Sunday, February 23, 2020

born in Tao




Fishes are born in water
Man is born in Tao.
If fishes, born in water,
Seek the deep shadow
Of pond and pool,
All their needs
Are satisfied.
If man, born in Tao,
Sinks into the deep shadow
Of non-action
To forget aggression and concern,
He lacks nothing 
His life is secure.



~ Lao Tzu
translated by Thomas Merton
from The Collected Poems of Thomas Merton




1 comments:

Wehr18 said...

This Lao Tze verse works nicely with the Lilly of the Valley story (Matthew 25-33). Using the two together makes for a sermon finding similarities and contrast.