My practice has given me, not always and not perfectly, the capacity to “allow.” I don’t see this as surrender, rather as a humble-not knowing spaciousness allowing life to unfold. Can we do good, beneficial work from a place of integrity and compassion, without giving in to the temptation to grasp and control the outcome?

I think so.

May it be so.

~j

#TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #allow #meditation #Zen #Buddhism #calligraphy #enso #JMWart

original Medicine Buddha Enso artwork for a dear friend. he’s been through a lot this past year, yet continues to bring so much happiness to others in his work.

i don’t usually show the stages of my artwork, but it’s kind of cool to look at the work in stages rather than just the finished product. “Jason” or in my spelling “Jaysen” comes from a Greek word that means “healer.” i keep that in my heart and strive to serve it. i’m no doctor, i don’t even play one on tv, but it is my goal in my art, my writing, and meditation instruction to serve that purpose as an offering.

may all of us find the healing we need, in heart, mind, and body. may we be held in openness and love, flowing in the rhythm and harmony of life.

~j

#MedicineBuddha #healing #life #harmony #Zen #Buddhism #enso #JMWart

If you want a calm sea, you cannot get it by suppressing the stormy sea. You must wait for the same sea to become calm.

~

Thich Nhat Hanh

sit and be the calm you seek. set the example. allow the world to bend to harmony and peace you embody, rather than being caught up in the scrambling and chaos.

~j

#sit #JustSit #SettleDown #calm #meditation #practice #SelfCare #Zen #Buddhism #SitDownRiseUp #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #JMWart

Choose Love.

Surrender the desire to hurt.

~

Sanaya Roman

#love #choice #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #OpenHeart #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #Buddhist #enso #JMWart

A skillful soldier is not violent,

an able fighter does not rage.

~

Lao Tzu

#nonviolence #nonaggression #warriorship #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #EngagedBuddhist #balance #harmony #calm #Tao #Taoism #gasho #Zen #Buddhism #JMW

When you feel overwhelmed and busy, remember that you are not powerless. When your mind rests, the world also rests.

~

Haemin Sunim

we can easily underestimate the power of stillness, of silence, of calm. in a world increasing in speed, in a society and culture where attainment, acquisition, accomplishment, and consumption are praised and prized, a restful, still and calm mind is all the more powerful in bringing peace to ourselves and to the world. it is the embodiment of generosity and hospitality, of coming home to the present moment. be the calm, the stillness, the peace the world seeks.

~j

#TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #meditation #practice #CalmMind #stillness #Zen #Buddhism #EngagedBu

though what has been done cannot usually be undone either in action or in the ripples of consequence that may follow (karma), there is reason for hope. there is opportunity in every moment to plant new seeds, to offer new words and new actions, to begin anew.

with every breath, you and the present moment are reborn and can begin anew.

this is a core Buddhist practice. meditation practice is the embodiment of beginning anew. with our awareness resting on the breath in and out, we may find in short time our minds drifting off with thought, worry, or bliss. when we notice and become aware that we have left our bodies and breath, lost in any one of the myriad of thoughts that arise, we don’t berate or punish ourselves. we simply begin anew and place our awareness, our attention, our focus back on the breath as it comes in and as it goes out.

this isn’t just valuable training on the cushion, in meditation practice. this is valuable training for everyday life. our practice is a different kind of warriorship than we are used to. it is one that isn’t afraid of letting down the protections of resentment or bitterness, of fear or anger, one that has the courage to keep our hearts open and to begin anew.

~j

#BeginAnew #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #meditation #practice #OpenHeart #courage #warriorship #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #Buddhism #enso #JMWart

we may come to our meditation practice with the intention to move mountains, but something else happens. something more subtle, not so dramatic, but nevertheless miraculous.

we begin to see that the mountains are just mountains. not something to overcome. just as the valleys, the rivers, and the oceans are also not something to overcome or conquer. the mountains are the path. the valleys are the path. the rivers and oceans are the path. and we have a capacity to allow them to be just that, mountains, valleys, rivers and oceans. we begin to see all as part of the path.

they are our teachers and friends in disguise. teaching us how to open our hearts, how to be present with our minds, how to be patient with time, how to be persistent and courageous in our compassion, and how to let go into the flow and balance of life.

~j

#life #flow #path #balance #harmony #meditation #practice #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #OpenHeart #patience #courage #compassion #LettingGo #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #JMWart

“Close your eyes. Feel it. The light…it’s always been there. It will guide you.”

~

Maz Kanata

#TheForce

#IAmOneWithTheForceTheForceIsWithMe

#Jedi

#JediSymbol

#TwinSuns

#BinarySunset

#StarWars

#Zen #Buddhism

#Enso

#JMWart

we eventually come to the realization that life doesn’t bend to our comfort level.

instead, it provides the opportunity to grow in our capacity to open to life as it it in this moment.

~j

#TheLongArc #ForeverOpening #practice #OpenHeart #PlantingSeeds #life #mindfulness #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #Buddhism #enso #JMWart