples must realise that they are flames or torches for this inner truth of life (the basis of and the common denominator of all spiritual approaches, ways and bye-ways). It is through disciples that this Divine Doctrine of the saint can ever be relayed to the masses in all corners of the world and universe." 

"Bear in mind that humanity is not pegged or equated with sinfulness. Man has not wronged Heaven. Man is not sinful by nature. It is by actions and deeds that wrong arises. Have no unnecessary guilt conscience therefore but instead strive to analyse oneself calmly. It is important that every brethren or being reflects calmly and looks inwardly at his actions and thoughts to correct any of the not-so-right (wrong) instead of being mentally upset, ruffled, tormented and disturbed by guilt or fear of the not -so-right (wrong) he has done." (Worst scenario is when he thinks he has done wrong to God and saints and has hurt them. Blog writer reminds that we do not view saints as man for man can be hurt by other men but God and saints being perfect and loving will never be hurt by men) 

"The word SIN or WRONG may appear simple and widely used (and is more derogatory than empathic and motivating). Yet few really understand the depth of its meaning and ramifications. Bear in mind that there is no rigidity but in reality, there is great degree of flexibility with regards to SIN or WRONG. This may not be apparent to the brethren on earth. Everyone will come to know more and will not want to refer to word SIN or WRONG. Rather as they progressed, and emancipate themselves from fear (due to lack of grasp of inner truth), they will then progressively not view life superficially but more correctly in depth and width to understand that all need to learn and progress. Thus it is important to know that brethren are not WRONG but less right. This disposition removes fear and guilt and motivates brethren to improve and learn." (If all understand this, they will harbor no fear and guilt. They will not in their passion instill fear and emotional unrest to bring others to their fold or viewpoint.) 

"Brethren, is it not true that sunshine is essential to life, so also is water? They may be different but together they are essential components of nature on which life depends. The same may be said of religions which may seem different and at times even at odds. Bear in mind that differences are not detrimental but as in the case of nature, differences are beneficial for they serve life in their own respective ways and complement one another. As with nature, elements like sunshine and rainfall (fire and water) are indispensable though apparent opposites or seemingly at times to be at odds. All have important roles." 

"Brethren, in the practice of religious life, do not be perturbed when a not -so-right is committed. There are those who having done the not-so-right (which they perceive as WRONG or SIN) are fearful of coming to a temple to face the altar. Brethren, this should not be the case. So long as a brethren realise this, he should take positive steps to learn and improve himself. He will then realise he is worthy of entering a place of worship. Then the brethren have thoughts that are ever free from fear and guilt, thoughts that are ever so puredivine and heavenly in their spiritual moments or absorptions in front of the altar." 

"Disciples and devotees of a saint should know that the efforts they put in for their endeavors will bear results of sorts and are not in vain. The plants that were planted were nurtured with much effort. The future will enable them to witness the fruits of their efforts and further satisfy their spiritual needs." 

"Remember also that men are capable of performing more good, so are beings of higher dimensions. All beings are basically good and should always try to be more good. This is essential for spiritual enlightenment, vis-a-vis, to accumulate merits, purify his heart (mind) and ascend to higher grade, a higher dimension or plane. This is only natural and is the very essence for spiritual salvation for all beings." 

"Brethren, the doctrine of the Inner Truth is the light which shines up the way for the realisation of truth for the individual. This benefits the individual. He must not only love himself and light up his own life but also love and light up the life of others as well. Brethren, everyone should be a candle flame for the truth. Use it to light up and add value to one's own life. It would be praiseworthy as well if brethren could use that flame to light up the life and way for others." 

"Brethren, everyone is like a candle flame. Each and every flame flickers in the wind. If sheltered by a heavenly saint, it will glow brighter even if it is a small flame. A big flame may appear more significant and nearer to the saint while a smaller one may appear less significant and further from the saint. But always remember that a small candle flame, if sheltered from the wind, will glow more steadily and brighter. It is essential for a candle flame to be sheltered not only to prevent it from being extinguished but also for its effectiveness, brightness and luminence." 

The lord saint said that He descended that night "not to exhibit the qualities, majesty and magnificence of sainthood but to expound the Doctrine and to help beings visible and invisible, here and in other dimensions." 

"If brethren are to understand the saint, they must first understand the Doctrine that the saint expounds. If the Doctrine is understood, that brethren will understand the saint. Whosoever knows (understands) the Doctrine will know (understand) the saint and whosoever knows (understands) not the doctrine will not know the Saint even if the saint is beside or in front of him." 

Before the emissary ascended, he conveyed the sentiment that in time to come the writer would be adept in worship of the lord saint. This has to do with the preceding paragraph. This mind you was in 1975 - more than three decades before the advent of the doctrine on the world wide web through the many blogs of the Living Life Series 1 to 6. The writer did not realise the significance of what the lord saint said till 2013. (Do also read post on Tien Xin Chor Soo)

Lord Bo Tien also said in 1975 at Sitiawan temple (Perak Malaysia) two days after mission day of 13th day of nine lunar month: - 

(1) Those who pray with sincere heart to the saint, the saint will take heed and those who seek the saint for blessings, the saint will come to bless them. 

(2) Big issue will be small issue and small issues will be no issue if men seek the blessing of the saints. 

(3) The far may be near and the near may be far. (Thus a small flame may appear far from the saint than a big flame but this is not so , for the far may be near and the near far)

For more on above three pointers, go to

• The Three Sitiawan Pointers

Why a temple in name of the lord saint may not make it in the mission?

Bo Tien Temple Outreach No 14

Lord Bo Tien expected that any temple in His name will not be able to live up to the mission to save souls, for which He was chosen to be a messenger by God.

He knew that Chinese cultural temple has problems and this was the very basis He chose to descend in such a set-up.

The goal is twofold.

Firstly, there is need to show there is God and doctrine even in such a place.

Secondly, there is need to let men learn why such a temple may not make it for the Mission of Heaven. That itself will be an eye opener to those who want to learn and contribute to the mission.

The mission to save souls is beyond any temple and is by Heaven, not by men and not dependent on the fancies of men. It is not tied down to any temple or church of men.



 

Churches are good at bringing men to God

Bo Tien Temple Outreach No 13

The churches are doing better job in bringing people to God than many others including any temple named after Lord Bo Tien. That is one obvious reason why the lord saint Lord Bo Tien in 1975 said that the far may be near and the near may be far.

 

What churches do may not be accepted by others but at least they attend to men like shepherds of life. They are able to bring some sense of Godliness to many men who would otherwise stray.

 

This is already wholesome and desirable, but is only the preliminary in the mission to save souls that the lord saint says is the will of God.

 

We must be mindful that salvation is more than worship and good works, more than calling God's name. It is about how to be more like God so as to be God worthy.

 

Yin yang balance is the way to do so. Different approaches with names of their own have been made known to men but they are basically the same and have to do with yin yang balance. A rose by any name is just as sweet.


 

Temple in the city

Bo Tien Temple Outreach No 12

There will be a temple in the city. Lord Bo Tien did say this in one of His anniversary messages in the first 13 year cycle of the mission when He spoke through His  medium, the late P. Philip. This was in 1978. Historical version of Bo Tien Chor Choo's 1978 Anniversary Message...

Many have long forgotten this but this was rediscovered when the original scripts of the messages in Chong Sim's first draft book was read.

Somehow the mention of temple in the city was omitted in the  1978 message but became part of the 1980 message in the year 2000 publication of LORD BO TIEN'S GUIDANCE by Bo Tien Temple Singapore.

 

Why must there be that temple in the city? We don't really know. But the first proper temple at 407A Woodlands Road Singapore was under the Lord Bo Tien phase and later as Goddess Kuanyin phase, it  focused on welfare and charity and shifted to Jurong, where the focus somehow is still at welfare and charity.

 

The next phase is slated to be the doctrine or Buddha phase and the temple in the city is likely to be in tune with doctrine. Will it come to be? Time will tell.

Whether it will be an additional temple, a relocation or a mere extension for convenience of those in the city one will never know. Lord Bo Tien knows.

What He said in His message is appended below. Do read it and try to understand more. You may be able to know better with regards to the temple in the city/town.

Soon after LORD BO TIEN said this, there was a gush of wind and this was immediately followed by thunder storm and heavy downpour. He remarked, "This wind represents you and the rain water* is for all of you to quench your thirst." (* 'Rain water' refers to divine truth / doctrine which must carried along with men, the 'wind'. The 'wind' is dry without rain water. 'Thirst' refers to thirst for doctrine / the ultimate blessing)

He commented that a sea could not be a sea if there was no wind to set the boat sailing. It needed wind, boat and water to get the motion going. Following the comment, He disclosed that a time would come when there would be another BO TIEN TEMPLE set up in city area for the convenience of those living in the city.   

 
If men is the 'wind', then what are represented by 'boat', 'water' (sea) and 'motion'? 'Boat' perhaps represents an institution like temple, and 'sea' represents divinity or saint. 'Motion' refers to mission. Thus there may be more than one 'boat' or temple with one in the city or town in time to come.

We need sea, boat, and wind for motion. Likewise, we need divinity, temples and men for mission. Only men with doctrine (the wind with rainwater) should propel the sailing boat ( the temple) in the sea to get the motion going - the mission going
 

Do note that the lord saint did not refer to the three phases of mission (Lord Bo Tien phase, Goddess Kuanyin phase and Buddha phase) in any of  His anniversary messages but His representatives in normal days other than the mission or anniversary days did, not only once but on many occasions.

 

That is the basis for the inference that the temple in the city/town will be related to the Buddha or Doctrine phase. Anyway the mission is doctrine mission and welfare/charity is but one of initial expressions of doctrine.

 

Welfare is not the end but only a means or step to ultimate salvation of souls for the destitute and the needy in society. All, the needy included, must find spiritual meaning and purpose to life, not only the current but in the life beyond.

Doctrine will enable the end or objective of saving the soul if practised and perfected. Thus, not only a temple in the city but all temples of the lord saint must be doctrine orientated. This applies too to all churches, temples and places of spiritual congregation of all religions and sects.

 

The irony and the reality of men in a temple, church or mission

Bo Tien Temple Outreach No 11

The way the mission of a saint, temple or church unfurls will often be not ideal and will make men understand that heaven and not man has to drive the mission.

 

Man is imperfect and prone to weaknesses and distractions, may undermine the primary objectives of mission but such men who may even be crime prone are the very ones the mission seeks out to help. Such is the irony and the reality.

 

This is not surprising and is consistent with the hard and soft attributes of life and nature - the yin and yang. So we should expect and in a way we should on the contrary be resigned to accept not-so-good men at the helm of any temple, church or mission.

 

Many a medium or leader are like that. They may be viewed as disgrace of sorts but are there by the grace of God and saints. Heaven Lord Bo Tien said can even choose a criminal to be leader if Heaven wants to train and change him.

 

In reality, even a criminal has two sides, the good and not-so-good - the yin and yang. We cannot deny that there is the black and the white in every being - the yin and the yang.

 

Even those in Hell have good sides as well. God will not damn them. They have the potential to be good and do better. They can be saved.

Why the Mission cannot depend on the many?

Bo Tien Temple Outreach No 10

The mission to save souls is the mission of God. Lord Bo Tien is the messenger and the means to effect this is through religions and sects of the world. The mission is for all beings, men included. The mission is the mission of Heaven.

 

The mission cannot depend on men alone because many men are more interested in furthering their own agenda and are often preoccupied with the irritations of interpersonal nature. These will take precedence somehow over practise and sharing of the inner  and basic doctrine common and behind all religions - that there is God and saints and the way to save souls and be with God through balance of life contingencies - the yin (passive) and the yang  (active) forces.

 

Men tend to put other men down in order to make themselves feel good. Not only do they want to put others down, at times they want to put them out of their way. In the process, they create issues.

 

Thus the lord saint did comment that the issues of men are many and plentiful. He also did say the Mission is the mission of Heaven and cannot depend on men except for a handful.

 

Though the Mission need a handful of good men, to facilitate, it will always be the duty or responsibility of Heaven --- the mission by Heaven. Many men go for trifle matters and make mountains out of mole hills. They are lost and constipated by trivialities  and mundanes of life. 

 

The mission cannot be by men and cannot wait for the many near to Him in temples and churches to wake up and be ready. Tuft guarding is a territorial animal instinct and man is not spared from this instinct. When will more men rise above this and be like the saints?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discussion on the missing / misplaced 1979 message

Bo Tien Temple Outreach No 9

The novel of the Journey to the West of China namely India is legendary depiction of the spiritual fault lines of every man's search for divine doctrine. It is an account of the pilgrimage to India by the monk Xuanzang (Sam Chong) from the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions. The monk travelled during the Tang Dynasty to obtain sacred texts.  There is actually a historical personality of Xuanzang during the Tang era. Part of the scriptures were lost and many were not well translated or even if translated, many salient pointers were left out.

 

In 1984, Lord Bo Tien referred to the problem of missing scriptures and pointers even in the doctrine messages he had passed to men at His temple. One message that went missing was the 1979 message but word of mouth versions differ.

 

Fortunately the 1979 message was touched in in summary in the 1980 message by Lord Bo Tien before He proceeded to the 1980 message proper. This reflects on the foresight of the lord saint.

 

In the year 2000 publication LORD BO TIEN'S GUIDANCE, the 1980 message was edited from the original historical scripts translated from Hokkien dialect to English. Even then it was edited in such a way that there was change of the message though semblance of the message still remains and the paraphrased message by inner truth netizen 1 and 2 were like it or not based on the message in the book.

 

Luckily the late Senior Brother appended the historical versions of the messages by the lord saint in his first draft book My Interpretation of LORD BO TIEN'S MESSAGES which he dedicated it to be named as LORD BO TIEN'S GUIDANCE which saw the light of day only years after his death. The paragraph below is from the 1980 message in the appendix at back of Chong Sim's draft book

In 1980, Lord Bo Tien "referred to His previous year's message about a lone tree planted in a plot of land. Because of its survival due to the water that is beneath this tree had enabled it to survive and blossom in full bloom. The beautiful garden it had now created had given a feeling of pleasantness, harmony and serenity, once people stepped into this garden. The many grating towards this big tree had enabled other people to nourish its knowledge of survival." Historical version of the 1980 anniversary message of Lord Bo Tien    
 
Let us now compare with the version found in the book LORD BO TIEN'S GUIDANCE. The paragraph quoted below is part of the 1980 message on page 27 of the book.

"He then recapitulated His last year's message about a lone tree planted in a plot of land. As there was water beneath the tree, it survived and blossomed. The beautiful garden that it was part of, has created an atmosphere of pleasantness, harmony and serenity. The transition to this big tree had enabled other people to cherish its knowledge of survival."

The version by inner truth netizen based on this was even more way of the mark though it does convey the same meaning that men must be deep rooted so as to be able to be nourished by the water of truth in both good and bad times. That way men will blossomed in peace and joy at all times and are not affected or at least less affected by contingencies of life which sages refer to as the yin and yang.  (Do avail yourself with the version by inner truth netizen Lord Bo Tien's 1980 Anniversary Message  and you will realise how it is way off the mark though the meaning conveyed is similar but still off the mark.)

The original and earlier version found in Chong Sim's book better conveyed the meaning that the tree is more deep rooted than the plants and flowering shrubs around it but come drought, only the tree with deep roots to reach underground water is able to do well whilst the shrubs and plants around it wither. This deeper meaning was pointed out to inner truth netizen by Elder Ling in phone conversation on 11th December 2012.

The lesson from the 1979 message is that any temple or man be deeply rooted in doctrine like the big tree with deep roots. But with the missing 1979 message, we can only get a summary of it in the 1980 message and of the three versions of the 1980 message, the earliest version in Chong Sim's draft book was best in portraying this lesson as it is like the upper source of a stream. Historical version of the 1980 anniversary message of Lord Bo Tien    

We must go for the upper source of a stream if we want unpolluted water. Let men go to the early and basic teachings of a religion if they want to understand more. This was stressed in the 1984 message of the lord saint. Historical version of 1984 birthday eve message of Lord Bo Tien Chor Choo at Philip's residence...

"He ... says that water from the upper source of a stream is pure and clear. When it reaches mid-way of its course , the water will be polluted by many users. If we want pure and clear water, then we have to go to the upper, then we have to go to the upper source of the stream to get it."