The Three Laughing Monks

In China, there is the legend of the three laughing monks. They are also today sometimes referred to as the three laughing saints (but of course in a very SBNR way). The monks only ever did one thing: on entering a new village, they would stand in the market place and start laughing. They would laugh with their whole being (mind, body, heart, and soul) and suddenly people would wake up to the Life and Kingdom of God that surrounded them. A crowd would soon gather and everyone would start laughing because of these three crazy monks. Eventually, the whole town would get involved and be alive to joy. Then the monks would shimmy on to another town.

The three laughing monks were loved and admired very much. For their only sermon, their only message; was laughter. They never taught; they would simply create a situation. As the years passed, the laughing monks’ fame grew and grew. All of China loved and respected them. Nobody had ever preached the way they did: with laughter and nothing else. Yet they also remained an enigma. For they never laughed at anyone in particular, but rather as if they had understood a great cosmic joke. The three laughing monks spread joy all over China without using a single word.

After living long lives together, one of the three laughing monks died. When this happened, the whole village in which they were staying wondered what would happen next. They thought that when the monk had died, the other two would surely weep. The whole village gathered expecting to see this unusual sight. But instead of crying, the two remaining monks stood beside the corpse of the third laughing a great belly laugh. The villagers asked, “How can you be laughing at a time like this?”

So for the very first time, the two monks spoke and said, “We are laughing because our brother has won. We always wondered who would die first and he has defeated us. We are laughing at his victory and our defeat. He lived with us for many years and we laughed together and we enjoyed each other’s company. There is no better way of giving him a last send off. We can only laugh.

Nevertheless, the whole village remained sad. But then when the dead monk’s body was place on the funeral pyre, the whole village realized that the two monks were not the only ones who were joking, the dead monk was also laughing! At that time, the custom was to change the clothes of the deceased and bathe the body. But the dead monk said to his companions, “Don’t give me a bath because I have never been unclean. So much laughter has been in my life that no impurity can accumulate, can come to me. I have not gathered any dust. Laughter is always young and fresh.”

So just to respect his wishes, the two monks did not change their brother’s clothes. Then when the body was put on the fire, suddenly they became aware that he had hidden some Chinese fire-works under his clothes and had started going off. The whole village began laughing and the other two monks said: “You bastard, you’re dead, but you have defeated us once again. Your laughter is the last.”

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And The Moon Rose Over An Open Field…

And the moon rose over an open field… So it goes in Simon & Garfunkel’s classic song “America”. These 8 simple words are perhaps the most eloquent turn of phrase in all popular music–and a lyric that should serve as a strong metaphor for Progressive Christians and all those who seek the pathway to God.

When the moon is close the horizon, hovering just above the open fields or cityscapes, it appears incredibly large, as though we could almost touch it. Yet as it rises in the sky it becomes smaller and feels beyond our grasp. It all comes down to a matter of perspective. When the moon is closer to the horizon and our world, we can better perceive its grandeur. But when it is above our heads, there is nothing to relate it to except the tiny distant stars and planets. The moon becomes just another heavenly body beyond our reach.

The same can be said of our relationship with God, the Father. The further away that we place him in a heavenly mansion in the sky, the less tangible and real he feels. But when we begin to see God and the Holy Spirit working today (in the living hour) all around us–in friends and strangers, neighbors and family, and in every living thing of this green Earth, the larger and more magnificent he becomes. This, of course, is why Jesus of Nazareth tells us the Kingdom of God is “at hand”¹ not in the heavens above.

Although he doesn’t realize it, Paul Simon’s traveler ultimately finds “America” while laughing on the bus, playing games with the faces, his traveling partner imagining the man in the gabardine suit was a spy. We are to find God the same way.

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To read about Saadi, Barack Obama, the Gulistan, and Islam, please go to: For the Sake of God.

1. After John had been committed to prison, Jesus went to Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom of God: “The time has come, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent, and believe the gospel.” Mark 1:14-16 [↩]

Death & The Tao

Spiritual Progressives who have studied some Eastern philosophy are no doubt familiar with Lao Tzu, whose book the Tao Te Ching (The Way of Nature & Its Power) established the religion of Taoism. Not so many though are familiar with the second great teacher of Taoism, Chuang Tzu, who more than anyone preserved Taoism from the encroachments of Confucianism. One of the most memorable stories about Chuang Tzu surrounds the death of his wife, and now follows.

After Chuang Tzu’s wife died, his friend Hui Tzu went to his house to console him. When he got there, he found Chuang Tzu sitting on the ground, banging on a drum, and singing joyfully.

“This is too much!” exclaimed Hui Tzu. “To live with your wife and raise a son together, then not shed a tear after you’ve buried her in the ground, that would be bad enough, but to drum and sing! Surely, this is going too far!”

“Not at all,” replied Chuang Tzu. “When she died, I could not help being saddened by her death. But soon I remembered that she already existed as a spirit without substance or form. Substance was later added to that spirit, and her next stage was birth, after which she grew to become the person that I knew and loved. Now, by virtue of another change, she is dead, passing from one phase to another as spring turns to summer, fall, and then winter. Since she has passed into the next phase of life, for me to go about weeping and wailing would show that I am ignorant of the way of nature. Therefore, I refrain.”

Jesus of Nazareth took a similar view towards death, as is shown in the Gospel of Luke:

Jesus said: “Follow me.” “Let me first go and bury my father,” said the man. But Jesus said: “Leave the dead to bury their dead; but go yourself and carry far and wide the gospel of the kingdom of God.” (Luke 9:59-60)

By living joyfully after his wife’s death, Chuang Tzu was carrying the gospel of Christ, and honoring both his wife and God.

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The Evolution of God: Robert Wright’s Salon.com Interview

In today’s online issue of Salon.com there is an interesting interview with Robert Wright, a well-known American journalist. Wright is the author of a new book “The Evolution of God,” which approaches its subject from the logical standpoint that, more often than not, we have created our Gods to match our own evolving self-image and needs. Wright refers to himself as a materialist in that he thinks that the answers to religious questions, including the evolution of God, lie in the facts on the ground.

All good so far. But a problem arises in how Wright discerns what is fact, and what he chooses to include and not include in forming his opinions.

For example, when it comes to Jesus and what kind of person he was, Wright argues that Jesus probably wasn’t the great prophet of peace and love that we all think:

The fact is, the Sermon on the Mount, which is a beautiful thing, does not appear in Mark, which was the first written gospel. And these views are not attributed to Jesus in the letters of Paul, which are the earliest post-crucifixion documents we have. You see Paul develop a doctrine of universal love, but he’s not, by and large, attributing this stuff to Jesus. So, too, with “love your enemies.” Paul says something like love your enemies, but he doesn’t say Jesus said it. It’s only in later gospels that this stuff gets attributed to Jesus. This will seem dispiriting to some people to hear that Jesus wasn’t the great guy we thought he was. But to me, it’s actually more inspiring to think that the doctrines of transnational, trans-ethnic love were products of a multinational, imperial platform.

Wright then goes on to tell the ugly story where Jesus initially refuses to heal the daughter of woman not from Israel, basically telling her that we don’t serve dogs here. Wright ultimately feels that Jesus was a typical messianic Jewish preacher who thought God was going to come down to Earth and straighten things out.

So, where to start? Well the doctrine of universal love was not left out of the Gospel of Mark. In Mark, Jesus says that whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother (3:35); he criticizes John for trying to stop someone from doing the work of God simply because the guy wasn’t one of their followers (9:38-40); and he states that loving our neighbor as ourselves is the second greatest commandment (12:30). That Jesus was a prophet without borders is clearly demonstrated when he laments, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own relations, and in his own home.” (6:4).

The anecdote where Jesus compares a mother and daughter to a dog appears as a distinct anomaly when viewed within the context of Mark’s entire Gospel, which is why its authenticity must be questioned. Considering the strong racist attitudes that Jesus had to overcome among his followers and how notoriously slow to learn they were (6:52, 8:17), it seems more reasonable to assume that this episode was made up.

As to the Kingdom of God, one would be hard pressed to say that Jesus thought this meant God was literally coming down to straightening things out here on Earth. If that were so, why do we find him using obscure parables and metaphors for the Kingdom of God, at one point likening it to a farmer who scatters seed but who doesn’t know how the seeds grows (Mark 4:26-27). Surely if God were coming down to sort us all out, he would know how he was going to do it.

While examining his “facts on the ground” on the evolution of God, Robert Wright ultimately stumbles for two reasons:

1) Wright does not always take into account the prejudices and weaknesses of the people who passed down the story of Jesus, and who by human nature would manipulate Jesus’s message to match their own self-image and needs, just as we’ve done (as Wright well notes) with our perceptions of God.

2) Wright undoubtedly held the personal belief that it is more inspiring to think that the doctrines of transnational, trans-ethnic love were products of a multinational, imperial platform prior to writing his book “The Evolution of God,” and consciously or unconsciously discerned “the facts” in a way to match that supposition.

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Luke – Gospel 18 – Kingdom Belongs to the Childlike

Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and never despair. 2 “There was,” he said, “in a certain town a judge, who had no fear of God nor regard for man. 3 In the same town there was a widow who went to him again and again, and said: ‘Grant me justice against my opponent.’ 4 For a time the judge refused, but afterwards he said to himself, ‘Although I am without fear of God or regard for man, 5 Yet, as this widow is so troublesome, I will grant her justice, to stop her from plaguing me with her endless visits.’”

6 Then the Master added: “Listen to what this iniquitous judge says! 7 And God—will not he see that his own people, who cry to him night and day, have justice done though he holds his hand? 8 He will, I tell you, have justice done them, and that soon! Yet, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”

9 Another time, speaking to people who were satisfied that they were religious, and who regarded everyone else with scorn, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up into the temple courts to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax-gatherer. 11 The Pharisee stood forward and began praying to himself in this way: ‘O God, I thank thee that I am not like other men—thieves, rogues, adulterers—or even like this tax-gatherer. 12 I fast twice a week, and give a tenth of everything I get to God.’”

13 Meanwhile the tax-gatherer stood at a distance, not venturing even ‘to raise his eyes to heaven’; but he kept striking his breast and saying, ‘O God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ 14 This man, I tell you, went home pardoned, rather than the other; for everyone who exalts themselves will be humbled, while everyone who humbles themselves shall be exalted.”

15 Some of the people were bringing even their babies to Jesus, for him to touch them; but, when the disciples saw it, they began to find fault with those who had brought them. 16 Jesus, however, called the little children to him. “Let the little children come to me,” he said, “and do not hinder them; for it is to the childlike that the kingdom of God belongs. 17 I tell you, unless you receive the kingdom of God like a child, you will not enter it at all.”

18 And one of the Presidents asked Jesus this question: “Good Teacher, what must I do if I am to gain Immortal Life?” 19 “Why do you call me good?” answered Jesus. “No one is good but God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not say what is false about others, Honor thy father and thy mother.’”

21 “I have observed all these,” he replied, “from childhood.” 22 Hearing this, Jesus said to him: “There is one thing still lacking in you; sell everything that you have, and distribute to the poor, and you shall have wealth in heaven; then come and follow me.” 23 But the man became greatly distressed on hearing this, for he was extremely rich.

24 Seeing this, Jesus said to his disciples: “How hard it is for men of wealth to enter the kingdom of God!

25 It is easier, indeed, for a camel to get through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God!”

26 “Then who can be saved?” asked those who heard this. 27 But Jesus said: “What is impossible for people is possible with God.”

28 “But we,” said Peter, “we left what belonged to us and followed you.” 29 “I tell you,” he answered, “that there is no one who has left house, or wife, or brothers, or parents, or children, on account of the kingdom of God, 30 Who will not receive many times as much in the present and in the age to come, life everlasting.”

31 Gathering the twelve round him, Jesus said to them: “Listen! We are going up to Jerusalem; and there everything that is written in the prophets will be done to the Son of Man. 32 For he will be given up to the Gentiles, mocked, insulted and spat upon; 33 They will scourge him, and then put him to death; and on the third day he will rise again.” 34 The apostles did not comprehend any of this; his meaning was lost to them, they did not understand what he was saying.

35 As Jesus was getting near Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the road-side, begging. 36 Hearing a crowd going by, the man asked what was the matter; 37 And, when people told him that Jesus of Nazareth was passing, 38 He shouted out: “Jesus, Son of David, take pity on me!” 39 Those who were in front kept telling him to be quiet, but he continued to call out the louder: “Son of David, take pity on me!”

40 Then Jesus stopped and ordered the man to be brought to him. And, when he had come close up to him, Jesus asked him: 41 “What do you want me to do for you?” “Master,” he said, “I want to recover my sight.” 42 And Jesus said: “Recover your sight, your faith has delivered you.” 43 Instantly he recovered his sight, and began to follow Jesus, praising God. And all the people, on seeing it, gave glory to God.

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To read the next chapter of the Book of Luke, please go to The Gospel of Luke – 19.

This Online New Testament Gospel of Luke is excerpted from the book The Living Hour: The Lord’s Prayer for Daily Life (with New Century Gospels). Including over 200 bookmarked citations from the canonical Gospels, this Progressive Christian book appeals to the Unitarian spirit at the heart of all faiths.

Jesus & The Wiz

On reading that Broadway was reproducing the classic 1970s musical The Wiz, we were reminded of one of its most memorable songs, Ease on Down the Road, sung by a spirited Diana Ross (Dorothy) and Michael Jackson (Scarecrow) while on their way to see The Wiz (Richard Pryor).

The song tells us don’t you carry nothing that might be a load, come on, ease on down, ease on down the road.

For Progressive Christians called by Jesus to repeatedly lay down our lives for others¹, this is good advice. We are not asked to carry the burdens of others, but to lift up the fallen. Jesus teaches this in the parable of the Good Samaritan. The charitable man from Samaria doesn’t fret over the fate and circumstances of his fallen brethren but lifts him up from the road, does what he can to tend to the man’s needs, then eases on down, eases on down the road….

When we Christians feel compelled to carry the burdens of others, more often than not, it reveals a compulsion to martyrdom: a strong desire to identify ourselves with Jesus on the Cross. But it was through life and joy that Jesus sought to teach us about the kingdom of God (The Wiz), not through suffering and death.

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The Living Hour’s SBNR (Spiritual But Not Religious) motivational series combines history, literature, philosophy, religion, and popular culture to help bring about new perspectives for Progressive Christians and anyone who seeks a better understanding of “God” and life’s purpose. Sign up to have these progressive Motivationals delivered to your e-mail box three times a week.

1. This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life—to receive it again. No one took it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to receive it again. This is the command which I received from my Father.” – John 10:17-18 [↩]

Common Sense Christianity

The old saying “there is nothing common about common sense” has never rung so true as it does today. We live in a course and relativist age where the noble drive for fairness and balance has been misdirected toward conflating opinions with facts, and where common sense lies buried beneath a rubble of truthiness. That being the case, it might be a good idea to return to the writer of Common Sense, Thomas Paine, for a little refresher on reasonable thinking.

Wrongly accused of atheism by the orthodox Christians of his time (and, later on, a strident Teddy Roosevelt), Thomas Paine is among the many American figures who form the bedrock upon which current Progressive Christianity has its house. With regards to an afterlife, Paine held the reasonable position that we can hope for happiness after this life but shouldn’t presume to guess what lies in store for us:

I consider myself in the hands of my Creator and that He will dispose of me after this life consistent with His justice and goodness. I leave all these matters to Him, as my Creator and friend and I hold it presumptuous to make an article of faith as to what the Creator will do with us hereafter.

It was by leaving the afterlife to God, and the dead to bury their dead¹, that Thomas Paine was able to follow Christ, carrying the kingdom of God within himself, to fulfill the living hour of his time.

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1. To another man Jesus said: “Follow me.” “Let me first go and bury my father,” said the man. But Jesus said: “Leave the dead to bury their dead; but go yourself and carry far and wide the gospel of the kingdom of God.” – Luke 9:59-60 [↩]

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