#Roshi Joan Halifax

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

(from Rev. Roshi Joan Halifax of Upaya Zen Center)

[Thanks to Peege on bluesky]

[dk-thrive]

Empathy is not only a way to come alongside suffering in our small boat—it is a way to become the ocean.

Perhaps we don’t slip into the skin of others so much as we invite others to inhabit us, to slip into our skin, into our heart, thus making ourselves bigger beyond even our imagining. Empathy is not only a way to come alongside suffering in our small boat—it is a way to become the ocean. I believe that the gift of empathy makes us larger, if we don’t drown in the waters of suffering. And empathy that is alchemized through the medium of our wisdom gives us the energy to act selflessly on behalf of others. A world without empathy is a world that is dead to other—and if we are dead to other, we are dead to ourselves. The sharing of another’s pain can take us past the narrow canyon of selfish disregard and even cruelty into the larger, more expansive landscape of wisdom and compassion.

– Roshi Joan Halifax, Standing at the Edge (Flatiron Books, 2018) (via Rebecca Solnit and Alive on All Channels)

[jacobwren]

“Some of us receive the precious opportunity in this time to use the struggles that we are experiencing to dedicating ourselves to fostering sanity, care, and justice in the world. We have heeded the call to abandon futility and meet our moral anguish, our grief, and our fear with openness and curiosity. We have also allowed ourselves to be worked by the power of adversity in order to meet the unfolding and uncertain present with inquiry, hope, awe, and loving action. And if we can’t, then we do not turn away from that. Sometimes we have to pause, not ready to take the next step. Sometimes we make unfortunate mistakes and withdraw from the world in shame. Sometimes we falter in the midst. Sometimes we fall apart and stay that way for a long time. And sometimes we need to step away, to retreat, to take the backward step. It is simply not our time to step forward. But know that we, too, are being worked. And others are being worked in their own way. It is not to add the weight of judgement onto the burden that we are already carrying. It is not to turn away from our current experience, even if our response does not meet our so-called standards. It is rather to meet it with, ‘Hello old friend, I know you.’” - Roshi Joan Halifax, Meeting the More and the Marrow [From the book: Not Too Late: Changing the Climate Story from Despair to Possibility / Edited by  Rebecca Solnit & Thelma Young Lutunatabua]

[victusinveritas]

Joan Halifax offering water to Jizo Bodhisattva for all suffering children.

[ascensao-a-queda]

O luto é uma expressão do amor. Não é uma expressão de derrota. Amor pela pessoa que perdemos.

[...] Então, eu nunca dei as costas para os sentimentos do luto.

Eu sinto que o que o luto faz por mim e pode fazer por todos nós é nos humanizar profundamente.

- Roshi Joan Halifax

[dasenergi]

"Compassion is seeing others as ourselves, expanding our identity to include the other person." —Ram Dass

Krishna Das, Ram Dass, Roshi Joan Halifax

[seekingstars]

Friends, do not be confused by the "infoshum" (information noise) bombarding us via the media, social platforms, and more. Keep a clear mind, keep aligned with values of integrity and care, let your wisdom and courage be your guide, not the manipulations of ill-meaning players. -Roshi Joan Halifax

[dzgrizzle]

Listening to Roshi Joan Halifax, Buddhist teacher, talking about being in a mountain valley hermitage and meditating, learning “the value of solitude within the context of the natural world, where you aren't alone at all; you're under the authority of the mountains around you.”

[meditation-practices]

Words of Wisdom for April 22, 2024

Dear Friends: Simply meditating or praying for change is not enough. There has to be action.” – His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tibet House Read More Mini Mindfulness Breaks Click here to offer what you can for eBooks and Guided Mediations! Here’s an interesting post from Meditation Practices: Roshi Joan Halifax Talked About Compassion Roshi Joan Halifax talked about compassion when she…

[dreaminginthedeepsouth]

"Perhaps we don’t slip into the skin of others so much as we invite others to inhabit us, to slip into our skin, into our heart, thus making ourselves bigger beyond even our imagining.

Empathy is not only a way to come alongside suffering in our small boat—it is a way to become the ocean. I believe that the gift of empathy makes us larger, if we don’t drown in the waters of suffering. And empathy that is alchemized through the medium of our wisdom gives us the energy to act selflessly on behalf of others. A world without empathy is a world that is dead to other—and if we are dead to other, we are dead to ourselves. The sharing of another’s pain can take us past the narrow canyon of selfish disregard and even cruelty into the larger, more expansive landscape of wisdom and compassion."

--Roshi Joan Halifax, Standing at the Edge

(Rebecca Solnit)

[the-dewdrop-read-deep]

The Path that Goes Nowhere - Barbara Brown Taylor on the Practice of Labyrinth Walking

Barbara Brown Taylor reflects on her own experience of Labyrinth-walking and the significance of the path without a destination.

“Most of us spend so much time thinking about where we have been or where we are supposed to be going that we have a hard time recognizing where we actually are.”– Barbara Brown TaylorTweet Roshi Joan Halifax tells a story about an exchange she had with her teacher when she asked him, “Going to the temple, you take the path. Entering the temple you leave the path. What does this mean?” Her…

[lovegentleholypure]

“How can we give and accept care with strong-back, soft-front compassion, moving past fear into a place of genuine tenderness? I believe it comes about when we can be truly transparent, seeing the world clearly- and letting the world see into us.”

 Roshi Joan Halifax

[saybubblesinanangryvoice]

Strong back, soft front...

I want to unpack this a little bit. A quote attributed to prolific researcher and explorer of shame, guilt, human-ness, Brene Brown (she adds “and a wild heart” at the end), and Roshi Joan Halifax, American Zen Buddhist teacher. 

I was listening to a beautiful podcast yesterday (On Being - check it out) with Brene featured, and this message was so clearly visible in my mind. 

My default response is frequently anger when I am hurt, or when I see others hurting. I do not transition from sadness to disappointment - I want to stand up and man, just not play nice!

This may be surprising for people to interact with me in a professional setting/daily because I seem pretty neutral haha Which I will always be in a professional setting because it is a professional setting. 

This quote struck me because I think it is a great balance for me to adopt/work towards. In some instances, I don’t think women get angry enough - we do not own our fury. In other cases, I know anger will get nowhere in the efforts of finding a productive solution. 

Perhaps we can approach things with love, but supported by a strong foundation of “this is what I will not tolerate, this is what I will speak out against.” Whether or not that is received is in the hands of the receiver...but we can feel good know we stayed true to ourselves, while respecting another. 

It also goes back to that idea of being lonely, and standing alone - when we force ourselves to belong for fear of the former, and learning to brave the latter when we need to. 

Some thoughts going into your long weekend :) 

[typo1]

"All too often our so called strength comes from fear, not love. Instead of having a strong back, many of us have a protected front"

Roshi Joan Halifax