Tuesday 14 August 2007

Who are the Liites? (III) - 'New Ones'

The New Liite

Essentially there is only one way to be mingled, be terminated, and become God: through the Liite ritual of pray-reading of mantras and koans ("messages") published exclusively by the Living Stream Ministry. Pray-reading is a peculiar ritual of worshipping printed words which are full of the essence of God ("God-breathed" as they call it) and thereby absorbing the essence of God.

For example, at the first stage of Mingling, the Liite proselyte is "saved" or initiated into the process of being blotted out and becoming God. Li's "salvation" is the planting of the first seed of his god, the first tea-leaf and it occurs in the ritual known as "calling on the name of the Lord." In practice, that means the proselyte must shout as loud as he can "O Lord Jesus" ten times in front of other Liites. He is told that it is important not to think of the meaning of the words, but to "proclaim it from the depths of his human spirit." The audience then screams several mantras and the new Liite will late be 'baptized' in water.