vast is heaven's net

He who is brave in daring will be killed;
He who is brave in not daring will survive.
Of these two kinds of bravery, one is beneficial,
while the other proves harmful. 
Some things are detested by Heaven,
But who knows the reason?
Even the Sage is baffled by such a question.

It is Heaven's Way to conquer without striving,
To get responses without speaking,
To induce the people to come without summoning,
To act according to plans without haste.

Vast is Heaven's net;
Sparse-meshed it is, and yet
Nothing can slip through it.
-- John C. H. Wu, Chapter 73, Tao Te Ching

We sat in the park.

A woman ran by trying to catch her dog.

The dog was fleeing for its life.

"If you want something to come near you, do not chase it," said Lao Tzu.

"Instead, create a vacuum," I said.

The woman stopped, began walking back our way.

The dog stopped, began meandering around, nose to ground.

"Good morning," said Jesus to the woman.

"Good morning," she said. "Can't catch my dog."

Jesus laughed.

"I've had the same trouble with sheep," he said.

"Are you a shepherd?" she asked.

"Some say," he said.

"Judging by the company he keeps, I'd say he is more of a goat herder," said Lao Tzu.

We all laughed.

The dog walked up to Lao Tzu and licked his hand.

"Well, I'll be darned," said the woman.

"Vast is Heaven's net and nothing can slip through it," said Lao Tzu.

"I like that," said the woman. "Who said that?"

"I did," he said.

The vacuum spell was broken and she went on her way.

The dog followed at her heels.

it was a summer day

When the people no longer fear your power,
It is a sign that a greater power is coming.

Interfere not lightly with their dwelling,
Nor lay heavy burdens upon their livelihood.
Only when you cease to weary them,
They will cease to be wearied of you.

Therefore, the Sage knows himself,
But makes no show of himself;
Loves himself,
But does not exalt himself.
He prefers what is within to what is without.
-- John C. H. Wu, Chapter 72, Tao Te Ching

 It was a summer day.

We lay on our backs in the meadow.

Soft white clouds floated in the blue blue sky..

"All the people you know are within you," said Lao Tzu.

"No. They are out there," I said.

"They are voices in your head and images in your heart," said Lao Tzu.

"They are like clouds floating in the sky of your consciousness," said Jesus.

We grew silent.

The wind blew through the trees.

"I can take you to them, at least some of them," I said.

"You can make the meat meet the meat," said Lao Tzu. "Yet even then they are as you imagine them."

"What about if I set myself aside, and really really listen, listen deeply?" I asked.

"Now you're talking," he said.

"They are definitely not separate from you then," said Jesus.

"Everything you imagine, sense, see, feel is you," said Lao Tzu.

"Loving your neighbor as yourself is opening to this awareness," said Jesus.

My heart smiled with the vastness of its being.

A bird sang

one note.

sick of our sickness

To realize that our knowledge is ignorance,
This is a noble insight.
To regard our ignorance as knowledge,
This is mental sickness.

Only when we are sick of our sickness
Shall we cease to be sick.
The Sage is not sick, being sick of sickness;
This is the secret of health.
-- John C.H. Wu, Chapter 71, Tao Te Ching

Jesus and I were walking down the street.

"Where is Lao Tzu?" I asked.

We heard this strangely repetitious sound approaching.

We looked.

Lao Tzu was jumping up and down, up and down, on a pogo stick.

He jumped round and round us.

"I have a question for you," he said as he bounced.

"What?" I asked.

"How many times must one jump on a pogo stick?"

My mind stopped.

Jesus burst out with laughter.

"How many times must one swear allegiance to the same set of thoughts?" said Jesus.

"Exactly!" said Lao Tzu and handed me the pogo stick.

"Don't give me that thing," I said, hiding behind Jesus.

Lao Tzu threw the stick high into the air where it disappeared.

"I feel better already." he said.

at the kickstand cafe

My words are very easy to understand, and very easy to practice:
But the world cannot understand them, nor practice them.

My words have an Ancestor.
My deeds have a Lord.
The people have no knowledge of this.
Therefore, they have no knowledge of me.

The fewer persons know me,
The nobler are they that follow me.
Therefore, the Sage wears coarse clothes,
While keeping the jade in his bosom.
-- John C.H. Wu, Chapter 70, Tao Te Ching

Jesus, Lao Tzu and I were at the Kickstand Cafe.

The place was pleasantly busy.

We had a table to ourselves.

"What's it like being you?" Lao Tzu asked Jesus.

"They built a church on top of me," said Jesus.

"Ouch!" said Lao Tzu.

"What's it like being you?" Jesus asked Lao Tzu.

"Invisibility," said Lao Tzu. "Only small children and people with childlike hearts notice my existence."

"Similar here," said Jesus, taking a sip of his coffee.

They looked at me.

"What's it like being me?" I asked.

They nodded.

"Happiness emerging, continuously emerging from the Wellspring." I said.

They smiled.

"Similar here," they said.

We sat quietly for a while.

steam

The strategists have a saying:
I dare not be a host, but rather a guest;
I dare not advance an inch, but rather retreat a foot.

This is called marching without moving,
Rolling up one's sleeves without baring one's arms,
Capturing the enemy without confronting him,
Holding a weapon that is invisible.

There is no greater calamity than to under-estimate
the strength of your enemy.
For to under-estimate the strength of your enemy
is to lose your treasure.

Therefore, when opposing troops meet in battle,
victory belongs to the grieving side.
-- John C.H. Wu, Chapter 69, Tao Te Ching

I was upset because I felt misunderstood and attacked.

The cold bleak winter day did not help.

"You are on the war path," said Jesus.

"It's not me. It's them," I said.

Lao Tzu snorted and burst out laughing.

"Listen to yourself," he said.

"It takes two to make a war," said Jesus.

"Well, I don't need them anyway!" I said.

"It's you that needs to disappear, not them," laughed Lao Tzu.

"Let's go for a walk," said Jesus. "I want to show you something."

We bundled up, left the house and crunched through the snow.

"Here it is," said Jesus.

A natural hot spring sent up wisps of steam.

"Climb in, boys," he said.

We took off our clothes in the brisk air and eased into the heat of the water.

"Ahhh!" said Lao Tzu. "Perfect!"

I could feel all tension letting go, releasing as if it never existed.

"I think he is learning his lesson," said Lao Tzu to Jesus.

"What is that?" I asked.

"Be like water," said Lao Tzu.

I splashed water at him.

"I hate it when you quote Bruce Lee," I said.

Jesus made a water cannon with his hands.

He hit both me and Lao Tzu full in the face with a stream of water.

"Hey, Prince of Peace! Cool it!" I sputtered.

Jesus laughed and we all three hooted like the old friends we are.