A simple seeker of enlightenment had studied and thought deeply about different possible meanings of images portrayed on a Tarot card that she had pulled from somewhere near the middle of a freshly shuffled deck, and was now contemplating the possible personal message expressed by the Two of Pentacles (or coins).
A juggler, or clown, had seemed to stop tossing two large discs, and was now staring at one as if it represented the chosen option between two lifestyles.
At the same time, a stormy sea behind him seemed to have stopped tossing two ships. One was atop a high wave and the other seemed to be slipping into a deep trough. The two boats were as much at the mercy of the sea as the discs were in the hands of the juggler.
But why did he/she stop? And why did the storm end, and now seemed to be preparing to ease its demonstration of its awesome power over those who dared to risk its instability?
“Why call the ocean unstable?”
“It can be.”
“Then it has potential to become, or appear to be, unstable.”
“What about the juggler?”
“What about him, or her?”
“The two large discs seem frozen in time, with one high and the other low.”
“Which is the object of focus?”
“The lower one. Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why did you ask?”
“To focus your attention on the relative positions of the discs, and how this might explain a personal, psychic message, for you.”
“Wow!”
“Yes. You were looking at the general picture and not at the details, and the message they might offer.”
“But, there is no steady middle point in juggling, nor in a stormy sea.”
“Nor is there any middle way to travel through life.”
“Then why do the wise ones speak of The Middle Way?”
“They don’t mean neutrality, as might seem to exist between positive and negative.”
“Or between good and bad?”
“Yes.”
“Then what does The Middle Way mean?”
“The true middle way is always on the side of …”
“Transcendence and truth?”
“Yes, but neither rigidly nor casually.”
“The middle way as relaxed awareness, acceptance, and commitment?”
“Yes.”
“Then the middle way resists both neutrality and self-righteousness?”
“Yes.”
“Then, how can a pendulum ever settle near the point on the positive side of its swing?”
“A perennial problem.”
………
A simple seeker’s note to herself
I was looking at the general picture presented by the Two of Pentacles card, and not at the details.
“Yes, at the high and low of the two discs, and the two ships.”
“But the juggler was looking a the low …”
“Yes.”
“Does that suggest that I need to focus more on the details of my life?”
“Does it?”
“Perhaps.”
“Yes.”
………..
Simple Seekers 