-> BOW )
mastery · ascension · accuracy
inner strength and unity
from mastering instinct
: ascension from focus :
mind · body · spirit
to find center,
let go
Chauvet–Pont d’Arc Cave, France
photo by Jean Clottes
“Throughout all cultures, from Paleolithic to modern, [the bow and arrow] represents an ascension symbol, the transformation of hunting magic by the sublimation of desire into penetration of the heart of the self.”
book of symbols, p. 496
“An extension of the eye’s vision, and the arm’s action, and the psyche’s focus and desire.
The arrow that flies through the air and magically finds its target will remind us of
the far reaching and penetrating power of humankind’s mental, physical, and spiritual focus.
In Zen, egoless, archer and target become one, bow and arrow are associated with subtle and unseen powers that transcend space and time, hitting the mark without consciousness of self or goal.
The greek understanding of “sin” referred to “missing the mark”.
We still speak of “hitting the bull’s eye” in reference to getting something exactly right.”
book of symbols, p. 496
MYTH
the goddess Artemis takes aim…
Terra-cotta mixing bowl, detail.
Athenian
5th century B.C.E.
Campania, Italy
“The bow and arrow is an attribute of the huntress
Artemis, Mistress of Wild Things
Artemis moves between the boundaries of civilization and wilderness,
and the bow and arrow as a symbol bring together these aspects of the psyche.”
book of symbols, p. 496
“RETURN OF WAKÍŊYAŊ (THUNDER BEING)” by Marlena Myles
“Bow making was a gift from the Thunder Beings, the Wakinyan—
the good spirits, guardians of truth and protectors of the tribes. This gift enabled the Lakota to hunt the buffalo.
It was a gift that elevated them.
Hunting bows and arrows are used only for hunting. In order to provide for life. War bows and arrows are used only in war. In order to defend life, they become instruments of death. Because of the purpose for each kind of bow and arrow,
they are sacred.
They are treated with respect.
According to tradition, the moon gave us the bow and the arrows came from the sun. Since the sun is male, the arrows are male and, since the moon is a woman, the bow is female.
Together,
the sun and moon, the bow and arrow, male and female,
they fulfill that balance that we see in life.”
written by Kyal Middletent
“The archer unites the [duality of the] animal and divine in human nature.
The power of the bow and arrow derive not from brute strength,
but rather from focused attention and spiritual maturity, where “less is more”.
Only the warrior with a pure heart will immediately hit the bull’s eye.”
book of symbols, p. 496
“We must have the
courage to face
whatever is present - our pain, our desires, our grief, our loss, our secret hopes, our love -
everything that moves us most deeply.
jack kornfield, a path with heart
WARRIORS’ HEARTS BEAT AS ONE.
love conquers all.
don howard lawler
When we stop and listen, we can feel how each thing we fear or crave (really two sides of the same dissatisfaction) propels us out of our hearts into a false idea of how we would like life to be.
From this small sense of ourselves, we often believe that our own happiness can come only from possessing something or can be only at someone else’s expense.
To stop the war and come into the present is to discover
a greatness of our own heart
that can include the happiness of all beings as inseparable from our own.
jack kornfield, a path with heart
Napoleon I
Bonaparte on the Bridge at Arcole, 17 November 1796, oil on canvas by Antoine-Jean Gros, 1796; in the Versailles Museum.
© Photos.com/Thinkstock
Napoleon Bonaparte, at the end of his life:
Do you know what astonished me most in the world?
The inability of force to create anything.
In the long run, the sword is always beaten by the
SPIRIT.
With wise understanding we allow ourselves to
contain all things, both dark and light,
and we come to a sense of peace.
This is not the peace of denial or running away,
but the peace we find in the heart that has rejected nothing,
that touches all things with compassion.
jack kornfield, a path with heart
According to Buddhist scriptures, compassion is the
“quivering of the pure heart”
when we have allowed ourselves to be touched by the pain of life.
The knowledge that we can do this and survive helps us to awaken the greatness of our heart.
With greatness of heart, we can sustain a presence in the midst of life’s suffering, in the midst of life’s fleeting impermanence.
We can open to the world - its ten thousand joys and ten thousand sorrows.
jack kornfield, a path with heart
ascend