Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Roshi - Zen Mountain Monastery, New York, Saturday 06/25/2022 - Drawing from the teachings of Shantideva (8th century India), Dogen (13th century Japan) and Longchenpa (14th Century Tibet), Shugen Roshi speaks of bodhicitta, the wish to realize enlightenment for the benefit of others. "This bodhicitta is not something. It’s alive, it’s inexpressible, it’s inconceivable. It doesn’t belong to buddhism but buddhism understands it profoundly, and we have our own language for it. It’s available to every person but you cannot possess it. You can’t lose it. But it can grow dim. It is born from faith, it is nurtured by faith, it is verified by faith, within ourselves. Bodhicitta requires an opening, a softening, to find its way in to our discerning mind that is beyond calculation. Where does this come from? In response to affinity between the dharma and the student. You feel it when it’s there. You know it. You may not understand it, be able to express it. But there is something going on. Something is stirring, something is coming together. It’s as if it is something you already know. It is not a stranger. But it is strange..."