Yesterday, I wrote, “If we are looking for the one teaching that is right, we are missing the point. The point isn’t about one right teaching.”
In today’s reading, Jesus again addresses confusion about one right teaching.
The law that came through Moses is core to the Jewish religion, but in today’s reading, Jesus makes a recommendation that is different from that law. He makes a recommendation that suits the situation that is presented to him. If he had been presented with a different situation, he might have made a different recommendation.
Verse 38 of the Tao Te Ching says:
So when the Way is lost,
that’s when we resort to virtue.
When virtue is lost,
that’s when we resort to humaneness.
When humaneness is lost,
that’s when we resort to morality and righteous justice.
And when righteous justice is lost,
that’s when we resort to ceremonies of propriety.
Ritual ceremonies? Mere husks of sincere faith,
marking the beginning of confusion and disorder.
When we believe a particular teaching or structure to the point that it becomes ritual, we resort to following mindlessly without intuiting what is right (or best) in the current situaiton now.
Verse 38 also says:
The true person
relies on the heart, not the husk,
the fruit, not the flower.
In today’s reading, Jesus “relies on the heart, not the husk.” He sees that self-centeredness is the problem at hand, and so his prescription in the moment addresses self-centeredness.
As you read today’s reading, contemplate this question:
When do I think that consistent rules and guidelines should always apply, and so I fail to look to intuition in the moment?
