Part Three: The Questions
Why should one with a kind heart still receive Tien-Tao?
For those who are good Yuan-zi, 30 they should be eager to receive Tien-Tao and to practice Tao once they know about It. The good will always care about the salvation of other people and the social morality. Nowadays, morality has been severely eroded and human carries more evil and selfish thoughts.
These wicked thoughts and deeds will bring upon punishments in the forms of destructions. Those who worry about this trend endeavor to find ways to bring salvation to others. Thus once Tien-Tao is available to all, they should be joyous about this opportunity and would put every effort into spreading Tao.
Most significantly,
those who received Tien-Tao
can transcend
the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth,
and
return to God’s kingdom.
Thus, one is forever exempt from sufferings brought about by the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, and judgment rendered by the Judge of the Underworld.
If one has a kind heart but has not received Tien-Tao, one remains merely as a good person in a sinful world. The only reward for such a person is to have a good life after he is reborn.
However, the reward in the form of a good life will run out someday. Upon the termination of the reward, the good persons still face uncertain endings.
For those who received Tien-Tao from the Enlightened Teacher with Tien-Ming, 1 they transcend the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth and enjoy the eternal reward. The latter is far superior to the former.
Confucius once said,
“A fence-sitter is a thief of virtues.”
Confucius also said,
“One who awaked to Tao in the morning
will not have any regret
even if he dies in the same night.”
If one ponders over these two sayings, the distinction between just being a good person and receiving Tien-Tao becomes obvious.
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38. What is the first thing to do for those who received Tien-Tao and wants to advance?
If one would like to advance after he received Tien-Tao, the first thing to do is to establish and strengthen his faith.
Faith is the foundation
of practicing Tao.
Faith is the fountainhead
of building one’s merits.
Even fortune telling would not fulfill those who do not have faith. Therefore, one cannot overestimate how important faith is in practicing Tao.
All humans were born equal. The Saints and the ordinaries all possess the same True Selves from Heaven and bear souls in their bodies.
The difference between the Saints
and the ordinaries
lies in the difference of
the state of awakening to Tao.
All phenomena surrounding us occur in the same manner as in our body. The spherical shape of our head resembles the heavenly bodies while our flat feet stand on the flat Earth. Every inhaling and exhaling of our breath is the manifestation of yang and yin, while our left eye symbolizes the sun, the right eye the moon.
The five vital organs – the heart, liver, spleen, lungs, and kidneys – correspond to the five fundamental elements of fire, wood, earth, metal, and water, respectively.
Emotions expressed as delight, rage, sorrow, and joy reflect weather conditions of breeziness, thunder, cloudiness, and drizzle.
Virtues in a man also mirror the sequence in creation.
Benevolence parallels the Beginning;
propriety, Cultivation;
justice, Reward; and
wisdom, Perseverance.*
A newborn infant is united with Heaven and Earth. Great Saints like Emperor Yao, Emperor Sun, Confucius and Mencius were born like the ordinary.
Those who live in accordance to their True Selves become Immortals, Buddhas, or Saints.
Those who live against the True Selves become evil spirits and ghosts.
To practice Tao, one must follow his True Self. This is the unalterable Truth.
*See Question 5.
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39. What are the effects after one received Tien-Tao?
As one receives Tien-Tao, his Right Portal is pointed out and consequently, his wisdom is opened up. If one can sincerely act according to Tao, God forgives all sins and trespasses he committed before.
Thence, one lives in harmony on Earth and can escape catastrophes and disasters. Upon death, he leaves in peace and his soul transcends the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, as well as avoids the judgments in Hell.
The greatest effect of attaining Tao is the latter, transcending the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. We wish all practitioners of Tao to awake to Tao and accelerate their development, so they can attain enlightenment and peerage.
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40. Can the effects of receiving Tien-Tao be proven?
If one can practice Tao and his virtues touch God, he is blessed when alive so that dangers and catastrophes will not endanger them. Examples of such can be compiled into an endless list.
Upon death, he can transcend the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Proofs of the effects can be provided in two ways. A soul who transcends the cycle of birth, death and rebirth can be sent to God’s Altar to relate its experience to the mortals. The other way is to examine the corpses of such persons.
If a Buddhist monk or a Taoist priest leaves his corpse with loose joints and elastic body, he displays the sign of perfecting his Gong-fu 15 and practice. However, among thousands of monks and priests, only few can attain enlightenment as such.
For all those who received Tien-Tao through the Enlightened Teacher with Tien-Ming, 1 regardless of their virtues and merits, they all go with a smile on their face, and the corpses do not stiffen in winter or decay with foul smell in summer, for the souls left the body through the Right Portal. In some cases, the corpses stay elastic for several days in winter and even send out fragrance.
Cases as such are numerous and have been proven from children to the elderly. In light of these proofs provided by the corruptible body, there is no doubt that the soul of those who received Tien-Tao must have gone to Heaven. Of course, if one acts against ethics after he has received Tien-Tao, this kind of proof may not materialize.
