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Via GBF \\ "Responding to Injustice & Cruelty" with Ian Challis

Our latest dharma talk is now available on the GBF website and podcast: 

Here is a "Dharma Nugget" from the talk, 

"How Do We Inhabit THIS Moment?"

Plus the full audio version on our website:

Responding to Injustice & Cruelty – Ian Challis 

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How might we meet the realities of cruelty and injustice with a grounded and compassionate Buddhist perspective?

Ian Challis suggests that we first acknowledge that witnessing or experiencing cruelty can generate intense emotional responses—anger, grief, fear—and that these reactions are natural.

However, Ian encourages us to avoid being overwhelmed or reactive. Instead, he suggests grounding ourselves in awareness and intention, recognizing that our own suffering in the face of cruelty is an opportunity for deeper practice and connection. He emphasizes that avoiding cruelty doesn’t mean turning away from pain—it means engaging with clarity and care.

Ian shares several guiding principles and reflections to help us in this effort:

• Recognize shared suffering: Understand that even those who act cruelly are often driven by their own confusion and suffering.

• Choose wise response over reactivity: Awareness helps interrupt cycles of violence and retaliation.

• Practice compassion with boundaries: Being compassionate doesn’t mean accepting harm—it includes protecting oneself and others wisely.

• Stay connected to values: Respond from a place of love, justice, and mindfulness, even when action is necessary.
  He also briefly touches on how Buddhist ethics (sīla) and the cultivation of wisdom (paññā) support us in transforming our response to injustice into a path of liberation.

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Enjoy 850+ free recorded dharma talks at https://gaybuddhist.org/podcast/

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Verbal Action

 

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RIGHT ACTION Reflecting Upon Verbal Action However the seed is planted, in that way the fruit is gathered. Good things come from doing good deeds, bad things come from doing bad deeds. (SN 11.10) What is the purpose of a mirror? For the purpose of reflection. So too verbal action is to be done with repeated reflection: (MN 61) When you are doing an action with speech, reflect upon that same verbal action thus: “Does this action I am doing with speech lead to both my own affliction and the affliction of another?” If, upon reflection, you know that it does, then stop doing it; if you know that it does not, then continue. (MN 61)

Reflection Human speech is actually a complex and remarkable phenomenon. There are many ways in which we are monitoring our own speech as we utter it, if only to know how to end the sentence we have started. We can make use of this power of self-observation to improve the ethical quality of our verbal behavior. It is largely a matter of becoming more conscious of what we are accustomed to doing automatically. Daily Practice You can be aware of what you are saying before, during, and after saying it. Here the emphasis is on active mindfulness of speech—awareness of what you are saying in the present moment. It can be helpful to speak somewhat more slowly, to allow yourself time and space to both create and monitor your words. Perhaps a synonym for mindfulness in this context would be thoughtfulness. Practice speaking thoughtfully. Tomorrow: AAbstaining from Taking What is Not Given One week from today: Reflecting upon Mental Action 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: Social Activist Saints

 

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Social Activist Saints I don’t see any difference between the Tibetan saints and the social activist saints in Black liberation movements. They cared about people, and they wanted people to be free. That’s it. Lama Rod Owens, “The New Saints” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

The 7 Factors of Enlightenment By Bhante Henepola Gunaratana and Veronique Ziegler Discover the interconnected factors that lead to awakening in this excerpt from Dependent Origination in Plain English by Sri Lankan Theravada monk Bhante Henepola Gunaratana.  Read more »

Via The Tricycle Community \\ Three Teachings on Finding Hope

 

Browse our online courses » June 19, 2025 Don’t Despair   If you were to tell anyone you were feeling hopeless these days, you’d probably be met with nods of empathy, regardless of the source of your despair. With so much division, uncertainty, and suffering in the social, economic, and political climate—to say nothing of the environmental climate—hopelessness feels like a valid response. The scale and pace of it all is overwhelming. You could forgive anyone for feeling paralyzed.   But hopelessness doesn’t help. Fortunately, the Buddhist principles of interdependence and impermanence can restore hope and inspire action, reminding us that change on an individual level isn’t just powerful but essential. And an embrace of the unknown opens us to possibility instead of fear, tempering despair and strengthening the will. This week’s Three Teachings offers three different routes to restoring hope rooted in Buddhist wisdom. Forward today's teachings to a friend » On Hardship and Hope By Daisaku Ikeda The founding president of Soka Gakkai International (SGI)—a Japanese Buddhist philosopher, author, and leader known for his activism around nuclear disarmament—promoted internal transformation as the first step toward global peace and obstacles as potential for growth. To young people specifically, he wrote, “Regardless of what storms may blow, what angry waves may threaten, you must keep shining at all times with a pure, steady light. . . [T]he trials of today could turn out to be your most precious possessions.” Read more » Taking Refuge in the Unknown By Rebecca Solnit Writer and activist Rebecca Solnit distinguishes between hope, which opens us to possibility, and optimism, which assumes either naivety or knowledge we might not possess. She also explains how hope is a form of love and care. “You don’t hope if you don’t care,” she says. Read more » Helpless, Not Hopeless By Kurt Spellmeyer Zen priest, English professor, and author Kurt Spellmeyer encourages us to embrace our interdependence to find hope, and asserts that helplessness doesn’t preclude hope, but might actually activate it. “Not until events escaping their control bring people face-to-face with their helplessness will they discover that they belong to something larger than themselves,” he writes. Read more »

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Via FB \\ Sutter's Fort State Historic Park, Sacramento, CA

Sutter's Fort State Historic Park

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View of the lights on the exterior walls of Sutter’s Fort this past weekend in honor of Sacramento’s Pride Weekend.

Stop by Sutter’s Fort State Historic Park, or look when you pass by, throughout the year in the evening to see the lights change in honor of different holidays and observances!

#suttersfort #castateparks #sacramento #midtownsac #pridemonth