How much less man, that is a worm? and the son of man, which is a worm?Bildad submits that, compared to God, mankind is nothing more than a worm.
~ King James version ~
Humankind is no better nor worse than any other manifestation of Tao.
~ possible Taoist alternative ~
Tao does not rank the forms of the cosmos. A worm merely differs from a human in the form taken. Each follows its own internal nature. Since the essence of Tao is in each of us, we each are part of Tao.
If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.
I love that Kings James quote - it's amazing how many passages in the bible like that you can find once you root around in it. I certainly think as you do that the excerpt has cleat taoist/mystic parallels, but even if the comparison is a bit fanciful the overall sentiment seems clear - the sacred isn't something particular; it's 'universal'. As far as i can tell that's the only real religious precept that is necessary for anyone to grasp. Once religion turns into a game of 'this' is more sacred than 'that' or 'we' are more 'sacred' then 'you' then the core teaching of (perhaps the 'only' teaching) of all religion imo is lost.
ReplyDelete