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Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself, and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is the rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. Life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you. 

~ *Pope Francis

in Buddhism, this relationship is described as interdependence. we are in relationship with all life, offering and receiving. even life and death are a dance of offering and receiving. this, in my view, is love manifest and embodied, from us and life itself, recognized or not.

our suffering comes from our misunderstanding of this. in Buddhism we call this ignorance or delusion. in my Christian upbringing we call this sin, a state of disconnect (i.e. out of the Garden of Eden, another way of saying not in union, dualistic thinking).

this perceived separation from others and from other life is what causes us to harm and destroy, causing so much pain and suffering. it is what moves us to inflict harm and be indifferent to the suffering of others.

amazingly, we still have this core of who/what we are that in spite of such delusion, arises as empathy. empathy connects us to the tenderness/warmth in our heart, which calls forth compassion, which is love in action, connecting us to others and life. this awareness is where we find the wisdom to heal rather than destroy, to love rather than hate.

may our hearts open, may this awareness and wisdom arise. our survival depends on it.

~j

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*Please Note: based on multiple fact check sites, the above quote, although widely attributed to Pope Francis, is not verified to be an accurate attribution. There is no verified known author.

#interdependence #life #nature #love #OpenHeart #awareness #wisdom #Buddhism #EternalKnot #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #art