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.
Thursday, May 9, 2013
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma May 9, 2013
Maintaining a Steady Practice
Now
if the practice is so good for us, why is it so difficult to maintain a
steady practice? It may be that the notion that practice is 'good for
us' is the very impediment—we all know how we can resist what is good
for us at the table, at the gym, and on the Internet. This mechanical
notion of practice, 'if I practice, then I will be (fill in the blank),'
leads to discouragement because it is not true that practice inevitably
leads to happiness or anything that we can imagine.
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- Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara, "Like a Dragon in Water"
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
JMG Quote Of The Day - Chris Kluwe
"I love football, I love playing football but at the end of the day, it is a children's game that grown men play. If I can speak out on something, especially something that affects millions of lives and causes young kids to kill themselves - if I can speak out on that and help one of those young kids realize that you don't have to take that step, to me that's worth far more than anything that I could gain from football. I think all that we're asking and all that any athlete is asking, straight or gay, is judge that person by what they can do on the field. Not by who they are, not by what their beliefs are or the color of their skin. Judge them by their playing abilities." - Chris Kluwe, speaking with the Huffington Post. Kluwe was cut this week by the Minnesota Vikings. (Via Gay Star News)
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma May 8, 2013
The Other Side of Boredom
When
you are really bored, the best thing you can do is sit down and let
yourself experience the boredom more fully. It may not be a deep or
satisfying state, but at least you are not indulging in the things with
which you usually cover up this kind of experience. Your real state of
mind is more nakedly exposed, because for the time being there are no
distractions. If you can stay with the experience of boredom, you can
try to feel your way through into something deeper, truer, and more
spontaneous within yourself.
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- Sangharakshita, "Staying with Boredom"
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Via JMG: Frank Bruni On The Boy Scouts
"The Episcopal Church wants all aspects of the ban lifted, as does the National Jewish Committee on Scouting, whose former chairman, a Baltimore lawyer named Jay Lenrow, told me that while no troop should be forced to choose a gay leader, no troop should be prevented from doing so, either.
"He noted that our country was founded on a principle of religious freedom; that the Scouts’ bylaws require equal treatment of every religion’s teachings; and that certain denominations — the Episcopal Church and the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), for example — ordain gay and lesbian ministers. By the Scouts’ current rules, those very ministers, fit for the pulpit, aren’t deemed fit to lead a troop.
"Isn’t that as much of an insult to their religions as the ban’s end would be to [Tony] Perkins, [Rick] Perry and their kind? - Frank Bruni, writing for the New York Times. Hit the link and read his entire piece.
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
Tricycle Daily Dharma May 7, 2013
It Gets Easier
Once
we taste the freedom that comes with independence, it gets easier. We
realize how much we have lost by desperately holding on, and we know how
much there is to gain through disengaging from confusion. We can do
this while expanding our most precious qualities: our good heart and our
compassion for others.
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- Dzigar Kongtrul, “Old Relationships, New Possibilities”
Monday, May 6, 2013
Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:
Daily Buddhist Wisdom | |||
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Via JMG: Liza Joins NOH8 Campaign
Via press release, Liza's message: "Here's what I believe ... no shame, no blame, no guilt. Be happy. And be who you are. I love you." [Photo credit: Adam Bouska courtesy of NOH8 Campaign.]
Labels: Liza Minnelli, NOH8, Proposition 8
Via JMG: Chris Kluwe Cut By Minnesota Vikings
The Star-Tribune reports that punter and gay marriage advocate Chris Kluwe has been cut by the Minnesota Vikings. The team is denying that the move has anything to do with politics.
Reposted from Joe
“It has nothing to do with anything Chris Kluwe is off the field,” the GM said. “When we’re making decisions, we’re purely making them trying to bring in the best competition possible regardless of position. ... This was just another normal personnel move. It had nothing to do with Chris Kluwe’s off-field concerns, I have no issues if Chris Kluwe wants to express his opinion. That’s his right, that’s his freedom of speech. This is just a football decision to bring in a guy to come in to compete.”RELATED: Last month gay marriage ally Brendon Ayanbadejo was released by the Baltimore Ravens.
Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:
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.
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- Shozan Jack Haubner, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Enlightenment"
Sunday, May 5, 2013
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.
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