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(C) Baitiangong Way of Obsequies is correct [35:36 – 42:23]

1. In another situation that took place during a Baitiangong way of Obsequies, a non-Baitiangong person was paying attention to Xian Sheng’s sermon. He heard Xian Sheng explain to those present that the deceased dressed in all white with five yellow buttons (representing the element Earth) has completed his examination in life and his soul will start its life on that day. “We live to go through an examination in life, and we die to live”. Xian Sheng frequently quotes this phrase to remind followers while the body is real, it is transient, but the soul is a reality and it is eternal. When we say a person passed away, we are referring to the soul passing away from the body.
2. What do the followers do at the obsequies? The followers took turns to kneel down, face skywards and pray for the deceased as follows, “GOD, Bro ________ has passed away at the age of ____. Please forgive him of his sins. Please let his soul leave peacefully. If deserving, please give him a place in Heaven.”
3. Xian Sheng continued his explanation on life examination stating that he can condone the actions of people who cheat their parents as the parents can become aware that they have been cheated, but when people cheat their deceased parents, how do we justify that?
4. As an example, when you give your parents RM100 or RM500, they would accept as they can spend it. When you give your parents money for tours, they would accept as they can go on tours. But what can you do for your deceased parents?
5. Xian Sheng cited an example of his deceased friend that used to hang out together named Mr Cheong. Before he passed away he related the following incident to Xian Sheng. One day, Mr Cheong assembled all his sons and asked each of them to give him RM300 every month. In exchange, he does not want a grandiose funeral but merely to cremate his body and scatter his ashes into the sea. Mr Cheong wanted to accumulate enough money for a fling in Thailand as he kept hearing the exciting exploits of an old fox who frequented Thailand from the hang-out group. Mr Cheong is old but he wanted to see and experience Thailand for himself. Mr Cheong kept waiting for the money that never came. He bitterly told Xian Sheng that his delinquent sons denied him the pleasure to go to Thailand despite him releasing them from the burden of an expensive funeral.
6. One day, as Xian Sheng was driving to the City, he saw one of Mr Cheong’s sons by the roadside. Xian Sheng offered to give him a ride. On the way to the city, Xian Sheng enquired about his father. His son replied that he had left. Xian Sheng naturally asked where Mr Cheong has left for. Apparently left is another term for passed away. Xian Sheng told the son what Mr Cheong had said to him regarding his delinquent sons refusing to give him RM300 every month in exchange for a simple cremation and ash scattering into the sea ceremony. Xian Sheng asked whether they fulfilled their filial piety duty as sons. The son exclaimed, “Yes!” and proceeded to explain to Xian Sheng how filial piety the siblings were by burning extravagant amounts of joss paper, hell money and joss paper buildings for their father. Xian Sheng instantly castigated the son accusing him of cheating his deceased father as they cannot afford to give their father his meagre RM300 a month request that he wanted when he was alive, but can afford to splash out money to burn an extravagant amount of joss papers and hell money that he did not want in death.
7. Xian Sheng asked the followers whether they agreed with him that the sons cheated their father. When their father was alive, they refused to give him the money he wanted. But after their father passed away, they burned lots of hell money for him. To illustrate his point, Xian Sheng asked the followers to go to a Chinese funeral supply store to buy stacks of $100 hell money to give to their father and see if their father wants them or not. Naturally, no father alive would want a single piece of these printed hell currencies, Xian Sheng sniggered. So when you burn hell money for your deceased father, you are cheating him. Xian Sheng continued with another example. A father who asked for a bungalow house was denied his request, but after he passed away, his sons burned a joss paper bungalow house for him. Once again, Xian Sheng asked if the sons were trying to cheat their father by burning a joss paper bungalow to appease his soul for not buying a real bungalow house when he was alive.
8. And to finally drive home his point, Xian Sheng proposed a ludicrous scenario in which he told everyone around him to refrain from dying earlier than him. Xian Sheng is licensed to own firearms and ammunition. He also has the money to buy an entire funeral supply shop. After making sure they would burn all the joss papers, stacks and stacks of hell money and 31 joss paper bungalows with the photos of 31 beautiful actresses from his new funeral shop, he would put the pistol to his head and pull the trigger. Then he would be able to enjoy all the offerings burnt for him.
9. It so happens that the non-Baitiangong person who was listening to Xian Sheng’s sermon during the obsequies perceived what Xian Sheng said to be correct in his perspective. He subsequently joined the Spiritual Movement as a follower. One follower joined because, in his perspective, the Baitiangong way of Marriage is correct. This follower joined because, in his perspective, the Baitiangong way of Obsequies is correct. The obsequy is correct in his perspective because it is economical, not wasteful, it is realistic, not superstitious and it is real, not staged.
10. Our Baitiangong Universal Spiritual Movement is therefore made up of brothers and sisters with different backgrounds and different perspectives on why they joined in.