Man is aware of two parts. His body and ego is aware of itself; the wheel and its wooden spokes. Spirit is the part of him that is aware of the emptiness that is the locale of the center of the hub. Throughout life his ego insists upon the form of the wheel: its strength, beauty of design, performance, achievements, and the history of wonders that it has accomplished. Yet, throughout one’s life the spirit is drawn toward the presence of non-presence at the wheel’s center. Whatever that means, one knows the wheel does not last forever, that one will inevitably face the relinquishing of one’s current form.
Man’s varied religions are simply the varied points of view of the many different wooden spokes that converge on the center of the wheel from different orientations. Each attempts to illustrate the perception and viewpoint of the respective spoke’s locally, an attempt to explain the mysteries implied by the emptiness that resides at the center.
One may ask how can any form speak tangibly about the formless?