the gateless gate

The Tao is the center of the universe,
the good man's treasure,
the bad man's refuge.

Honors can be bought with fine words,
respect can  be won with good deeds;
but the Tao is beyond all value,
and no one can achieve it.

Thus, when a new leader is chosen,
don't offer to help him
with your wealth or your expertise.
Offer instead
to teach him about the Tao.

Why did the ancient Masters esteem the Tao?
Because, being one with the Tao,
when you seek, you find;
and when you make a mistake, you are forgiven.
That is why everybody loves it.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 62, Tao Te Ching

We had finished breakfast and were sitting around the table.

I was lost in thought.

"Attend outside," said Lao Tzu. "What are you?"

"I am a particle in vast space,"  I said.

"Alone?" he asked.

"No. There's you, there's Jesus, there's all the other people, the animals, the plants, the earth, galaxies, all the other beings, objects, and things in the world."

"Attend inside," said Jesus. "What are you?"

"I am vast space with thoughts, images, emotions, feelings, all forming and unforming.

"Which one is you?" asked Lao Tzu. "The vast inner space that is particularizing or the particle moving through vast outer space?"

I flickered back and forth.

"Stop!" said Jesus.

I did.

"Where did you stop?" he asked.

"Between the inside and the outside," I said.

"Which way are you looking?" he asked.

"Both ways," I said.

"That is the gateless gate," said Lao Tzu. "Infinity is in every direction and its center is everywhere."

I gasped.

I looked "down." I had no body. I was the universe universing.

A breakfast cup rattled.

I solidified as George once again.

Jesus smiled.

"Now you are ready to begin," he said.

"You can start by doing those dishes, Mister Universe," said Lao Tzu.

We laughed and began clearing the table.