spiritual math

True words aren't eloquent;
eloquent words aren't true.
Wise men don't need to prove their point;
men who need to prove their point aren't wise.

The Master has no possessions.
The more he does for others,
the happier he is.
The more he gives to others,
the wealthier he is.

The Tao nourishes by not forcing.
By not dominating, the Master leads.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 81, Tao Te Ching

Jesus, Lao Tzu, and I strolled over to the university.

"Where is everybody?" I asked.

"Spring break," said Lao Tzu. "They have been released."

We walked into an empty classroom and sat down.

Jesus arose and walked over to the large board at the front of the room.

"Time for a spiritual math lesson," he said.

He wrote 1 + 1 on the board.

"What do you think of that?" he asked.

"Well, now you've got two," said Lao Tzu.

"That's this world, the world of duality, the horizontal world of linear time," said Jesus.

I said, "My grandfather once asked me: 'When you have to and you don't want to, what do you do?'"

They looked at me.

"You give one away," I said.

Lao Tzu groaned.

Jesus smiled.

He wrote 1 x 1 on the board.

"Ahhh!" said Lao Tzu, tilting his head back and spreading wide his arms. "That's it!"

"What's it?" I asked, frowning.

"What is 1 x 1?" asked Jesus.

"1," I said, still looking confused.

"Spiritual math," said Jesus. "If you are looking for God, the Wellspring, the Source, the Origin, you do not add yourself. You merge."

"1 x 1 is the spiritual path," said Lao Tzu.

"It is not out here," said Jesus, erasing the board. "It is within you."

We left the building, arm in arm, a strong and gentle force, merging, on the move.

lullaby

If a country is governed wisely,
its inhabitants will be content.
They enjoy the labor of their hands
and don't waste time inventing
labor-saving machines.
Since they dearly love their homes,
they aren't interested in travel.
There may be a few wagons and boats,
but these don't go anywhere.
There may be an arsenal of weapons,
but nobody ever uses them.
People enjoy their food,
take pleasure in being with their families,
spend weekends working in their gardens,
delight in the doings of the neighborhood.
And even though the next country is so close
that people can hear its roosters crowing
and its dogs barking,
they are content to die of old age
without ever having gone to see it.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 80, Tao Te Ching

I was sitting contemplating the consciousness state of humankind.

Jesus and Lao Tzu came in.

"Come with us," said Jesus.

I got up. Jesus took my right hand, Lao Tzu my left.

Within an instant, we were in outer space looking at the Earth.

"I can't breathe," I said.

"Yes, you can," said Jesus.

He was right. I looked "down" and saw I had no body.

"Your body is the entire universe," said Jesus.

"We are an interflow with all that is," said Lao Tzu.

The Earth had a golden glow and was singing a soft harmonious song.

"What is the Earth singing?" I asked.

"A lullaby to its human offspring," said Lao Tzu. "Listen."

The Earth was singing:

"O my children, settle down, settle down,
with your roots in the ground.
O my children, rise up, rise up.
your hearts opening to the sky."

I was filled with calm and peaceful energy.

The next instant, we three were standing together on the grass of the little downtown park..

"Rooting in the ground, opening to the sky," said Lao Tzu.

I understood.

We began moving in rhythmic Tai Chi flow, rooting in the ground, opening to the sky.

The Earth smiled.

demanding nothing

Failure is an opportunity.
If you blame someone else,
there is no end to the blame.

Therefore the Master
fulfills her own obligations
and corrects her own mistakes.
She does what she needs to do
and demands nothing of others.
 -- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 79, Tao Te Ching

We walked downtown and sat on a bench in the square.

The day was lovely.

A man was standing on the sidewalk shouting about everyone coming to Jesus.

I wanted to go tell him that Jesus is right here.

"Some of your followers really turn me off with their aggressiveness," I said to Jesus.

 "They think they are saving your soul from hell," said Lao Tzu.

"I wish they would lighten up," I said.

Jesus smiled.

"That's it," he said. "Become the Light that lights the world."

I lightened up and did not mind the man's shouting so much.

We sat quietly and watched a couple of little kids zooming around on tricycles.

The man was still shouting.

"He is the one in hell," I said. "His soul is writhing in anguish."

"I'll go speak with him," said Jesus.

Jesus walked over. The man's yelling stopped.

Lao Tzu and I sat quietly, watching the white clouds floating in the deep blue sky.

Jesus came back and sat down.

"What did he say?" I asked.

"He wanted me to accept Jesus," said Jesus.

"What did you say?" asked Lao Tzu.

"I said I already knew him," said Jesus. "He got pretty happy."

"We're happy that we know you too," said Lao Tzu.

"And me you," said Jesus.

We got up and headed for the little pond hoping to see the eagle and the heron and the osprey.

put it into practice

Nothing in the world
is as soft and yielding as water.
Yet for dissolving the hard and inflexible,
nothing can surpass it.

The soft overcomes the hard;
the gentle overcomes the rigid.
Everyone knows this is true,
but few can put it into practice.

Therefore the Master remains
serene in the midst of sorrow.
Evil cannot enter his heart.
Because he has given up helping,
he is people's greatest help.

True words seem paradoxical.
-- Stephen Mitchell, Chapter 78, Tao Te Ching

We are sitting in lawn chairs beneath the blazing brilliance of the stars.

Crickets and cicadas are making their rhythmic throbbing sounds.

I was thinking of the condition of the human world and its impact on the earth.

"What do people really want?" I asked.

All was silent for a bit.

"Security," said Lao Tzu. "People want to feel secure."

"Love and understanding," said Jesus. "To love and be loved. To understand and be understood."

We sat quietly for a while.

A gentle wind blew through the pines and ceased.

"We cannot feel secure in our bodies," I said. "They go the way of the wind."

"Jesus has it right," said Lao Tzu. "We are secure when we are loving, when we are understanding."

"When we love, we move beyond our self-admiration and self-hatred," said Jesus.

"When we love we have no need for security," said Lao Tzu. "We are larger than ourselves."

The crickets and cicadas went silent for a moment, then started up again.

"I thought you guys were supposed to be funny," I said.

"Ask your question again," said Lao Tzu.

"What do people really want?"

"To be entertained," said Lao Tzu, squirting me in the face with a water pistol.

"Hey!" I said, sputtering. "What did you do that for?"

"Trying to dissolve the hard and inflexible," he said.

Jesus laughed.

We got up and went inside.

pulling down the high and lifting up the low

The Way of Heaven
is like stringing a bow
pulling down the high
lifting up the low
shortening the long
lengthening the short
the Way of Heaven
takes from the long
and supplements the short
unlike the Way of Man
taking from the short
and giving to the long
who can find the long
and give it to the world
only those who find the Way
thus the sage does not presume on what he does
or claim what he achieves
thus he chooses to hide his skill
-- Red Pine, Chapter 77, Tao Te Ching

I sit at my computer. I stare into unseen space.

Jesus and Lao Tzu walk in.

"What's up?" asks Lao Tzu.

Jesus already knows.

"I have writer's block," I said. "Nothing is coming."

"You are not blocked," said Lao Tzu. "Nothing is what you are receiving."

I roll my eyes.

"He speaks the truth," said Jesus.  "When nothing comes, you need to stop at nothing."

"What!?" I ask, thoroughly confused.

"Stop at nothing, at no thing, at not-hinged. You need to become unhinged."

"And how do I do that?" I ask.

"Release!" said Lao Tzu, tapping me gently on the head.

"Solvitur ambulando," said Jesus. "Release comes from walking around."

"Let's go. Get up," said Jesus.

"Where are we going?" I ask.

"Wide open spaces," he said.

"But I have a blog to write!" I protest. "People are expecting it."

They grab me under the arms and haul me out the door.

"I feel better already. Let me go back in," I say.

They laugh while keeping a firm hold.

"You take the cake," said Lao Tzu.

We head north toward the mountains.

the big cake in the sky

When a man is living, he is soft and supple.
When he is dead, he becomes hard and rigid.
When a plant is living, it is soft and tender.
When it is dead, it becomes withered and dry.

Hence, the hard and rigid belongs to the company of the dead:
The soft and supple belongs to the company of the living.

Therefore, a mighty army tends to fall by its own weight,
Just as dry wood is ready for the axe.

The mighty and great will be laid low;
The humble and weak will be exalted.
-- John C. H. Wu, Chapter76, Tao Te Ching

Jesus, Lao Tzu, and I were walking through a graveyard.

Birds were singing in the trees.

"What happens when you die?" I asked,
intensely aware of the human remains beneath the ground.

"Separation," said Jesus and Lao Tzu simultaneously.

They looked at each other and grinned.

"I know that," I said. "That is why we ones left behind grieve."

"That is not what we mean," said Jesus.

"What happens to an egg you crack to bake a cake?" asked Lao Tzu.

 "The yolk and white go in the cake and the shell goes in the compost pile."

"Same with death," said Lao Tzu.

We stopped walking. I was confused.

"The soft and supple spirit separates from the hard and rigid body," said Jesus.

"The body goes in the compost pile," said Lao Tzu.

"Where does the spirit go?" I asked.

"To quote Lao Tzu, it joins 'the company of the living.'" said Jesus.

"Which is where it has always been," said Lao Tzu.

"Though the egg often thinks it is just a shell game." I said.

Lao Tzu groaned and Jesus laughed.

Lao Tzu pushed me gently.

"Be careful, boy, or we will send you to that Big Cake in the Sky."

"Sounds mighty fine to me," I said.

We strolled on.

the dance of life

Why are the people starving?
Because those above them are taxing them too heavily.
That is why they are starving.

Why are the people hard to manage?
Because those above them are fussy and have private ends to serve.
That is why they are hard to manage.

Why do the people make light of death?
Because those above them make too much of life.
That is why they make light of death.

The people have simply nothing to live upon!
They know better than to value such a life!
-- John C. H. Wu,Chapter 75, Tao Te Ching

We sat on a bench across the street from the Church of the Nativity,
the one where a likeness of Jesus sometimes wore a snowball on its head.

The San Francisco Peaks were visible in the distance.

Jesus read aloud Lao Tzu's Chapter 75, looked at Lao Tzu with compassion and nodded in agreement.

I said, "It is the same now as it was in Lao Tzu's time."

Jesus said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven."

"Why is that so?" I asked.

 "Attachment," said Lao Tzu. "Attachment to what does not matter."

Jesus sighed. He said, "Which is the same as saying: attachment to matter."

"Ah!" I said. "Thinking that only matter matters."

They looked at me.

 "Your jest speaks more wisdom than you know," said Lao Tzu. "The life force is what is mattering, is what is continuously emerging."

"Yes," said Jesus. "Matter does not matter. Only Spirit matters. Matter is the condensing, the solidifying of Spirit."

"Matter is Spirit dancing," said Lao Tzu.

I got up and began to make some moves. "You mean like this?" I asked.

"No. More like this!" said Lao Tzu, hopping up.

"And this!" said Jesus, moving with rhythmic flow.

The three of us danced and danced with happiness and laughter.

set up

If the common people are constantly afraid of death,
why intimidate with killing?
If the people were constantly afraid of death,
and I were able to arrest and put to death those who innovate,
then who would dare?
If the people are constantly afraid of death,
then there will constantly be an executioner.
Now to kill on behalf of the executioner
is what is described as chopping wood
on behalf of the master carpenter.
Now of those who chop wood on behalf of the master carpenter,
few will escape hurting their own hands instead.
-- D. C. Lau, Chapter 74, Tao Te Ching

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

Jesus sat with open and calm awareness.

Lao Tzu was staring into his coffee cup as if the future of humankind was written there.

I was surfing the web for the morning news.

"Listen to this," I said. "A man in Australia, on the hot summer day yesterday, waded into a shallow small pond. A large crocodile had also taken refuge there. The crocodile grabbed him and ate him. His friends said since boyhood he had been continuously fearful and wary of being eaten by a crocodile."

Jesus's eyes were sad.

"He was devoured by his worst fear," said Lao Tzu.

"As we always are," said Jesus.

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.