The 56-year-old Rajoy has previously said he believes the law is unconstitutional and that he would “change” it even if the nation's highest court ruled it constitutional.
“I will listen to the court, but I don't like the fact that there is gay marriage and I don't think it is constitutional,” he told daily El Pais. “What I don't like is the word 'marriage.'”
You lack nothing. You lack nothing, therefore you practice. Therefore you must realize and manifest this no-lack, this realized life, this awakened life that you are. Manifest the wisdom compassion functioning that you are. To paraphrase Dogen Zenji, if you want to be such a person, as you are such you must do such. You must do this person that you are, then you will be this person that you are. |
Teenage murderer Brandon McInerny has been sentenced to 21 years in prison in a plea agreement for the shooting of openly gay classmate Larry King. Brandon McInerney, who was 14 when he pulled a gun out of his backpack and shot Larry King twice in the head in 2008, has already served nearly four years in jail and would be released by the time he is 38, under terms of the deal. "Larry had a complicated life, but he did not deserve to be murdered," the youth's father,Greg King, said after a court hearing Monday afternoon. McInerney’s first trial ended with jurors split between convicting him of voluntary manslaughter and first-degree murder. Several of the jurors have since spoken in favor of a plea bargain, in order to avoid a second trial. Prosecutors, in initially deciding to try McInerney a second time, had already dropped a key allegation that the shooting was motivated by a hatred of homosexuals, an accusation that several jurors in the original trial said they did not believe.
Led by anti-gay asshat Mariano Rajoy, Spain's deeply conservative Popular Party scored a landslide victory in yesterday's national elections. Rajoy has vowed to repeal same-sex marriage rights once he's in power.The Socialist Party, which has governed Spain since 2004, has admitted defeat. Mr Rajoy, who is expected to tackle the country's debts amid slow growth and high unemployment, said he was aware of the "magnitude of the task ahead". He told supporters there would be "no miracle" to restore Spain to financial health, and that the country must unite to win back respect in Europe. "Forty-six million Spaniards are going to wage a battle against the crisis," said the 56-year-old PP leader. The PP won about 44% of the votes and the Socialists 29% in Sunday's election, according to near-complete official results. The PP is expected to take about 186 of the 350 seats in the lower house. As the results were announced, jubilant, flag-waving supporters danced outside party headquarters in central Madrid.Analysts say the Socialists primarily lost power due to discontent over the continuing debt crisis and not because of "morality issues" promoted by the Popular Party.
Everything that is true about anything is true about breath: it's impermanent; it arises and it passes away. Yet if you didn't breathe, you would become uncomfortable; so then you would take in a big inhalation and feel comfortable again. But if you hold onto the breath, it's no longer comfortable, so you have to breathe out again. All the time shifting, shifting. Uncomfortableness is continually arising. We see that everything keeps changing. |
One specific method for practicing mindfulness of body sensations is to focus your attention on sounds. Sounds, like everything else, arise and pass away. Just by listening, you can experience the insight of impermanence, an understanding the Buddha taught as crucial for the development of wisdom. |
Genuine spiritual practice offers a way to face both our inner and outer worlds and to bring these two related realms into living, loving dialogue. Making friends with our fear—tasting it, chewing it, becoming intimately familiar with it—opens a doorway. We can develop an inner strength and confidence not based on the ups and downs of our contemporary world with its 24/7 rhythm of getting and spending. In the midst of outer and inner famine, violence, intolerance, and cowardice, the Natural Bravery approach invites you to walk the path of courage along with our spiritual ancestors, the brave women and men throughout history who have manifested fearlessness in everyday life. |
 |  Chad H. GriffinBoard PresidentAmerican Foundation for Equal Rights |
As you sit or walk in meditation, you ask constantly, “What is this?” Repeating this question develops concentration because it returns you to the full awareness of the moment. As soon as you become aware of being distracted by past events, anxieties about the present, or future dreams, you ask “What is this?” This way, the power of questioning dissolves distraction. |
I say recognize that the absolute is the relative, that nirvana is relativity. There is no way of not making a decision, and within every decision there's always a better or a worse. They are not equal. This attempt to go beyond good and evil posits some dualistic idea about nirvana. But let's not be dualistic. Nirvana is not someplace else. To go beyond good and evil means that good and evil are relative aspects that require choices. |
N.C. Baptists meeting today in Greensboro elected Charlotte pastor Mark Harris to be their new president and endorsed a proposed state constitutional amendment that would reinforce North Carolina's ban on same-sex marriage. Most of the 4,300 churches associated with the state convention are Southern Baptist - the largest Protestant denomination in North Carolina, with about 1.3 million members.Harris has pledged to campaign for the amendment.
What form [of practice] is best really depends on the person and the time—for some the carrot, for some the stick. The Buddha talked about this. He gave an image of training a horse. For some horses, just the shadow of the whip is enough; for others a slight touch spurs them on; and others really need to be whacked, metaphorically speaking. |
"Are you not furious, righteous Republican homophobe? I bet you are. I bet you're dialing your angriest, most confused buds right this moment to write letters, post barely punctuated rants to the hate forums on Free Republic, call in to Rush to demand a Tea Party-wide boycott of every single one of these sicko companies. I mean, you can't really call yourself a true American, a real Christian and still openly wear Nikes or Levi's, use Microsoft or Google, or watch Warner Brothers movies, can you? If you really walk your anti-gay talk, well, every one of these companies should be banned from your life, right?" - San Francisco Chronicle columnist Mark Morford, in a hilarious essay about the avalanche of major companies backing the repeal of DOMA.
