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i think we can learn a great deal from the story of the Buddha.

here is this Indian prince, Siddhartha Gautama, raised up in wealth & privilege, isolation from the pains of the world. when he sees suffering – a sick person, an aging person, a deceased person, & then sees a wondering ascetic who appears at peace, the prince is so deeply affected & moved that rather than running back to his comfortable, privileged life, he abandons all the comforts, status, & wealth to seek out the source of suffering. then when he wakes up to what suffering is, he spends the rest of his life, trying to teach people the truth that he encountered so that they too, may be free from suffering. this renunciation of wealth & comfort, offering oneself completely in service to compassion, seems so foreign to the ultra wealthy we see in power today. 

can you imagine it?

his is not the ideology of oligarchy or kleptocracy, of over consumption, hyper-capitalism & greed. his is not the perspective that empathy is something to distain or a weakness.

may we, like the Buddha, find our way to a life in service to compassion, rather than a life that values or even looks up to the hoarding of wealth & power, which won’t last anyway. death will come & as the saying goes – you can’t take it with you.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#Buddha #empathy #compassion #OpenHeart #renunciation #service #offering #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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may we keep this in mind as we push back & deconstruct all that is harmful & exclusive, as we work to create a world of peace, a world of equity & justice, a world of inclusivity & healing, of reconciliation & restoration. 

may open hearts & clear, aware, wise minds prevail in this time for the benefit of all.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#love #OpenHeart #PlantingSeeds #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #creation #CarolChanning #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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sometimes love says the only thing that is needed in a moment of immense harm, with the conviction of life itself buoying the word with righteous, fierce compassion:

STOP.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#stop #love #OpenHeart #FierceCompassion #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

#impermanence

this moment, as challenging as it is, will have its end. this is the truth of our existence here. all things are marked by impermanence, including fascists & their fascist government. this is why they cling so desperately & so easily fall into violence, they fear the inevitable.

may something beautiful, just, inclusive, equitable, healing, & compassionate rise out of the ashes of this dark time. 

may we allow our hearts to open, to be instruments of peace, planting seeds of love for the future.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#OpenHeart #PlantingSeeds #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #JinpaLhaga 

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it’s important to remember that this was a ruse from the beginning. numerous studies have been conducted to analyze data that shows undocumented immigrants commit crime at a lower rate than US born citizens.

recently, SCOTUS ruled in favor of Donald Trump rescinding the temporary legal status of over 500,000 immigrants living here legally in the United States. are we supposed to believe they are all violent rapists, gang members, & asylum escapees? please. 

hundreds of immigrant men have been swooped up, disappeared & sent to an El Salvadoran gulag without due process. investigations by journalist cross checking crime records and databases have revealed that at least some if not a majority of those men have no criminal record.now a militarized presence to detain people who are working in the garment district, who are line cooks, who are waiting outside of Home Depot trying to get work?

detaining parents who are attending their kids elementary school graduation? detaining juveniles on the way to sports practice or immigration hearings? 

this has never been about crime or making us safer, or improving the economy. we are not being invaded. but, real people are being harmed, lives are being destroyed, families are being ripped apart, people are being detained & disappeared without due process. so when they say we are being invaded or there are violent riots in Los Angeles (even though LAPD is disputing this as of this writing) & they want to heighten the militarized presence, even with actual military, we should ask ourselves what this may actually be about.

this is a dark moment, this is cruel, this is anti-democracy, this is anti-love, & for all the cross wearing from those in this administration, this is anti-Christ. may hearts open, may awareness, clarity & wisdom arise. may we be lights in this darkness.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#OpenHearts #LoveThyNeighbor

#SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

my follow up:

following up, i’ve seen footage and some reporting that some of the protest turned aggressive. i haven’t seen any reports of any of the local government or state government of California, stating that it was out of control of local authorities and law-enforcement. the administration will spin this as their reason and excuse for escalating with the presence of National Guard and suggesting use of military. but local State law-enforcement, and government have maintained that this is an unnecessary provocative & harmful escalation by the White House.
all the more reason for those protesting to be mindful of their actions, to always protest nonviolently, & non-aggressively even while being strong & steadfast with fierce compassion. there’s no reason to give this administration any more excuses to escalate & be violent. 🙏🏼

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i think this is a beneficial reminder, seeing the types of actions that we are currently bearing witness to in Los Angeles, in San Diego, & in cities & towns across this nation. it also bears repeating that a lot of the activity we are seeing is not in fact, legal or constitutional. it is also a grave disappointment to see local authorities who pledged to not participate, acquiesce to the whim of the White House. but this is the truth, fascism is a virus & spreads insidiously, sometimes unknowingly until the symptoms are obvious. we should ask ourselves the question – is it obvious yet?

for a lot of us the answer is, & has been for some time, clearly yes.

may hearts open, may awareness, clarity, wisdom, & moral authority arise. 

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#MoralAuthority #OpenHeart #awareness #clarity #wisdom #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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wealthy megalomaniac wannabe dictators going at it, trying to devour each other is nothing new.

please remember that a week ago, Musk didn’t care that Trump is in the Epstein files or that the Trump economic plans including tariffs will lead to a recession. please remember that a week ago, Trump didn’t care that the US Govt pays Musk $8 million dollars a day in government subsidies for his companies. 

please remember that a week ago just like today, these two men do not care about you or me. they only care about their own wealth & power.

nothing about their public fight will bring back the low to high estimate of tens of thousands to 300,000 lives already lost due to cuts to USAID. necessary HIV meds for children (costing only 12 cents a day) gone, along with food assistance gone, killing the poorest of the poor including children. not to mention the cuts to cancer & disease research or attempts to break our Social Security system or proposed cuts to Medicaid & Medicare which will cost more vulnerable lives.

nothing about their fight brings back the hundreds of people disappeared & locked up without the constitutional right to due process.

please be clear eyed, open hearted, & resolute in your resistance to cruelty.

may hearts open, may awareness, clarity, & wisdom arise.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#Trump #Musk #megalomaniacs #fascism #democracy #DoNotBeDistracted #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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according to Truthout, there have been more than 850 anti-LGBTQ bills filed nationwide so far in 2025. the Trump Admin has issued Executive Orders aiming at limiting Federal protections & rights for LGBTQ people, particularly against but not limited to our trans community. Project 2025, adopted by the Trump Admin, seeks to limit & in some cases eliminate Federal protections for LGBTQ people, yet provides protections for those who discriminate against LGBTQ people. this is one important reason why we have Pride Month.

another reason – equally & maybe even more important – is to publicly embody the joy of who we are. to promote visibility for those who are struggling & may be thinking they do not have place in this world. to those individuals i want to say YOU DO BELONG. you are an embodiment of sacred love & beauty just as much as anyone else is. YOU ARE LOVED, just as you are in your unique & precious incarnation.

for my part, my coming out, my coming home to who i am in this life, in this body, was a liberation into Love. knowing that my life, my orientation, can be an instrument to open closed hearts, calling closed hearts into understanding & increased capacity to love. i see it as part of my work in this life & my vow to be in service to Love, to share love, & embody love for the benefit of all.

Happy Pride Month!🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#LGBTQpride #LGBTQ+ #Pride #love #dignity #OpenHeart #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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here i am in a group picture from a number of years ago with some dear friends that i’ve known for three decades, at Buona Forchetta in South Park, San Diego. i’ve eaten there a number of times since, & eaten many times across the street at a restaurant named Kindred.  i’ve walked the neighborhood before & after dinners numerous times with one of my dearest friends, sitting on a nearby bench a time or two enjoying long, deep conversations.

to see this happy, peaceful, alive neighborhood on the news with a recent ICE raid, where some officers showed up in tactical gear, while others disguised in plain clothes, made a dramatic show of force arrest, as they have in so many places across this nation, was just so sad & tragic…& unnecessary (for an immigration arrest???). but the dramatics are part of the message, no? to attempt to instill fear in a community, to proclaim that the government has an ever watchful eye, & its thumb pressed, upon us? all, of course, under the guise of law & order & patriotism. but those who are aware, those with eyes to see & ears to hear, know fascism when we see it.

the light in this very dark moment, though, is seeing neighborhoods of people, communities band together to push back & name it for what it is, to call to conscience the officers for the actions they are participating in.

may such communities be blessed & protected, may our hearts open, & may awareness, wisdom, & courage arise in each & every heart in resistance to cruelty & oppression, & may we do so in the name of Love.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#BuonaForchetta #SouthPark #SanDiego #immigrants #fascism #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #JinpaLhaga

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may hearts open & may we carry this needed wisdom as we move through this challenging time.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#OpenHearts #humanity #NoFear #love #SitDownRiseUp #MindfulResistance #RobertHayden #JinpaLhaga #JMWart