Flip the Coin onto its Edge
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Flip the Coin onto its Edge
The Lives and Wisdom of Jesus and Lao Tzu
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Flip the Coin onto Its Edge
SPEAKER_00Hello, and welcome to Flip the Coin onto its edge. I am your host, Michael Papa Newton. We work, we raise families, we may engage in marriage. We must have times of our own, having fun and excitement. All these pull at us psychologically like four strong horses of responsibility tethered to our limbs and pulling in four different directions. No wonder we don't have the opportunities to study the classics of philosophy, spirituality, religion, and the holy books of other religions not dominant in our culture and regions. Fortunately, since college I find these topics, plus science and mythology, fun and entertaining for my mind. For over 20 years I have studied these topics and the various holy books of major religions to make myself a better person, not a better Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, or Taoist. Today we will discuss two great leaders in spirituality and the inner workings of the universe. We will learn some history on Jesus and Lao Tzu and contemplate their words on the topics of violence and love. Just a reminder, tap the button to follow this podcast.
Season 2: The Common Messages of Major Religious Leaders
SPEAKER_00Now into our show. These topics are not a subject of conversation by people. People earning their bread in a very specialized occupation will talk shop, not only because it is the most vital interest in their lives, but also because they have not much knowledge of other subjects. They have never had the time to get acquainted with the other topics. Life for the most of us is not so much a hard as an exacting taskmaster. I want to discuss in season two the major religious leaders we know truly live, not fictional characters. These men possess a deep understanding of the universe and its needs from us. I believe their messages are clear and each individual can find personal meaning in them. Since these men lived before the invention of the printing press and recording devices, their words may not be verbatim reproductions of what they originally said. However, I focus on the common message shared among these enlightened figures. Across the world, many religions exist. If the universe truly has intelligence, as I attest in season one, then buried within the dogma and personal interpretations lies a concentrated truth, an essence of the original message. These messages attributed to visionary leaders contain the core truths. Over the years, their words may have been transcribed, but the heart of the message remains accessible and universal. You do not need to be an expert in religious history or a philosopher to understand what is being conveyed. The universe desires to be understood and uses our cultural norms and societal ways to communicate these truths. Different religions across cultures serve as channels for this vital wisdom. There is no single ripe religion as people and cultures are diverse. By exploring the major religions and discovering the common messages they share, we can uncover the core truths that help humanity connect with the universe's intelligence and work in harmony with it.
Lao Tzu and Jesus: Their Lives
SPEAKER_00For two great religious figures, founders of two of the world's spiritual traditions, it is hard to imagine how the lives of Lao Tzu, founder of Taoism, and Jesus could have been more different. Although our knowledge of both is limited at best, what we do know points to two strikingly different life journeys. Jesus, as nearly everyone on the planet knows, was born in Palestine two thousand years ago in the age of the Roman Empire. He began his ministry around age thirty, preached his message of love and social justice for approximately three years, and was executed by the agonizing Roman method of crucifixion. Lao Tzu, on the other hand, in the bare bones legend of his life, that is all we have been handed down, lived a simple, quiet life as keeper of the Imperial Archives in his native Western Chinese state of Pushin. About five centuries before Jesus was born. Legend claimed he was an older contemporary of Confucius. Apparently deeply disenchanted with the strife and artificiality of civilization, Lao Tzu retired from his position sometime in middle to late life. He renounced society and mounted a water buffalo to ride west for Tibet, where he would live in solitude. At the Hang Kao Pass, a gatekeeper tried to talk him out of becoming a hermit in his old age and asked him to turn back. Lao Tzu refused. The gatekeeper then asked him to at least write down his thoughts before he abandoned civilization, and this Lao Tzu agreed to do. According to the legend, Lao Tsu returned three days later with his little jewel of a book, the Tao Dei Jing, which means the way and its power. Then he passed beyond the gate and was never heard from again. So there you have lives of profound contrast. Jesus was an impassioned prophet, an engaged social reformer, who made a heroic effort to transform society and indeed perhaps all of humanity, and died young and painfully for his efforts. Lao Tzu preached to no one, not even the gatekeeper, amassed no followers in his lifetime, founded no church, lived quietly and inconspicuously almost his entire long life of more than eighty years, and ultimately turned his back on society to live in peace and contemplation close to nature in his final years. Yet even in the stark contrast of the outlines of these two lives, if we look close enough, we can see some parallels. On violence, regarding violence a deadly form of hypocrisy, both Jesus and Lao Tzu warily denounce it as humankind's most regrettable vice. Force is not the way of Tao admonishes Lao Tzu, and he who is against Tao perishes young. And Jesus, when witness to violence in his own defense, simply says no more of this and puts a stop to it. Both sages categorically regret reject all manner of violence, the psychological violence of social oppression, as well as the physical brutality that wreaks so much harm in its path. Jesus said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you. That was at Matthew twenty, verse twenty five. Lao Tzu said, When a man has authority acts and no one responds, he rolls up his sleeve to force it on others. The Tao De Jing Chapter thirty eight. Here we found that Lao Tzu and Jesus rejected all manner of violence, psychological as well as physical. They both called for a social experiment to abandon the authoritarian model. They dared to embrace real freedom and equality, no more coercion, no more imposition of will on others. After all, forcing someone to submit to your will is hardly a spiritual practice. Jesus expresses blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God at Matthew five verse nine. Lao Tzu expresses Force is followed by loss of strength. This is not the way of Tao, and that which goes against Tao perishes young. Tao De Xing chapter thirty. We observe peace is the way of nature, the working of Tao in the grander vision. Although there is conflict in nature, it exists only in the greatest sphere of cooperation. Peace is the prevailing motif. Cataclysm and upheaval of whatever kind is an aberration, an extraordinary event. Artificial cataclysm by armed forces is the ultimate folly, producing the most extreme adverse consequences that take generations to heal. To follow the way of peace is to be a child of Tao, blessed of God. Jesus remarks all who take the sword will perish by the sword at Matthew twenty six verse fifty two. Lao Tzu remarks a violent man will die of violent death. The Tao De Xing Chapter forty two. The symmetry of violence completes itself. Most times the law of cause and effects holds true. Violence as a way of life fulfills itself as a way of death.
Lao Tzu and Jesus on Love
SPEAKER_00On the topic of love, we see we will see what Lao Tzu and Jesus had to say. That in all its varied forms and wondrous manifestations, love is a raison de te of human life, the most powerful force we encounter in ourselves. Jesus and Lao Tzu recognized it and sought to transform people's hearts and remake society by means of this awesome force. Both teachers warned against responding with harsh judgment against those whose actions we disapprove of. Jesus implored us to even love our enemies, do good to those who hate you, and Louis advised us to requite hatred with virtue. This was surely their most demanding challenge, but they also instructed us to sometimes be neutral or non-judgmental when encountering what is evil or unjust, imitating the model of God or nature in its restraint and detachment. Indeed, Lao Tzu and Jesus urged us to trust in the ultimate power to set things right in due course. Sometimes the type of love they exhorted was to demonstrate is easier and more down to earth. Forgiving a truly contrite person, exercising tolerance or displaying simple kindness and tenderness. In any case, they did not view love and forgiveness as idealistic fantasies or practical luxuries, but as the primary tools for changing the world. Jesus comments, love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew two verse thirty nine. Lao Tzu comments love the world as your own self. Dao De Xing chapter thirteen. You and the world abide in each other. Erase the boundary and let the light flow out and then back in. Diffuse the mystic vision outward, back into the world. An upright heart will unfold the world. Jesus said Be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes the sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on righteous and on the unrighteous. Lao Tzu said Heaven and earth join and sweet rain falls beyond the command of people yet evenly upon all Tao De Xing Chapter thirty two. Tao or God ultimate reality makes little distinction among people in the experience of the natural world. This may seem indifference, but perhaps it is just space for things to be worked out of their own accord by their own nature. The laws of justice and mercy assert their jurisdiction within, whether or not reflected without. Jesus exclaims, Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn and you will not be condemned, but forgive and you will be forgiven. Luke chapter six verse thirty seven. Lao Tzu exclaims The Sage is good to people who are good. He is also good to people who are good. This is true goodness. The sage trusts people who are trustworthy. He also trusts people who aren't trustworthy. This is true trust. Tao De Xing chapter forty nine. We observe, though we may be called to pass judgment on people at every turn in the course of our daily lives, a higher truth tells us that such activity is folly. Of all the things that are tenuously known in this world, what could be more uncertain than a person's inner character or ultimate contribution? Innocence, tolerance, and accept acceptance approve better better tools to employ than harsh moral judgment. Jesus says Let anyone among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone. Lao Tzu says We can seize and kill the unruly, but who would dare to do so? Often it happens that the executioner is killed. He who takes the hatchet of the master carpenter seldom escapes injury to his own hands. Tao De Xing Chapter seventy four The silent working of nature's law is more worthy to correct ills than a fallible humans or and corrupt society. What we do to the outcast we do to ourselves. All bad feeling comes back. Punish someone and you punish yourself. Be gratuitous. Unfounded mercy is licensed out of accordance with natural law. Jesus expresses love your enemies, do good to those who hate you. Luke six twenty seven. Lao Tzu expresses The Sage is good at helping everyone, but for that reason there is no rejected person. Therefore, the good man is the teacher of the bad, and the bad man is the lesson of the good. Tao De Xing chapter twenty seven. We find seeing beyond the world, animosity dissipates, even the seemingly most justified. Although people may appear vile, who can know their hidden motives? We harden ourselves when we reject people. Even though it appears easy, the greater the vision, the less prejudice.
A Taste of Jesus and Lao Tzu
SPEAKER_00That's all we've got time for today, my friend. I appreciate you tuning in to this week's episode. Today we shared some warm and meaningful thoughts about Jesus and Lao Tzu. We look closely at the coherence of the thoughts on the violence and love. Next week we'll learn more about their lives and examine two more topics. Remember, I advise you not to accept everything you hear in this podcast without testing it yourself. It has to resonate with you personally. Believing often carries doubt. The real secret to success is to know the laws of life, not just believe in them. When you take the time to test these laws and principles, you will truly come to understand. For your own good, keep an open mind for new ideas. This will help you better understand and evaluate what you are learning. And don't forget, if you found value here, click the button to follow this podcast. Remember, God woke you up this morning for a reason. Now go out and find out why.