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Tricycle Daily Dharma May 6, 2013

Facing Yourself

Spiritual change is precisely a process that is bigger than you. You don’t control it. You surrender to it. You don’t reinvent yourself through spiritual work. You face yourself, and then you must let go of all the ghastly things you find. But there is no end to these ghastly things. They keep coming. The ego is a bottomless pit of suckiness. And so you finally let go of the self that clings to itself (one definition of ego). True freedom comes when ego goes.

- Shozan Jack Haubner, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Enlightenment"

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Via JMG: President Obama Supports LGBT Inclusion For Immigration Reform Bill

Speaking tonight at a press conference in Costa Rica, President Obama endorsed including LGBT couples in the immigration reform bill currently before the Senate.

Obama says that recognizing same-sex relationships in the bill is "the right thing to do." But he says it would be premature to telegraph what he will or won't do before lawmakers send him a bill. Gay rights supporters are pushing for an amendment to the bill to allow gays to sponsor their partners to come to the U.S. But Republicans, including some who helped draft the bill, have made it clear that amending the legislation in that fashion would cost their support.

Labels: Barack Obama, Immigration Equality, immigration reform

Reposted from Joe

Book of Mormon: Party Bus Edition

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Tricycle Daily Dharma May 5, 2013

Our Mutual Dependency

To open yourself up to need, longing, dependency, and reliance on others means opening yourself to the truth that none of us can do this on our own. We really do need each other, just as we need parents and teachers. We need all those people in our lives who make us feel so uncertain. Our practice is not about finally getting to a place where we are going to escape all that but about creating a container that allows us to be more and more human, to feel more and more.

- Barry Magid, “No Gain”

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Tricycle Daily Dharma May 4, 2013

Keeping our Understanding Alive

The seeds of anger are always there. But when you notice, when you keep alive your understanding, they have no chance to manifest. Understanding is something that stays with you, and practicing the precepts, practicing meditation, helps you deepen your understanding all the time.

- Thich Nhat Hanh, “Interbeing with Thich Nhat Hanh”

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	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Should we free our mind from attachment to all "things," the Path becomes clear; otherwise, we put ourselves under restraint. - The Sutra of Hui Neng More Buddhism Quotes >>

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Tricycle Daily Dharma May 2, 2013

Eliminating Thoughts of Unworthiness

Without cultivating love for ourselves, regardless of how much discipline we have, regardless of how serious we are about practice, we will still stay stuck in the subtle mercilessness of the mind, listening to the voice that tells us we are basically and fundamentally unworthy. We should never underestimate the need for lovingkindness on the long and sometimes daunting path of learning to awaken.

- Ezra Bayda, “The Three Things We Fear Most”

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Via JMG: Jason Collins' #98 Jersey: Top Seller

Jason Collins' #98 Jersey: Top Seller

The Washington Wizards announced today that 100% of its online custom jersey sales in the last 48 hours have borne the name and number of Jason Collins.

Washington Wizards center Jason Collins’ jerseys got a boost in online sales after he became the first openly gay athlete on a major U.S. team sport. Team spokesman Scott Hall told ABC News that 100 percent of custom jerseys ordered from the team’s online store bore Collins’ name and number, 98, on the back, after Collins revealed his homosexuality in an article published on Sports Illustrated’s website on Monday. While Hall could not reveal how many custom Collins jerseys were sold, he said that the team’s general merchandise sales and online traffic spiked following Collins’ announcement. In a statement, the Wizards said they were proud of Collins and “his decision to live his life proudly and openly.”

The parents of Matthew Shepard revealed yesterday that they were "brought to tears" by the news that Collins chose his jersey number as a secret memorial to the year that Shepard was murdered. Customize your Collins jersey here.

Labels: basketball, coming out, gay athletes, Jason Collins, Matthew Shepard, NBA, retail, sports

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG" Texas Attorney General: Domestic Partner Benefits Violate State Constitution

GOP Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott says that any city that offers domestic partner benefits is in violation of the state constitution.

Domestic partnerships, as recognized by the local governments, are close enough to the definition of marriage to violate a constitutional amendment banning same-sex unions that 76 percent of Texas voters approved in 2005, the opinion stated. “By creating domestic partnerships and offering health benefits based on them, the political subdivisions have created and recognized something not established by Texas law,” the opinion said. Lawyers for Austin and Travis County have begun researching the opinion to help political leaders determine if it should be followed. Attorney general opinions attempt to determine how Texas courts would rule on a legal matter, but only the courts have the definitive say on constitutional questions.

Travis County, which has offered such benefits for 16 years, will hold a meeting next week to discuss Abbott's claim.  The Austin City Council will meet with its lawyers but says it has no plan to change its benefits. (Tipped by JMG reader Jeff)

Labels: domestic partners, GOP, insurance, Texas

Reposted from Joe

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	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	What is the benefit of exerting mental effort the wrong way? - Guon More Buddhism Quotes >>

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Tricycle Daily Dharma April 30, 2013

Learning How to Live

Not only is it of profound importance for each of us to understand in a deep way the law of impermanence but it’s also quite practical. It’s not merely metaphysical or something to be argued about in philosophy seminars and coffee shops. Learning the law of impermanence can be done there, too, but the Buddhist teaching is designed to help us learn how to live.

- Larry Rosenberg, “The Weather is Just the Weather”

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Tricycle Daily Dharma April 28, 2013

Taming the Monkey Mind

Your thoughts run around like a wild horse and your feelings jump about like a monkey in the forest. When the monkey and horse step back and reflect upon themselves, freedom from all discrimination is realized naturally.

- Dogen, "Instructions for the Tenzo"

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Tricycle Daily Dharma April 27, 2013

On Not Playing the Victim

One of the worst kinds of elevation of the self is playing the victim. There are times when we actually are victims, when actual blame is appropriate, but to take on the identity of a victim and be stuck blaming is something else. Surprisingly, it is actually a subtle form of elevation—I’m not responsible, you are. This is giving up all freedom.

- Nancy Baker, "The Seventh Zen Precept"

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Tricycle Daily Dharma April 25, 2013

You Are Not Your Pain

You can’t go preventing pleasure and pain, you can’t keep the mind from labeling things and forming thoughts, but you can put these things to a new use. If the mind labels a pain, saying, 'I hurt,' you have to examine the label carefully, contemplate it until you see that it’s wrong: the pain isn’t really yours. It’s simply a sensation that arises and passes away, that’s all.

- Upasika Kee Nanayon, "Tough Teachings To Ease The Mind"

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Tricycle Daily Dharma April 24, 2013

Forgiving Past Harms

Most of us find it very difficult to forgive individuals who have hurt us deeply. Why should we forgive them? Although we sometimes make others feel uncomfortable when we express our anger toward them, we are the ones who wind up suffering the most when we do so. Maintaining anger is similar to picking up a red-hot piece of coal to throw at someone—whether we hit our target or not, we are the ones who get burned.

- Matthew Flickstein, "Forgiveness"

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Via JMG: COLOMBIA: Bogota Mayor Unfurls Pro-Gay Banner As Senate Considers Marriage

Colombia's Senate is expected to vote down its marriage equality bill today after a debate which is scheduled to begin within the hour of this writing.  Despite that prediction, today Bogota Mayor Gustavo Petro ordered the above banner to be unfurled over city hall as LGBT activists demonstrated outside. Watch the debate and vote live here.  More photos from the pro and anti-gay sides can be found on the Twitter feed of US-based activist and Colombia native Andres Duque.

Labels: Colombia, LGBT rights, marriage equality

Reposted from Joe

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Tricycle Daily Dharma April 23, 2013

Becoming Intimate with your Neurosis

The teacher serves as a mirror but also encourages your ability to trust in yourself. You begin to trust in your basic goodness instead of identifying with your neurosis. There’s a shift of allegiance. Then the obstacles begin to seem temporary, and what’s permanent is the wisdom. To the degree that you become intimate with your neurosis—not acting-out and not repressing—to that degree you discover your wisdom.

- Pema Chödrön, “Unconditionally Steadfast”

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	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Do not underestimate your ability. - Geshe Chekawa, in Advice From a Spiritual Friend More Buddhism Quotes >>

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	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Arouse your will, supreme and great, Practice love, give joy and protection; Let your giving be like space, Without discrimination or limitation. Do good things, not for your own sake But for all the beings in the universe; Save and make free everyone you encounter, Help them attain the wisdom of the way. - Prajnaparamita More Buddhism Quotes >>