The Parable of the Lute
When you set out on the path of spirituality, eyes wide open in search of truth and happiness, at some point you’ll face the problem of either too much striving or too much passivity. The Parable of the Lute, which is found in the Anguttara Nikaya collection of early Buddhist scriptures, illustrates precisely this problem and of course, offers up a solution.
In the story the Buddha approaches one of his students, Sona, who is having difficulty practicing. The Buddha remembers that Sona was a talented musician before he left home to become a monk. He asks him, “Sona, when the strings of your lute were pulled too tightly, was the lute beautifully sounding and easy to play?” Sona replies, “No, of course not. The sound was cut off.” The Buddha further asks, “Sona, when the strings of your lute were strung too loosely, was the lute beautifully sounding and easy to play?” Sona answers, “No, indeed. It gave out no sound at all.”
The Buddha says to Sona, “And so it is with us and our spiritual practice. If we practice too forcefully, our energy is rigid and restless. If we practice too laxly, our energy is lazy and unfocused. We must learn to find the right balance: not to tight, not too loose.”
Spiritual Extremism
Today, many Western spiritual seekers tend to fall into one extreme or the other.
Some, often new-comers to old traditions such as Buddhism or Hinduism, practice in an overly yang/masculine/hot way that places heavy focus on discipline, authority, strict morality, and concentrated effort. I was such a person myself for almost a decade, trying to conform to Buddhist ideals and banish negative thoughts from my mind.
Others, often new-agers dabbling in an eclectic mix of spiritual teachings, practice in a overly yin/feminine/cool way that lends itself to ungroundedness or flightiness, subservience (whether to angels, gurus, spiritual “laws”, or the benevolent Universe) and a lack of clarity and focus. I’ve experienced this extreme as well, allowing angel messages or tarot cards to override my intuition or sitting back and expecting manifestation techniques to bend reality to my will.
The Master-Servant Mentality
Why is religious and spiritual extremism so common today?
It’s really the product of a very, very old paradigm: the master and the servant. We tend to place ourselves in either one role or the other, sometimes swaying back and forth between both. It’s not surprising; after all, civilizations around the world were built and sustained for centuries on a hierarchy of power. Caste systems, slavery, serfdom, kings and peasants, upper class/lower class.
It’s true that in the past few hundred years there has been a shift toward individual liberty, but the master-servant mentality is deeply ingrained within us. Just look at how corporations treat their employees. I still remember the day my dad’s company (a huge banking institution) requested his OK to take out a life insurance policy on him!
And so as more of us begin to wake up and these old systems start to crumble, we have to consciously release the programming within us that seeks to either dominate with force (the master) or surrender blindly to an authority (the servant). We have to recognize the habit energy within us to either rule ourselves with a heavy hand or to give up our power to invisible masters. We have to become aware of our tendency to pull the strings to tightly or allow them to be too loose.
Trusting Our Own Power
This requires developing self-trust.
We must trust ourselves to practice our own authentic spirituality rather than adhere strictly to someone else’s.
We must trust ourselves to decide what we want and draw on our own wisdom, power, and intuition to make it happen.
Religious systems and scriptures, spiritual teachers, angels and guides, tarot cards, and our fellow humans can all support us on the way, but ultimately we are our own best resource. We get to decide what is right for us.
It’s time to stop giving our power away to things outside of ourselves.
For me, truly NOTHING feels better than closing my eyes, going into my heart, and allowing my own inner knowing to guide me. (And believe me, I’ve tried a lot of others things.)
There are worlds inside of us. Our creativity is beyond measure. And we know the answers to our questions.
We’re leaving behind the old energy of the master-servant.
We’re finding both our personal sovereignty and our deep unity and equality with all beings.
We’re remembering who we are.
Hi Stephanie, I love this post. I find that the balance can be elusive at times, and yet it feels so easy and right when I am on balance. Ahhh. Great writing, great story. Thanks, Reba
Thanks so much, Reba! It’s so amazing that we DO *know* when we’re off or on balance. What a gift. Then we just have to move through the muck that’s keeping us from acting on what we intuitively know (the hard part). 🙂
Stephanie, thanks — lots of good stuff to think about in this article. Spiritual balance…. TBH, I tend to land on the side of not-enough more than too-much. There’s a diva who lives inside me who’d rather not have to actually do the practice, who thinks that buying the meditation cushion should be enough. My best days are the ones when I thank her for sharing, and plant my ass on the cushion anyway.
Blessings!
Sue
Haha, love that, Sue. I could use some of your diva! I’ve got an inner slave driver and although I no longer listen to her without question, her scolding voice is still a presence in my life. Learning to turn down the volume!
I agree with this 100%. I think that the key to spiritual progress is realizing that, when we aren’t piling on levels of complexity onto ourselves, we ARE already progressing spiritually. A flower planted in the ground grows. That is spiritual progress. That is life energy becoming something temporary for a moment. I have a hard time with the word “spiritual” because of this. It seems to suggest all these “tools” and “tricks” you’ve mentioned, but to me, spirituality was the saving grace of label-free simplicity. Thank you for sharing this idea so beautifully, Stephanie!
Such a great metaphor of the flower — it grows naturally, that’s just what it does! Same with human beings. It’s comforting to know that we’re always on the right path, always ok. Oh, I totally understand what you mean about people equating spirituality with the do-ing rather than the be-ing. Thanks for your words, Vironika!