...a well known mystical priest of the 15th century, used to preach sermons purposely designed for different levels of understanding. One of his sermons on being "poor in spirit" is remarkably illustrative. He starts off and says, in essence, and without a trace of arrogance, "If you can understand "poor in spirit" in this manner (the most superficial manner), then that's wonderful." He explains what it means, and then he says, "But 'poor in spirit' can be understood at a far deeper level, and if you can understand this level, then that, too is wonderful." He explains that level, and then continues, going deeper and deeper into the meaning until what he says is totally cosmic. The first level could be understood and appreciated by anyone, and that is the level most influenced by moral precepts, but only a few people could grasp where his sermon ended. His attitude was to throw out multiple levels of meaning from the shallowest to the deepest and whatever people could grasp was terrific.
