A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
What does it mean to be in right relations
with those who deny the realities of accelerating ecological
degradation, social injustice, and individual suffering or, worse, who
actively exacerbate those interwoven crises? Whether because we share
close personal ties with those who are dismissive of the crises of our
time, because we are actively engaged in the work of participating in
and growing movements seeking to mitigate those issues, or simply
because they occupy such prominent places in our cultural landscape, the
“bad guys” are an inescapable part of life for many.
This unavoidable interdependence raises a host of issues, in both our
personal practice and our roles as advocates and activists attempting to
reduce suffering in the world at large.
Join Kevin Gallagher on this deep dive into the topic, where we we will
view the predicament of “bad guys” through a range of lenses – Buddhist,
evolutionary, developmental, psychological, strategic – with the hopes
of gaining new insights into how we might better relate, on behalf of
both people and planet, to those who cause so much harm.
Sunday, June 23, 2024
11:30 AM to 1:30 PM US Eastern / 8:30 to 10:30 AM US Pacific /
5:30 to 7:30 PM CEST View in your time zone
We encourage you to register early, if possible.
A recording of the conversation will be provided for those who cannot attend the gathering.
EcoDharma Explorations are entirely donation-supported.
Any amount you can give is greatly appreciated.
This
event is part of our monthly EcoDharma Exploration series, each of
which focuses on a particular aspect of EcoDharma and features a
different guest.
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 bodily
action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61)
When you are doing an action with the body, reflect upon that same
bodily action thus: “Does this action I am doing with the body 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
Mindfulness of
the body involves being fully conscious of your bodily sensations as
they occur in the present moment. Reflecting upon bodily action, as
described here, has to do with being sensitive to the ethical quality of
your actions, which requires tuning in not only to what you are doing
but also to how your current activities affect yourself and others. If
they pass review, then carry on; if not, it is time to alter your
behavior.
Daily Practice
Be aware of the
implications of your actions. Notice the patterns of cause and effect
generated by what you do, particularly in regard to whether they are
causing harm or not. If you realize you are doing something that is not
good for you or something that is hurtful to others in some way, simply
stop doing it. It is good to pause in mid-stride from time to time, to
check on the ethical quality of your actions.
Tomorrow: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings One week from today: Reflecting upon Verbal Action
Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel
The Good Life An Online Course with John Peacock and Akincano Weber
You may have heard Buddhist
ethics summarized as a list of precepts or as a precondition for deep
meditation. But ethics is so much richer than that. This brand new
online course will offer an enlivening journey to discover how to
utilize Buddhist ethics in our everyday lives.
RICHARD BARNFIELD,
English poet, born (d: 1620); There are, as everyone knows, certain
inseparable teams: Gilbert & Sullivan, Cheech and Chong, bagels and
lox, ham and eggs, Sodom and Gomorrah. In classical mythology, as in
ballet, there are Daphnis and Chloë, the Greek shepherd and his lady
love – Daphnis and Chloë, as inseparable as yin and yang, gin and tonic,
Ron and Nancy.
Not in Richard Barnfield, however. His AffectionateShepherd
(1594) scandalized Renaissance England by describing in florid detail
the love of Daphnis and Ganymede, just a couple of guys, foolin’ around.
What the fuss was all about is difficult to say since, in the absence
of Chloë, Daphnis never exercised his shepherdly option of making it
with his favorite sheep, choosing a boy instead. “If it be a sin to love
a lovely lad,” wrote Barnfield, “Oh, then sin I.” He was not quite
twenty-one when he wrote the poem. His obscure though close relationship
with Shakespeare has long made him interesting to students.
Richard Barnfield
was born in Staffordshire, England. In his youth, he was deeply
influenced by Virgil’s work and the 1591 publication of Sir Philip
Sidney’s AstrophelandStella, which popularized the sonnet sequence. Best known for his poem “As it fell upon a day,” Barnfield is the only Elizabethan male poet apart from Shakespeare—whom he admired—to address love poems to a man.
Little is known
about Barnfield’s life and career, but it is thought that his maternal
aunt raised him and his sister after his mother died during childbirth.
In 1592 he graduated from Brasenose College, Oxford. At the age of
twenty-one he published his first two books, The AffectionateShepherd (1594) and Cynthia
(1595), both addressed to “Ganymede.” Originally published anonymously,
The Affectionate Shepherd expands upon Virgil’s second eclogue, and its
homoerotic themes made Barnfield’s poems controversial for his time.
Today's Gay Wisdom
2018 -
Today's Gay Wisdom
Sonnet 16 By Richard Barnfield
Long have I long’d to see my love again, Still have I wished, but never could obtain it; Rather than all the world (if I might gain it) Would I desire my love’s sweet precious gain. Yet in my soul I see him every day, See him, and see his still stern countenance, But (ah) what is of long continuance, Where majesty and beauty bears the sway? Sometimes, when I imagine that I see him, (As love is full of foolish fantasies) Weening to kiss his lips, as my love’s fees, I feel but air: nothing but air to bee him. Thus with Ixion, kiss I clouds in vain: Thus with Ixion, feel I endless pain.
Sonnet 17
By Richard Barnfield
Cherry-lipped Adonis in his snowy shape, Might not compare with his pure ivory white, On whose faire front a poet’s pen may write, Whose roseate red excels the crimson grape, His love-enticing delicate soft limbs, Are rarely framed to entrap poor gazing eyes: His cheeks, the lily and carnation dyes, With lovely tincture which Apollo’s dims. His lips ripe strawberries in nectar wet, His mouth a Hive, his tongue a honeycomb, Where Muses (like bees) make their mansion. His teeth pure pearl in blushing coral set. Oh how can such a body sin-procuring, Be slow to love, and quick to hate, enduring?
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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute
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increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful
corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community
is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave
standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming
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