The Buddha Mind

 

The Buddha Mind: A Practical Path Through Satvic Food 

How can one begin to describe the Buddha mind? In truth, the Buddha mind defies explanation. The moment we attempt to define it; it slips through the grasp of language. As the ancients have said, “Once you can explain the Buddha mind, it is not.” All efforts to articulate it fall short, because the mortal mind cannot communicate with what is immortal. The Buddha mind has been called many things - Beingness, Emptiness, and the Indescribable - yet these are only gestures toward something far greater. 

The Buddha mind cannot be reached through effort or study. It is not an outcome of practice, but a realization of what has always been present. It is not something to define or achieve; it is reality in emptiness. One simply awakens to it when the conditions are right. 

As long as the body breathes, the mind remains attached - tethered to illusion and time. Even in deep sleep, when the mind becomes inactive, breathing continues, and illusion lingers. The Buddha, in contrast, needs no breath, no heartbeat. The mind that clings to life and form is the mind of transience. When this mind dies - not in death, but in deep destruction, through love - only the Buddha mind remains. 

The Zen word satori means “last breath.” In its deepest sense, it marks the moment when the mind becomes inoperable, completely. What remains is unconditioned awareness - the Buddha mind - timeless, formless, changeless. It was never born and can never end. And yet, it is always with you. 

The question remains: how can one realize the Buddha mind? 

The answer, though often overlooked in modern interpretations, lies in something deeply practical. Buddha Sakyamuni himself taught that a body that is healthy and well-nourished enough to sustain true inner silence makes realization not only possible, but inevitable. This is the ground for awakening - not in the clouds of abstraction, but in the simple truth of a satvic diet. 

The ancient route to holistic health is through satvic food - pure, balanced nourishment that supports clarity, stability, and peace. This is not just dietary advice; it is a sacred principle. As the Arab physician Rhazes wrote over a thousand years ago: “When you can heal by diet, prescribe no medicine.” 

And to take that wisdom further: sacred food dissolves the disease of attachment. And it is an attachment to phenomena that is the final obstacle to sacred holistic health. When attachment falls away, so does the veil between the mind and the Buddha mind. 

The Buddha mind - that state of pure awareness beyond duality - remains obscured not by lack of understanding, but by the persistent grip of attachment. When the separation between observer and observed dissolves, when desire no longer chains consciousness to its objects, the Buddha mind naturally reveals itself. This ancient truth, spoken of in countless teachings, became vivid to me during an encounter in the Himalayan foothills, where a forest saint illuminated how even our most basic choices - what we consume, how we nourish the body - either strengthen or weaken the bonds of attachment that veil our true nature. 

During my travels through the foothills of the magnificent Himalayas on my Enfield motorcycle, I learned of a saint living in a small hut deep in the forest. To reach him, I parked the motorcycle and walked several hours along forest paths. 

The forest itself was extraordinarily beautiful - folklore tells that the Pandavas came to this very place after the Kurukshetra war to continue their sadhana, and walking through it, I could easily believe this. Crystal-clear streams flowed down from the mountains; wild fruits I had never seen before grew in abundance, and lush patches of doob grass carpeted the ground everywhere. 

I stayed with the saint for several months, bringing dried fruits, nuts, and stone-ground flour for chapattis. Each morning, we drank doob grass juice for breakfast, along with juices from other local plants like amla and neem. But I had come for a deeper purpose: to discuss the destruction of the mind as a path to liberation from attachment. 

The saint explained that satvic food formed the foundation for building detachment, though the endeavor itself may be long and complex. He then shared a story about a master and student who had lived in this same forest years before. 

One day, the master left for an important meeting. While he was away, the student encountered a young girl in distress. He offered his help and let her sleep in the master's hut, instructing her strictly not to allow anyone inside, no matter who they were. 

That night, the student grew concerned about the girl's wellbeing. He knocked on the door but received no answer. He banged harder, announcing himself - still no response. Growing increasingly anxious, he climbed onto the roof and began stripping away the straw thatch to get inside. But when he finally looked down into the hut, he saw his master sitting in deep meditation. 

This tale, the saint explained, demonstrates the power of attachment - a beautiful woman being the ultimate test. As long as the physical body is nourished by extreme foods of yin and yang, the mind will oscillate from one attachment to another in a never-ending cycle of karmic imbalance. 

The way may be ancient, but its relevance is eternal. In rediscovering what it truly means to nourish the body with satvic purity, we also rediscover the simple, powerful truth: the Buddha mind is not far. It is right here, awaiting our stillness. 

You can read more in the book Sacred Holistic Health.