Live Our Faith
by Master Lee Feng San Shifu
Translated by Sophia Lui
Edited by Ric Meyers
Someone heard that Ji Gong, a Buddhist monk, had great powers. So that someone went to Ji Gong and announced: “I very much revere, respect, and believe in you!”
Ji Gong, who was sitting upon the ground, simply replied, “So what are you going to do about that?”
The someone said, “I want to provide for you. Can you come with me to my house?”
Rather than complying, Ji Gong merely shifted his seating to reveal a stone beneath him. “Alright then,” he said, “since you revere me so much, you can take this stone back.”
The someone was surprised. “Why should I take this stone back?” he asked. “It is you I wish to provide for.”
Ji Gong smiled. “Providing for this stone is the same as providing for me,” he explained. “You revere and admire me, yes? But when I ask you to take this stone back you won’t you listen to me. So, what actually do you believe in? Furthermore, if I move to your house, I need food and drink, so you have to spend money to take care of me. But if you take this stone back, it does not need to be fed nor taken care of, and you will have peace of mind.”
This story might remind you of people who go to church and pay homage to the image of Jesus; or they go to a temple and pay homage to the image of Shakyamuni Buddha, and they are deeply pious. But what is it that they are actually putting their faith in?
It appears that many people worship blindly. There’s nothing wrong with worshipping idols, but once they leave the church or temple, they do not seem to care about God anymore. In fact, they do not seem to even care about their fellow beings. When their God does not answer their prayers, they may even destroy its image.
The truth is that the purpose of paying respect to idols is to enable us to see God through them. This is as if we have a deep relationship with someone, and seeing their photo or thinking of them is like seeing them in person. Idols are here to keep us vigilant and to invoke in us feelings of respect and gratitude. In this way, they are a reflection of the God within us, thus leading us to a perfect union with Him.
“True faith means not to blindly follow religion.” — Lee Feng San Shifu
