(Note: Coincidentally, there are five evergreen trees — in a row — in the middle of my front yard.)
Away from the village, at a great distance from the orthodox temples that he never frequented, the great, aged sage Lo Zu — as he often had done — was sitting in silence on a large boulder, with his twisting, meandering walking-cane leaning against him. Among many serious spiritual students in the region, word was spreading that sometimes those passing around the vicinity of Lo Zu could, at times, feel some emanations of what seemed like a divine, radiant energy coming from his being.
Indeed, when some students were passing by Lo Zu sitting upon the boulder that particular day, they say they saw the elderly sage crouched forward with his hands tightly clenched; the meandering-cane had fallen down, having slid to the ground. As they approached him closer, they could feel that radiant energy (that was rumored about by others). After a while, Lo Zu sat up straight, and they could see an amazing, blissful smile on his gleaming face. (Was it the universal blessing, the nirvana, that some said had often visited him?)
The students gathered around Lo Zu and they then asked him to share more of his great insights with them. “Alright,” he said, leaning down to grasp his walking-cane lying (horizontally) in the rocks and stones around the big boulder. There were many stones and colorful rocks in that particular area, situated all around that huge boulder that Lo Zu was sitting upon.
The students sat on the stones on the ground around Lo Zu, carefully listening. Lo Zu said, “What the mind sees is what consciousness consists of. The perceiver is the perceived.” He then said, “If you look at a tree, the image of the tree is what your consciousness is, (not that you merely become sap and the actual, physical tree).” He then went on, “If you look at the stones around this area, your consciousness is what the stones appear as. Please wisely exist beyond accepted separation and conflict. If you are fear of ‘not fitting in with your peers,’ that fear is what you are. You are not something separate from what that fear is.” A bit later, Lo Zu said, “Not too many years ago, a man named Jesus said things very similar to me, but stale orthodoxy (as it so often does) came around and destroyed and twisted the essence of his message. Please learn to stand alone and independently ponder and perceive for yourselves.”
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Excerpt from the Gospel of Thomas (which was once a popular ancient text that eventually became banned by government-controlled orthodoxy):
(19) Jesus said: Blessed is he who was before he came into being. If you become disciples to me (and) listen to my words, these stones will minister to you. For you have five trees in Paradise which do not change, either in summer or in winter, and their leaves do not fall. He who knows them shall not taste death.
Tom's Nature-up-close Photography and Mindfulness Blog 
Lovely story and message! More Lo Zu, please! And it’s very surprising how Jesus sounds almost like an eastern mystic! Makes you wonder how much he has been edited!
Thank you, Harini. 😊 Yes, a lot of the Gospel of Thomas seems much like eastern spirituality. Many attribute it to Gnosticism but it really does not reflect Gnosticism much. The book entitled, “The Five Gospels– the Search for the Authentic Words of Jesus,” edited by Robert W. Funk/Roy W. Hoover, and the Jesus Seminar, is worth reading. Everthing got distorted over time but the Greek Oxyrhynchus fragments that were found in an ancient dump heap were a more pure version than the Coptic version (that was written later). The early Christian Church, under heavy influence by the Roman Government, frowned on the G. of Thomas because it cherished individual searching rather than dependence on outside authorities, and strict hierarchical organizations.
How interesting, Tom. I like this Jesus much more than the Roman version.
Yes, Harini. I am very appreciative of the G. of Thomas too. Interestingly, in the Roman version, in Matthew Chapter 13, Verse 11, Christ says to his disciples that he gives (or will give) the secret (direct) sayings to them (but not to the masses). The Gospel of Thomas starts out by saying “These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke…” But people, most people, just superficially care and do not probe deeply. So they never look beyond the orthodox Roman version… which is such a shame.
Very cool Tom!
Much appreciated, M.T.! 😊
You’re very welcome my friend! #GoodWorks
Thank you for the story share and lovely photo, Tom. ✨
Thanks a bunch, Michele! 😉
Oh wow Tom. Now, this message penetrated my spirit with this conclusion…”Please learn to stand alone and independently ponder and perceive for yourselves.” 🥰💖🙏🏼 Thank you!
Yes, Kym, what you quoted is extremely important. 😉 If you have time, please read my comments (above) to Harini.
Yes, profound indeed Tom. There’s so much that we don’t know. Timeless information my friend. 😊💖🙏🏼
Well Tom, we all should heed Lo Zu’s words and think for ourselves and not simply follow the masses (or to use internet lingo … become “sheeple”). That’s a beautiful scene you have captured in “Stones”. It looks very peaceful and secluded there, but I’m sure rock climbers are scaling it all the time.
Thanks, Linda… i never heard that one… “sheeple.” That’s a good one! 😊 Thanks about the Rock scene. There is an easy path going to the top of it on one side, so it is not something very difficult to get to the top of. Unfortunately, true spirituality and wisdom is not at all what an easy path can take you to. Paths (and copied travel in time) can lead you to the Dairy Queen, but not to the immeasurable timeless.
How did I miss this one? I am subscribed to your site – didn’t realize the The Book of Thomas was banned – these gnostic gospels give the reader insight into the man Jesus really was
Yes, like i wrote to Harini (above), the Gospel of Thomas was rejected by the hierarchical authorities (that were controlled and heavily influenced by the Roman government). Hierarchy and authoritarian organization did not like a gospel advocating standing alone (and figuring things out for yourself, by self understanding). Though the G. of Thomas was found (in its Coptic form) amoung gnostic texts, it is not at all necessarily gnostic (though many people, these days, label it as such). The Greek fragments that were found were an earlier, more pure and pristine form of Thomas. I wish a totally Greek early complete version would (some day) be found.