At our core
We are holy
We are divine
We are one with God
One with love
At our core
We are Buddha’s
Born in the image of God
Even the harshest, violent and mean spirited people have love at their core
This is why we love our enemies and pray for them
This is why we turn the other cheek to violence and hatred
This is why we show grace, compassion and unconditional love to those lost in hatred and fear.
Your brother,
Johnny
I found Jesus through a Zen Buddhist monk named Thich Nhat Hanh 10 years ago. After a challenging break up, I picked up a book called “No Mud, No Lotus” by Thich Nhat Hanh which led me to reading “Living Buddha, Living Christ” by him as well. This book touched me deeply and changed the trajectory of my life. Thich is one of my most influential Buddhists of the 20th century but also had a picture of Jesus in his meditation and prayer room at his monetary in the south of France, Plum Village. He loved both the Buddha and Jesus with all his heart and wrote another book called “Going Home: Jesus and Buddha are Brothers”. He was heavily influenced by Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1960’s when he toured the United States to try to peacefully end the Vietnam war. Vietnam was Thich’s home country and he was exiled from Vietnam because he wouldn’t choose a side in the war. He firmly was on the side of peace which upset both sides. Thich was almost killed by a bomb in the war and many of his disciples were killed in the war.
Many Christian’s and Buddhists are shocked that I can both be a Buddhist and a Christian. You might call me a Taoist as well or a Sufi Muslim. I’m many things yet none of them define me. To me it is very simple, I follow the path of unconditional love to the best of my abilities. God to me has touched every spiritual man or woman of all spiritual traditions. Some might call this mysterious force that heals us from within as God, Allah, Emptiness or The Dao. Jesus said that “ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd.” John 10:16. This is my spiritual path in one verse. There are many spiritual traditions all around the world hearing the same voice. A voice of unconditional love and compassion for all beings. How do you hear this voice? Be still and open your heart with humility.
In Christianity they speak of the Holy Spirit and how it can transform us. The Holy Spirit is how God touches people deeply and changes their heart from stone to flesh. How he shapes them by love into more and more like Jesus. In Buddhism this is enlightenment and at the deepest level it would be described as Nirvana. When God touches you so deeply that all concepts of greed, hatred and fear dissipate. All suffering dissipates in these moments and you are fully liberated from all notions that enslave you. Only unconditional love is left for all beings and in this moment you feel deeply connected to the entire Universe. In Buddhism, emptiness is how they describe God. God is empty of all notions of greed, hatred, and fear that cause us so much suffering on this planet.
Jesus said in Mark 12:32 “Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” In my experience, Jesus is saying that those with an open heart will know God no matter what spiritual tradition they follow. A Buddhist with an open heart will know God deeper than a Christian who has a closed heart to love. Even an atheist who follows the spiritual principles of Jesus will know God deeper than an evangelical Christian who has a closed heart.
One of my favorite Zen masters said to never be attached to one religion or philosophy, even Zen. To keep a beginners mind open to all ideas and ready for the infinite possibilities of life. All religious wars began with arrogance that their one spiritual tradition is the only truth while all spiritual teachers emphasize humility and the brotherhood and sisterhood of all beings. Below is a link to the free audio book of “Living Buddha, Living Christ” by Thich Nhat Hanh.
Your brother,
Johnny
You have been taught that the homeless are less than
But I’m here to say that they are just as divine as you and I
They are still born in the image of God’s love
They have Buddha nature within them
They are divine beings of the universe
Look within your heart and you will see this too
To cast judgment on them is cast judgment on the divine
Love your neighbor as thy self even if they are homeless
We are here to awaken to the oneness of all beings and show unconditional love to our brothers and sisters
May we have the courage to sit down with our enemies
Look into their eyes
Seek to understand why they harm us
To truly love someone we must first have the courage to understand them
Keep asking questions and seek to understand with curiosity
Soon you will see the suffering in their heart and mind
They were born into the suffering of war, violence, and greed
Taught wrong perceptions by their ancestors and society
If you look deeper we can see that our enemies were once innocent smiling babies
They were not born with hatred and fear in their hearts
With this deep insight, compassion and understanding will be born
This deep love will be liberate us from hatred and violence
And a river a joy will rush through us
This is the way of the peaceful warrior
To love our enemies and pray for those who spite us
With love,
Johnny
Many streams go to one ocean
Many paths to the mountain top
May we be liberated from religious dogma
May we be free to see the truth within all spiritual traditions
May we be curious and open minded
Like a child with a beginners mind
All we know is that we know nothing for certain
Pride, arrogance and closed mindedness keep us from seeing this beautiful truth
We don’t truly know what will happen to us when we die
We will never know what God truly is in this life time
All war and violence stems from believing we have the truth or that we are the chosen people
When discrimination and hatred enter the human heart, suffering and war are inevitable
May we stay humble and full of grace
Your brother,
Johnny
My religion is brother and sister hood of all beings
Our philosophy is unconditional love
Our goal is to bring peace within and around us through our actions each moment
We do not convert or force our views
We just keep our eyes on unconditional love
This is the philosophy of Jesus or Buddha without religious dogma or complex beliefs
We seek to build bridges instead of barriers to enter the Kingdom of God (unconditional love)
Anyone can join
Your brother,
Johnny Hoffman
Can we look deeply?
Deeper than skin color, gender, religion or nationality.
If we look deep enough we will see the brother & sisterhood of all living beings.
With this inside we can see our commonality and not our differences.
May we have the courage within us to not to resort to greed, hatred and fear.
With this courage true peace is possible.
It is easy to hate and much more difficult to love.
If we look deeply into the eyes of our enemy, we will see their pain.
Those who harm others suffer deeply inside.
We must develop this type of compassion for those who harm others.
It’s the only way towards true peace.
With this simple philosophy of brother and sister hood we can heal the entire world.
True peace is only possible if we can see the other side as not our enemy but a brother or sister.
With aloha,
Johnny
There once was a star in the milky way
Until one day this star grew old
This distant star died & transformed into a supernova
Sending its space dust in the vast darkness of the Universe
Until one day this dust accumulated and condensed under pressure
To form our home, Earth
The star never truly died
It was reborn
Reborn as you, me, and every species that has existed on this planet
We are brothers & sisters
Sharing this beautiful planet together
With Aloha,
Johnny
6 years have passed.
Today it feels like 6 seconds.
I pick up the phone.
Shock. Disbelief. Tears.
So unexpected. Tragedy.
The pain of losing a great young man too soon.
Tears.
Sadness.
Because your life gave us joy.
You taught us that life is impermanent.
You taught us gratitude for every moment alive.
You showed us that life can be taken away at any given moment.
You taught us to not take our friends for granted.
Thank you for being an amazing friend.
A second big brother to me.
I could always count on you.
Thank you, Mayur (Kumar) Sarhad.
You live on through your brother Veeral.
You live on through your parents.
You live on through your friends.
When we walk, you walk.
When we breathe, you breathe.
When we smile, you smile.
Does a cloud die when it turns into rain, ice, or snow? Or can it only transform?
Love you bro,
Johnny Hoffman
The Narrow Path 