"The Tao doesn't take sides;
it gives birth to both good and evil.
The Master doesn't take sides;
she welcomes both saints and sinners.
The Tao is like a bellows;
it is empty yet infinitely capable.
The more you use it, the more it produces;
the more you talk of it, the less you understand.
Hold on to the center."
Tao Te Ching, Chapter 5
The existence of evil has long been discussed by minds far sturdier than mine. What I take away from this is to be wary of labeling, especially the labeling of people. What one person views as evil, others may not. Jesus understood that those labeled as sinners had enormous possibility, but he had little patience with those in power who abused that power and trapped others in powerless lives.
I appreciate Mitchell's comments on this chapter: "The Master sees all beings arising from the same source, working out their karma (usually with great suffering) and returning to the source. And since people are in constant flux, she understands that at any moment they are capable of the most astonishing transformations. Why should she pin them into motionless with a judgment of 'good' or 'bad?'" This is an insightful question. If a person is continually labeled as "bad," he or she may very well live into that role, often with much mayhem and sorrow. Let us give one another room to grow with grace.
Keep loving each other like family. Don't neglect to open your homes to guests, because by doing this some have been hosts to angels without knowing it. Remember the prisoners as if you were in prison with them, and people who are mistreated as if you were in their place.
Hebrews 13:1-3
photograph: San Leandro, November 2020
photograph: San Leandro, November 2020
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