Chapter Twenty from the book 'Christ the Eternal Tao' by Hieromonk Damascene.
Text:
When the silent Way spoke,
He revealed Himself as the invisible One
Whose traces the Ancient Sage had glimpsed five centuries before,
In the groaning earth.
For the Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"He who has little shall receive in abundance.
But he who has much shall be confused."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be filled.
But woe unto you who are rich! for you have received your consolation.
Woe unto you who are full! for you shall hunger."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"Superior virtue is unconscious of its virtue.
Hence it is virtuous.
Inferior virtue is conscious of its virtue,
Hence it is not virtuous."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"When you do a merciful deed, let not your left hand know
What your right hand is doing."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"In order to be above the people,
The sage must serve them as if he were lower than them.
In order to guide them he must put himself behind them."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"The Way of Heaven is to take from those who have too much
And give to those who do not have enough."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said to those who hoarded their spiritual riches:
"My Kingdom shall be taken from you and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"When gold and jade fill your hall,
You will not be able to keep them safe."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth,
Where thieves break in and steal."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"One’s own self or material goods,
Which has more worth?"
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul?"
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"The flexible overcome the adamant,
The yielding overcome the forceful.
It is because the sage does not contend that no one in the world can contend against him."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"Resist not evil,
But whoever strikes you on your right cheek,
Turn to him the other also.
And if anyone wants to sue you at the law, and take away your tunic,
Let him have your cloak also."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"The violent man shall die a violent death.
I consider this as my chief teaching."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"All who take the sword shall perish by the sword."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"The most massive tree grows from a sprout;
The highest building rises from a pile of earth;
A journey of a thousand miles begins with a step."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed,
Which a man took and sowed in his field:
Which indeed is the least of all seeds,
But when it is grown it is greater than the herbs,
And becomes a tree,
So that the birds of the air come and lodge in its branches."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"Magnify the small, increase the few.
All great things under heaven start from the small."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like leaven,
Which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal,
Till the whole was leavened."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"Heaven’s net is broad, with big meshes."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"The Kingdom of Heaven is like a net,
That was cast into the sea, and gathered some of every kind."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"Heaven's net lets nothing slip through."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"A sparrow shall not fall on the ground without your Father."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"The Way clothes and feeds the ten thousand things."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:
They toil not, neither do they spin;
And yet I say unto you,
That Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"Returning is the movement of the Way,
But its function is weakness."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"My strength is made perfect in weakness."
The Ancient Sage, follower of the Way, had said:
"There was something undefined yet complete in itself,
Born before heaven and earth.
I do not know its name."
And the Way, when He became flesh, said:
"I Who speak unto you am He."