The Wind of the Mind

The Buddha is your own Mind, make no mistake to bow (to external objects). “Buddha” is a Western word, and in this country it means “enlightened nature”; and by “enlightened” is meant “spiritually enlightened.” It is one’s own spiritual Nature in enlightenment that responds to the external world, comes in contact with objects, raises the eyebrows, winks the eyelids, and moves the hands and legs. This Nature in the Mind is the Buddha, and Buddha is the Way, and the Way is Zen.

D.T.Suzuki in his 1926 essay, Satori is explaining Zen and Buddhism in terms we all can understand regardless of our religious beliefs. In fact, his explanation sums up the teachings of all the worshipped sages over the years. The Way is in our own mind or consciousness and when we use it in tandem with our objective focus our world becomes a truly unique place.

The inner validity that is within the self forms the integrity of the physical body as well as the integrity of the social body. The inner self functions for the good of itself as well as the good of society. The individual good is society’s good and that action represents spiritual and physical fulfillment or enlightenment.

The inner universe of the self is the true frontier of discovery and exploring it illuminates the private aspects of reality as well as the experiences of the entire species. The ability to be aware of the unknown reality of Zen as Suzuki describes it is our natural state of being. In the cradle of Zen we meet our religion face to face and discover the unity of consciousness.

The names or labels we use for external worship become immaterial because the experience is not about worship; it is all about oneness within the emptiness of consciousness. That emptiness is filled with the bubbling voice of Zen that has nothing to hold on too, but the self that floats in the wind of the Mind.