Sower
James Tissot, 1894
My dear friends,
The Parable of the Sower illuminates the meeting of awakened compassion with the varied conditions of the human heart. The sower represents every great teacher who scatters the seeds of wisdom without preference or discrimination. Jesus offers the word of the kingdom to all, just as a Bodhisattva offers the Dharma to every being. Our task is to comprehend the quality of the seed and to cultivate the field of our own minds so that this precious gift may flourish.
"Listen! A sower went out to sow."
And as he sowed,
some seeds fell on a path,
and the birds came and ate them up."
- Matthew 13:3-4
"Hear, then, the parable of the sower.
When anyone hears the word of the kingdom
and does not understand it,
the evil one comes and snatches away
what is sown in the heart;
this is what was sown on the path."
- Matthew 13:18-19
The hardened path represents a mind repeatedly worn smooth by habit, distraction, and self-centered patterns. Teachings arrive, yet they cannot enter deeply because attention is scattered and wisdom is not contemplated. In Buddhist language, ignorance and habitual conditioning quickly carry away the seed before it takes root. The Bodhisattva therefore cultivates mindful listening. Each encounter with the teachings becomes an opportunity to soften the heart through humility, ethical discipline, and sincere reflection. As the soil becomes receptive, wisdom and compassion naturally begin to germinate.
and they sprang up quickly, since they had no depth of soil.
But when the sun rose, they were scorched, and since they had no root, they withered away."
- Matthew 13:5-6
"As for what was sown on rocky ground,
this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,
yet such a person has no root but endures only for a while,
and when trouble or persecution arises on account of the word,
that person immediately falls away."
- Matthew 13:20-21
Joy at hearing the truth is a beautiful beginning, although lasting transformation requires patient cultivation. Rocky ground symbolizes hidden attachments and deeply rooted habits that prevent wisdom from sinking beneath the surface. Every Bodhisattva learns that inspiration must mature into steady practice. Meditation, ethical conduct, loving service, and the training of the mind gradually deepen the roots. Trials then become opportunities to strengthen faith and compassion rather than reasons to abandon the path. Just as Christ remained steadfast in suffering, practitioners learn to persevere through the power of bodhicitta, the Awakening Mind.
- Matthew 13:7
"As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word,
but the cares of this age and the lure of wealth choke the word, and it yields nothing."
- Matthew 13:22
The thorns are the grasping tendencies that multiply whenever craving is left unexamined. Wealth itself is neither pure nor impure; bondage arises when possessions, status, and endless worries occupy the place that belongs to love and wisdom. Lojong teaches us to transform every circumstance into the path by releasing self-cherishing and remembering the welfare of all beings. As attachment loosens, the thorns lose their strength, leaving room for compassion to grow freely. A mind guided by bodhicitta uses every resource as a means of generosity and every challenge as material for awakening.
some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.
If you have ears, hear!""
- Matthew 13:8-9
"But as for what was sown on good soil,
this is the one who hears the word and understands it,
who indeed bears fruit and yields in one case a hundredfold,
in another sixty, and in another thirty."
- Matthew 13:23
Good soil is the mind cultivated through the three higher trainings of ethical discipline, meditative concentration, and wisdom. Such a heart welcomes the word of the kingdom and allows it to mature into compassionate action. The harvest is measured through lives touched by kindness, forgiveness, patience, and selfless service. Some produce thirtyfold and others a hundredfold because beings possess different capacities and circumstances, yet every genuine expression of bodhicitta enriches the world beyond measure. The fruit of awakening is never kept for oneself; it nourishes countless others, who in turn become sowers of wisdom and love.
Whenever we hear these words of Jesus, we are invited to ask which kind of soil we are preparing today. The field of the heart is never fixed. Through repentance, mindfulness, contemplation, prayer, and compassionate practice, hard ground softens, rocks are patiently removed, and thorns are cleared away. The Sower never ceases scattering the seeds of awakening. May we receive them with joyful diligence, nurture them through the spirit of bodhicitta, and become fertile ground from which love, wisdom, and boundless compassion arise for the benefit of all beings.