(Photo source: Envato)
There are two kinds of religions. One of them is expansive in a broad sense. This type of religion encompasses both "the purpose of life" and "the teaching of life". When one’s purpose in life is virtuous and one self-reflects and self-educates regularly, there will be no confusion about people and matters.
The other one is the blind faith kind of religion. In today's world, complex religions exist both in the East and the West. There have also been many problems related to religion in Taiwan. But those are not problems with religions because true religion entails the right belief. Only when it enunciates the right belief can it be a true religion. However, ordinary people do not have a correct understanding of faith. They often fail to understand their religion and are confused, so they group those problems as religious issues.
A middle-aged woman once told me tearfully that her mother-in-law wanted her to divorce her husband. When I asked for the reason, she said: "It's all my fault. I am very superstitious. I am often away in places of worship. However, this is because I love my husband and son very much, and I hope my family will be blessed and live a happy life."
The places she referred to were an array of confusing and indistinguishable places of worship. They included monasteries and those which she could not distinguish and discern. She would often seek divination from mediums and gods and fortune-tellers. Whenever someone said, "You are not lucky this year and you need to worship more." She would immediately visit places to worship, costing her a fortune each time. Sometimes, others would say, "Some of your family members need to change their luck this year. Otherwise, they will be in danger." She would immediately go to “alter their luck” which again cost her another fortune. She would also participate in various deliverance services and take up a position as an "altar master" which was very costly.
She has been squandering money in these ways for several years. And the worst part was that the money did not belong to her. Initially, she relied on the money earned from an informal saving scheme which was once popular among homemakers and the less educated. Gradually, the money was not enough, so she resorted to borrowing. Over time, it grew into a huge debt. At that time, she always put her faith in luck, thinking that as long as she kept praying, her family would have good luck, and her husband would make a lot of money. However, it got to the point that the entire matter went out of hand.
Only when the debt collector came demanding payment did her mother-in-law and husband realise what had happened. Her mother-in-law thought they could not repay the debt and wanted them to divorce so that the rest of the family would not be implicated, and the debt collectors would not come to their home to harass them. This is the result of being superstitious!
We must say no to superstitions. If we are not superstitious, then our destiny is determined by our life. Otherwise, our fate would determine our life because everything is created by our minds! As long as we have the right belief and our minds are upright, evil will not be able to make any inroads. But when our minds are weak, we will have doubts and become deluded, eventually suffering mentally and physically. Therefore, use wisdom to solve difficulties and never be superstitious when encountering challenges.
Translated by Chu Tiong Yong
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