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Some devotees forwarded a concern to the Sage, by a highly respected fellow-follower, that the Sage was too hospitable to outsiders: he never turned anyone away who came to visit him. The Sage, unknown to all, was aware the community had been debating this matter. One group thought the Sage was wise to be available to anyone; the others believed this jeopardized the purity and purpose of both the Sage and the community.
The Sage told the follower to go to the flower garden, gather a rose, and bring it to him. After the disciple handed the rose to the Sage, the Sage bade him farewell. The devotee left perplexed as to the purpose of being told to gather the rose.
In the gathered sharing later, the Sage held the rose for all to see. He said he knew of the concerns about his hospitality. He declared, "This rose answers your debate." "How's that so?" one asked. He continued, "Can this rose give its scent to whomever it chooses? Can it offer its loveliness to some and not others?" The devotee answered, "Seems not." "Then," remarked the Sage, "Love by nature gives Itself to all. Love by nature of Love cannot withhold outpouring Itself for anyone to enjoy." "But," questioned another, "can't one refuse to inhale the scent of the rose? Can't she shut her eyes to its beauty?" "Yes," agreed the Sage, "and, so, while Love will always offer Itself, It will be received according to the capacity of each person, and some will refuse the grace of Presence completely." "How," another disciple inquired, "does this solve our debate?" The Sage said, "I'm simply acting like the rose, for my nature is like the rose."
Presence is invitational; hence, a person or community of Presence is invitational. Being welcoming is not merely what Presence does; it is, first, what Presence is.
* * *
The Sage and his community are wise to honor the nature of their community. Groups entail both inclusion and exclusion, even as persons do. I do not welcome anyone to be close with me; I, likewise, can choose, after being close to someone, to distance from her or him, if I discern it wise to do so.
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In the Way, exclusion and inclusion are not opposites, they are complimentary. If exclusion were not, inclusion could not be; each makes the other possible. The mind creates false divisions, polarizing Harmony into contraries; in the Unity, all harmonize, even the apparent opposites. The Way is the return to Harmony, the healing of the fragmentation of the unified Whole into oppositional parts.
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When a Chaplain in prison, we had worship meetings at the same time for Christians and Muslims. The Christians and Muslims entered the main chapel together, each group parting into different areas for worship. The Jews met on another day and another area of the chapel. Each faith group was honoring the nature of its faith. This is a sign of how the Way manifests in an inclusive-diversity, or diversified-unity. An oak tree is not a pine tree, a valley is not a mountain, a trombone is not a piano, and a dress is not a pair of sneakers. I would not encourage anyone who has a dog to let it swim in water with alligators. All, while one essentially, has a particular nature and place - this is why we call It an eco-system. This matter of diversified-unity applies to individual persons and communities, also.
Personal and group integrity is essential to diversity; without integrity, including boundaries, the amazing tapestry of diversity is lost in a bland, monochrome sameness. This sameness is not unity, but a perversion of unity. Do we want that?
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