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 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.
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