When we cling to the fleeting

impermanent

illusory

enticements of this world — 

the

beguilements 

of power, prestige, position, privilege and wealth

that so often attract, distract and ensnare us — 

we really cling to

our

own

enslavement.

So what to do?

Why not try this?

When the shit hits the fan,

when your expectations are crushed,

when you feel like everything is being stripped away —

that you are losing everything —

look

within

and remind your self

of this universal truth —

innerstand that — 

you are not being judged — 

you are not being punished. 

No.

Life is offering you a wondrous gift — 

the gift of freedom — 

freedom from the misperceptions,

limiting beliefs

and false expectations

that have become the bars

that line the prison of your mind — 

a personal ‘hell' of your own invention.

So welcome, hold and embrace the experience

with deep gratitude, reverence and wonder.

Let go.

Let be.

Knowing that what you may currently perceive as pain, agony and suffering

is actually a purification —

a rite of passage — 

an initiation —

a gateway to emancipation —

liberation — 

freedom from the chains that bind and limit you — 

emancipation from the fears, aversions, cravings and desires that have, for so long, bound, imprisoned and held you

from realizing your

Truest

Highest

Deepest

Purest 

and 

Most 

Noble

Virtuous

Nature.

May your every breath be peace, light and love.

Not two.

/|\

— an adaptation of a teaching of 4th century monk and Desert Father, Abba Euprepios of Wadi El Natrun ‎(i.e. 'the valley of Natron’)

"Hurry!
 

Hurry!
 

We'll be late!”
 

I growl at the dog
 

who is taking
 

his own sweet time.
 

He cocks his head —
 

and looks at me —
 

curiously —
 

clearly puzzled —
 

certain
 

I 
 

must
 

be
 

going 
 

mad
 

/|\

Today, I would like to tell you a little story…

One day Zhuāngzǐ 庄子 (Master Zhuang) and Huìzi 惠子 (Master Hui) were out together on their customary quotidian perambulation, when their course happened to cross the bridge over the River Hao.

Enticed with such a breathtaking view, they stopped on the bridge to enjoy a few minutes of silent contemplation.

After a while, Zhuāng noted,

"Look at the fish.

See how free they are.

They frisk and frolic —

leap and dart

to and fro —

as if playing hide and seek.

Indeed is this not their happiness?"

Huì commented,

"My old friend,

since you are not a fish,

how do you know

what makes fish happy?"

Zhuāng laughed,

"Ho ro!

And since you are not me,

how can you possibly know

that I do not know

what makes fish happy?"

Huì, up for a little friendly mental sparring, responded,

"If I, not being you,

can not know what you know,

well then it certainly follows that you —

not being a fish —

can not possibly know what a fish knows."

Zhuāng, deftly parrying the mental thrust, replied

"Ahh old friend, well said!

Well said indeed.

But let us return to the original question.

What you asked me was,

'How do you know

what makes fish happy?’

From the terms of your question,

you evidently know

that I know

what

makes

fish

happy!"

They both looked at each other for a moment —

two old friends

engaged in a little lighthearted mental grappling —

and then

burst into a fit of laughter.

After they had recovered,

Zhuāng put his hand on his friend’s shoulder, and said,

"That was indeed invigorating, was it not?

Now, let us put all wordplay aside for a moment,

and consider this:

How do I truly know what makes fish happy?

I know the joy of fish in the river

as I know the wonder

of the joy 

of 

my 

own 

True 

Nature —

here —

now —

even as we walk

along

the

bank

of

this

river!

Not two."

— a literary adaptation of a parable from the Zhuāngzǐ 莊子, a collection of stories, parables and wisdom sayings attributed to 4th century BCE philosopher and teacher, Zhuāngzǐ (Master Zhuang) 莊子

May your every breath be peace, light and love.

/|\

Today I would like to tell you a little story…
 

Once there was an old frog that lived in a well.
 

One day, 
 

an adventurous young sea turtle was passing by the well,
 

on his way back to the ocean 
 

after going on a little walkabout
 

when he heard the frog 
 

muttering to himself 
 

from the bottom of the well.
 

The turtle peered down into the well,
 

“Hello friend!”,
 

saluted the turtle amicably.
 

"Huh?
 

What’s that?
 

And just who the hell are you?",
 

grumbled the surly old frog.
 

"Oh just a simple traveller.
 

I heard you singing and thought I would say ‘hello.’"
 

"Huh!
 

Well, hello then…"
 

muttered the frog,
 

"and now…
 

goodbye."
 

The sea turtle, 
 

being an affable type, 
 

laughed cheerfully, 
 

paying no attention to the frog’s lack of courtesy,
 

and continued on as if a welcome guest,
 

"My friend, I am on my way back to the sea, which is but a short distance away.
 

Have you ever seen the sea?
 

I would be happy to show you around a little"
 

“The sea?” 

grunted the frog.
 

"What in the world are you on about?
 

Are you some sort of conspiracy theorist or something?
 

Everyone knows the sea is nothing but a fable.
 

There is no such thing.
 

Go away!
 

I am content where I am."
 

Thus the ancients said,
 

"How can you describe the majesty of the sea
 

to a frog who lives in a well —
 

for he is bound by the space in which he lives.
 

How can you describe ice
 

to an insect who lives only for the summer —
 

for he is bound to the experience of but a single season.
 

How can you even attempt to describe the Way of All Things
 

to someone who thinks he has it all figured out —
 

for he is bound —
 

trapped —
 

by his own limiting beliefs.
 

The Way of All Things
 

is timeless —
 

boundless —
 

ineffable.
 

You can only begin to fathom
 

the Nature of the Way —
 

the Way of Nature —
 

the pure, pristine potentiality
 

of
 

your
 

own
 

True
 

Nature —
 

when you are ready
 

to step beyond
 

the preconceived limits
 

of what you imagine as…
 

your
 

self.
 

Not two.
 

May your every breath be peace, light and love.
 

/|\

Today I would like to tell you a little story…

Early one morning,

just before dawn,

Zhuāngzǐ 庄子 (Master Zhuang) picked up his bamboo fishing pole and hiked down to the Pu River to do a little fishing.

Little did he know that The Prince of Chu had sent emissaries from the royal court to present Zhuāngzǐ with an official commission.

Thus it was that, soon after the sun had risen, the royal entourage arrived in all of its pomp and circumstance.

After the official fanfare subsided, two emissaries emerged from a palanquin, and strode to where Zhuangzi was leisurely reclining —

chewing on a piece of fleeceflower root —

his back against an old pine tree —

fishing pole in hand.

“Are you Zhuangzi?”, one of the diplomats enquired.

Without even so much as a nod of the head, Zhuang plainly stated,

“I am as you see me."

The ambassador glanced over at his cohort, cleared his throat loudly, and replied dryly,

“Indeed.”

“Well, as such, in the name of his royal highness, The Prince of Chu, you are hereby appointed Prime Minister, and must now accompany us back to the royal court, where you will swear an oath of fealty and take up your official duties.”

Zhuangzi, holding his bamboo fishing pole steady —

gazing lazily at the river —

remained silent for some time before finally speaking in a calm, relaxed and perhaps somewhat amused manner,

"I hear that the prince venerates a sacred tortoise —

sacrificed and canonized over three thousand years ago —

wrapped in the finest silk —

kept in a gilded shrine

on an altar in the temple.

Is this not so?"

“Yes, it is as you say.”,

acknowledged the emissary, warily —

uncertain where this was going.

“Mhm…so what do you think,”

continued Zhuangzi,

"Is it better to offer up the body, and leave it behind as nothing more than empty shell —

revered as sacred —

an object of cult worship

shrouded in a cloud of incense —

for three thousand years —

or is it better to remain in the body

and live out your life as a simple tortoise —

happy —

content —

without a care in the world —

dragging your tail in the mud?

Caught off guard, the emissary did not know quite how to respond,

so he simply stammered,

"Umm, well…I suppose,

for the tortoise…

it is better to remain in the body

and live out life as it is —

dragging its tail in the mud."

"Ho ro!

Well said!

And so it is!

Go home now

and leave me here in peace —

happy —

content —

without a care in the world —

dragging

my

tail

in

the

mud."

— a literary adaptation of a parable from the Zhuāngzǐ 莊子, a collection of stories, parables and wisdom sayings attributed to 4th century BCE philosopher and teacher, Zhuāngzǐ (Master Zhuang) 莊子

May your every breath be peace, light and love.

Not two.

/|\