Tod Cage
Spiritual Teachings
Parables
There was once a certain man who came across a certain teacher speaking.  When he
heard the teacher he said to himself, "I have never come across a teacher quite like this
one, speaking in such a way, it is not usual.  His words seem to have a kind of merit.  But
since he speaks not of what I have been taught, and since I have followed God all of my
life, I will not call him teacher.  For if I did, I would be admitting I do not know from
where his teachings come from, and if they are from God I would be admitting I have
not known God all these years.  I simply have known God to long to say that, and I have
seen too many miracles and good works, so the teacher must be illegitimate.  Also, this
teacher lived among us many years before he taught, but I never saw God with him and
he is only one man with no temple.  It must be that he has received how I received, or
else a completely foreign call, for surely God would use the proper channels and come
to me or my teachers before he would come to this man.  So, In this case it is better just
to say, 'each to his own'.  And so it stands that I will not call him teacher, however I will
listen to him speak, to see what he has to say for himself and if he has found God.  But
yet I admit, I do not know from where he is teaching.  Let me listen more".  Now the
teacher while teaching saw the man and knew his thoughts, and the teacher reasoned
to himself, "This man will not show proper respect to me by calling me teacher or show
the proper manners that should be given to a teacher.  However, since he is willing to
listen, I am willing to continue teaching.  For if he can hear my God through me, then
that is all that really matters.  For this man guessed rightly.  The voice that I hear IS
from another, and now he puzzles to see what other it is.  The teacher continued,
saying, "Let him who has ears hear!"     
[These writings will be added to]
A seeker once came to a man who held wisdom.  Once sitting in the house of the man
the seeker asked, "what must I do to hold wisdom?"  The man who held wisdom
replied, "Sit here by this wall.  Somewhere where it meets the floor along the crack is
an entrance for an ant colony.  Stay alert and observe, where an ant goes in or comes
out is the entrance.  Mark it and then show me when I come back from my travels
where it is."  " When will you come back," asked the seeker.  "I can not say,"
responded the man.  So it was that the seeker, now alone, watched for the arrival of
an ant.  But growing tired, he fell asleep.  Later the seeker again attempted to
discover the ant colony but he grew hungry and foraged the kitchen for something to
eat.  Yet later still while attempting to spy the ant's location he would watch ants
traversing the room hoping to catch them in the moment of entry but somehow
whenever he was distracted or looking elsewhere an ant would appear or disappear
into the secret entrance without his witnessing it.  Finally, the man who held wisdom
appeared and asked the seeker if he had found the entrance.  "No," was the seekers
reply.  So the man sat and said to him, "Like your attempts to observe the ant hole, to
hold wisdom you must be observant and diligent.  At a time you do not expect, the ant
appears.  The same is true to hold wisdom.  If you are not awake, you can not hold
wisdom.  Therefore, remain observant and diligent and wisdom suddenly will appear,
and you will have great rejoicing."
All the religions and spiritual organizations in the world can be likened to islands that
exist in vast endless waters.  Each island has on it all the people of it's organization and
religion.  The man of light has no island he inhabits.  He is like a fish.  He simply swims
the endless waters surrounding the islands.  He calls out to the people on each island
and says, "come in, the water is perfect."  But whenever he gets too close to an island
the people throw stones at him, get annoyed, or else throw out ropes pleading, "grab
the rope and we will bring you to the safety of our island."  They want to convert the
man of light because they think he is drowning.  But the man of light is not drowning,
in fact he is so peaceful and happy to swim free.  So much so that he feels compassion
for them because they are like prisoners on their island.  They are afraid to touch the
endless waters.  They fear the leviathans, They fear the depths, they fear the storms,
they fear the unknowns.  They cling to their rules.  They say, "better to be on an island
with rules than an ocean without."  The islanders on each island exclaim, "if the other
islands would only come to us we could help them understand that this island is the
best for life.  When the deluge comes this island will weather it out."  Some islands feel
generous and say, "each island is equal because it secures the lives of it's islanders."  
But they did not know that the water surrounding all the islands brought to the one
that would embrace it the secrets of it's depths, freedom from fears, unity with the
living creatures it sustains, and in fact the water itself brings eternal life.  Eventually
one by one as time goes by, a deluge strikes an ancient island, and it is washed away
with all it's inhabitants, for they never learned to swim.  The islanders never did quite
grasp that the islands never lasted, only the waters.  So it is that all the religions will
rise and fall, but the man of light will remain, in the endless waters.