Stories of Compassion and Kindness - GOJO BODHISATTVA

[Jakuden]

Had two opportunities to LAH at work today in a row... took in a kitty whose owner was going to euthanize, I think he was not permitted to treat the cat’s diabetic condition by his fiancé... he was sobbing in grief and then it turned to gratitude when I asked if he wanted to sign the cat over. (Anyone want a totally awesome orange cat? I’m hoping he won’t be diabetic for long!)

Second was a poor lady who couldn’t catch her sick cat to bring it in. I Was able to listen to her currently difficult situation, and help her formulate a plan to get the kitty in. Also many tears of gratitude.

All of you are there with me lifting me up so I can help these folks, seriously. It’s a very real sense of paying it forward. Metta works!

Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


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[Seishin]

Had two opportunities to LAH at work today in a row... took in a kitty whose owner was going to euthanize, I think he was not permitted to treat the cat’s diabetic condition by his fiancé... he was sobbing in grief and then it turned to gratitude when I asked if he wanted to sign the cat over. (Anyone want a totally awesome orange cat? I’m hoping he won’t be diabetic for long!)

Second was a poor lady who couldn’t catch her sick cat to bring it in. I Was able to listen to her currently difficult situation, and help her formulate a plan to get the kitty in. Also many tears of gratitude.

All of you are there with me lifting me up so I can help these folks, seriously. It’s a very real sense of paying it forward. Metta works!

Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


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Deep bows

[Kyonin]

Hi all,

I have a little compassion story I want to share. Some of you may not know, but Treeleaf has a little sister sangha in Spanish called Grupo Zen Ryokan. There I do the best I can to teach people what little I know about our practice. We sit zazen, we gather every Sunday in the city and on line and the group is growing a little every week.

Yesterday a sangha member, Bere (she is a nurse), called me to tell me there was this gentleman who was suffering of mobility problems. His name is Bernardo. Diabetes took his health and a leg and is confined to a wheelchair. The problem is that he is very poor and had to rescue a wheelchair from the garbage and tried to repair it.

The chair was in really bad conditions. Instead of seat it had a plain wood board. Instead of feet rests, it had some rope and same for the back. The chair was killing his back and kidneys.




Being a nurse, Bere knows how bad it gets for patients when a chair is in this bad shape. So we both started to gather resources to get Bernardo a new chair.

After sending my donation (as much as I could) I wrote a post on my blog and asked the sangha and readers for a little donation. Also posted on Twitter and Facebook.

A few minutes later Bere’s phone went crazy with all the money transfers alerts!

In just 2 hours we got the money to get a new chair. Not only that, but we got a little extra to get a better one!

We stopped taking donations and Bere went to buy the new chair. By the afternoon Bernardo was rolling on his brand new and comfortable wheelchair.

He and his family were in tears and couldn’t speak at all. They were just smiling and crying. Bere and me were too.

Here is Don Bernardo (Don means something like Venerable Elder) with his new wheels.





And here he says: “Greetings to everyone who helped me and gave me this chair. Thank you. With all my heart thank you”.





I wanted to share this because to me this is proof that Kanzeon is real. A thousand arms, a thousand beings helping each other without questions, without asking for anything in return.

Gassho,

Kyonin
Sat/LAH

[Jundo]

[Shinshi]

Hi all,

I have a little compassion story I want to share. Some of you may not know, but Treeleaf has a little sister sangha in Spanish called Grupo Zen Ryokan. There I do the best I can to teach people what little I know about our practice. We sit zazen, we gather every Sunday in the city and on line and the group is growing a little every week.

Yesterday a sangha member, Bere (she is a nurse), called me to tell me there was this gentleman who was suffering of mobility problems. His name is Bernardo. Diabetes took his health and a leg and is confined to a wheelchair. The problem is that he is very poor and had to rescue a wheelchair from the garbage and tried to repair it.

The chair was in really bad conditions. Instead of seat it had a plain wood board. Instead of feet rests, it had some rope and same for the back. The chair was killing his back and kidneys.




Being a nurse, Bere knows how bad it gets for patients when a chair is in this bad shape. So we both started to gather resources to get Bernardo a new chair.

After sending my donation (as much as I could) I wrote a post on my blog and asked the sangha and readers for a little donation. Also posted on Twitter and Facebook.

A few minutes later Bere’s phone went crazy with all the money transfers alerts!

In just 2 hours we got the money to get a new chair. Not only that, but we got a little extra to get a better one!

We stopped taking donations and Bere went to buy the new chair. By the afternoon Bernardo was rolling on his brand new and comfortable wheelchair.

He and his family were in tears and couldn’t speak at all. They were just smiling and crying. Bere and me were too.

Here is Don Bernardo (Don means something like Venerable Elder) with his new wheels.





And here he says: “Greetings to everyone who helped me and gave me this chair. Thank you. With all my heart thank you”.





I wanted to share this because to me this is proof that Kanzeon is real. A thousand arms, a thousand beings helping each other without questions, without asking for anything in return.

Gassho,

Kyonin
Sat/LAH

Thank you for sharing Kyonin. That is a wonderful story. Thanks too for all you do.

Gassho, Shinshi

SaT-LaH

[Jakuden]

Deep bows to Don Bernardo and all who helped him get his wheels! That’s just wonderful
Gassho
Jakuden
SatToday/LAH


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[Shingen]

Lovely Kyonin. =)

Gassho
Shingen

Sat/LAH

[Shugen]

Deep Bows.

Shugen

Sattoday/LAH


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[Shoka]

Kyonin,

I think my favorite part of that story is that when Bere saw something that needed to be fixed. And although she couldn't fix it alone, reaching out allowed everyone to help and before you knew it there was a solution.

The thousands hands all reaching out together. So wonderful!

Gassho,

Shoka
sat+lah

[Geika]

You're all good people, Kyonin. Bodhisattva work.

Sat today, lah

[Shokai]

Kyonin;
That is wonderful. I just went through the process of selecting and getting a chair for Doreen. That is one good looking chair Don Bernardo has, congratulations'

gassho, Shokai
stlah

[Shoka]

Hey everyone,

Over the pass few weeks I have been trying to sell some old backpacking gear which I won't use anymore. I'm fairly lazy when it comes to selling used stuff because I just don't have the time to keep posting and replying to people. So I sort of gave up about a week or so ago. The gear was going to sit unused until I figured out somewhere it could go and be useful.

Today my sister messaged me a post from a women's hiking group. One of the members was looking at used gear and wanted people's opinions on what she had found and if it was worth the price. She stated that she really wanted to start backpacking because hiking and being outdoors is helping her recover from an abusive relationship, but new gear is very expensive and she is now a single mom.

I messaged right away to tell her I had gear and if it worked for her, she could have it. Ironically we both work in the same area... so in the huge area that is greater LA we are only miles apart everyday. Fingers crossed that the gear works for her.

The really important thing about this occurrence to me is the action my sister took. Had she not notified me of the post, I probably would have missed it because several hours from now it would have been buried by other things. You can't always do something yourself, but maybe you can reach out to someone else who can help.

Gassho,
Shoka
sat+lah

[Geika]

Happy accidents! There's a lot of them in life. Funny how things line up in improbable ways. I'm not superstitious, but sometimes it feels like the universe looks out for us sometimes. And even if it's coincidence, thank goodness it happens! I'm sure that lady is feeling quite lucky and cared for.

Well done.

Gassho

Sat today, lah

[Getchi]

For many years now, I have raised money for people who eed guide dogs and wheel chairs.
Also I have looked after a person who is (literally) going through Hell.
For this - I am thankful to Shyakyamuni Buddha for my opportunity to practice.

Thankyou !!!

-edit- this should be invisible, GoJu works in silence, and the noise. But I dont, it should be quiet!!!!!

[TyZa]

Helped coordinate a food and winter clothing/blankets campaign in my city. Cooked and served food to anyone who needed it. Afterwards, there were still leftovers, my friends and I packaged them up and my wife and I drove around to homeless "camps" in our city giving out hot meals, winter clothing, blankets, fruits, and drinks. We eventually made sure all the food was taken by anyone in need.

Anytime I do anything like that, I receive teaching in humility from others. More often that not, the people I'm helping are more concerned with getting food/clothing, not for them, but for someone else they know who needs it more than they do. The arms of Kannon can be felt in these moments when humans are being humans to each other and though I thought I was helping someone, they are in turn helping someone themselves. It's really emotional and a blessing to experience.

Gassho,
Tyler

SatToday

[Washin]

The arms of Kannon can be felt in these moments when humans are being humans to each other and though I thought I was helping someone, they are in turn helping someone themselves.

Washin
st-lah

[TyZa]

Decided to start to clean up the trash that is in the field next to my apartment building. Still a lot more to go, but picked up six bags today.


20200105_160150 (1).jpg

Gassho,
Tyler

SatToday

[Geika]

Wow, that's a lot so far! Good job, Tyler.

Gassho
Sat today, lah

[Washin]

Decided to start to clean up the trash that is in the field next to my apartment building. Still a lot more to go, but picked up six bags today.


20200105_160150 (1).jpg

Gassho,
Tyler

Gassho
Washin
sattoday