August 07, 2026

Find the Right Pitch

Just as, if the strings of a lute are too taut, the lute is not tuneful or playable; and if the strings are too loose, the lute is likewise not tuneful or playable; but when the strings are neither too taut nor too loose, only then is the lute tuneful and playable.

Sona was a monk who drove himself so hard in walking meditation that his feet bled, and he was ready to give up and return to lay life. The Buddha, knowing Sona had once been skilled at the lute before he ordained, asked him whether the instrument sounds right when its strings are too taut or too loose. Sona said no to both, and the Buddha used this to show that spiritual effort works the same way: too much strain breeds restlessness, too little breeds laziness. This exchange became one of the clearest teachings on the Middle Way, extending it beyond pleasure and pain into the daily texture of effort itself. In the Eastern wisdom tradition, balance is never a fixed formula; it is felt out and re-tuned again and again, the way a musician keeps adjusting a string until it rings true.

A principle of Eastern Wisdom: The Middle Way →