can we be with ourselves, others, and life as it is in this moment with an open heart and stable mind? can we allow enough space in our life and relationships to look deeply and respond in a genuine, thoughtful, and tender way? 

a beneficial spiritual practice, a beneficial human practice, is one where we can be authentic and kind.

when we practice meditation, this is what we are practicing. we are practicing being with ourselves, in an open and authentic way, not pushing away or grasping at how we are feeling, or with what arises in sensation, feelings, emotions, thoughts, etc. we do this with the breath as our anchor and with gentleness as our companion, without judgement or criticism.

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

if you’d like to practice with me this weekend, please join for Self-Care Saturday at 10am PTfor mindfulness awareness and lovingkindness meditation. 

*there will be NO session on Sunday 4/17 due to the Easter holiday. link: https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller

#OpenHeart #LetGo #love #meditation #mindfulness #awareness #lovingkindness #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JackKornfieldQuote

The secret of the mountain is that the mountains simply exist, as I do myself: the mountains exist simply, which I do not.  The mountains have no “meaning,” they are meaning; the mountains are.  The sun is round.  I ring with life, and the mountains ring, and when I can hear it, there is a ringing that we share.  I understand all this, not in my mind but in my heart, knowing how meaningless it is to try to capture what cannot be expressed, knowing that mere words will remain when I read it all again, another day.

~

Peter Matthiessen

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

*stickers, magnets, posters, unframed/framed prints, mugs, t-shirts and many more items featuring my Mount Fuji digital art can be found at my JMWart Redbubble store. link: JMWart.redbubble.com

#Zen #Buddhism #ZenBuddhism #meditation #practice #wisdom #BeStill #BeYou #BePresent #simplicity #life #nature #mountain #MountFuji #MtFuji #JMWart #JinpaLhaga #art

there have been 131 mass shootings in the US so far in 2022.
it’s worth thinking about, isn’t it? it’s worth our attention, isn’t it? it’s worth our care and effort to resolve, isn’t it?

most rarely make the news. today’s mass shooting in Brooklyn is making the news. 29 victims suffering injury. we see the physical trauma, the blood on the subway floor on the news, but we don’t see the emotional trauma which may take a lifetime of healing.

this country’s love affair with guns (which by any measure are tools of destruction – even in self-defense, hunting, etc.) yet proclamations of loving life and liberty is just so baffling and empty. what about the liberty of the subway passengers or of any citizen who doesn’t want to live in fear of someone gunning them down? some say they just love their guns for sport. that’s also just so empty to me. pick another sport…there are a lot to choose from.

i continue to hope, pray, meditate for, and put my support behind #GunReform. and even more importantly a reformation and transformation of heart and conscience.

i don’t know the legislative answers, but our continued “thoughts and prayers” – a metaphorical throwing our hands up – isn’t actually addressing or trying to resolve it. there has to be room for compromise and common sense and a prioritizing of our fellow citizens’ lives.

may open hearts and sanity prevail.
may all the wounded heal in all ways.
may the perpetrator be found, held accountable, and also be healed.
may all beings and all life be safe, at peace and free from suffering.

~j
⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#guns #gunviolence #MassShooting #insanity #violence #aggression #sickness #suffering #OpenHeart #sanity #transformation #healing #hope #candle #light #EngagedBuddhism #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #art

Zen priest & teacher Roshi Joan Halifax who has done extensive work w/ dying people was once told by a close friend, “You are married to sorrow.” she replied back, “I am not married to sorrow. I just choose not to look away.”

it’s easier to look away when there is suffering, such horrific displays of cruelty & destruction, but our hearts pull to pay attention, to bear witness & do what we can to alleviate suffering. 

on this Palm Sunday, i recall the story of Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a donkey carrying a revolutionary message of love, in contrast to the aggression & horrific destruction we are seeing laid upon Ukraine. civilians targeted in residential apartments, hospitals, theaters & train stations. the elderly, the sick, the disabled, women & children killed.

Jesus went directly to the suffering, he suffered w/ & embodied love as the transformative answer. the Buddha also engaged suffering. named it & taught a path to respond & move through it. neither turned away from suffering. they engaged it to bring healing & transformation, moved by compassion w/ love as the foundation.

perhaps you also feel overwhelmed in this moment, the destruction we are bearing witness to, the harm & suffering. i feel fearful & angry at times & helpless most of the time. 

what can we do? we can choose not to look away. we can bear witness. we can practice self-care & balance our intake of news. we can practice mindfulness awareness to cultivate clarity, resilience & balance. we can practice lovingkindness to open our hearts & touch our tenderness, warmth & love – not losing who we are to fear & anger. we can help by supporting relief organizations, refugees & democracy.

click https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller to view a pop up w/ info for helping Ukrainians. you can also visit House of Ukraine on IG & online at their website for a list of organizations & actions you can take: https://houseofukraine.org 🇺🇦🕊

may all beings be safe & free from suffering.

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#PalmSunday #Jesus #bodhisattva #Buddha #suffering #BearingWitness #lovingkindness #NoMoreWar #StandWithUkraine #JinpaLhaga #JMWart

yesterday, April 8th, Buddhists commemorated the birth of Siddartha Gautama, the Indian prince who would become the Buddha, the awakened one. over 2500 years have passed since then and his teachings on suffering, the causes of suffering, and the path out of suffering still resonate. how do we relate to our world and to ourselves in a way that is open-hearted and sane, recognizing our interconnection and interdependence, and living in a way that is loving, compassionate, and balanced, living in equanimity? the Buddha provided a path and practices to engage life in such a way.

when we think of Buddhism or Buddhist practice, meditation quickly comes to mind. meditation practice is part of the path. however, often overlooked, is ethical practice as part of the path, something the Buddha regularly emphasized. ethical living is the ground upon which we live a life that benefits and doesn’t bring or add to harm. how to live in a way that is non-harming can be obvious in some instances, but more subtle and nuanced in others. 

the principles of ethical living (our precepts in Buddhism) can be observed and practiced by Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. principles such as not killing or harming, right speech, etc. in our current times with the proliferation of harmful and divisive rhetoric, along with alternative facts (aka lies) and propaganda, practicing Right Speech is desperately needed. 

below, Roshi Joan Halifax presents what the Buddha said about Right Speech:

The Buddha identified five conditions we are to explore in relation to speech.

1. Do I speak at the right time or not?  Is this the right time?  Really stepping back to see if this is the right moment.

2.  Do I speak the facts or not.  Am I saying what’s really true?

3.  Am I speaking harshly or gently?  

4.  Do my words benefit beings or not?

5.  What is my motivation?  Do I speak with a good heart or is my heart malicious?

these are, indeed, good and beneficial guidelines to live by for our speech. may we learn to use our words beneficially and with love.

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#SiddarthaGautama #TheBuddha #Buddha #RightSpeech #ethics #meditation #path #practice #EngagedBuddhism #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #art

our words and actions
carried on winds of intent
both flowers and weeds.
~j

we should be careful the seeds we plant. all comes to fruition.

when we practice from a clear and steady mind, from an open heart, from a space of empathy and our own genuine warmth, we bring great benefit. our words and actions rippling out upon the sea of life that surrounds us.

~j

#PlantingSeeds #OpenHeart #empathy #kindness #compassion #beauty #path #practice #EngagedBuddhism #haiku #enso #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #JMWphotography #photography

living a life of love and compassion is a practice and should includes ourselves. in practicing a gentle approach to life, we can include being gentle with ourselves.

we can be aware and honest with ourselves, with tenderness, with kindness. what good comes from beating ourselves up?

~j
⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#love #compassion #gentleness #tenderness #kindness #path #practice

ever opening and offering.

this is the practice.

~j

join me this weekend for lovingkindness meditation practice this weekend as part of Self-Care Saturdays & Sundays, 10am PT. sessions are free and by donation. $10 suggested. link: https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller

#love #lovingkindness #OpenHeart #opening #offering #path #practice #RamDassQuotes #JinpaLhaga

remaining calm isn’t the same as indifference or inaction. remaining calm allows for spaciousness of mind, where wisdom can inform our decision making, where we can choose a beneficial action rather than being lost in a thoughtless reaction.

another way to think of remaining calm, is to abide in equanimity. equanimity is being in a state of awareness without being pulled by grasping or aggression. in other words, when we are practicing equanimity, we are practicing the opposite of (what is called in Buddhism) the Three Poisons – ignorance, attachment, and aversion.

when we practice mindfulness awareness meditation, we are embodying equanimity. we sit upright, with our attention on our breath, while also allowing our awareness to be open. we don’t grasp after thoughts, sensations, or feelings, etc. as they arise. likewise, we don’t push them away. this practice is also sometimes called Calm Abiding (Shamatha in Sanskrit).

this is a way, a path we can practice for being beneficially awake in our world 💫

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

If you’d like to learn or practice Mindfulness Awareness with me, come sit with me this weekend on Zoom for Self-Care Saturdays & Sundays, 10am PT. sessions are offered free or by donation. $10 suggested. Link: https://linktr.ee/jaysenwaller

#KeepCalm #calm #equanimity #CalmAbiding #mindfulness #awareness #Shamatha #Vipashyana #meditation #path #practice #MeditationTeacher #JinpaLhaga #StarWars #Yoda #Jedi #TheForce

“When you plant seeds in the garden, you don’t dig them up every day to see if they have sprouted yet. You simply water them and clear away the weeds; you know that the seeds will grow in time. Similarly, just do your daily practice and cultivate a kind heart. Abandon impatience and instead be content creating the causes for goodness; the results will come when they’re ready.”

~ Thubten Chodron

to do good work, to plant beneficial seeds with generosity of heart and love, trusting that such good work, such generosity of heart and love will one day flower, while letting go of results and expectations of results is a challenging practice. each day, a recommitment. each moment, a beginning again 🌼

~j

⭕️❤️🙏🏻

#PlantingSeeds #flower #trust #faith #allowance #OpenHeart #generosity #love #GoodWork #LetGo #BeginAgain #path #practice #JinpaLhaga #JMWart #JMWphotography #BWphotography #photography