What Scares You More?

This week I'll be using the Stone Tarot, a self-published deck by Alison Stone. I may also dip into her book of tarot poems (Ordinary Magic), although it wasn't written as a companion book. The oracle I'll be using is the Buddhist Quote Cards, painted and published by Diana Altenburg. Even though she has spiritual quotes (from John Lennon to Lao Tzu) on the back of the cards, I have decided to pair each card with a verse from the Dhammapada. Today's draws are Justice and Dhammapada 4:53:

Stone's first keyword that she lists for the Justice card is 'understanding' before following it up with more traditional words like fairness. Who would want to stand before a judge who saw everything in black and white while refusing to look at the circumstances that surrounded the event? The opening and closing lines of Stone's poem for Justice reads:

I am not blind

you are blind -

Which scares you more,

to believe that life is unfair

or to believe that life is fair?

For me personally, to label life as unfair or fair is to fall into that black or white thinking. Reality doesn't pick and choose, it just naturally unfolds. The verses from the Dhammapada encourage this practical way of understanding:

Just as from a heap of flowers

many garlands can be made,

so you, with your mortal life,

should do many skillful things.

No person's heap of blooms (life) include only the pretty, sweet-smelling flowers. We all get a mix. The true test is in the skillful way we use what we have been given.