Buddha, My Heart
Back in 1999 I attended a couple of retreats at a small Zen center in the Santa Cruz Mountains. After one of the many engaging Dharma talks, a participant reflected, “You’re speaking the language of my heart.” Her words struck a resonant chord in my own heart and got me thinking.
I came up with this three-part definition that has reverberated and stayed with me all these years:
Buddha: My heart.
Dharma: The language of my heart.
Sangha: Where the language of my heart is spoken.
I hold these terms more universally than they are often used in Buddhist dialogue.
Buddha is not just one ancient enlightened guy. We all have Buddha nature — the truth of our being and the potential to live that truth. The historical Buddha does not possess more Buddha nature than anyone else.
Dharma is not just the teaching of the ancient Buddha. We all have Dharma — the gift, teaching, service, or way of expressing we are uniquely made for. Dharma is how our Buddha nature channels itself into the world, into the Sangha.
And Sangha isn’t limited to a specific spiritual community. Sangha can be anywhere we feel real connectedness — where we see and hear and understand each other from a ground of truth and love.
ℤ∈ℕn Diagrams ⊙ 1999-2023 by Maja Apolonia Rode
