begin anew.

though the current pandemic has brought much worry, loss and suffering (physical health, mental health, economic health), it has also brought us the opportunity to both individually and collectively stop and reflect on our lives, our relationship to family, friends, work, and in broader terms industry, economy, healthcare, animal consumption, and the environment – more specifically climate change (or more accurately, climate destabilization).

the hard truth we are facing, the physical reality that exists no matter our wishes or spin, is that we are interconnected and our actions (both beneficial and harmful) have real world immediate and long term consequences. we should no longer live like we are in our own silo. we should no longer live like we can consume infinitely without cost to overall life, both human life in terms of poverty, hunger and eventual extinction, and also animal life in terms of hunger and extinction.

the desire to go backwards is understandable, but a return to familiar normalcy (as loaded as that word is) is likely over. the delusion is that we can return to the same or the way things were within a life that is always changing – transitioning – transforming.

life is always a movement forward. life is always renewal. we can not recreate what was, we must adapt and create what will be. creating what will be is a reset, a chance to begin anew, an opportunity to live in harmony – invoking balance, empathy, compassion, kindness, and generosity.

this is moment can be a call to wake up.

what does it look like to live in a world that truly cares for all life, that puts a priority on wellness and happiness, and economic balance without over consuming resources to the detriment of other life – human, animal, plant?

we are in a liminal space – a transitional space – where we have the opportunity to fully realize, recognize and appreciate that we are not alone, we are Life, and we can begin anew. there’s great comfort and hope in that.

may this opportunity not be lost.

~j

#BeginAnew #FreshStart #opportunity #life #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #EngagedBuddhist #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

you are life.

it’s easy to forget this with much news of illness and death – and illness and death are a part of life!

we see it both in our own seemingly personal stories and in the larger collective story of Us. which is often not too dissimilar to ours in terms of illness, loss, death (and don’t forget joy, laughter, and love!).

if we take time to simply sit with life – just sitting, breathing – allowing what see and hear without attachment to names, to stories, we give ourselves an opportunity to see life at a larger scale, and how we and all living things are Life.

it is both humbling, and awe inspiring to wake up to an awareness that we ARE life, the pig IS life, sparrow IS life, the shark IS life, the insect IS life, the tree IS life. who is to say who is more valuable? life flows through all and all strive to live.

if we take the time to really look deeply at our participation in life it also is both humbling and awe inspiring. what did you do to get here? if it weren’t for your parents coming together, you wouldn’t exist. if it weren’t for the care you’ve received early on and even now through opportunities given by others, where would you be? surely your life would be different. maybe better, maybe worse. working hard is important, but none of us do this alone.

going deeper – without the sun, the nutrients within the soil, the water in the oceans, the oxygen from the forests, without the earliest collisions of asteroids with the earth, we would not exist. it is this co-arising phenomena that has created the perfect balance for us to exist.

all at once we can feel humbled by our smallness, yet so filled with awe that we exist within and are inextricably a part of this thing – Life.

~j

#YouAreLife #life #interdependence #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #EngagedBuddhist #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

you are not alone.

there is a world community sharing this pandemic experience. we truly are interdependent and interconnected.

we have the opportunity to practice empathy and compassion for each other and all life.

~j

#YouAreNotAlone #life #community #Sangha #interdependence #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #EngagedBuddhist #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

“Allow nature’s peace to flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.”

~ John Muir

may we reconnect with nature and it’s healing presence.

we cannot overestimate our need for this connection. we are interdependent with nature and all life. to be connected to, to be in union with nature, is to be connected to and in union with ourselves.

~j

#nature #healing #interdependence #EngagedBuddhist #MedicineBuddha #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

Even if you practice zazen so earnestly that you break through the floor, if your practice is only for yourself it will come to nothing.

~

Zen Master Dogen

“off the mat into the world”…”sit down, rise up”….

the quote and phrases above note the distinction between meditation as just self-help (which can also be a good thing) and as a practice and path to relieve suffering for all.

in Buddhism meditation practice is inextricably tied to ethics as a path to waking up. we are interdependent in our existence and we are a community in our waking up. the core of the practice is one of compassion, toward oneself and all life to relieve suffering. how can we leave anyone out?

when we sit, we not only sit for ourselves that our hearts may continually open and our minds may be calm and steady, but also for the rest of the world and all life, that we may be instruments of love and peace.

~j

#TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #meditation #practice #SitDownRiseUp #OffTheMatIntoTheWorld #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

flowers are blooming

in the midst of this chaos

Spring is within us.

~j

life is still blooming within you – we can do this together. all of it. 🙏🏻

#life #interdependence #community #Sangha #TogetherWeAreBetter #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #haiku #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

there is a dignity

to just sitting and

breathing.

seated on the earth,

head reaching toward

the sky.

strong back, open heart.

still.

calm.

breathing.

present.

bearing witness to life –

sights, sounds, feelings, thoughts.

allowing life,

is an act of generosity and

spaciousness.

~j

#meditation #practice #JustSit #BeStill #breathe #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #EngagedBuddhist #JinpaLhaga #JMWphotography #BWphotography #photography

as this day draws to a close, so does the Buddhist holiday, Vesak.
on Vesak, we commemorate the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death.

I decided to take a break from social media today in large part to focus on meditation, and Buddhist studies – reading and dharma talks, but I also needed to take a break from the heaviness of what I’m seeing on social media.

to be quite frank, I found myself simply over conspiracy theory bullshit, disappointed by friends abandoning reason and taking the bate down the rabbit hole. I found myself angered by this seemingly growing movement to consider preventable death as inevitable, so we can “reopen” the economy. But the top of the list was the horrific gunning down of 25 year old Ahmaud Arbery which just hit me in the gut. I came across the video on Wednesday and had watched it not knowing what it was about initially and I just couldn’t shake it from my mind or body. I’m just so sickened by this consistent insidious thread that runs through our history and infuriated by the consistent baiting by white men in seats of power and a populace that sits dormant of empathy…and I’m fearful it could one day be one of my beautiful nephews being shot, just because of the color of their skin.

so I went into today with a heavy and exhausted heart (probably in part from arguing with racists on Twitter…sometimes I can’t help it – they’ve closed their hearts and lost their sanity and I feel I should tell them that).

it is said upon the Buddha’s enlightenment, he came across some men along the road who recognized there was something different, unique – perhaps extraordinary about him. they asked him: “Are you a god?” “No,” he replied. “Are you a reincarnation of god?” “No,” he replied. “Are you a wizard or magician, then?” “No.” he replied. “Well, are you a man?” “No.” he replied. “So what are you?” they asked, being very perplexed. the Buddha simply replied: “I am awake.”

what does it mean to be awake? in Buddhist terms, it means to see clearly, to come face to face with life, the impermanence of life and the fear that may arise, with an open heart – not running away from the painful moments or grasping at the joyful moments as they fade away. to stay open is an act of love. and staying open is the only way we can name the harm we see from a place of love and then work to end the harm from a place of love.

what I see when I see grasping at conspiracy theories, abandoning of reason, of the sick and elderly, is fear, not love. what I see when I see a young man of color gunned down while running is fear, not love. I see fearful people not remaining open to loss, I see fearful people closing up their hearts and I see the destruction, the harm, the suffering that ensues.

so, there has to be people willing to be with what is uncomfortable. there has to be people willing to stay open, willing to not run away or grasp, willing to choose love. there has to be people willing to be buddhas.

may we all wake up. may we all choose to stay with it and choose to love out of it, so that we may be of benefit to a people and world suffering.

~j

Vesak #Buddha #WakeUp #Buddhism #suffering #love #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #EngagedBuddhist #Zen #art #JMWart #JinpaLhaga

you are love.

our wounds unattended, not healed, can become masked as fear, anger, resentment, and possibly hate.

don’t forget who you are.

don’t abandon who you are.

who you are is exactly what the world needs to heal as well.

your healing is the world’s healing.

~j

#TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #wounds #suffering #healing #love #life #EngagedBuddhist #JinpaLhaga #paulcoelhoquote

May The 4th Be With You!!

i was born in 1974 and A New Hope came out in theaters in 1977. from the age of three Star Wars, the Force, the Jedi – all of it, have been such an indelible part of life.

a work of fiction that points to bigger truths – light, balance, hope, heroism, family and friendship. and it probably isn’t surprising that it would also peak an interest in related real world philosophy like Taoism and Buddhism for me, that there is a connecting “force” in life, that unites all things and that we can have an active participation in that, that can benefit ourselves and all beings.

in that spirit, here are some favorite Force and wisdom quotes from Star Wars:

It’s an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us; it binds the galaxy together.” ~ Obi-Wan Kenobi

“Luminous beings are we. Not this crude matter.” ~ Yoda

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

“I’m one with the Force. The Force is with me.” ~ Chirrut Imwe

“Train yourself to let go of everything you fear to lose.” ~ Yoda

“Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering.” ~ Yoda

“To answer power with power, the Jedi way this is not. In this war, a danger there is, of losing who we are.” ~ Yoda

#StarWars #MayThe4th #MayThe4thBeWithYou #TheForce #DarkSide #LightSide #Yoda #ObiWanKenobi #MazKanata #ChirrutImwe #loss #fear #anger #hate #suffering #power #luminous #Meditation #JMWart #JinpaLhaga