Taoist Aphorisms

LADY SHAKTI MUSES

Why does the sage wander? Because he need not know of his destination in order to be fulfilled.

Why does the sage wander? Because he need not find fulfillment.

Why does the sage wander? Because he does not mind being called lost.

Why does the sage wander? Because he does not need to know the future.

Why does the sage wander? Because he knows he will find somewhere.

Why does the sage not mind being lost? Because no matter what path he takes, he knows he will eventually end where he started. But when he gets back, all will be different.

Why is the sage never really lost? Because everywhere is a destination.

The Taoist sage and hermit is free to come and go as she pleases.

When one comes to appreciate everyone, everything, every event and everywhere, one has come to enlightenment.

If the sage eats meat at all, it is to clean out the supermarkets. If everyone stopped eating meat, think of the stench!

The sage does not kill to eat nor out of self defense.

Why is the sage strong? Because he has heard it all before, after awhile.

Why is the sage strong? Because he takes all with equanimity.

Why is the sage like Christ? Because he wanders with little rhyme or reason. And yet, in the end, everything has rhyme and reason.

Why is the sage not like Christ? Because he punishes no one.

Why is the sage like an ant on a chessboard? Because no one knows where he will go next.

Why is the sage not like an ant on a chessboard? Because he develops hindsight.

Why is the sage never really lost? Because everywhere is a destination.

Why is the sage at peace? Because he only expects something after he has it.

Is the sage wise? He has pipe dreams, too...

Why does the sage work so hard? Because work is always fulfillment, even though he does not need fulfillment.

When does the sage get upset? When he has lost his freedom...

When does the sage get upset? When he is popular for all the wrong reasons.

Why does the rage of the sage subside? When he learns that all is futile, even work.

Why don't people criticize the sage? Because he is often a deadpan smart aleck.

Most people don't admit they are confused when most of the time they are, but the sage does not try to hide it.

Most people are terrified to be discovered, and yet they are always uncovering other people.

The work of a lifetime can be forgotten overnight.

If the sage believes in God, he has little to do with Him, because he sees a big difference between Him and him.

The sage is compassionate; God is not always.

The sage is courteous; God can be very rude.

The sage is discreet; God wags on and on about the truth.

The sage loves his brothers, but he is under no obligation to.

The sage takes pity and gives money, work and time; God always snatches back what He has given, even if only at death.

The sage loves every human being; God treats some badly and others well, quite arbitrarily.

The sage feels; God is impartial.

The sage knows how small he is; God is infinitely big and infinitely small.

God is big and small because he deals as much with universes as he does with the subatomic.

Since atoms are small and the universe is big, the sage knows that men are somewhere in the middle.

The sage knows he is right in the middle of infinity.

The sage knows he is as big as he is small. Everything else is, too.

Only those who do not mind being alone can be sages.

The sage cares not what others think, and yet he rides with the tides.

Like a lady, the sage knows when to leave.

When an institution no longer lives up to its doctrine, it must surely die - and most likely, it will just fold.

The sage has no real opinions - he just follows along with the natural flow of his thoughts.

The sage does not try to be consistent, because conditions are always changing.

The sage may be the only one to admit that a certain amount of confusion is inevitable.

The saint in his straitjacket of what other men call holiness longs for the freedom of the sage.

The sage's only solace is his freedom.

If love comes not, the sage rests from the effort of keeping it.

If love comes, the sage almost regrets the freedom he had before it did.

Is the sage wise, or is the fool? Both continue in being.

The life span of a sage is probably the same as is the fool's.

A sage is a type, not a development.

The only difference between the sage and the fool is that the sage can make sense out of life, while the fool is at a loss for words.

An important difference between the sage and the fool is that love goes to the head of the fool too soon.

Sometimes the sage plays a fool, and other times the fool plays the sage.

Some sages become fools after puberty.

Communications skills often mean the only difference between mediocrity and unforgettableness.

We all find what role we should play in one book or another.

A true sage knows he is not superior to anyone.

What with the way he treated his friends, Jesus can hardly be called compassionate.

A true sage worries not about whether he has enemies.

A true sage treats his enemies just as he treats his friends, and thus has no enemies.

A sage is self-contained; God, being omniscient, is nosy.

A sage need not know anything about anyone, not even himself, for to himself, he is a murky pool.

God rains on the just and the unjust; but, in the end, he really does mess up the ones he does not like.

A sage gives love no matter how people treat him; God expects praise.

God see sthe world as a straw dog; and we do not even measure up to being one strand, he places us so low.

How could anyone human treat his own creation so badly as does God?

God makes a beautiful mountain and then turns it into a volcano, just like he created Lucifer and then let him be changed into a devil.

The sage is wise enough to be terrified of the Hell of Christ, just as anyone whose ears have heard of such an atrocity should be.

The tortures of the Reign of Terror were thought of by God and man, not Satan, for Satan was for the people who were burned.

Once the people in Hell start to work together, and join in a common cause to save themselves, Hell might end by being better than Heaven.

A wizard is not put off by menial labor. In fact, he enjoys it because it gives his poor, overworked mind a rest.

How far you would go for the sake of humanity is a sign of your own humanity.

A great man does not need a favorable afterlife to work hard for the betterment of the human race.

Someone who is not looking for love is often accused of not knowing how to find it.

And what of - Jesus? Anyone who would go around damning so many people probably deserves to be damned himself.

Even though you wouldn't do what so-called evil people do, and they do a lot of atrocious things, try to forgive them, so that you don't do what they do.

I may not like you because of what you do, but I have compassion on you.

Even when you show people what they hate, like witchcraft, and they learn that it is not so bad and yet they continue to hate, a few generations have to go by before anything really

changes.

When something you hate is innocent, why not just get out of the way?

Anger can make you beautiful, but hatred makes you ugly.

When you cling to someone out of hatred, watching their every step, you will probably lose your own footing because you are no longer watching yourself.

Don't try to help the wrong people with your wisdom - for to them, what is your wisdom but words by which they will try to betray you?

Most people are totally wrapped up in themselves, so if they are watching anyone else, it is probably out of nosiness at best.

It is normal to be wrapped up in yourself, because there is already so much to do.

It is normal to be wrapped up in yourself, if you have any kind of true purpose in life.

Healthy people have no time for others' personal business, unless they are invited to the party.

If you are not welcome in someone's life, don't try to get in.

If you are in a neighborhood where people don't want you, let it be their problem.

Mind your own business and maybe you'll have time to accomplish something worthwhile.

THE TAO OF JESUS

"I was both the Tao and its personification, the sage," said Jesus. "All you have written on this page is directly inspired by me, Sister Mary Victoria," said Jesus. "I will lead you through many a philosophy and spirituality."

"No, I don't punish people - that is the province of the Father," said Jesus. "He is the Almighty, He knows the future - I don't even know when I am coming back."

"Many a thing I did without knowing why, " said Jesus, "because the Father told me to. I do not yet understand him, nor him me, nor me the Holy Spirit - and yet, when we do anything, we agree. And that is why we are three persons, because we don't know everything about the other."

"I am divine, but I am a man, too," said Jesus, "so I am limited in what I can understand because it has to be within a brain, and show, because it has to be within a body. Even that is a paradox."

"How can I be the Most High and yet within a body? Even I don't understand that," said Jesus. "But my divinity does."

"Since I am within time, I change; and when I had a mortal body, I was almost totally new every seven years, because the body replaces itself every seven years," said Jesus. "Even my glorified body knows more now than two thousand years ago."

Jesus' love for man increased with the years, and his love totally consumed him on the cross, which is why he only lived a few hours. He had to fight all his natural impulses and his divinity was so fiercely working that it destroyed his very body.

Mother Nature herself was so shocked to see man kill God that she revolted after his death, and would have destroyed man had not the hand of God held her back.

"As a judge, I am more like an accountant than a executioner or undertaker," said Jesus, "since I had to count up all my own debits and credits, and I experienced every last one of them. But, to tell the truth, I am more like an advocate than even an accountant."

"Jesus - you said 'ask and you shall receive, seek and you shall find, knock and the door shall be opened," said Sister Mary Victoria. "I ask that all men be saved." "Well then, go on to the next aphorism," said Jesus.

"I AM the only necessary sacrifice for man. I really did save everyone," said Jesus. "All will be justified one day, 'all will be well, all manner of things will be well' - and Julian of Norwich will be shown to be a great saint."

"People will be so glad to hear of this, that all will be saints!" shouted Sister Mary Victoria, dancing. "It only took three of you, to my knowledge - St. Gertrude the Great, Julian of Norwich and my favorite pain in the neck, Vicki, but it has been decided - all will be saved."

"The Catholic Church is still the best guide to salvation, so if you want to avoid Hell, be Catholic," said Jesus. "However, should you have difficulties with this, try to find out for yourself; I am always here for everyone."

"I don't like sending people to Hell," said the Father, "so, try to get to Heaven as fast as possible, and you will save the Church Triumphant a lot of trouble, and Jesus a lot of grief."

"But how will souls in Hell be saved?" asked Sister Mary Victoria. "All the souls there have to do is feel even a small bit of remorse and love for someone else," said Jesus. "Once they starting helping one another, it will all be over."

Saints are just people who achieved their own sanctification more quickly than others.

Better become a saint by the time you leave Planet Earth, for no one knows how bad his own personal Hell might be.

Imagine your worst nightmare and not being able to wake up; and then imagine that your only way out is to interact somehow with the dream, and you have some idea of Hell.

Tell me, why risk going to Hell anyway?

The sage is always happy, for wherever he is is home.

The Tao cannot be named, and yet it must be, for the Word is all men really know.

Jesus knew the power of words, and that is why he kept telling people to keep secrets, the only guard of the Word.

People who can't keep things quiet cannot be good friends, because sometimes things have to develop in secrecy before they can be brought to the light.

"As long as you get your act together and your veil back on before you go out, Sister Mary Victoria," said Jesus, "I don't care what happens in between!"

You can't always know what is really going on just by observing someone.

If you are innocent, don't bother worrying about it.

"I didn't lie when I asked people their names," said Jesus. "I was simply in my human mode. I often had to dip down low."

"Lao Tze was right," said Jesus. "Sometimes non-action is the best thing to do - so when anything you do would be incriminating, take a rest."

If someone refuses to identify themselves to you, and yet wags their knowledge of you all around your neighborhood, would or should you even begin to trust him?

When someone is always threatening you, insulting you, looking out for opportunities to betray you, and yet calling you a saint, would you believe a single word they say?

When you ask a stranger who is always talking about you, "Who are you?" and he doesn't answer, don't even talk to him anymore.

Everything comes to an end eventually.

Don't talk to anyone in your neighborhood again, and see any furor they have built up about you just fade away.

No, Jesus is not the Tao nor a sage, because he is just too primitive. Chinese culture was already very old when Lao Tze came along.

I, reader, may be too target-oriented to be a true sage - I don't wander, I go straight from one point to another.

Everything, apparently or not, has rhyme and reason - even the path of Jesus through the Holy Land.