A Saying on the Many Paths
The One Truth, which is beyond words, scatters its light like the sun. Some call this light 'Brahma,' some 'Adonai,' some 'Allah,' and some 'the Way.' The light is one, though the windows it passes through are many.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they see the One Light in all the windows. They do not say, "My window is the only true one."
But the mind, which loves preference, falls ill. It makes distinctions, and the Great Way is lost. The mind says, "I am 'in,' and you are 'out.' My path is 'right,' and your path is 'wrong.'" This is the disease.
You have heard it said, "This scripture is pure, and that one is corrupt," and "This prophet is true, and that one is false." But I say to you, the one who judges his brother's path has a plank in his own eye. He has made an idol of his own certainty.
What is this idolatry? It is to take a word, a law, or a book—which is a finger pointing at the mystery—and to mistake it for the mystery itself. It is to build a house on the shifting sand of opinion.
I say to you, let go of this need for sharp edges. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they let go of fixed points. They live the Circa life.
The Circa life is the grace of the approximate. It is to know you are around the sacred, near the truth, even if you cannot hold it. It is the humility of the in-between.
Be not the one who, watching the clock, frets over the 9:59 deadline for prayer. Be the one who lives circa 10:00—abiding gently in the soft focus of the unfolding now.
Why do you look at the speck in your brother's book, but do not consider the plank of intolerance in your own heart? First, remove the plank. See clearly.
Then you will understand. The Way is not found in having the perfect description. It is found in walking with a merciful heart. The Inner Kingdom is not built with the bricks of right and wrong. It is realized when you let go of longing and aversion, and simply are.