Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.Both passages have a bit of a mystical air, don't they? What I think that each states in its own way is that the selfless individual who acts for the benefit of all and who recognizes the connection of all things is not afraid of death. He understands that life and death are sides of the same coin and so death can in no way steer him away from virtuous acts.
~ King James version ~
He who knows how to live can walk abroad
Without fear of rhinoceros or tiger.
He will not be wounded in battle.
For in him rhinoceroses can find no place to thrust their horn,
Tigers no place to use their claws,
And weapons no place to pierce.
Why is this so?
Because he has no place for death to enter.
~ from Verse 50 of the Tao Te Ching ~
If you're interested in reading more from this experimental series, go to the Tao Bible Index page.
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