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Mission goal of Lord Bo Tien is to save souls not through a new religion or sect but through existing religions and sects.
Then why on earth did the lord saint choose a Chinese Temple in Singapore to begin with? Well, Chinese Taoist practices are most misunderstood and there is need to show that there is the same God and Divinity even in such a temple or culture.
Some may think that the only way is to treat cultural practices as superstitions and to discard them. This is not true but there is need to evolve culture. What was meaningful to ancestors may not be as meaningful now.
The mission is not to rid off superstitions in a Chinese temple but to save souls and such a goal can be equally achieved even in a Chinese cultural temple.
The mission is a doctrine mission and must be relevant to all cultures and all religions and sects. Thus getting rid of superstitions in Chinese Taoist practice is not the mission, but perhaps incidental to mission.
Making all realise the doctrine of how to bring men to God is the mission. Only by understanding doctrine and practising it will men be with God.
Mere worshipping and idolising God and saints won't bring men any closer to God. Men must qualify to be with God. Doing good work too is not enough though other men may view this as good.
Mission is to show the way for man to reach God, of how men can qualify to be with God and His saints.
Men can reach God not through idolising Him or just doing good but only through enlightenment, knowing the doctrine and putting it into practice, making it a way of life.
This can be done through any religion or sect or even without any.
Men need to balance the hard and soft aspects of dualities of life like gain-loss, joy- sorrow, health and disease etc.
The sages of old refer to them as yang and yin. There are both good and bad yang and yin.
Men must be mindful and cultivate the dynamic balance of yin and yang of the universe in him and around him to attain the ultimate peace and purity to be with God.
Culture, dogmas and latter-on practices are additions to add substance to religions but they are only means to the end and not the end. The end is to save souls and enable them to be worthy of God.
Remember that mere clinging and idolising God and His saints will not do.
The additions which beef up a religion and make it more a religion of man are useful to the prevailing times and social milieu but have limited or finite usefulness. They can potentially distract, divert and delay man from union with God.
Understanding doctrine and practising it, the mastery of yin and yang is the one and only way. We can do so through any religion or sect or even if we have none.
This is the message of God through His divine messenger Lord Bo Tien. The purpose is not just to make men do more good work or to review and discard practices and rituals not in keeping with the times, that some may consider as backward or superstitious.
We must not judge a book by the cover. We should not view a religion or a temple by its traditions, culture and rites. It is the substance that is the doctrine that matters.
Most importantly, it is the effectiveness of the cultivation of doctrine in life, 'Tao' that matters. 'Tao' or Way will bring us to be with God and God with us.
This Way of balancing the yin and yang trancends all religions and sects. Thus it is in all religions and sects and there is no need for the lord saint to start a new sect or religion.
