Ultimately, we come to understand that heart-mind is a quality, not a thing. Heart-mind is like the quality sweet. The quality sweet is experienced in many ways:
- the taste of a vine ripe tomato or fresh picked strawberry
- a moment with someone we love
- the giggle of a child over a common, therefore, wonder-full thing
- the sky, the stars, a sunset or sunrise
- the colors of Autumn or a leaf falling gracefully.
For me, all these are sweet. I would add to that certain meditative states, peace, joy, kindness, and creative inspiration. Heart-mind is similar and, even, has much in common with the spectrum of sweet.
The realization that heart-mind (bodhichitta in Sanskrit) is a quality, not merely a thing, is significant. This undoes the either/or of heart versus mind, mind versus heart. Instead, due to the full range of quality itself, heart-mind opens us to our fullness – the fullness of being human.
Downloadable podcast: It’s a quality not a thing.