nothing insignificant…

  

“The significance is hiding in the insignificant. Appreciate everything.” ~ Eckhart Tolle
#gratitude #interconnection #NothingInsignificant #LoveAllLife #life #compassion #kindness #gentleness #tao #bodhicitta #bodhisattva #insects #beetle #nature

Cecil…renewed call to Wake Up

  

Whether Walter James Palmer, as a proud trophy hunter, thought this hunt was legal or not (though apparently he was found guilty of poaching in a previous incident) is really beside the point.
After shooting Cecil, this majestic lion, with an arrow and then allowing him to experience pain and suffering for 40 hours as his life drained out of him, he finally ended Cecil life, beheading and skinning him.
The disconnection from another life, the perceived separation, the false hierarchy and inflated ego that leads to such cruelty, lack of empathy and recognition of another’s suffering, along with the lack of awareness of the consequences and repercussions of such actions is what concerns me. 
I do not know what fate will befall Mr. Palmer. And as a practitioner and cultivator of peace I cannot encourage more harm or an increase in suffering. But, I do hope that in the wake of such tragedy, an opportunity arises for not just Walter James Palmer, but all of us, to wake up.
~j
“We are here to awaken from the illusion of our separateness.” 

~ Thich Nhat Hanh
“I do not care for happiness which is sought at the price of others’ suffering.”  

~ Siddhartha Gautama, The Buddha

Happy Birthday to His Holiness The Dalai Lama!

a wise and beneficial birthday message/gift for us from His Holiness The Dalai Lama on his birthday.
HH Dalai Lama Birthday Message
on a side note: yesterday i had the great pleasure of seeing His Holiness give a public talk in the afternoon around noon. you know what time he got up that day? 1am. at 80 years old and after a full day the previous day, he got up at 1am for his 4 hours of prayers and meditation, then spoke at a breakfast, did interviews, had lunch, and then gave a public talk that went until 3:30pm. he had energy, humor and clarity while delivering a much needed message on compassion, education and art. so impressive and generous! happy birthday your Holiness, deep bows of gratitude and a vow to contribute to this compassion movement!!

#HHDL80 #WithCompassion

Oh this life, this life!

  
“Buddha told a parable in a sutra:

A man traveling across a field encountered a tiger. He fled, the tiger after him. Coming to a precipice, he caught hold of the root of a wild vine and swung himself down over the edge. The tiger sniffed at him from above. Trembling, the man looked down to where, far below, another Tiger was waiting to eat him. 

Two mice, one white and one black, little by little started to gnaw away the vine. The man saw a luscious strawberry near him. Grasping the fine with one hand, he plucked the strawberry with the other. How sweet it tasted!”
~ a Zen parable as retold in the book, “Zen Flesh Zen Bones: A Collection of Zen and Pre-Zen Writings” compiled by Paul Reps and Nyogen Senzaki

abundance…

  
“I see a fearless generosity in the flowers and trees, in the way birds sing out at dawn, in the steady drumming of the rain. As I grew older and found I had things to protect, I forgot. I completely forgot that I had always had enough in the first place. Now I am trying to learn this once again—total abundance, nothing begrudged.”
~ Sallie Tisdale

the experience of our life as it is…

  

“…disasters do happen and our pictures of how our life should be are blown away. Then we have a choice: do we face the disaster directly and make it our practice or do we run once again, learning nothing and compounding our difficulties? If we want a life that’s peaceful and productive, what do we need? We need the ability (which we learn slowly and unwillingly) to be the experience of our life as it is.”
~ Charlotte Joko Beck

meditation is a practice…

  

meditation is a practice


coming back to reality ~
here i am. 

this is my breath coming in 

and going out.

this is my body aching or at rest.
hearing the sounds of this moment.

taking care of oneself in this reality ~
i feel my body. i feel any tension or pain.

i hold it with tenderness and breathe into it
and breathe out of it. 
i hear the confusion in my mind.
thoughts racing nowhere.
i hold this feeling with understanding
and compassion.
letting go and coming back to my breath. 
i hear the lovely sounds of life around me.
i am grateful and smile.

staying open to reality ~
my heart has the capacity to hold 

the entire world and all of life.
my mind, the wisdom to let go. 
i stay open to the present, 
trusting life and my true nature, 
trusting the capacity of my heart to 
stay open and grow.  
and in this space of understanding 
and compassion 
– in this openness – 
i am able to be of benefit 
to others’ well being 
and their end to suffering 
as well as my own.

~j