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.