Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 15, 2013

What Are You Meditating For?

You may read that meditation enables you to tame your mind and bring it to a state of stability and peace. Despite meditating as a Buddhist for more than 40 years, I have not achieved even a glimpse of this, nor have I ever seen anyone else achieve it. Admittedly, I am not much of a practitioner, but there may also be a more general reason why this is so.

- Douglas Penick, "What Are You Meditating For?"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through October 16, 2013
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Monday, October 14, 2013

JMG Quote Of The Day

"I am a white heterosexual male. This trifecta of privilege means that I'm not routinely subjected to prejudice. But for a few minutes I got to walk in the shoes of a gay person in a public place. For no good reason I had had a slur marked over my luggage. I was degraded. I was shamed. I was humiliated. For me, this was only a few minutes of one day of my life. If what I felt for those few minutes is extrapolated out every day over a lifetime, then I can fully understand why our gay friends feel persecuted and why they have such high rates of suicide. It is unacceptable. It is said that words can't hurt you. That it is true. But it isn't the words that hurt, it's the intention behind them. 'I am gay' was not emblazened across my luggage as a celebration. It was used as a pejorative. It was used to humiliate. It was used as a slur." - One Sleepy Dad blogger Aaron, whose suitcase emerged on the Perth airport carousel with the above message. The airline has apologized.

Labels: air travel, Australia, homophobia

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: NORTH CAROLINA: State Attorney General Roy Cooper Endorses Marriage Equality

But he's still going to fight defend the state against the lawsuit brought by the ACLU. Via the Associated Press:

Attorney General Roy Cooper says he supports gay marriage but argues his personal views aren't preventing him from vigorously defending North Carolina's constitutional amendment affirming its prohibition from a lawsuit. Cooper opposed passage of the amendment in 2012 but hadn't addressed his views on sanctioning gay marriage publicly until now. He said over the weekend "I support marriage equality" when asked by The Associated Press about the topic. His announcement worries the socially conservative North Carolina Family Policy Council after it questioned why Cooper was speaking next month at a fundraiser for gay-rights group Equality North Carolina.

Equality North Carolina has responded to Cooper's announcement: "The Attorney General has long been an advocate for equal rights for all people and we applaud him for publicly aligning with a fast-growing majority of North Carolinians who now support the legal relationship recognitions between committed LGBT couples." (Tipped by JMG reader Al)

Labels: ACLU, marriage equality, North Carolina, Roy Cooper

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 14, 2013

Taking Suffering Seriously

Taking suffering seriously is an important element of Buddhist practice. To ignore it is to miss a powerful opportunity. Intolerance to suffering motivated the Buddha to find liberation from it.

- Gil Fronsdal, "Living Two Traditions"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through October 15, 2013
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Sunday, October 13, 2013

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Tricycle Daily Dharma October 13, 2013

Face to Face

In a sense, all of Buddhist practice takes place here, in this most intimate realm: here, in the family, shoulder to shoulder with fellow workers, beside each other on the cushion. Even alone in a cave, there is no way out of the sense object we call the body. We meet each other face to face, and so have all our teachers and ancestors met each other. In this way have all the Buddhas taught. Hand to sweating hand.

- Sallie Tisdale, “Washing Out Emptiness”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through October 14, 2013
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Saturday, October 12, 2013

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 12, 2013

Recognizing Love

As adults, we need to become newly aware of the love that has infused our lives all along, to turn our attention to it afresh with the eyes of a child. To do so is to become conscious of the tremendous capacity for love that even now permeates our being—to open to it, to be healed by its life-giving energy, and to participate in its power to renew our world. We can awaken to the deepest goodness in ourselves and others. We can learn to recognize and commune with the blessings that have always been pouring forth.

- John Makransky, “Love Is All Around”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through October 13, 2013
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Via JMG: US Olympic Committee Adds Sexual Orientation To Non-Discrimination Policy

The United States Olympic Committee today amended its official non-discrimination policies to include sexual orientation.

At his annual address to the USOC Assembly on Friday, CEO Scott Blackmun said the federation is not in the business of trying to influence Russian policy. “The fact that we do not think it is our role to advocate for a change in the Russian law does not mean that we support the law, and we do not,” Blackmun said. The board passed the measure Thursday, a week after chairman Larry Probst, a new member of the International Olympic Committee, said he would support a similar change to the IOC Olympic charter. Currently, it does not mention sexual orientation as a form of discrimination. With the Sochi Olympics less than four months away, Blackmun said the USOC is seeking clarity from the IOC on what will and won’t be regarded as violations of the IOC rule against using the Olympic stage to make political protests or demonstrations.

Blackmun added that the USOC has given American athletes the freedom to express opposition to Russia's anti-gay laws "however they see fit." But that freedom ends when the Games begin. (Tipped by JMG reader Dwight)

Labels: LGBT rights, Russia, Sochi Olympics, USOC

Reposted from Joe