Today we celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the parinirvana of
the legendary American sage Joe Miller on 8/19/92 - SFTS Lodge
"I know I'm NOTHING," Joe once bellowed, "no-thing, no-thing ... just a
wild-assed spark of the Infinite functioning in the finite." -- Great Song:
Life & Teachings of Joe Miller
Joe was a retired vaudeville and burlesque entertainer, with an 8th grade
education. He never traveled to the East. But the East came to him. Visiting
Tibetan teachers called him a "Lama" and a "Tulku." Visiting Sufi teachers
called him "Murshid" (Master) and "Madzoub" (Idiot of God). Visiting Indian
teachers called him "Swami" and "Guru" and thanked him for his Darshan.
Visiting Korean and Japanese teachers recognized him as a "Zen Master." He was
given numerous unsolicited titles, but never used them. He shared the deepest
teachings for free. He said he was not a teacher, he said he was "just a
friend." He never took any money from any of us, he said he lived off his
"rich uncle" (i.e., his social security check). Hundreds of people gathered in
Golden Gate Park every Thursday morning to take a walk with him. His only
official affiliation was with the San Francisco Lodge of the Theosophical
Society. His story is told in my first book, "Great Song: Life and Teachings
of Joe Miller" (Maypop, 1993). Published by our friend and colleague Coleman
Barks (famed for his renderings of Rumi's mystical poetry). - Richard Power
"Great Song" is available in both soft cover and Kindle versions from
Amazon.com
#theosophy #theosophicalsociety #noreligionhigherthantruth #nopowergreaterthanlove
