This Mind Here Now is Buddha

This Mind Here Now is Buddha

From Zen Mind by Zenki Christian Dillo

April 16, 2026 · 46 min

About this episode

The episode explores the koan exchange regarding the nature of Buddha and the mind during a Zen retreat.

This talk was offered on Day 3 of the Spring Sesshin at the Boulder Zen Center, continuing the investigation of mind begun the previous day (published two weeks ago). The inquiry turns to the koan exchange between Damei and Matsu: "What is Buddha?" – "This very mind is Buddha." Dogen warns that students have misunderstood this teaching in two ways. The first error is to equate Buddha with the ordinary functioning of mind—thinking, feeling, perceiving—which leads to complacency: if I'm already...

People in this episode

Host: Zenki Christian Dillo

Topics covered

  • Buddhism
  • mindfulness
  • koan
  • spiritual inquiry
  • Zen practice

Keywords

  • Buddha
  • mind
  • koan
  • Dogen
  • Zen
  • spirituality
  • Boulder Zen Center

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Boulder Zen Center

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