Knowledge stems from the wisdom of mankind. We gained knowledge from external sources such as education, reading, listening and observing others. Knowledge is obtained by the relentless efforts of wise men from the past to acquire and understand new things. It bears great rational and holds eternal value. Knowledge is acquired through gradual accumulation and there are no shortcuts. To understand something, you need to work hard at it. One must possess a diligent and persistent spirit to achieve success. Although there are no shortcuts, there are some methods that we can use. For example, Zi Xia, a student of Confucius proposed a method: “Recognise what you have not yet attained each day, and do not forget what you have achieved each month. ”
“Recognise what you have not yet attained each day.” The quest for new knowledge is the first step to acquire knowledge. Zhuang Zi once said, “Life is short, but knowledge is unlimited.” The universe is infinite, but there is a limit to one’s lifespan. Even if you strive to learn continuously in your lifetime, the knowledge that you can acquire is limited. We can thus see that there are no boundaries for learning. One can say that in any given situation, we will be faced with unknowns. As such, we must continue to learn and understand.” “Recognise what you have not yet attained each day” means that you must acknowledge what you do not know. This knowledge may not be new for the society or some other people, but for someone like you who has no prior knowledge on the subject, you must approach learning with an exploratory spirit.
“Do not forget what you have achieved each month” – reviewing knowledge is the next step. We mentioned that learning is a gradual process that happens through the years, and that we will gain more knowledge through learning and understanding. Knowledge, as described by Xian Sheng, is “extelligence” as it comes to us externally. Understanding is the ability to absorb the knowledge that we have acquired so that we can apply the knowledge to good use. This is the objective for our quest for knowledge: to widen our perspectives and expand our horizon. To accumulate knowledge, human intervention must take place. We must strengthen our memories and forget less in order to maximize the retention of what we have learnt, as bad memory can lead to misinformation. Although it is natural to forget things, frequent practice and review will reduce the possibilities of the knowledge being forgotten, and soon the new knowledge gained will be deeply engraved in our minds.
If we can continue to amass new knowledge and retain old learning, we will naturally increase our knowledge base. We know that the objective of learning and understanding new things is not just to remember them, but to apply them in life.
This is the same for BAITIANGONG. Xian Sheng’s teachings are meaningful in their own way. Not only did he impart the sacred knowledge of BAITIANGONG (to save our souls), he also shared knowledge that he acquired from magazines, newspapers and other reading materials, providing a rich source of information on history, current affairs, science, social living, philosophy etc. Such knowledge enriches our lives and helps sculpt our character. All beings have their own appearance and are capable of expressing their inner self. We must see beyond the appearance of simple things in life to understand the profound knowledge within. This is a form of self-cultivation and expansion of knowledge. It enables us to better manage our attitude and behaviour towards others.
BAITIANGONG Universal Spiritual Movement does not restrict its followers from reading so call heretical books or seeing any blasphemous movies, TV shows or documentaries or listening to any controversial or sensitive talks. Xian Sheng said that the danger with external knowledge or information is its influence on people. Therefore, whatever knowledge that we read from books or the internet, see from shows or hear from talks, we must not accept them as the truth. Instead, we should use our intelligence to analyse, filter and vet them before accepting them as truth.((Extelligence. Tape number: 29A 1999)) In the early years of preaching, Xian Sheng constantly advised the followers not to believe everything he said, but to go home and analyse them before accepting what he said. Xian Sheng used himself as an example, as he wanted the followers to analyse whatever knowledge they acquired. If they do not exercise their intelligence to analyse, especially when it comes to religious teachings, they would fall into the danger of blind faith. Many people in religious movement are following blindly as they accept only one point of view and ignore others. BAITIANGONG is a movement of question and answer and Xian Sheng constantly asked the followers to speak freely or ask questions.
What does acquire knowledge and understanding means?
Man has amassed a vast collection of knowledge on any topics that we can think about. We have knowledge from the tiniest of microbes to the largest celestial objects in space; we have knowledge ranging from science to religion. “Scientia potentia est” is a Latin aphorism meaning knowledge is power. We use knowledge to enrich our lives on Earth. Science and technology can improve the quality of our lives. Knowledge acquired in education can make a better living for our family and us. However, how do we use knowledge to save our soul?
Line 5 in the BAITIANGONG Prayer tells us that “All and more than that are GOD’s creation.” It means that all the knowledge available to mankind actually come from GOD. It comes to us in the form of inspiration. However, we have to be prepared to receive it, to recognise it, to understand it and to write it down. Xian Sheng gave the example of a Multi-Level Marketing (MLM) product known as Matol, which is a herbal formula to enhance our well-being. Karl Jurak was struggling with the formula for years and one day, he was awakened by a vivid dream with a specific formula embedded in his mind and he immediately wrote the formula down. He went on to market the product all over the world that sold for millions of dollars. The inspiration that comes to a prepared mind is known as the “Eureka Effect” or “Aha Moment”! which is described as a common human experience of suddenly understanding a previously incomprehensible problem or concept. Xian Sheng explained that all diseases on Earth will eventually be cured as man only need to conduct extensive research into any diseases and the solution will come to the mind of the person that is ready to receive the inspiration. Unfortunately, some disease like AIDS will have no cure, as it is a disease arising from the sexual deviation of homosexuals and people with promiscuous lifestyle which defies the Divine Law of Nature.
Spiritual Awakening is like the “Aha Moment” when we suddenly come to a realisation that there is something more to living than owning a car, a house and raising a family. Some people experience Spiritual Awakening early in life, some people experience spiritual awakening after a tragic incident or after they witnessed a miracle. Some people are too busy with life and cannot be bothered with any spiritual inspirations. Xian Sheng said that the reason for a person to age is for them to realise that they will face death eventually. They will start to ponder about life, such as whether they have a soul or not and if they do, will their souls go to heaven or hell. Regardless of how and when a person experiences his Spiritual Awakening, he will need to seek knowledge or more specifically spiritual knowledge.
In the early days of preaching BAITIANGONG, Xian Sheng was meditating when he heard a voice that said, “In this world, there is not even 1% of people who prays to GOD.” The voice continued, “Don’t talk about the world, even in your BAITIANGONG movement, there is not even 10% who prays to the TIANGONG.”((Not even 1%. Tape number: 61B-1998))
Xian Sheng reminded us that being a BAITIANGONG follower does not guarantee that you will go to heaven. We should seriously ask ourselves where we stand. If those who have not experienced the “Aha Moment” or Spiritual Awakening, all the knowledge in the world would be useless as they could not be bothered to understand them. For those who are spiritually aware, can the understanding of the knowledge in all the Holy Books and their derivatives help you to pray to the CREATOR?
Xian Sheng said many times that BAITIANGONG followers are the luckiest people on Earth. Xian Sheng is the Disciple of GOD and he has personally taught us the best way to pray to the CREATOR. He taught us the Five Realisation so that we can come to the realisation and understanding of the existence of the CREATOR. He taught us the best way to pray to the CREATOR using only our own pair of hands, when to pray and what to pray for. Xian Sheng received the Prayer to pray to the CREATOR on the 4th October 1976 and he taught us the meaning of the Prayer and how the Prayer encompasses all the creations of GOD. He taught us the Spiritual Guidelines to provide a lifelong guidance for us on how to pass our examination in life so that our soul can enjoy an eternity of bliss in heaven. Xian Sheng is the ultimate source of spiritual knowledge to mankind.
To acquire knowledge and understanding in the Spiritual Guidelines means that we embrace a lifelong learning attitude to increase our knowledge and the understanding of that knowledge. Now that Xian Sheng has returned to the Plane of Nothing, to acquire knowledge and understanding means that we must listen to his audios and videos. It means that we read all the Anniversary Books. It means that we participate in spiritual discussions to discuss what we have learnt and confirm that we interpreted them correctly. It means that we read information pertaining to other religion as Xian Sheng said that we can only say we understand BAITIANGONG if we understand other religions too.
We acquire knowledge and understanding, especially in BAITIANGONG so that we will be able to answer any questions relating to BAITIANGONG posed by anyone to show that BAITIANGONG followers do not fall into the category of blind faith. We acquire knowledge and understanding so that we will not be fooled by “wolves in sheep skins” that are only interested to gain power and money. We acquire knowledge and understanding so that we can keep BAITIANGONG teachings original and unadulterated from those who may seek to distort it. We acquire knowledge and understanding so that we can preach BAITIANGONG to our children, relatives, friends and acquaintances to save their soul. Most importantly, we acquire knowledge and understanding to save our own soul.
Xian Sheng’s Quotation
1. One who is truly knowledgeable.((One who is truly knowledgeable. Transcript Date: 1999-06-06 Time: 18:31:25 Knowing how to differentiate between the bad and the good. Transcript Date: 1999-06-06 Time: 18:36:02))
“Some people may claim to be knowledgeable, but this is just what they say. They may know less than you. Those with true knowledge are fearless. A knowledgeable person is one who will admit his mistakes and learn from them. The ones who claim they are knowledgeable but come up with many excuses and denials are those who will not grow. They will not change. What is wrong is wrong, and what is right is right. BAITIANGONG aims to understand these. To BAITIANGONG, what is important is to save one’s soul and not his body. To save one’s soul, we must teach him. That is not easy! After he is taught, we must make sure he changes. It is pointless if he doesn’t change.”
2. Knowing how to differentiate between the bad and the good.((One who is truly knowledgeable. Transcript Date: 1999-06-06 Time: 18:31:25 Knowing how to differentiate between the bad and the good. Transcript Date: 1999-06-06 Time: 18:36:02))
“Some people cannot tell apart who is good and who is bad. If someone gives you a lot of money and does not ask what you do with it, would you say he is a good person? If so, what kind of good person? A person who gives you money and teaches you how to use it is a good person. If you do not analyse who is good and who is bad, you may end up becoming bad. Remember, praying to the CREATOR means changing for the better. We must teach so that you can be saved. If you do not accept the teachings and refuse to change, then you are beyond redemption.”
3. Crime doesn’t pay. The long arm of the law is bound to catch you.((Crime doesn’t pay. The long arm of the law is bound to catch you. Transcript Date: 1999-10-04 Time: 8:34:25))
“What is it that people do not dare to do? When someone is in adversity, do not take the opportunity to exploit him. Do not be selfish. We can’t get anything done if we do not work together as a whole. There are all sorts of people in this world. Some lawyers are irresponsible. What was straight could be described as crooked by them. They could even teach you how to lie. Remember, you must know your friends in this society. Everyone is our brother and sister and there are good and bad people in this society. In BAITIANGONG, remember, especially those in Baixian, you can do what you want. “Crime doesn’t pay. The long arm of the law is bound to catch you.” Remember that! You might think, “I already know that”, but don’t just say you will do it. For it may be too late.”