The image of Lord Bo Tien portrays the need to be atop and balance the polarities or dualities of life. We cannot have only yin or only yang but need to find the fine point of combination of yin and yang, sometimes more yin and sometimes more yang.. The left hand of the lord saint in salutation bids us to be ever mindful and steady to go for yin yang balance as depicted by the feet atop the elements. The scepter in right hand depicts the mission for yin yang balance for all

Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Yin yang approach to threefold blessings

No 14 of Yin Yang Equations

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There is the real need for man to be happy for what he already have and not take life for granted. Men can hope for more but must not insist for more. 

He must not say that he must have this or that at all cost. That can prove to be the undoing of his life if such attitude is his habit in life. 

As common knowledge to many in the streets, we should not even count the chickens even before they are hatched, let alone dream of eggs we have yet to have. The catch phrase is "to be contented". 

The Buddha says that contentment is the greatest wealth while health is the greatest gain. Whatever we do, we need friends but dependence on others can put us at a loss if friends are either found wanting or cannot meet our needs. 

It is not that we should not have friends but it is better that we depend primarily on ourselves and not so much on others if we can. While society is interdependent, we have to be as independent as much as we can. 

To be aloof and not work with others or be with others, neither position is also at all good to have. There must be that balance between the two polar positions. 

Yes, the Buddha did also say that self confidence is the best friend or kinship but we must relate with others as well. We must live  and relate with others but primarily we must be asset to ourselves. 

Our friends too must be assets to themselves before they can be assets to us. We too can only be assets to others if we can be assets to ourselves. 

To be associated with those who are wise and are assets to themselves such that they can be assets to us as well is a blessing as stated by the Buddha in the Mangala Sutra - Scroll of Blessings. 

Lord Bo Tien too reminds us that men must be able to help one another but before men can do so, they must have the potential or skill to help themselves. Thus our friends can be blessings to us. We do not always need to depend on Heaven to bless us. We must however avoid crutch mentality which will work against our long term interests.  

Thus there is that balance  between self confidence and being independent and the wisdom to seek help and cooperation from others when necessary. 

We must strike the balance between dependence and being stubbornly and unwisely aloof, wanting to go it alone when we sometimes cannot make it. 

This applies not only to help from friends but also from all the heavenly saints as well, not just one or two in our very own religion but from saints of all religions. This point was stressed by Lord Bo Tien. 

This yin yang balance approach will optimise and yield more blessings from all three quarters, from self, from God and saints and from others. It is also not a one way flow but two or if you may say three ways. 

We will be blessings to ourselves and to others, be it God and saints or friends. God and saints as well as friends will be blessings to ourselves as well. Cheers and do cultivate the yin yang approach to threefold blessings.