No Boundary

The boundary between
heaven and earth runs
only through our minds.

Submerged

We are submerged
in the ten thousand things.

The ten thousand things
are submerged in Tao.

Tao is submerged in us.

Wrong Again

After the flowers
have bloomed
and wilted
and fallen away,
we think their beauty
is gone for another year.

But all we have to do
is look again to see
that we're wrong.

True beauty is more
than a pretty face.

Self Images

An inferior mind sees itself
as superior to others.

A superior mind sees itself
as connected to others.

Fear Wars

An open mind
is a trap we avoid.

We seek only what
we want to find.

We listen to those
who agree with us.

This is how
we battle our fears.

There will be
many casualties.

Begin Inside

Begin inside,
and the outside
makes sense.

Begin outside,
and the inside
is hard to find.

When we see
God within us,
God is everywhere.

When we see
God only outside,
fear takes us over.

Fires of Being

The fires of being
still burn inside
every fallen leaf.

It isn't the leaf
that keeps burning.
It's the will to be.

Lying Eyes

I see God when I look.
I find Tao when I seek.

Is God only in my looking?
Is Tao only in my seeking?

To look and not see
doesn't prove nonexistence.

To seek and not find
doesn't mean it isn't there.

Rich or Poor

A wealthy man
who uses his wealth
to help those in need
is doubly wealthy.

A wealthy man
who uses his wealth
to take more and more
will always be poor.

Dark Angels

Dreams are dark angels
sent from our shadow side
to point us toward the light.

Restless to Serve

How can we discover
Tao both inside and out
and not feel moved
to help others in need?

Knowing Tao inside and out
makes us restless to serve.

This is how we know it's Tao.

Fortress

Weapons are not
our greatest source
of security.

Community is.

When we build
a just community,
we build a fortress.

Mirror Lives

I go from daylight
to darkness to daylight
to darkness again.

The weather changes
morning and night.
Seasons come and go.

How strange that
my outer life should
mirror my inner life so.

Notion

Do I surrender
to the will of God?

Or do I surrender
to my own best desires?

Or do I surrender
to the notion they're the same?

What Can Be Measured

A boulder is a mountain.
A sandy road is a desert.

A galaxy is a boulder.
A universe is a desert.

Measurements are relative.
Only Tao is not.

Yet every boulder, every road,
every desert, every mountain

is Tao.

Trumped

No written truth
can trump experience.

No holy book
can undo insight.

Going Our Own Way

We each go our own way,
yet we create communities.

We each have an agenda,
yet we build nations together.

We discover our own path
by crossing the paths of others.

Shade or Shadow

Shade or shadow?
Protection or menace?

Darkness is its own protection
against the terrors it also hides.

Have no need for shade.
Have no fear of shadows.

The source of wisdom is
the darkness within darkness.

Which Is More

Love or fear.
Which is more dangerous?

Patience or kindness.
Which is more humbling?

Experience or wisdom.
Which is more disturbing?

Grounded

Background always lies hidden
by what stands in front of it.

Proximity determines background.
Foreground determines attention.

What we focus our attention on
has the power to change us.

But it is that which lies hidden
that keeps us grounded.

A Good Life

The ten thousand things
are always in motion.
Change is universal.

Light and dark twirl
together in a long dance
that never flattens into gray.

Trusting in the Tao.
Accepting the dance as it is.
These two make a good life.

Cyclops

To listen to only one side
is to see with only one eye.

More or Less

The more I have,
the more I'm possessed
by my possessions.

The less I have,
the more I'm possessed
by my poverty.

The less I want,
the more I'm possessed
by my inner light.

Voice in the Wilderness

One voice crying
in the wilderness
can change the world.

For better or worse.

We forget the wilderness
is anything but empty.

Lower Nature

If my lower nature corrupts me,
what's left but to give it back
to Tao from which it came?

If my body leads me into sin,
what's left but to surrender it
to God for God's own pleasure?

Changing Prejudices

To adapt to change
is accommodation.

To change with change
is transformation.

My Return

If I make something
and sell it to somebody else,
I get something in return.

If I make something
and give it away,
where is my return?

My return is in the making
and in the giving away.

If that isn't enough,
I should change what I make.

Carvings

The water doesn't know
what it's going to carve
into the bed of a river.

It just carves what is there.

The soft parts go first.
The hardest parts last.

Interplay

Sometimes the interplay
between shadow and light
is the only way we can see
the hollow places inside.

Learning to Listen

Before I can learn to listen,
I have to learn how to hear.

Listening is easy.
Hearing is hard.

Not listening is also easy.
Not hearing is also hard.