83 of 108 Gates of Dharma Illumination

[Shokai]

一百八法明門
IPPYAKUHACHI-HOMYOMON
One Hundred and Eight Gates of Dharma-Illumination

[83] The bodhi-mind is a gate of Dharma-illumination; for [with it] we are not separated from the Three Treasures.

Bodhicitta, or the Bodhi-mind, is the "aspiration to enlightenment" in Mahayana Buddhism, combining immense wisdom and compassion for the sake of all sentient beings. It is the "awakened mind," focusing on realizing the true nature of reality to attain Buddhahood and end suffering. According to the 14th Dalai Lama, bodhicitta is the aspiration to bring about the welfare of all sentient beings and to attain buddhahood for their sake - is really the distilled essence, the squeeze juice, of all the Buddha's teachings, because ultimately, the Buddha's intention is to lead all sentient beings to perfect enlightenment.

How does this fit with your perception of a seeking mind and how it played out in your Practice??


合掌,生開
gassho, Shokai
stlah
仁道 生開 / Jindo Shokai
"Open to life in a benevolent way"

[Tenryu]

Bodhi-mind doesn’t appear to me as a strong wish to reach enlightenment. I didn’t come to Zen searching for something. Practice felt natural from the beginning, more like sitting down in the middle of life than setting out on a journey.

Over time I noticed that when nothing special is pursued, a quiet care for others is already there. Not as an ideal to fulfill, but simply because we share the same passing moments. In that way, nothing is sought, yet nothing is separate.

Gasshō,
Tenryū
sat&LaH

[Tairin]

Thank you Shokai.

I am not attached to the notion of enlightenment either for myself or for others. I am not even sure I know what I mean when I say enlightenment these days.

I do wish for the best for other sentient beings. I do my best to leave more positive karma than negative karma not just for myself but I understand that my words, thoughts, and actions ripple out in unexpected ways that impacts others.


Tairin
sat today and lah

[Seikan]

I suspect that this gate has echoes of how Dogen describes our practice of Zazen being enlightenment itself. That is, the cultivation of Bodhicitta/Bodhi-Mind is itself an embodiment of the Buddhadharma. In seeking to achieve Buddhahood for the sake of saving all beings, we ARE saving all beings through our seeking.

Gassho,
Seikan
stlah

[Choujou]

When I first started my spiritual journey after leaving Christianity, I was seeking without for answers, for a higher power, for truth… for anything that made sense of the fact that I felt there was a deeper more profound level to life that the secular world tries to ignore. It was this way until a spiritual/paranormal experience I had opened me up to the truth of the Dharma: there is nothing to seek when it is already here. All beings are already “enlightened” but do not see it because of their small minds getting in the way. This gate reminded me of something I posted this morning on social media:

“If we sit still long enough,
a Buddha may appear -
not because we waited,
but because we stopped looking elsewhere.”

Bodhicitta is the “awakened mind” not the “awakening mind”… it’s already there! When we are in the Buddha mind, we are aware and exist within the oneness beyond oneness of all that is; Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. With compassion, we also do what we can to help all beings realize the same thing.
I guess I feel that my path has unfolded rather strangely, blending different experiences … it almost didn’t make sense to me, but now looking back, it seems so natural and normal! It’s almost like smacking myself in the head saying “Duh Chou! Wake up!” when I look back at my path.

Gassho,
Choujou

sat/lah today

[Chikyou]

When I think of bodhi-mind, I think of the vast ocean, the Cosmos, Indra’s net. The deep interconnected nature of all things. All divisions vanish, and our troubles here on Earth are tiny. (AND YET this isn’t an “out” not to help others; just the opposite, when I see the interconnected nature of all things, I see that every drop of compassion affects the whole ocean!)

Gassho,
SatLah,
Chikyō

[Seiraku]

This brings up the precepts for me. Bodhi-mind being together with the three treasures, and devoting to the treasures being together with the Bodhi-mind. Living the commitment to the three treasures is also striving to follow the precepts and live out Bodhi-mind.

Gassho,
Seiraku
Satlah