The problems before 2004 and impact on mission after 2004

Mission History and News No 16

Lack of a permanent premise for the temple resulted in temple changing locations in the years before 2004. These were the years of uncertainty and adversity and people with different viewpoints worked as one in the face of adversity. They were then more willing to stand behind Elder Ling even if they were at different wavelengths from one another and with him .

While still occupying temporary premise at Woodlands, at the instruction of the lord saint, the shrine in dilapidated hut gave way to an aged home.  The shrine moved out to open space with awning. Later the aged home had to vacate the delipidated hut due to collapsing roof  and the residents of the free home moved out to two new dormitories built in haste with one for male and the other for female.  Due to informal and lack of wider legal status with restrictions by authorities, it could not only have 22 inmates at the delipidated hut and 32 at the new dormitories. The number of inmates was small and at one stage, the authorities wanted to close the home by moving out all the inmates to other bigger homes. 

This was agreed  as inevitable but Elder Ling stood firm and the authorities relented and the home had survived since. This is the type of leadership that the mission of Lord Bo Tien badly needed and still do need. But many do wish the good elder could be more appealing in his ways.

Donations in kind poured in to the temple to sustain the aged home and as there were more rations and foodstuff than needed by the small aged home, they were distributed to other charities with the  able leadership of Alfred Toh, initially only to the destitutes in community at Kreta Ayer and Outram under the care of one notable nurse Queenie Tan.  Brother Jerfrey Kong Ming Er was a great help to Alfred in the ground work. Soon Alfred Toh spearheaded the distribution of food and rations to more of the needy in society under the Mutual Help and Care of the Temple. With time and with encouragement of the authorities, the temple went into starting a noteworthy day care center at Pending Road. The three worthy initiatives were  under the umbrella of the temple and became the welfare wing of the temple.

It must be stressed once more that had it not been for insistence, the able leadership and firm hand of Elder Ling, there would have been no longer an aged home and without an Aged Home, the donations in kind would have dwindled  and there would be no more sustainable Mutual Help and Care.

In a year before 2000, the welfare wing was ceded from the temple and this according to Elder Ling was unwise and might have worked contrary to the direction of the Mission of the lord saint. The welfare services notably the distribution of provisions to needy in society won acclaim and socio-political good standing. It was only natural to many that the welfare wing came free from the temple entity. It was easier to be accepted and assimilated as the welfare society rather than as a temple in community and grass root  circles

This was  and is good but leaves the temple with limited functions such as ownership of the premises as well as administrative maintenance of the temple premises, providing free vegetarian lunch on new and full moon days to public and the handful of main celebrations - Vesak, Goddess of Mercy birthday celebration and Lord Bo Tien anniversary celebration, not forgetting Chinese New Year and also Christmas. 

 

But this may not be the true picture as the likes of C.K. Tay knew more need be done for doctrine and they will leave no stone unturned to achieve this. That is for sure but they need and welcome others to join hands with them.

The welfare services were and are always accessory parts of the temple mission.  The mission is primarily to save souls and saving souls go beyond just the very finite and local good deeds like charitable activities for community in Singapore. There is need to go global with the doctrine.

The best good deed is the gift of Truth and in 1983, Lord Bo Tien said that in time his shrine and the doctrine of Four Pillars will spread far and wide beyond Singapore. (Do read Historical version of the 1983 message of Lord Bo Tien ...)

 

His Mission is not just charity activities but mind you, it is a doctrine mission to the world and all realms. But the preoccupation with the finite and local community welfare services and the limited manpower mean that the divine ideals of the mission would have to wait for more opportune time and for people to be doctrine inclined and for those others who are more spiritually doctrinally inclined to come by.

There is no concern that people will fall out of doctrine mission as the lord saint said that people will return  to the doctrine mission one day as the strong wind that continues to blow people away (from focus on doctrine mission) will have to stop one day. This was alluded to in the 1984 message of Lord Bo Tien. Historical version of 1984 birthday eve message of Lord Bo Tien Chor Choo at Philip's residence...

 

The problems of the aged home were so successfully managed before 2004  by Elder Ling such that it came as no surprise that this escalated the welfare wing to be separate entity in 1997 and even had its own logo in 2011. As they years passed by after 2004 that welfare society became increasingly more independent entity and more prominent than the temple. This is an achievement of sorts and applaud-able by society at large but may not work out in the overall long term interest of the doctrine mission of the lord saint as stated clearly by his lordship in 1983. (Do read Historical version of the 1983 message of Lord Bo Tien ...) 

In 1984, the lord saint assured that this strong wind of human preferences (relegating divine doctrine mission to sideline) is only temporary and any strong wind will stop one day and people will return to the mission proper - the doctrine mission. Is there need for concern? The answer is both 'yes' and 'no'.  It depends on your expectations or to put it succinctly where you stand as of now. Cheers and what next? God knows.

Alas, we need to accept that there is no way to do away with the strong wind of sectoral human preferences and its likely repeated recurrences over time, for after all human beings are usually not perfect and human beings are human beings after all. These preferences can be varied and many, perhaps even divisive. This is a reality. Let all men accept this, live with it and be at peace.

 

But men must always be mindful that divine choice of doctrine mission has to be in the forefront and not be  relegated to back yard, back burner or worse still oblivion. This of course was not as significant issue as some would portray.  Even if it was or is so, the lord saint in 1984 reassured that any strong wind will not blow forever and men will return to doctrine mission with more zest than ever before. The saint is like the great ocean and no amount of human shortcomings would affect His doctrine mission.