it is a common myth that in meditation practice we are striving to stop thinking or clear our mind of thought.
😳 🤯

there is a different way, however. a middle way that doesn’t push away thoughts (aggression) or grasp after our thoughts (attachment) or hop on the train of thought and not realize we are lost in thought or are here in this place at this moment as we are (ignorance).

we can sit, we can feel our body sitting. we can breathe, we can feel and pay attention to our breathing. we can also be aware of this moment and our surroundings (sight, sound, sensations, emotions, thoughts) as phenomena arises and falls away.

we can learn to be with what is and allow the rise and fall. we have the ability, the capacity to live with such spaciousness. what a lovely way to live! what freedom!

the practice of this, is meditation.

~j
⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#meditation #path #practice #zen #ShunryoSuzukiRoshi #JinpaLhaga

Image from Tricycle original post on Instagram • @tricyclemag From “Small Mind, Big Mind” by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
🔸

*If you find this content beneficial and would like to support my sharing, please visit: http://www.patreon.com/jaysenwaller

i was browsing through some previous writing and came upon this. seems so appropriate given the passing of Thay this past week, his teaching of mindfulness of life, this present moment, and the breath.
the breath, as is with much meditation practice, such an anchor in his teachings:

“Feelings come and go, like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”

“Peace is every breath.”

“Breathing in, I know I am breathing in. Breathing out, I know I am breathing out.”

“Breathing in, I see myself as a mountain. Breathing out, I feel solid.”

in some practices we work with the breath (by counting, by lengthening or shortening breath). in other practices we are simply aware of our breath without any manipulation. we use the breath as an anchor in our practice, placing our attention on our breath. the breath is there already. we don’t have to force the breath. because we are placing our attention on our breath which is already happening involuntarily in the body, our mind is then with the body. the two are once again together, in union, in harmony. this can have an almost immediate physiological benefit, and calming effect. this can be an even joyful practice. breathing is life.

every breath is a cycle of life and death, and then life again, until no more (in this time and place anyhow). the breath goes out, we die, the breath comes in we are alive. we cycle through these little seasons or “lives” moment to moment, each one a gift.

breath is also a truth teller. the breath doesn’t lie or fool us – our mind, our ego. our breath bears witness to when we are stressed, worried, afraid, happy, excited, or calm and shows it. the breath can also come to our aid, like a good friend, who knows us well.

let us practice making friends with our breath, paying attention to it, enjoying its company.

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#breath #breathing #breathe #life #seasons #sacred #mindfulness #meditation #path #practice #ThichNhatHanh #ThichNhatHanhQuotes #JinpaLhaga

this is the thing right here 👆🏻

we must be engaged.
love IS engaged 🙏🏻

may we learn to practice appropriate care – both self care and care for others, and this world.

our open heart, our settled mind, and mindful breathing set the stage for appropriate and beneficial care. the practice itself is an act of love.

may our speech, our actions, our service, our art, our work come from this spacious place, inspired by love and embodied with compassion.

~j
⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#love #peace #justice #equality #democracy #climate #HumanRights #activism #mindfulness #EngagedBuddhism #path #practice #MLKquotes #JinpaLhaga

#NeverAgain

#HolocaustMemorialDay

#HolocaustRemembranceDay

#JMWart #JinpaLhaga

hello friends!

at the suggestion of some friends, i’ve finally created a Patreon to help support my aspiration to continue to provide inspirational and contemplative social media content, along with offering affordable and accessible meditation instruction, while also prioritizing my role as full time caregiver for my dad who has Parkinson’s/Lewy Body Dementia.
if you feel so moved, please check it out and see if there is a tier that interests you. i’ve put together what i hope to be some beneficial and valuable rewards for your kindness and generosity.

link: http://www.patreon.com/jaysenwaller

wishing health and happiness

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#meditation #contemplation #generosity #Dana #Patreon #JMWart

today in my remembrance of Thay (Thich Nhat Hanh), i contemplated his ensō art and calligraphy. i painted an ensō in the style of Thay to honor and remember him.
in ensō painting and practice, not only is the moment captured just as it is, but the spirit, style and practice of the artist/teacher is also revealed.
Thay had such a distinct style in his ensō painting. his strong practice of mindfulness, his calm, focused and steady energy is so apparent.
holding Thay with gratitude and reverence in my practice and heart.
~j
⭕️♥️🙏🏻

*see second pic for a wonderful little book available filled with Thay’s calligraphy

#Thay #ThichNhatHanh #Zen #Buddhism #enso #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

my heart.
i’ve been attempting to string together words to express what my heart feels and wants to say. all words will fall short. in this moment, there is grief, there is gratitude, there is love. as i breathe in, i come home to this moment, to my grief, to my gratitude, to my love for Thay. breathing out, i smile with sadness, with gratitude, with love for Thay. this moment, this heart, this practice, this path, has the capacity to hold all.
dear, Thich Nhat Hanh has transitioned into the Great Beyond this day. he will be remembered for many things. He was many things – Zen Master, renowned mindfulness teacher, celebrated peace and climate change activist, founder of Engaged Buddhism, and prolific author. beyond all of this, or perhaps due to all of this, he was my gateway to this path and practice, my root teacher.
in Buddhism, a root teacher takes up residence in our hearts. it’s difficult to put into words the reverence and love i have for him. i can only say that when i first read his words, it felt like i had arrived at something fresh yet familiar, some truth that i had perhaps forgotten but remembered with the swell of my heart and clarity of mind. it felt like i had arrived home. a feeling that continues to touch each moment of my life. my alter space, my walls are filled with his presence. but mostly, his teachings on mindfulness, on tenderness, on open-heartedness, continue to be a companion on this path. for me, he is the embodiment of bodhisattva.
i’m sure i’ll post much in coming days, but for now i’ll turn to his translation and commentary of The Heart Sutra for some words (see below and also photos).

Gate Gate Pāragate Pārasamgate Bodhi Svāhā(Gone, gone, gone all the way over, everyone gone to the other shore, enlightenment, svaha!)
~j

#Thay #ThichNhatHanh #Zen #Buddhism #EngagedBuddhism #mindfulness #peace #SocialJustice #ClimateChange #OpenHeart #path #practice #JinpaLhaga

there will be many inspirational quotes posted today from Dr. King, i’ve posted quite a few of them in my time. reminders that light will overcome dark, that love is the foundation & answer.
all true, but we often fail to go the layer deeper where Dr. King clearly compels us to see that light doesn’t overcome darkness on its own – it only does so through our words, our actions, our work, that love is work.
there are communities, this very moment beginning to ban his work, because of their shadowy ignorance of Critical Race Theory, when this time we are living is the very time we most need his work. Dr. King’s prophetic words on society’s ills, the original sin of racism, the disgrace of poverty, the horrific tragedy of war profiteering, are words we still have yet to really take in, learn, grow, transform to reflect the love we are called to be. Letter From Birmingham Jail should be required reading, not banned.
his words on the silence of the White Moderate, the comfortable, the status quo, what he called “negative peace”, a complacency to not stir the pot (while those at the bottom are getting burned!) is just as relevant today as it was when he spoke/wrote them.
Dr. King got it. he understood that we are deeply, intrinsically interconnected, interdependent. what we do & don’t do affects those around us, especially the most vulnerable who are not protected by a veil of wealth & power, or by the color of their skin. unjust systems/structures, war, climate change – all of these have a weighted impact on marginalized communities. this harm, continuing generational harm, is the result of colonialism which is aggression. our silence, our lack of engagement makes us complicit in the harm. the path of love calls us to speak & act to end aggression, to end such harm.
today, i share Dr. King’s words, to wake up our minds, to call on our hearts to open.
may it be so.

~j

#MLKjr #MLKday #DrKing #MartinLutherKingJr #SocialJustice #peace #war #poverty #conscience #love #path #practice #JinpaLhaga

affection is a feeling we may have for others or ourselves at times. it’s a feeling. it comes and goes. we won’t always feel warm and fuzzy towards others or ourselves, or situations.
love, though, compassion though – which i’d describe as embodied love in action – is a choice we make, it is an action we choose to engage in.
~j
⭕️❤️🙏🏻

Posted @withregram • @kwanumzen “Even compassion is not anything to aim for if it’s a feeling.” Quote by Zen Master Bon Hae. #zen #compassion #feelings #action #direction #purpose #kwanumzen

we don’t have to embody overwhelm, to be vigilant.we are just called to be engaged, to embody love.

steady the course.

breath by breath. word by word. step by step. one act of love after another.

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#ThisMoment #breathe #OpenHeart #steady #vigilance #path #practice #mindfulness #EngagedBuddhism #PeacePilgrimQuote #JinpaLhaga