The tenth Spiritual Guidelines is probably the most misunderstood guideline, as the entire sentence is a combination of two different sentences. In order to attempt to understand it, we would suggest breaking it back into two different sentences as shown below:
- All other spiritual teachings and interpretation which are consistent with the understanding.
- Acceptance, respect and trust in our Spiritual Leader, Xian Sheng as truly, the Disciple of GOD and the Deliverer of All Unclean Spirits.
All other spiritual teachings and interpretations
There are many religions in this world that have conflicting principles and doctrines. As BAITIANGONG is monotheistic in nature i.e. the belief that there is only one GOD, we will exclude the polytheistic religions that worship multiple deities like Hinduism and Taoism. We will only consider the monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam; the spiritual teachings of the great masters: Gautama Buddha and Confucius and the tolerant faith of Baha’i. We will look at some the interpretations of the spiritual teachings of the founders that are consistent with the teachings of Xian Sheng.
Judaism
- Belief in One GOD.
- GOD created the universe.
- GOD allows people to choose as they are endowed with free will and therefore a person is responsible for their own actions. GOD rewards and punishes the soul of a person after they die.
- Thou shall not kill, commit adultery, steal, bear false witness of thy neighbour and covet anything that belongs to your neighbour.
Islam
- Belief in One GOD.
- Daily prayers.
- Fast of Ramadan.
- Actions are judged by the intention behind them.((Core Values of Islam. https://www.islamreligion.com/articles/10256/core-values-of-islam/))
Gautama Buddha
- The Noble Eightfold Path – Right View, Right Thought, Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration.
- Not to do any evil, to cultivate good and to purify one’s heart.
- Part of The Five Precepts – No Killing, No Stealing, No Sexual misconduct and No Lying.
Confucius
- People should have compassion for one another, and to avoid treating others in ways that they themselves would not wish to be treated: “What you do not wish for yourself, do not do to others.”
- There were mutual obligations arising between members of social relationships, for example as between Husband and Wife, Parents and Children, Older Brother and Younger Brother, and so on. Adherence to the proper conduct expected between members of these groupings would guarantee and harmonious relationship between them and also serve as the foundation of a just a stable society.
- Filial piety means to be good to one’s parents; to take care of one’s parents; to engage in good conduct not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one’s parents and ancestors; to perform the duties of one’s job well so as to obtain the material means to support parents; not be rebellious; show love, respect and support; display courtesy; wisely advise one’s parents, including dissuading them from moral unrighteousness.
- A monotheistic religion teaches its followers to pray to one GOD. Judaism and Islam are obviously very clear in this interpretation. However, Christianity taught the doctrine of the Trinity where GOD the father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are one and the same GOD. This doctrine has lead Christians worldwide to pray to Jesus as GOD.((Yes we can pray to Jesus! Prayer is simply talking to Jesus. http://www.bible.ca/ntx-praying-to-jesus.htm)) However, this doctrine was not taught by Jesus and not found in the New Testament, but became official after the declaration known as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed in the year 381.((Wikipedia. Nicene Creed. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicene_Creed)) Arianism strongly opposed to the doctrine of Trinity and taught the distinctiveness of GOD and Jesus.((Wikipedia. Arianism. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism)) Xian Sheng have also warned us on multiple occasions that if anyone prays to Jesus as GOD, they will be committing a sin as Jesus is clearly not GOD, but a Messenger of GOD.((05-1995. Tell them Jesus is not GOD. Anyone who says that Jesus is GOD will be committing a sin))
The belief of Judaism that GOD allows people to choose as they are endowed with free will and therefore a person is responsible for their own actions and GOD rewards and punishes the soul of a person after they die is found in our Prayer to pray to the CREATOR (Prayer). Xian Sheng explained that the first line of the Prayer – GOD created heaven and hell – shows us that GOD gave man free will. The last four lines of the Prayer states that if we love GOD and the Holy Spirit, we know GOD and the Holy Spirit will love us by rewarding us with a place in heaven; but if we do not love GOD by killing, committing adultery, steal, bear false witness and etc., GOD will punish the soul after they die with sufferings in hell. And according to Islam, the actions are judged by the intention behind them, as punishment in hell is different for everyone even though it is the same sin as punishment commensurate with the intention. For example, a person that steals because he is hungry and a person that steals to enrich himself commits the same sin of stealing, but as their intentions are different, their punishment is different as well.
Gautama Buddha spiritual teachings about the eightfold path are similar to our third guideline on Think Good, See Good, Hear Good, Speak Good and Do Good. The implementation is different as Gautama focus on meditation to achieve right mindfulness and right concentration while BAITIANGONG meditation has more to do to with the realisation of the existence the soul and the realisation of the existence of heaven and hell. Confucius spiritual teachings are focused on building a good society based on the relationships between different groups of people. Xian Sheng adopted some of Confucius teachings and it’s very pronounced in the fourth Spiritual Guidelines: To understand and practice: Sacrifice, Honour, Respect, Patience, Perseverance and Trust. However, sacrifice in BAITIANGONG does not refer to food and drink sacrifices for your ancestors.
We can understand from Xian Sheng’s talk about different religions that BAITIANGONG accepts the spiritual teachings of other religions as long as the interpretations are consistent with the teachings of BAITIANGONG. The Baha’i faith believes that throughout history, GOD has sent to humanity a series of divine Educators like Abraham, Krishna, Zoroaster, Moses, Buddha, Jesus, Prophet Muhammad and Baha’u’llah as the latest of these Messengers. BAITIANGONG only accepts Jesus and Prophet Muhammad as the Messengers of GOD as Xian Sheng himself use The Lord’s Prayer and Al-Fatihah before he received the Prayer to pray to the CREATOR. Even the urn, which was a compromise during the early years of BAITIANGONG, has one large joss stick signifying one GOD and three smaller joss sticks that signify the Prayer to pray to the CREATOR, The Lord’s Prayer and Al-Fatihah. However, we have to accept the fact that centuries of translations and different interpretations have distorted the real spiritual teaching of Jesus((101 Bible Contradictions. http://www.islamawareness.net/Christianity/bible_contra_101.html, Crucifixion or Cruci-Fiction? http://www.quranmalayalam.com/crucifiction/index.htm)) and that religion is conceived by man from their interpretation of the spiritual teachings and spiritual laws added by man to enforce and safeguard their teachings.
BAITIANGONG may be categorised as a religion by others, but BAITIANGONG followers must remember that we are a spiritual movement that changes with time and not tied down by rules and regulations of the past. Change does not apply to the teachings of Xian Sheng, but how the spiritual movement changes its way to adapt the spiritual guidelines to fit into the new era e.g. the body of the deceased is ejected into space, as cremation on a spaceship is not a viable option.
Acceptance, respect and trust in our Spiritual Leader, Xian Sheng, Chew Choon Ming as truly, Disciple of GOD, the Deliverer of All Unclean Spirits
The first monotheistic belief in the world originated from Ancient China. More than 5,000 years ago, the Chinese were already praying to Tian.((The Religion of China” by James Legge. Originally published 1880. Forgotten Books Page 11 and 16. ISBN-10: 1417977809)) Judaism is considered to be the oldest of the monotheistic religions, only came to the Middle East 3,000 years ago, two millennia after monotheism first emerged in China. Judaism is the first of the Abrahamic religions followed by Christianity and culminating in Islam.
We can observe in the Abrahamic religions that the latter religions considered themselves as the succession of the former. Hence, Jesus, a Messenger of GOD, who was born a Jew, continue with the teachings of the Torah and expanded upon it, but his teachings were rejected by the Priesthood – who were the Jewish religious leader and also rulers of the community – as they claimed that he was not the prophesied Messiah.((Wikipedia. Judaism’s view of Jesus. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Judaism%27s_view_of_Jesus)) After the crucifixion of Jesus, Christianity, founded by Paul only manages to flourish outside of the Jewish community. Although Jesus taught the teachings according to the Torah, the core teachings of Christianity centres on the crucifixion, resurrection, and divinity of Jesus.((Wikipedia. Jesus in Christianity. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus_in_Christianity)) Islam regards their founder, Prophet Muhammad as the last Prophet sent by GOD to mankind as part of the unaltered original monotheistic faith started with Adam, followed by Abraham, Moses, Jesus and other prophets.((Who Is Muhammad? http://www.ummonline.org/who-is-muhammad)) However, Islam is not accepted by the Jews or the Christians. Muslims believe Prophet Muhammad is the last of the prophets that implies Islam will not accept any future Prophets or Messengers.
BAITIANGONG Universal Spiritual Movement (BUSM) is a spiritual movement founded by Xian Sheng back in 1976 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. However, it is not to be mistaken as a religion that traces its origins back to the ancient belief from China. Neither does BUSM claims to be related to the Abrahamic religions from the Middle East. The simple fact is that man does not need to be in any religion in order to pray to the CREATOR. The CREATOR has always been there, since the beginning of creation, and does not belong to any particular religion or favours any particular religion for that matter. If man has the consciousness to realise that the CREATOR exists, he can simply pray to the CREATOR directly, without the need for any religions, Prophets, Messengers or clergyman. However, GOD does send Messengers or Disciples to help the people along with their spiritual awakening. Xian Sheng recognises Jesus and Prophet Muhammad as such Messengers.
Xian Sheng explains that he came to the Chinese community as Chinese are mainly idolaters and have forgotten their original way of praying to the CREATOR. However, he also mentioned that another Messenger or Disciple might appear to man in the future. And this man may appear in the Indian continent as the majority of Indians, similar to the majority of Chinese, practices idolatry. We can see the trend as explained above, Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah, Jews and Christians reject Prophet Muhammad as an Abrahamic prophet and Muslim similarly will reject any Prophets or Messengers as Islam states Prophet Muhammad is the last of the prophets. We sincerely hope that in the future, these monotheistic religions will accept Xian Sheng, Chew Choon Ming as a Disciple of GOD. The question is – will BAITIANGONG fall into the same behavioural pattern; will future BAITIANGONG followers reject any future Messengers and Disciples of GOD?
This is where the 10th Spiritual Guidelines guides us to accept any future Messenger or Disciple, if his spiritual teachings are consistent with the understanding, acceptance, respect and trust in our Spiritual Leader, Xian Sheng, Chew Choon Ming as truly, Disciple of GOD, the Deliverer of All Unclean Spirits. A future Messenger or Disciple will teach his followers to respect and trust in Xian Sheng as a Disciple of GOD too, similar to how Xian Sheng teaches us to respect and accept Jesus and Prophet Muhammad as Messengers of GOD. However, as the Bible was written and edited by many authors over the course of centuries, we will only accept the spiritual teachings and interpretation if they are consistent with the teachings of Xian Sheng.
How do we recognise a Messenger or Disciple of GOD in the future?
The two easiest ways to recognise a Messenger or Disciple of GOD in the future is that he will automatically accept, respect and trust in our Spiritual Leader, Xian Sheng, Chew Choon Ming as truly a Disciple of GOD and the Deliverer of All Unclean Spirit, and his teachings are consistent with the understanding of BAITIANGONG teachings. However, we must not be naïve to just take the two conditions above as a false prophet will be able to fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but cannot fool all the people all the time. To recognise a true Messenger or Disciple of GOD, we will have to look at Xian Sheng’s life as the best example of all.
Xian Sheng began to receive Spiritual Revelations in late 1975 that eventually revealed to him that he is a Disciple of GOD and the Deliverer of all Unclean Spirits. His purpose on Earth is to influence the Chinese, especially the idolaters to realise the existence of the CREATOR and to pray to the CREATOR. This is his main mission. Xian Sheng started off to influence the Chinese people via meditation. They were countless miracles and healings that took place during these meditations; some were recorded down while many went unrecorded, but recounted by those who had witness them. Many people with illness that modern medicine could not heal and those near the brink of death after doctors certified them as hopeless cases, were healed by Xian Sheng’s “blessed hands”. However, Xian Sheng had never once asked for nor took any money from them. He merely asked them to kneel down, face skywards to pray to the CREATOR and thank GOD for their miracles and healings; and subsequently stay on to listen to his sermons. Some of them followed Xian Sheng faithfully while many others after witnessing their own miracles and healings got up from meditation, thanked Xian Sheng and left.
Xian Sheng decided that miracles and healings are not the way to attract new followers and maintain existing followers, as even the Devil can perform miracles and heal people too. They would simply become followers that follow faithfully, but blindly. Xian Sheng resorted to using analytical and logical ways to educate the followers to the reality of BAITIANGONG. He taught them the Five Realisations, which is a five-steps realisation to realise the existence of the CREATOR. The CREATOR cannot be proven using scientific methods alone as the CREATOR exists beyond physical science. He gave us the Spiritual Guidelines to guide us onto the path to heaven by praying only to the CREATOR and not to anything or anyone, not even to Xian Sheng; warning them that if anyone kneels down to pray to him, they will be cast into hell. He taught everyone to love GOD above anyone else, including his own children. Most importantly, Xian Sheng taught his followers to pray with their mind, body and soul so that they are knowledgeable and have a good understanding of BAITIANGONG teachings; not ignorant or follow blindly as is in the case with many existing religions.
Xian Sheng taught us in the second Spiritual Guidelines to fear nothing except the CREATOR so that even under the threat of death, BAITIANGONG followers will still uphold the Spiritual Guidelines and be responsible people to the country, friends and family. In 1982, the police arrested many BAITIANGONG followers including Xian Sheng and charged them for participating in an illegal assembly. Prior to that, the Chinese media printed and distributed false allegations as part of a character assassination ploy against Xian Sheng as he was very vocal against temples, mediums and spiritualist for cheating people. There were many attempts on Xian Sheng’s life and one caused him to bleed severely from a gash on his head. These retaliations would never have happened if Xian Sheng were part of the crowd that made money from gullible people, but because Xian Sheng spoke out openly against them, they have resorted to illegal and legal ways to shut down Xian Sheng. Only a Disciple of GOD would be able to persist and even thrive under such circumstances that would thrown off any false prophets or charlatans.
The third Spiritual Guidelines teaches us to Think Good, See Good, Hear Good, Speak Good and Do Good. Xian Sheng is the prime example of practice what you preach. He is a very honest and straightforward person. He has always emphasised that he hates liars and hypocrites, but appreciate those who are frank and honest. He taught us to never lie even on his behalf, but to tell what we know is factual without hiding and distorting any facts. He said that even if you are arrested and charged by the Police for a crime you have not committed, never admit to being guilty, not even if you have to go to jail. If you admit to something that you have not done, either out of fear or for the avoidance of trouble and complications – you would be a hypocrite and would be committing a sin for telling lies. This is the severity and seriousness of his teachings and many people’s egos have been hurt because they could not stand his frank and straightforward attitude. Xian Sheng spoke out openly against social cancers like corruption, bribery, economic exploitation, inefficiency, lying, cheating and etc. Xian Sheng is also open to criticism as he gives anyone the opportunity to speak up on anything or any subject, whether on BAITIANGONG or his personal life. Xian Sheng stated that he has no secrets and his life is like an open book. He speaks and acts without fear or favour and no ordinary man would be able to do that except for a Disciple of GOD.
The above are extracts from the 8th and 26th Anniversary books.
Xian Sheng’s Quotation
“You believe me, if you pray, really, with your mind body and soul and if you fear nothing except the CREATOR. And if you Think Good, See Good Hear Good Speak Good and Do Good. If you pray hard enough your prayer will be answered”
“Prepare yourself against all these tests, place your full trust and faith in me and follow all my teachings. There is no guarantee in you going to heaven if you do not pray to GOD with your mind body and soul. Pray to GOD is very simple as you only spend a few minutes a day, but your examination in life is very difficult because you will face much type of tests.”
“You have to believe in me 100% after you have committed yourself to BAITIANGONG.”
“Place your full trust and faith in me and follow all the Spiritual Guidelines as your way of life”
“You believe me I believe you can go to heaven. You do not believe me I do not believe you can go to heaven.”
“You have to believe in me 100% after you have committed yourself to BAITIANGONG”
“If you think that I am wrong, you are wrong. I am always right, GOD can never be wrong.”
“If you believe in me 100% you must change. Change till you have ‘準則’ without ‘準則’ how can you pray with your mind body and soul to GOD.”
“Believe in Xian Sheng: Follow me, I will take you home”