The Way and The Word

The Tao of Jesus

By: David W. Jones

Narrated by: Virtual Voice

The Chinese word for Tao, pronounced Dow, combines the symbols for walking, which shows a person traveling down a road, and mind which symbolizes the dual power of the brain to store information and imagine new possibilities. The symbol has an internal organizing structure, almost like a filing cabinet, and has sparks of inspiration arising out of the top. What is the Tao? It is a mind walking, thinking and doing, professing and practicing. The Tao unifies thought and action in an inseparable fashion as the author of the biblical book of James would centuries later. The Tao recognizes, as did many biblical writers, right thinking can lead to right doing (orthodoxy), but even more so, right practice leads to right thinking (orthopraxis). As I read and reread The Tao, I used many translations, though I have referred to Stephen Mitchell’s version the most. Like a fish out of water looking back from whence I came, I see Jesus’ Way in a broader perspective hearing The Tao throughout The New Testament, especially in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the non-canonical Gospel of Thomas. The following pages are what happened when I let Jesus and Lao Tzu sing a duet while I listened for the harmonies.