The Eagle Swoops

Although the result of our actions may not have matured yet, they will inevitably ripen, given the right conditions. Usually we forget what we do, and it is only long afterward that the results catch up with us. By then we are unable to connect them with their causes. “Imagine an eagle,” says Jikme Lingpa, “It is flying, high in the sky. It casts no shadow. Nothing shows that it is there. Then suddenly it spies its prey, dives, and swoops to the ground. And then it drops, its menacing shadow appears.”

Glimpse Afer Glimpse

Sogyal Rinpoche

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Every now and then, whenever my actions lack compassion, I can hear my dear friend, Big Al, saying, “You can do anything you want if you are willing to pay the price for it.” It is fairly easy for seeing the truth in this for felonies and misdemeanors. However, the soaring eagle of karma, for living a self-absorbed life of ego gratification, isn’t always that apparent. There is a price for everything, even as minor as envying celebrities who seem to be able to get away with damned near anything. It seems inconsequential but even this class of envy has its price too. Am I willing to pay the price of living vicariously through the lives of those I see on TMZ? Knowing Big Al’s simple axiom is probably the most valuable realization I could have had for liberating my spirit from the wheel of consequences. Isn’t it better to live a simple life free of the vanity of hoping to win the lottery? Isn’t it more productive to busy my hands with whatever task is before me; to do it well, reaping the rewards of compassion? In work and play, the Heart of Compassion soars unseen. The grace of God has been pictured as an eagle and this eagle's blessings are the result of karma too. It is soaring beyond my limited scope as the eagle swoops down to strike my heart with the sublime and often subtle, bliss of God.

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