Seeing Everything

I bring meaning to everything I see.
The meaning is not in what I see.
The meaning is what I lay over what I see.

When I see this, I can see everything.

Tied

Untie the knot
in your belly.

Untie the knot
in your heart.

Untie the knot
in your mind.

Untie the knot
in your ego.

Untie the knot
in your doubt.

A New Path

Many paths start
from under our feet.

One goes the way
our parents want for us.

One goes the way
our culture directs.

One goes the way
our God tells us to go.

One goes the way
our ego longs for.

We begin a new path
with every step we take.

The Tall Ones

The top of the tree
can only rise as far
as the trunk will lift it.

The trunk can lift
only as high as
the roots will hold.

Deeper roots
make for taller trees.

Four Woes

First is the woe of family.
Second is the woe of independence.
Third is the woe of community.
Fourth is the woe of loss.

Exit Strategy

Generation
by generation,
tribe by tribe,
family by family,
one by one,
season after season,
the ten thousand things
arise across millennia,
prosper and thrive,
and die away.

Extinction
may be inevitable,
but what right do we have
to hurry the clock
for anyone but
ourselves?

Divider

Every road divides
as it goes deeper in.

Natural History

Nature has its own language,
its own alphabet and words,
its own sentences and grammar.

This is how it records the ages
for the natures that will come
after our shadow has passed.

Deepest Roots

Compassion sinks
its deepest roots into
the dark soil of pain.

True Care

If I care about someone
just because I'm told
I should care about him,
I'm not really caring.

When I care about someone
because it wells up from
somewhere deep inside,
I have opened myself to pain.

This is one of the ways
true caring changes us.

Prayers

When I am empty,
I ask to be filled.

When I am full,
I ask to be emptied.

Every vessel wants
what it does not hold.

Outside Wisdom

Wisdom that comes
from outside will always
mirror the wisdom inside.

If it doesn't, it isn't wisdom.

Diamond Net

The invisible diamond net
of the ten thousand things
never tears or needs mending.

It is only our blind fingers
that make us feel otherwise.

Every Failed Rebellion

Whether an army defeated
or an inner spiritual revolt,
every failed rebellion
becomes a guerrilla war.

Strike

When your tribe
becomes too
mean and hard,
it's important
to remember 
you're always free
to strike your tent
and head off
in search of more
tolerant people.

Obstinate

An unbending tree,
stern against a gale,
will need roots deeper
than money and pride.

Changing Paths

The path ahead
is never one path.

Every person
who walks it
changes it --
even as it changes
those who follow it
into the unknown.

All Hell

When the money runs out,
all money should become worthless.

When everyone is homeless,
every place should become a home.

When Tao disappears into memory,
all hell should finally break loose.

Out of Thin Air

The business
of life goes on
around me
all the time,
and I never
even notice.

But when
I stop
and look,
gardens appear
out of thin air.

Someone to Help

My path deeper into Tao
should always take me
near people I can help.

If it never does,
either I'm not looking or
it doesn't lead deeper in.

Attention Getters

How much of our attention
do we owe to those around us?

Enough to balance the scales.

Too Many

When there is only
one right way,
only one will make it
through in the end.

This is why
there can never be
only one right way.

There are
too many of us.

Gardening

Anything
can be turned
into a garden
in the mind.

Acorns

The tallest oak cannot ignore
the acorn that will replace it.

When we discover Tao inside us,
our children also take root.

Heat Wave

The sun is our first God.
Stars are our first Tao.
Heat is our first Mother.

From Within

Some light comes from outside.
Some flows from within.

The first can herd and turn us.
Only the second will change us.

Boundless

Boundless sky
bound by trees.

Boundless mind
bound by distractions.

Boundless spirit
bound by doubt.

Boundless Tao
bound by nothing.

One and All

Where one is hungry,
all are hungry.

Where one is thirsty,
all are thirsty.

Where one is sick,
all are sick.

Prosperity and health
do not spare us
from the plight of others.

Needless

Every line will be broken.
Every border will be crossed.
Every wall will be breached.
Every stronghold will be defeated.

The less you think you need,
the stronger you become.

The Spiritual Economy

The spiritual economy
doesn't need banks or
stock markets or insurance.

The spiritual economy
doesn't require traders or
regulators or bull runs.

The spiritual economy
doesn't track downturns
or prices or commodities.

The spiritual economy
creates its billions
out of pure generosity.

The Poor Among Us

Who are the truly poor among us?

Those who have little to eat?
Or those with more than enough
and no will to share their bounty?