The Seventh Parable:

Trials Will not Cease until the

 Very End of the Path

        Time passed by. Daily meditations became a usual work for Lao Tse.
        Nevertheless, at some point He noticed that His ceaseless efforts did not bring Him the same joy and satisfaction…
        On top of that, the weather had changed: the rain had been falling for several days already…
        Even the donkey did not like the gusty wind with the rain and the clay, which became slippery under its hooves.
        The cold penetrated the body of Lao Tse wearing wet clothes, and the nights spent under the open sky did not give Him any rest.
        It was harder and harder to meditate, although He tried His best.
        Lao Tse could not understand what Huang Di wanted from Him. And when He asked Huang Di about this situation — the silence was the only answer…
        Lao Tse tried to overcome fatigue, but…
        Finally, Huang Di said:
        “So, are You tired of all this? Do You want to go back to your old life and forget about the Path to Tao?”
        “No! Of course, no! But why is everything so bad?…”
        “The fatigue or the diseases of the body hinder the spiritual work. It’s necessary to maintain the body’s energies in good conditions.
        “Find a house and take a rest! After that, We will discuss all Your problems.”
        … Suddenly, the weary travelers saw an old abandoned house.
        Lao Tse came in and looked around. It was dry and quiet. The dampness and the wind did not enter here; only the steady sound of rain was heard through the walls, which were damaged in some places.
        A large pile of fresh hay was in the corner. Anyhow, Lao Tse got a warm bed, and the donkey — a good supper under the roof…
        “Thank You, Huang Di!”
        “I accept Your gratitude. And answering Your question, I will say that it was just a little test.”
        “But I thought all tests were over a long time ago since I am totally with You!”
        “Testing doesn’t cease until the very end of the Path. A possibility to fall, to abandon further efforts or to make a wrong choice is also a part of God’s ‘hardening’, which the soul must pass in order to achieve the Divine Perfection!
        “Well, now take a rest!”
        … The donkey began eating its supper.
        Lao Tse also ate some rice flatbread that He had with Him and fell asleep.
        He dreamed about the space of the Blissful Light, in Which He was soaring like a bird and resting as a soul. Meantime, His body also restored its strengths…

* * *

        Closer to the morning, Lao Tse saw himself among His friends during one of the lessons of Huang Di.
        They met again in the room for conversations.
        Huang Di said to His disciples:
        “Today we will talk about some important aspects and conditions of mastering the stages of the Path. It will be useful both for you and for your future students.
        “Routine and monotony of spiritual exercises and of efforts directed to the service can hide Me from a seeker. This is similar to the situation when gray thick clouds hide the light of the sun for a very long time…
        “But even in such situations one should never forget that all spiritual efforts can produce the correct results only if they are made by the soul that persistently transforms itself into Love!
        “I don’t come to those who don’t love Me!
        “And that one who forgets about love will embrace only… the dead emptiness in the meditations. That person won’t get satisfaction from such a spiritual work and may even consider as wrong the methods and the very formulation of the Purpose and tasks of the spiritual efforts…
        “The problem in such cases is rooted in the loss of love for Tao. If one loses this state of love even for a moment, then That Sacredness Which, as it seemed before, was almost in the hands becomes imperceptible.
        “’I’ of the soul and the Infinity of Tao can merge in the indissoluble Unity. But the only way to achieve this is love!
        “Therefore, one needs to return again and again to the state of love for Tao, especially in difficult situations.
        “As the result, the state of Mergence with Tao may become habitual.
        “On the way to that state, one should learn not to oppose oneself to the Will of Tao in anything: either in large issues or in small!
        “After that, on the next big stage of the perfection, man has to learn to live coming out from the Infinity of Tao. But this, too, can’t be archived immediately.
        “Initially, each soul is evolving as an individual soul. This is necessary for its qualitative development and the quantitative growth .
        “And only if the soul becomes very large and obtains all Divine qualities — it can completely dissolve itself in My Transparent Calm!
        “At the beginning, those who explore Tao come to the Abode of Tao — as guests. The Great Te, on the contrary, come and disappear in Tao, for They return to Their common Home! This means that They have become the Hosts since They have learned how to be in Unity with Tao all the time! They can also come from the Abode of Tao to act in the material world.
        “Let Me add that until a human body hasn’t obtained the perfect and total Divine Calm of Tao, it can suffer because of the influence of adverse factors.
        “The destruction and the death of a body — by themselves — don’t harm a soul. So don’t be afraid of the death of the body.
        “Yet bodies are given to us so that we can grow and develop ourselves in them. That is why, we should make effort to keep them healthy and strong. One should eliminate the fatigue and the illnesses! Don’t surrender to them!
        “A material body is necessary for a person to walk the spiritual Path. Therefore, a body should be treated with care, as some sort of dress given to me by Tao for my entire life on the Earth.”

* * *

        At that moment Lao Tse woke up. The joy because of the gained understanding overfilled Him!
        The sun was shining outside and the water drops were sparkling on the wet leaves.
        Lao Tse washed His body under a small waterfall flowing from a mountain ledge.
        He perceived himself truly awakened and began to wash himself, like with water, with the streams of the Light of Love coming from the Heavenly Source. Sparkling streams, which gave Bliss, were flowing and flowing through His body and around it…
        Lao Tse realized once again that the Great Te are always ready to help abundantly those who seek purification!
        The Divine Light of Love pervaded both the body and the soul, and Lao Tse felt the unquenchable desire to give this Light to all living beings, including all the people, who live without knowing about this great Light of all Te! These Te are always ready to help with the healing and the transformation of the bodies and of the souls and to open the great Path of the cognition of Tao!
        Lao Tse saw a peach tree in bloom. Its flowers opened themselves to the sunlight and were giving their beauty and fragrance to everyone. Lao Tse felt himself like a similar tree, which just yesterday stood bare and was absorbing with its roots the moisture from the depths, but today bloomed with fragrant flowers!
        He used this image as the basis for a new meditation: He stepped into the depths of the Light-Fire, already known by Him, dissolved himself in It and began to ascend, being this Light-Fire, to His own body and pass through it.
        The streams of life-giving Divine Love were flowing inside and were opening in the chakras, like buds full of bliss and purity.
        A minute later the energy channels of the body became filled with this radiance. Lao Tse felt like the spring and the fragrance flowed into every corner of His body! Now the Light-Fire ran freely inside all energy channels.
        Lao Tse felt himself filled with the Light — and this Light was radiating irrepressibly out of His body!
        It seemed incredible, but not the young body of Lao Tse acquired lightness, youthful flexibility, and mobility — and started radiating the Light so that the halo of Love-Bliss covered all the space around!
        Huang Di praised His disciple:
        “Well done! You’ve demonstrated Your creativity and come really close to mastering the meditation ‘Tree’.
        “You can see now how all living beings on the Earth get the life strength from Tao, like growing plants. This meditation should be started from the Sea of Light-Fire or from the Ocean of the Great Calm of Tao. And as You master it, You will feel all beings of the Under-Heavenly World as branches of the great Divine Tree.
        “By mastering this meditation, You will be able to restore the work of the internal organs of Your body and make them function harmoniously. You also will be able to heal other people.
        “Still You need to remember that energies, which flow inside the bodies of different people, are not equal in the levels of their subtlety, but correspond to the state of the soul that lives in that body.
        “If the level of subtlety of these energies inside the body corresponds with the Transparent Calm of Tao, then the matter of that body will change gradually as well.
        “When all chakras and main meridians are purified and all three dantyans are developed and refined — You can fill completely even the smallest energy channels of Your body, using that image of a tree. In that case, the Divine Power of Tao will permeate the entire body from inside, saturating its flesh with the Divine state.
        “And after a while, the matter of this body will become totally Divine. Such a body then will obtain the immortality, and the owner of this body — all the qualities of Tao: Love, Omnipresence, Omniscience, and Omnipotence!
        “Thus Tao gets the possibility to act through our bodies in the material world in the most effective way.
        “However, to achieve this, You still need to work hard.”

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