​A Jar of Muddy Water and Wisdom from the Tao

For those who have eyes to see, wisdom and spiritual nourishment are available to us everywhere, flowing through all religions, not just our own. 

Yet we may remain blind due to fear instilled in us early on about other religions by well-meaning adults. 

Rather than feel threatened, what if you allowed yourself to be curious like a child?  I wonder if you, too, might discover your life enriched through other religions’ theological truths.

The words of the Tao Te Ching have been especially meaningful to me.  I have read portions of this short 6th century “Book of the Way” credited to the Chinese sage, Lao Tzu, nearly every day for years. 

In it, one reads about what it is like to be in harmony with the Tao (the Way). 
And one is invited to be aligned with “Reality As It Is” in such a way that, like Jesus the Christ, one humbly becomes the Way.  In the language of Christian mystics, this is called “union with God.”   
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Last night, I opened my pocket edition and saw my favorite passage staring back at me:

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“Do you have the patience to wait
till your mud settles and the water is clear? 
Can you remain unmoving
till the right action arises by itself?”

​Several years ago, a very murky, even scary, situation came up that required careful discernment as to the way forward.  Trying to figure out what to do, I was reminded of Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”  

I was also reminded of this passage from the Tao Te Ching. 

So I grabbed an old Mason jar and large spoon, put on my raincoat, and went outside. 

My kids were standing at the window watching with curiosity as I scooped sand from the sandbox and mud from the ground and put it in the jar while the rain kept pouring down.  Then I came back inside, filled the jar with water, sealed and shook it, then placed it on top of our television cabinet announcing, “When the mud settles, then I’ll make a decision.” 

They asked, “How long will it take?” 

“I have no idea,” I told them, “but it will eventually clear.  And the process can’t be rushed.”

What I watched externally started taking place within me…very slowly. 
The anger, fear, expectations, adrenaline, helplessness, judgments, confusion, all started to settle.  After a week, the sediment gave way to clarity. I could finally access “the mind of Christ” (“the Spirit within”) that is always there but can be hard to detect when my water is muddy.  

Surprisingly, or maybe not, the right action that arose was non-action (a theme of the Tao Te Ching!).  Even though everything in me wanted to defend myself, I knew I needed to stay silent and trust God.  It was and still is the right action in this particular situation.  

How about you?  Have you allowed yourself to receive wisdom and spiritual nourishment from other religions and traditions? If not, why?  If so, what have you discovered?  How has your faith changed or deepened? 

If you’d like to, but don't know where to start, I suggest the pocket edition of the Tao Te Ching!