Bernd Bender, Dharma talk, February 16, 2025, Akazienzendo online

In this dharma talk, Bernd explores the understanding of mind in Zen Buddhist practice. While we usually think of the mind as something located in the brain, Buddha Dharma presents us with a radically different view: all beings and all things are essentially mind. Bernd draws on a passage from Dōgen Zenji’s Genjōkōan to illuminate this teaching. „When dharma does not fill your whole body and mind, you think it is already sufficient. When dharma fills your body and mind, you understand that something is missing.“ (the full passage is provided below) Our perception is radically limited. We can never fully see the infinity of varieties that is all things. Realizing this irreducible limitation of our minds can be a gateway to humbleness and amazement, as the abundance of life reveals itself in every moment.

„When dharma does not fill your whole body and mind, you think it is already sufficient. When dharma fills your body and mind, you understand that something is missing. For example, when you sail out in a boat to the midst of an ocean where no land is in sight, and view the four directions, the ocean looks circular, and does not look any other way. But the ocean is neither round nor square; its features are infinite in variety. It is like a palace. It is like a jewel. It only looks circular as far as you can see at that time. All things are like this. Though there are many features in the dusty world and the world beyond conditions, you see and understand only what your eye of practice can reach. In order to learn the nature of the myriad things, you must know that although they may look round or square, the other features of oceans and mountains are infinite in variety; whole worlds are there. It is so not only around you, but also directly beneath your feet, or in a drop of water.“

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