Lo Zu was sitting peacefully, adjacent to a beautiful, small creek with splendid, lush vegetation growing all around it. A towering, majestic mountain stood in the distance. Four inquisitive, very young students came by, and one of them said to Lo Zu, “Tell us something of wisdom; please tell us something that will amaze us.”
Lo Zu turned to them, smiling, and said, “Well, my friends, that’s a very tall order!” The youths all affectionately smiled at the aged Lo Zu and agreed. Lo Zu gazed at them and said (half to himself), “Let’s see… what can one say (or do) that would sufficiently satisfy such a tall order?” Then Lo Zu said, “How about if i get that mountain to move? Would that be sufficient?” “Oh, yes it would, indeed,” said one of the young students, “but it can’t be done.”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be so sure,” Lo Zu stated, grinning. Lo Zu continued on, “You see, in the mind, psychologically, it is such that the perceiver is (in a big way) the perceived. If the mind feels anger, it is the anger; if the mind feels joy, it is the joy; if the mind sees a tree (the patterns and the colors of that tree become what the mind is); if the moon is perceived, it’s image becomes what the mind is (psychologically). So the perceiver is (psychologically) the perceived. The two are as one.
“Yes,” the students said. Lo Zu went on, “So if one of you students looks at the mountain, and i move you… then in a big way, the mountain will move.” “Very interesting,” the students proclaimed.
Then Lo Zu said, “”There is a great book, stemming from a great and very wise man, that was written in a foreign land a short while back. It was a cornerstone book that was rejected by the authoritarian (so-called spiritual) bureaucrats in that land (who wanted to manipulate people and did not want them to be independent); they arranged for all of those who cherished that book to be executed. The book was called ‘The Gospel of Thomas.’ Here is one of the sayings from within that book: “When you make the two into one, you will become children of humanity, and when you say, ‘Mountain, move from here,’ it will move.””
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I read the Gospel of Thomas saying about the two becoming one – as when spirit and body become ONE then it is possible to move mountains… we have bodies and when we are split away from bodies while we live on this earth our thinking can become distorted. Our bodies carry our feelings/senses/intuition…. we need more than thinking to move the mountain! I know we don’t agree on this point Tom – but I too like the Gospel of Thomas and also the Gospel of James.
Gosh almost forgot to mention the astounding snowflake – fractal wonder made manifest by you!!!!!
That’s great, Sara, that you are appreciative of the Gospel of Thomas. I’m sure that it is easily misinterpreted and has been distorted (like so much has been) over time but at least it was written down and not passed on in oral tradition form (which really unfolds as distortion).
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Dear Tom,
Thank you for posting the story and retelling it so well. This story seems to be similar to another one commonly known by the Chinese proverb as ๆๅ ฌ็งปๅฑฑ. According to Wikipedia:
Since you like Chinese stories, you might find a specific post of mine highly edificatory and stimulating in multiple ways. The post is entitled “๐จ Strong Wind Knows Tough Grass ๐พ ็พ้ขจ็ฅๅ่“, and is available at
https://soundeagle.wordpress.com/2020/11/11/strong-wind-knows-tough-grass/
I look forward to having the pleasure of being given your feedback there.
Yours sincerely,
SoundEagle
It’s an awesome story but i see little correlation in it to what i had written. (I do see a little similarity, though.) ๐
Humans tend to anthropomorphize everything spiritually.
Masterful!
We hope so, WishForWater, we hope so. ๐
My dear Tom, I don’t know how I have been missing your posts. ๐ฅ For some reason, it is not populating in my feed. Ugh! I have been trying to play catchup with your posts, but I hope that you are doing FANtabulous my friend. ๐ค Oh, how I love this highlight of your spiritually moving story:
“The perceiver is (psychologically) the perceived. The two are as one.” Such a simple message with a profound meaning! ๐ฅฐ๐๐ผ๐
Wow, that’s good to know, Kym. I thought maybe you had a falling out with me over philosophical differences or something. (One has lost a lot of followers in the past who happen to prefer orthodox, false psychological comfort over deep, rational, and penetrating reality.) My bad! ๐๐ฅฐ
Oh no Tom. At first, I thought you were taking a respite. Then, I was about to go to your last post I “liked” to make a comment there. I kinda got a little worried about ya my friend! ๐ฑ
BUT, now that we have that all sorted out, let the games begin…again!!! Hugs and smooches to you my friend! ๐ค๐๐
Yes, thank you so much, sweet Kym! ๐๐
I like the Lo Zu “series” and I really like the close-up of that delicate and perfect snowflake. You were lucky to catch it at its peak before it melted – that’s an amazing capture Tom.
Thanks so much about the Lo Zu series, Linda. ๐
And, yes, i was very lucky to catch that snowflake before it melted… considering how late i get up in the mornings! ๐ฅฑ
I like it so much