a thought on my birthday:
“Throughout this life, you can never be certain of living long enough to take another breath.”
~
Huang Po
and so i shall breathe
in gratitude for this life
precious and fleeting
~j
haiku
everything…
Vesak…
now, you are awake!
~j
commemorating the birth, enlightenment, and death of Siddhartha Gautama, (Shakyamuni) The Buddha.
#Vesak #Buddha #Buddhism
this, your very heart…
this, your very heart.
broken open, heals the world.
dam breaks, water flows.
~j
11.11.15
“Nobody has ever measured, not even poets, how much the heart can hold.” ~ Zelda Fitzgerald
“O, that my monk’s robe were wide enough to gather up all the suffering people in this floating world.” ~ Zen poet-monk Ryōkan
“The practice is never for ourselves alone.” ~ Joseph Goldstein
#heart #HeartBrokenOpen #healing #suffering #love #CapacityToLove #interdependence #community #sangha #practice #meditation #compassion #metta #LovingKindness #Zen #haiku #quotes #JMW #TheMettaGarden
haiku for you ~ pillar of beauty…
Pillar of beauty
This lone pine upon the hill
Grandeur is her name
~j
lotus…
Lotus
remember
don’t despair, do grow
here is your life blossoming
called forth from the mud
remember
remember
~j
11.30.14
haiku for you ~ hearts broken open
hearts broken open
meeting life in each moment
we carry the world
~j
05.13.14
haiku for you ~ swirling and churning…
abide, dear friends.
even in the depths of a storm
there is great beauty
and great love
~j
dirt beneath these nails…
Awake in the world
What is this meditation?
Dirt beneath these nails
~j
“A long time ago in China, a Zen student asked if any of the sages had ever fallen into hell. His teacher answered that they are the first to go there! The shocked student asked, ‘But if they are enlightened, why would they fall into hell?’ The teacher looked at the student and with a smile said, ‘If I didn’t fall into hell, how could I help you?’ Do you see what he is doing here? He completely reverses the student’s problem, saying this is not about the student’s idea of purity, but about helping and caring. That is what’s important. He’s saying that you have to get your hands dirty; you have to dig right in. Just as you are, without some special robe or degree or twenty years of meditation practice. Just as you are, you can help.”
~ Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara
from the chapter “Living In The Suffering World”
from her book, “MOST INTIMATE: A Zen Approach To Life’s Challenges”
awake in the world…
awake in the world
what is this meditation?
dirt beneath these nails
~j
December 31, 2013
commentary:
solitary enlightenment is darkness
and being awake when others are asleep is a nightmare for the Heart of Love
meditation, contemplation, and prayer are all good
but to Love is to get one’s hands dirty
working for the benefit of all beings
off the mat and into the world, as it is said
this is the path of the Bodhisattva, this is the journey of a Warrior for Love
~j
The Metta Garden 