Views by late Bro P. Philip

Only the wise seek the fulfilment of ancient wisdom. Yet the profound truth is so simple but difficult to perceive.

Many a pride cover those who achieve the light of enlightenment. But the wise are those who never fear of being misunderstood. Endurance is one's innocent glory in the next world.

The kingdom of Heaven is not solely built for man but nature has for each and every kind the deity and a kingdom of their own.


Truth is

What is truth? Truth is not just about life after death and at same time it is not just about life before death. Truth is about when we will arrive or do we need to or can ever arrive? Truth has to do with how to be at peace come what may, how to arrive when we are still moving on with life and in life. Truth is about how we make out our life.The past is history. The present is a present and the future is yet to be and in a way truly still a mystery. The past thought moment is gone. It gives birth to the present thought moment and the present will give birth to the next thought moment. Many seek the truth of ancient wisdom, yet the profound truth is so simple but difficult to perceive. Truth truly is.


Inner Peace and the M.O.R.E.s of life

We have mentioned repeatively on the need for inner peace through having good grasp of inner truth. Inner truth is the common tread behind all religions and sects. True realisation brings about inner peace. Inner truth profound as it appears to be is simple and yet diifficult to perceive. Likewise, inner peace appears profound. It is also simple in principle but yet difficult to realise. No doubt we will face difficulty to put concept into words and to quantify or qualify what is inner peace. Two persons may speak of inner peace but they may perceive it and experience it somewhat differently. No two persons are alike not even twins. Nevertheless, let us try to qualify what it is. Sometimes, easier to say what it is not. Let us refer to the M.O.R.E.s of life namely Mindfulness, Obsession, Rapture and Emptiness and when and how mindfulness will lead to inner peace.

Mindfulness is not obsession. To be obsessed is to cling and to be tormented by the thought in a repeatitive way. There is that unmistakable restlessness and mental storm. There is no inner peace and calm. Person is swept in circles by his waves of obssession. To be mindful is to be aware of a thought, emotion, action or speech either of ourselves or of others. When mindfulness is well cultivated as abiding characteristics of person, inner peace will come about. When being mindful, person is not distancing or ignoring the thought, feeling, action or speech. He is also not clinging to them and not suffering as a consequence. He is not swept off his feet as a result. He is serenely aware and at peace.

With inner peace, awareness has that quality of equaninmity or divine balance, that quality of life which is inner peace. We sometimes call this mindfulness. But when this mindfulness is cultivated to be associated with serenity and restfulness of spirit and body, the person has inner peace which is heavenly. Inner peace is beyond rapture and not rapture. In rapture or ecstasy, there is strong clinging to that wonderful feeling of being high with joy. There is obvious upheavel of spirit which will inevitably be followed by sense of being down, dejected and empty thereafter (something akin to drug withdrawal). With inner peace comes restfulness and quietness of spirit. No void or emptiness and person is not burried by avalanche of preoccupations. Awareness is there. Person has first hand experience but not clinging. No avoidance and no craving. Person feels light and not empty. He is at peace in body and in spirit - not empty and not rushed or crushed with heart rate near resting rate even when going about daily life. He is collected, calm, cool and in control of his life. He is clear headed and sees things as they are. He has clarity of vision with insight, foresight and hindsight.

No wonder Snr Bro Philip had this to tell us. "Only the wise seek the wisdom of ancient wisdom. Yet the profound truth is so simple but yet difficult to perceive." We may add that "Only the wise seek the inner peace of the ancient sages. Yet the profound inner peace is simple but yet difficult to realise."

Perception of inner truth and realising inner peace are two separate milestones. Be aware of the MOREs of life. Then it would be easier for us to be on our way to having more of inner peace than the constant battle of huff and puff that we have to live with in world of yin and yang. Let us not stray wee bit too much into the brouhaha of life and handle truth as though it is an intellectual subject to be debated on. We should not just admire the raft and sing songs in its praise. Worse still, we should not compare whose raft is more superior or more majestic. We should use our rafts to cross the sea of life to reach the shore of inner peace.

We should do so here, now and in this very life and not day dream about having it in next life. Dreams and promises however good and grand will remain as dreams and promises. We must go for the realisation and reality in this very life. Better to do so today if we can than wait for tomorrow for there will always be another tomorrow. Today well loved and lived is better than tomorrow well dreamt. Taking care of today must however be done with view to taking care of tomorrow. Learn now from our life and not wait till next life. All these did the sages of religions and sects say. Lord Bo Tien as a heavenly messenger is here to remind us of the common beautitudes and values of religions so that one and all will see the inner truth and harvest the inner peace irrespective of our creed, and religious inclinations. He is definitely not the only messenger.

Brethren, it is important to grow the attribute of wanting to be at peace with life and let this inner peace be an ingrained characteristic of our personality or spirit. We will want to be at peace when we realise the true nature of life (the inner truth), that life is always a roller coaster of ups and downs at every turn or corner of life. We will realise that we have to live with the ups and downs, the coming and going, the too and fro, the passing and rising, the wax and wane and the high tides and low tides. There is no way we can run or hide from them. We do need to manage in a way that we will remain peaceful and not be pushed or pulled and not to be tossed all over the place . Habit of being peaceful comes in handy for us to ride the storms and value the calm seas of life. We will not be overtly reliant, dependent and expectant with our friends, blood and kin. We can cultivate our mind to be peaceful by training it to be calm in daily sessions such as meditation and prayer. This makes us even when not in training sessions to be automatically aware (what others refer to as subconsciously aware) of events and nature around us. We learn how to be calm and at peace with all situations even during sleep.. Some have shared that they become aware and somewhat alert with what goes around them even during sleep. Yet the sleep is restful and initially they might think they are not sleeping! This phase of experience in cultivation of inner peace may not be experienced by all who cultivate inner peace and you should not be upset if you do not undergo this phase.

Cheers and be on way to inner peace. Truly, many seek the wisdom of ancient wisdom. Yet the profound truth is simple and yet difficult to perceive --- when we are sucked and blinded by the yin and yang of life. See the true nature of life, be aware that we can neither run or hide from it nor do we need to be carried away by it. Learn to love yourself and be steady and be at peace with yourself and the world you are in. Manage your world and not let world manage you. Just be at peace --- inner peace that is... You do not even need to belong to any religion or sect to do this. You can have this even with any religion or sect. Cheers once again and be at peace. This surely is the magnanimity of God (the Jade Emperor to the Chinese) and the heavenly saints.


Heaven is not only for man but has for every kind a deity and a kingdom of their own.

The kingdom of Heaven is not made solely for man. Man is not the only beings to be part of the divine plan for love, inner peace and to be freed from the clutches of yin and yang elements, and of life and death.

All beings need to have love for life especially for their own lives before they can love others. All have feelings and emotion. Even animals like cats and dogs have personalities and at times, they can interact with us in a way that show us they can think, feel and act. The trotting of a dog beside the human master, the endearing gaze of love, the wagging of tail, the antics are very human and humane. How can it be that they do not have spirit or life force and no life after death?

In fact, Heaven has for each and every kind a deity and a kingdom of their own in heaven. Of course, the way for men to heaven and rebirth cannot be the same for beings other than men. Each kind is similar and yet very different. Other beings like animals will have their fate and destiny determined in the special ways of their own unique world. They too have fate and no two are alike in the life they have and can have even if they are clones.

The next time you look at an animal or contemplate on any other being, do have some thought of oneness with them. They are fellow members of universal family of beings. You may then feel some sense of kinship with them but yet know they are very different from us. They are thus far and yet near to us.

There is uniformity amidst diversity. In our earthly perspective, we talk of ecological balance and that this must not be upset by any species eg man. Otherwise, there will be threat to the existence of species with danger of extinction for species.

In the wider perspective in other realms beyond our earthly realm, diverse kinds of beings flourish because there is some system of co -existence that will ensure all beings will have own system for fate, rebirth, spiritual upgrading and eventually to have place or kingdom in the heavens. The paths of all kinds do meet and do intertwine with cross-overs along the way.

Man is not the only baby of divinity but yet man is special in small but yet significant ways. These are not the norm for all men but the exception and the rarity.

Heavenly beings must be reborn as man if they will to be fully enlightened beings. Why? In human existence are to be found the various pre-requisite experiences of all levels of existence, of heavens and of hells that are necessary for full enlightenment of beings.

We must also take note that all the handful of founding prophets of world religions were men to begin with. Some may say that this has to be the case as religions were initiated by men for men even though motivated and decreed by Heaven.

Do be mindful that rare is birth as man. Do value our birth as man. Waste no time as man's life span is short compared to those in other realms. Do cultivate the blessings of being man while still man*. The opportunity to be man may not be there again for a very, very long time to come. Moreover, rebriths in between births as man involve extremely long life spans. Man has precious short time as man to make good as man's life span is comparatively very very short. Opportunity to be man may only come once "in a blue moon"

Thus we should understand this. Heaven is not only for man but has for each and every kind a deity and a kingdom of their own. Yet man is special in a way.......Treasure life as man. (PS* The writer refers to both man and woman as man.)


At times, silence is golden; but, if we need to speak, being misunderstood can be unavoidable.

Brethren, indeed it may be true when even with the best intentions to share an experience, others may not buy the learning points that are good to be shared.

For supramundane or spiritual matters, the handful who are somewhat spiritually developed and have hands-on insight and exposure to early but significant aspects of the reality beyond the mundane world can never convince many who have not (so it seems to be the case). They have to endure and to swallow their pride of conviction. They stand being misunderstood and misconceived if they try to share even a little of their supramundane experience. They may have to keep their silence or face sceptism, and occasional scorn and ridicule for touching on issues that are supramundane and not easily understood. But these may be true and good for the many. They would often fear not of being misunderstood or mis-represented. Endurance is one's innocent glory in the next world. Not surprising that ancient Chinese clergy and sages have been quoted as saying "The secrets of Heaven cannot be revealed" (Please also refer to views by the late Revered Bro Philip.)

At times, silence is golden but if one has to speak, being misunderstood may be unavoidable and perhaps the only viable option. This applies to both supramundane and mundane matters. The former has been elucidated above.

For mundane worldly matters, such as differing viewpoints between spouses, between parent and adult child, between two opinionated persons, it can still hold true at times. Better to remain silent or be misunderstood than to fan up more problems, frustrations and let all hell break loose. If we are right, perhaps albeit in our own way, we should have clear conscience and harbour no disquiet and fear. We will remain calm and have peace of mind and spirit. We can remain silent or, if needed, just speak our views and be prepared to be misunderstood.

The same good values apply equally well for both spiritual and worldly matters. So did the saints remind us through Lord Bo Tien.


inner truth netizen