pebble in the pond

What is planted right is not uprooted
what is held right is not ripped away
future generations worship it forever
cultivated in the self virtue becomes real
cultivated in the family virtue multiplies
cultivated in the village virtue increases
cultivated in the state virtue prospers
cultivated in the world virtue abounds
thus view the self through the self
view the family through the family
view the village through the village
view the state through the state
view the world through the world
how do we know what the world is like
through this
-- Red Pine, Chapter 54, Tao Te Ching

The surface of the pond was smooth.

"Drop a pebble in," said Jesus.

I did.

"What happened?" asked Jesus.

"The pebble sank," I said.

"Naturally," said Lao Tzu. "That's 'weight underside.'"

"What else?" asked Jesus.

"It made a splash," I said.

"That's fame, boy," said Lao Tzu. "Notice it and let it go."

"Something else happened," said Jesus. "Something still happening."

"Ripples went out and are going out in all directions," I said.

"That's what happened to us," said Jesus, pointing to himself and Lao Tzu.

"Still happening," said Lao Tzu.

"No end to it," said Jesus.

"Same with you," said Lao Tzu."Virtue is a name for the energy of the Tao."

"Creative and transformative," said Jesus. "Healing."

"When you move in accord with the Tao," said Lao Tzu. "creative energy flows in all directions.

"How do I move in accord with the Tao?" I asked.

"Like this," said Jesus.

I looked at him. He wasn't doing anything.

Lao Tzu laughed. "Through being, dummy!"

sounds familiar

The great Way is easy,
yet people prefer the side paths.
Be aware when things are out of balance.
Stay centered within the Tao.

When rich speculators prosper
while farmers lose their land;
when government officials spend money
on weapons instead of cures;
when the upper class is extravagant and irresponsible
while the poor have nowhere to turn--
all this is robbery and chaos.
It is not in keeping with the Tao.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 53, Tao Te Ching

"Enough said," said Lao Tzu.

"The eye of the needle and all that," said Jesus.

"Some things just don't change," I said.

the light of awareness

In the beginning was the Tao.
All things issue from it;
all things return to it.

To find the origin,
trace back the manifestations.
When you recognize the children
and find the mother,
you will be free of sorrow.

If you close your mind in judgments
and traffic with desires,
your heart will be troubled.
If you keep your mind from judging
and aren't led by the senses,
your heart will find peace.

Seeing into darkness is clarity.
Knowing how to yield is strength.
Use your own light
and return to the source of light.
This is called practicing eternity.
--  Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 52,Tao Te Ching

We climbed the mountain and sat in a grove of aspen.

"Close your eyes," said Lao Tzu.

I sat quietly with eyes closed.

"What do you see?" he asked.

"Light."

"Take your jacket and put it over your head," he said.

I put my jacket over my head.

"What do you see now?" he asked.

"Light," I said.

"No movies of your mind?"

"No."

"You are seeing the past," he said. "The past which is present now. The light you are seeing is the light of the origin of all things."

"That light is you," said Jesus. "You are the light of the world."

"Do you also see the darkness?" asked Lao Tzu.

"Yes."

"That is Dark Energy from which all light arises," he said.

"You are like a tree," said Jesus. "Your roots are in the Ground of all existence. Your trunk and branches are in the Sky of being."

"Take that jacket off your head," said Lao Tzu.

I removed the jacket.

The day was beautiful and bright.

We three trees got up and moved through the grove.

circum stances

Every being in the universe

"Did you get that?" said Lao Tzu.

"EVERY being," I said.

is an expression of the Tao.

"We are all sons and daughters, offspring, of the Father," said Jesus.

"And the Mother," said Lao Tzu.

"And It," I said.

It springs into existence,
unconscious, perfect, free,
takes on a physical body,
lets circumstances complete it.

"Did you hear that, boy?" said Lao Tzu. "Your circumstances!"

"What about them?" I asked.

"You are the Tao taoing, then the stance you take to what is around you, your circum, shapes you," he said.

"If you are a limp noodle, you stay a limp noodle," said Jesus.

"If you take a righteous angry stance, you are a match asking to be struck," said Lao Tzu.

"The stance you take is equal to the trance you make," said Jesus.

"I think he's getting it," said Lao Tzu.

The Tao gives birth to all beings,
nourishes them, maintains them,
cares for them, comforts them, protects them,
takes them back to itself,
creating without possessing,
acting without expecting,
guiding without interfering.
That is why love of the Tao
is in the very nature of things.

"I love It!" I said.

My stancing became dancing.

The three of us danced on down the road.

-- Chapter 51, Stephen Mitchell, Tao Te Ching (interwoven with our conversation)

walking by the lake

The Master gives himself up
to whatever the moment brings.
He knows that he is going to die,
and he has nothing left to hold on to:
no illusions in his mind,
no resistances in his body.
He doesn't think about his actions;
they flow from the core of his being.
He holds nothing back from life;
therefore he is ready for death,
as a man is ready for sleep
after a good day's work.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 50, Tao Te Ching

We were walking by the lake.

"I love you guys," I said.

"We love you too," said Jesus.

"You are not always plotting and planning and scheming," I said.

"There is no place but here," said Lao Tzu.

"Here is no place for there," said Jesus.

Lao Tzu bumped Jesus with his shoulder.

Jesus grinned.

"Forgive me," said Lao Tzu.

"Can't do it," said Jesus. "I hold nothing against you."

Lao Tzu picked up a small rock and held it against Jesus' arm.

We kept walking.

"Tired yet?" Jesus asked Lao Tzu.

"Dang right!" said Lao Tzu and dropped the rock.

"Now you are forgiven," said Jesus.

We walked on holding nothing against anyone.

tschhh...

The Master has no mind of her own.
She works with the mind of the people.

She is good to people who are good.
She is also good to people who aren't good.
This is true goodness.

She trusts people who are trustworthy.
She also trusts people who aren't trustworthy.
This is true trust.

The Master's mind is like space.
People don't understand her.
They look to her and wait.
She treats them like her own children.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 49, Tao Te Ching

We sat on the early morning beach.

The gentle waves rolled in, rolled out.

Tschhh... tschhhh... tschhh...

A sea bird cried...

nekkid

In the pursuit of knowledge,
every day something is added.
In the practice of the Tao,
every day something is dropped.
Less and less do you need to force things,
until finally you arrive at non-action.
When nothing is done,
nothing is left undone.

True mastery can be gained
by letting things go their own way.
It can't be gained by interfering.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 48, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu asked Jesus, "Are you a Christian?"

Jesus replied, "Are you a Taoist?"

They laughed.

They looked at me.

"I keep being reborn," I said.

"How are you doing with being flesh?" asked Jesus.

"I remember when I was a meat head," said Lao Tzu.

"I appreciate my body," I said.

"To go through the next birth canal, you have to take off your clothes," said Jesus.

"Nekkid you came into this world and nekkid you go out," said Lao Tzu.

"That includes doctrinal clothes, too," said Jesus.

"Get shed of them," said Lao Tzu.

"I don't even know nothing," I said.

dung beetle

Without opening your door,
you can open your heart to the world.
Without looking out your window,
you can see the essence of the Tao.

The more you know,
the less you understand.

The Master arrives without leaving,
sees the light without looking,
achieves without doing a thing.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 47, Tao Te Ching

We were lying on our stomachs watching a dung beetle roll its ball of shit.

"What do you think it would say if we asked it what is the meaning of life?" asked Lao Tzu.

"To get all this shit done," I said.

Jesus laughed.

"It cannot see what we see," he said. "Nor can anyone in that frame of mind."

We sat up.

Lao Tzu looked at me.

"What is worth seeing?" he asked.

I sat silently, opening.

"The essence of all being and its expansion," I said.

"Not Disney World?" he asked.

I laughed.

"Where is it to be found?" asked Jesus.

"To quote a dear friend," I said. "The kingdom of heaven is within."

"The portal to the essence of all being is at your core," said Lao Tzu.

"What I said," said Jesus.

fear

When a country is in harmony with the Tao,
the factories make trucks and tractors.
When a country goes counter to the Tao,
warheads are stockpiled outside the cities.

There is no greater illusion than fear,
no greater wrong than preparing to defend yourself,
no greater misfortune than having an enemy.

Whoever can see through all fear
will always be safe.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 46, Tao Te Ching


"Fear is a condom on the heart," said Lao Tzu.

"It thinks it is protection," I said.

"All it is doing is preventing new birth," said Jesus.

"When the heart wears a condom over its head, it cannot see well," said Lao Tzu.

"Then it wants to be armed with a weapon," said Jesus.

"Partially blind and armed, it will fire at will, at anyone's will but its own," I said.

"The heart without a condom of fear will not be angry," said Lao Tzu,

"The naked heart is both male and female and neither," said Jesus.

"All opposites collapse," I said.

Lao Tzu looked at me.

"Oh no!" he said. "That means we are each other."

"Jesus," I said. "He is messing with me again."

Jesus laughed.

With hearts distinctly different, our hearts became the same.

right here

The greatest thing seems incomplete
yet it never wears out
the fullest thing seems empty
yet it never runs dry
the straightest thing seems crooked
the cleverest thing seems clumsy
the richest thing seems poor
activity overcomes cold
stillness overcomes heat
who can be perfectly still
is able to govern the world
-- Red Pine, Chapter 45, Tao Te Ching

"Look at him," said Lao Tzu. "He's all sad because you didn't show up."

"He wanted you to come with blazing light and sounding trumpets," said Lao Tzu.

"His bottom lip is poked out," he said. "He's in a sulk."

 "I'm right here," said Jesus.

"So am I," said Buddha.

"So am I," said Krishna.

"So am I," said Yahweh.

"So am I," said Allah.

"So am I," said Ganesha.

"So am I" said Moses.

"So am I," said God.

"So am I," said Muhammad.

"So am I," said Solstice Light.

And all the many forms of our Source proclaimed one by one and in unison, "So am I."

 "So am I," I said.

We formed into a circle and we laughed and danced and sang.

the cosmic bug zapper

Fame or integrity: which is more important?
Money or happiness: which is more valuable?
Success or failure: which is more destructive?

If you look to others for fulfillment,
you will never be truly fulfilled.
If your happiness depends on money,
you will never be happy with yourself.

Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 44, Tao Te Ching

We sat in Macy's Coffee House at a corner table.

The place was buzzing and packed with northern Arizona exotic life forms.

"Everyone is headed toward the Cosmic Bug Zapper," said Lao Tzu.

I looked at Jesus.

"Humor him," said Jesus.

"When you reach the Place of Zap, only your essence will go through," said Lao Tzu.

A holographic vision of the Place of Zap hung in the air between us.

On one side was a large assortment of Zapped bodies, back packs, autobiographies, self portraits of people kissing the backs of their own hands.

On the other side were light beings with varying expressions on their faces: relief, amazement, pleasure, amusement, and shock.

They continued journeying on their way.

"What's in the backpacks?" I asked.

"Those were the monkeys on their backs," said Lao Tzu.

"Attachments," said Jesus.

 "They did not feel whole, so they looked to fill the hole," said Lao Tzu.

"With what?" I asked.

"With everything that won't fill it," said Jesus.

We watched as others approached the Cosmic Bug Zapper.

Some went through with almost no zap sound at all.

"Their attachments and treasures were already on the other side," said Jesus.

The Place of Zap disappeared and we looked around the coffee shop.

Many looked as if they were carrying some burden.

Others sat beaming.

the weak and the strong

The gentlest thing in the world
overcomes the hardest thing in the world.
That which has no substance
enters where there is no space.
This shows the value of non-action.

Teaching without words,
performing without actions:
that is the Master's way.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 43, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu showed me a cup of water.
 
"Which is the strongest?" he asked.

"The cup," I said. "It is hard and holds the water."

He produced a hammer.

"Which will break if I hit it?"

"The cup," I said.

"Hard is overcome by hard without end," he said.

"The soft continues moving on its way."

"The fox created a man of tar to catch a rabbit," I said.

"The rabbit came along and said hello."

"The tar man said nothing."

"The rabbit kept talking and stuck himself to the tar man with his words."

"He should have just kept on hopping down the bunny trail," said Lao Tzu.

"2000 years ago my body was whacked," said Jesus.

"My spirit is as strong as it ever was."

"The body is dense spirit."

"The appearance dies, the essence continues."

We sat quietly.

the kingdom of heaven

The Tao gives birth to One.
One gives birth to Two.
Two gives birth to Three.
Three gives birth to all things.

All things have their backs to the female
and stand facing the male.
When male and female combine,
all things achieve harmony.

Ordinary men hate solitude.
But the Master makes use of it,
embracing his aloneness, realizing
he is one with the whole universe.
--  Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 42, Tao Te Ching

Suspended in infinite space, I gazed at the warm glow of Earth.

My body was Dark Infinity and my face was Earth Light.

I condensed to human form.

"They have names for that these days, you know," said Lao Tzu.

"What's that?" I asked.

"Some call it an OBE, an out of the body experience," he said.

"Others call it Cosmic Consciousness," said Jesus.

"What do you call it?" I asked.

"I call it the kingdom of heaven," said Jesus.

"I call it reality," said Lao Tzu.

They looked at each other and smiled.

"Why do not others experience this?" I asked.

"Many do," said Jesus.

"Others fall into the illusion that they are inside their body," said Lao Tzu.

"Ugh!" I said. "They think they are meat walking."

"Or meat dreaming," said Lao Tzu.

"They are drunk," said Jesus. "One day they will sober up."

I began laughing.

"What's so funny?" asked Lao Tzu.

"That the drunkest people on earth think they are the most sober and sane," I said.

"They are the most dangerous," said Lao Tzu.

"Yes," said Jesus. "It makes one want to both laugh and cry."

"That reminds me, Jesus," I said. "Do you know the shortest verse in the Bible?"

He grinned and said, "Tell me."

I said, "Jesus wept."

spiritual power

When a superior man hears of the Tao,
he immediately begins to embody it.
When an average man hears of the Tao,
he half believes it, half doubts it.
When a foolish man hears of the Tao,
he laughs out loud.
If he didn't laugh,
it wouldn't be the Tao.

Thus it is said:
The path into the light seems dark,
the path forward seems to go back,
the direct path seems long,
true power seems weak,
true purity seems tarnished,
true steadfastness seems changeable,
true clarity seems obscure,
the greatest art seems unsophisticated,
the greatest love seems indifferent,
the greatest wisdom seems childish.

The Tao is nowhere to be found.
Yet it nourishes and completes all things.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 41, Tao Te Ching

"What do you think of weapons and the use of weapons?" I asked Jesus and Lao Tzu.

"I stick by what I wrote so long ago," said Lao Tzu.

"Weapons are the tools of violence. All decent men detest them."

Jesus said, "Physical power always fails. Spiritual power is the path to follow."

"The Marine Corps Manual agrees with you," I said to Jesus.

"What does it say?" asked Lao Tzu.

"Unless you conquer the spirit of people, you have not won the war," I said.

"You can never conquer the spirit of people," said Jesus.

"The Way and its power seems weak to the foolish," said Lao Tzu.

"But it always wins. And why? Because it does not play the win- lose game."

"Embodying the spirit of the Life Force means you have no death to die," I said.

"When you have no death to die, you have no fear," said Jesus.

"No fear, no need for a weapon," said Lao Tzu.

"Many laugh at this as a way to live," I said.

"They see this as unsophisticated, childish, and weak."

"They create their own hell," said Jesus.

"A baby is more powerful," said Lao Tzu. "It can cry all day and not be hoarse, can grab your finger and not let go. How does it do this? It is in harmony with the Tao."

"Aiki," I said.

"Yes," said Jesus. "Spiritual power.

"Those who flow as life flows know they need no other force," said Lao Tzu.

"They feel no wear, they feel no tear, they need no mending, no repair," I said.

He looked at me with surprise.

Jesus grinned.

knock knock

Return is the movement of the Tao.
Yielding is the way of the Tao.

All things are born of being.
Being is born of non-being.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 40, Tao Te Ching

"Knock, knock!" said Lao Tzu.

"The door is open," said Jesus.

"The door is not-hinged," said Lao Tzu.

"Yes, it is no-thing-ed," said Jesus.

"It is the gateless gate," said Lao Tzu.

"Nothing stands in your way," said Jesus.

"A serious obstacle," said Lao Tzu.

I stood there.

The door was opening and closing, yielding and returning.

"You are the door," said Jesus.

"Become unhinged," said Lao Tzu.

"Become no thing," said Jesus.

The door and my framing of it all fell away.

"Knock, knock," I said.

"Here we go again," said Lao Tzu.

"Your knocking creates the door," said Jesus.

"Who's there?" I asked.

They laughed and spun me round and round until I did not know whether I was coming or going.

"How do you step into a revolving door?" asked Lao Tzu.

"The same way you step out," said Jesus.

an advance

In harmony with the Tao,
the sky is clear and spacious,
the earth is solid and full,
all creatures flourish together,
content with the way they are,
endlessly repeating themselves,
endlessly renewed.

When man interferes with the Tao,
the sky becomes filthy,
the earth becomes depleted,
the equilibrium crumbles,
creatures become extinct.

The Master views the parts with compassion,
because he understands the whole.
His constant practice is humility.
He doesn't glitter like a jewel
but lets himself be shaped by the Tao,
as rugged and common as a stone.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 39, Tao Te Ching

They walked into my room where I sat mourning.

"Wake me when the world is over," I said.

They looked at each other.

"He needs an advance," said Jesus.

"You mean a retreat," I said.

"All retreat is an advance," said Lao Tzu.

"Come with us," said Jesus.

We walked out into the starry night.

"Why is there evil in the world?" I asked.

"There are humans in the world," said Jesus.

"No humans, no evil," said Lao Tzu.

"Why are we so stupid?" I asked.

"Self-infatuation," said Jesus.

"The question is not why," said Lao Tzu. "The question is how."

"How what?" I asked.

"How to be wise," he said.

"Regard the whole world as yourself," said Jesus.

"Condense it, put it in your pocket, and walk the Path."

"Move from your heart."

A shooting star blazed the heavens.

dejection and resurrection

The Master doesn't try to be powerful;
thus he is truly powerful.
The ordinary man keeps reaching for power;
thus he never has enough.

The Master does nothing,
yet he leaves nothing undone.
The ordinary man is always doing things,
yet many more are left to be done.

The kind man does something,
yet something remains undone.
The just man does something,
and leaves many things to be done.
The moral man does something,
and when no one responds
he rolls up his sleeves and uses force.

When the Tao is lost, there is goodness.
When goodness is lost, there is morality.
When morality is lost, there is ritual.
Ritual is the husk of true faith,
the beginning of chaos.

Therefore the Master concerns himself
with the depths and not the surface,
with the fruit and not the flower.
He has no will of his own.
He dwells in reality,
and lets all illusion go.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 38, Tao Te Ching

I sat dejected.

"He's down in the dumps," said Lao Tzu.

"What's the matter?" asked Jesus.

"They say I am nothing but a pile of neurons yakking," I said.

"And that there is no meaning, no God, no Tao except what I invent," I continued.

"Who are 'they' except by 'their' own definition a pile of neurons yakking?" said Jesus.

Lao Tzu poked me. "Why would you believe a pile of neurons yakking instead of us?"

I sat up straighter. A smile began in my heart.

"It's snowing," said Jesus. "Let's go for a walk and listen to the snow fall."

"What is the sound of a snow flake falling?" asked Lao Tzu as we went out the door.

I looked at him.

"Joy," he said.

All around us was great beauty.

nameless simplicity

The way normally does nothing, yet there is nothing not done.
If kings and noblemen will abide by this,
Everything will self transform.
Transform yet desire rises,
Press it down using nameless simplicity.
Of nameless simplicity, man also supports without desire.
No desire, using stillness, all under heaven supports self calm.
-- Carl Abbott, Chapter 37, Tao Te Ching

We had climbed Elden and were sitting in a copse of trees off the trail.

"Are you ready for this?" asked Jesus.

"I don't know," I said.

"'Don't know' is always good," said Lao Tzu.

"I am closer to you than your very breath," said Jesus. "I am inside you and you are inside me."

"The Tao taos," said Lao Tzu. "Interflow."

"Do you know how and what I am inside you?" asked Jesus. "I am Imagination."

"All is created through Imagination," said Lao Tzu.

"Be still and know that you are Imagination," said Jesus.

"You are mage, you are magi, you are mage-ician," said Lao Tzu.

"The Christ Child you seek is born in and is Imagination," said Jesus.

"The Imagination does everything and yet nothing is done," said Lao Tzu.

"Imagination is the only Reality," said Jesus.

"Then who am I?" I asked.

"You are your imagination creating a side pocket in the ongoing flow of Imagination," said Jesus.

"Then you get all shook up, fearful and anxious, bold and demanding, seeking salvation." said Lao Tzu.

"When you start naming yourself, you get in trouble," said Jesus.

"That's called black magic," said Lao Tzu. "Loving the spin, loving the spin you are in."

"We are looking for 'nameless simplicity' here," said Lao Tzu.

"Let's start a new church," I said. "The Church of the Boundless Imagineers."

Lao Tzu groaned. He looked at Jesus and said, "I knew he was trouble from the start."

We got up, stretched, and continued walking the path of no path.

a drowning kitten

If you want to shrink something,
you must first allow it to expand.
If you want to get rid of something,
you must first allow it to flourish.
If you want to take something,
you must first allow it to be given.
This is called the subtle perception
of the way things are.
The soft overcomes the hard.
The slow overcomes the fast.
Let your workings remain a mystery.
Just show people the results.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 36, Tao Te Ching

I sat struggling at the computer.

Lao Tzu and Jesus watched.

"He is trying to write this without us," said Jesus.

"He is full of himself," said Lao Tzu.

"He is head strong and heart weak," said Jesus.

"His balloon will eventually burst," said Lao Tzu.

"He is hard and fast on his way," said Jesus.

"Let's go even slower," said Lao Tzu. "Maybe he will eventually catch up."

"No chance," said Jesus. "He is in an entirely different dimension."

"Dementia," said Lao Tzu.

I sighed, kicked back from the computer, and gave up.

"Welcome to the world," said Jesus.

"Where have you two been?" I asked.

They looked at each other.

"Trying to rescue a drowning kitten," said Lao Tzu.

"Is the kitten okay?" I asked.

"He is one strange cat," said Jesus.

"What episode shall we write for today?" I asked.

They whooped with laughter.

a Tao sandwich

She who is centered in the Tao
can go where she wishes, without danger.
She perceives the universal harmony,
even amid great pain,
because she has found peace in her heart.
Music or the smell of good cooking
may make people stop and enjoy.
But words that point to the Tao
seem monotonous and without flavor.
When you look for it, there is nothing to see.
When you listen for it, there is nothing to hear.
When you use it, it is inexhaustible.
--  Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 35, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu was in the kitchen singing.

"Tao and zen, there's a fool such as I," he sang.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I am making myself a Tao sandwich," he said.

"Are you making yourself or a sandwich?" Jesus asked.

"Precisely," said Lao Tzu.

He laid a slice of bread atop a slice of bread.

"Lao Tzu, there is nothing in the middle," I said.

"When there is nothing in the middle there is room for everything," he said.

"That is why I made myself of no reputation," said Jesus.

"If there was something in the middle, it would not be a Tao sandwich," said Lao Tzu.

"What would it be?" I asked.

"A hero," said Lao Tzu.

"A sub way," said Jesus.

"I have made myself both of those sandwiches," I said.

They looked at me.

"I like the Tao sandwich better," I said, eying Lao Tzu's sandwich.

"I cannot make you one," said Lao Tzu.

"You have to make yourself one," said Jesus.

"Or better still, nothing." said Lao Tzu.

one sun, three moons

The great Tao flows everywhere.
All things are born from it,
yet it doesn't create them.
It pours itself into its work,
yet it makes no claim.
It nourishes infinite worlds,
yet it doesn't hold on to them.
Since it is merged with all things
and hidden in their hearts,
it can be called humble.
Since all things vanish into it
and it alone endures,
it can be called great.
It isn't aware of its greatness;
thus it is truly great.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 34, Tao Te Ching

"You dreamed of two full moons in the sky," said Lao Tzu.

"Yes," I said.

"One is the eastern way, the way of Tao," said Jesus.

"The other is the western way, the way of Christianity," said Lao Tzu.

"The two were in the sky with a dove of peace etched in the clouds between them," I said.

"Each one's light reflects the other," said Jesus.

"Some of your followers won't like that, Jesus. They want only one moon," I said.

"In my father's house are many mansions," said Jesus. "Besides, they should be looking at the Sun."

"There was a third full moon in the sky, forming an equal sided triangle with the other two," I said. "What is that about?"

"We will talk about that when the time comes," said Jesus.

"Is it Islam?" I asked.

"Now you are really going to be in trouble," smiled Jesus.

staying power

Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.
If you realize you have enough,
you are truly rich.
If you stay in the center
and embrace death with your whole heart,
you will endure forever.
--Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 33, Tao Te Ching

We sat on our favorite bench downtown.

"How come you guys are still alive," I asked. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?"

Jesus and Lao Tzu looked at each other.

"Define dead," said Jesus.

"No longer having a body," I said.

"He is saying that only a body matters," said Lao Tzu to Jesus.

"He is saying that the physical body is all that is mattering," said Jesus to Lao Tzu.

"Hey! Hey!" I said. "I'm right here. What is this 'he' stuff?"

They looked at me.

"Which is more alive?" Jesus asked. "You or your clothes?"

"Me," I said.

"Well, why aren't you naked?" said Jesus.

My mind stopped.

"There," said Lao Tzu.

"Here," said Jesus.

wings

The Tao has never had a name
simple and though small
no one can command it
if a lord upheld it
the world would be his guest
when Heaven joins with Earth
they bestow sweet dew
no one gives the order
it comes down to all
the first distinction gives us names
after we have names
we should know restraint
who knows restraint knows no trouble
to picture the Tao in the world
imagine rivers and the sea
-- Red Pine, Chapter 32, Tao Te Ching

We were sitting on a bench at the pond.

We watched the birds: raven, osprey, heron, red-winged blackbird, swallow, duck.

"What would a one-winged bird do?" said Lao Tzu.

"Flutter helpless on the ground," I said.

"And if a two-winged bird chooses one wing over another?" he asked.

"Fly round and round," I said.

Jesus pulled out of his pocket a small silver crucifix someone had given him.

"And if both your wings are nailed to the spot?" he asked.

"Immobilized suffering," said Lao Tzu.

"I much prefer the empty tomb," said Jesus. "One's wings are in perfect flying order."

At that, we ascended into the heavens, dropped down as rain, became a river, flowed into the ocean, evaporated into the sky, and dropped down again, this time in the form of three men sitting on a bench.

"You guys are so much fun," I said.

rung three

Weapons are the tools of violence;
all decent men detest them.
Weapons are the tools of fear;
a decent man will avoid them
except in the direst necessity
and, if compelled, will use them
only with the utmost restraint.
Peace is his highest value.
If the peace has been shattered,
how can he be content?
His enemies are not demons,
but human beings like himself.
He doesn't wish them personal harm.
Nor does he rejoice in victory.
How could he rejoice in victory
and delight in the slaughter of men?
He enters a battle gravely,
with sorrow and with great compassion,
as if he were attending a funeral.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 31, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu walked up to me with a pistol.

"I have come to kill you," he said.

"What!?" I said.

He said, "I will not rejoice in it."

"A lot of good that does me," I said.

"I will be sad as if at a funeral," he said.

"So happy that you have taken a step up on the evolutionary ladder," I said.

"Go to rung three," said Jesus to Lao Tzu.

"Rung one is killing and rejoicing in the killing, rung two is killing and being sad about it."

"And rung three?" asked Lao Tzu.

"Rung three is not killing."

"I can do that," said Lao Tzu. "But most humans won't."

"They are drunk," said Jesus. "One day they will sober up."

Lao Tzu's pistol vanished.

They woke me from my dream.

rebound

Whoever relies on the Tao in governing men
doesn't try to force issues
or defeat enemies by force of arms.
For every force there is a counterforce.
Violence, even well intentioned,
always rebounds upon oneself.
The Master does his job
and then stops.
He understands that the universe
is forever out of control,
and that trying to dominate events
goes against the current of the Tao.
Because he believes in himself,
he doesn't try to convince others.
Because he is content with himself,
he doesn't need others approval.
Because he accepts himself,
the whole world accepts him.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 30, Tao Te Ching

We walked along the banks of a river.

A hefty stick the size and arced shape of a samurai sword lay on the ground.

I picked it up.

Jesus looked at me with compassion.

Lao Tzu had a glint in his eye.

Looking to test its strength, I swung it with all my might at a horizontal tree limb in front of me.

It rebounded with equal force and struck me in my forehead.

I staggered around.

Lao Tzu was whooping with laughter.

"All chi... all chi...all chi..." He said, gasping for breath.

"All chickens come home to roost!" He finally exclaimed.

I put the stick back where I found it.

We walked on, bursting into laughter as we went.

forcing my hand

Trying to govern the world with force
I see this not succeeding
the world is a spiritual thing
it can't be forced
to force it is to harm it
to control it is to lose it
sometimes things lead
sometimes they follow
sometimes blow hot
sometimes blow cold
sometimes expand
sometimes collapse
therefore the sage avoids extremes
avoids extravagance
avoids excess
-- Red Pine, Chapter 29, Tao Te Ching

We were walking by the lake.

"Be in the world but not of the world," said Jesus.

"What is the world?" I asked.

"All that is under the sky," said Lao Tzu.

I let that sink in.

"I don't like the world," I said. "I want to change it."

"Look," said Jesus, cupping his hand and putting it in the water.

"Is my hand in the water or the water in my hand?"

"Both," I said.

"Can my hand change the water?"

I looked for logical arguments.

Lao Tzu hit me in the head with a pebble.

 "Ow!" I said.

"Wake up!" he said. "Change the water in your own cup!"

"How do I do that?" I asked.

Jesus uncupped his hand.

last turtle standing

Know the male,
yet keep to the female:
receive the world in your arms.
If you receive the world,
the Tao will never leave you
and you will be like a little child.
Know the white,
yet keep to the black:
be a pattern for the world.
If you are a pattern for the world,
the Tao will be strong inside you
and there will be nothing you can't do.
Know the personal,
yet keep to the impersonal:
accept the world as it is.
If you accept the world,
the Tao will be luminous inside you
and you will return to your primal self.
The world is formed from the void,
like utensils from a block of wood.
The Master knows the utensils,
yet keeps to the block:
thus she can use all things.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 28, Tao Te Ching

We were in a classroom.

I sat in a student desk.

Jesus and Lao Tzu sat behind the teacher's desk.

Jesus wore a black mortarboard, tassel to the right.

Lao Tzu wore a white mortarboard, tassel to the left.

"You are wearing my hat," Lao Tzu said to Jesus.

"Oh!," said Jesus. They switched hats.

"Now for your first and last question," said Lao Tzu to me.

"They say it is turtles all the way down. On what does the last turtle stand?"

I thought for a moment.

Ringgggg!!! The bell rang for the end of the school day.

We got up to go.

"Don't forget to do your home work!" said Jesus.

"Where is home?" I asked.

"Congratulations!" said Lao Tzu. "You answered the question."

heliotrope

A good traveler has no fixed plans
and is not intent upon arriving.
A good artist lets his intuition
lead him wherever he wants.
A good scientist has freed himself of concepts
and keeps his mind open to what is.
Thus the Master is available to all people
and doesn't reject anyone.
He is ready to use all situations
and doesn't waste anything.
This is called embodying the light.
What is a good man but a bad man's teacher?
What is a bad man but a good man's job?
If you don't understand this, you will get lost,
however intelligent you are.
It is the great secret.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 27, Tao Te Ching

I went looking for Jesus and Lao Tzu.

They were in a meadow looking at flowers.

Lao Tzu was lying on his belly, chin in hands.

Jesus sat beside him.

"These flowers move with the sun," said Lao Tzu.

"They keep their faces turned toward the light," said Jesus.

"They are flow-ers," said Lao Tzu.

"What is the flower of your heart?" asked Jesus.

"A petunia," I said.

"Great satellite dish!" said Lao Tzu.

"My heart flower is a rose," said Jesus.

I looked at Lao Tzu with a grin.

"Snap dragon!" he said, leaping up and wrestling me to the ground.

Jesus said, "I swear. Sometimes I think you are both 14."

"Just drunk on the light," said Lao Tzu.

We got up and headed into town.

doing the funk

The heavy is the root of the light.
The unmoved is the source of all movement.

Thus the Master travels all day
without leaving home.
However splendid the views,
she stays serenely in herself.

Why should the lord of the country
flit about like a fool?
If you let yourself be blown to and fro,
you lose touch with your root.
If you let restlessness move you,
you lose touch with who you are.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 26, Tao Te Ching

I was giving Jesus and Lao Tzu a ride in my older model Funk.

Jesus was riding shotgun.

Lao Tzu, saying the best leader always followed behind, was in the back seat

My Funk was plunging us down this mountain road at ever increasing speed.

"What is at the core of you?" asked Jesus.

"A very heavy heart," I said.

"That's why we are in this Funk," said Lao Tzu.

Lao Tzu put a hand on my shoulder.

"Take some breaths and just be," he said.

I began to move out of my heart and into my breath.

The Funk began slowing.

Jesus told me a Jesus joke.

I groaned and began laughing.

"Jesus, that's awful!" I said.

The Funk became transparent, then disappeared.

"The next time you take us for a ride, maybe you'll give us a spin in your Tizzy," said Lao Tzu.

Jesus and I looked at each other. This time we both groaned.

Jesus gave Lao Tzu a soft punch on the shoulder.

We walked together, side by side, back up the mountain.

word

There was something formless and perfect
before the universe was born.
It is serene. Empty.
Solitary. Unchanging.
Infinite. Eternally present.
It is the mother of the universe.
For lack of a better name,
I call it the Tao.

It flows through all things,
inside and outside, and returns
to the origin of all things.

The Tao is great.
The universe is great.
Earth is great.
Man is great.
These are the four great powers.

Man follows the earth.
Earth follows the universe.
The universe follows the Tao.
The Tao follows only itself.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 25, Tao Te Ching

We walked to the old church with the gargoyles and the angels.

 We went in and sat quietly.

"What is religion?" I asked Jesus.

"Story," he said. "In the beginning was the word."

"And before the beginning?" asked Lao Tzu.

They looked at each other and smiled.

"Which story do I believe?" I asked.

"The story that is large enough to contain you without your being contained," said Jesus.

"You guys always speak in paradoxes and parables," I muttered.

"Definitely," said Lao Tzu.

"Infinitely," said Jesus.

For some reason they thought that extremely funny.

It was contagious. We left the church in high good humor.

"Excellent service," said Jesus.

standing on tiptoe

He who stands on tiptoe
doesn't stand firm.
He who rushes ahead
doesn't go far.
He who tries to shine
dims his own light.
He who defines himself
can't know who he really is.
He who has power over others
can't empower himself.
He who clings to his work
will create nothing that endures.
If you want to accord with the Tao,
just do your job, then let go.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 24, Tao Te Ching

Jesus and Lao Tzu came to tuck me in.

"Tell me a bedtime story," I said.

They looked at each other.

"Once upon a time," said Lao Tzu.

"There was a musical note," said Jesus.

"It was b," said Lao Tzu.

"Sometimes b tried to b sharp," said Jesus.

"In trying to b sharp, it b came flat," said Lao Tzu.

They looked at me.

"I guess I should just b," I said.

Lao Tzu slugged me with a pillow. "Wise guy," he said.

They left the room.

"Hey! Hey!" I said. "Turn out the light!"

give it up

If you want to become whole,
let yourself be partial.
If you want to become straight,
let yourself be crooked.
If you want to become full,
let yourself be empty.
If you want to be reborn,
let yourself die.
If you want to be given everything,
give everything up.

The Master, by residing in the Tao,
sets an example for all beings.
Because he doesn't display himself,
people can see his light.
Because he has nothing to prove,
people can trust his words.
Because he doesn't know who he is,
people recognize themselves in him.
Because he has no goal in mind,
everything he does succeeds.

When the ancient Masters said,
"If you want to be given everything,
give everything up,"
they weren't using empty phrases.
Only in being lived by the Tao
can you be truly yourself.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 22, Tao Te Ching

We were in the park watching some folk doing tai chi.

Lao Tzu said, "Here is how you move with chi."

He took a step forward.

"For the left foot to go forward, the right foot must push backward," he said.

"To go forward, you have to go backward," he said.

He took a step back. His left foot pushed forward and his right foot moved back.

"To go backward, you must direct your energy forward," he said.

Jesus said, "If you wish to be reborn into the next step, you must let yourself die to your old stance."

"It is called emptying and filling," said Lao Tzu.

"I see," I said as I followed his and Jesus's instructions. "If I want to open to everything, I have to give everything up."

Lao Tzu looked at Jesus and said, "The boy might amount to something yet."

Jesus said, "As long as he keeps being good for nothing."

The three of us burst into laughter.

at the diner

Express yourself completely,
then keep quiet.
Be like the forces of nature:
when it blows, there is only wind;
when it rains, there is only rain;
when the clouds pass, the sun shines through.

If you open yourself to the Tao,
you are at one with the Tao
and you can embody it completely.
If you open yourself to insight,
you are at one with insight
and you can use it completely.
If you open yourself to loss,
you are at one with loss
and you can accept it completely.

Open yourself to the Tao,
then trust your natural responses;
and everything will fall into place.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 23, Tao Te Ching

We are sitting at the back table of a local diner.

Lao Tzu is having tea. I have a cup of hot black coffee. Jesus has a glass of water.

Jesus said: "You have a right and a left, a front and a back. What is in the middle?"

"Room. Capaciousness." said Lao Tzu. "Like your glass of water has room for the water."

"My room inside condenses and expands." I said. "Sometimes I am full of me and there is no room at all."

"No room, no Tao flow," said Lao Tzu.

"No room, no Spirit flow," said Jesus.

"See that person who just came in?" said Jesus. "She is going through great loss. She is suffering."

I turned and looked.

"She doesn't look it." I said.

"That is because she is not bitter or angry, not depressed and defeated." said Lao Tzu.

"The suffering of her loss is making room. She is surrendering and opening." said Jesus.

"She will be fine," said Lao Tzu, looking at Jesus. "The Christ Child of the Spirit will be born within her because she has room in the In."

Jesus laughed and said, "And quoting some old guy: 'and everything will fall into place.' "

this

That which is inherent in the great attainment (void) is the echo of Tao.
That which is Tao is indistinct and ineffable.
Ineffable and indistinct, yet therein are forms.
Indistinct and ineffable, yet therein are objects.
Unfathomable and invisible, yet therein are essences.
The essence is indeed genuine, therein is the vivid reality.
From ancient times until the present,
the name of Tao has never ceased to exist.
Through it we see the beginning of all things.
How do we understand the beginning of all things?
It is through this.
-- Chang Chung-Yuan, Chapter 21, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu came in and threw the covers off me.

"Rise and shine," he said.

I groaned. The clock said 2:27 a.m..

"Where's Jesus?" I asked as I struggled into my clothes.

"Outside. Let's go." He headed for the door.

Jesus was looking at the stars and moon.

"Point at the moon," said Lao Tzu.

I pointed.

"Let the back wall of your mind fall away." he said.

I let it.

"Who is doing the pointing?" he asked.

I laughed. "There is no point. Only this."

We stood silently. Inseparable.

saints and rockets

Stop thinking, and end your problems.
What difference between yes and no?
What difference between success and failure?
Must you value what others value,
avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous!

Other people are excited,
as though they were at a parade.
I alone don't care,
I alone am expressionless,
like an infant before it can smile.

Other people have what they need;
I alone possess nothing.
I alone drift about,
like someone without a home.
I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty.

Other people are bright;
I alone am dark.
Other people are sharp,
I alone am dull.

Other people have a purpose;
I alone don't know.
I drift like a wave on the ocean,
I blow as aimless as the wind.

I am different from ordinary people.
I drink from the Great Mother's breasts.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 20, Tao Te Ching

"What is a saint?" I asked Jesus.

"A rocket is essentially propulsion and expansion," he said. "As a rocket, so a saint."

I was puzzled.

"Your expansion depends on your fuel that propels you," said Lao Tzu.

"A moment ago, you were fueled by a desire for a piece of cherry pie," he continued. "That desire produced a certain expansion of awareness."

"A limited expansion," said Jesus. "A small cherry pie aura."

"What are you fueled by?" I asked.

"Our Source, our Origin, our Father," said Jesus.

"The Tao, the Path, the Way, our Mother," said Lao Tzu.

"I call it the Wellspring," I said.

"That's okay. The name is not It," said Lao Tzu.

"When propelled by the Infinite, our expansion is Infinite," said Jesus.

I said, "That's what you mean by 'I and my Father are one.' "

"You got it," said Jesus.

Lao Tzu began singing "Dancing With The Tao" and whirling and cavorting like a child released from school.

the crud encrusted pearl

Let the people be free from discernment and relinquish intellection,
Then they will be many times better off.
Stop the teaching of benevolence and get rid of the claim of justice,
Then the people will love each other once more.
Cease the teaching of cleverness and give up profit,
Then there will be no more stealing and fraud.
Discernment and intellection, benevolence and justice,
cleverness and profit are nothing but outward refinements.
Hence we must seek something other than these.
Reveal simplicity,
Hold to one's original nature,
Rid one's self of selfishness,
Cast away covetousness,
Eliminate artificial learning and one will be free from anxieties.
-- Chang Chung-Yuan, Chapter 19, Tao Te Ching

"Stand right there," said Jesus to me. "Without you there would be no play."

"Why do I have to be the bad guy?" asked Lao Tzu.

"Out of character for me," said Jesus. "You are more believable."

"Okay," said Lao Tzu. "Say your lines."

"They are not lines. They are the truth." said Jesus.

"Is that your first line?" said Lao Tzu.

"See. I told you. You make a great bad guy."

"Okay," said Lao Tzu. "Let's get started."

Jesus said to me, "You are a prayer calling out."

Lao Tzu said, "Here's some money. Hope that helps."

"You are a soul thirsty for living water," said Jesus.

"Here is the chatter of your mind," said Lao Tzu. "Drink some of that."

"You are a heart yearning for home," said Jesus.

"Distract yourself," said Lao Tzu. "Drive around. Shop. Eat."

"Live from the core of your being," said Jesus.

"Wear the social armor you have invented for yourself," said Lao Tzu

"Be attached to nothing," said Jesus. "If they ask for your coat, give them your shirt too."

"Take the bastards to court," said Lao Tzu.

"Wow!" I said. "What's the name of this play?"

"The Chains of Fools," said Lao Tzu.

drooling on the pillow

When the great Tao is forgotten,
goodness and piety appear.
When the body's intelligence declines,
cleverness and knowledge step forth.
When there is no peace in the family,
filial piety begins.
When the country falls into chaos,
patriotism is born.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 18, Tao Te Ching

"It's kind of like reverse evolution," said Jesus.

"Devolution," said Lao Tzu.

"Devil-oution," said Jesus.

"Whatever," said Lao Tzu.

Jesus continued, "First you are in love. You have that glow, that oceanic feeling -- the entire cosmos is singing with joy and your love knows no bounds."

"Then you live together," said Lao Tzu.

"You notice she drools on the pillow."

"She notices you don't leave the seat down."

"The Great Tao of oceanic love is forgotten."

"Cleverness and knowledge step forth."

"You become very patriotic and matriotic about it all."

"The Great Fish is now in a little pond."

"What's the answer?" I asked, "What's the way out?"

Jesus and Lao Tzu looked at each other. They grinned.

"Tango!" they said, and spiraled into the heavens.

moving with what is

The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.
Next comes the ruler they love and praise;
Next comes one they fear;
Last comes one they treat with impertinence.

Only when there is not enough faith is there a lack of faith.

Hesitant, he does not utter words lightly.

When his task is accomplished and his work done
The people all say, "It happened to us naturally."
-- D.C. Lau, Chapter 17, Tao Te Ching

At the open square downtown, we watched people dancing to a lively band in the twilight of the cool and pleasant evening.

"The best dancing partner is the one whom you hardly know is there," said Jesus.

"And yet is responsive to your every move," I said.

"Like the Tao," said Lao Tzu. "Or God, the Father, in your language, Jesus."

"When people are in that state, dancing with the Tao, that is the supreme spiritual ultimate," said Jesus.

"Beyond that, it's all downhill," said Lao Tzu. "They start loving Him, separating Him out from everything else, then move to fearing Him, then end in scorning Him."

"No more dancing with the Tao," said Jesus.

We stood silently for a while.

I was curious about something.

"What church do you belong to?" I asked Jesus.

He looked at me and grinned.

He said, "The church of Is."

The three of us moved to the dance floor.

returning to my destiny

I attain the utmost emptiness;
I keep to extreme stillness.
The myriad creatures all rise together
And I watch thereby their return.
The teeming creatures
All return to their separate roots.
Returning to one's roots is known as stillness.
Stillness is what is called returning to one's destiny.
Returning to one's destiny is normal.
Knowledge of the normal is discernment.
Not to know the normal is to be without basis.
To innovate without basis bodes ill.
To know the normal is to be tolerant.
Tolerance leads to impartiality,
Impartiality to kingliness,
Kingliness to heaven,
Heaven to the way,
The way to perpetuity,
And to the end of one's days one will meet with no danger.
-- D.C. Lau, Chapter 16, Tao Te Ching

I sat alone, Jesus and Lao Tzu nowhere in sight.

No bounds. No limits. Vast openness.

Here they came.

"Time to make yourself up," said Lao Tzu.

"Got to get an agenda," said Jesus.

"Shape up or ship out," said Lao Tzu.

"Get up on the cross of existence," said Jesus.

"Rise and shine," said Lao Tzu.

"It's your turn up to bat," said Jesus.

I sighed and stood up.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"You are!" They laughed uproariously.

"We don't matter anymore. It's your turn." said Lao Tzu.

I must have looked concerned.

Jesus said, " Don't worry. We are with you in spirit."

"Just remember one thing," said Lao Tzu.

"What's that?"

"Stand up straight! No leaning!"

total abandon

Long ago the land was ruled with a wisdom
Too fine, too deep, to be fully understood
And, since it was beyond men's full understanding,
Only some of it has come down to us, as in these sayings:
'Alert as a winter-farer on an icy stream,'
'Wary as a man in ambush,'
'Considerate as a welcome guest,'
'Selfless as melting ice,'
'Green as an uncut tree,'
'Open as a valley,'
And this one also, 'Roiled as a torrent.'
Why roiled as a torrent?
Because when a man is in turmoil how shall he find peace
Save by staying patient till the stream clears?
How can a man's life keep its course
If he will not let it flow?
Those who flow as life flows know
They need no other force:
They feel no wear, they feel no tear,
They need no mending, no repair.
-- Witter Bynner, Chapter 15, Tao Te Ching

 "Come with me," said Jesus.

We climbed up to a meadow overlooking the town.

We sat quietly.

"How did you do it, Jesus?" I asked.

"Breath by breath," he said.

"When I breathed in, I breathed in God's love. When I breathed out,
I breathed out lovingkindness to the earth and all on earth."

"No matter the situation?" I asked.

Lao Tzu appeared, came over and sat down.

"What about when you couldn't feel God's love?" I asked.

"You mean when I was on the cross?"

I nodded.

"Then I breathed in all the poisons and evils on earth and breathed out lovingkindness and healing."

"Like this," said Lao Tzu.

We sat there breathing in love, breathing out love, breathing in the poisons from the town below, breathing out lovingkindness and healing.

All around us grew calm and still.

the taoist third degree

Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.

Above, it isn't bright.
Below, it isn't dark.
Seamless, unnamable,
it returns to the realm of nothing.
Form that includes all forms,
image without an image,
subtle, beyond all conception.

Approach it and there is no beginning;
follow it and there is no end.
You can't know it, but you can be it,
at ease in your own life.
Just realize where you come from:
this is the essence of wisdom.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 14, Tao Te Ching

I was sitting quietly trying to find God.

Lao Tzu looked at me: "Show me your reputation."

"Don't mess with me," I said.

"You do have one, don't you?"

"I suppose."

He poked me in the ribs.

"Yes! Yes I do!"

"Where is it?"

"In the minds of others."

"Where are the minds of others?"

"All scattered, I guess." (Poke) "I don't know!"

He persisted: "Does your reputation exist?"

"Yes."

"Can you see it?"

"No, but I see its effects."

"Can you hear it?"

"No, but I hear talk about it."

"Can you hold it in your hand?"

"Of course not!"

"But it exists."

"Yes!"

Jesus walked up.

"What's the matter with him?" he asked Lao Tzu.

"He's trying to find God," said Lao Tzu.

"Oh my," said Jesus.

"And he can't refute his repute." said Lao Tzu.

"Tell me about it," said Jesus.

a piece of the action

Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.

What does it mean that success is as dangerous as failure?
Whether you go up the ladder or down it, your position is shaky.
When you stand with your two feet on the ground,
you will always keep your balance.

What does it mean that hope is as hollow as fear?
Hope and fear are both phantoms
that arise from thinking of the self.
When we don't see the self as self,
what do we have to fear?

See the world as your self.
Have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as your self;
then you can care for all things.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 13, Tao Te Ching

Jesus handed me a miniature ladder.

"Climb to the top," he said.

"I am already there," I said.

" Fall to the bottom," said Lao Tzu.

"The bottom is in the palm of my  hand," I said.

"At the top of the ladder is all your hope," said Jesus.

"At the bottom is total disaster," said Lao Tzu.

I laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" asked Lao Tzu. "Don't you want to be a success?"

"Give me the ladder," said Jesus.

He made a circle of it by melding its bottom and its top.

"There!" he said. "An eternal hamster wheel."

He threw it into the air.

It disappeared.

"What's for lunch?" asked Lao Tzu.

"There is no hope for you," I said to Lao Tzu.

"I fear not," said Jesus.

cradle and all

Colors blind the eye.
Sounds deafen the ear.
Flavors numb the taste.
Thoughts weaken the mind.
Desires wither the heart.

The Master observes the world
but trusts his inner vision.
He allows things to come and go.
His heart is as open as the sky.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 12, Tao Te Ching

"I have to go to sleep," I said, yawning.

"We'll tell you a bedtime story," said Jesus.

"Once upon a time there was a glass of water that thought it was the glass," said Lao Tzu.

"Once upon a time there was a wound that thought it was its dressing," said Jesus.

"Once upon a time there was an open heart that knew no bounds," said Lao Tzu.

"When the body drops, who are you?" said Jesus.

"Hey! That's my line!" said Lao Tzu.

"You woke him back up," said Jesus.

"That's our job," said Lao Tzu.

They threw the covers off me and left the room.

running on empty

Thirty spokes converge on a hub
but it's the emptiness
that makes a wheel work
pots are fashioned from clay
but it's the hollow
that makes a pot work
windows and doors are carved for a house
but it's the spaces
that make a house work
existence makes something useful
but nonexistence makes it work
-- Red Pine, Chapter 11, Tao Te Ching

We sat drinking coffee at a sidewalk table.

"Wu is the Chinese word for emptiness," said Lao Tzu.

"Out of emptiness all things arise," he continued.

"Some of the angels call my Father the Grand Empt for that very reason," said Jesus.

"Chi is the word for the life force that fills all things, all forms," said Lao Tzu.

"Like the Holy Spirit," I said.

Jesus grinned and looked at me.

"Good Christian boy," he said.

"Ku is the Japanese word for emptiness," I said to Lao Tzu.

"Empty, filled, empty, filled. Wu Chi, Ku Chi. Wu Chi, Ku Chi!" exclaimed Lao Tzu as he jumped up and began to dance around.

"Get up, guys!" he said. "Let's dance the Wu Chi Ku!"

We danced down the sidewalk to the amusement of all around.

the supreme virtue

Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple as a newborn child's?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from your own mind
and thus understand all things?

Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 10, Tao Te Ching

We were observing a construction site.

Lao Tzu walked up to the chain link fence and began shaking it.

"Let me out! Let me out!" he began yelling.

"You are out!" shouted a construction worker.

"Let me in! Let me in!" yelled Lao Tzu.

Jesus said, "When you make the inside as the outside and the outside as the inside, you are in the Kingdom."

All walls collapsed within my mind.

"Free," said Lao Tzu.

"And expensive," said Jesus. "It costs you everything."

We walked on.

Lao Tzu began singing "Don't Fence Me In."

I laughed.

I don't know what I'm going to do with these guys.

velcro mind

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 9, Tao Te Ching

Jesus and Lao Tzu came into the room.

"Here is Mister Velcro Mind," said Lao Tzu.

"He is one lost sheep," said Jesus.

"Please. I'm trying to get this done." I said.

"Now he's stuck in annoyance," said Lao Tzu.

"He's feeling righteous," said Jesus.

I sighed and shook my head.

"He's coming unglued," said Lao Tzu.

"Good," said Jesus.

I laughed. "I don't know what to write about this."

"Too attached," said Jesus.

"Full of it," said Lao Tzu.

"Let's go for a walk," said Jesus.

"Just a moment," I said, and wrote down our conversation.

I stepped back, took a look, and hit "Publish."

"Where are we going?" I asked, following them out the door.

"Serenity," said Lao Tzu.

be like water

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete,
there is no blame.
-- Stephen Mitchell (Abridged), Chapter 8, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu held a bowl of water.

"Look," he said. He poured the water into a glass.

"What did you see?" he asked.

"You pouring water," I said.

"And?"

"The water changed shape."

"Excellent!" he beamed. "Water takes the shape of its container."

"Don't worry." said Jesus, reading my mind. "You won't be a hypocrite. Water is always itself. It just completely fills the situation it is in."

"Do you know that game of rock, paper, scissors?" asked Lao Tzu.

"Yes."

"Always choose water."

detached

The Tao is infinite, eternal.
Why is it eternal?
It was never born;
thus it can never die.
Why is it infinite?
It has no desires for itself;
thus it is present for all beings.

The Master stays behind;
that is why she is ahead.
She is detached from all things;
that is why she is one with them.
Because she has let go of herself,
she is perfectly fulfilled.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 7, Tao Te Ching

We sat on a bench at the pond.

I held a small rock I liked that I found on our walk.

"Hold that rock against my shoulder," said Lao Tzu.

A gleam of amusement flashed through Jesus's eyes.

I leaned over and pressed the rock to Lao Tzu's shoulder.

He and Jesus began conversing about the Unborn and how all arose from It.

Jesus called it the Wellspring.

My arm holding the rock grew heavy, began to tremble.

I said, "Lao Tzu, this is exhausting."

He said, "Holding something against someone always is."

Jesus said, "Holding yourself against the entire Universe is especially tiring."

I let go.

a hint of existence

The Spirit of the Fountain dies not.
It is called the Mysterious Feminine.
The Doorway of the Mysterious Feminine
Is called the Root of Heaven-and-Earth.
Lingering like gossamer, it has only a hint of existence;
And yet when you draw upon it, it is inexhaustible.
-- John C. H. Wu, Chapter 6, Tao Te Ching

We were watching the completion of a new doughnut shop in the town.

Lao Tzu said, "What makes a doughnut a doughnut?"

I asked, "Is this a trick question?"

Jesus said, "What is the value of my tomb?"

"Correct!" said Lao Tzu.

I stood confused.

My mind opened.

"Emptiness," I said.

We looked at each other and smiled.

We moved on.

talk

Between Heaven and Earth,
There seems to be a Bellows:
It is empty, and yet it is inexhaustible;
The more it works, the more comes out of it.
No amount of words can fathom it:
Better look for it within you.
-- John C. H. Wu, Verse 2, Chapter 5, Tao Te Ching


Lao Tzu said: "As soon as you talk, you are dead!"

I said: "You are dead!"

Jesus said:

Sitting on the saddle of the mountain, we gazed across the vast scape.

We moved out of time.

Our souls became as one.

the pinata of life

Heaven and earth are ruthless;
they treat the myriad creatures as straw dogs.
The sage is ruthless;
he treats the people as straw dogs.
-- D. C. Lau, Chapter 5, Tao Te Ching

I said, "I once caught a vision of God as blood-fanged with smiling eyes. He said he loves us so much he could eat us up. And he does."

"Everything comes and goes," said Lao Tzu. "It serves whatever purpose it might have and moves on. That includes humans."

"Yes," said Jesus. "I myself came to cast fire on the world. It was getting stagnated, more smoke than fire, the fire of the everlasting flow of spirit."

"No destruction, no construction." said Lao Tzu.

We were watching children at a birthday party. One was blindfolded and taking swings with a stick at a pinata. The pinata was beautiful. The child did not care. Wham! A direct hit.

The pinata was broken. Treasure went everywhere.

my cup runs over

The Tao is so empty
those who use it
never become full again
and so deep
as if it were the ancestor of us all
dulling our edges
untying our tangles
softening our light
merging our dust
and so clear
as if it were present
I wonder whose child it is
it seems it was here before Ti (the Lord of Creation).
-- Red Pine, Chapter 4, the Tao Te Ching

We were in my kitchen. I had just made a fresh pot of coffee.

"May I pour you some?" asked Lao Tzu.

"Sure."

He filled my cup and kept pouring. The coffee spilled out onto the table.

"Stop!" I said, jumping up for a cloth to contain the mess.

"The value of a cup is its emptiness," he said. "When it is full, it is worthless."

"No! No!" I said, cleaning up his mess. "Its fullness is its value."

Lao Tzu laughed. "You  prove my point. You are full of yourself so you cannot hear what I am saying. You are edgy and irritable. Your mind is tangled, yet you think of yourself as bright."

He was right though I hated to admit it. I had upset myself with his overpouring. But his antics were pointing to something deeper.

Jesus had been observing this with amusement. He said: "We must be empty in order to be filled. The emptying and filling are continuous. We are a running stream, a continuous flow of the life force, of spirit."

Lao Tzu said, "Unlike the cup, you are a conduit. When you open as the Tao Flow, your cup has no bottom."

"And no sides as well," said Jesus. "Vast openness extends in all directions."

As he said this, all walls fell away.

We sat opening to the vastness of the one existing before all creation. And not even that.

a star shot through the heavens

Therefore, when the sage rules:
He empties the minds of his people,
Fills their bellies,
Weakens their wills,
And strengthens their bones.
Always he keeps his people in no-knowledge and no-desire,
Such that he who knows dares not act.
Act by no-action (wu-wei),
Then, nothing is not in order.
-- Ellen Chen, Verses 2 and 3, Chapter 3, the Tao Te Ching

We were lying on our backs in a grassy alpine meadow gazing at the planets and the stars. I was gratefully aware that I was embraced by the earth and not allowed to go flying into space.

"Surrender. That's both what I had to do and chose to do," said Jesus.

 "You followed the will of your Father," said Lao Tzu.

"Yes," said Jesus. "What you call moving with the Tao."

They know each other's language quite well, I thought. They are of the same spirit, the same life force. They just express themselves in different terminology.

"I admire you deeply," said Lao Tzu. "Surrender is not an easy thing to do."

Jesus chuckled. "Part of me didn't want to. I sweat blood over it. I asked, if possible, that I not have to surrender in the way the Father was willing, in the way the Tao was unfolding."

They were silent for a while. A star shot through the heavens.

I said. "We're glad you did, Jesus. You followed through. All the way. You showed us the way to go."

"The wu-wei," said Lao Tzu. "The wu way. The way of being nothing in yourself so that the Source may come sourcing."

"Not my will, but thine be done," spoke Jesus from his heart.

We each continued in our surrendering.

no muck no rose

Do not honor the worthy,
So that the people will not contend with one another.
Do not value hard-to-get goods,
So that the people will not turn robbers.
Do not show objects of desire,
So that the people's minds are not disturbed.
-- Ellen Chen, Verse 1, Chapter 3, Tao Te Ching

"The legs are not in competition with each other." said Lao Tzu.

We were sitting in the stands watching Flagstaff runners in their evening practice on a school track.

 "If we honored only one leg, the other leg would succumb to leg envy. Running, even walking, then becomes impossible." he continued. "The legs realize they are joined with a larger body. They run as one."

We sat quietly, musing over Lao Tzu's imagery.

"One of my favorite Zen sayings," I said, " is that the Buddha is a shit stick."

Lao Tzu laughed. "Yes. It's all an interflow. Setting something up is a set up. Roses grow out of muck. No muck, no rose."

"Don't just love a piece of it. Love it all." said Jesus. "And what is doing the loving is what is being loved."

The setting sun and the receptive clouds conjoined in dancing color.

We loved it.

real eye zing

Therefore the sage manages affairs without action,
Carries out teaching without speech.
Ten thousand things arise and he does not imitate them,
They come to be and he claims no possession of them,
He works without holding on,
Accomplishes without claiming merit.
Because he does not claim merit,
His merit does not go away.
-- Ellen Chen, Chapter Two, Tao Te Ching

We walked from downtown to a little pond. The three of us sat on a bench. I was wedged comfortably between Jesus and Lao Tzu. We watched an osprey circling looking for a fish.

Jesus said: "Imagine a light above the crown of your head coming down through the midsection of your body and extending out your sacrum and your tailbone."

As he said the words, I could see and feel this line of light moving through me.

 He said: "This is the middle place. It is neither right nor left and yet is both right and left. All opposites are transcended here while fully realized."

Lao Tzu said: "Yes! This is the place of your Real Eye Zing!"

Jesus laughed.

I said: "I get it. When I operate from here, when I am this, I cling to nothing while fully immersed in everything. I am fully engaged while not attached."

Lao Tzu said to Jesus: "I think we may have to give him a Tao name."

"What might that be?" asked Jesus.

"Nothing Doing," said Lao Tzu.

The osprey splashed into the water and came up with a fish.

tuning forks

Therefore being and nonbeing give rise to each other,
The difficult and easy complement each other,
The long and short shape each other,
The high and low lean on each other,
Voices and instruments harmonize with one another,
The front and rear follow upon each other,
-- Ellen Chen, Chapter 2, Tao Te Ching

"Before one is on the Path, it is either-or. Once one is on the Path, it is both-and." said Lao Tzu, leaning against the alley wall and picking his teeth. We had just come from a good meal and were wandering Flagstaff's excellent maze of alleys.

He continued. "These are two different worlds. As a human, you are two halves looking to operate as a whole. You look to 'put your best foot forward.' You have 'on the one hand and on the other hand.' This is the either-or world." He belched and scratched his belly.

"You are also a sphere of boundless energy with its center at your core. Your core is a dynamic pulsing, a condensing and expanding of energetic life. This is the both-and world."

Jesus was listening carefully. "This is what I mean by I am in the Father and the Father is in me. When one knows this, one is in the both-and world. This is the second birth."

"Oh! I see!" I said. "It's similar to being a tuning fork. One is both arms of the fork (either-or) and when struck and set to vibrating, one is both-and."

Lao Tzu and Jesus chuckled and we resumed our evening walk.

the dissolving of my fragmented mind

When all under heaven know beauty as beauty,
There is then ugliness;
When all know the good good,
There is then the not good.
-- Ellen Chen, Verse 1, Chapter 2, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu smiled. He could see the consternation in my heart.

 "But Lao Tzu, you are saying that I am calling ugliness and that which is not good into the world! I cannot accept that!"

He burst out laughing. "You are now calling what you can accept and what you can't accept into the world. In doing so, you are a living example of what I am saying."

I looked at Jesus for some help.

"Don't look at me!" said Jesus. "All humans are judgmental, dividing the world into this and that. This you love and cherish. That you fear and disdain. You love and cherish everything that you perceive as in favor of your sweet ass. Some of you love me to save your ass. And some of you won't love me to save your ass!"

Lao Tzu and I burst out laughing and Jesus joined in. Our laughter dissolved my fragmented mind.

my eyes were spinning

And both are called mysteries.
The Mystery of mysteries is the Door of all existence.
-- John C. H. Wu, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 1

the one we call dark
the dark beyond dark
the door to all beginnings
-- Red Pine, Tao Te Ching, Chapter 1

I asked Jesus and Lao Tzu to explain this to me.

Lao Tzu sighed. "Go ahead, Jesus, I am tired of talking. The talk that can be talked is not the Talk."

Jesus smiled. "George, can you see your eyes?"

"Only by looking in a mirror. But that is not really seeing my eyes. No, I cannot see my eyes."

"What is seeing through your eyes you cannot see?"

I said, "Some of our scientists say it is a piece of meat we call the brain."

"And what is producing this piece of meat?"

"I do not know. I can put names on it: Chance, God, Allah, the Godhead, Tao."

"We have already been through that. Those names are not It." Lao Tzu could not help jumping in. "The name that can be named is not the eternal name."

"Exactly!" said Jesus. "Think of yourself as looking out to infinity and eventually you see the back of your own head and enter and look out to infinity. Who is looking through your eyes?"

"Infinity?"

"Yes. And what is infinity?"

"I do not know."

"This is the Mystery." said Jesus. "This is the dark beyond dark. This is the Door to all beginnings."

Lao Tzu laughed. "Look at the poor boy, Jesus! His eyes are spinning. I think he has gone out of his mind."

"Good!" said Jesus.

standing up in the beginning

So, as ever hidden, we should look at its inner essence:
As always manifest, we should look at its outer aspects.
These two flow from the same source, though differently named.
-- John C.H. Wu

thus in innocence we see the beginning
in passion we see the end
two different names
for one and the same
-- Red Pine

"Lao Tzu, this reminds me of my reply to some of my students when they were so desirous of knowing the end of things." said Jesus as the three of us were walking along through an open meadow.

Lao Tzu looked at him questioningly.

"I told them the place of the beginning is the place of the end."

Lao Tzu chuckled. "I bet they really understood that!"

"A few were starting to. They were accustomed to living according to the "outer aspects" and not according to the "inner essence," as you put it. They did not know that their outer perceptions are determined by their inner essence, that their perceptions of the world are determined by the quality and capaciousness of their inner being."

"So I gather you did not go into long philosophical discussions about this," said Lao Tzu, beginning to be uncomfortable with Jesus's amplification of his words.

Jesus laughed. "No. I responded with a question: Have you found the beginning so that you now seek the end?"

"Lord, Jesus! You are as bad as I am!" Lao Tzu doubled over with laughter.

"Well, I added a little more to it. I told them: Blessed is anyone who will stand up in the beginning and thereby know the end and never die."

We had climbed out of the meadow and were sitting atop a large rock, looking out across the serene and peaceful valley below. We sat quietly for a while.

Lao Tzu broke the silence. "That's true about never dying. When you know the beginning and the end, you know the source from which they flow."

the wheel we need to be

Jesus leaned forward and said: My buddy, Lao Tzu here, is always talking about the Way. I also spoke of the Way and it got me into a lot of trouble.

He continued: I said that I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me. Holy Moses! Has that been misunderstood! Let's get democratic here. My aim is for each person to be able to say those words with deep understanding.

Lao Tzu nodded in agreement: Yes, Jesus! When we know we are the Way waying, we live in a different world. Our consciousness has changed, as Georgie Boy would say.

I laughed and shook my head, appreciating his bringing me into the conversation: Georgie Boy? Well, I love you too, Old Dude.

Jesus said: I'm glad you two are having a love feast, but I have more to say. People set up a religion around me and that's okay. In the physical world, the forming always needs a form. The danger is that the form assumes priority and the forming hardens into set opinion.

Lao Tzu: Well said. I put it this way. "Thirty spokes converge on a hub but it's the emptiness that makes a wheel work."

Jesus leaped from his seat with exuberance: Yes! Don't get hung up on the wheel. The wheel will continue revolving and evolving. It's the boundless openness of our Father that we are to allow to embody us. Then each of us will be the wheel we need to be.

they look at me with amusement

[In my writing about Jesus and Lao Tzu, a triad necessarily exists: my consciousness state, the consciousness state of Jesus as implied by his sayings (Christ consciousness), the consciousness state of Lao Tzu as implied by his sayings (Tao consciousness). I find that as I sit and contemplate each of the two, a distinct personality of awareness forms for each. My role is to introduce them to each other within my own being. We merge while remaining distinct.]

Jesus, Lao Tzu, and I sit here together. They have twinkles in their eyes and merry hearts. They laugh sweetly at my desire to comment on their words. They do not comment on mine so how could I have such presumption?

"Because you are a sump pump," says Lao Tzu. We all three chortle at his word play. "You wish to pump in wisdom from beyond."

"The wisdom is here and walks among us. If we but have eyes to see and ears to hear." says Jesus.

I love these two. What greater friends could one have?

They look at me with amusement. We shall see what unfolds.

the Source sourcing

Tao can be talked about, but not the Eternal Tao.
Names can be named, but not the Eternal Name.
As the origin of heaven-and-earth, it is nameless:
As "the Mother" of all things, it is nameable.
(Tr. John C. H. Wu)

The way that becomes a way is not the Immortal Way
the name that becomes a name is not the Immortal Name
the maiden of Heaven and Earth has no name
the mother of all things has a name
(Tr. Red Pine)

Everything that exists arises from and is arising from our Source. Even now. Though Lao Tzu says no name can name it, he calls the Source from which all is continually arising the Tao or Way. Jesus calls the Source the Father. He says that he and the Father are one. So are we all.

A difference between us and Jesus is that Jesus knew it. We generally don't. We think of ourselves as separate from the Source, the Father, the Tao, the Way. By considering (a word that means by the side of) ourselves as separate, we ARE separate. We have named ourselves, have named and are naming everything.

We put our egg of consciousness on the wall we create between ourselves and our Source. What a setup! No surprise that the egg fell and splattered into a zillion pieces. No forces in the named world can put it back together again.

Jesus says that he is the Way. He is the Way waying, the Tao taoing, the Source sourcing. He invites us to do the same, to open our consciousness as the Source sourcing. As we shall see, Lao Tzu issues a similar invitation. .

Translations of the Tao Te Ching

Several translations of the Tao Te Ching exist.

I will consult the following translations as I go, but will quote directly in my posts from Witter Bynner's The Way of Life.

John C. H. Wu, Tao Teh Ching

Red Pine, Lao-Tzu's Taoteching

Victor Mair, Tao Te Ching

James Legge, Tao Te Ching

Takuan Soho (Tr. Thomas Cleary), Tao Te Ching: Zen Teachings on the Taoist Classic 

Ellen M. Chen, The Tao Te Ching: A New Translation With Commentary

Chang Chung-yuan, Tao: A New Way of Thinking

D. C. Lau, Tao Te Ching

Roger Ames and David Hall, Daodejing

Stephen Mitchell, Tao Te Ching