The Spade Sage is a tale of a gardener who's only possession is a spade with which he is very skilled and grows the best vegetables, what he doesn't eat he sells to the nearby village. But there was a tugging inside of him to go off into the forest and be in the space and silence so he put down his spade and went off into the forest... After being there he realized that there was still a tugging inside of him to return to his garden and spade... how was he ever to find peace if he kept feeling this tug inside of him... He went back and forth over and over until one day he decided that the only way to really let go of the gardening & spade was to throw the spade with his eyes closed into the river.... so he did and shouted "I CONQUERED!"... he felt relieved that he let go of his attachments and went on to teach this freedom.
I feel this is a great story and I have been contemplating it for days now... He didn't release all his attachments he was still attached to his body, I feel and a more Tantric way of viewing this story would be that he became aware of the tugging first and then engage in the tugging process understanding that he was free to choose which ever path he wished and so he felt the need to make space and let go of the spade to truly feel this freedom to then choose what means enough to him to continue to bind himself to in this life....
We feel this tugging to practice and to not... just being aware of the tugging allows us to be a part of the dance instead of being twirled around by the universe.... engage in the tugging though we know its easier to just ignore it...
He thought that he would be happy if he got his spade . But realized that he is not happy when he got that. So he wold leave it and go to the forest because he knew that happiness in within own mind which is really achieved by getting rid of desires and attachments. So we think that we would be really happy if we got the desired person/thing and we will not for long when we have achieved our goal. Real happiness is letting go of the desire of that thing. This is how this veil is set in human mind. We want to get what is outside when all the time happiness is within achieved by letting go of that desire and attachment.Example, i marry this person i will be happy....but no i will soon be miserable again. We will realize it that happiness was in letting go of the attachment really!
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