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may it be so.

for the sake of this world, the vulnerable, the marginalized & targeted, those whose sacredness & inherent dignity have been ignored & dismissed, & all life here without exception, may it be so.

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#metta #lovingkindness #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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i was 26 when the attack on 9/11 happened. i recall being woken up after the 1st tower was hit, watching live as the 2nd tower was hit, as people jumped from flames & heat, & then as the towers collapsed. 2,977 lives lost. early on, the US & the world came together in solidarity, but as usual that began to unravel. fear began to sweep over the hurting & ignorant, Sikhs were attacked – i’m thinking of Balbir Singh Sodhi, owner of a gas station who had donated money to assist victims & was planting flowers outside his gas station when a man shot & killed him, thinking he was Muslim & a terrorist. this is where we are today, where our current leaders & some who follow are naming Muslims as the enemy, grouping an entire group of people by religion (only if they are brown apparently – Dr Oz gets a pass?) & naming them the enemy. going so far to say the Mayor of NY, only 9 at the time of the attacks, is somehow guilty & representative? insane. yet, the majority of the 19  9/11 terrorists were Saudi who we remain allies w/ & the Trump family continues to do business w/, but we don’t blame all Saudis, do we? don’t fall for it. it’s the pathetic reach of every authoritarian power to name scapegoats for the country’s problems – it’s the Muslims, it’s the immigrants, it’s the trans people. what it really is, is predictable. history bears witness. may we not be gullible & manipulated into hate & harm, death & destruction – the terrorist mindset. don’t fall for it! extremism is the enemy, hate is the enemy, aggression & oppression are the enemy, violence is the enemy. if we genuinely want to honor the lives horrifically taken on 9/11, then we must abandon extremism in all of its forms wherever & in whomever it arises, aligning w/ & calling all back to love. may clear, aware, wise, & steady minds arise in this moment. may hearts open w/ empathy, warmth, & fierce compassion in this moment.

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#911anniversary #love #OpenHearts #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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“Our job is to love others without stopping to inquire whether or not they are worthy.”

~ Thomas Merton

the call to love our neighbor, who is everyone, comes without caveats.

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#love #LoveThyNeighbor #ThomasMerton #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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again, the word desecration comes to mind.

i think that is the word future generations will use to accurately describe the actions of this administration & the ideology that motivates it. but we are not powerless. we have the ability, the responsibility, & the privilege to remind all things of their sacredness by bearing witness to, standing in solidarity with, & using our voices, our talents, skills, & abilities to call forth & embody love in this time. may we do so & may it be so.

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#SpiritualCrisis #love #FierceCompassion #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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i’ve been searching for a word to describe all that is happening under this administration with their ideology, rhetoric, & actions. i often use the word destruction, but it hasn’t seemed to quite capture the magnitude or the depth, or the offensiveness of what is happening. then the other day, i heard a pastor (unfortunately can’t recall his name) on a video describe what we are experiencing, what we are seeing, in one word – desecration – desecration of people, religion, institutions, nature, buildings & monuments, traditions & laws. all of it. the word has stuck with me, i’ve carried it since i heard the pastor use it & the awareness within me finally recognized it, fully & with clarity for what it is. now, today, i saw this quote by the great poet, essayist, & thinker Wendell Berry from his poem, “How To Be A Poet (to remind myself)”. he passed yesterday, August 31st, at the age of 92. may the alchemy of our love be a healing & restorative presence, calling all things back to their sacredness, during this era of desecration.

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#WendellBerry #sacredness #desecration #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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when is the time to pay attention? when is the time to care? when is the time to speak up? to stand with those targeted & oppressed by those wielding power in harmful ways? when is the time to practice? to steady our minds? to open our heart? to love our neighbor? time is of the essence. where can we find the sacred, if not now? when do we love, if not now?

“A star at dawn, a bubble in a stream,
A flash of lightning in a summer cloud,
A flickering lamp, a phantom, and a dream.
So shall you think of all this fleeting world.” 

~ The Diamond Sutra

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#IfNotNowWhen #impermanence #love #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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the real & needed work. the walls we build in our hearts are reflected in the walls we build in this world.

if we take seriously the call to love our neighbor as ourselves, which includes everyone, then we must repeatedly ask ourselves, “who are we leaving out? who are we pushing out?” the immigrant? the trans person? people of another race, ethnicity, religion, ideology, culture, et al? 

if we are to love our neighbor as ourselves, then we must ask ourselves, “would i separate myself from my children? would i disappear myself & not give myself due process? would i abuse myself or lock myself up in inhumane conditions? would i withhold desperately needed food assistance & healthcare from myself? would i bomb myself? ethnically cleanse myself? – extending the question, “would i do this to my loved ones? would i accept this being done to my loved ones?” perhaps, in part, the harm we are seeing being done, is not just a result of cruelty, but also due to a lack of empathetic imagination. 

may we see ourselves & our loved ones in others. may we not settle for anything less than that. may we open the borders of our hearts & our minds to the love that includes all.

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#OpenHearts #OneLove #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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“Do not trust the theology of those who do not love their neighbor, the stranger, or their enemies.”

~ Jarrod McKenna

if it isn’t love, toss it.

or deconstruct it & then reconstruct it in love.

rebuild it in love.

bring it into life, anew.

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#LoveIsthePath #LoveIsThePractice #JarrodMcKenna #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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rest well, in well deserved peace, Dolly Parton. i have no doubt you’ll continue the great work of love, you so embodied, in the great beyond, joining hands & hearts with saints & bodhisattvas.  318 million books given to children, millions of dollars donated to vaccine & medical research, disaster relief, & other causes, & a consistent philosophy of life dedicated to loving your neighbor & loving out your faith in the most beneficial way with the most integrity. gratitude for your life.

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#DollyParton #saint #bodhisattva

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Om.

…there’s no place like it.

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#Om #SacredSound #calligraphy #JinpaLhaga #JMWart