Via NPR \\ Weekend Edition

 

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation \\ Words of Wisdom - November 19, 2023 💌

To see through the veil of your senses and thinking mind to the true Self often feels like humanity's highest aspiration. When you do this, it's as if you find your rightful place in the order of things. You begin to recognize a harmony that's been waiting for you to feel, and once you do this, it's not only for the life hereafter or some abstract thing for later, it's for now, and how you live your life day by day. - Ram Dass

Via GBF \\ New Talk: "Non-Retaliation as a Spiritual Practice"

The latest dharma talk has been added to our website and podcast:

"Non-Retaliation as a Spiritual Practice" with Dave Richo

In what ways do we engage in retaliation in our relationships? How can we let go of this urge?

In this talk, Dave Richo defines retaliation as reacting equally to the harm that was initiated against us; revenge on the other hand is a magnified form of retaliation.

He looks at what various spiritual traditions have to say about retaliation. From a psychological view, we often dream of revenge so that we won't have to face the grief that we are feeling.

Dave holds that the urge to retaliate is a normal impulse, one that we inherited from our ancestors who survived by fighting back against those who hurt them. However many spiritual masters encourage us to work in overcoming this natural tendency. Ultimately, letting go of this urge makes room for higher qualities in us to blossom, including mercy and forgiveness that may actually transform the perpetrator.

Listen to the full talk at

https://gaybuddhist.org/podcast/non-retaliation-as-spiritual-practice-dave-richo/

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Enjoy 800+ free recorded dharma talks at www.gaybuddhist.org/podcast/

Via NPR \\ Up First

 

by Suzanne Nuyen

November 19, 2023 Good morning. This week, Congress avoided a government shutdown, the Supreme Court adopted its first-ever code of ethics, and the 2024 Grammy nominations were announced. Plus, Scott Simon has some strong opinions about leaf blowers.  Best of NPR Today marks the end of Transgender Awareness Week. Participating organizations nationwide aim to increase understanding about transgender people and the issues the community faces.  Raquel Scoggin for NPR For the past few weeks, NPR's Embedded has aired its new three-part series, All The Only Ones, an exploration of the little-known and often neglected history of trans youth in America. Trans youth have become a hot-button topic in culture, media and politics. On All The Only Ones, host Laine Kaplan-Levenson moves past the debates by speaking with real trans kids in the U.S., as well as going back in time to learn about some of the earliest documented trans youths in America.  Zen, a native of New Orleans native and a Mexican American, tells the story of coming into their transness in Episode 1. Their story is paralleled by that of Bernard, a trans person fighting to be seen in Alabama during the 1900s.   Parker, a senior in high school in Columbus, Ohio, is a top field hockey athlete. As he prepares to graduate, he'll have to decide between pursuing his dreams as a trans Division I field hockey player or starting hormone therapy. In the 1960s, Vicky and Donna both faced similar barriers to gender-affirming care and treatment.  Finally, 18-year-old Christine of New Mexico shares her experience navigating her freshman year of college after starting hormone therapy.  All three episodes of All The Only Ones are now available on NPR's Embedded feed.

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and the Third Jhāna

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RIGHT MINDFULNESS Establishing Mindfulness of Body A person goes to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty place and sits down. Having crossed the legs, one sets the body erect. One establishes the presence of mindfulness. (MN 10) One is aware: “Ardent, fully aware, mindful, I am content.” (SN 47.10)

Reflection The third foundation on which mindfulness is established, mindfulness of mind, involves noticing the impact of various emotions and attitudes on the mind. Consciousness simply reflects whatever object comes before it, but then we respond to the object with love or hate, wanting or not wanting, and all kinds of judgments favoring or opposing it. With mindfulness we are content with watching this as it occurs. Daily Practice After you gain skill in observing the bodily sensations that accompany breathing in and out and then bringing mindfulness to bear on pleasant and unpleasant feeling tones, next focus on the influence craving and aversion may or may not have on your mind in any given moment. When you like something, be aware of that. When you dislike something, be aware of that. This is the starting point of mindfulness of mind.  RIGHT CONCENTRATION Approaching and Abiding in the Third Phase of Absorption (3rd Jhāna) With the fading away of joy, one abides in equanimity; mindful and fully aware, still feeling pleasure with the body, one enters upon and abides in the third phase of absorption, on account of which noble ones announce: “One has a pleasant abiding who has equanimity and is mindful.” (MN 4) Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering One week from today: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and Abiding in the Fourth Jhāna Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Daily Dharma: It Could Not Be Otherwise

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It Could Not Be Otherwise The causes and conditions that lead to an event form its result, so it could not be otherwise. Our only choice is to release. Leora Fridman, “Notes on Abandon” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE