Odilia Carmen Chirica

Nasrudin heard that there was a banquet being held in the nearby town, and that everyone was invited. He made his way there as quickly as he could. When the Master of Ceremonies saw him in his ragged cloak, he seated him in the most inconspicuous place, far from the great table where the most important people were being waited on hand and foot. Nasrudin saw that it would be an hour at least before the waiters reached the place where he was sitting. So he got up and went home. He dressed himself in a magnificent sable cloak and turban and returned to the feast. As soon as the heralds of the Emir, his host, saw this splendid sight they started to beat the drum of welcome and sound the trumpets in a manner consonant with a visitor of high rank. The Chamberlain came out of the palace himself, and conducted the magnificent Nasrudin to a place almost next to the Emir. A dish of wonderful food was immediately placed before him. Without a pause, Nasrudin began to rub handfuls of ...

"One day the villagers thought they would play a joke on Nasrudin. As he was supposed to be a holy man of some indefinable sort, they went to him and asked him to preach a sermon in their mosque. He agreed. When the day came, Nasrudin mounted the pulpit and spoke: ‘O people! Do you know what I am going to tell you?’ ‘No, we do not know,’ they cried. ‘Until you know, I cannot say. You are too ignorant to make a start on,’ said the Mulla, overcome with indignation that such ignorant people should waste his time. He descended from the pulpit and went home. Slightly chagrined, a deputation went to his house again, and asked him to preach the following Friday, the day of prayer. Nasrudin started his sermon with the same question as before. This time the congregation answered, as one man: ‘Yes, we know.’ ‘In that case,’ said the Mulla, ‘there is no need for me to detain you longer. You may go.’ And he returned home. Having been prevailed upon to preach for the third Fridayin su...

"Although there are many diverse arts flowing from the wellspring of Taoism, all of these different arts are grounded in the same set of principles, what Taoists see as the fundamental laws of Nature applying to all things, high and low. These principles form the core of Taoist "general systems theory." By developing a working knowledge of these natural principles, you will have the master key to open the mysterious portals of the Tao. Wu Ji In the beginning, nothing existed. In Chinese this is called Wu Ji (meaning absolute nothingness). Wu Ji is synonymous with the Buddhist word sunyata, meaning emptiness, the void, pure openness, no boundary. Wu Ji is also sometimes referred to as  the mystery, the nameless, the great mother, the source. Thus Lao Tzu says, "That which can be named is not the eternal name." Words cannot describe Wu Ji; it is beyond any thought, idea or concept, yet it can be directly experienced. Conscious realization of Wu Ji i...