Only Now

There is
no tomorrow.

There is
only now.

Showing the Way

Fog blankets the valley.
Clouds overshadow the peaks.

The path ahead is never clear.
The path behind is never easy.

When we let go of expectations,
we let Tao show us the way.

Passion Compassion

Passion drives us
to do what we do.

Compassion drives us
to do no harm in the doing.

Even Our Spiritual Lives

Light into light.
Dark into dark.

Even our spiritual lives
cast shadows.

Eventually

Every fence wears out.
Every wall comes down.
Every barrier falls away.

Another reminder
we are all connected.

Finally Losing Hope

When a good man
finally loses hope,
he becomes a beggar.

When a poor man
finally loses hope,
he becomes a corpse.

When a rich man
finally loses hope,
he becomes aware.

Time Being

Spend time hating,
and you become a hater.

Spend time loving,
and you become a lover.

Spend time being,
and you become who you are.

Bright Future

Every bright future
begins in darkness.

To have a bright future,
live this moment first.

Cold

A warm home
won't thaw
a frozen spirit.

Frigid weather
can't freeze
a warm heart.

Diverse Strengths

Different trees for different climates.
Different grasses for different terrains.

I cannot say you should not be here.
You cannot say I should not be here.

When our own weaknesses confront us,
we discover the strengths of diversity.

Adjusting Course

In both small ways and large ways,
our behavior follows the same course.

To affect the large, adjust the small.

Solitary

When we finally
get enough money
that we no longer
have to care about
anyone but ourselves,
we've just locked the door
to our own prison cell.

Killers

Kindness withers hatred.
Love withers fear.

Like Every Leaf

Like every leaf,
we are different.

Like every leaf,
we are the same.

Our differences
make us sacred.

Our oneness
makes us divine.

Three Walls

First are the walls we build
to protect us from our enemies.
They're built on expedience.

Second are the walls we build
to protect us from our friends.
They're built on experience. 

Third are the walls we build
to protect us from the will of God.
They're built on illusion.

Child's Play

Spirituality arises from experience.
Religion arises from spirituality.

Or religion arises from belief.

Belief arises from outside of us --
sacred writings, ancient stories,
received wisdom, witnesses.

When belief meets experience,
it ceases to be belief.

What it depended on before
becomes like child's play.

Fleeting

No matter what we have or lack,
we can find things to be happy about.

Even a life of poverty is full
of fleeting moments of pleasure.

The hardest place to find
satisfaction is in a life of plenty.

Happiness will always be temporary.
Contentment is to accept that.

Unhurt

Our capacity to forgive
will always be limited
by our fear of being hurt.

Our true self cannot be hurt.
When we discover this,
forgiveness flows like water.

Building a Life

The scaffolding
of other people's faith
can support us
for a long time,
but all of the finish work
takes place inside.

Bending Rivers

Pain has a way of healing us.
Suffering helps to make us whole.

Happiness is never permanent.
Contentment accepts what is.

Every life is a bending river,
flowing over rocks to the sea.

One Point

Your life is
the one-pointedness
of the Divine.

You are the beginning
and the end
of God's attention.

Tao sees as you see.
You are Tao focused on
the ten-thousandth thing.

Carried Away

We grow where we are planted,
unless a wind carries us somewhere else. 

Light to Light

We travel from
light to light
even in darkness.

The darkness
is our blindness
to these lights.

The cure
for our blindness
is simply to wake up.

I Hate You

I hate you because
you have stringy hair.

I hate you because
you have yellow teeth.

I hate you because
you smell like old clothes.

I hate you because
you need so much help.

I hate you because
you remind me you and I are One.

The Different One

The different one
is a most important one
because the different one
is the one who helps
the other ones question
their sameness.

The different one
is the one who opens a door
to a different way of seeing.
This is not good or bad.
Just another way to see.

The more ways we see,
the more wise we become.
The different one
helps us bring this about.

Daily Bread

To be thankful
for our daily bread
is to be thankful
for an awareness
of our own hungers.

Our hungers help us
discover who we are,
and who we are not.

True daily bread is that 
which feeds our true selves.

Passages

No dark passage
ends without light.

No bright passage
ends without dark.

Light or dark,
every passage leads
deeper into Tao.

When We Think

When we think about boundaries
more than we think about community,
we travel deeper into loneliness.

When we think about community
more than we think about boundaries,
we scatter power among many.

How You Use It

Power flows
to those who know
how to use it.

True power flows
to those who know
how not to misuse it.

Where

Where we are in our journey
has little to do with distance.

Engraved

No matter how deeply we engrave
the boundaries that separate us,
there is always common ground.

Surveillance

We are children
watching children.

A healthy land
doesn't have to spy
on its own people.

Two Sides

What faces east faces sunrise.
What faces west faces sunset.

Two sides of the same house.
Two sides of the same day.

What faces outward faces us.
What faces inward faces Tao.

Two sides of the same face.
Two sides of the same One.

Less

Gratitude is within
everyone's grasp.

An ungrateful life
will always feel less.

Darker Poverty

Disdain for the undeserving poor
is the hallmark of those
who suffer a darker poverty.

Even in Us

Grass thrives even in cities.
Art thrives even in towns.
God thrives even in churches.
Tao thrives even in us.

Closed Views

No two views are the same --
unless they're both closed.

Big Enough

To transcend
the limits of thought
is to give up language
and numbers.

Inner and outer worlds
intersect here.
It is a vast space.
Big enough for everyone.

Ascent

Some
descending
staircases

take us
to higher
floors.

Knock.

Knock,
and the door will open.

All doors are open
along your inner path.

Walk on through.
Take what you need.

There will always
be more.

No need to be afraid.

Making Better Lives

If he works for us
in some distant place
to make things
or grow things
or tend things
that make our lives
better,
why is it so hard
for us to pay him
a living wage?

No Dwelling Place

No home endures.
No settlement is permanent.
No city stands without end.

That which lasts forever
needs no dwelling place.

Bliss

Bliss is all
around us.

But you have
to look for it.

Hard Heart

Like Tao,
the waters of time
break down even
the hardest stone.

Water's Edge

The water's edge
is a boundary
between what is above
and what is below.

Silence is a boundary, too,
between what is clear
and what is still unknown.

Shining Face of Tao

Emptiness is never empty.
Fullness is never full.

When I go looking for Tao,
I see nothing new.

When I stop looking,
Tao shines from every face.

More than Open

Generosity is more
than an open hand.

Sincerity is more
than an open mind.

Compassion is more
than an open heart.

Garden Spot

Rough, hard places
offer fertile ground
for beauty and grace
to take root and grow.

Six Dreams

Dreams of the future.
Dreams of escape.
Dreams of what we do not know.
Dreams of our fears.
Dreams of freedom from fear.
Dreams of waking up.

Leading the Way

The best leader
seeks the Way,
and when she finds it,
she follows it for herself.

Following the Way
is the best way
to lead the way.