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“The universe and I are of the same root.

The myriad things and l are one body.

That is zazen.”

– Kodo Sawaki

maybe we will stop othering, manipulating, oppressing, and over consuming when we realize that there is no “other.”

may hearts open, may sanity arise.

⭕️♥️🙏🏻

#Zen #interdependence #interconnection #interbeing #life #one #love #OpenHeart #path #practice #Buddhism #JinpaLhaga #KodoSawaki #KodoSawakiQuotes

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tradition, ritual, practice, cultural norms, systems, institutions.

these words and what they stand for can hold great and even beneficial value. however, when aligned with power and othering they can be contributors to harm and suffering. when we attach to them and are loyal to them rather than valuing life and a commitment to a path of love, it can be (for lack of a better word), idolatrous.

love is our path and practice, and from where we measure all other things.

may we commit to a path of love, may we practice non-harming. may hearts open, may sanity prevail.

~j

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#love #interdependence #nonharming #nonaggression #nonviolence #OpenHeart #path #practice #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga #WaltWhitman #WaltWhitmanQuote

this is what happens every time i even suggest there should be space for dialogue around 2A and AR-15s along with weapons like it, and express frustration at our willingness to let children and whole crowds of people to continue to be massacred…and these are the tame replies. 

overwhelming, people consistently suggest such weapons are needed for defense against our own government, or say they don’t need a reason it is simply their god given right. as if… 

i’m not intimidated by such replies, not in the face of children being ripped apart, but there is a minority population who see 2A in a very unlimited no holds barred way, no matter the cost. this is a minority view that is perfectly ok with crowds of innocent people being slaughtered by such weapons, under the view that one day such weapons may be needed to keep innocent people from being slaughtered. wrap your head around that.

how do we move forward with such a view or do we move forward despite of such a view?

and how do we stay the course with hope still afire in our hearts in the face of such challenge, such violence, such horror and destruction?

this is the practice of our time.

may hearts open, may sanity prevail.

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i haven’t posted in a week so i’m way late on posting about the passing of #HarryBelafonte.

what an artist, what a heart, what a soul. a true icon. may he rest in peace 💛🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

Posted @withregram • @starsofthescreen

RIP Harry Belafonte (March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, activist, and actor.
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Original portrait, photographer: The amazing @Pal_Hansen 📸
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An absolute legend. He broke barriers as a hugely successful Caribbean-American pop star, with his recordings of “The Banana Boat Song”, with its signature “Day-O” lyric, “Jump in the Line”, and “Jamaica Farewell”. His breakthrough album Calypso (1956) was the first million-selling LP by a single artist.
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He also became a celebrated actor, starring in several groundbreaking films, including Otto Preminger’s Carmen Jones (1954), Daryl F. Zanuck’s Island in the Sun (1957), Robert Wise’s Odds Against Tomorrow (1959) Robert Altman’s Kansas City (1996), Emilio Estevez’s Bobby (2006) and Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman (2018)..
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..as well as being the subject of Susanne Rostock’s acclaimed documentary Sing Your Song (2011).
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Belafonte was a close confidant of Martin Luther King Jr. during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 60s. And was a leading advocate for political and humanitarian causes, such as the Anti-Apartheid Movement and USA for Africa. From 1987 until his death, he was a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.
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Belafonte won three Grammy Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award), an Emmy Award, a Tony Award, the Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts. In 2014, he received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the Academy Awards, and in 2022 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Belafonte died from natural causes at his home in Manhattan, at the age of 96. He leaves behind four children, including actress/model Shari Belafonte, and five grandchildren.
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The man will be greatly missed. What are your fondest memories of the great Harry Belafonte?

Barry Humphries, Australian actor and comedian of stage, screen, and television (aka @dameednaeverage) has died. Tony Award winner Humphries, at 89 years old, was still touring this last year of his life. 

although he had other memorable characters that poked fun at the elite and powerful, both in the characters played and in what they said, it is Dame Edna who stole the show for me and so many others. sometimes cutting, sometimes naughty, often politically incorrect – on purpose as a

commentary, and always hilarious.

in a time when Drag is being dragged and targeted, it can be a good reminder that Barry Humphries played drag to great success and popularity for 70 years internationally with great hilarity and joy for audiences.  Dame Edna always cracks me up.

Barry Humphries is survived by his wife, his children, grandchildren, and millions of adoring fans. may his travels ahead be held in love and may he rest in peace. i’m so grateful for his life.

if you’re familiar with this great entertainer, you’ve been blessed. if not, do yourself a favor and head over to YouTube and watch the tributes, the interviews and show clips. you’ll be glad you did.

i’ve also included a link to a short video of select clips here:

~j

🤩💅🏻💛✨🙏🏻

#BarryHumphries #DameEdna

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a swirl of stardust

passing through this fleeting life

instruments of love

~j

we have within us vast potential for empathy, to be kind and gentle, open and tender, resilient and filled with compassion, guided by wisdom.

may it be our choice, may it be so.

may open hearts, may sanity and wisdom arise.

⭕️♥️🙏🏻

#Existence #Life #Stardust

#Love #OpenHeart #Kindness #Compassion #Gentleness #Resilience #Wisdom #Bodhicitta #Prajna #EngagedBuddhism #Haiku #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #ZenEnso #Enso #ZenArt #BuddhistArt

#ContemplativeArt #Art

Happy #EarthDay2023 dear friends!

interdependent with all the life that abounds and is in danger on this spinning beauty we call home, may we LOVE our home for ourselves and others. may we take seriously the challenges before us. 

the stark truth is, if we have small children or grandchildren, their lives will be adversely affected by the consequences of climate change. that’s the new reality. we have only a couple of decades. IF we don’t make dramatic changes in our consumption, use of energy, and way of life – especially in industrialized affluent nations, the very near future (2050 onward) will see severe consequences with some areas of the earth uninhabitable with mass migration, hunger, and extinction of species. 

may our love and wisdom arise to meet this moment in time.

~j

🌍🌱💚🙏🏻

#EarthDay #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #Interdependence #Life #Love #OpenHeart #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #EarthArt #EnsoArt #ZenArt #BuddhistArt #ContemplativeArt #Art

shot for ringing a doorbell.

shot for pulling into the wrong driveway.

shot for approaching the wrong car in a parking lot.

shot for chasing a ball into a neighbor’s yard.

we have a choice in the reality we create. 

we, in the US, are creating a culture of death, with a foundation built on fear where the only answer to that fear is violence. this is a delusional path.

a self-fulfilling hell of our own making.

be mindful! discern! 

we who have been given this gift of life – how is this fear and violence, loving our neighbor?

how does this fear and violence, honor life? 

there is an Indian Proverb ~ “All the flowers of all the tomorrows are in the seeds of today.”

what seeds are we, each of us, planting today? seeds of fear and violence? or seeds of love, kindness, faith in goodness, tenderness, and nonaggression?

may hearts open, may sanity and wisdom arise.

~j

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#GunViolence #GunReform #PlantingSeeds #Nonaggression #Nonviolence #Love #OpenHeart #SitDownRiseUp #PlantingSeeds #Path #Practice #EngagedBuddhsim #JinpaLhaga

6 million Jews murdered along with millions of others including LGBTQ, gypsies, the disabled, and Catholics, by the Nazis. 

it starts with “othering” and denying the humanity of another. it’s starts with speech, with scapegoating rhetoric, and propaganda.

there is a rise in Nazism and authoritarian ideology, a rise in anti-Semitic hate crimes, along with hate crimes targeting other communities, in speech and action. 

it is vitally important that we commit our hearts, minds, our words and action to calling out and pushing back against such hate and delusion.

never forget. never again.

may our love be resilient and steadfast, and our compassion fierce, in these times.

may hearts open, may sanity arise. 

~j

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#InternationalHolocaustRemembranceDay #HolocaustRemembranceDay #NeverForget #NeverAgain #SitDownRiseUp #SpeakUp #OpenHeart #Sanity #FierceCompassion #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #StarOfDavid #Enso #Art

lifting this young man, Ralph Yarl, up in lovingkindness meditation and prayers for healing. may he be safe, may he be healed and well, may he be happy in his life, and may he be at ease and free from suffering. even so, he will carry this his whole life. horrible and unfair.

racism is a scourge, based in unreasonable fear, embodied in aggression and hate, blinding the holder of such delusional views from seeing the sacred, divine life in front of them – what was there to fear of this young man ringing a doorbell? can a young Black man not ring a doorbell?

racism always results in harm and destruction. there was nothing to defend here, no ground to stand on. it was the unreasonable fear, the racism of the 85 year old white man born out through a gun. no justification. now, may the consequences of such actions be born out for him as well and may his heart have a conversion from racism to love.

may hearts open, may sanity arise.

~j

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