Suffering ~ Christ the Eternal Tao

CHRIST The Eternal Tao

I give you no formulas, says the Way,
I give you no equations.

But I will heal you in my own time,
In my own way,
Imperceptible to you.
Your mind races, seeking a solution;
But there is no solution that can be grasped by the mind.
Your mind tries every avenue,
Thinking that at least one will open up suddenly on the 
    longed-for goal:
Freedom from pain.
But every avenue is a dead-end;
You are up against the wall,
That is because the pain is there for a reason.
It is like a maddening fever that burns up and drives out
  disease.
By it alone do I heal you:
Without it you will die in your sickness.
By it alone do I change you unto perfection:
Without it you will be as a foreigner in my Kingdom.

Seek no formula
Seek no equation.

Only be patient:
Wait on me
While I do my unseen work inside you.
When you are changed and fit for my Kingdom,
You will know that something happened,
And that is all you will know.
But there is no need for thought.
Enter, then, into my joy,
You who have waited, in devotion, in my pain.



CHRIST The Eternal Tao ~ Hieromonk Damascene
(Chapter 71 pg. 196-97 )

Thanks also to Lao Tzu, Gi-Ming Shien and Fr. Seraphim Rose