Sower and the Devil
Albin Egger-Lienz, 1923
My dear friends,
The Teacher speaks of a field, and each of us carries such a field within the heart. Every intention we welcome becomes a seed that ripens according to its nature. The Bodhisattva path invites us to recognize the good seed as the Awakening Mind of love, compassion, and wisdom. Wherever bodhicitta is planted and nourished, it gradually matures into the wheat of generous deeds, patient words, clear understanding, and faithful service. At the same time, the Three Poisons of ignorance, attachment, and aversion can also find their way into the field of the mind. These are the evil seeds from which grow the weeds of selfish thoughts, harmful speech, and unskillful actions that obscure the light of God's kingdom.
"The kingdom of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in his field,..."
- Matthew 13:24
Then he left the crowds and went into the house.
And his disciples approached him, saying, "Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field."
He answered, "The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man; the field is the world,..."
- Matthew 13:36-38a
The Son of Man continually sows the seed of awakening throughout the world and within every receptive heart. His life reveals the perfection of love united with wisdom, showing us what the fully awakened human life looks like. Whenever we contemplate his example, pray sincerely, meditate deeply, forgive an enemy, or respond to suffering with compassion, the good seed is taking root. The field is never barren. Each moment presents a fresh opportunity to cultivate the mind of Christ, which the Bodhisattva recognizes as the arising of bodhicitta for the benefit of all beings.
and sowed weeds among the wheat and then went away.
So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared as well."
- Matthew 13:25-26
"...and the good seed are the children of the kingdom;
the weeds are the children of the evil one,
and the enemy who sowed them is the devil;..."
- Matthew 13:38b-39a
From the perspective of the Bodhisattva path, the enemy finds an opening whenever awareness falls asleep. Ignorance mistakes the impermanent for permanent and the empty for inherently real. Attachment grasps after what cannot satisfy. Aversion pushes away what could become a teacher of patience and compassion. These Three Poisons become evil seeds that sprout into the weeds of pride, resentment, greed, deceit, cruelty, despair, and countless other unskillful patterns. The devil may therefore be understood as the power of delusion itself, drawing beings deeper into separation whenever these poisons are believed and followed.
'Master, did you not sow good seed in your field?
Where, then, did these weeds come from?'
He answered, 'An enemy has done this.'
The slaves said to him, 'Then do you want us to go and gather them?'
But he replied, 'No, for in gathering the weeds you would uproot the wheat along with them.
Let both of them grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers,...'
- Matthew 13:27-30a
"...the harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels."
- Matthew 13:39b
Many practitioners become discouraged when they discover weeds within themselves. They wish to tear out every unwholesome tendency immediately. The Master counsels patience because the path of transformation requires discernment rather than violence toward one's own heart. When mindfulness and compassion deepen, hidden habits become visible and pass away without clinging or despair. The harvest represents mature wisdom, able to distinguish clearly between what leads toward awakening and what leads toward suffering. The angels symbolize those liberating qualities of awakened awareness that naturally separate wholesome intentions from unwholesome ones.
- Matthew 13:27-30a
"Just as the weeds are collected and burned up with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.
The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all evildoers,
and they will throw them into the furnace of fire, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth."
- Matthew 13:40-42
The fire may be understood as the purifying flame of wisdom rather than a desire for vengeance. When ignorance is illuminated by direct insight into reality, its power dissolves. When attachment encounters the fullness of selfless love, its restless grasping is released. When aversion is embraced by great compassion, its hardness melts away. The weeds that are burned are the delusions and unskillful actions that have no lasting substance. Their painful consequences awaken sincere repentance and encourage the wholehearted cultivation of virtue.
- Matthew 13:30b
"Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Let anyone with ears listen!"
- Matthew 13:43
The wheat gathered into the barn signifies every act born from the Awakening Mind. No offering of kindness is ever lost. Every moment of forgiveness, every sacrifice made for another, every prayer offered for the suffering, every insight that weakens self-centeredness becomes part of the inexhaustible harvest of the kingdom. As love, compassion, and wisdom mature together, the radiance of Christ shines ever more clearly through the practitioner. This shining is the natural expression of a heart freed from the domination of the Three Poisons and dedicated to the welfare of every living being.
Therefore, beloved friends, let us guard the field of the heart with vigilant mindfulness. Let us rejoice whenever the wheat of compassion appears, and let us meet the weeds of ignorance, attachment, and aversion with honest confession, patient discipline, meditation, and penetrating wisdom. In this way the Holy Spirit, understood as the living activity of the Awakening Mind, steadily transforms the entire field. The final harvest is prepared day by day through the countless small choices to love, to understand, and to serve. May we cultivate such seeds without ceasing until all beings share together in the abundant harvest of awakening and the joyful kingdom of God.