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.
Friday, May 18, 2012
Via ॐ Blue Buddha Quote Collective:
"When
it is impossible for anger to arise within you, you find no outside
enemies anywhere. An outside enemy exists only if there is anger
inside."
~ Lama Zopa Rinpoche
O poder...
The 7 Wonders of the World
1. The power to see.
2. The power to hear.
3. The power to touch.
4. The power to try.
5. The power to feel.
6. The power to laugh.
7. And the most important of all: The power to love.
Via JMG: France Promises Gay Marriage
France's new prime minister yesterday vowed to fulfill the promise of just-elected President Francois Holland (above right) and implement full civil marriage equality for same-sex couples.
A communiqué issued by the office of the prime minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, who took office on 15 May, marked the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia yesterday with a pledge to put the president’s manifesto promise into law. It said: “On the occasion of International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, the Prime Minister reaffirmed the Government’s commitment against violence and discrimination perpetrated as a result of sexual orientation or gender identity. The Government is determined to challenge prejudice and to put an end to discrimination and violence. It will implement the commitment of the President of the Republic to the right to marriage and adoption to gay couples.”How soon the process might begin is not yet known.
Via JMG: Eight Years Of Gay Marriage
And yet, somehow, Massachusetts is still there. Happy anniversary, Bay State. It's damned shame it's taking the rest of us so long to catch up.
Via JMG: NORTH CAROLINA: More Blacks Back Gay Marriage After Obama's Announcement
Public Policy Polling has published a fascinating result out of North Carolina, where support for gay marriage has surged among black voters such the president's announcement.
There's been a noticeable shift in the attitudes of African Americans in North Carolina toward rights for gay couples in the wake of President Obama's announcement last week that he supports gay marriage. Our final poll before the primary last week found only 20% of black voters in the state favoring gay marriage, with 63% opposed. Now 27% express support for gay marriage with 59% opposed, for an overall 11 point shift on the margin.Great news!
There's been a similar movement when it comes to the overall idea of providing gay couples legal rights in the form of either marriage or civil unions. Before the primary 44% of African Americans favored one of those with 51% opposed to any sort of legal recognition for same sex couples. Now 55% of blacks support either gay marriage or civil unions with only 39% against any sort of recognition. Obama's words look to be having an impact.
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma May 18, 2012
Sitting Still
If
we watch our breathing without desiring calmness and without resenting
the tension arising from breathing in and out, and experience only the
impermanence, the unsatisfactoriness, and selflessness of our breath,
our mind becomes peaceful and calm.
|
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Via pqmonthly.com
U.S.-born
Daniel Clark Orey and his Brazi-born husband Milton Rosa find it easier
to live in Brazil because the government recognizes their California
marriage license. Because of DOMA, Orey can't sponsor Rosa for a U.S.
green card
Thursday, May 17, 2012
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma May 17, 2012
Allegiance to Life
Our pain for the world, and our power to take part in the healing of our world, both come from the same place.
|
- Joanna Macy, "Allegiance to Life"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Via AmericaBlog Gay:
Religious right hate groups say Obama probably gay
As Right Wing Watch notes, this nut is cited by AFA, FRC and all the rest of their ilk:Paul Cameron of the Family Research Institute is an “expert” cited by groups like the Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America and the American Family Association, among others in the Religious Right. While his claims have been consistently discredited, Cameron is still a favorite of opponents of...
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Via JMG: Why Young People Leave The Church
Dan Savage points us to this fascinating story:
When asked by The Barna Group what words or phrases best describe Christianity, the top response among Americans ages 16-29 was “anti-homosexual.” For a staggering 91 percent of non-Christians, this was the first word that came to their mind when asked about the Christian faith. The same was true for 80 percent of young churchgoers. (The next most common negative images? : “judgmental,” “hypocritical,” and “too involved in politics.”)The author of the piece, Rachel Held Evans, has closed commenting on her post because "I want to keep this a safe place for conversation." Read some of the responses from her Christian readers and you'll see why.
In the book that documents these findings, titled unChristian, David Kinnaman writes: “The gay issue has become the 'big one,' the negative image most likely to be intertwined with Christianity’s reputation. It is also the dimensions that most clearly demonstrates the unchristian faith to young people today, surfacing in a spate of negative perceptions: judgmental, bigoted, sheltered, right-wingers, hypocritical, insincere, and uncaring. Outsiders say [Christian] hostility toward gays... has become virtually synonymous with the Christian faith.”
Later research, documented in Kinnaman’s You Lost Me, reveals that one of the top reasons 59 percent of young adults with a Christian background have left the church is because they perceive the church to be too exclusive, particularly regarding their LGBT friends. Eight million twenty-somethings have left the church, and this is one reason why.
Via Nalanda LGBT Buddhist Cultural and Resource Center FB:
Constant awareness
The practice of Dharma should bring you to the point where you can
maintain the same constant awareness whether in or out of practice
sessions. This is the quintessential point of all spiritual instruction;
without it, however many mantras and prayers you recite, however many
thousands of prostrations and circumambulations you do, as long as your
mind remains distracted none of it will help to get rid of your
obscuring emotions. Never forget this most crucial point.
Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma May 16, 2012
Buddhanature Mind
What
is the Buddha-nature? It is a mind that is open and completely
unencumbered. It is empty. And it gives birth to warmth and compassion
for other people.
|
- Reginald Ray, "The Power of Solitude"
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Read the entire article in the Tricycle Wisdom Collection
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
Via Nalanda LGBT Buddhist Cultural and Resource Center/ Facebook:
"We
know that all is impermanent; we know that everything wears out.
Although we can buy this truth intellectually, emotionally we have a
deep-rooted aversion to it. We want permanence; we expect permanence.
Our natural tendency is to seek security; we believe we can find it. We
experience impermanence at the everyday level as frustration. We use our
daily activity as a shield against the fundame...ntal
ambiguity of our situation, expending tremendous energy trying to ward
off impermanence and death. We don't like it that our bodies change
shape. We don't like it that we age. We are afraid of wrinkles and
sagging skin. We use health products as if we actually believe that OUR
skin, OUR hair, OUR eyes and teeth, might somehow miraculously escape
the truth of impermanence".
-Pema Chodron
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