Action Within the Wheel

From the Daniloff Tarot, the Wheel; from the Kuan Yin Sticks, Verse 55:

          This young lass stands on a water dragon, a symbol of power and good luck. The masks attached to the Wheel suggest human reactions to life in the sun or under a dark cloud.  The elements and the astrological signs emphasize that nothing gets a pass from a ride on this Wheel; it spins for all. As the book of Ecclesiastes puts it: “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” My job is to figure out which part of each revolution is simply the natural process of living, and what part has been influenced by my actions. The first I must accept, but the second I have the power to change. Verse 55 from the Kuan Yin poem reads:

A long row of bamboo stalks

joined together

reaches to a bubbling stream.

Generation after generation can draw on the water.

My efforts and actions extend beyond my lifetime. Every year paperwhite flowers, planted by someone decades before we moved here, bloom in my yard. If I wanted to grow organic produce, the ground would have to lie fallow for a minimum of three years to allow all chemicals (pesticides and fertilizers) to be removed from the soil. What I do affects others, not just today, but in generations to come.

Cup of Contentment

From the Daniloff Tarot, the Seven of Cups; from the Kuan Yin Sticks, Verse 55:

          Daniloff's selection of cups is an interesting group. The cup with the face and the crescent seems to represent spiritual mysticism; the snake around the martini glass implies revenge; and the cornucopia suggests material abundance and good health. The stein in the shape of a castle symbolizes a home and family; the skull cup and wreath represent the honor given to heroes and martyrs; and the keg suggests a never-ending supply of pleasures in a variety of forms. In the center is a covered chalice (implying purity) circled by an ouroboros of serpent and dragon (indicating an eternal cycle). What is in that central cup that could be so untouched by ever-changing, external events? I would theorize it is the ability to be content, always seeing a glass half full, no matter what life serves up.
          Verse 55 reads:

As bamboo poles standing in a line lead to a large spring, generation after generation prospers and moves on. As long as a man remains gentle and virtuous, whatever he wishes will come to hand.

I was raised by a man full of rage, but I spent my earliest years with a grandfather who was kind and soft-spoken. During my teen years I embodied the anger of my step-father, but a decade later I realized that such aggression and hatred only creates more of the same. It begets a life filled with dissatisfaction and suffering. Yet when I consciously mirror my grandfather's behavior, I find in most cases the same tenderness and understanding reflected back to me. Contentment and happiness don't just show up on my doorstep; I mold them through my thoughts and actions.

If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox...If with a pure mind a person speaks or acts, happiness follows him like his never-departing shadow. ~ Dhammapada 1:1-2