Genesis 37: 23-28, 31-34 (KJV): And it came to pass, when Joseph was come unto his brethren, that they stript Joseph out of his coat, his coat of many colours that was on him; And they took him, and cast him into a pit: and the pit was empty, there was no water in it. […]

Matthew 27:50-51 (KJV): Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent. “My master [Jamyang Khyentse] passed away in ‘the sleeping lion’s posture’…“ says […]

Luke 9:23: Then [Jesus] said to them all, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” “Tonglen for Others: Imagine…someone who is suffering and in pain. As you breathe in, imagine you take in all their suffering and pain with compassion, and as […]

Genesis 27:1-27 (abridged 1,2,4-6,8-27): When Isaac was old and his eyes were dim so that he could not see, he called his elder son Esau and said to him, “My son”; and he answered, “Here I am.” He said, “See, I am old; I do not know the day of my death…prepare for me savory […]

Matthew 5:43-44 (KJV): Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you. Thich Nhat Hanh writes, […]

Jeremiah 14: 3-7, 20: …Nobles send their servants for water; they come to the cisterns, they find no water, they return with their vessels empty…because the ground is cracked. Because there has been no rain on the land the farmers are dismayed…Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn because there is no […]

Isaiah 2:4 (NRSV): He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples; they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. Joel 3:10: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruning hooks into […]

Psalm 4:4 (NRSV): When you are disturbed (or angry), do not sin; ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Thich Nhat Hanh writes in the Fourth of his Five Mindfulness Trainings: “When anger is manifesting in me, I am determined not to speak. I shall practice Mindful Breathing and Mindful Walking in order to […]

Jeremiah 10:12-13,16b: It is he who made the earth by his power, who established the world by his wisdom, and by his understanding stretched out the heavens. When he utters his voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and he makes the mist rise from the ends of the earth. He makes […]

MATTHEW 5:30 Matthew 5:30 (KJV): And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. D.T. Suzuki tells the story of Gutei who, when confronted by […]