love yourself

enough

to

grow.

~j

#SelfLove #StartHere #StartNow #grow #EngagedBuddhism #Zen #Enso #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

as individuals we can take ownership of our own healing to transform our pain, to relieve our suffering. however, it seems to me that systemic, societal, or collective harm requires acknowledgment of the harm done and some form of accountability in order to heal. we’d rather slap a band-aid on where major surgery is needed and then move on. it may be easier, but it isn’t healing.

may we scrap the band-aids and be willing to do the difficult work needed.

~j

#MedicineBuddha #bodhisattvas #healing #transformation #EngagedBuddhism #JWWart #JinpaLhaga

O that my monk’s robe

were wide enough

to gather up all

the suffering people

in this floating world.

~

Ryōkan

so much suffering.

some at the hands of injustice, oppression, cruelty, and harm.

some at the hands of their own fear and anger.

all suffering, all in need of liberation.

individual suffering has collective consequence and there is no full awakening without collective awakening.

may we be up to the task.

with strong backs and open hearts, we move forward.

~j

#Bodhisattvas #Zen #EngagedBuddhism #SitDownRiseUp #Ryokan #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

as the polls close and we huddle in to watch results, please remember that whatever the outcome, there is no stopping love.

as long as there are people willing to embody love, willing to offer love, willing to serve the purpose of love and act in service of love, love continues to move through hearts, through communities, through the world, through life, and there is hope.

this doesn’t mean there isn’t harm or danger. it means that within harm and danger we can know that love still exists even within our own hearts. that love, is potential. potential for light cutting through darkness and a reason to hope.

hope is manifest through the work of people who refuse to stop loving, who refuse to be apathetic and indifferent to harm.

what does love look like?

love looks like empathy and fierce compassion. love looks like spaciousness and nonviolence. love looks like justice and equality.

know your heart, embody love, and have hope.

~j

#Vote2020 #SitDownRiseUp #FierceCompassion #Hope #MindfulResistance #EngagedBuddhism #Bodhisattvas #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

when wild worldly winds swirl around us, it can be a revolutionary act and offering of dignity and love to simply sit and breathe. how else can we rise to meet suffering wholeheartedly with authenticity, if we haven’t met and befriended ourselves?

just sit. just breathe.

and #VOTE.

~j

#SitDownRiseUp #Vote2020 #MindfulResistance #meditation #practice #EngagedBuddhism #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

our humanity is not defined by our accumulation and consumption, by the size of our 401k or our grasping to keep it impossibly secure at all costs including the welfare and lives of others.

our humanity is defined by the quality of our heart.

is it generous?

is it open and free?

is it empathetic?

is it warm and gentle?

is it kind and compassionate?

when we are consumed with avoiding discomfort and grasping at some sense of our own well-being and security, or lost in the dullness of our indifference, our lives shrink in disconnection. our potential is much greater than the smallness of that. we have the potential to wake up to our interdependence, our shared life, and recognize the connection that already exists, and to bring benefit to it rather than suffering.

may we choose the path of open-heartedness toward ourselves, our neighbors, our earth and all life.

#VOTE

~j

#Vote2020 #OpenHeart #humanity #SitDownRiseUp #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga

what seeds are we planting and cultivating?

seeds of generosity?

seeds of open-heartedness?

seeds of tenderness and warmth?

seeds of compassion?

thoughts come and go, they arise and fall away. what thoughts are we giving life through our word seeds and action seeds?

these are what we are offering to the world. these are what we are planting for ourselves and generations to come.

let’s practice planting seeds of authenticity, of clarity, of generosity, of kindness and compassion. 🌱❤️🙏🏻

~j

#VOTE #Vote2020 #SitDownRiseUp #EngagedBuddhsim #JinpaLhaga

showing up is our role in all of the suffering we see.

showing up is our privilege and responsibility.

showing up is brave and a form of warriorship.

this is what we practice in meditation – showing up. over and over again, we keep coming back and showing up to the moment, to ourselves. the practice of showing up for ourselves, is a practice for showing up for others. harm and suffering do not magically go away. they go away, because people choose to show up.

showing up can look like meditation.

showing up can look like listening.

showing up can look like laughing or crying.

showing up is also to #WearAMask.

showing up is also to #VOTE.

just show up!!

~j

#JustShowUp #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #EngagedBuddhism #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

Avalokitesvara

Bodhisattva of and embodiment of compassion.

may we all strive to be bodhisattvas, vowing to embody compassion for a world in need.

#VOTE to end cruelty and harm, to bring forth integrity, decency and compassion 🙏🏻

~j

#Avalokitesvara #bodhisattva #compassion #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

today i cast my vote.

i cast my vote for hope and possibility.

i cast my vote against cruelty and harm.

these past 4 years have grieved me, so much harm. these past 4 years, however, have also revealed a reservoir of resilience and a buoyancy that fuel me to persist. the work of compassion, fierce compassion, which is the embodiment of love is needed and called for during this pivotal time. the urgency of moral obligation to each other and our world, especially to life that has been marginalized, targeted, and oppressed, with racism, aggression, and violence, is a call we must answer.

hope is manifest through the work of people who refuse to stop loving, and refuse to be apathetic and indifferent to harm.

so love on, dear friends, have empathy and embody love with your compassion – and #VOTE. 🙏🏻

~j

#VOTE2020 #Hope #compassion #love #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga