It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye. ~Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Bodhichitta is a Sanskrit word often referring to the compassionate and loving nature of one’s own being… the noble or awakened heart… like bodhi, which in itself refers to the awakening and knowing of mind to one’s true nature, as well as the nature of all that is interconnected and interbeing. Bodhichitta is an experience of warmth and openness… a capacity that is available to all of us as living beings. In our attention & attending to this capacity,we can expand to include all other sentient beings. It is said that in difficult times, it is Bodhichitta that heals. It is the “soft spot” inherent in you and me… the unscathed jewel of courage, bravery and kindness.

Connecting and touching our loving, open, and compassionate nature is only part of Bodhichitta as it is also immersed in being closed, blocked, isolated, or negatively charged. It need not matter whether you are presently able to be loving or compassionate, or simply obstructed from love and compassion. What matters is your capacity to be aware of… and to attend to the obstruction as well. Bodhichitta helps free us and others from suffering from grasping & fixation. It is the jewel that connects all sentient beings. The root of happiness and of human suffering is Bodhichitta… it’s moving into your experience… and into yourself moment to moment.

Have you ever heard the saying?… “Don’t let life harden your heart.” Inherent to these words is something we all possess- choice… and no matter how we are at any given time in our lives, we always have the choice to transform or to wake up! The armor we wear, and that which is fortified by our emotions can protect us from our fears, anxieties, and insecurities, but it also walls us from what we truly need to experience to live life fully. Underneath hardness there is tenderness. Beneath the turbulence there is calmness. This is why we rest just below the storyline of our thoughts and feelings as we simply observe & calmly abide in our practice. We are never truly separated from awakening, enlightenment, Bodhi, or Bodhichitta.

The openness and warmth of bodhichitta is in fact our true nature and condition. Even when our neurosis feels more basic than our wisdom, even when we’re feeling most confused and hopeless, bodhichitta- like the open sky- is always here, undiminished by the clouds that temporarily cover it. In the midst of our suffering, in the hardest of times,we can contact this noble heart of bodhichitta. It is always available in pain as well as in joy as long as we are open to the experience of one or the other without fear or trepidation to be fully present.

As we continue and deepen our meditation practice, and as we learn to accept uncertainty, groundlessness, and fear we can embrace the seed of bodhichitta. We will find that tenderness in sorrow and in gratitude. We will find it behind the hardness of rage and in the shakiness of fear. It is available in loneliness as well as in kindness. This transformative power is within you, but its awakening and its cultivation depends entirely upon you… the Warrior Within... to embrace life and live fully no matter the comfort or discomfort… no matter the pain or the joy. It’s how we see and relate to our moments as they unfold,with being completely awake or enlightened even though we may be just beginning to fully enter into what we know not what… those who become fearless are allied with Bodhichitta.

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