today many Buddhists celebrate Vesak, commemorating the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and death. having come from excess, having seen the face of suffering, and finding no escape in extreme aestheticism, Siddhartha Gautama sat beneath the Bodhi tree setting in motion the path to end suffering (dissatisfaction) which begins with authentically meeting ourselves where we are and life as it is.

if we are to wake up, it can happen with this life, with this heart and this mind.

this is it.

today i commemorated with some extra meditation, listening to talks and making these ensos 😌🙏🏻📿

~j

#Vesak #BuddhaDay #Buddha #Buddhism #enso #Zen #JMWart

the opportunity to be of benefit, to do good, to open our hearts, to be kind, generous, and compassionate is now.

~j

#StartOfTheDay #opportunity is #now #ThisMoment #intention #morning #PlantingSeeds #TheLongArc #LoveWins #bodhisattva #DalaiLama

forgot to pay this last night from my social media post:

today was (is) Arbor Day.

i can’t overstate my love for trees. they are sacred monuments of balance, strength, flexibility, hope, wisdom, and generosity. they give us air to breathe, provide home for creatures small and large, and add great beauty to this world and life.

hug a tree, you won’t regret it.

then do what you can to protect their forest homes.

~j

#ArborDay #trees #nature #life #breathe #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #enso #Zen #JMWart

we can get through whatever it is that weighs us down. our hearts have a capacity for love and life that is far beyond a limited vision or perception. so much of what we bear as struggle and burden, is an opportunity and path for healing and transformation.

~j

“Do you know how

the caterpillar

turns?

Do you remember

what happens

inside a cocoon?

You liquefy.

There in the thick black

of your self-spun womb,

void as the moon before waxing,

you melt

(as Christ did

for three days

in the tomb)

conceiving

in impossible darkness

the sheer

inevitability

of wings.”

~ Kim Rosen

#suffering #struggle #healing #transformation #fly #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #enso #Zen #JMWart

we will all encounter loss, be faced with illness and age, and eventually that great equalizer, death. our time here is increasingly limited and the opportunity to bring healing, light and love, easily escapes.

knowing this how can we harm?

many of us don’t face this difficult truth. many of us don’t know how to transform or heal our suffering, so we transmit it, feeding into the cycle of pain and suffering.

don’t fight people. shed light on destructive ideology. work to end what is harmful – the greed, the fear, the anger and aggression, the violence, the hate.

~j

#AllInThisTogether #OneBoat #interdependence #activism #TheLongArc #PlantingSeeds #LoveWins #bodhisattvas

…when we see impermanent things as solid, this is called suffering. This cessation of suffering is when we release our demand for the world to be as we want it to be and let it resume its own contours and textures.

~

Sobun Katherine Thanas

#freedom #wisdom #impermanence #life #Zen #Buddhism #enso #JMWart

birds sing, this Spring day

her heart, the seed of our love

this sphere, our mother

~j

#EarthDay #EarthDay2018 #LoveYourMother #nature #life #haiku #EarthEnso #enso #Zen #JMWart

it is said that anger can be a great motivator. i think this may be true, perhaps initially. when we see horrible suffering, unnecessary harm, or abusive power, it can ignite an anger inside to end the harm we see.

but anger is no place to make our home. it is intensely hot and blinding, burning up all in its wake, including ourselves and the ones we care about. anger fueled, refueled and unexamined can transform us into the very thing we believe we are fighting against, destroying relationships, isolating us, leaving us as shells of who we once were.

in the long run if we want to last and truly bring about a change to any cruelty we see, to relieve suffering and feed the love in this world, it is far more beneficial to source our motivation in compassion, to keep our heart open with equanimity and to practice kindness and joy even as we work to end cruelty and relieve the suffering we see.

in compassion – even a fierce compassion, we are able to retain our balance, see clearly, and maintain our energy for the long journey ahead.

~j

#anger #ghost #suffering #harm #compassion #humanity #brahmaviharas #Zen #Buddhism #JMWart

old and worn,

still breathing,

just sit.

~j

To keep your practice consistent, remember what the famous Nike ad says: “Just do it.” Don’t concern yourself with trying to get to some particular place or state of mind. Each day’s zazen will be a little different, just like the rest of life.

~

Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara

#zazen #meditation #practice #JustSit #JustBreathe #JustThis #Zen #Buddhism #JMWphotography #BWphotography #photography

practicing mindfulness meditation can cut through the delusion of separation.

the truth is, we are interdependent.

before we even finish our breakfast this morning, we have benefited from multitudes of people, perhaps from around the world. not to mention the soil, the rain, the sunlight, and life that sits within the food before us.

how could we even be here in this moment if it weren’t for the countless beings and arising conditions that have made it so?

we are all in the same boat crossing to the other shore. with a smile, dismiss that which would tell you otherwise. ~j

#TheLongArc #interdependence #One #community #Sangha #mindfulness #meditation #awareness #delusion #gratitude