Like Water

Compassion is like water.
It flows toward the low places.

Mindful attention is like water.
It washes and cleans as it goes.

Close listening is like water.
Its surface reflects the sky.

When I Am

My eyes become Tao eyes.
My ears become Tao ears.
My skin becomes Tao skin.
My nose becomes Tao nose.
My tongue becomes Tao tongue.

When I am awake.

Impassable

Some paths are impassable.

When we discover this,
do we continue or turn back?

No spiritual path is impassable.

Wu-wei Haiku

Clouds over shadows.
Mountain skirts in August green.
Finger clicks just now.

Which Nation?

Wisdom or wealth.
Which is more valuable?

Wisdom leads to understanding.
Understanding leads to compassion.
Compassion leads to charity.

Wealth leads to possessiveness.
Possessiveness leads to distrust.
Distrust leads to surveillance.

Which nation would you
rather call home?

Solomon

Asking the Divine for wisdom.
Why is this not a wise request?

Not Yet Cured

I'm constantly healed of fear,
but I've yet to be cured of it.

Another reason to rest in Tao.

Deeper Look

Disunity eventually
creates its own unity.

Unity falls apart
over time.

To see structure in this
requires deeper looking.

To find only coincidence
is easier.

Poor Vision

How easy it is
to see the garden
and not the flower.

How simple a thing
to notice the mountain
but miss the stone.

How sad it is
to seek and seek
and find nothing at all.

Three Sources

Sympathy comes
from the spirit.

Empathy comes
from the body.

Apathy comes
from the mind.

Selfish Forgiving

If I forgive you for your sake,
I haven't really forgiven you.

If I forgive you for my sake,
I can finally begin to heal.

True forgiveness is selfish.
I forgive for me, not for you.

When I forgive for myself,
your life also improves.

Three Lights

The first light falls
on my selfish mind.

The second light falls
on my curious mind.

The third light falls
on my silent mind.

Doubly Blind

Help arises from within
for the spiritually blind --
but only if they're willing to see.

If not, they're doubly blind.

Size Limit

Big or small,
strength isn't
limited by size.

It's limited by what
we believe is true.

Extinction

We have no future 
without community.

When we give
up on community,
we give up on the species.

Power Limit

The power of fear
lies in its ability
to isolate us.

The power of love
lies in its ability
to connect us.

Closed Loop

One path grows narrower.
Another path grows wider.

Together, they complete the circle.

What We Will See

God only exists
in the minds of those
who believe in God.

There is no God
in the minds of those
who don't believe.

Faith creates God.
Denial destroys God.

We each choose
what we will see.

Safer

To make a safer world for others
is to make a safer world for ourselves.

Shielded

Inner peace shields nothing.
Love offers no protection at all.

Inner peace requires no shield.
Compassion stills the need for fear.

Not One Step

To go higher.
To go deeper.
To go farther.
To go broader.

Not one step
is required.

Where Most Live

To believe
or not to believe.

Both take courage.

One tests freedom.
The other tests security.

Most live in between.

Stay or Go

I look down an old road.
No telling what lies at the end.

If I'm not willing to help others,
I might as well stay home.

Where Balance Occurs

The center isn't
necessarily in the middle.

It's at that point
where balance occurs.

Persistence

Serenity is fleeting.
Gratitude continues.

Joy comes and goes.
Wisdom remains.

Happiness fades. 
Compassion lasts.

What Never Began

Time ends.
Space ends.
The universe ends. 
The ten thousand things end.

What ends
begins again.

What doesn't end
never began.

Legacy Seeds

Legacies are the seeds
the past plants in the present
to bloom in the future.

Some seeds die in the ground.
Some grow into choking weeds.
Some grow into gardens.

How hard it is to know
which seeds I'm planting.

My Part

My responsibility
is to live my part
of the tree of life,
because the tree of life
sustains us all.

Its roots go deeper
than anything I know.

Which Tired?

When I am tired
at the end of a day,
which tired am I?

Am I tired because
I pressed against
the current of Tao?

Or am I tired because
I swam strong
in the current of Tao?

One is exhausting.
One is exhilarating.

Always More

There is always more
than meets the eye.
This is where
light comes from.

There is always more
than meets the heart.
This is where
darkness comes from.

The First Mystery

Even when I listen,
I don't always hear.

Even when I look,
I don't always see.

This is the first
mystery of God.