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.
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.
In the pursuit of knowledge, when knowledge is added, other knowledge is lost. It is not uncommon to discover that old knowledge was wrong or useless in the light of new information. So, our knowledge of reality is always in flux and serves to illustrate how ignorant and foolish we are. We always seem to rediscover old eternal truths in each life. Perhaps all knowledge is useless in the vast gulfs of time experienced by an ageless species. What is true today may not be true when the Universe is dying of old age itself. (So much for the vanity of smart asses.) There is just existence and perception.
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