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."

 

Historical version of the 1980 anniversary message of Lord Bo Tien

Bo Tien Temple Outreach No 8

Unabridged reproduction of the message translated from Hokkien dialect on the day of the message.  This version was obtained by late Senior Brother Tay Chong Sim and published as appendix in his first draft book My Interpretation of LORD BO TIEN'S MESSAGES. Only 108 copies of the book distributed. Elder Ling had one copy which was made available to inner truth netizen. Blogger has refrained from changing the sometimes broken English and wrong grammar. Please compare with the paraphrased version based on the highly edited version in year 2000 publication  LORD BO TIEN GUIDANCE and it will be obvious that there is material loss in the latter versions - the edited version and inner truth netizen 2 paraphrased version for Living Life Series. 

The paraphrased version can be assessed at  Lord Bo Tien's 1980 Anniversary Message. No wonder the lord saint at the end of 1983 anniversary message said that " Sam Chong had lost part of the Buddha's Dharma  in the river and the lost parts can be recovered If Heaven wanted these to be recovered." 

A number of the pointers given by the lord saint in his messages were somehow edited out as they were deemed inappropriate either deemed not correct or not understandable because the grasp and  understanding years ago were lacking. Thank Heaven that the historical versions were saved by Senior Brother Chong Sim in his draft book. He obtained nine years of the messages from Brother Peter Kong. Brother Peter had done a great meritorious job in handling to Chong Sim the photocopies of the original translated scripts of the messages.

MESSAGE OF LORD BO TIEN CHOR CHOO GIVEN ON THE EVE OF HIS BIRTHDAY (20TH OCTOBER, 1980)

He came down and blessed all four corners. He then stressed that our 12 years representing the full cycle of the clock. We had opened the door to the outside world and the phrase double dragon supporting pearl will come to pass.

He then stressed on His last 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.

Next Lord Bo Tien went on to interpret His posture as carved. The sceptre He is holding represent firmness and durability. The left hand in prayer represents smooth sailing in all matters, also signifies determined heart, and sincerity in prayers, we will be able to get what we want. As His Image is dressed in a general (uni)form, do not mistaken Him to be a fierce General. Because in His Image, there are also His Doctrines. The chair on which the Image sits on signifies comfort ability, in happy mood and steadiness. The armours He is wearing represent vitality, health and strength. The many colours of His Image represent the many races in this world. The two devils He stepped on represent the good and the bad in this world or the Yin and Yang forces of this world in which the mind is the main controller. In life we have to face these two forces once we are born, but once we are able to balance ourselves and walk the middle path, we will be able to control ourselves.

Boss (Lord Bo Tien) stressed that though this Image is important to us, it is important to Him, because it signifies such great importance in the facts of life and mission we are to carry out. Although the Image is made of wood, in 20 years time it will crack. This is not important, the important factor is that men will be able to grasp its significance and put it into practice. Thus there is no permanency in life. To live is suffering, but do not forget that after a storm there is a calm. There is sorrow, there is happiness. There is pain, there is joy. That is not important for the soul is the purest of them all. For our purpose in life is to care for our soul not the wealth and status we will attain during this lifetime.

He then ask us to carry out His Mission, to co-operate and help all those in need. Love others as you love yourself, then you will see the suffering of others. Put yourself in others shoes. Feel others' sorrow and pain as your own. If you had enough to eat and spare, give to the unfortunate, at least their days will be filled with joy. All religions are the same. Colours, races etc., do not bear any barriers in our Mission. The door is open and the march is on. Be prepared, for there will be many to come and follow our footsteps.

The following posts are related to the 1980 message

Did the lord saint decree that his image be burnt if there is no doctrine mission?

Do let God sense prevail. 

The lord saint predicted that His image would crack in 20 years from 1980...

Yin yang doctrine in 1980 message of Lord Bo Tien