How often have we heard it said, “Follow your heart?” Then what becomes of the mind, the intellect, the fulcrum of all our thoughts and actions? The heart beats to pump blood throughout the body and works ceaselessly from beginning till the very end. It is said the mind, though arising out of brain function, does not reside in the brain, and so it may be possible to download the mind for future reference. But the heart, once it stops beating, ceases its function. Which is why when scientists explore the possibility of installing mind functions into robots, the heart dimension gets left out and to be robotic becomes synonymous with being without feeling.
We use the heart symbol to express love, affection, and compassion. Does not the mind allow for these emotions? Even a technocrat like Steve Jobs talked of following your heart. He said, “Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow hour heart and intuition.”
I thought that the Buddhist Heart Sutra was all about the heart. In fact, it talks of how form is shunyata, emptiness, and emptiness is form. That is, ultimately, all phenomena are shunyata. Known through and as the five aggregates of human existence — form, feeling, volitions, perceptions, and consciousness. All are of dependent origination. Therefore, the heart here is a metaphor to indicate that the sutra contains the core philosophy of Buddhism, its insights that are central to Buddha’s teachings. That is why when we say, the heart of the matter; it means whatever is crucial to the matter at hand. No one says mind of the matter.
In southern parts of India, especially in Tamil Nadu, the daily practice is to create an alpana in front of the home. A different design is drawn in front of the home altar. Meaning the heart of the lotus, signifies the belief that as the lotus in the heart begins to bloom, so too, one progresses on to the spiritual path, experiencing core concepts that lead to evolvement to higher dimensions.
It is clear that the heart has always been a metaphor for the core, the most important aspect of anything. And the heart is also seen as being the heart of emotions. A rational mind might not easily submit to love, but one who follows the heart can be said to be more romantically inclined, for logic and reason take a backseat when chemistry and emotions come into play. Love as emotion in not such a thing, as it is also related to devotional love, as the divine, pure love.
Love is said to work miracles. You should follow your heart, and the mind will follow you. Believe in yourself, and you will create miracles. Which is why most love songs and poems exalt the heart as the focal point. Hence K-pop idol Jimin, in his new album Muse, asks, “Who is my heart waiting for?”
