Buddha: the Bodhi Tree and Human Design

The Wesak Festival in April-May celebrates the birth, enlightenment, and death of Buddha. During this period the forces of awakened enlightenment associated with Buddha can pour into our lives. We prepare for this time by honoring the lessons of the middle way, unconditional love, compassion, truthfulness and mindfulness brought forth by Buddha’s teachings.

Siddhartha, a prince who lived in the 6th century BC in Northern India, left his protected life of luxury and went out into the world where he witnessed intense suffering, poverty, and illness. He embarked on a quest to understand why some were healthy and rich, while others were poor and sick. This quest ultimately brought him to the sacred Bodhi Tree where he awakened to the meaning of life, understanding that he hadn’t lost anything and there was nothing to attain. This was about Awakening: awakening to the truth of who we are. Siddhartha became known as Buddha, the Enlightened One.

This story reminds us that we are all capable of traveling to a sacred place within ourselves and awaken. When we do this we relax and have the potential to tap into something greater than ourselves.

The Bodhi tree, or any tree, is a representation of our sacred selves as well as our sacred journey. A tree’s roots perceive their environment to care for itself to eventually meld with its surrounding matter leaving the limitations of its structure behind.

The branches reach out in many directions, especially to the light. Just like a tree, we are being pulled in many directions: towards the earth for material security, comfort, and tradition as well as towards the heavens for greater and greater states of awareness. When we honor the middle way as Buddha taught, it is easier to achieve this balance.

Human Design offers parallels to Buddha’s journey because of the self-knowledge that this system offers us. Human Design awakens us to greater self-awareness and self-acceptance and some might think of this as the heavens.

We are most content and satisfied when we understand and use our body’s energies as they are designed, freeing us to discover our more sacred attributes. The Human Design Bodygraph is similar to the Kabbalistic tree of life, grounding and teaching us about life’s many pathways. A Bodygraph is made up of 9 Centers, 36 Channels and 64 Gates. Within each Gate, there are 6 lines creating 384 lines allowing us to create a rich tapestry that we can use to understand the diverse parts of ourselves and our collective humanity. We can experience immense freedom when we understand and accept our truths.

In a Bodygraph, the Head Center is at the top and the Root Center at the bottom.  Both of these are pressure centers, creating a physical force that is driven towards our Throat Center where communication and manifestation take place.

Mental pressure from the head that results in confusion, doubt, and inspiration. The Root Center is a pressure and motor center. Here we experience pressure and fuel to evolve, adapt and help us through our most difficult challenges. This center is all about adrenaline, stress and sustained momentum for living.

If our Root Center is defined in our personal Bodygraph, we have a fixed, or consistent way of dealing with the stresses and strains of life.  If the center is open, undefined, we are ideally here to learn how this adrenalized pressure center works. An undefined Root center can easily become overloaded adding extra stress on our bodies. Awareness of these processes and how we are individually designed help.

Depending on how you are specifically designed you may have a few or many of these pressure gates defined in your Bodygraph, but we experience all of these energies or aspects of them. When we imagine ourselves like a tree, living as we are intricately designed, we too can become more awakened in our lives and can deepen our understandings of the teachings of Buddha.

It is interesting to look at some of the specific pressures found n the Root Center - our roots - to see how this energy can get us going. For example, we can be under pressure to be perfect, correct things and make them better. We are driven to find purpose in our lives and transform. For some, there is always a drive to begin new things or transcend limitations. For others, there is a powerful ability to focus and concentrate and, for others, there is a deep drive to find the spirit in life.

If you have the 52 Gate of Inaction, known as Keeping Still Mountain, you may be able to sit as Buddha did and concentrate deeply in your meditation practice. If not, or depending on the other details of your Bodygraph, you may not be designed for quiet meditation. There are other ways you are better suited to connect with your spiritual nature.

If you have the 60th Gate of Limitation present in your Root Center, then you are equipped to deal with life’s limitations. When we accept our limitations, whatever they might be, we are able to transcend them and free ourselves, even a little, from life’s restrictions.

Finally, of all 384 lines in the I’Ching, the most spiritual line is found in the Root Center. The 54th Gate of the Marrying Maiden in the 4th line of  Enlightenment/Endarkenment - the alpha/omega - the beginning and the end. It is the fuel to transform at the purest level. This placement reminds us that we are holistic beings and when we are running our energy correctly, like a tree grounded in the earth, we can reach towards the heavens flowing with ease.

And as Buddha said...

“All that we are is a result of all that we have thought.”

So, honor your authentic nature and your thoughts, fill them with love and compassion and you too will be filled with greater love and compassion for yourself and the world.


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