Tag: awakening

We are Buddhas, We are Christs

To me Buddhism is studying how Jesus became Jesus and how we can become like him too through the holy spirit, similar to enlightenment or nirvana in Buddhism. It’s core belief is that we all can awaken and become a Buddha; actually we already are a Buddha but are lost in our attachments to worldly things and are consumed by our fear, greed, and hatred (sin in Christianity).
Buddha just means awakened one, similar to the title Christ in Christianity. We should not be scared of other spiritual traditions but our own fear, hatred and religious dogma that can blind us from seeing the truth and goodness in all religions. Be curious and open minded. This type of mindset is what Jesus and Buddha had in their times. This is not to assimilate or convert but to build brotherhood and sisterhood.

I found Jesus through a Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh who wrote a book called “Living Buddha, Living Christ” that changed my life 10 years ago.
He dedicated a lot of his life trying to bridge the two religions and fostering brotherhood and sisterhood.

God is Within Us

If you look for God in the sky above you

You will only dream

If you look for God within your heart and soul

You will awaken and heal from within

The kingdom of God is a seed of unconditional love within you

Water this seed and it will transform you

From fearful to an embodiment of love

From greedy to selflessness

All your worries will vanish

All your suffering will be transformed

Keep looking within yourself each moment of the day

Keep watering this seed of love within your heart and soul till your last breath

With love,

Johnny

Death before Death

To be truly alive

We must die before death

We must die of the notion of a separate self

We must die of our old ways of living

Burning down our old life and leaving no traces of ourselves

Completely letting go of who we once were

Through death we can be resurrected

Each moment we can be a time of revitalized and resurrection

Each day we can be reborn if we surrender to the power of unconditional love within our heart

God’s Money

The money in my bank account is not my money

It’s God’s money

I’m just holding onto it temporarily

This revelation has liberated me from the destructive energy of greed

Because the money in my bank account was never

I can give it freely to those in need

I don’t need to cling to it out of fear

I can choose love by giving it away to the homeless and vulnerable

Thank you God for liberating me from selfishness and greed

With love,

Johnny

The Awakening of the Buddha

The awakening of the Buddha was that he saw Buddha nature in everything

In Buddhist philosophy, Buddha-nature is the potential for all sentient beings to become a Buddha or the fact that all beings already have a pure buddha-essence within.

So the Buddha awakened to the ultimate reality of the universe

That every being is born with and has Buddha nature

Even if they are deeply lost in fear, greed, and hatred

Even if someone is violent

Even criminals, beggars, and addicts

All have the essence of Buddha nature

All are holy and are in the image of God

With this awakening we can help heal this world of much suffering

We can see every being as holy and our brother or sister

We can vow to reduce their suffering and look at them through the lens of compassion

With aloha,

Johnny

The Ultimate Reality

What a blessing it is to be alive!!

You might know me as Johnny Hoffman, as some separate person but I am much more than that.

Look deeper and you will see the ultimate reality of me.

I am my ancestors

I am the soil

I am a cloud

I am the sun

For without these I would not exist

So whenever you feel lost or alone just know you are not separate from the universe.

You and I are made up of our ancestors, stars, soil, clouds, and rivers. Without them we would not exist. This is the ultimate reality of things.

You are my brother or sister

To feel this at a deep level is to awaken to our Buddha nature and help others who still suffer

So when someone looks at a cloud 100 years from now they may see me again 🙏🏼☁️

With aloha,

Johnny

Truly Helping

To truly help others

Focus all your energy on healing yourself

Be kind always but don’t sacrifice your own health & well-being by focusing your energy on others

It is possible to reduce others suffering and help others see the inner Buddha that lives within all of us

But if we are drowning in our own suffering we can’t help others who suffer

It is possible to awaken

To not let fear, hatred, anger, and ignorance run & ruin our lives

No matter your skin tone, gender, age, or wage

Thanks to impermanence, we can transform our suffering into joy

And we can help others do the same

Not by force but through understanding, compassion and forgiveness

Namaste,

Johnny

To Truly Live

To truly live
We must die each moment
We must let go of the past
Not obsessed over the future
Not worried about what could go wrong
Just enjoying this moment


Naturally our mind will wander like clouds in the sky
With mindfulness we anchor the mind to our breathe
Breathing in we know we are of the nature to grow old
Breathing out we know one day we will die
Knowing this we vow to live each day like it’s our last

We look at all life through the lens of compassion

We vow not live our life full of fear, anger, and hatred

Instead we will water the seeds of compassion, peace, and love each day

So they bloom at any moment
Living this way will benefit yourself, the planet and the ones around you

With aloha,

Johnny

Darkness into Light

From my experience, our suffering can bring much joy

But we must sit with the pain even when we want to run from it

For us to transform, we must get to know the darkest parts of our mind.

Sit with our demons until they don’t scare us anymore

Show compassion & love to the darkest parts of our soul

Surrender to the reality in front of you

Do not fight or run

Sit still & get to know them

They will always be there

But our mind can be a sanctuary, even with the demons; not a warzone

With aloha,

Johnny

Nature Within

Breathing in I see myself as water, flowing & flexible

Breathing out I see myself as a mountain, strong & stable

Breathing in I see myself as a flower, fresh & beautiful

Breathing out I see myself as space, free & vast

Water, flowing

Mountain, strong

Flower, fresh

Space, free

Breathe, enjoy

With aloha,

Johnny