impermanence.

we ignore it, we run from it.

what about becoming friends with it?

a fleeting moment is all the more sacred, all the more pressing to embody words and actions that bring benefit.

impermanence is opportunity to see directly, clearly and to love fully.

~j

#impermanence #life #Zen #EngagedBuddhism #practice #enso #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

seeds planted

rooted in earth

bathing in light

opening

opening

opening

we grow

~j

#growth #life #interdependence #PlantingSeeds #allowance #process #practice #transformation #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

“One day we will realize that big hearts will brings us more peace than big weapons.”

~Anthony Douglas Williams

This week marks the 75th Anniversary of the US nuclear bombing of Hiroshima (Aug. 6th) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9th).

I’m not posting photos of victims, because of how graphic they are, but I strongly encourage you to view them for the impression they will make upon your heart. We need to bear witness, to remember the horrific nature of nuclear bombs, and the devastation of nuclear warfare.

All weapons that destroy life are heinous, but weapons of such mass destruction and desolation are particularly grotesque.

May we awaken from such cruelty, harm, and suffering, vowing to never use them again.

~j

#Hiroshima #Nagasaki #NoNukes #WakeUp #BearWitness #StayOpen #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #JMWart #JinpaLhag

there is so much suffering.

may we be instruments of healing to a world in need.

each of us can examine how we speak, how we act, the energy we put out into the world.

we seldom fully see the full ripple effect of our words and actions.

are we adding love or harm?

how are we using our short time here in this life?

it all ends far too soon.

~j

#ThisLife #PlantingSeeds #RightSpeech #RightAction #kindness #practice #EngagedBuddhism #MedicineBuddha #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

One zen student said, “My teacher is the best. He can go days without eating.”

The second said, “My teacher has so much self-control, he can go days without sleep.”

The third said, “My teacher is so wise that he eats when he’s hungry and sleeps when he’s tired.”

also, drink the tea, when drinking tea. drink your tea!

~j

#JustThis!

#Zen #Buddhism

#BeWithYourLife

#DrinkYourTea!

#JMWart #JinpaLhaga

we can do this.

we have all who have gone before us, with us, in us. their wisdom, their legacy.

we are made of the dust from ancient stars.

we’ve got this.

-breathe.

-keep your heart open.

-listen to and embody love.

-speak and act from compassion, fierce compassion when needed.

-remember our interdependence, there is no “other.”

-love overcomes fear

-indifference is death

~j

#TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #OpenHeart #SitDownRiseUp #bodhisattvas #EngagedBuddhsim

#JackKornfield #JinpaLhaga

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.

“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil.”

~

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

indeed.

may we be forces of love, light, and a fierce compassion to bring an end to the aggression, the harm and the suffering we are bearing witness to.

~j

#TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #BearWitness #SitDownRiseUp #love #light #FierceCompassion #bodhisattvas #EngagedBuddhism #LOTR #Gandalf #wisdom #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

may we be mindful to manifest heaven and not hell, even as we commit to the needed and challenging work of justice, equality and healing, in the face of destruction.

may love be our refuge and resource ❤️🙏🏻

~j

The Zen Monk and The Samurai: A Parable

A large, tough Samurai, known in all the land for his greatness, once approached a little Zen Monk who was sitting deep in meditation.

Rude and impatient, the Samurai demanded harshly, forcefully, “Tell me the nature of heaven and hell.”

The Zen Monk opened his eyes, looked directly into the eyes of the Samurai, and replied, “Why should I answer such a rude, shabby, disgusting slob like you? A worm like you, why I should tell you anything? Leave. I have no time for such ridiculous questions.”

The Samurai, taken back, could not bear these insults. Consumed by rage, he drew his sword and raised it to strike the Zen Monk.

The Zen Monk, looked directly into the eyes of the Samurai and calmly declared, “That is hell.”

The Samurai froze in place. He suddenly saw clearly that anger had him in its grip. He saw that his own mind had created hell. Hell was manifest in his pride, his resentment, his rage and his hate.

The Samurai’s eyes filled with tears. He dropped his sword and put his palms together and bowed in gratitude to the Zen Monk for the insight.

The Zen Monk looked directly into the eyes of the Samurai and said calmly and gently with a smile, “That is heaven.”

#rage #hell #heaven #Zen #Buddhism #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga

“There is only one teacher.

What is that teacher?

Life itself.”

~

Charlotte Joko Beck

this moment.

so much happening.

pain, grief.

empathy, courage.

cruelty, indifference.

tenderness, beauty.

joy, laughter.

tears of both.

what is life teaching?

where do we sit?

what are our words?

where do we call home?

what is our practice,

as the world

changes seasons

daily?

~j

#life #practice #meditation #Zen #Buddhism #Enso #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #EngagedBuddhist #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

This shell is not of my own making.

Borrowing it from heaven and earth,

I live out each and every day.

~

Eiichi Enomoto

#Zen #Buddhism #poetry #shell #snail #nature #photography #BWphotography #JMWphotography #JinpaLhaga