A Saying on The One
(from the collections of Jesus the Zennist)
I say to you, the Father and the Way are One. But you, in your desire, grasp at this word 'One' and make it into a thing. You build a fence around it and call it 'God.' Then you build another fence and call it 'Not-God.' This is the disease of the mind.
You have heard it said, 'The Lord is One,' and so you make your 'One' a sword to use against your brother's 'One.' You declare, "My One is true, but yours is false." You stand at the gate and judge. First, remove this plank of 'true' and 'false' from your own eye. Then you will see clearly the light that shines in your brother's eye, which is the same light that shines in yours.
The One is not a number. It is the rock, and it is the sand. It is the rain that falls on the just and the unjust. It is the silence from which all words arise and the peace to which they return.
You ask, "When will the Kingdom come? What is the exact date? What is the final name?" You seek a fixed point, a doctrine, a final word. But I say to you, the spiritual life is not a point. It is circa.
You are always circa the Kingdom. You are around the holy presence, even in your confusion. You are near the truth, even in your imperfection.
This is the grace of "circa": To let go of the need to be "at" the destination. To be a work in progress. To be humble, and to say, "I do not know the exact answer, but I am here, present, in the soft focus of this moment."
Do not lay up for yourselves treasures of certainty. Do not build your house on the shifting sands of 'like' and 'dislike,' 'holy' and 'profane.' If you want to realize the truth, hold no opinions. When you let go of all preferences, the One reveals itself. Not as a thing you can hold, but as the hand that is holding.
The One is the ocean. Some call it 'Father,' some 'Nirvana,' some 'Tao,' some 'Great Spirit.' These are streams. Do not waste time arguing over the names of the streams. Be still, and feel the pull of the ocean.
Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they have let go of owning the truth. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they see the One in all things, and all things in the One. This is the Kingdom. It is not 'here' or 'there.' It is circa—always now, always near, always unfolding.
These words, too, are "circa." They are not the truth. They are the path around the truth. Do not cling to my words. Be still, and listen.