word

There was something formless and perfect
before the universe was born.
It is serene. Empty.
Solitary. Unchanging.
Infinite. Eternally present.
It is the mother of the universe.
For lack of a better name,
I call it the Tao.

It flows through all things,
inside and outside, and returns
to the origin of all things.

The Tao is great.
The universe is great.
Earth is great.
Man is great.
These are the four great powers.

Man follows the earth.
Earth follows the universe.
The universe follows the Tao.
The Tao follows only itself.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 25, Tao Te Ching

We walked to the old church with the gargoyles and the angels.

 We went in and sat quietly.

"What is religion?" I asked Jesus.

"Story," he said. "In the beginning was the word."

"And before the beginning?" asked Lao Tzu.

They looked at each other and smiled.

"Which story do I believe?" I asked.

"The story that is large enough to contain you without your being contained," said Jesus.

"You guys always speak in paradoxes and parables," I muttered.

"Definitely," said Lao Tzu.

"Infinitely," said Jesus.

For some reason they thought that extremely funny.

It was contagious. We left the church in high good humor.

"Excellent service," said Jesus.

standing on tiptoe

He who stands on tiptoe
doesn't stand firm.
He who rushes ahead
doesn't go far.
He who tries to shine
dims his own light.
He who defines himself
can't know who he really is.
He who has power over others
can't empower himself.
He who clings to his work
will create nothing that endures.
If you want to accord with the Tao,
just do your job, then let go.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 24, Tao Te Ching

Jesus and Lao Tzu came to tuck me in.

"Tell me a bedtime story," I said.

They looked at each other.

"Once upon a time," said Lao Tzu.

"There was a musical note," said Jesus.

"It was b," said Lao Tzu.

"Sometimes b tried to b sharp," said Jesus.

"In trying to b sharp, it b came flat," said Lao Tzu.

They looked at me.

"I guess I should just b," I said.

Lao Tzu slugged me with a pillow. "Wise guy," he said.

They left the room.

"Hey! Hey!" I said. "Turn out the light!"

give it up

If you want to become whole,
let yourself be partial.
If you want to become straight,
let yourself be crooked.
If you want to become full,
let yourself be empty.
If you want to be reborn,
let yourself die.
If you want to be given everything,
give everything up.

The Master, by residing in the Tao,
sets an example for all beings.
Because he doesn't display himself,
people can see his light.
Because he has nothing to prove,
people can trust his words.
Because he doesn't know who he is,
people recognize themselves in him.
Because he has no goal in mind,
everything he does succeeds.

When the ancient Masters said,
"If you want to be given everything,
give everything up,"
they weren't using empty phrases.
Only in being lived by the Tao
can you be truly yourself.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 22, Tao Te Ching

We were in the park watching some folk doing tai chi.

Lao Tzu said, "Here is how you move with chi."

He took a step forward.

"For the left foot to go forward, the right foot must push backward," he said.

"To go forward, you have to go backward," he said.

He took a step back. His left foot pushed forward and his right foot moved back.

"To go backward, you must direct your energy forward," he said.

Jesus said, "If you wish to be reborn into the next step, you must let yourself die to your old stance."

"It is called emptying and filling," said Lao Tzu.

"I see," I said as I followed his and Jesus's instructions. "If I want to open to everything, I have to give everything up."

Lao Tzu looked at Jesus and said, "The boy might amount to something yet."

Jesus said, "As long as he keeps being good for nothing."

The three of us burst into laughter.

at the diner

Express yourself completely,
then keep quiet.
Be like the forces of nature:
when it blows, there is only wind;
when it rains, there is only rain;
when the clouds pass, the sun shines through.

If you open yourself to the Tao,
you are at one with the Tao
and you can embody it completely.
If you open yourself to insight,
you are at one with insight
and you can use it completely.
If you open yourself to loss,
you are at one with loss
and you can accept it completely.

Open yourself to the Tao,
then trust your natural responses;
and everything will fall into place.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 23, Tao Te Ching

We are sitting at the back table of a local diner.

Lao Tzu is having tea. I have a cup of hot black coffee. Jesus has a glass of water.

Jesus said: "You have a right and a left, a front and a back. What is in the middle?"

"Room. Capaciousness." said Lao Tzu. "Like your glass of water has room for the water."

"My room inside condenses and expands." I said. "Sometimes I am full of me and there is no room at all."

"No room, no Tao flow," said Lao Tzu.

"No room, no Spirit flow," said Jesus.

"See that person who just came in?" said Jesus. "She is going through great loss. She is suffering."

I turned and looked.

"She doesn't look it." I said.

"That is because she is not bitter or angry, not depressed and defeated." said Lao Tzu.

"The suffering of her loss is making room. She is surrendering and opening." said Jesus.

"She will be fine," said Lao Tzu, looking at Jesus. "The Christ Child of the Spirit will be born within her because she has room in the In."

Jesus laughed and said, "And quoting some old guy: 'and everything will fall into place.' "

this

That which is inherent in the great attainment (void) is the echo of Tao.
That which is Tao is indistinct and ineffable.
Ineffable and indistinct, yet therein are forms.
Indistinct and ineffable, yet therein are objects.
Unfathomable and invisible, yet therein are essences.
The essence is indeed genuine, therein is the vivid reality.
From ancient times until the present,
the name of Tao has never ceased to exist.
Through it we see the beginning of all things.
How do we understand the beginning of all things?
It is through this.
-- Chang Chung-Yuan, Chapter 21, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu came in and threw the covers off me.

"Rise and shine," he said.

I groaned. The clock said 2:27 a.m..

"Where's Jesus?" I asked as I struggled into my clothes.

"Outside. Let's go." He headed for the door.

Jesus was looking at the stars and moon.

"Point at the moon," said Lao Tzu.

I pointed.

"Let the back wall of your mind fall away." he said.

I let it.

"Who is doing the pointing?" he asked.

I laughed. "There is no point. Only this."

We stood silently. Inseparable.

saints and rockets

Stop thinking, and end your problems.
What difference between yes and no?
What difference between success and failure?
Must you value what others value,
avoid what others avoid?
How ridiculous!

Other people are excited,
as though they were at a parade.
I alone don't care,
I alone am expressionless,
like an infant before it can smile.

Other people have what they need;
I alone possess nothing.
I alone drift about,
like someone without a home.
I am like an idiot, my mind is so empty.

Other people are bright;
I alone am dark.
Other people are sharp,
I alone am dull.

Other people have a purpose;
I alone don't know.
I drift like a wave on the ocean,
I blow as aimless as the wind.

I am different from ordinary people.
I drink from the Great Mother's breasts.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 20, Tao Te Ching

"What is a saint?" I asked Jesus.

"A rocket is essentially propulsion and expansion," he said. "As a rocket, so a saint."

I was puzzled.

"Your expansion depends on your fuel that propels you," said Lao Tzu.

"A moment ago, you were fueled by a desire for a piece of cherry pie," he continued. "That desire produced a certain expansion of awareness."

"A limited expansion," said Jesus. "A small cherry pie aura."

"What are you fueled by?" I asked.

"Our Source, our Origin, our Father," said Jesus.

"The Tao, the Path, the Way, our Mother," said Lao Tzu.

"I call it the Wellspring," I said.

"That's okay. The name is not It," said Lao Tzu.

"When propelled by the Infinite, our expansion is Infinite," said Jesus.

I said, "That's what you mean by 'I and my Father are one.' "

"You got it," said Jesus.

Lao Tzu began singing "Dancing With The Tao" and whirling and cavorting like a child released from school.

the crud encrusted pearl

Let the people be free from discernment and relinquish intellection,
Then they will be many times better off.
Stop the teaching of benevolence and get rid of the claim of justice,
Then the people will love each other once more.
Cease the teaching of cleverness and give up profit,
Then there will be no more stealing and fraud.
Discernment and intellection, benevolence and justice,
cleverness and profit are nothing but outward refinements.
Hence we must seek something other than these.
Reveal simplicity,
Hold to one's original nature,
Rid one's self of selfishness,
Cast away covetousness,
Eliminate artificial learning and one will be free from anxieties.
-- Chang Chung-Yuan, Chapter 19, Tao Te Ching

"Stand right there," said Jesus to me. "Without you there would be no play."

"Why do I have to be the bad guy?" asked Lao Tzu.

"Out of character for me," said Jesus. "You are more believable."

"Okay," said Lao Tzu. "Say your lines."

"They are not lines. They are the truth." said Jesus.

"Is that your first line?" said Lao Tzu.

"See. I told you. You make a great bad guy."

"Okay," said Lao Tzu. "Let's get started."

Jesus said to me, "You are a prayer calling out."

Lao Tzu said, "Here's some money. Hope that helps."

"You are a soul thirsty for living water," said Jesus.

"Here is the chatter of your mind," said Lao Tzu. "Drink some of that."

"You are a heart yearning for home," said Jesus.

"Distract yourself," said Lao Tzu. "Drive around. Shop. Eat."

"Live from the core of your being," said Jesus.

"Wear the social armor you have invented for yourself," said Lao Tzu

"Be attached to nothing," said Jesus. "If they ask for your coat, give them your shirt too."

"Take the bastards to court," said Lao Tzu.

"Wow!" I said. "What's the name of this play?"

"The Chains of Fools," said Lao Tzu.

drooling on the pillow

When the great Tao is forgotten,
goodness and piety appear.
When the body's intelligence declines,
cleverness and knowledge step forth.
When there is no peace in the family,
filial piety begins.
When the country falls into chaos,
patriotism is born.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 18, Tao Te Ching

"It's kind of like reverse evolution," said Jesus.

"Devolution," said Lao Tzu.

"Devil-oution," said Jesus.

"Whatever," said Lao Tzu.

Jesus continued, "First you are in love. You have that glow, that oceanic feeling -- the entire cosmos is singing with joy and your love knows no bounds."

"Then you live together," said Lao Tzu.

"You notice she drools on the pillow."

"She notices you don't leave the seat down."

"The Great Tao of oceanic love is forgotten."

"Cleverness and knowledge step forth."

"You become very patriotic and matriotic about it all."

"The Great Fish is now in a little pond."

"What's the answer?" I asked, "What's the way out?"

Jesus and Lao Tzu looked at each other. They grinned.

"Tango!" they said, and spiraled into the heavens.

moving with what is

The best of all rulers is but a shadowy presence to his subjects.
Next comes the ruler they love and praise;
Next comes one they fear;
Last comes one they treat with impertinence.

Only when there is not enough faith is there a lack of faith.

Hesitant, he does not utter words lightly.

When his task is accomplished and his work done
The people all say, "It happened to us naturally."
-- D.C. Lau, Chapter 17, Tao Te Ching

At the open square downtown, we watched people dancing to a lively band in the twilight of the cool and pleasant evening.

"The best dancing partner is the one whom you hardly know is there," said Jesus.

"And yet is responsive to your every move," I said.

"Like the Tao," said Lao Tzu. "Or God, the Father, in your language, Jesus."

"When people are in that state, dancing with the Tao, that is the supreme spiritual ultimate," said Jesus.

"Beyond that, it's all downhill," said Lao Tzu. "They start loving Him, separating Him out from everything else, then move to fearing Him, then end in scorning Him."

"No more dancing with the Tao," said Jesus.

We stood silently for a while.

I was curious about something.

"What church do you belong to?" I asked Jesus.

He looked at me and grinned.

He said, "The church of Is."

The three of us moved to the dance floor.

returning to my destiny

I attain the utmost emptiness;
I keep to extreme stillness.
The myriad creatures all rise together
And I watch thereby their return.
The teeming creatures
All return to their separate roots.
Returning to one's roots is known as stillness.
Stillness is what is called returning to one's destiny.
Returning to one's destiny is normal.
Knowledge of the normal is discernment.
Not to know the normal is to be without basis.
To innovate without basis bodes ill.
To know the normal is to be tolerant.
Tolerance leads to impartiality,
Impartiality to kingliness,
Kingliness to heaven,
Heaven to the way,
The way to perpetuity,
And to the end of one's days one will meet with no danger.
-- D.C. Lau, Chapter 16, Tao Te Ching

I sat alone, Jesus and Lao Tzu nowhere in sight.

No bounds. No limits. Vast openness.

Here they came.

"Time to make yourself up," said Lao Tzu.

"Got to get an agenda," said Jesus.

"Shape up or ship out," said Lao Tzu.

"Get up on the cross of existence," said Jesus.

"Rise and shine," said Lao Tzu.

"It's your turn up to bat," said Jesus.

I sighed and stood up.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"You are!" They laughed uproariously.

"We don't matter anymore. It's your turn." said Lao Tzu.

I must have looked concerned.

Jesus said, " Don't worry. We are with you in spirit."

"Just remember one thing," said Lao Tzu.

"What's that?"

"Stand up straight! No leaning!"

total abandon

Long ago the land was ruled with a wisdom
Too fine, too deep, to be fully understood
And, since it was beyond men's full understanding,
Only some of it has come down to us, as in these sayings:
'Alert as a winter-farer on an icy stream,'
'Wary as a man in ambush,'
'Considerate as a welcome guest,'
'Selfless as melting ice,'
'Green as an uncut tree,'
'Open as a valley,'
And this one also, 'Roiled as a torrent.'
Why roiled as a torrent?
Because when a man is in turmoil how shall he find peace
Save by staying patient till the stream clears?
How can a man's life keep its course
If he will not let it flow?
Those who flow as life flows know
They need no other force:
They feel no wear, they feel no tear,
They need no mending, no repair.
-- Witter Bynner, Chapter 15, Tao Te Ching

 "Come with me," said Jesus.

We climbed up to a meadow overlooking the town.

We sat quietly.

"How did you do it, Jesus?" I asked.

"Breath by breath," he said.

"When I breathed in, I breathed in God's love. When I breathed out,
I breathed out lovingkindness to the earth and all on earth."

"No matter the situation?" I asked.

Lao Tzu appeared, came over and sat down.

"What about when you couldn't feel God's love?" I asked.

"You mean when I was on the cross?"

I nodded.

"Then I breathed in all the poisons and evils on earth and breathed out lovingkindness and healing."

"Like this," said Lao Tzu.

We sat there breathing in love, breathing out love, breathing in the poisons from the town below, breathing out lovingkindness and healing.

All around us grew calm and still.

the taoist third degree

Look, and it can't be seen.
Listen, and it can't be heard.
Reach, and it can't be grasped.

Above, it isn't bright.
Below, it isn't dark.
Seamless, unnamable,
it returns to the realm of nothing.
Form that includes all forms,
image without an image,
subtle, beyond all conception.

Approach it and there is no beginning;
follow it and there is no end.
You can't know it, but you can be it,
at ease in your own life.
Just realize where you come from:
this is the essence of wisdom.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 14, Tao Te Ching

I was sitting quietly trying to find God.

Lao Tzu looked at me: "Show me your reputation."

"Don't mess with me," I said.

"You do have one, don't you?"

"I suppose."

He poked me in the ribs.

"Yes! Yes I do!"

"Where is it?"

"In the minds of others."

"Where are the minds of others?"

"All scattered, I guess." (Poke) "I don't know!"

He persisted: "Does your reputation exist?"

"Yes."

"Can you see it?"

"No, but I see its effects."

"Can you hear it?"

"No, but I hear talk about it."

"Can you hold it in your hand?"

"Of course not!"

"But it exists."

"Yes!"

Jesus walked up.

"What's the matter with him?" he asked Lao Tzu.

"He's trying to find God," said Lao Tzu.

"Oh my," said Jesus.

"And he can't refute his repute." said Lao Tzu.

"Tell me about it," said Jesus.

a piece of the action

Success is as dangerous as failure.
Hope is as hollow as fear.

What does it mean that success is as dangerous as failure?
Whether you go up the ladder or down it, your position is shaky.
When you stand with your two feet on the ground,
you will always keep your balance.

What does it mean that hope is as hollow as fear?
Hope and fear are both phantoms
that arise from thinking of the self.
When we don't see the self as self,
what do we have to fear?

See the world as your self.
Have faith in the way things are.
Love the world as your self;
then you can care for all things.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 13, Tao Te Ching

Jesus handed me a miniature ladder.

"Climb to the top," he said.

"I am already there," I said.

" Fall to the bottom," said Lao Tzu.

"The bottom is in the palm of my  hand," I said.

"At the top of the ladder is all your hope," said Jesus.

"At the bottom is total disaster," said Lao Tzu.

I laughed.

"Why are you laughing?" asked Lao Tzu. "Don't you want to be a success?"

"Give me the ladder," said Jesus.

He made a circle of it by melding its bottom and its top.

"There!" he said. "An eternal hamster wheel."

He threw it into the air.

It disappeared.

"What's for lunch?" asked Lao Tzu.

"There is no hope for you," I said to Lao Tzu.

"I fear not," said Jesus.

cradle and all

Colors blind the eye.
Sounds deafen the ear.
Flavors numb the taste.
Thoughts weaken the mind.
Desires wither the heart.

The Master observes the world
but trusts his inner vision.
He allows things to come and go.
His heart is as open as the sky.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 12, Tao Te Ching

"I have to go to sleep," I said, yawning.

"We'll tell you a bedtime story," said Jesus.

"Once upon a time there was a glass of water that thought it was the glass," said Lao Tzu.

"Once upon a time there was a wound that thought it was its dressing," said Jesus.

"Once upon a time there was an open heart that knew no bounds," said Lao Tzu.

"When the body drops, who are you?" said Jesus.

"Hey! That's my line!" said Lao Tzu.

"You woke him back up," said Jesus.

"That's our job," said Lao Tzu.

They threw the covers off me and left the room.

running on empty

Thirty spokes converge on a hub
but it's the emptiness
that makes a wheel work
pots are fashioned from clay
but it's the hollow
that makes a pot work
windows and doors are carved for a house
but it's the spaces
that make a house work
existence makes something useful
but nonexistence makes it work
-- Red Pine, Chapter 11, Tao Te Ching

We sat drinking coffee at a sidewalk table.

"Wu is the Chinese word for emptiness," said Lao Tzu.

"Out of emptiness all things arise," he continued.

"Some of the angels call my Father the Grand Empt for that very reason," said Jesus.

"Chi is the word for the life force that fills all things, all forms," said Lao Tzu.

"Like the Holy Spirit," I said.

Jesus grinned and looked at me.

"Good Christian boy," he said.

"Ku is the Japanese word for emptiness," I said to Lao Tzu.

"Empty, filled, empty, filled. Wu Chi, Ku Chi. Wu Chi, Ku Chi!" exclaimed Lao Tzu as he jumped up and began to dance around.

"Get up, guys!" he said. "Let's dance the Wu Chi Ku!"

We danced down the sidewalk to the amusement of all around.

the supreme virtue

Can you coax your mind from its wandering
and keep to the original oneness?
Can you let your body become
supple as a newborn child's?
Can you cleanse your inner vision
until you see nothing but the light?
Can you love people and lead them
without imposing your will?
Can you deal with the most vital matters
by letting events take their course?
Can you step back from your own mind
and thus understand all things?

Giving birth and nourishing,
having without possessing,
acting with no expectations,
leading and not trying to control:
this is the supreme virtue.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 10, Tao Te Ching

We were observing a construction site.

Lao Tzu walked up to the chain link fence and began shaking it.

"Let me out! Let me out!" he began yelling.

"You are out!" shouted a construction worker.

"Let me in! Let me in!" yelled Lao Tzu.

Jesus said, "When you make the inside as the outside and the outside as the inside, you are in the Kingdom."

All walls collapsed within my mind.

"Free," said Lao Tzu.

"And expensive," said Jesus. "It costs you everything."

We walked on.

Lao Tzu began singing "Don't Fence Me In."

I laughed.

I don't know what I'm going to do with these guys.

velcro mind

Fill your bowl to the brim
and it will spill.
Keep sharpening your knife
and it will blunt.
Chase after money and security
and your heart will never unclench.
Care about people's approval
and you will be their prisoner.

Do your work, then step back.
The only path to serenity.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 9, Tao Te Ching

Jesus and Lao Tzu came into the room.

"Here is Mister Velcro Mind," said Lao Tzu.

"He is one lost sheep," said Jesus.

"Please. I'm trying to get this done." I said.

"Now he's stuck in annoyance," said Lao Tzu.

"He's feeling righteous," said Jesus.

I sighed and shook my head.

"He's coming unglued," said Lao Tzu.

"Good," said Jesus.

I laughed. "I don't know what to write about this."

"Too attached," said Jesus.

"Full of it," said Lao Tzu.

"Let's go for a walk," said Jesus.

"Just a moment," I said, and wrote down our conversation.

I stepped back, took a look, and hit "Publish."

"Where are we going?" I asked, following them out the door.

"Serenity," said Lao Tzu.

be like water

The supreme good is like water,
which nourishes all things without trying to.
It is content with low places that people disdain.
Thus it is like the Tao.

In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present.

When you are content to be simply yourself
and don't compare or compete,
there is no blame.
-- Stephen Mitchell (Abridged), Chapter 8, Tao Te Ching

Lao Tzu held a bowl of water.

"Look," he said. He poured the water into a glass.

"What did you see?" he asked.

"You pouring water," I said.

"And?"

"The water changed shape."

"Excellent!" he beamed. "Water takes the shape of its container."

"Don't worry." said Jesus, reading my mind. "You won't be a hypocrite. Water is always itself. It just completely fills the situation it is in."

"Do you know that game of rock, paper, scissors?" asked Lao Tzu.

"Yes."

"Always choose water."

detached

The Tao is infinite, eternal.
Why is it eternal?
It was never born;
thus it can never die.
Why is it infinite?
It has no desires for itself;
thus it is present for all beings.

The Master stays behind;
that is why she is ahead.
She is detached from all things;
that is why she is one with them.
Because she has let go of herself,
she is perfectly fulfilled.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 7, Tao Te Ching

We sat on a bench at the pond.

I held a small rock I liked that I found on our walk.

"Hold that rock against my shoulder," said Lao Tzu.

A gleam of amusement flashed through Jesus's eyes.

I leaned over and pressed the rock to Lao Tzu's shoulder.

He and Jesus began conversing about the Unborn and how all arose from It.

Jesus called it the Wellspring.

My arm holding the rock grew heavy, began to tremble.

I said, "Lao Tzu, this is exhausting."

He said, "Holding something against someone always is."

Jesus said, "Holding yourself against the entire Universe is especially tiring."

I let go.

a hint of existence

The Spirit of the Fountain dies not.
It is called the Mysterious Feminine.
The Doorway of the Mysterious Feminine
Is called the Root of Heaven-and-Earth.
Lingering like gossamer, it has only a hint of existence;
And yet when you draw upon it, it is inexhaustible.
-- John C. H. Wu, Chapter 6, Tao Te Ching

We were watching the completion of a new doughnut shop in the town.

Lao Tzu said, "What makes a doughnut a doughnut?"

I asked, "Is this a trick question?"

Jesus said, "What is the value of my tomb?"

"Correct!" said Lao Tzu.

I stood confused.

My mind opened.

"Emptiness," I said.

We looked at each other and smiled.

We moved on.