cultivating rather than seeking

Buddhist teachers speak of cultivation of wisdom and compassion. It is not a coindicidence this is a language of the garden. The serpent can whisper its wisdom and it is a useful reminder, motivation, it can continue to provide clarity and guidance, but without dilligent work, weeds come back, growth of what we intented is stunted. But that metaphor is also useful because it resonates with a brilliant poem from another tradition – “that thing we speak of can not be found by seeking, and yet only the seekers find it”. Note that seeking wisdom, seeking compassion, seeking any of the qualities we wish for suggests a treasure, something existing out there that we strive for, it waits for being reached for, conquered and obtained. Cultivation suggests both effort and patience, but for everyone in intimate relationship with the garden – external or internal, it is also clear, that despite the effort, it is not us who actually make things grow. We can provide conditions and remove obstacles but patience and humility is required for magic of the seed and magic of life to result with fruits. As a side note, maybe that is why both biohacking, a lot of modern personal development and modern agriculture alike, are tainted with greed, impatience, reaching for forbidden fruit. And the punishment for greed is not being struck by angry god, it is inherent, in the nature of that vice – it is only more of discontent, when that ultimate potential, ultimate yield is always beyond reach.