PureInsight | February 11, 2002
When talking about gods or quoting the Chinese proverb "Good is rewarded with good and evil is met with evil," people often say, "Gods exist for believers and do not exist for non-believers." Also, the majority of atheists react negatively to the requirement that many religions have of their followers, namely, "Believe first, then you will see." They think, "It is obvious that I have not yet seen anything. Why should I believe first? Isn't that self-deceiving and illogical?" Atheists will thus view religion as superstition.
Are gods solely illusory objects based on people's wishful thinking, imagination and psychological factors? Does that mean that gods neither exist for nor control atheists? Let us discard our preconceived notions and examine this issue objectively.
Regardless of the differences between various civilizations, people all over the world have passed down legends of gods from one generation to the next. They believe that there are high-level beings that control human destiny. Is that a coincidence? Or is it due to a common weakness in human nature? We know that in China, for more than 5000 years, they have studied, explored and verified the existence of gods through cultivation. Chinese people have developed strict and complete cultivation ways. Would you call all of these people lunatics or fools? Historical records show that many of these people were great prime ministers or famous generals, who were widely regarded. Many people deny that lessons can be learned from history. They disavow their own ancestors. They reason that the ancients were ignorant because they did not know about science. They think that one should reject everything that the ancients believed in. In fact, do you have any evidence to prove that we are more intelligent than the ancients? Is Western science more advanced than Eastern culture? Isn't it also true that Western people have always had religions? Other than enjoying more material wealth, modern people are not better off than the people of the past. We know that the Chinese studied astronomy and accurately predicted weather thousands of years ago. Records show that the ancient Chinese physicians could diagnose brain tumors and remove them. Don't modern people spend their time running around and working hard? Who would be happier and more rational, the ancient or modern people? According to science, humans use only a small percentage of their brains. This has been true since ancient times. Thus, human beings have not become more intelligent through the ages. For millennia, countless people in China cultivated Buddhahood and the Tao. In India, many cultivators can stay alive while being buried or under water for a long time. Many physical objects are currently available that have existed since ancient times, such as the cloth Jesus was wrapped in before he resurrected and Noah's Ark. If you have not yet seen them, why don't you research the subject matter, visit a museum or church and see these artifacts, or talk to those who were fortunate enough to see them in person? You can discover the truth. These people want nothing from you, nor does anyone wish to deceive you. Faith is about your future. Jesus told the Roman Emperor that a cultivator wants to go to heaven and is not interested in being an emperor in human society. People who have such thoughts are only judging the hearts of others based on their own desires.
Let us mention a few ancient, prehistoric cultural relics. Gabon's nuclear reactor was constructed about two billion years ago. Frescoes more than ten thousand years old are found in caves with paintings of people wearing contemporary clothing. These and the stone figures of Easter Island and the pyramids in Egypt are just a few examples of such relics. Some people avoid the issue, claiming they are works of aliens. But where were these aliens from? If we stubbornly cling to the concept of three-dimensional space-time that modern science believes in, it would be impossible for aliens to exist in our solar system, since they would have to travel a distance of at least 4.35 million light-years to come to this solar system [the distance from the Sun to the nearest star, Alpha Centauri], which would take 4.35 million years if they traveled at the speed of light. How could beings live that long? On the other hand, do you think that only a three-dimensional space-time exists in this universe? Do you believe that life does not exist in other dimensions of space-time? If life exists beyond this solar system, isn't it likely that there are beings more advanced than humans? We know that there are good people and bad people in the human world. Among gods, won't there be righteous ones and demonic ones? It does not matter whether or not you believe life exists in other dimensions. Gods always existed. Just like ancient relics that exist and are visible right in front of you, gods do exist and watch you even though you don't believe it. The saying "It exists if you believe it, it does not exist if you do not believe it," signifies that it is easier for the people who believe in "it" to feel its existence and more difficult for those to feel it if they do not believe in "it." Believing is like an experiential tool. Only through it can you detect the other dimensions. Other dimensions are totally unknown to us. The key to opening the door to other dimensions is our spiritual faith. One has to use this faith as a bridge. How can you get to the other side of a river without crossing a bridge?
Some people do not believe that "good will be rewarded with good, and evil will be met with evil." If one does bad things, won't he still be punished accordingly? One should not have a short-term view with respect to everything. If one is able to take a long-term view, look at people around you and historical figures, or trace the fortunes of a family through three or four generations, it is not hard to see the principle of "good is rewarded with good and evil is met with evil." A common Chinese saying states, "Poverty and wealth do not stay within a family for more than three generations," that is, poverty and wealth are cyclical. A poor family suffers hardship and accumulates virtue (de). This de can be exchanged for anything, such as prosperity and power. However, wealth can lead to selfishness and greed. One may become ungrateful because of ignorance regarding gaining and losing de. The descendants of such a family will be poor again. "Good is rewarded with good and evil is met with evil" is a heavenly principle. The reason that we do not recognize this principle, especially when we are in amidst of it, is that the human world is too complex, and there are too many factors that determine a person's fate.
There are those who say, "I do not believe in gods. Am I not having a good life anyway?" Think about it! Can you state with certainty that you lead a good life? Think about the past, including today, this week, this month and this year. How many times did you, beyond doubt, feel happiness from within your heart? Can you count this happiness in hours? Sometimes you smile outwardly or you are very proud of your momentary successes. Yet, I am certain that this happiness is very short and shallow, as it does not come from the bottom of your heart. When you think about it carefully, you will find that this was only a fleeting happiness, no more than tiny sparks of happiness on the bitter sea. Therefore, you force yourself to work even harder. In the end you are tired, feel dejected and believe that you have wasted your life. Think about this question: "What is real happiness in life?"
Along with the development of modern science, people are beginning to do research in areas such as "near death experiences" and "studies on the sprit." Furthermore, more than one hundred million people worldwide are practicing Falun Dafa. Many of these practitioners can tell you with their real-life experiences that gods do exist.
Translated from:
http://www.zhengjian.org/zj/articles/2002/1/4/13186.html
