Tuesday, April 28, 2015

Via JMG: Buzzfeed Predicts Win For The Good Guys



Chris Geidner writes at Buzzfeed:
At Tuesday’s marriage arguments over same-sex couples’ marriage rights, the majority of the court appeared to be comfortable with Justice Anthony Kennedy’s understanding of human dignity as including gay people’s equal treatment under the law. While Kennedy, who is considered the key swing vote in the case, did not make any unambiguous statement about the end result of the case, he harshly questioned the state of Michigan’s argument that it should be allowed to exclude same-sex couples from marriage.

At one point, Kennedy commented to Michigan’s lawyer that its law banning same-sex couples from marrying “assumes” that those couples can’t have the same “more noble purpose” as opposite sex couples have for entering marriage. Joined often by Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, the lawyer defending marriage bans, John Bursch, faced repeated questions about what other limits states could constitutionally place on marriages and whether the states’ claimed interest amounted to anything more than, as Sotomayor asked, a “ceiling…that doesn’t have logic.”
Geidner notes that Chief Justice John Roberts did not appear to favor either side.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Attorney General Loretta Lynch: Same-Sex Couples Deserve Marriage Rights Now


 
"I am committed – as is this department – to ensuring equal dignity and equal treatment for all members of society, regardless of sexual orientation.  As we argued today before the Supreme Court, same-sex couples deserve that treatment now. " - Attorney General Loretta Lynch.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do Dia- Flor del Día- Flower of the day 28/04/2015

“Em algum momento do seu estudo de si mesmo, você é levado a compreender o poder da escolha. Quando esse poder está a serviço do eu inferior, sua força de vontade é usada para alimentar vícios e maus hábitos. E muitas vezes você se coloca na posição de vítima, como se não pudesse escolher fazer diferente. Nesse ponto se faz necessário iluminar a virtude da autorresponsabilidade para compreender que você está onde se coloca. A partir daí, você começa a compreender as estratégias do eu inferior. Ele precisa da sua energia para continuar vivendo, então ele faz de tudo para mantê-lo preso ao sofrimento, pois é de sofrimento que ele se alimenta.”
Para ler o Satsang completo, acesse: bit.ly/1CviIRC

“En algún momento de tu estudio de ti mismo, eres llevado a comprender el poder de la elección. Cuando ese poder está al servicio del yo inferior, tu fuerza de voluntad es usada para alimentar vicios y malos hábitos. Y muchas veces te colocas en la posición de víctima, como si no pudieras elegir otra cosa. En ese punto se hace necesario iluminar la virtud de la auto-responsabilidad para comprender que estás donde te colocas. A partir de ahí, comienzas a comprender las estrategias del yo inferior. Él necesita de tu energía para continuar viviendo, entonces hace de todo para mantenerte preso al sufrimiento, porque es de sufrimiento que se alimenta.”

"At some moment in our self-study, we are led to understand the power of choice. When this power is at service of the lower self, our willpower is used to feed our addictions and bad habits. Many times, we put ourselves in the position of the victim, as though we could not choose to do anything else. At this point, it’s necessary to illuminate the virtue of self-responsibility to understand that we are exactly where we place ourselves. From here, we begin to understand the strategies of the lower self. It needs our energy in order to survive, so it does everything it can to keep us stuck in our suffering, because suffering is what feeds the lower self."

Via Daily Dharma


The Wise Investigator | April 28, 2015


Effort with wisdom is a healthy desire to know and understand whatever arises, without any preference for the outcome.

- Sayadaw U Tejaniya, "The Wise Investigator"