Back to the Hoe

From the Sacred India Tarot, the Seven of Discs; from the American Pen Oracle, Eudora Welty:

          The Buddha was reluctant to teach his friends the Middle Way, but not because he wanted to keep it for himself. While the teaching was simple to explain, the application of it was difficult. Yet like the Seven of Pentacles (RWS) farmer who pauses to assess his crops, Buddha's friends had observed and noted a great transformation in him. In Deer Park, Buddha acquiesced, sat down and shared what he had come to realize through his own experience - the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Buddha encouraged them to take stock of their own lives: "One by one, little by little, moment by moment, a wise man should remove his own impurities, as a smith removes his dross from silver." (Dhammapada) Like the farmer resting on his hoe, there was more work to be done once their original assessment was over. Welty's words of wisdom are a warning not to rest on one's laurels: Never think you've seen the last of anything. When I arrogantly think, "Oh, I've got this," I'm likely to miss the pests that will sneak back in given a chance - resentment, fear, despair and ignorance. Like any good farmer will tell you, no pause is meant to last forever.