Is This a Heart?

In both Sanskrit and Pali, the word citta means mind, however, in Pali it also means heart, which explains why my meditation teachers often say “heart mind” like it’s one word.

In considering the heart, I think about a quote from Jack Kornfield. He asks, “Is this a heart (he holds up an open hand)? No. Is this a heart (he holds up a closed fist)? No. This is a heart (he opens and closes his hand).” According to Jack, our work is not to try to keep the heart open at all time or to jam it shut (after a bad break-up for example), but rather to simply know when the heart is open and when the heart is closed.

If we are to apply this way of thinking to the mind, again because the heart mind is one, our work then would simply be to notice the mind states present — contracted, agitated, distracted, and so on — with a “knowing mind”, a mind that reflects back like a mirror without judgment.

Sounds easy enough — what are you waiting for?