This Very Heart-Mind Is Buddha

We tend to think awakening is a very special thing, only available to certain people who do certain practices. But what if you are already awake? This meditation aims to put you in touch with that possibility.

Damei asked Mazu, “What is Buddha?”
Mazu said, “This very mind is Buddha.”

- Gateless Barrier, Case 30 (trans. by John Tarrant, Roshi & Joan Sutherland, Roshi)

Transcript

Jesse Carden here with another koan meditation for you. This one is about how your own mind is already awakened. Yep, This one you have right now. So as usual, Why don't you take a moment to get settled. Make sure you're in a place where you're relatively comfortable and won't be disturbed. Feel free to pause if you need to get situated. Otherwise, Here we go. So this koan, Like many others, Is a snippet of a conversation between a teacher and a student. The student comes to the teacher and asks, What is Buddha? What is Buddha? It's a favorite question of Zen students throughout history. What is Buddha? Especially when they don't know what else to ask. What is Buddha? And the teacher replies, This very mind is Buddha. This very mind is Buddha. And so first just noticing your initial reactions to the question and answer. And then taking in, What do you feel? What do you think? What comes up for you when you hear this? As much as koans are about realizing consciousness and getting a clue into deeper levels of reality, There's also a personal aspect which begins the very moment you meet a koan. Maybe even before, But we can be aware of what comes up for me when I first meet the koan. What is Buddha? This very mind is Buddha. What, This mind? Yes, This very mind. And so if you haven't already, Take a look inside your mind. What's going on there? Thoughts, Worries, Plans, Theories, Objections to reality, Hopes, Fantasies, Judgments, Opinions, Questions. What's it like to just be with that, Without having an agenda that your mind should be different? And what's it like to not wrestle with your mind? And if you can't help but wrestle with it, What's it like to not wrestle with wrestling with your mind? There couldn't be possibly anything more pure than what's appearing in this moment. Everything in this moment is already awakened. This mind, This heart, The chair or cushion you're sitting on, The room you're in, The decorations, The animals or cars or people outside, The sky, Already awakened. What is Buddha? This very heart-mind. What is Buddha? Who's to say it's not? Supposedly, When the mythical figure of the Buddha achieved enlightenment, He said, Ah, Finally, I see. All beings are awakened by nature. They are all fundamentally enlightened. It's only their delusions and attachments that prevent them from seeing this. All beings are fundamentally awake. It's only their delusions and attachments that prevent them from seeing this. How is my hand like the Buddha's hand? What is Buddha? This very mind, This very heart-mind. And if you sit with it long enough, If you can tolerate the ebbs and flows, The joys and the sorrows, The confusion, The clarity, If you can stay steady with it, It becomes apparent. This very heart-mind is Buddha. I now know only my delusions and attachments prevented me from seeing this. And to see that this very heart-mind is Buddha, You have to look with the eyes of the Buddha. You can see that each thing that arises belongs in a family with each other thing that arises. This whole universe is woven together like a single piece of white silk. Pure and unblemished. Without beginning, Without end. And so don't leave your koan behind, Take it with you everywhere you go. What is Buddha? This very heart-mind is Buddha.