Buddha, My Heart

Zenn Diagrams

Sep 7

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 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.

We all have Buddha nature — the truth of our being and the potential to live that truth.
We all have Dharma — the gift, teaching, service, or way of expressing we are uniquely made for.
And Sangha isn’t limited to a specific spiritual community. Sangha can be anywhere we feel connected — 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

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