Castalia 369

Non-resistance to evil

Dear Friends,

I have often wondered about non-resistance to evil; perhaps you have too.

Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also…

Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.

(from the Gospel of Matthew, 5:38 — 45)

“Children of your Father… in heaven”: this already seems to help. The child of such a Father is not unprotected.

I think the key is in another saying of our Lord:

In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

(Gospel of John, 16:33)

Two forces stand opposed: the Kingdom and the world, God’s order and that order which has forgotten God. Yet this second order already is overcome.

The Kingdom is here, among us: as we remember this, we see it.

The Kingdom appears as we sit with the one we love, sit together in the little room at the heart; when the world importunes, better not to chase it out: running after it with a stick, we soon are far from home. We can simply utter our Beloved’s name.¹

Seated around the bar at the inn, our faces flushed, we debate the merits of this or that system, this or that religion. Falling silent for a moment, we sense Someone has entered; has entered on little feet; on little, slippered feet.

A lady, for example, who has a six-room apartment in New York, has made it available to friends as a space for meditation. Here in Thailand, people who love trees, who love the cheerfulness trees exude, have gathered around a man who knows trees. Together, they go from place to place planting trees.

We have felt ourselves to be Ishmael, son of Hagar the Egyptian, cast out with his mother into the desert to die. But where should we be thrown that our Father not be?²

Thank you so much.

With every good wish,

Ishmael

Music as a Path:

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1. Compare the guidelines for Centering Prayer:

2. Compare this Hasidic song, quoted by Joseph Campbell in The Hero With A Thousand Faces (chapter 2, section 4):

Oh Lord of the Universe
I will sing Thee a song.
Where canst Thou be found,
And where canst Thou not be found?
Where I pass -- there art Thou.
Where I remain -- there, too, Thou art.
Thou, Thou, and only Thou.

Doth it go well -- 'tis thanks to Thee.
Doth it go ill -- ah, 'tis also thanks to Thee.

Thou art, Thou hast been, and Thou wilt be.
Thou didst reign, Thou reignest, and Thou wilt reign.

Thine is Heaven, Thine is Earth.
Thou fillest the high regions,
And Thou fillest the low regions.
Wheresoever I turn, Thou, oh Thou, art there.