An interesting practice in studying and celebrating interfaith wisdom is to try using the terms from one tradition in another.
This isn't to try to take away from the original meaning of a particular tradition,
But to enhance our own spiritual understanding.
For example,
In Taoism,
The word that recognizes the sacred is the Tao.
Here is a reading from the Tao Te Ching that instead of the word Tao,
Uses the word God.
One Taoist translation can say,
The Tao never does anything,
Yet through the Tao all things are done.
We might say,
God never does anything,
Yet through God all things are done.
If powerful men and women could center themselves in God,
The whole world would be transformed.
By itself and its natural rhythms,
People would be content with their simple,
Everyday lives,
In harmony and free of desire.
When there is no desire,
All things are at peace.
We could also,
Substituting the word God for the word Tao,
Read a passage of the Tao Te Ching as such,
God is always at ease.
God overcomes without competing,
Answers without speaking a word,
Arrives without being summoned,
Accomplishes without a plan.
God's net covers the whole universe.
It doesn't let a thing slip through.
A more secular word than God in a more western tradition might be the word Spirit.
Here is the word Spirit,
Substituted for the word Tao.
Spirit is infinite,
Eternal.
Why is it eternal?
Spirit was never born.
Thus,
It can never die.
Why is it infinite?
Spirit has no desires for itself.
Thus,
It is present for all beings.
Now we're going to try taking the word Tao and bringing it into a more traditional Christian tradition.
For example,
In China,
They translate the first words of the Gospel of John as such,
In the beginning was the Tao,
And the Tao was with God,
And the Tao was God.
This is instead of,
In the beginning was the Word,
And the Word was with God,
And the Word was God.
Jesus refers to the Kingdom of Heaven or the Kingdom of God,
But how might we interpret his sayings if he were to use the word Tao?
Many scholars of Christianity actually believe that Jesus referred to his teaching as the Way,
Which is how in English we often interpret the word Tao.
The Tao is like a treasure buried in a field,
Which a man found and buried again.
Then,
In his joy,
He goes and sells everything he has and buys that field.
Jesus said in the Bible that the Kingdom of Heaven will not come if you watch for it,
Nor will anyone be able to say it is here or it is there,
For the Kingdom of Heaven is within you.
The Tao will not come if you watch for it,
Nor will anyone be able to say it is here or it is there,
For the Tao is within you.
Jesus said,
Unless you return and become like children,
You can't enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
For our exercise,
Let us say,
Unless you return and become like children,
You can't enter the Tao.
Part of the wisdom of all faiths is finding that deep mystical truth that can resonate in our mind and heart today.
Not changing the meaning,
But instead bringing a new word with fresh life can actually help awaken us to what these initial teachers meant to convey.
