Mind here and
now is Buddha, Part 3
(Soku-shin-ze-butsu)
If
one understands the mind only in the sense of idealism, i.e. just as an idea
and therefore in a very restricted dimension, the sentence “Mind Here and Now
is Buddha” cannot be grasped comprehensively.
Here actually means spatially
accurate, at the exact location. And Now means precisely that moment. Mind
and Buddha are not independent of space and time. The Buddha-Dharma
resembles the unity of theory and practice and thus incorporates the level of
action and the practice of Zazen in
the Here and Now. It is inextricably connected to morality and contains all the
conditions of reality and truth – just as they are.
As a
result nothing is added through dogmatic fantasies or theoretical reasoning.
And at the same time, nothing is taken away
reduced, chosen or selected.
Buddhism
uses the analogy of a clear mirror which reflects everything that appears in
front of it without adding or omitting anything.
It is
no secret that the flight from and
avoidance of reality and truth is the cause of most of our mental and
psychological suffering, which we face in today’s world - just as we did in
previous times.
But
Gautama Buddha’s teaching leads us directly out of the cycle of suffering and
enables us to grasp reality fully.
We
cannot capture the true Buddha mind solely
with the realm of thought. We also need to experience and discover it
through action, while the longing for truth will lead us onto the right path.
The
Buddha mind is far more than thinking alone, it also contains, according to Dogen,
the reality of the bamboo, the mountains, the rivers, the earth, the sun, the
moon and the stars, normally
understood just as a materialistic point of view and objects. In Buddhism, the
comprehensive mind is life and death themselves, the coming and going, Zazen
practice and everyday life.
Zen-Buddhism
teaches clearly that we need to learn to differentiate between our perceptions, our ideas and our way of thinking and
reality itself. We should not mistake one for the other and confuse them. That
is why Dogen says:
“If we have never awakened the will ( to
the truth ), have never undertaken the practical training, never ( realized )
the Bodhi-mind and have never Nirvana ( experienced ) - then there is no (
state ) `Mind here and now is Buddha´.”
It is
sufficient if the desire for the truth is manifested in just one single moment or in one atom of our body for the true
Buddha-mind to be realized.
This
is why the Buddha-mind is far more extensive than the “spirit-essence” of the
Brahman Srenika and the doctrines of the southern masters.The true spirit is
realized when the desire or the will for truth is aligned with ethical action.
