Happy 88th Birthday to Pema Chödrön! 🙏🏼

bows of gratitude for her life, practice, teaching, & many books that have benefited multitudes – including me.

from her book, “Practicing Peace in Times of War”:

“War and peace start in the hearts of individuals…We can talk about ending war and we can march for ending war, we can do everything in our power, but war is never going to end as long as our hearts are hardened against each other…there will never be peace until somebody softens what is rigid in their heart…So the solutions have to come from a change of heart, from softening what is rigid in our hearts and minds.”

so it seems to me our challenge in our time is to work on ourselves – the delusion, aggression, & violence w/in ourselves – while also pointing to & calling out what is harmful in our world, standing w/ those who are targets of harm & oppression, working to dismantle institutional harm, & being instruments of healing, while not adding to the harm & destruction we are bearing witness to.

silence is certainly not the answer in the face of harm or danger of harm.

rather, we can speak from our open hearts w/ clarity, compassion & wisdom, for the benefit of all.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#PemaChodron #peace #war #nonviolence #OpenHeart #path #practice #JinpaLhaga

📷: Pema Chodron Foundation

“For hate is not conquered by hate: hate is conquered by love. This is the law eternal.”

~ Buddha (Dhammapada vs. 5)

love is the path and practice.

the source, the compass, the wind in the sails, the journey, and destination.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#NoHate #love #EternalLaw #EternalRule #UnalterableLaw #UnendingTruth #TheBuddha #SiddharthaGautama #TheDhammapada #Buddha #OpenHeart #path #practice #RussellSimmonsQuote #JinpaLhaga

“Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.”

~ C.S. Lewis

bravery is a practice.

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#courage #bravery #virtue #CSLewis #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #art #calligraphy

to love

without reservation

or hesitation

our hearts

completely open

courageously open

with fearlessness

in the face of pain

when all seems dark

this is our calling

this is our task

to wake up this world

reminding her

that she is loved

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#love #OpenHeart #fearlessness #calling #bodhisattvas #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

🌀

there is a Jewish traditional mystical story i draw inspiration from, the legend of the “lamed vavniks”, whom i’ve seen referred to as the hidden saints. my understanding of the story is that in every generation there are 36 righteous individuals, who are just and compassionate, whose virtuous presence keeps this world from descending into utter darkness and destruction.

i am inspired by this as a representation of all the people who are doing good in this world, embodying love, honoring the sacred, and living with empathy and compassion. in Buddhism, we may call such people bodhisattvas, people who vow to continue coming back to do the work of love, freeing all beings from suffering. and i am reminded that each of us can choose to be such a person for this beautiful world. we can choose to embody love, honor the sacred, and live with empathy and compassion.

this gives me hope.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#LamedVavniks #HiddenSaints #RighteousOnes #bodhisattvas #service #love #empathy #compassion #hope #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

🌀

“We’re one, but we’re not the same. We get to carry each other,

carry each other…”

~ U2

our strength, our power is the very same moral virtue that is missing from any authoritarian regime: empathy – the concern for the well-being of others. we should be concerned for the well-being of others, if not for the virtue in and of itself, then for the reality that our well-being is inextricably tied to each other. this is the truth of interdependence. may our hearts open to the well-being of others and may we speak and act in ways, and support systems and structures, that honor and uplift our shared existence.

may it be so.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#empathy #interdependence #OpenHeart #path #practice #U2 #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

no one, but the very richest of the rich who are in league with the dictator & stay in his good graces, avoid the destruction brought forth by a fascist authoritarian government.

Timothy Snyder in his book, “On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century”, warns us that some powerful individuals & organizations, corporations, & institutions will surrender power in advance to the would be dictator to attempt to stay in his good graces. such movement also depends on the silence & indifference of the populace. 

such “strategy” is a fools errand, a dance w/ the devil. authoritarianism has no loyalty, but to the leader himself & those at the top echelons of power.

i posted just last week about Project 2025 w/ a link to the document itself & a link to a document that highlights the threats (see July 4th blogpost). here’s a quick bullet point preview of it as well.

maybe hearts & sanity prevail.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#Project2025 #authoritarianism #StandWithDemocracy

🌀

“We say, to shine one corner of the world — that is enough. Not the whole world. Just make it clear where you are.”

~Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

there’s a lot going on, in our personal lives, and in the world at large. so much suffering, but also much beauty and joy. the suffering can seem overwhelming, so many conflicts and challenges. it’s impossible to take it all on, but it is fully possible with practice to make it clear where we are, to keep our hearts open where we are, to shine our light where we are.

shine bright, dear friends.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#shine #light #candle #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #OpenHeart #MindfulResistance #SitDownRiseUp #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

🌀

meditation is a practice of not waiting until later, but gently and persistently meeting life as it is and as we are in this moment.  staying put. meeting our demons with compassion and gentleness.  moving beyond winning and losing. letting go of control, allowing space for awareness and insight to arise. it is really only from such a space that we can transform and heal our suffering rather than transmit our suffering. suffering not attended to and healed can contribute to harm towards ourselves and others. from a space of awareness and insight we have no need to go to war with ourselves, with others, with life. we can have peace and share that peace with others, for others, and the benefit of the world.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#meditation #awareness #insight #LettingGo #gentleness #kindness #peace #OpenHeart #path #practice #Buddha #buddhism #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #art

this nation began as an experiment in democracy, where power was no longer to be found in the hands of a sovereign theocratic ruler.with the SCOTUS immunity ruling earlier this week, one of the last guardrails against possible tyranny in this country has fallen. Trump’s own words of what he will do with a 2nd term aligned with his adoption of Project 2025, if elected, puts this country in grave threat of authoritarianism and theocracy.

i’ve practiced my patriotism today by reading up on Project 2025 and its danger to our democracy. it is my strong suggestion that each of you do the same.

Project 2025 is a policy agenda document created by The Heritage Foundation whose President, Kevin Roberts, said earlier this week, “We are in the process of the second American Revolution, which will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.” they wish for and are working toward a Christian Nationalist theocratic state with an authoritarian leader. there’s nothing Christ-like about this. Project 2025 is a 900+ page book with detailed plans for every aspect of our government, from agenda and policy to loyalist staffing and consolidation of power with the President, with goals of targeting political enemies (including protestors), immigrants, LGBTQ+ people, abortion/contraception, women’s use of abortion and conception along with those who provide or assist, through use of Homeland Security and military on civilians on domestic soil along with use of other agencies, and plans to get rid of the Dept. of Education. Project 2025 is public and you can access at project2025.org

Protect Democracy is pushing back and has made available their own document which breaks down the threats of Project 2025 clearly, with ways to respond. You can access at authoritarianplaybook2025.org

In addition, here are two recent articles outlining the threat:

Conservatives Plan to Ban Abortion and Cut LGBT Rights Starting Next January | The New Republic

https://www.axios.com/2024/07/02/trump-2025-imperial-us-presidency

i understand that this may be overwhelming, so read as you can with self-care in mind. however, we also must stay informed, so we can relate and act accordingly. 

may democracy prevail!

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#July4th #democracy #StatueOfLiberty #JinpaLhaga #JMWart