Via Daily Dharma

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Meditation in Perspective | May 13, 2014

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It's one thing to view meditation as a serious religious discipline that can help overcome craving and attachment. This approach is perfectly consistent with many Buddhist teachings. But that is quite different from viewing meditation as the be-all and end-all of Buddhism, and it is also different from seeing meditation in utilitarian terms—as a means to bring about an experience, such as kensho [experience of an enlightened state] or sotapatti ["stream entry"], that will instantly transform the whole of one's existence.

 

—Robert Sharf, “Losing Our Religion”

 

Via JMG: Wikipedia's Updated Marriage Map

 

The map might change today if the Arkansas ruling is stayed.

Labels: Arkansas, maps, marriage equality

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma

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Learning to Control Our Emotions | May 12, 2014

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If we want to succeed in life and bring about a more peaceful world, we must learn to control our emotions and not to be affected by a moment of anger.

 

—Master Hsing Yun, "Don't Get Mad, Don't Get Even"

 

JMG Tweet Of The Day: Dan Savage

Labels: Conchita Wurst, Dan Savage, Eurovision, football, gay athletes, LGBT History, Michael Sam, NFL, pop music, sports

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Obama Congratulates Michael Sam

 

USA Today reports:

President Obama is honoring Michael Sam, who on Saturday became the first openly gay player to be drafted by a pro football team after the St. Louis Rams picked him in the seventh round. "The President congratulates Michael Sam, the Rams and the NFL for taking an important step forward in our Nation's journey," said a White House statement. "From the playing field to the corporate boardroom, LGBT Americans prove everyday that you should be judged by what you do and not who you are," said the White House of Sam, an award-winning defense end who played at the University of Missouri.

The Teabagistanis are not happy about this.

Labels: Barack Obama, gay athletes, Michael Sam, NFL

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma

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Keep a Carefree Heart | May 11, 2014

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Just practice according to the methods taught by the Buddha and do not worry about being a success. The Heart Sutra says, ‘there is no wisdom and no attainment.’ Although practice may be trying, even physically painful, if your heart is carefree, nothing will bother you.

 

—Master Sheng-Yen, “Being Natural”

 

JMG HISTORY: First Same-Sex Couple Legally Marries In Southern State, Witnessed By Lawyer Who Brought Down Arkansas Ban

UPDATE: The Associated Press reports.

An Arkansas clerk issued the state's first gay marriage license on Saturday, breaking a barrier that voters put in place with a constitutional amendment 10 years ago. Carroll County Deputy Clerk Jane Osborn issued a license Saturday morning to Kristin Seaton, 27, and Jennifer Rambo, 26, of Fort Smith. They had slept in a Ford Focus after arriving in Eureka Springs at 2 a.m. Saturday and were the first of about 10 couples to line up outside of the courthouse before it opened. When the license was issued, Rambo said, "Thank God." Seaton and Rambo, who have been together four years, then held a marriage ceremony on the courthouse steps. A woman in a rainbow dress officiated.

Labels: Arkansas, LGBT History, marriage equality

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma

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The Rope of Mindfulness | May 10, 2014

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It is mindfulness that places the mind on the chosen object of meditation and returns the mind to that object when it wanders. As a well-known meditation instruction says, ‘Tie the wild elephant of the mind to the post of the meditation object with the rope of mindfulness.’ Mindfulness prevents distraction.

 

—Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr., “Which Mindfulness?”

 

Via AmericaBlog: Anti-gay (former) HGTV stars: “We love homosexuals, Muslims,” hate their “agenda”

The adorably-pastel-shirted Benham brothers, sons of anti-abortion extremist Flip Benham, went on CNN to clarify that they truly love the homosexual and the Muslim. What they hate, however, is the homosexual and Muslim “agenda.”

The Benham boys, David and Jason, are smarting from the cancellation of their new home-flipping show on HGTV, after word leaked out of the Benham’s anti-gay, anti-abortion, and anti-Muslim activism, as first reported by RightWingWatch.

David Benham even compared the fight against gay marriage to the fight against Nazi Germany. (Don’t recall that one in the Bible.) And then invoked the Leviticus passage that calls for gays to be put to death.

The Benham boys, doing heterosexuality proud in their pastel shirts and perfectly-coiffed matching hairdos.

As is always the case with these folks of late, they’re now claiming that they’re the real victims.  Because their victims stepped up and got to them first.

The Benham’s line, which is typically self-deluded, is that 85% of America is Christian, so how come all these gays and Muslims and pro-choicers keep getting their way?

Um, because 85% of America isn’t YOUR kind of Christian.  This is a common fallacy on the far-right.  They think they speak for God, and all Christianity, without realizing that they’re relative newcomers to the whole Christian game, and that lots of faiths, Christian and otherwise, don’t share their hatred of gays and Muslims, and don’t get terribly involved in the whole abortion debate.
The Benhams also pulled the victim card out, because it’s a terrible thing for freedom when a minority gets in the way of you denying them their freedom.  If this keeps up, everyone is going to want to be free.

Make the jump here to read the full article

Via Goodwill Librarian / FB:

From a Baha'i Friend:

 

Via JMG: Two Years Ago Today

Two years ago today the playing field for marriage equality suddenly got a LOT better.

"At a certain point, I've just concluded that-- for me personally, it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that-- I think same-sex couples should be able to get married. Now-- I have to tell you that part of my hesitation on this has also been I didn't want to nationalize the issue. There's a tendency when I weigh in to think suddenly it becomes political and it becomes polarized. And what you're seeing is, I think, states working through this issue-- in fits and starts, all across the country. Different communities are arriving at different conclusions, at different times. And I think that's a healthy process and a healthy debate. And I continue to believe that this is an issue that is gonna be worked out at the local level, because historically, this has not been a federal issue, what's recognized as a marriage." - President Barack Obama, two years ago today.

Labels: Barack Obama, LGBT History, marriage equality

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma

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Intolerance Towards Suffering | May 9, 2014

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The subtle suffering in our lives may seem unimportant. But if we attend to the small ways that we suffer, we create a context of greater ease, peace, and responsibility, which can make it easier to deal with the bigger difficulties when they arise. Being intolerant of suffering, in the Buddhist sense, does not mean that we reject it or fight against it. It means that we stop and look at it, not morbidly, but with faith in the possibility of living a joyful and peaceful life. 

 

—Gil Fronsdal, “Living Two Traditions”

Via Daily Dharma:

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The Seed of Aspiration | May 8, 2014

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Experience is the seed of aspiration, the deeply rooted commitment to know. That aspiration then drives one into the difficult and transformative realm of spiritual pursuit, into the realm of practice.

 

—Adam Frank, “In the Light of Truth”

 

Via The Dalai Lama Foundation / FB:

“Now there are many, many people in the world, but relatively few with whom we interact, and even fewer who cause us problems. So when you come across such a chance for practicing patience and tolerance, you should treat it with gratitude. It is rare. Just as having unexpectedly found a treasure in your own house, you should be happy and grateful toward your enemy for providing you that precious opportunity. Because if you are ever to be successful in your practice of patience and tolerance, which are critical factors in counteracting negative emotions, it is due to your own efforts and also the opportunity provided by your enemy.”

https://www.facebook.com/DalaiLamaFoundation

Via JMG: Dan Savage On HGTV's Move

"The real story here is that we are rapidly approaching the tipping point that I've been talking and writing about for years. Once upon a time white people used to be able to go on TV and say the most racist shit imaginable (argue against legal interracial marriage, argue in favor of segregation) and keep their jobs and be invited back on TV to say that shit a second time. Then one day you couldn't say that shit (not on TV, at least) and keep your job and be invited back to say that shit again. Opinions that used to be considered 'respectable' were suddenly toxic career enders. We are rapidly reaching the same tipping point on LGBT issues. You can believe whatever you want, but you have to be careful when and how you express your anti-gay animus. Because it could cost you. As David and Jason Benham just learned." - Dan Savage, writing for The Stranger.

 

Labels: Dan Savage, HGTV, reality shows, religion

Reposted from Joe Jervis

THE GAY CLASSIFICATION KINGDOM

Via Daily Dharma

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Transcend Ordinary Perceptions | May 7, 2014

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In painting, as in any art, we can escape the prison of our minds and connect with what transcends ordinary perceptions. And just as a body of water stays still while a wave-form moves through it, consciousness remains stable despite the constant motion and flow of our thoughts. 

 

—Fredericka Foster, “Spotlight On: Fredericka Foster”

 

Via JMG: Cuba To Host LGBT Rights Convention

Next week Cuba will host an international convention of LGBT activists for the first time.  The event will be chaired by Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban president Raul Castro and Fidel Castro's niece. The Washington Blade reports:

The sixth International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association for Latin America and the Caribbean (ILGALAC) Regional Conference will take place in the beach resort of Varadero. A number of parties and other events are scheduled to take place in nearby Havana, the Cuban capital, during the gathering. “As the host country for the sixth ILGALAC Regional Conference, Cuba is not exempt from the problems of the region’s LGBTI communities,” states the organization. “The humanistic nature of the Cuban Revolution has focused on the human being in his teleological purposes since its beginning. Although the Cuban LGBTI movement does not have the organization of other international movements, the fight against discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the country is now evident with more impact and achievements.”

Among the critics of the conference is US Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL): "Hosting a conference on LGBT rights is just another farcical attempt by the Cuban regime to pretend they care about anyone’s rights. The sad reality is that the Cuban people are harassed, beaten and bullied for having a point of view that differs from the regime’s. This desperate move to seem tolerant does not even come close to obscuring the repressive reality on the island.” Last year Ros-Lehtinen, who has a transgender son, endorsed marriage equality in Florida.

RELATED: Homosexuality is legal in Cuba and while no LGBT rights legislation exists, gay pride events have been allowed in recent years. In 2010 Fidel Castro publicly apologized for the treatment of LGBT people during his regime, calling it a "great injustice."  Thousands of gay people were rounded up and placed in internment camps while he was in power. At the height of the AIDS crisis, HIV+ Cubans were quarantined. Today Cuba produces generic HIV drugs and provides them free of charge.

Labels: Cuba, LGBT rights, Mariela Castro

Reposted from Joe Jervis