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dearest friends – 

whatever the results of today’s election, one thing is clear for me, the only path forward & through this fraught & liminal time is the Way of Love.

the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, said – 

“For hate is not conquered by hate: hate is conquered by love. This is a law eternal.” (Dhammapada vs. 5)

i feel so strongly about this that i had this text tattooed along with the image of the unalome (spiritual symbol representing the life journey & path to awakening) prior to this election. whatever is ahead, i want it to be crystal clear for myself as a reminder & to those who see it, that Love IS the Way.

may open hearts, calm-steady minds, and wisdom prevail on this day & all the days ahead.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#ElectionDay #election2024 #vote #love #mindfulness #lovingkindness #OpenHeart #path #practice #Buddha #SiddharthaGautama #Dhammapada #AncientLaw #EternalLaw #JinpaLhaga

*a huge THANK YOU to Sergio Santiago at 454 Tattoo for this newest piece. he’s a great human, tremendous fine artist & tattoo artist. 🤩🙏🏼

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advice for #ElectionDay:

breathe

VOTE

be calm

stay kind

have patience

unless there is an absolute blow out by one of the candidates (which is unexpected) today, we won’t likely know the results/winner of this election until tomorrow or even later in the week if the incoming results are close (which is expected). SO my friends, practice your breathing, having a calm steady mind, stay kind to yourself & those around you, & practice having patience as every vote is counted. WE WANT EVERY VOTE COUNTED. that is what democracy is. so if a certain candidate claims victory early (as he did in 2020) & calls to stop counting votes (as he did in 2020), see it for what it is & stay focused & support the electoral processes of our democracy.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#vote #election2024 #democracy #breathe #calm #kind #patience #OpenHeart #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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in honor of and in the spirit of All Souls’ Day today, i would like to offer a prayer i wrote up this past year as a part of my daily/morning practice. the prayer/practice includes some lovingkindness phrases that i revised from the traditional phrases.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#AllSoulsDay #death #transitions #prayer #practice #OpenHeart #metta #lovingkindness #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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it should be our practice to open the borders of our hearts.

pay attention to what is said & who says it – the rhetoric & the language being used to sow division, to target & harm immigrants, the undocumented, people of color, the LGBTQIA+ community, political opponents, & those who speak truth to power. the language of harm & destruction, of marginalization & oppression, of division & despair, is not the path of love, it is not the teaching of the Buddha, it is not the way of Christ.

please do not allow your hearts to be indifferent to the rhetoric of hate & harm, violence & destruction. do not allow the harming of others to be normalized. open the borders of your heart.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#vote #NoFascism #democracy #NoHarm #immigration #OpenHearts #love #inclusion #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart 

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something’s up with Jack,

something’s up with Jack…

HE’S MEDITATING!

what better way to meet the monsters inside & out, than with a calm, steady mind, & an open heart.

Happy Halloween, All Hallow’s Eve, & a blessed Samhain to you all, dear friends! 🎃👻💀🧙🏽‍♀️

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#Halloween #AllHallowsEve #Samhain #ritual #love #OpenHeart #path #practice #meditation #mindfulness #metta #JackSkellington #NightmareBeforeChristmas #Disney #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #photography

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the sacredness of life & the preciousness of this life are informed by its characteristics of impermanence & interdependence. whatever our belief of what happens after this life, the inescapable truth for all of us is that this particular incarnation, this specific life, will come to an end. the conditions that have come together to allow for our lives, are in constant movement. this is the nature of all in this life. we see it constantly day to day, season to season. none of us escape this truth, including leaders and empires no matter how desperately they try to hold on. we all fall. our only true choice, the only true power we have been gifted, is whether or not we do so with love & in love. how we treat others is testimony of how well we understand & accept this truth.

so every moment counts – every word, every action counts & is an opportunity to participate in & embody love. because of interdependence, how we live deeply matters & defines our lives.

this includes our #vote.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#life #death #impermanence #interdependence #love #OpenHeart #path #practice #MatthieuRicard #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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in Buddhism, it is that all beings have Buddhanature, the seed that is already awakened, luminous, & whole. 

likewise Franciscan contemplative, Father Richard Rohr, has often quoted author Paula D’Arcy who has written, “God comes disguised as our lives.”

knowing this, believing in the sacredness of every life, how can any of us support any potential leader who reduces the humanity of another calling them vermin, animals, & impure?

we cannot love thy neighbor & then proceed to label them in such ways, to marginalize them, to oppress them, to banish them, to kill or destroy them.

we cannot love our neighbor & supports such fascist rhetoric or actions.

this is a look ourselves in the mirror moment. this is a look within our hearts moment.

may open hearts, sanity, & wisdom prevail.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#LoveThyNeighbor #immigrant #sacred #buddhanature #OpenHeart #path #practice #AldousHuxley #PaulaDArcy #JinpaLhaga 

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“Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!” ~ Emma Lazarus

loving thy neighbor.

remember dear fellow mortals, none of this is permanent, constructed borders included. BUT the harm we allow, we are responsible for. AND how we love is remembered & carried beyond.

it’s so easy – & lazy – to target, to blame & find someone or someones to scapegoat. BUT we are called to love & love is the narrow road. the way. the truth. the life.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#immigrants #immigration #refuge #love #OpenHeart #path #practice #EmmaLazarus #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #vote #HarrisWalz2024

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Tibetan Om.

the sound of Life, loosening the grip of ego fixation.

may we be free of “me” and embrace the “we” for the benefit of all.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#Om #TibetanOm #life #we #OpenHeart #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

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“Times are difficult globally; awakening is no longer a luxury or an ideal. It’s becoming critical. We don’t need to add more depression, more discouragement, or more anger to what’s already here. It’s becoming essential that we learn how to relate sanely with difficult times. The earth seems to be beseeching us to connect with joy and discover our innermost essence. This is the best way that we can benefit others.” 

~ Pema Chödrön

connecting with hope is connecting with love, the ultimate nature of existence. such hope includes everyone & all life, without exclusion, without targets of oppression & marginalization. may we elect leaders who lead with such messaging, with a narrative of love. here’s to being woke.

~j

⭕️♥️🙏🏼

#WakeUp #love #joy #hope #OpenHeart #connection #path #practice #PemaChodron #JinpaLhaga #JMWart