A Dose of Dharma

From the Fairytale Tarot, the King of Swords; from the Tree Affirmation Cards, Monkey Puzzle:

          The tale of "The Maiden Tsar" is a story of love thwarted by magic. For the tsar and the young man who loved her, their relationship involved a constant attempt to unravel the mystery of what kept them apart. Had they been led by emotions rather than their minds, the end of this story would have sounded more like that of Romeo and Juliet than the happy one their efforts created. The complex symmetry of Monkey Puzzle tree is an example of the mathematics underlying the natural world. How do you put together a jigsaw puzzle? Do you start with the edges or look for similar patterns and colors? This is the kind of logic this tree's message brings. To apply this in the real world is to see that neither destiny nor self-determination are the only factors in how things turn out. Is it logical to believe that a certain group is predetermined to be leaders, or that another group lives in need simply because they fail to pull themselves out of it? From a Buddhist perspective, life is shaped through cause and conditions. The cause is a deliberate, conscious action: I plant a seed. The conditions are the right circumstances that allow it to grow: the right amount of sun and rain as well as the correct climate and nutrients in the soil. It's not simple, which is why correcting the imbalances in our world won't be either. But we've got to start somewhere, using wisdom and compassion rather than opinions and passion.

Deal With It

From the Fairytale Tarot, the Seven of Coins; from the Tree Affirmation Cards, the "Monkey Puzzle:"

          The story of "The Brave Little Taylor" tells of an ordinary man who makes use of what he has, both in resources and quick thinking. He manages to escape being killed by a couple of giants as well as a group of assassins sent by the King. Likewise, I am asked to take an objective view of how I am using my resources - not just money, but my time and energy too - and how these expenditures are affecting me. From an accountant's perspective, am I in the red or the black? As we're on the downhill slope towards the holidays, I need to be paying attention to these ledgers. The monkey puzzle tree was so named because of it's great height (130 ft.) and because of the complex symmetry of its leaves. Lewis assigns it the keyword "logic," a term that suggests there is a solution to whatever has me puzzled. The downside to such reasoning is I might not like the answer, because it may require me to change my plans and rework my ideas.

Absence of problems

   does not lead to happiness.

     Dealing with them does. 

― J. Benson