33. What are the four difficult and precious factors of receiving Tien-Tao?

The four difficult and precious factors of receiving Tien-Tao are

1. being a human,
2. being born at the beginning of the Third Period,
3. being a Chinese, and
4. receiving the True Tao.

The reasons will be discussed in the following paragraphs.

1. Being a human:

Parents give us bodies and God gives us souls.

Without the soul, the body is a corpse.

Only by having souls live inside our bodies can we be alive. When a soul enters a human body, there is a living person. If a soul attaches to the body of a dog, a horse, a cow, etc., there would be a living dog, a living horse, or a living cow.

There are billions of forms to the body,
but the source of life is the same;

just like there are billions of forms to electric light bulbs, the source of the light of these bulbs all comes from electricity.

Considering the karma and the billions of life forms, being humans as we now are is really difficult and precious. If a person seeks to satisfy seven emotions and six desires, ²⁸ does not act ethically, or does not do good deeds, he accumulates a lot of sins and loses the chance of becoming a human in his next life. Once one loses the human form, it will be difficult for him to become a human again.

Lao-tzu said “I worry about my body. I treasure my body.”
Worrying because one may lose control of himself and sins, and eventually falls down in the bottomless Hell.
Treasuring is because the soul from God resides in the human body, for only with the human body can a soul polish and refines itself, and ultimately return to God’s kingdom.

Since mankind is the center of the cosmos, without the human body, it is very difficult for one to receive Tien-Tao, to practice Tao, and to return to God’s kingdom. Thus, it is difficult and precious to be human.

2. Being born at the beginning of the Third Period:

The progression of the world and human development is based on natural phenomena established by God. Whenever the Qi of Heaven and Earth changes, which causes catastrophes in the Xiang-tien, ⁹ God descends Saints to the world to bring salvation to the good.

The Green Yang Catastrophe and the Red Yang Catastrophe have already passed. The saying “the Last Catastrophe of the Third Period” points to the Last Catastrophe of the White Yang Period. The Pure Land comes after the Last Catastrophe. Thus the sayings:

“The Third Yang is the beginning of
world-wide peace and harmony.”

and

“The catastrophes will descend together
with the salvation.”

come about. The Last Catastrophe of the Third Period simply is the natural phenomenon of the changing of the Periods.

The upcoming Last Catastrophe of the Third Period we face includes three types of calamities (the water, the fire, and the wind) and eight types of disasters (famines, plagues, insects, beasts, droughts, floods, monsters, and demons). It is the greatest danger mankind ever faces. Nothing but the True Tao can save the world.

However, Tien-Tao does not descend unless it is the right timing, and Tien-Tao will only be transmitted to the right persons. Tien-Tao is descended to save souls in the Last Catastrophe just like medicine is used to cure the sick. He who does not receive Tien-Tao is difficult to be saved. Therefore, to be born at the beginning of the Third Period (the White Yang Period) to have a chance of receiving the True Tao is very difficult and precious.

3. Being a Chinese:

Human cultures originated from Tao. In the history of human development, there were four ancient empires: the Chinese, the Indian, the Egyptian, and the Mesopotamian.

The ancient Indian and Egyptian empires have long disappeared. The Mesopotamian empire based on the Sumerian culture ended with the Semitic invasion, and the result was the establishment of the Old Babylon.²⁹

Only China has retained her ancient culture. The Chinese culture is broad and profound, encompasses all aspects of the human society, and is the morality.

In term of geography, the highest summit on Earth, Mount Everest, is a part of the Himalayan Mountain Ranges. The Himalayan Mountain Ranges is sometimes referred as “the ridges of Earth,” and all mountain ranges can trace their origins to it. Thus, it is the pivot on Earth. It is situated in Asia.

The center of Asia is China. Therefore, China is the center of the world. Thus, China was chosen by God as the first place to descend the essence of Tao and Tien-Tao. Therefore, there were many generations of Saints appearing in China to spread the gospels of God.

The Chinese character for “Asia” (亞) looks like a “white cross.” (Each Chinese character was created to reflect Truth in hieroglyph.) The “cross” is the symbol for mankind returning to God’s kingdom. Thus, the “white cross” means that when Tien-Tao is made available to everyone, miracles will first appear in the East.

China, being the first descending place of Tien-Tao, is blessed with honors. Thus, it is said that being a Chinese is very precious.

4. Receiving the True Tao:

Since there were civilizations, although God has descended the True Tao in the world to guide people onto the right track of returning to God’s kingdom, the True Tao was only vested in Patriarchs. That was the time for the Patriarchs to teach mankind. Only now, the beginning of the Third Period before the Final Catastrophe, has Tien-Tao been made available to everyone.

It is time for the unification
of all religions into worshiping the one
and the only Lord of the cosmos –
God;
it is time for the uniting of all countries
so that peace and harmony will prevail.

Before the Final Catastrophe or the Final Judgment, God let all souls and spirits in the cosmos, such as deities in Heaven, ghosts in Hell, demons, goblins, etc., be reborn as humans so all souls have a chance of receiving Tien-Tao and be saved.

However, there are numerous religions flourishing in today’s society. The True Tao is intermixed with the untrue. Everyone has the freedom of choice.

Only those who seek for
God’s Truth
will be able to distinguish
the True Tao from the untrue.

If one misses the chance of receiving the True Tao this time around, he may not have another chance until the crisis of civilizations appears in the next Cycle of Heaven and Earth.

A Buddha said:

“One who finds his Origin
becomes a Buddha.
One who cannot find his Origin
practices blindly.”

Thus it is difficult and precious to receive the True Tao.