This is the advice from a Saint from Heaven in the temple of Tao of Heaven:

Our physical body is fake, and even more so of our material possessions. The wealth one possesses in this life is the consequence of cultivation and accumulation in our past lives. As a gesture of rewarding ones past effort with goodness, Heaven bestows upon one great fortune. If one is wealthy and yet able to give away ones wealth; one will experience serenity in the heart. Then ones goodness will become more prevalent while ones fortune will become more consolidated.

Using these to do the work of Truth, ones merits will be increased. Using these to establish ones virtues, ones virtues will be substantiated. Using these to help gaining fruition from ones cultivation, the fruits of cultivation will be abundant.

A person who uses these conditions to cultivate for the divine status; to willingly accept the divine will; to nurture the virtues similar to that of Heaven; to resonate with the heart of Heaven and to do the work of Heaven; is known as the greatest person in the world.

This is a boundless wisdom attempts to enlighten us of the intrinsic purpose of becoming the greatest person in the world. It is crucial to have a genuine understanding and practice with sincerity from the heart. Any ulterior motive cannot be hidden from Heaven as Heaven sees even in the darkest of the room. As the most intelligent and creative creature in the universe, most certainly there is a great purpose common to all of us. We should not be contented with ourselves being just an ordinary cultivator but instead should strive and put into practice seriously the teachings of the Saints and Sages.

Whatever happened in the past lives created a cause of action, and our environment in this life provides the conditions. When these causes meet the right conditions, fruits are borne and certain consequences in the form of thoughts, words and behavior arising from the causes begin to take effect. If there are causes but no conditions to allow them to take root, then there will be no fruits. Likewise when there are only conditions but no causes, there would not be any fruits either.

An example is the principle of farming. It is the waste of time and effort for a farmer to plough, weed, cultivate and irrigate a land where he is not going to sow any seeds. He will definitely have no harvest. If the seeds are sown but they are not well taken care of, either there would not be any fruits or if they ever bear some, the harvest would be quite limited and not bounty. Hence planting the right cause in the past is very important in order to reap good harvest by taking care of them wholeheartedly at present. This also implies that the cause of the past life and hard work from the present life both play an important part in determining the kind of fruits we will reap.

Many people perceived that whatever material possession and wealth we are enjoying now are solely due to our hard work in the present lifetime. The truth is that our hard work in this lifetime is not the only contributing factor but it provides the conditions required for nurturing the seeds we have sown in our past lives. Many people work very hard from morning till night but they can still become bankrupts. Many good people can also die a tragic death.

Based on the law of nature, the Universe returns a persons cause of actions according to the righteousness or unrighteousness of his deeds. This is the reason for some people who are born with a silver spoon while others are born into a family which can hardly make ends meet. The difference lies in ones past deeds which act as the seeds for the fruits one is supposed to harvest. While some are full of sufferings and difficulties, others have always led a life of comfort and ease since young. Whether one is poor or rich, healthy or weak, successful or failure, all these are beyond our control at the present moment. Therefore, it is important to be able to face our life with a heart of acceptance, grace and kindness. In this manner, whatever our fate, we can do the right action to transform and transcend them if not in this life then in future life.

To build up a foundation which brings good fortune is difficult but to indulge, deplete and bring it down is far too easy. Living in this modern world needs to have this realization because we are prone to be wasteful due to the convenience of the modern lifestyle and too many negative attractions to steal away the good deeds or merits that we have accumulated in the past lives. Greatness comes from the virtue of giving. Through the act of giving, we can experience immense joy and tranquility. A tranquil mind comes from extending a helping hand to others in need.

In the realm of Truth, the more you give the more you receive. In other words, the more a person gives; the greater and more substantial his goodness and fortune would become. To become a great person, it is essential to have an understanding of what is truly genuine and what is false or fake in this world. What is our priority and what are the conditions necessary to nurture this priority.

The fake entities are such as our talents and knowledge, skills and abilities, health, wealth, relationships etc. They do not have a real presence in the sense that they are replaceable and their existence depends very much on conditions necessary for their formations. They come into existence only when the causes and conditions come together while they will perish once the causes and conditions separate. For example the popularity of a talented singer, one good song can make him very wealthy but over time or a careless act can make his popularity disappear from the chart or public interest.

Cultivation does not require us to totally forsake the temporal aspects of life such as our family, friends, work, material possessions etc. In fact, all these impermanent conditions are essential to the establishment of our virtues in cultivation. The method of cultivation during this period in time is known as the Great Vehicle Methodology. This method of cultivation requires the presence of people meaning living among the society where we need not have to renounce the world. By living together with the society is like the lotus roots down under the muddy water (the suffering world) but is white and pure inside. The cultivation is more difficult because there are more obstacles and disturbances.

We can achieve greatness if we store up treasures in heaven and the real and fake can be confirmed by referring to Matthew 6:19 in the Bible:

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, where thieves do not break in and steal.

Author: T.A Chew