I Beyond
Beyond doing, there is being.
Beyond time, there is eternity.
Beyond mortality, there is immortality.
Beyond knowledge, there is faith.
Beyond justice, there is mercy.
Beyond happy thoughts, there is joy.
Beyond communication, there is communion.
Beyond petition, there is prayer.
Beyond work, there is rest.
Beyond right action, there is virtue.
Beyond virtue, there is the Holy Spirit.
Beyond appreciation, there is awe.
Beyond sound, there is stillness.
Beyond stillness, there is the eternal song.
Beyond law, there is grace.
Beyond even wisdom, there is love.
Beyond all else, HE IS.
II Order
Love and the Spirit are the basis for all true order.
When love and true religion have departed, there is honor and morality.
When honor and morality have departed, there are rules.
Rules do not depart when they have lost their power. They grow and multiply.
When rules have grown to their full measure, there is chaos.
The more the rules, the less the order, and how does that profit anyone?
III Silence
The value of silence, of stillness, of meditation, of rest, is great.
I will not attempt to explain it with words.
IV Power
Strength is made perfect in weakness.
A vessel that is solid is worthless.
A vessel that is empty and hollow has room to be filled.
If you wish to become strong, learn weakness.
V The Heart
Thought goes before deed; that which fills the heart will fill the hands.
Greater than any conquest without, is the conquest within.
Remove the log from your own eye, and you will see clearly to remove the splinter from your brother's eye. Master the mountain within, and you will be in a right state to challenge the mountain without.
Do you consider yourself ready for the task? You do not take it seriously.
Do you despair of ever accomplishing it yourself? You are ready to receive help.
VI Wealth
Poverty is a deadly bane. Yet it can be made a blessing.
If you wish to see the power of love and the Spirit of God at work, look at those who have nothing else.
Wealth is a blessing. Yet it can become a deadly bane.
Look at the wealthy.
There are few who own and are served by many possessions.
There are many who are owned by and serve many possessions.
Look at the wealthy.
There are many who can buy their children toys, video games, and cars.
There are few who pick their children up and hold them.
Look at the wealthy.
There are many who can afford any pleasure they want.
There are few who know joy.
Look at the wealthy.
There are many who can buy any vacation or entertainment device they want.
There are few who ever know leisure, rest, peace.
Look at the wealthy.
There are many who have more money than the poor would know how to spend.
There are few who are as generous as the poor.
Look at the wealthy.
There are many who can buy the softest and most luxuriant pets.
There are few who truly know the feel of a human touch.
Look at yourself.
Look at most of the people in the world.
Are you not wealthy?
VII Through
Joy comes through suffering.
Freedom comes through discipline.
Glory comes through humility.
Security comes through letting go.
Masculinity comes through not being macho.
Femininity comes through not being a sex toy.
Life comes through death.
VIII The Kingdom
The Kingdom of Heaven is not a kingdom of this world.
It is a kingdom in which the weak have been chosen to shame the strong.
It is a kingdom in which the foolish have been chosen to shame the wise.
It is a kingdom in which the poor have been chosen to shame the rich.
It is a kingdom in which the humble have become the friends of God.
It is a kingdom in which that which the world has told, "You are worthless," God has told, "You are priceless."
It is a kingdom in which there is more rejoicing over one filthy sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous men who do not need to repent.
It is a kingdom in which vulgar peasants have been chosen to shame great theologians and sages.
It is a kingdom in which many wealthy men gave great and ostentatious gifts, and a poor widow, dropping in two pennies, surpassed them all.
It is a kingdom in which the power to conquer is held, not by the man who is able to stand behind the barrel of a gun, but by the man who is willing to stand in front of it.
It is a kingdom in which, to become a leader, you must become a slave.
It is a kingdom which begins, not with the love that you pour out, but with the love that is poured out on you.
IX Service
A river in health has water flowing in and water flowing out.
If it dams its outflow, saying, "I will gain more fresh water this way," then it only grows stagnant. Its greed and selfishness create an illusion of gain, that is only loss.
It must give out as it has received, and then it will be filled with water fresh and pure as it was first filled.
So it is with men.
Proclaim Christ at all times, and use words if need be.
Words are powerful, and can speak mightily.
Deeds are more powerful, and can speak more mightily.
The way to teach is not as a master.
It is as a brother, as a friend, and as a slave.
The one who seeks to control and dominate does not understand how to lead. Manipulation is not much different from dominating by intimidation; it is only better hidden. Both are hurt and pain lying and saying that they are health. If you wish to become a leader, scrub out a wastebasket.
X Lessons
Once, after years of teaching, the Buddha was walking with his students, and one of them asked him for one last, final lesson.
He bent down, and picked a flower.
All of his students looked intently, waiting for an explanation.
All but one.
The one student smiled.
And to this one student, Buddha smiled back.
Lessons are everywhere. They are in books and in the classroom, to be certain. But there are many, many other places.
Look at a single blade of grass. Its beauty bears the fingerprints of the Creator. There is a lesson there.
Feel the warmth of a friend when you give him a hug. We were not created to spend time only in solitude, but also in community, and touch is vital. There is a lesson in the touch of another person.
Write a story or draw a picture. You will learn something when you do it.
Pray. There is a lesson in the simplest prayer.
Where is there not a lesson to be learned?
XI Children
Children are a lot like everyone else, except that they have not fully learned how to act like everyone else. Therefore there is much to learn from them.
There is nothing like a child seeing that you are hurt, and coming up and giving you a hug. There is nothing like a child making a gift to give to someone.
There is also nothing like a child being loud, rude, and inconsiderate, ripping a toy away from someone smaller because he wants it and he is strong enough to take it. There is nothing like a child staring into your eyes with eyes of ice and saying, "I hate you."
Children embody good things that others have forgotten. A child knows how to imagine, how to look at how pretty a flower is, and they have not yet learned that it's not OK to say that you're hurting and need help. Children also embody pure and unmasked vice; it is very easy to see a child lie, manipulate, tear apart the one who doesn't fit in, and fight anyone who dare stand in the way of his selfishness.
Confucius said, "When I see a virtuous man, I try to be like him. When I see an evil man, I reflect on my own behavior."
XII Untainted virtue
Become as a little child, but do not become childish.
Become loving, and yet become firm.
Become strong, and yet become gentle.
Become wise, and yet do not rely on your own wisdom.
Become great, and yet become humble.
Become filled with imagination and dreams, and yet do not forget the world.
Become as a skillful warrior, and yet become peaceful.
Become ancient, and yet do not lose your childhood.
Become timeless, and yet use time wisely.
XIII Shadows
When people are unwilling to draw near to God and neighbor, they become religious.
When people shun worship, they create ceremonies.
When people are afraid to pray, they babble endless words.
When people abandon the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they try to create order by rules and regulations.
When people refuse to let themselves be drawn into holiness, they ordain priests.
When people flee from confronting the evil that lies within, they become self righteous and holier-than-thou.
When people do not accept the glory of the reality and substance that is found in Christ, they flee to familiar comforts and embrace mere shadows.
XIV Fullness
Once a father gave each of his three sons a penny, as a test; he would bestow his inheritance on the son who could go into the marketplace and, in a day, buy something to fill the room.
The eldest son came, with his pouch filled with sand. He took the sand and threw it, scattering it through the room. It covered a little of the floor, but not all of it.
The second son came, with his arms full of straw. He spread the straw on the floor, scattering it through the room. It covered all of the floor, but it did not fill the room.
The youngest son came, and, opening his hand, held out a tiny candle. He lit it,
and filled the room with light.
XV Wrong Questions
It is possible for an answer to a question to be wrong.
"Is murder good or evil?"
"Good."
Yet it does not take an answer for there to be a mistake.
"How many times must I forgive my brother before I may bear a grudge against him?"
If you are asking such a question, you are already mistaken. Here are some, to avoid:
"What is the rational justification for faith?"
"What must I do to make myself good and make myself righteous before God?"
"Where should I seek out suffering in order to take up my cross?"
"How may I learn humility?"
"How do I decide for myself what is good and what is evil?"
"How much force is necessary to bring order to this situation?"
"How do I choose the lesser of two evils?"
"What words constitute a true prayer?"
"What is the necessary, time, place, and form for true worship?"
"Where do you draw the line between proper use of food and drink, and gluttony and drunkenness?"
"How much money do I need in order to be able to do something good?"
"What kind of rules should I use to infuse life to my spirituality?"
"What denomination should I join?"
"Who is my neighbor?"
XVI The Middle Path
In many ways, the Way a is balance. The temptation is not infrequent to try to avoid one error by embracing its opposite.
Good speech and writing does not contain words for the sake of words. Neither is it cut short for the sake of being concise.
Order is not gained by adding rules to what God has given, nor freedom by acting as if sin were not evil.
Wisdom is not gained by deifying the mind as something supreme which God must bow down and worship, nor humility by rejecting it as a piece of filth which God did not create.
In moderation and balance are work, play, rest, exercise, thought, meditation, words, music, silence, food, drink, and refrain, all good things.
XVII Evil
Do you wish to see twistedness and depravity beyond belief?
Look within.
XVIII Impossible
If a man were offered five dollars to not think of a glowing pink bear, he would not be able to claim the prize. Yet he would have been doing it perfectly until he tried.
Likewise, people act inconspicuous until they try to act inconspicuous.
That is easy; they are matters where something is done automatically until they are tried.
Were a plank of wood a foot wide laid across the floor, anybody could walk across it without falling.
Yet, were it crossing a yawning and abysmal chasm, firmly secured so that it would not shake, many people would try to walk across it without falling, because they would, seeing the possibility of falling, cease to walk perfectly across the plank and instead try to walk perfectly across it.
The prayer of faith is like this; he who offers a prayer of faith succeeds, and he who tries to offer a prayer of faith fails.
That is more valuable and more difficult; it is a matter where it is not done automatically, nor something that is done by trying, but something that can be done only by doing. It is easy; children do this with great power until they grow up and learn to try.
There is something greater yet, which is most valuable and impossible.
Man is fallen, and sin and evil have pervaded his whole being. Sin must be escaped to enter into life, for its wages are absolute death.
But what is the way for man to escape from sin? Automatic doing or trying or doing or not-doing? Wisdom or stupidity or knowledge or ignorance or tantrism or willpower or doing nothing?
That is like asking what brand of gasoline to use to extinguish a fire.
Such proceed from man and are inescapably tainted by evil. At their worst, they are straw. At their best, they are straw. They cannot save.
God emptied himself of divine power and majesty to become a man, and then emptied himself of even human power and majesty to die on a cross.
He who was without sin became anathema, bearing the curse for sins.
Now, to those who have earned in full the full measure of God's wrath, he offers this: that they accept the gift of God taking the curse upon himself, so that they will not have to bear it themselves.
The impossible is freely given to whoever believes, praying, "Jesus, please forgive my sins and come into my heart."
This is the message of the Cross. It is foolish and weak. There is no way around it, no escape.
You cannot stoop to such useless nonsense? There is some question which remains unresolved, which must be answered before you can accept it?
Then go, and extinguish your fire with gasoline.
XIX A Difference
Once a man was on a beach, where countless thousands of starfish had washed up, their life and water ever so slowly ebbing into dust.
Someone came along, and asked him, "What are you doing? Had you the rest of your life to spend doing this, you would not scratch the surface of the dying starfish. You cannot help more than a drop in the bucket. Why do you think that it matters?"
The man calmly, patiently, bent over, took a starfish, and threw it up in the air, arcing as it came down to splash back into the life giving water.
"It mattered to that one."
XX Not
Teaching is not fallible men claiming divine authority.
It is divine authority claiming fallible men.
Righteousness is not, do what is right and you will be justified.
It is, be justified, and you will do what is right.
The beginning is not man reaching up to God.
It is God reaching down to man.
God is not a reflection of the best in man.
Man is a reflection of the best in God.
Wisdom is not mind establishing the place for faith and building it up.
It is faith establishing the place for mind and building it up.
You do not come to see the world as you should and therefore know God.
You come to know God, and therefore see the world as you should.
The Cross was the point where the power of sin and death crushed God.
It is the point where God crushed the power of sin and death.
XXI The Other Side
The foundation is that God loves you and your neighbor.
The foundation is that you shall love God and your neighbor.
Only those who believe can obey.
Only those who obey can believe.
A wise man will pursue love.
A man of love will pursue wisdom.
Christ shared in our life and died our death,
That we may share in his death and live his life.
The believer abides in the Father, in the Son, and in the Holy Spirit.
The Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit abide in the believer.
Inside of your heart, there is a void that can be filled only by God.
Inside of God's heart, there is a void that can be filled only by you.
XXII Necessary
If you have nothing that you are ready to die for, then you have nothing that you are ready to live for.
If you will not lose yourself, then you can not find yourself.
If you can not accept that your own wisdom is not the final measure, then you can not become wise.
If you can not let go of efficiency, then you can not use what has been entrusted you properly.
If you do not fear God, then you will not know either courage or peace.
If you do not renounce everything to gain Christ, then you can not truly gain anything.
If you do not see the net sum of all your good works as ——, then you can never produce good works.
XXIII Teaching
Once a man came out of a church service, visibly moved. He walked along with the town cynic, and began to speak.
"There's a new preacher, and his message is totally different."
"Really? What did the old one say?"
"He said that we have all sinned, and that Jesus died for our sins, and that, unless we accept his forgiveness for our sins, we're all going to go to Hell."
"And what does the new one say?"
"He says that we have all sinned, and that Jesus died for our sins, and that, unless we accept his forgiveness for our sins, we're all going to go to Hell."
"Bah! Doesn't sound like much of a difference to me."
"Oh, there's a world of difference. He says it with tears in his eyes."
XXIV Faith
The just shall live by faith.
Not, "The just shall live by works," to which faith is a means. "The just shall live by faith," of which works are a result.
Not, "The just shall live by meaning," to which faith is a means. "The just shall live by faith," of which meaning is a result.
Not, "The just shall live by rational explanation," to which faith is a means. "The just shall live by faith," of which rational explanation is a result.
Not, "The just shall live by mystery," to which faith is a means. "The just shall live by faith," of which mystery is a result.
Not, "The just shall live by power," to which faith is a means. "The just shall live by faith," of which power is a result.
Not, "The just shall live by security," to which faith is a means. "The just shall live by faith," of which security is a result.
Not, "The just shall live by happiness," to which faith is a means. "The just shall live by faith," of which happiness is a result.
The just shall live by faith.
XXV Means
The more haste, the less speed.
The more prudishness, the less purity.
The more rules, the less order.
The more will, the less power to obey.
The more excess, the less satisfaction.
The more license, the less freedom.
The more wrong means, the less right ends.
It is necessary, not only to believe that God has given the right ends, but also that he knows the best means to those ends.
XXVI Law
There is the Law for the lawless.
There is no Law for the righteous.
The Law is not a tool to help people obey. It is a mirror to show people that they can't obey.
It is meant to show people that however hard they try, they need something greater: that the Something Greater is how they are to obey.
Alas, for how many have tried to obey with the Law?
XXVII Virtue and Vice
The one man perfect in virtue was the Man of Sorrows, and we are not greater. In this world, virtue is no escape from suffering.
Yet vice is anything from the path of joy. Joy, indeed, is a part of virtue, and can not truly be separated from it.
Virtue is hard to begin with, but ends in joy.
Vice is easy to begin with, but ends in misery.
What does Heaven look like?
He who is proud will see that every man present is present, not because of, but despite what he merits.
He who is rebellious will see people serve an absolute King.
He who desires self-sufficiency will see that joy is offered in community.
He who seeks wealth, prestige, power, and other ways to dominate others, will find his effort in Heaven to be like buying a gun in a grocery store.
He who strives will see that there is no one to strive with.
He who despises the physical will see a bodily resurrection.
He who desires his own interpretation and his own set of beliefs, will see absolute truth in crystalline clarity.
To those who will not let God change their character to virtue and love, even Heaven would be Hell.
XXVIII Wrong Tools
Does one use an ice cube to start a fire?
Does one use a chainsaw to mend a torn garment?
Does one use nerve gas to heal paralysis?
Then why do people use worry to create security, or wealth and power to create happiness, or excess to create satisfaction, or distortions of pleasure to surpass pleasure in its proper function?
Perhaps the reason that the Tempter is the Father of Lies, is that only a master of illusion could make sin appear desirable.
XXIX Fallenness
Fallenness is subtle, and appears in many ways.
People do reverence to nothings, and disturb the order.
What should be used is loved, and what should be loved is used.
People consider ends which are good themselves, to be merely means to other ends, ends which are trivia. It is like seeking to heal a man deaf and dumb, so that he can tell you what time it is.
People try to achieve the right ends through the wrong means.
People take the right action for the wrong reason.
People try to do good by themselves instead of relying on the Spirit.
As well to give a thirsty man a canteen, without first allowing it to be filled with water.
Man alone can not escape sin. Only in God is that power found.
XXX Peace
Peace is not the absence of violent conflict between men.
Peace is first of all a peace between God and man, and then virtue inside a man.
Peace is not an absence of anything, but the presence of love.
The manifest presence of love does not leave room for people to try to kill each other, but it is far more than an absence.
In that way, peace is like many good things. Right action does not lie, steal, or commit adultery, but its essence is not what it does not do, but what it does do: in the Spirit, act according to love and compassion. Virtue does not contain vice, but it is a positive thing, the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, moderation, courage, justice, wisdom, honor, purity, timelessness, balance, obedience, submission, honesty, chastity, simplicity, penitence, faith, hope, mercy, compassion, forgiveness, humility.
Violence can not create peace. Only love can.
XXXI Nothing Else
Nothing can atone for the insult of a gift, except for the love of the person who gives it.
Nothing can allow the power to do good, except letting go of grasping power as the means to do good.
Nothing can sanctify any activity, possession, or skill, except offering it up completely to God.
Nothing can bless any activity of man reaching up to God, except for the activity of God reaching down to man.
XXXII Deprivation
Too much information; not enough wisdom.
Too many subtleties of interpretation; not enough understanding of the plain and simple.
Too much amusement; not enough leisure.
Too many activities; not enough true accomplishment.
Too much on the surface; not enough in the core.
Too much acceptance; not enough love.
Too much filled-by-man; not enough filled-by-God.
Sometimes, more is less.
XXXIII The Upside-Down Kingdom
The Kingdom of Heaven knows madness in which there is infinite method. The kingdom of this world knows method in which there is infinite madness.
It is a kingdom in which walking is a luxury, and driving a car is a necessity.
It is a kingdom in which lifelong marriage is less cherished than the isolated pleasure of sex.
It is a kingdom in which peace is pursued through intimidation and violence.
It is a kingdom in which men pursue freedom and joy by doing what they were never meant to.
It is a kingdom in which labor-saving devices destroy leisure.
It is a kingdom in which an unexpected moment of rest at a busy time, is considered an annoyance.
It is a kingdom in which certainty is pursued through doubt.
It is a kingdom in which men try to elevate and build up, by separating from foundations.
It is a kingdom which ignores, ridicules, or kills the prophets God sends it.
It is a kingdom which manages to be so terribly practical that it loses what practicality is meant to achieve.
It is a kingdom in which holding power is more esteemed than being loved.
Which kingdom is really the upside-down kingdom?
XXXIV He Who Is
He is the Way.
He is Truth.
He is Tao.
He is Light.
He is Life.
He is Love.
He is the Word.
He is Mystery.
He is Beyond.
He is the Origin.
He is Energy.
HE IS.
It is in him that we walk, and live, and breathe.
It is by knowing him that we know ourselves.
It is by being united with him that we become ourselves.
XXXV Rotting
When people forsake the Spirit, they embrace rigid asceticism.
Asceticism gives birth to libertinism, and libertinism gives birth to death.
When people forsake wisdom, they embrace rationalism.
Rationalism gives birth to anti-intellectualism, and anti-intellectualism gives birth to chaos.
When people forsake faith in God, they embrace faith in man.
Faith in man gives birth to faith in nothing, and faith in nothing gives birth to nothing.
There are ten thousand improvements on the Way. Do you know where they lead?
XXXVI Eden
In Eden, there were no temples.
There was no place where men did not come to meet God.
In Eden, there were no priests.
There was no one who did not know God intimately.
In Eden, there were no oaths.
There was no falsehood.
The words, "At that time, men began to call on the name of Yahweh," do not tell of heights to which man had risen. They tell of the depths to which man had sunk.
The Kingdom of Heaven does not know a great many things.
Rather, it knows what was unspoiled in Eden, and something yet greater.
Its members are gentle, humble, and pure.
They carry a sense of timelessness about them, and they make peace.
They repay evil with good, and rejoice when persecuted.
They walk in the Spirit.
They have overcome the world.
Eden saw the image of God.
The New Jerusalem will see sinners redeemed, who are not only God's image, but share in the divine nature.
In Eden, men saw by lights God had made.
In the New Jerusalem, there will never be a lamp, for God himself will be their light.
XXXVII Unconditional
Like is because. Love is despite.
If you begin to understand all of the reasons man has given God not to love him, you will begin to understand the nature of God's love.
Love is not desire, nor is it want, nor is it even duty.
Love is love.
When does love prove that it is love?
When you look into a man, see some virtue, something beautiful, something great he has done for you, and love him more?
No. When you look into a man, see some vice, something ugly, some great wrong he has committed against you, and love him more.
It is perhaps those who are called unloveable who are easiest to love, for love for them will truly be love.
XXXVIII True Learning
A student, beginning the study of a new language, will first ask, "What does this word mean? What is the word for that?" Translation will be difficult.
As time passes, he will learn more of the skill of translation. He will know more words, and understand not only what word stands for what word, but what idiom stands for what idiom.
Then, gradually, something else will begin to happen. He will begin to understand the new language, not in terms of the old tongue, but on its own terms. He will learn to think in the new language. He will begin to understand that which lies a step beyond words or even idioms, that which can not be translated. His words in the new tongue will begin to sound, not like a new translation, but like the language itself.
Then, even more gradually, this will be done, not with effort, but as a part of him. His speech will flow, free and unconstrained, as in his native tongue. Translation, in the end as in the beginning, will be difficult; in the beginning, as an unnatural artifice to which there is no alternative, and in the end, as an unnatural artifice which does not compare to the beauty and simplicity of the language itself.
The language has been mastered, not when the student has become skilled in translation, but when he does not need to.
The Way, the Kingdom, the Spirit, are like this.
They are not new. They are ancient. But sin has grown so great that they are not even recognized.
Of course it is possible to strive to make these clear. It is in their nature that this be done. The Way has come, that those who are blind may see.
There are many parables which tell, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like."
Yet the parables say always, "The Kingdom of Heaven is like," never "The Kingdom of Heaven is."
It can never be fully translated.
It must be learned.
XXXIX Heaven
The blind will see God's face.
The dumb will sing praises to him.
The deaf will listen to the eternal song.
The lame will dance for joy.
Those convulsed by spasms will rest in perfect stillness.
The leprous will feel God's touch.
But all this is dwarfed by the shadow of the wonder beyond wonders.
Sinners will be made holy.
XL God
Believe and know that which can be grasped by reason.
Believe that which can only be called mystery.
So also, know God who is very personal.
So also, know God who is beyond personality.
Call him firstly and finally, "Abba," Daddy.
Rest in his bosom.
Know also that, though man is like God, God is not like man.
Embody Tao, and walk according to the Way.
The nature of God — three persons who are yet one — is vast and incomprehensible.
He is all of the things of which I have spoken, and more, far more.
XLI Better
It is good to love so that any sacrifice considered is made.
It is better to love so that sacrifice is no longer considered.
It is good to understand through profound symbols.
It is better to come to the point of understanding from which profound symbols are made.
It is good to have faith be a part of everyday life.
It is better to have everyday life be a part of faith.
It is good to abstain from what should not be done.
It is better to do what should be done.
It is good for the Way to become a part of you.
It is better for you to become a part of the Way.
It is good to know a friend so that you understand his words.
It is better to know a friend so that you understand without words.
It is good to see an enemy, with all the evil he has done you, and love him.
It is better to love so that you do not see an enemy.
XLII Knowledge
He does not know how to swim who can recite manuals and comment on them.
He knows how to swim who can fall into water and not be harmed.
Those who have pursued knowledge have learned that knowledge is never mastered when it resides only in the head.
This character of knowledge is difficult to describe; something of it is captured in that the word 'know' tells of the union of male and female.
Knowledge proceeds from faith. The call is to believe and know the truth.
There is much to wisdom that is not captured by systematic theology, and he is wise who knows systematic theology and the rest of wisdom.
The call to know God and know yourself is a call to truly know.
The one who knows the Way, knows it in the head, the heart, the hands; it rests in his spirit.
XLIII Sanity
Sanity builds an immense boat in the middle of a desert.
Sanity offers up the son of the promise on the altar.
Sanity leaves net and boat to obey the words, "Come, follow me."
The only true sanity will let go of everything to grasp the Way.
Therefore,
He who follows the Way may have no possessions.
He who follows the Way may have no identity.
He who follows the Way may have no security.
He who follows the Way may have no good works.
He who follows the Way may have no friends.
He who follows the Way may have no family.
He who follows the Way may not have even his own life.
The Way costs everything. To follow it, one must let go of, renounce, hate all of these things, offering them up completely to God.
Then, and only then,
His possession will be the Kingdom of Heaven.
His identity will be Christ.
His security will be the providence of God.
His good works will be the good works of Christ.
His friends will begin with God.
His family will be all who follow the Way.
His life will be eternal.
Of the old things, he will expect nothing back.
That which is given back will be taken to be an unexpected gift.
Even then, he will not have them as before.
He will not have them except according to the Way.
They are not his; they belong to the Way.
XLIV Greatness
A great leader is not overbearing.
A humble man is not self-depracating.
A man of love is not accepting.
Why is this?
It is because they follow, not the pattern below, but the pattern above.
XLV Leaving Room
A great teacher does not spell out every detail.
He leaves room open for the student to understand.
Think about why a joke is funny. It causes no laughter if it is explained.
A great teacher leaves room for his students to learn.
XLVI Voice
Wind, earthquake, and fire are but heralds of something greater.
That something greater is soft and still.
That is the voice to listen to, and the voice to imitate.
It is shouting which makes a man hoarse.
If you wish to be heard, do not raise your voice.
Speak in a gentle whisper.
XLVII Between
The Way between man and God does not leave them separate.
It draws them together.
The Way between two people does not leave them separate.
It draws them together.
The Way between man and nature does not leave them separate.
It draws them together.
Where there is separation, the Way enters the separation and creates intimacy.
Where there is discord, the Way enters the discord and creates harmony.
Where there is absence, the Way enters the absence and creates presence.
In the beginning was the Way.
And the Way was with God.
And the Way was God.
XLVIII Slowly
Slowly, slowly, ever so slowly.
It is over untold aeons that coal is turned to diamond.
The Way is not speedy, hasted, or rushed.
It is always on time, because it is never in a hurry.
It is nonsense to pray, "Lord, give me patience, and give it to me now."
God gives patience, patiently.
God draws people into the Way, according to the way of the Way.
It is ever so slowly and imperceptibly that they grow in virtue.
The time to obey is now.
The time for results to come, is God's concern, not yours.
Do not be in a hurry with God.
God is not in a hurry with you.
XLIX Prayer
Do not spend a season without food,
nor a week without drink,
nor an hour without air,
nor a second without prayer.
Prayer is not useful. Wonders come of it, but it is not useful.
Prayer makes innumerable petitions, but it is not a tool to get things.
Prayer is the step by which a man walks in the way.
Prayer is the letting go by which a man rests in the Spirit.
Prayer is the force by which God draws man into himself.
Prayer does not draw into communion with God to ask and receive.
Prayer asks and receives to draw into communion with God.
L Control
A microbe controls the biologist who studies it. It causes him to place it on a glass slide, and look at it through a microscope.
A mountain controls the climber who scales it. It causes him to flatten himself against the rock, grab on to tiny holds, and move according to their pattern.
A thermometer controls the patient who uses it. It causes him to sit still and close his mouth.
There are many other things that control, for good or evil, and the control rarely extends only to the moment.
Lust causes a man to look at a person and see only breasts and legs.
Devotion to mammon causes a man to think of "What does this cost? What am I willing to pay?", and worry for his riches.
Playing a tactical assassination game causes a man to think about how to kill stranger and friend, and jump in fear at every sound, paranoid without cease about which stranger or friend is trying to kill him.
But,
The Way causes a man to be filled with peace and innocence.
Forgiving wrongs causes a man to be undisturbed by hate and anger.
Prayer causes a man to be filled with trust and security.
Mercy causes a man to be filled with love.
A man can choose what will control him.
He cannot choose whether or not he will be controlled.
It is those who most resist control, who are most under control, and whose master destroys.
What controls you?
LI Great
A step into the Way has been made by the person who ceases to say, "God, look how big my problems are!", and instead says, "Problems, look how big my God is!"
Greatness is in God, and in everything that comes from him.
The Way is great.
The Kingdom of Heaven is great.
Tao is great.
I do not know words that will hold the greatness of God.
Greatness comes to a man, not by conquering a city, nor by earning a million dollars, but by growing into accordance with the Way.
To enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, become as a little child.
LII Accordance
A true climber will climb according to the shape of the mountain.
A true wayfarer does not stay in hotels, ride tour buses, and buy shiny trinkets; he steps into the culture, meeting its people, listening to its music, tasting its food.
A true architect will not take a medieval cloister and attach to it an addition that belongs in a shiny new mall. Rather, he will build new buildings that fit the pattern of the landscape, and new additions which fit the pattern of the old.
Being will do, but it is a doing which is in accordance with being and does not strive.
A man who walks in the Way will not strive with what around him is not evil.
One does not write poetry to defy the rules of a language; it is rather to write in accordance with the nature of the tongue.
A poet may change the structure of his language, but he does so only according to its spirit.
An intercessor can change the will of God, but he will do so only in accordance with what God wills.
God is eternal, constant, timeless, unchanging.
In time, he has constantly changed his will, that there may remain inviolate his unchanging love.
Therefore, to change the will of God is in accordance with God's will.
Such change will be the nature of change made by a man who walks in the Way; he will never try to make changes which are haphazard or random. If that is how it is changed, even more accordance is how it is not changed.
He who walks in the way will know accordance.
LIII Freedom
Freedom of motion is the freedom of a skeleton intact. It is a freedom that allows a person to run, and jump, and dance.
What comes of breaking a bone is freedom to bend a limb in ways it was never meant to move, freedom to have sherds of bone tear at living flesh, freedom to writhe in agony, and freedom to die.
That is not freedom.
It is only in accordance with the Way that there is freedom.
It hurts to kick against the goads.
For freedom, all who walk in the Way have been set free. Freedom is the nature of the Way.
LIV Return
To the faithful, God shows himself faithful.
To the forgiving, God shows himself forgiving.
To the kind, God shows himself kind.
To the wise, God shows himself wise.
To the patient, God shows himself patient.
To the pure, God shows himself pure.
To the loving, God shows himself loving.
When the Spirit places virtue in a man, he is ready to see that virtue in God.
Seek what is right, and it will be accorded to you.
LV Title
"Master!"
"Do not call me master. There is but one."
"Surely you know that you are a sage."
"He is a fool who considers himself wise."
"Teacher?"
"Do not think of me as teacher, either."
"But I see in you such wisdom, such gentleness, such peace. If I may not call you master, nor sage, nor even teacher, then how may I call you?"
"Brother."
LVI Growth
A wise man learns from the words of the simple.
Only a man of little learning says, "I have nothing to learn from you."
In this, wisdom reflects the Way.
Growth is not like an empty room being filled with boxes, where each thing placed inside leaves less and less room for more.
It is rather like dominoes being placed on a table; the more are set in place, the more possibilities are created to add more.
The more a man grows in the Way, the more he is able to grow.
LVII Measure
Playing with one sniffly child and lecturing to one thousand eminent scholars,
Blessing a meal and commanding a mountain to be thrown into the sea,
Praying for a minute and praying for an hour,
Giving up a shoe and giving up life,
These things are not different in the Way; they are different only in men's minds.
One who walks in the Way will not care for numbers, or fame, or so-called greatness. They come, and he will not be puffed up; they leave, and he will not be distraught.
There are many people who have faith to move mountains. Then why is it not seen? Because the Spirit does not lead them to perform parlor tricks to obviate the need for faith.
The Way is silent as light; ears filled with the din and noise of the world must grow silent to hear it. It performs great wonders, but they go unnoticed.
The Way has its own measure.
LVIII Behold
Behold the candle. It gives itself up, that others may have light.
Behold water. It does not resist one who pushes against it, yet it changes the shape of mountains.
Behold light. Men see it, and by it see all else.
Behold. Even the pebbles beneath your feet tell of God, of the Way, of the man who walks in the Way. They bear its imprint.
LIX Unity
When two believers come together, the power of their prayer increases tenfold.
A hand or a foot on its own is dead. The sum of such hands, feet, eyes, and other members is still dead. That it is larger and more complete means only that its stench will be greater.
Yet there is the breath of life, animating the body of every man alive.
Life is in each part, and each part is united with the whole.
The body is controlled by the head, which loves it, and the breath of life animates each member.
Christ is the head.
The Spirit is the breath of life.
All who follow the Way are the members.
There is infinite variety among them.
Why are they different?
Because they are members of one body.
The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
LX Increase
The step from boyhood to manhood has been made, not by the one who looks into the mirror and finds the first excuse to shave, but by the one who looks into the mirror and finds the first excuse not to shave.
Dignity is found, not by the one who tears others down, but by the one who builds others up.
Good works shine before men, not when they are paraded, but when they are done in secret.
Ceasing to make God the image of man comes, not by making God the impersonal image of not-man, but by letting God be God:
HE WHO IS,
mysterious and incomprehensible,
unlike a man,
far beyond anything that can be captured by personality,
and therefore more personal than any man.
He who loves God will have all the more love for his neighbor, and he who loves his neighbor will have all the more love for God.
The more love and joy are shared, the more they abound.
The more prayer, worship, and Communion abound, the more they become special, sacred.
LXI Sight
One who sees will look at a gift and see also the love which gave it.
One who sees will look at a face and see also a person.
One who sees will look at artwork and see also an artist.
One who sees will look at the physical and see also the spiritual.
One who hears will listen to the words of a friend, and hear both what is said and what is not said.
One who hears will listen to a question, and hear also the thoughts, the perspective, and the knowledge from which it came.
One who feels will sense the presence of God's love in the dryness of the absconditus deus.
The Way is a way of reality and substance.
An artist who creates a masterpiece will care for the smallest detail, but the compilation of technical details never forms art. One who abides in the way will never despise accident, for he knows that a forest is never seen by chopping down trees; yet neither will he look at accident and fail to see substance.
Look at the surface and see into the depths.
LXII Practicality
Nobody who enjoys wine takes some grape juice, throws some yeast in, and hopes that it will be ready in ten minutes.
Instead, it is carefully prepared, and stored away to rest. Years will pass before it graces a table as fine wine.
This is how a wise man is like the master of a storehouse, producing from it treasures old and new.
In studying the Scriptures, looking into the wonders of Creation, listening to the voice of the Spirit, every morcel of wisdom will be carefully stored away, allowed to ferment for minutes or years until the right moment comes.
Even in use, the thought of utility does not come. Like all else in the way, wisdom is pursued, not for the sake of using, but for the sake of having.
The first lesson in practicality is to let go of it.
LXIII Gifts
To come into being is not something one causes; it is given by God.
The forgiveness of sins is not something one earns; it is given by God.
Obedience is not something one accomplishes; it is given by God.
The Father created man in his image.
The Son was crucified that men's sins might be forgiven.
The Spirit is poured out that men be given the power to obey.
Do not do; obey.
LXIV Intimacy
It is only to a stranger that respect is shown by formality and distance. To a good friend, respect is shown by a love that has no need of such things.
It is only to a foreign student of language that thoughts of grammatical rules occur. To a native speaker, the language flows.
It is only to someone outside that obedience looks like willpower and rules. To someone inside, obedience flows from the motion of the Spirit and its fruit, virtue.
The Way is a way of closeness, intimacy. It knows the great order which lets go of the silliness of little order. It has no need for formal structure, ceremonial laws, and other such trivia.
It is in this Way that men greet each other with a warm embrace and address the Creator of Heaven and earth as "Daddy." It is in this Way that men grow into all that is good and pure.
It is in this Way that men become of one spirit with HE WHO IS.
No distance.
LXV Invisible
Good acting does not cause people to think about what good acting there is. It allows them to see into the characters.
Good clothing does not cause people to think about what good clothing they are wearing. It allows them to move without discomfort or restraint.
Good government does not cause people to think about what good government they have. It allows them to go about their affairs without interference.
A good window does not cause people to think about what a good window it is. It allows them to see clearly what is on the other side.
A good waiter does not cause people to think about what a good waiter he is. He allows them to enjoy their meal.
A good temperature does not cause people to think about what a good temperature the air has. It allows them to live undisturbed by heat or cold.
A good preacher does not cause people to think about what a good preacher they have. He allows them to think about what a great God they have.
The Way is as silent as light. It is gentle, soft, and unobtrusive. One who walks in the Way does not seek his own glory.
It is from the Way that issued the words,
"My precious, precious child,
I love you and will never leave you.
When you see but one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you."
LXVI Mercy
When man embraced evil, he was expelled from Paradise and bestowed a curse. Accursed, that time would see him wither and die.
Yet even in that curse, was an act of great mercy.
The true curse would have been an imperishable body, filled with eternal youth.
A body forever young, as spirit and soul rot in vice.
Tine would see bitterness and suffering grow without end.
Worse than a curse to die away from the Way, is a curse to live apart from the Way.
But Mercy did not do that.
Mercy gave another gift, a gift greater still.
In the Way, though men waste away outwardly, inwardly they are renewed day by day.
The moment of death is transformed into a birth into life.
After death comes the resurrection; spirit, soul, and body filled with a life even greater than that of Eden. Men will become the sons of God, sharing in the divine nature.
HE WHO IS took death beyond death, and transformed it into life beyond life.
LXVII Not-Doing
Swallowing a pill is a difficult thing to learn.
It is difficult because a child will strive to do it, and it is something which can only be not-done.
Even discipline follows the path of not-doing.
Discipline does not force a square peg into a round hole; it slides a round peg into a round hole.
Six days of work were not evil, but it was one day of rest that was holy.
Rest surpasses work because it was before.
Before the worlds began, before even the creation of time, the Father is in glory with the Son.
In that glory is absolute rest.
In that glory will be the rest of all who follow the Way.
From being issues doing; from being and not-doing issue doing.
This is the order of the Way.
Not-doing leaves room open for God to fill.
Faith is a rest-in-God; it is a state of being and not-doing.
It is from faith that actions proceed.
Whatever does not proceed from faith is sin.
To those who not-do, abide, receive, believe, life is given.
The Son rests in the Father's bosom, and the Spirit flows between them.
In this nature, rest, glory, and love, will they share.
Be and become.
Not-do and rest in God.
Let love flow into action.
LVXIII Honesty
To walk in the Way is to become honest.
Honesty certainly does not lie on an income tax form, but there is something more. To become honest is to become unmasked.
A mask is an armored shell.
It protects from feeling pain.
It protects from being healed.
It protects from growing and becoming real.
To remove it is to become naked and vulnerable.
It is to allow people to look into your eyes.
The pain of removing it is the pain of being healed.
It is like swallowing pride.
To swallow pride tastes foul, not because of the nature of humility, but because it is the taste of the foul and bitter nature of the pride that is swallowed.
After the mask is removed, there is a warmth and freedom like the freshness that comes after tears.
There is substance and reality in the image of God.
There is substance and reality in the Way.
There is too much substance and reality to fit inside of a mask.
LXIX Interaction
The Kingdom of Heaven does not know interactions based on power: "I will compel you to do this."
Neither does it know interactions of economic character: "I will do this for you if you do this for me."
Instead, its interactions are based on love, freely and lavishly bestowed.
This lavishness is embedded in the words, "Love your neighbor as yourself."
He who uses power to compel things from other people, or economic exchanges to bargain things from them, does so for a reason. He does so in order to gain what is good, desirable, and beneficial for himself.
The question, "Why does he want that?" is a misplaced question. He does not wish to benefit himself as a means to something else. He loves himself.
This is how you should love yourself.
This is how you should love your neighbor.
Love is not the son of want.
Love is the foundation of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Love is the air which its citizens breathe and through which they see.
Prayer is love in communion with God.
Kindness is love wearing work gloves.
It is freely received and freely given, poured out without measure.
It is shared, and increases all the more.
It is generous, like the woman who poured pure nard over Jesus's feet.
It is a cascade of flowing water, which cleanses what is soiled and heals what is wounded.
It is full of joy; finding something good, it seeks to share.
It is forgiving; it looks upon the person who has wronged it, and says, "I love you."
Love God.
Love the brothers and sisters, all mankind, yourself.
Love the stars, the waters, the animals, the trees.
All that is written about the nature of godly living is an explanation of love.
Heaven, the hope of the ages, is the final hope of being united and immersed in love with God and the saints.
The Kingdom of Heaven is a kingdom of love.
LXX Being
The rock, the foundation, the origin of all.
A state of being eternal and changeless.
All glory, all holiness, all authority, all wisdom.
Beyond all measure.
Infinite stillness.
Life beyond life.
Light without any darkness.
One.
LXXI Dim
Thomas Aquinas wrote many books; among numerous others, he wrote a Summa Theologica of encyclopaedic volume.
Late in life, he had a vision.
In this vision, Christ spoke to him from the Cross.
The vision profoundly affected him.
He became silent, and ceased to write.
And all his great and wonderful writings?
He declared them to be straw.
LXXII End
A journey is a long voyage that leads home.
Childlike faith meets testing and fire and new experiences, that it may become childlike faith.
Depths of theology, profound insight, and great learning, lead to hearing the simple words, "Jesus loves you," and trusting them.
The Alpha is the Omega; the First is the Last; the Beginning is the End.
All good things come from God through the Way;
all good things return to God through the Way.
LXXIII Around
To worship is to take a little step into Heaven.
A candle which is lit, glows. It sheds light and warmth on all that is around it.
One who walks in the Way will carry little pieces of Heaven with him. He will bear with him a sense of timelessness, peace, joy, and love.
Bringing Heaven down to earth is very important.
It is to be not-done and done.
A relief worker, returning to a war zone, said, "I'm going back to Hell, to plant some flowers."
LXXIV Maps
All mapmakers face a difficult task.
They have a flat surface with which to represent a surface which is not flat.
Many maps of the world look very different.
Some have a grid which preserves latitude and longitude.
Some preserve the area of each part.
Some preserve something else.
Someone who knows only flat surfaces may be confused.
He may think that each mapmaker has produced a map of his own perspective.
He may imagine something vague and indefinite, tell a parable of blind men feeling an elephant, and call it great arrogance when mapmakers examine something which looks like a map and declare it unacceptable.
This is not a mark of openmindedness, nor of nuanced understanding, nor of humility.
It is a mark of ignorance.
The truth is not something indefinite and unreal.
The truth is very definite and real.
Maps vary because they represent something too definite and too real to fully capture with a flat surface.
A mapmaker never alters geographical features which he doesn't like or which do not seem to make sense to him.
Mapmaking is an activity of absolute fidelity.
LXXV Within
A parent has properly disciplined a child, not when he behaves properly upon sight of an authority figure, but when he behaves properly regardless.
Protection from drunkenness does not come from restricted access to alcohol, but from learning to know and respect one's limits.
Order is not externally imposed; it comes from what is placed within.
Training does not give men the power to conform reality to their nature, but to conform their nature to the ultimate reality.
Fighting the evil without never comes without fighting the evil within.
To walk in the Way is always to look inwards.
LXXVI Bread
There is no need to worry about what to eat; God feeds even the birds of the air, and we are worth more than many sparrows. He knows our needs and desires before we begin to pray. He desires to give even more than we desire to receive.
It would seem that a man of faith would believe in this, and not annoy God by interrupting him with requests for bread.
Yet the model for prayer asks for the coming of the Kingdom, the forgiveness of sins — and, day by day, "Give us this day our daily bread."
Why is this?
It is because man does not live by bread alone.
God wishes that man be nourished in body and spirit.
As bread sustains the body, prayer and communion sustain the spirit.
Therefore, we are invited to share his presence in the smallest detail of our lives.
It is by prayer that we receive each meal as a gift wrapped in love.
It is by prayer that a blade of grass can draw us into the heart of the Father.
Pray continually.
LXXVII Meta
Cognition is made complete by metacognition.
Cognition sees that wealth will buy an abundance of possessions.
Metacognition sees that life does not consist of an abundance of possessions.
Cognition finds an edge in the rat race.
Metacognition climbs out of the rat race.
Cognition finds a way to admire the Emperor's new clothes.
Metacognition asks, "Why is that man naked?"
Cognition gives the greatest volume of food to the highest number of beggars in the least amount of time.
Metacognition shares a human touch with at least one beggar.
Cognition asks, "What does this say?"
Metacognition asks, "Is this orthodox?"
Cognition asks, "How can I do this?"
Metacognition asks, "Is this right?"
Cognition thinks.
Metacognition thinks about how cognition thinks.
Cognition is necessary, but it is even more vital to take a step back and restore things to sanity.
LXXVIII Undisturbed
LXXIX Life
Of what is to be known, I know little.
Of what I know, I can explain little.
These words tell of the Way by which a man may find life.
Come to the Way of which these words tell.
These words are imperfect; the Way is perfect.
Do not come to these words to find life.
If you do, they will kill you.
LXXX Love
Love is the foundation and cornerstone of Law and virtue.
Love is the character of a saint.
The Law, "Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, care for the poor, worship God alone", is an extended commentary on the actions which love dictates.
Virtue is only another name for the different sides of love. Patience and forgiveness are the nature of love when it is wronged.
And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love.
The greatest of these is love.
LXXXI Beyond
Beyond doing, there is being.
Beyond time, there is eternity.
Beyond mortality, there is immortality.
Beyond knowledge, there is faith.
Beyond justice, there is mercy.
Beyond happy thoughts, there is joy.
Beyond communication, there is communion.
Beyond petition, there is prayer.
Beyond work, there is rest.
Beyond right action, there is virtue.
Beyond virtue, there is the Holy Spirit.
Beyond appreciation, there is awe.
Beyond sound, there is stillness.
Beyond stillness, there is the eternal song.
Beyond law, there is grace.
Beyond even wisdom, there is love.
Beyond all else, HE IS.
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