quotes

The Metta Sutta

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

This is what should be done by one who is skilled in goodness and who knows the path of peace. Let them be able and upright, straightforward and gentle of speech, humble and not conceited, contented and easily satisfied, unburdened by duties and frugal in their ways, calm and wise and skillful, not proud or demanding in nature. Let them not do the slightest thing that the wise would later reprove. Wishing in gladness and in safety, may all beings be at ease, whatever living beings there may be. Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none: — the great or the mighty, medium or short or small, the seen and the unseen, those living near or far away, those born and to be born. May all beings be at ease.

Let none deceive another or despise any being in any state that none through anger or ill will wish harm upon another. Even as a mother protects the life of her child — her only child, so with a boundless heart should we cherish all living beings. Radiating kindness over the entire world, spreading upward to the skies, downward to the depths, outward and unbounded, free from hatred and ill will. Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down, free from drowsiness one should sustain this recollection. This is said to be the sublime abiding. By not holding to fixed views the pure-hearted one, having clarity of vision, being freed from all sense desires, is not born again into this world.

~

The Buddha

from “The Metta Sutta”

#TheMettaSutta #LovingKindness #Metta #wisdom #life #bodhisattvas #Buddhism #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #MindfulResistance #JMWart

advice for our President regarding nuclear war…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

in response to the President, some wisdom from Thomas Merton. and may we, my friends, substitute “Christian” as “human” and/or “humane and sane” because all of us need to participate in this mission no matter our spiritual tradition or of we have no spiritual tradition.

~j

“(the) task is to work for the total abolition of war. There can be no question that unless war is abolished, the world will remain constantly in a state of madness and desperation in which, because of the immense destructive power of modern weapons, the danger of catastrophe will be imminent and probable at every moment everywhere. The church must lead the way on the road to the nonviolent settlement of difficulties and toward the gradual abolition of war as the way of settling international or civil disputes. Christians must become active in every possible way, mobilizing all their resources for the fight against war. Peace is to be preached and nonviolence is to be explained and practiced. We may never succeed in this campaign but whether we succeed or not, the duty is evident.”

~Thomas Merton

you are…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

Don’t try to be someone else…

the cosmos has come together

and helped you manifest in this way, and you are beautiful just as you are.

To be beautiful means to be yourself.

~

Thich Nhat Hanh

you are. simple as that.

it takes courage to be authentic, to settle into who we are and all we have to offer through our talents and our open hearts, yet continue to open and grow. but it is our authenticity that benefits the world and connects us to others in a genuine way.

be you, be beautiful. it is your gift to this world.

~j

#YouAre #BeYou #BeBeautiful #authenticity #courage #presence #gift #OpenHeart #beauty #PlantingSeeds #TheLongArc #Zen #enso #JMWart

just this…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

“Light, landscape and sky.

There is no language of the holy.

The sacred lies in the ordinary.”

~

Ming-Dao Deng

#JustThis #presence #sacred #Tao #nature #life #Zen #Buddhism #enso #JMWart

Zen…

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

“Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while peeling potatoes. Zen is just peeling potatoes.”

~

Alan Watts

i love this quote. i suppose it can be perceived as a bit provocative. some may shutter a bit when first reading it. it shakes you loose a bit, as Zen often does.

but what is provocative about recognizing the sacred in the ordinary?

if we cannot find the sacred in peeling potatoes, in washing the dishes, in sweeping, then where can we find it?

it is easy to find the sacred in what we perceive as beautiful, but what about the things we perceive as mundane? can we find the sacred there as well?

in Zen monasteries, novice monks are given toilet duty, cleaning the toilets. can we find the sacred in cleaning a toilet? there is a reason some Zen Masters continued to do it even in old age.

in the Khuddaka Nikaya, the Buddha stated, “In your seeing, there should be only the seeing. In your hearing, nothing but the hearing; in your smelling, tasting, and touching, nothing but smelling, testing, and touching; in your thinking, nothing but the thought.”

so the question remains, can we be with our life as it is right now? in Zen, that is sacred, not some other place, being some other person, doing some other thing. it IS here and now. it is in the doing, in the being, it is the journey.

when we open to this, when we are aware of the freedom and responsibility of this, we find our balance, we see our interconnection, and we open further and further, embracing this fleeting world and our fleeting relationships with love.

~j

12.24.17

#GOPTaxPlan

~ jaysen ~ Leave a comment

possibly both houses of Congress are voting on the #GOPTaxPlan today.
The Tax Policy Center, an independent organization, has stated the within ten years 83% of tax-cuts income will go to the top 1% and the bottom 60% (that’s most if not everybody i know…if it isn’t you, please adopt me) will be paying more a lot more in taxes. Analysis is that we will increase our deficit by $1.5 trillion.
recently both Paul Ryan and Marco Rubio made statements that savings to help pay for this, will likely be taken from entitlements (Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) which would undeniably and adversely hit the poor, the elderly, those with disabilities.
this isn’t a partisan issue. this is a moral issue. how we treat the most vulnerable cuts through everything else and is at the heart of who we are and who we want to be.
there’s a lack of #empathy from those in power toward those not in power. i was listening Chuck Grassley and Orin Hatch recently and as they talked about those on assistance programs, it wasn’t even indifference that i heard, i heard disdain. it was gross, but mostly sad.
this is an issue of the heart and soul, a lack of awareness of our interdependence, a lack of recognition that our destinies are tied to each other. the story will not end with what is possibly passed today, with this tax plan. but, the story will be deeply changed – initially for the most poor and vulnerable, but also and eventually for those in power. we cannot escape our actions, if not outwardly, then inwardly. neither is burden we want to carry as a country.
if this concerns you or speaks to your heart, please call your Senator, your Representatives, send faxes, and use your social media platforms.
may all be well, safe, at peace and free from suffering.

~j
12.19.17

#immoral #TaxPlan #interdependence