Gospel Noise? Taoist Nonsense?

"The whole Gandhian concept of nonviolent action... is incomprehensible if it is thought to be a means of achieving unity rather than as the fruit of inner unity already achieved." -- Thomas Merton (from Gandhi On Non-violence)

​"When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up to the mountain; and as he sat down, his disciples drew near to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, and he said, Blessed are..." -- Gospel of St. Matthew 5: 1 - 3)

"Existence decorates itself with identity and meaning, just as it decorates itself with mountain ridgelines and sea-mist, cities and rainbows. And yet (how can it be?), as soon as existence begins to know itself, it is lost to itself. Existence rustles. It wants to know itself; and in the end, it cannot. It can only elude itself." -- David Hinton (from Existence / A Story)

​In nearly all of my meditations and "ponderings" these days, I circle back to the Beatitudes of Jesus. These same beatitudes are arranged so as to introduce that which most Biblical scholars consider the core teachings of the Master, the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's Gospel (the Sermon on the Plain in Luke's). Regardless of what the experts might or might not say, even the marginally perceptive among us should conclude that the beatitudes are something special...

​The Tao of Lao Tzu is most often translated into English as Way... which is, interestingly, also the name given to themselves by the earliest followers of Yeshua bar Alaha... Jesus... David Hinton, master translator of the Tao into English, is also the author of Existence / A Story (see again his quote above). To the degree that anyone among us is honest, we must necessarily conclude that to even exist at all is a very mysterious event: or rather, a mysterious culmination of an interconnected trillions of "events" stretching back to the very beginning of cosmic existence...

​Existence tissue is Hinton's choice for transcribing his insight into the mystery from which we have risen in the miracle of evolution. The various schools of mysticism and metaphysics, for the most part,  all teach a similar conclusion that mystery creates in order to discover, or know, Itself. The "certain" among us say something, for the most part, almost entirely different: Mystery is God: God is All-Knowing: and God had no need to create, but has done so, solely for our potential benefit... therefore, right belief is an absolute necessity...

"The concept of 'the heart' might well be analyzed here. It refers to the deepest psychological ground of one's personality, the inner sanctuary where self-awareness goes beyond analytical reflection and opens out into metaphysical and theological confrontation with the Abyss of the unknown yet present -- one who is 'more intimate to us than we are to ourselves'." -- Thomas Merton (from Contemplative Prayer)

Why now do I veer off into "the heart"? It is only in and through "the heart" that we can consciously enter into Mystery... the Existence Tissue from which we proceed and into which we will all, inevitably, return. Many Christian mystics have identified with the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary: with is here the operative word: with the Hearts of Jesus and Mary... not distant... and not, ultimately, separate: but with... With implies nearness, perhaps even close enough to touch, certainly close enough to fall in love with: to surrender one's very own heart into...

​With also implies a process, steps, or a... Way... Tao... all of this veering into cosmology circles back into the very practical: you say that you want entrance into Mystery? There is no clearer path than that of the Beatitudes... do you really want in? Here, then, is the path: practice simple living, compassion, humility, justice, mercy, integrity, nonviolence, and an activated loving: in your homes, in your work-places, in your schools, in your economic, cultural, and political institutions, and most importantly in the opinions and myths that you construct for yourselves or that you participate in... in other words: Don't just be another brick in the wall!