the three

Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put it into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.

I have just three things to teach:
simplicity, patience, compassion.
These three are your greatest treasures.
Simple in actions and in thoughts,
you return to the source of being.
Patient with both friends and enemies,
you accord with the way things are.
Compassionate toward yourself,
you reconcile all beings in the world.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 67, Tao Te Ching

Jesus, Lao Tzu, and I sat on a bench across from the gargoyle church.

We liked the view.

A woman in bridal dress and man in suit emerged from the church.

Well wishers surrounded them.

"Have you ever been married?" I asked Lao Tzu.

"No," he said. "Have you?"

"Tell me about it," I said.

He looked at me and grinned.

I looked at Jesus.

"No need to ask him," said Lao Tzu. "He is married to everybody."

Jesus laughed.

"Everything is married to everything," he said.

"How about Nothing?" asked Lao Tzu.

"Nothing is single," said Jesus.

Lao Tzu laughed.

The couple got in a car and drove off.

After hugs and clamor and waves of goodbye, the others departed.

It was silent once again.