Foreword

        Lao Tse was riding on a donkey. He was not in a hurry. He was riding and listening, and if the words came and formed into complete sentences, He wrote them down.
        Lao Tse had not chosen His way but had left this to God and the donkey. The Boundless Ocean of God surrounded Him and His donkey — and whispered to the sensitive animal where to go.
        The Heart of Lao Tse was filled with the Great Transparent Calm. He listened to this Calm since the Great Silence became filled with the words of Tao and Te* when necessary.
        In this way Lao Tse was learning Wisdom about the meaning of human life and about the laws according to which people can live without destroying the harmony of the terrestrial and the Heavenly, as well as about the steps of the stairway that lead “from the earth — to the Heaven”, that is, to the Divine, to the Primordial.
        He listened about the Great Love, under the Guidance of Which the interaction of yin and yang takes place,  about how Tao loves every being, about how Te nurses and nurtures all souls, about how to cognize Tao and how the person should live who wants to know all this on one’s own experience and achieve the  Supreme Ultimate: the state, in which there is only the Primordial Ocean That creates everything and includes entirely in Itself everyone who reaches It. This Living Ocean of the Subtlest Primordial Consciousness — is Tao.
        Lao Tse wrote down what He heard. Thus the book Tao Te Ching was forming gradually…
        … Long time ago Lao Tse had left His honorary position of an archivist, which used to bring Him the respect of the people and good income. Now He kept a solitary life, which allowed Him to be always with His Teacher — Huang Di.
        Although Lao Tse lived in the material world, He did not look at it, but at the Depths. He looked from the world of matter — into that Depth, from which all the material was manifested: into the world of the Divine Light and Great Transparent Calm.
        There His non-embodied Teacher and Friend  Huang Di was always waiting for Lao Tse.
        Lao Tse saw Huang Di not with the eyes of the body, but with the eyes of the soul — the loving eyes of the developed spiritual heart.
        Only that soul which has become Light-bringing Love and Transparent Calm is able to see Te and the subtlest and infinite Tao and communicate directly with Them.
        Sometimes Lao Tse saw the Face of His Teacher Huang Di. Sometimes He felt the presence of the Divine Master — as Love and Peace, which embraced the soul from outside and permeated everything inside. Sometimes Huang Di appeared as the Transparent Flow of Power rising from the Depths.
        Now They were always together: man with a name Lao Tse and the Representative of the Primordial Tao with a name Huang Di.
        For Lao Tse Huang Di was the closest Friend, the wisest Interlocutor, and the most important Teacher.
        Sometimes images from the past of China rose before Lao Tse, and He perceived Himself as a participant of those ancient events of His life on the Earth when He was a personal disciple of the Great Emperor Huang Di.
        Sometimes the words of the Revelations flowed like a river.
        Yet it also happened that throughout the day Lao Tse managed to write only one sentence. Nevertheless, this sentence gave Him the possibility to dive during several days into the meditations of Mergence with Te and Dissolution in Tao.
        Gradually, Lao Tse got accustomed to living always with Huang Di — in the indissoluble Unity with Him.
        Lao Tse was now looking at the world through the Eyes of Huang Di, assessing people and events — from His position.
        Sometimes They both stayed in silence… Sometimes questions gave way to answers in a living dialogue…
        They were and are always together: the Disciple and the Divine Master.
        … Do you want to know how all this began, continued and ended?

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*  Tao in Chinese is the Primordial Consciousness (the synonyms of this word are the Creator, God-the-Father, Ish-vara, Allah). Te is the Holy Spirit (or Brahman). (See Tao Te Ching, under the editorship of Vladimir Antonov).

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The First Parable:

Let the Ant Pass!

        The archivist of the imperial library called Lao Tse was walking along the road and thinking about what He had read that day. He was completely absorbed and was not looking at the road.
        Suddenly He heard: “Let the ant pass!”
        Lao Tse looked down — and saw that His foot was over a little ant hurrying to an anthill. He gently stepped over the insect and looked back to see who had spoken with Him. But… there was no one around!
        “Is there someone here?”
        “Yes!” — the Invisible One said.
        “Who are You?”
        “Your Teacher!”
        “Are You the Immortal Who has cognized Tao?”
        “Yes!”
        “Why can’t I see You?”
        “Because You are looking around only with the eyes of Your body and even forget to look under Your feet!”
        “So how can I see You?”
        “You need to look with the eyes of the heart: the spiritual heart!”
        “But how?”
        “Don´t hurry! Let’s start from the beginning. We were talking about the ant…”
        “Does it matter?”
        “Yes! Everything has its meaning and purpose! The life of every ant, worm, bird, and plant is not a “pointless accident”. They — just like You — are here according to the Will of Tao! Their lives also contribute to the development of the universe! And the one who hasn’t learned to respect lives of all incarnate creatures — won’t be able to take the next step in cognition of Tao.
        “Many people on the Earth now have become insane, so to speak! Heartlessness predominates in the world: they kill animals, devastate bird nests, and catch all the fish from the lakes, rivers, and seas — to eat their flesh! They destroy trees, cutting and burning them without necessity! Senseless destruction of innocent creatures leads to the transformation of cruelty — into the ‘norm’! People have begun to consider those things that are harmful for them — as “useful”! And what is really useful ’doesn’t make any sense’ for them…
        “Thus the Truth and the memory about Harmony, laid by Tao in the Law of Existence and Development of everything, are lost! Such behavior of people is contrary to their real interests, but they don’t know about this!…
        “Yet people can correct their lives, following the principles of Love and Harmony!
        “You, if You want to, can help them to get to know about the Law of Tao: about the principles according to which people should live in the universe. Anyone who knows this Law may find peace, joy, and harmony in life.
        “Why did You choose me?”
        “A lot of things from Your past life on the Earth connects us! Later on, I’ll remind You about the most important of them.
        “The one who has already passed the entire Path can easily remember everything! You will need little time and effort for this!”
        “Why was I born here again? Why don’t I remember the steps of the Path?”
        “You have come into this incarnation with a special purpose. You have the Mission: You will help a large number of people to learn about the meaning of their lives and about how to live in a correct way! You and I will write a book about Tao and Te! Do You agree?”
        “How can I say ’no’ to God?!”
        “Quite easily! A lot of people do this, turning their eyes from the Heavenly. They look only at the benefits from the material life and thus become prisoners of material things…
        “So, do You agree to help Me?”
        “Yes! With great joy!”
        “I’ll take You at Your word since it won’t be easy!”
        “Let me see You! Tell me Your name!”
        “My name is Huang Di. I am — forever — Your Teacher! And I had been Your Teacher for many centuries when You lived near Me incarnated in a body and learned from Me!
        “And now I am ready again to be with You as long as You want it, even until the last breath of Your body!
        “Together We can do a lot of useful things on the Earth! You will write a book — and My ancient Teachings will be heard again among the people of China! Your words, like arrows from the Abode of the Secret Knowledge, will be hitting destined targets for thousands of years!
        “This doesn’t mean that the emperors and generals will begin to follow Our advice immediately. This doesn’t mean that the peasants, the officials, and the traders will change quickly their lives in accordance with the wise principles. But, nevertheless, those who will hear and understand — will get the possibility to find the Path of cognizing the Greatness of Tao — and walk this Path till the end!”
        … Lao Tse was listening to Huang Di and was being born anew, so to say! That love which connects the Teacher with His disciple flooded His heart with Peace and Bliss. He saw the soft iridescent Light that, shining like the sun’s rays in the purest transparency of water, — took a shape of the Great Teacher Huang Di.
        Lao Tse wanted to rush to the feet of the Master, but His ability to see Huang Di… left Him as suddenly as it appeared…
        “Do not worry! it’s enough for today! We’ll continue tomorrow. Now take a rest…”

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The Second Parable:

Build the Heavenly Palace in

 Your Spiritual Heart!

        Lao Tse was walking down the path slowly.
        Invisible for strangers, His Teacher Huang Di was near Him all the time.
        None of the casual passers-by could hear Their conversation.
        And no one who observed Them could note anything unusual.
        Lao Tse gradually was recovering His ability to see and hear His Master.
        “How do You come here from the Abode of Tao?” — asked Lao Tse.
        “This is easy!” — Huang Di laughed in response. — “This is much easier than to come in the Abode of Tao!”
        Huang Di continued with a smile:
        “Love unites so firmly that even the death of a body cannot break this union! All that we love — is securely stored in the memory of the soul!
        “I remember You! And now You try to remember about the life with Me in Your past incarnation. Try to remember the Universal Home where All Those Who have cognized Tao obtain the Oneness!
        “Anyone who at least once has entered into this Mergence in the Abode of All the Perfects retains this skill forever. And one day this memory will awaken the soul and call it again to stand on the Path leading to the Mergence with Tao and to the consolidation of this Mergence! Just as a river rushes to the sea, so such a soul, after being born again in the material world and matured there, rushes to the Boundless of Tao! These souls are looking for the Oneness, in which they find their Ultimate Happiness! And if we took all the pleasures of the material world and put them on a scale, they wouldn’t be able to match with this Greatest Happiness!
        “The wise choose the Jewel of the Mergence with Tao! The wise prefers this Happiness to all the pleasures of the material world!”
        “Could You recreate Your body — so I could embrace You?” — Lao Tse asked.
        “I can do everything! But for You it will be better to embrace Me without Our bodies.
        Do this by the arms of the consciousness, of the soul! I’m not going to indulge You with the ‘miracles for the babies’! Soon You will recall everything, and the events that You now perceive as miracles will be Your usual knowledge and style of life.
        “Meanwhile embrace Me tightly, My beloved!”
        … Great Huang Di, in His Transparent Appearance, stretched out His Arms to embrace Lao Tse.
        … Keenness of this touch of the Souls was much stronger than similar embraces with embodied people…
        Now the Teacher and His Disciple merged as Souls.
        Anyone who has experienced this — understands the importance of such an event.
        And those who have not experienced it yet — can do this some day…
        … Huang Di continued His lesson:
        “Now recall what you should do to stay firmly in the Heavenly Palace, which You should create in Your middle dantyan. There — You can always see and feel Me!
        “Always remember that the innumerable multitude of the material objects and the sequences of the events are just the outward manifestations of life. A human mind wanders from one external object or event to another. It looks at the past or dreams about the future… Still it’s possible to subdue the mind and to teach it to be in calm! For this, one needs to switch one’s attention from the external to the internal…
        “This is possible when the mind is immersed in the middle dantyan, or, which is the same structure, in the chakra anahata.
        “Then in that chakra, one can clear the space and create the Heavenly Palace of the soul. Only after this the Infinite Divine Consciousness called Tao can live there by the Part of Itself.
        “In other words, the Heavenly Palace for Tao should be built in the vast depths of the human developed spiritual heart!
        “And then one also can live in the inner chambers of this Palace — without grieving because of misfortunes and without rejoicing because of successes, but knowing the Base of everything — Tao!
        “If You invite Me to this home, then I come there from My Home — the Abode of Tao. And I’ll come to You again and again until You yourself can come to My Home and settle in it forever! This is the Infinite Divine Home of all Te! There — all They are One, and this Unity is called Tao!
        “So Your spiritual heart can become a home for Te, Tao, and You yourself!”
        … Now Lao Tse began to submerge Himself in His spiritual heart consciously, and not spontaneously, as it had happened before during His contacts with Huang Di, when the emotions overfilled Him and the entire soul turned into love.
        Yet at that moment, this area in His chest was not large and transparent enough…
        Huang Di continued:
        “Feel the arms of the soul, that is, the arms of the spiritual heart, which are consubstantial with it. You can use these arms to clean this space so that You can invite Me!
        “You haven’t cleaned here for a long time. That is why, the inner chambers of the soul became like a house in which no one have lived for long time…”
        … Huang Di left His disciple for a while, and Lao Tse began cleaning His inner chambers.
        Soon they became like a crystal glass room shining like a diamond in the light!
        “You worked well to be able to invite Me!” — Huang Di said manifesting Himself once again.
        Then He continued:
        “At the beginning, the spiritual heart may occupy little space. But the one who strives to merge with Tao should deepen it and then expand it again and again, trying to make it as infinite as Tao!
        “Expand Your Heavenly Palace by the arms of the consciousness so that it can be decent to invite Me in it and You can contain as much of Me as possible!”
        … Lao Tse pushed the transparent wall of His Heavenly Palace by His arms of the consciousness, and, oh wonder! — it yielded and moved easily towards the infinity… He did the same with all other walls, then with the floor, and then with the ceiling… He repeated this again and again, and soon the Freedom, the Expanse, the Light, and the Bliss were all around!…
        “Now, this is truly the Heavenly Palace! — Huang Di said with approval. — “You’ve done it in a very short time, but You shouldn’t forget that for Your students it will be much more difficult. Some of them will need months for this work, if not years. Now I just have helped You to recall what You knew in Your former life on the Earth. That is why, it was possible to do all this so quickly and easily.”
        “What should I do now? How should I live?”
        “You should live with Me, recalling and studying further the Great Path!”
        “And right now — where should I go?”
        “Now — turn to the left. There You will buy for yourself a white donkey. Then You should gather writing instruments and set out on a journey. We have a lot of work to do!”
        And in fact, having turned to the left, Lao Tse found a road leading to a market. He reached it and found Himself in the midst of bustle and hubbub of that place. But, surprisingly, all this did not disturb the peace that reigned in the Heavenly Palace of Lao Tse.
        Feeling the presence of Huang Di, He was walking among people who were bargaining.
        Soon He saw a man selling a donkey, but Huang Di said:
        “Not this one! Keep going!”
        … Lao Tse wondered at His new feelings: He spoke with the Immortal so easily as with an incarnate person! And He perceived the presence and the words of Huang Di even more clearly than the noise of the market!…
        Finally, They found a cute white donkey.
        Lao Tse began bargaining with a seller… and lost the sensation of the presence of Huang Di…
        At last, the donkey was bought.
        “You overpaid! The former owner was cruel to this kind animal and didn’t deserve such a payment!” — Lao Tse heard suddenly. — “Well, for the first one of our concerted actions, it is not bad…”
        … Being guided by Huang Di, Lao Tse quickly finished all His affairs and disposed of His property. Then He gathered writing instruments and some food for the road.

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The Third Parable:

Listen to the Revelations of the

 Great Silence!

        Lao Tse was sitting motionless, leaning His back against a tree. Birds sat close to Him without fear and were pecking at rice from His dish. The white donkey was nibbling the lush grass nearby…
        Lao Tse was sitting and listening to the Great Silence.
        Sometimes this Silence became filled with the words of Huang Di.
        He talked about Tao, difficult to comprehend for people immersed in worldly concerns:
        “They do not know that everything here is created according to the Will of Tao and exists for It.
        “If you talk with these people about Tao, they don’t believe you, because they believe only in what they see by their eyes and touch by their hands. But their eyes can’t see Tao yet, and their hands can’t touch It, since the eyes of the soul have to be open and the arms of the spiritual heart have to be obtained in order to see and touch Tao!
        “Only if one is looking for the meaning of one’s own and universal existence — then Tao and Te reveal Themselves to this person. Such a soul then starts walking the Path, and, gradually, — as it makes spiritual efforts — the Great Invisible becomes visible, the Great Imperceptible becomes perceptible, the inaudible words become audible, and the Great Knowledge opens itself for understanding!
        “The Appearances of the Immortals become evident only for the developed spiritual heart!
        “There is a lot of different roads in a human lifetime. But only one leads to the worthy end of the evolution of the individual soul. This is the Path of cognition of Tao with the purpose of submerging into It, merging with It, and then acting from It!”
        “Why haven’t I been able to recall anything for such a long time? I’ve been searching! I’ve been looking for the purpose of My life and of the lives of all other creatures… I’ve been looking for the causes of the injustices and evils that happen to people… I’ve been looking for that which, as it seemed to Me, could bring wisdom and peace and fill the internal emptiness with the boundless joy… But I haven’t succeeded, although I kept believing that there was the meaning for Me to live here…”
        “It was necessary for You since it helped you to learn to understand other people that live only in the midst of the material things and endless bustle of events and desires. Even if some of these people want to find a way out, they don’t know where and how to search it. Having experienced their problems in Your own life, You can now help those who are searching the way to Me.”
        “Yes, I’ve been looking for You all my life! I reread so many treatises, but haven’t found that one which would give me the opportunity to find You!”
        “The spiritual Path starts in the spiritual heart of a seeker. Love, which is born there, stimulates the spiritual search and growth and allows seeing and choosing in life the reference points of Goodness, Wisdom, and Truth!
        “I come to those who are searching and walking!
        “I help those who aspire for the ethical purity!
        “Man should avoid causing harm not only to an ant walking its way. Killing animals to eat their bodies is also causing harm. Surely, for man there is a lot of other — really beneficial — food! For example, growing and harvesting fruits and seeds, intended for nourishment, man doesn’t violate the harmony, doesn’t hurt anybody, and doesn’t sow death!…
        “If someone kills animals or at least contributes to this, that person becomes similar to a wild predatory beast. Yet what is normal to the inner nature of a predator — is inappropriate for man! Human consciousnesses that live in this way descends to the lower stages of the Evolution, since they can’t perceive the subtlety and purity of Tao and Te!
        “A large number of people honor their ancestors, but more simply constructed beings were also their ancestors. Each man grew — as a soul — in the bodies of plants and animals once! And it would be good for people to honor all positive manifestations of life, taking care of them and avoiding causing them unnecessary harm! Let this be the respect for ants, fish, birds, and all other peaceful incarnate beings!
        “It was Tao That gave all them the opportunity to live on the Earth — for the sake of the development of the soul and the Evolution!
        “The meaning of existence of everything in the Under-Heavenly World consists in that each soul gets an opportunity to grow and to perfect itself during an incarnate life. Having achieved the Perfection, such a human soul merges with Tao enriching It by itself. Therefore, Tao is directly interested in the situation when nothing hinders the development of every soul.
        “Man claiming to be the successfully growing on the spiritual Path has to be guided by the kindness of the heart and choose for one’s life only those things that are right from the standpoint of Tao!
        “In particular, this permits a person, following the principles of pure nutrition, to strengthen both the body and the soul, obtaining the clarity of the consciousness unobscured by coarse energies of pain and death!
        “If that person sees wrong in other people, let he or she avoids interaction with them!
        “Thus the purity of life, peace, and harmony in emotions are gained.
        “There is a very simple rule for living in harmony with Tao: do good to others! And then the good in you and in the whole world will grow!
        “In this way, gradually, the Treasure that doesn’t disappear with the death of the body accumulates in such a person.
        “In this way, the soul gets accustomed to living in love.
        “And in this way, the peace is multiplied among people.
        “Those who accumulate good qualities — accumulate the real Wealth!
        “Those who do evil — destroy the supports of the ladder which could help them to ascend ‘from the earth to the Heaven’!
        “Yet the ethical perfection of a soul can’t be achieved immediately.
        “To abstain from the evil and contribute to the good is the simplest beginning, appropriate for every person. It is easy to learn: don’t fan the fires of quarrel, forget offences, forgive, take care of others, doing the best you can for them…
        “The ethical beauty makes a person valuable for Tao and pleasant for other people!”
        “Huang Di! What You saying is really important!”
        “Yes. And You will write a book about this!”
        “How? I never wrote any books, I only kept the manuscripts of others!”
        “I will help You! I will suggest to You ideas and formulate phrases! And You just don’t forget to listen to Me and write down the most important!
        “You yourself should never insist that people follow My advice. Let everyone, having heard the truth, follow only one’s own understanding!
        “You can’t prevent errors of the fools! You can’t stop the pride of the arrogant people! You can’t replace the knowledge of the idlers and loafers, who only speculate about the Path!…
        “Only the reasonable people, having cognized the Truth, want to follow it! But even among them — You will not find many companions…
        “Nevertheless, Your book about Tao and Te will be the source of wisdom for thousands of years! And everyone who is ready will be able to hear My instructions — as You hear them now! This is Your great service for Tao!

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The Fourth Parable:

Look over the Horizon!

        Lao Tse continued His way.
        That day He got up before the dawn and sat comfortably on the back of His good white donkey. His big-eared friend rested well all night and now was trotting merrily alone the path.
        Soon they came to a beautiful place. It was the top of the gently sloping hill similar to a huge turtle shell.
        Magnificent expanses opened in front of them!
        The sunrise was visible from that place!
        Lao Tse stopped to admire the beauty of the sunrise and got off His donkey.
        The sun was rising slowly lighting up the misty remoteness with its gentle light…
        Huang Di said:
        “Yes, many thousands of years ago, people saw the sunrise like You now…
        “But today I suggest You to start a new life with Me! To do this, You should know Me better!
        “Be attentive to what I will offer You to do and feel Me all the time! Let Your arms of the spiritual heart embrace Your Teacher constantly! And the Teacher opens for a worthy disciple the passage into the worlds of the Transparent Calm and of non-material Fire-like Divine Light. This Light is similar in color to the light and tenderness of the morning sun that You are contemplating now.”

* * *

        “Look, there, in a distance, where the sky touches the earth, there is the line visible for the eyes but non-existent in reality. This is the horizon. You can try to approach it with Your material body, but in this way You will never get to the ‘end of the Earth’.
        “However, this line can open for a worthy soul the passage into the worlds of Light — into those spaces where Te abides.
        “If You look by the soul, formed of the spiritual heart, beyond the horizon of the material world — to that place from which the sun rises, this will open a passage into non-material world of subtlety and Light! This is the Divine Light!”
        Lao Tse perceived himself as a soul free from “clothes” of the material body and found himself in that place where the Light is born! This Light rises as if from “the abyss behind the flat Earth”. In that “abyss”, in the depth, there is the Infinity of the Divine Light similar to a giant boundless Sun…
        “What should I do now?”
        “Jump into this Light!”
        … The Infinite Light embraced Lao Tse… He submerged deeper and deeper in It — with the help of huge arms of the great soul… He became this Light — and looked from It, being It, to the direction where His material body was standing at the boundary between the world of matter — and the worlds of Te…
        … Lao Tse made an effort and looked again through the eyes of His material body. He didn’t see the abyss… Only the rising sun was caressing and warming Him…
        … Then He returned to the state of the meditation given by Huang Di. The shining Infinity appeared before Him. Having immersed in It and become It, He himself now could be the Source of the Living Divine Fire-like Light of Love!
        … Trying not to lose this state, Lao Tse continued His way.

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The Fifth Parable:

Huang Di — the Great Emperor of the

 Under-Heavenly World

        The donkey was trotting forward slowly.
        Sometimes it stopped to refresh itself with another portion of grass. Then Lao Tse got off and let it graze.
        Lao Tse strove to cognize all that Huang Di opened for Him as rapidly as possible.
        He often asked Huang Di about His past incarnations, about those lessons of discipleship…
        And that day, when they again made a halt, Huang Di allowed Lao Tse to see pictures of that distant past in which Lao Tse was one of the disciples of the incarnate Great Emperor of China.

* * *

        … The procession was moving slowly and solemnly. The Emperor Huang Di, sitting still in a ceremonial dress on an eminence, contemplated it. Masses of people were passing by like a river. The solemn procession seemed to be endless.
        “An incarnate God has come to people! How can He bear such endless ceremonies? Will I be really admitted to a personal meeting?” — Lao Tse recalled those events as clearly as if they were happening to Him again at that moment.
        The ceremony ended. The guards led a few invited people into the inner chambers of the palace of Huang Di.
        Only many years of meditative practice allowed Lao Tse to overcome the agitation and enter the room calmly… Several students were already there.
        Huang Di tenderly looked at the newcomer. He seemed to be different: not that deity from the festive ceremony. Although the Divine Greatness and Calm were like transparent Ocean around His body, He was also just a wise and kind Man.
        Huang Di said:
        “I am glad to greet you all here! The fact that you were invited indicates Your substantial progress on the Path of cognition of Tao.
        “I hope that they didn’t forget to accommodate you and feed you in the bustle of the festivity?”
        … It was quite surprising to observe how His Universal Greatness combined with an understanding of the common human needs of His students.
        … Very soon new disciples of Huang Di got accustomed to His corporal appearance and to the living presence of God in a human body. His presence near them was no longer a heavenly miracle that caused stupefaction because of piety… They could ask questions and listen to His answers, and they did not lose their power of speech when the Divine Ruler of the Under-Heavenly World addressed anyone of them personally.
        … During teaching, sometimes He invited them to the room for conversations. Other times He carried all of them together with their bodies — by His Power — to other places of China: to the mountains, valleys, or to the ocean shore; and then His lessons took place there.
        … Now Lao Tse saw himself among the disciples of Huang Di. They were in the room for conversations and were listening to the words of the Great Master.
        Huang Di was sitting next to them like an equal among equals and spoke. It was as if there was no distance between the Immortal Master and His disciples. By this He also helped them to ascend to the heights of His Divine Consciousness.
        The Ocean of the Living Light of Huang Di was above and below in relation to our planet… And His Boundlessness spread throughout the whole Under-Heavenly World! Yet He was also in His body — by a Part of Himself. He was sitting with His disciples in one room and explained to them the fundamentals of the Path. The Great Soul, Which permeated all things with Its Living Light, was joined to a human appearance!
        As soon as any of the disciples opened the gates to his or her spiritual heart — the Heavenly Palace of that disciple became filled with the Love of Huang Di!
        Here He was — the Divine Emperor of the whole Under-Heavenly World and the Emperor of their lives!
        His eyes were calm. And when He smiled — His Bliss embraced them all.
        “Whenever you lift your eyes to the sky, remember: the Heavens exist around all the Earth and within it. I fill them!
        “I embrace everything with My Heart!
        “Such is My Omnipresence!
        “No matter from where you call Me — I immediately will come at your call!
        “I am above everything and under everything!
        “I am not unique! There are other Greatest Souls! Yet it is always easier to call that Friend Whom you know well!
        “Now you may ask questions — and I’ll answer to you.”
        One of the disciples asked:
        “Why do almost all people live their lives as if Tao and Te don’t exist?”
        “The Appearances of Te are not visible for one with an ordinary sight! Only loving, gentle, refined and great spiritual heart gains the ability to see Them!
        ”A body that carries inside it a little soul is easily overcome by diseases and other afflictions.
        “Those who do not feel joy and Light but look only at their problems and sorrows, seeing only darkness, are also unstable in their lives.
        “People should study and practice the ways of the purification of souls and bodies! Only then joy will come into their lives!
        “The art of living and growing by soul — stable in the subtle and tender love — becomes the great support in life! A person who lives like this — soon will be able to see Immortal Te and rely on Their Guidance on the Path of the cognition of Them and Tao!
        “Such people blossom by the souls and obtain for themselves the unshakeable Base of all things — Tao!”
        … Huang Di looked at another disciple, and that disciple asked:
        “How should we help people? I ask this because only very few of them want to hear a wise advice! And even those who have heard it usually object and don’t do those things that could benefit them!”
        “Those who are weak and irresolute, those who haven’t matured on the material roads, and those who seek only self-assertion and are obsessed by the passion for the worldly — should be left to their fates. Don’t try to help them to reach those peaks which are unaffordable for them!
        “At first, every person develops slowly. People experience what they wish and need to experience. Through this, they obtain — life after life — a large amount of different experience: sweetness of success, bliss of happiness, bitterness of defeat, sadness of disappointment… And only afterwards, the time comes when nothing attracts them inside the world of the things, nothing can evoke in them a desire to possess something else material.
        “Then such people start seeking the meaning of their existence and turn their eyes of the soul to Tao! In that case, Te brings them to the road of knowledge.
        “Not all people need the Truth about Tao since not all of them can withstand it right now! A soul has to grow in its personal evolution up to the stage when the passion to cognize Tao rises in it! Yet it’s impossible to teach this!
        “You should learn to see and find those who really need the Path.”
        … Another student asked:
        “As for the worldly riches, I want to know if one should renounce them and if the material wealth is an obstacle on the Path.”
        “As long as worldly wealth doesn’t ‘bind’ a soul — it can be useful. But how many of those who, owning gold and silver, palaces and lands, jade and jasper, are free of those material objects?
        “On the other hand, a poor man is also not free from the worldly. The poverty fetters one’s personal development even more, since a poor man is constantly concerned about what to eat and where to get money for living. This ‘attachment’ to the worldly causes even more harm to this person than the excessive possession of the worldly things!
        “To be truly free from the worldly, a poor man has to acquire it first…
        “Moreover, those who never obtained anything important of the worldly things haven’t learned to deal with the worldly property… That is why, there is little hope that they will be able to accumulate the spiritual treasures and use them properly! They, among other things, won’t be able to give the sacred treasures, which they would obtain, — to Tao, Who sent them to the Earth for their education!
        “That is why, souls don’t come to the Earth only once. Incarnating many times, they should learn a lot both in the material world and in the worlds of the Divine subtlety.
        “Among other things, they should cognize love in all its manifestations. The one who is skillful in the worldly love can become skillful in the ‘heavenly’ love. But the one who is not skillful in the worldly love will not be able to comprehend and manifest the power of the transforming spiritual love!
        “For this reason, people first learn to love in small things, where joy alternates with sadness.
        “Yet the one who really has cognized and realized in oneself the Divine Love cannot be upset by anything! After all, that person acts according to the Will of Tao!
        “… As for those who are not ready yet for the Great Path — they can serve Tao with their deeds. It will make their lives even better now, and their future destinies — excellent! Serving in this way, they plant good seeds in their destinies: the good done now — will produce fruits for them in their future lives on the Earth.
        “The destinies of those who serve Tao in every possible way are pure and beautiful!”

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The Sixth Parable:

Find the Treasure!

        One day, riding on His donkey, Lao Tse saw people digging diligently under the ancient walls.
        “What are you looking for?” — Lao Tse asked them.
        “If you are a sage who can see through all things, then tell us where the treasure is buried here?”
        “Is it worth spending so much effort on a treasure hunt? Gold and other jewellery will not make you better or happier! If you dug up the ground and planted some seeds — the land would reward you with the harvest for your hard work. You would be well fed and happy and be able to live in peace. Why do you want to obtain that which you haven’t created?”
        “We don’t need your teachings! If you can’t see through the stones, then don’t play wise and go away!” — the treasure seekers became outraged.
        … Lao Tse realized that these people did not need His words and went His way.
        However, He recalled that once He read about the great Treasure that must be found by a person who seeks Tao.
        “Huang Di, tell me about the Treasure mentioned in the ancient tales. They say it has to be found on the Path of cognition of Tao. They also say it is like a spring that lifts the mortal to the cognition of the Immortality.”
        “You’ve asked a good question! It’s just the right time for it,” — Huang Di replied.
        Lao Tse dismounted from His donkey and wanted to start writing down the words of Huang Di, but Huang Di stopped Him:
        “Don’t write about this Treasure now. Just hear Me out.
        “The time has come for You to know this. It will also come — when it should — for every seeker of Tao. And then they will hear My words and see the priceless sacred depository of the energy of consciousness that they accumulated during many lives in many bodies…
        “Every person, living in the world, begins to collect — incarnation after incarnation — precious particles that make up this Treasure gradually.
        “Loving unselfishly and tenderly, souls grow as the spiritual hearts, preparing themselves for the life in paradise. Giving the bliss to others and admiring the beauty — they become subtle, approaching gradually the Abode of Tao. Thus the consciousnesses grow, enriching themselves with the best, the subtlest components.
        “And to prevent squandering this real wealth of the soul on worldly affairs only, some of this energy is saved for the future — for the activities on the Path to Tao.
        “A lot of people have this Treasure, but only few of them know about it.
        “Some people have more of it, others — less…
        “If a treasure is buried under a house, but the owner of this house doesn’t know about it — that owner can’t get any benefit from that treasure. In the same way, if a person doesn’t know about the real Treasure, he or she can’t get any benefit from it!
        “And there is no point in trying to find this Treasure in order to use it in the material world.
        “Only the one who knows the essence of this Treasure and is able to use it for the real spiritual progress can be its owner.
        “People don’t need much in the entire material world, but they don’t know about this. They are looking for a lot of things, but of little significance, whereas the great Treasure is near them! This Treasure gives the worthy one the power on the Path. In India, yogis know it as Kundalini.
        “But if people who are unworthy because of their negative qualities of the soul try to use this ‘spring’ of the great power of this Treasure to dominate others, then this force will throw them to the foot of the stairs leading to the Heavenly… Their existence will become miserable, and their destinies — sad… They will fritter away their lives and have to begin accumulating this Treasure again…”
        “Do I understand right that a person who has found this Treasure can’t return to a usual worldly life?”
        “If a good person chooses a worldly life and wants to return to the external — Te will never stop him or her. Everyone is free in one’s choice…
        “Nevertheless, it is impossible to take into a material life those values that were intended for the Path to Tao. In that case, they will disappear, become elusive, so to say. This is similar to the situation with gold and pearls, jade and jasper, which can’t be brought into the worlds of Tao and Te! There — different ‘gold’ shines!
        “The Treasure lost by a person because of the wrong choice is saved for him or her in the Absolute. And then that person will be able to find it again in the next incarnations.
        “When the soul is ready, I give it this Treasure. And all Te are always glad about the successes of everyone on the spiritual Path!”
        … Huang Di continued His explanation, directing the attention of Lao Tse to the subtle worlds:
        “Look, here is Your Treasure! All Your anterior subtle states of the consciousness — drop by drop — have created this sea of diamond light, stored in a special huge container that extends in the depths of the multidimensionality. Now unite yourself with this Divine part of You!”
        In the depths under His body, Lao Tse saw with His vision of the soul a huge reservoir filled with radiance, looking like some diamonds sparkling in the sunlight. He touched this Treasure with the arms of consciousness — and the bliss overfilled His body… He perceived that the diamond radiance was turning into the flow of radiant and transparent Heavenly Bliss and uniting with the embodied part of the soul…
        Huang Di recommended:
        “Now make a comfortable place where you could lie down and let this Heavenly Bliss pass through all parts of your body. Whenever You connect with the Divine part of yourself, You will be able to use all the power and all the skills of the soul that has been accumulated by You during many lives, during all the time of learning from Me!”
        Lao Tse spread a mat and lay down comfortably.
        As soon as He placed His arm of consciousness into the container with the Treasure, the flow of Bliss again filled His body up to the top of His head and poured from there… It was as if His body had become a transparent hollow vessel, and the diamond shining stream was flowing through it like a spring river that has broken the ice…
        For several days, Lao Tse lived in this Blissful Mergence interrupted only briefly.
        Now He could feel himself like the Great Te, becoming a huge consciousness consisting of Light. This consciousness could take the form of a human body and had a face and arms. Thus He could stand above the land, touch and cleanse His material body with the arms of the soul…
        It seemed to Him that He achieved the fullness of the Divinity and that nothing would ever shake this state!
        It seemed to Him that He cognized everything, that the Perfection was attained and that the Supreme Ultimate was reached!
        Huang Di did not “open His eyes” since His Disciple really was in the state similar to that of the Great Te. Yet… Huang Di knew that this state of Lao Tse was only a small separate “drop” of the Great Ocean of the Divine Consciousness — “drop” with name Lao Tse.
        To merge himself totally with the Ocean of Tao, Lao Tse still needed to keep working hard.

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