What is the connection between the woodcutter and the Way of the Heart?

“There was once a very powerful woodcutter looking for work.
He arrived at a sawmill and he hired him immediately.
Because he was paid well, and the working conditions were very good, the woodcutter gave his effort to work as well as he could.
The merchant gave him an axe and showed him the place from where to cut down the trees.
On the first day, the man cut down 15 trees.
“Congratulations,” the boss told him.
“Keep working like this!”
Being very motivated by the words of the boss, the woodcutter tried to work even better the next day, but could only knock down 10 trees.
The third day he tried even more, but only managed to knock down 7 trees.

Day after day he was knocking down fewer and fewer trees.
“I think I’m losing my powers,” the woodcutter thought. Stanjenit went to the trader and apologized, telling him that he did not understand what was happening to him.
“When was the last time you sharpened the axe?” the merchant asked.
“Sharp? I didn’t have time to sharpen the axe. I was very busy cutting down the trees…” ”

Making a parallel, there are spiritual paths in which people refuse life in the world, which seems to them to be braking, brutalizing and moving away from the spiritual ideal and retreating into solitude or monastery. They dedicate their entire time to inner transformation and spiritual evolution, that is, they permanently deal with the “sharpening of the axe”. These are good ways, ways of denying the appearance of the world and transcending.

There are spiritual paths in which the authentic Seeker withdraws into Himself and makes spiritual efforts to transform and evolve and then “throws” himself back into the middle of life, understanding it in a new way, because now he “has the axe sharpened”.

Then, when he feels the need, he returns in solitude to make another spiritual leap, which he can then enjoy in the middle of life, until this impulse is lost and returns to the meditation room, to “sharpen his axe again”.
These are very good spiritual pathways that integrate life and use spiritual training to better cope with life’s challenges.

But there is also a spiritual path in which

life itself produces transformation and evolution,

the path that “THE MORE TREES YOU CUT DOWN, THE SHARPER THE AXE SHARPENS BY ITSELF .
I mean, in this situation, the axe becomes sharper precisely because of its use.”

THIS IS THE WAY OF THE HEART, OF SPIRITUALITY IN THE MIDST OF LIFE.

Leo Radutz
AdAnima Academic Society
ww.adanima.org
January 11, 2011