Jendhamuni at the Peace Pagoda Lotus Pond on October 5, 2025.
“When the mind is silent like a lake the lotus blossoms.” ~Amit Ray
“Make your heart like a lake with a calm, still surface and great depths of kindness.” ~Lao Tzu
“A pure heart is not easily provoked, offended, or resentful. This tranquility arises from a monk’s efforts to detach from worldly worries and fears.”
Caption: Venerable Buddhasattha and Samanera Ananda at Wat Kiryvongsa Bopharam
Jendhamuni at Lake Dennison on August 6, 2025.
Some old-fashioned things like fresh air and sunshine are hard to beat. – Laura Ingalls Wilder
“Fresh air is as good for the mind as for the body. Nature always seems trying to talk to us as if she had some great secret to tell. And so she has.” – John Lubbock
Happiness is possible when you are capable of doing the things and being the things that you want to do and to be. When we walk for the sake of walking, when we sit for the sake of sitting, when we drink tea for the sake of drinking tea, we don’t do it for something or someone else. These things can be very enjoyable. That is the practice of aimlessness. While you do that, you heal yourself and you help heal the world. Awakening means to see that truth—that you want to know how to enjoy, how to live deeply, in a very simple way. You don’t want to waste your time anymore. Cherish the time that you are given. ~ Thich Nhat Hanh
Make your heart like a lake with a calm, still surface and great depths of kindness. ~ Lao Tzu
A lake is a landscape’s most beautiful and expressive feature. It is Earth’s eye; looking into which the beholder measures the depth of his own nature. ~ Henry David Thoreau
The dharma is a universal medicine. ~ Jack Kornfield
If one looks into the nature of thoughts, then these dissolve into themselves and luminosity arises, the inherent luminosity and awareness of mind itself. These two aspects of mind, emptiness and luminosity are inseparable from each other and are actually one. This is the nature of mind. Looking into the nature of mind is nothing other than experiencing the present moment of awareness and seeing that there is no mind outside this present moment of awareness. ~ 3rd Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpoche
Free your heart. Travel like the moon among the stars. ~ Buddha
Mature Spirituality is not based on seeking perfection, on achieving some imaginary sense of purity. It is based on the capacity to let go and to love. To open the heart to all that is. Without ideals heart can turn the sufferings and imperfections we encounter into the path of compassion. In this nonrealistic practice the divine can shine through even in acts of ignorance and fear, inviting us to wonder at the mystery of all that is. We can protect one another, yet in this there is no judgement, no blame. For we seek not to perfect the world perfect our love for what is on this earth. ― Jack Kornfield
Wisdom says we are nothing. Love says we are everything. Between these two our life flows. – Jack Kornfield
Jendhamuni at Wat Kiryvongsa Bopharam on April 13, 2025.
Wat Kiryvongsa Bopharam, the Peace Meditation Center on November 10, 2024.
The Buddha realized that different beings had various capacities, so out of his great compassion and skillful means, he gave teachings that were right for different individuals. Although the essence of the teachings is to simply let be in recognition of ones own nature, the Buddha taught a lot of complex instructions to satisfy people on all different levels. Another reason why there are the nine vehicles is because people couldnt leave well enough alone. It seems to be human nature to love complications, to want to build up a lot of stuff. Later on, of course, they must allow it to fall into pieces again. ~ Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche
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Cleanup at our Peace Meditation Center on July 4th, 2024 for the upcoming meditation retreat.
