21 The World

The Karmic Stage

Knowledge of the world in its entirety is to have a working understanding of its tremendous scope of being; its joys and sufferings, its avenues to fulfillment and alleyways to destitution. It has been said that this planet, Earth, is the perfect place to be born in a human body to work through the karmic tendencies that keep us in chains. We must pay close attention that our moves don't increase the strength of those chains, by finding a solid stone on which to place our every step. The world is ours to use as we may, and our choices will determine the quality of our life. As we perceive, so we will become – we are compelled to our destinies by our level of mind.

When this card comes up, we should contemplate our own place and position in the world; do we need more experience, or have we had enough? Could we leave it today and feel content with how we've lived? What, looking forward, have we yet to pursue, to complete, to begin to work on? Do we have debts to pay before we can move forward? If we can't free ourselves from our position, how can we free our minds so that we become useful and inspiring from within it?

If we feel satisfied that our body of desires have been satiated and we can lay them to rest, then it's time to relax for awhile and enjoy our attainments, our rich life of experience and experiences; we can now, through detachment from need, know a deeper freedom than we've known before.

If on the other hand we wrestle with unfulfillment, fearing that possibly we'll never achieve that peace – then consider this: we are only ensnared in the human condition; the malaise that the majority of people on earth suffer from, the unending churn of dissatisfaction stemming from self-perpetuating desires. It has a Sanskrit name: Samsara. When we realize that unless we ourselves take the step off of that wheel, we'll be forever tied to it, as the happiness attained from achieving one desire will be short-lived, and will only lead to the next yearning. We are now standing at a possibly very frightening crossroad: which way to go from here? If not propelled by desire, what could keep us going? The answer is, we re-orient our longings to a goal which will consume our actions and thoughts for the rest of our lives: the desire for liberation – complete freedom of mind and spirit – yes, here it is again: the Spiritual Path. This will give us all kinds of immediate release – just the thought of not being a slave to anything anymore and the vision of treading upon a long long road heading ever upward, is liberation in itself.

And - here's a secret that will really entice our wily minds: we may partake in anything of the world, as long as we remain unattached to it. It's a path of danger and only the very discerning will succeed in it, as we can so easily fool ourselves. But if we can truly live by the motto: 'Take it and/or Leave it,' we'll be able to live independently in the world, without being a captive of the world – we may then enjoy or decline its pleasures as their opportunities arise. It's called in the Vajrayana tradition the Tantric Path, and yes, it includes sex as a part of the totality of living. Watch your step.