Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 18, 2013

Respecting the Practice

When people use spiritual practice to try to compensate for feelings of alienation and low self-esteem, they corrupt the true nature of spiritual practice. Instead of loosening the manipulative ego that tries to control its experience, they strengthen it, and their spiritual practice remains unintegrated with the rest of their life.

- John Welwood, “The Psychology of Awakening”

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Via JMG: Pew Research Survey: 48% Of LGBT USAans Have No Religious Affiliation

In another release from the latest survey from Pew Research, we learn the unsurprising news that gays are more than twice as likely to be atheists or religiously unaffiliated.

When it comes to religion, the LGBT population has a distinctly different profile than the general public. Fewer LGBT adults have a religious affiliation. About half of LGBT respondents describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or having no particular religion (48%)─more than double the portion of the general public that is religiously unaffiliated (20%). Young LGBT adults are particularly likely to have no religious affiliation, a pattern that is also found among the general public. However, compared with the general public, a higher share of LGBT adults are unaffiliated across all age groups. For example, among adults ages 18 to 29 in the general public, 31% are religiously unaffiliated, while roughly double that share (60%) are unaffiliated among LGBT adults of the same age. And roughly one-in-eight adults ages 50 and older in the general public are unaffiliated (13%), compared with about four-in-ten (39%) of older LGBT adults.

Labels: atheism, Pew Research, religion, surveys

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Via JMG: Rallies Planned For "Decision Day"

 

Activist groups across the nation are gearing up for celebrations or protests on the day that the Supreme Court hands down its decisions on DOMA and Prop 8.  Go to this interactive map for details on events near you.  The Bay Area Reporter has details on what is planned for San Francisco:

In San Francisco a group of volunteers known as the Day of Decision Committee is planning for a party, hopefully, in the heart of the gay Castro district. Police are expected to shut down the 400 and 500 blocks of Castro Street from 5:30 to 9 p.m. for the event. Drivers are being warned to avoid parking on Castro Street the evening of the decision; cars will not be towed but vehicles could be stuck there until after the event ends. Should Prop 8 be struck down then the plan is to have sound trucks with DJs playing music and speeches by community leaders. Similar events have been held in the past to either celebrate or protest court decisions.

New Yorkers are invited to gather outside the Stonewall Inn at 5:30PM on the day of the ruling.

Labels: activism, DOMA, Prop 8, SCOTUS

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Pew Poll: When Did You Know?

 

The Washington Post reports:

In a Pew Research Center poll released Thursday, nine in 10 lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender adults said society has become more accepting of them and that they expect it to become more so in the years ahead. But only 19 percent said there is “a lot” of acceptance for gays, while 59 percent chose to characterize it more softly, as “some” acceptance, and 21 percent said there was little to none.
More than half said they had been subjected to slurs or jokes about gays, and sizable numbers said they had been rejected by friends or family, threatened with physical attack, or made to feel unwelcome at a house of worship. The Pew survey of 1,197 LGBT adults is the first of its kind by a major polling organization. It asked them when they realized they weren’t straight, when they came out and how they have felt ostracized at times. Compared with the general public, Pew said, gay men and lesbians are more liberal, more Democratic, less religious, less happy with their lives, yet more satisfied with the direction the country is headed.

Make you sure visit Pew's fascinating quote farm from the poll's respondents. An interactive graph lets you compare your experiences with your age peers. (Tipped by JMG reader James)

Labels: LGBT culture, LGBT rights, Pew Project

Reposted from Joe

JMG Quote Of The Day - Sen. Max Baucus

"When it comes to the workplace, it is unacceptable for anyone to be fired simply because of their sexual orientation. ENDA will help protect workers from this type of discrimination and I look forward to moving forward on this legislation in the Senate as soon as possible. Members of the LGBT community are our neighbors, brothers, sisters and friends. They are community leaders who bring the kind of diversity to our nation that makes it strong. We all have a role in making sure that Pride Month is not just something we check off on the calendar. 'Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness' for all Americans is what we are called to strive for every day of the year." - Sen. Max Baucus, writing for the Montana Standard. (Tipped by JMG reader Mike)

 

Labels: ENDA, LGBT rights, Max Baucus, Senate

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Via GayPolitics Report: Olympics officials are concerned about Russian anti-gay law

The International Olympic Committee expressed concern this week after the Russian parliament advanced by unanimous vote legislation that would punish those convicted of "promoting homosexuality." The 2014 Winter Olympics are to be held in the Russian resort town of Sochi, where officials previously denied establishment of a Pride house for LGBT athletes in the Olympic village. Some out athletes have expressed alarm about the law, saying it could put them at risk of arrest. FoxNews.com/The Associated Press (6/11), Gay Star News (6/12), GayPolitics.com (6/12), Washington Blade (Washington, D.C.) (6/12)

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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Here, O Sariputra, form is emptiness and the very emptiness is form; emptiness does not differ from form, form does not differ from emptiness; whatever is form, that is emptiness, whatever is emptiness, that is form, the same is true of feelings, perceptions, impulses, and consciousness. - Heart Sutra More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 14, 2013

The Truth about Suffering

I once thought Buddhism would save me from suffering. That was before I started to grow older and wiser. And it isn’t so much the wisdom that changed my mind about the end of suffering as it is the aging.

- Wes Nisker, “The Question”

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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Speak not harshly to anyone. Those thus addressed will retort. Painful, indeed, is vindictive speech. Blows in exchange may bruise you. If, like a cracked gong, you silence yourself, you have already attained Nibbana: no vindictiveness will be found in you. - Dhammapada 133-134 More Buddhism Quotes >>

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Tricycle Daily Dharma June 13, 2013

The Virtue of Great Compassion

Just as when you want to win people’s hearts you first love their children, the Buddhas and bodhisattvas consider all living beings their children, so if you love all living beings equally, all the Buddhas will be moved to respond.

- Zen Master Torei, "Great Compassion"

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Via JMG: Sen. Patrick Leahy Intro's LGBT Couples Amendment To Immigration Reform Bill

Shortly after the Senate voted to debate the immigration reform bill written by the so-called Gang Of Eight, late this afternoon Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) again introduced an amendment that would allow LGBT citizens to sponsors their spouses for permanent residency. Politico reports:

“Seeking equal protection under our laws for the LGBT community is the right thing to do,” Leahy said in a statement Tuesday. “I withheld my anti-discrimination amendment during the Senate Judiciary Committee markup. As the entire Senate turns to debate the immigration bill, the fight for equality must go on.” It is unclear whether Leahy’s proposal will get a vote. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) have yet to reach an agreement on amendments. And the political dynamics for Leahy’s amendment are different on the floor. In the committee, the amendment would have required just a simple majority for it to pass. On the floor, it will almost certainly need 60 votes.

Republicans had previously threatened to torpedo the entire bill if LGBT spouses were attached. Late last month Democratic members of the Senate reluctantly agreed that such an imperfect bill was better than no immigration reform at all and Leahy withdrew his amendment. It's not yet clear why Leahy is now trying again.
DOMA Project founder Lavi Soloway reacts via press release:

With this bold move, Senator Leahy has carved out an exception to the Defense of Marriage Act for lesbian and gay binational couples that will provide access to existing marriage-related family unification provisions of our immigration law. The Leahy amendment does not actually amend any current provision of our immigration law, but simply removes the extrinsic barrier caused by DOMA that prevents lesbian and gay Americans from filing petitions for their spouses, fiance(e)s and stepchildren. The implication of Senator Leahy's focus on equality is that LGBT families are no different than any other American families comprised of citizens and non-citizens. We must have access to the same immigration law protections that ensure that no family is torn apart. No band aid solution will ever make us equal.  

Labels: DOMA, immigration, immigration reform, Lavi Soloway, LGBT rights, Patrick Leahy, Senate

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	As a tree with strong uninjured roots, though cut down, grows up again, so, when deep craving is not rooted out, suffering arises again and again. - Dhammapada More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 12, 2013

Not About Being Good

Just as Buddhist shila [ethical conduct] refers not to some imaginary static state of virtue but to an ongoing test of volition, so too is this true of enlightenment. Since there is no abiding personhood in any of us, rather than speaking of an enlightened person, let’s speak of enlightened conduct.

- Bodhin Kjolhede, "Pain, Passion, and the Precepts"

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Via JMG: Pope: There ARE Gays In The Vatican

Pope Francis has confirmed the presence of a "gay lobby" in the Vatican.

Back in February Italian media claimed that a secret report by cardinals investigating the leaks included allegations of corruption and blackmail attempts against gay Vatican clergymen, and on the other hand, favouritism based on gay relationships."In the Curia, there are truly some saints, but there is also a current of corruption," the pope is quoted as having said during an audience last week with CLAR (the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious Men and Women).

"There is talk of a 'gay lobby' and it's true, it exists. We have to see what can be done," the 76-year-old pontiff is quoted as saying on the Reflection and Liberation website, which was flagged up by religious news agencies on Tuesday. Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told AFP: "It was a private meeting, I have no comment to make." The secret report compiled by a committee of three cardinals for the pope's eyes only was the result of a broad inquiry into leaks of secret Vatican papers last year -- a scandal known as "Vatileaks".

Sounds like a witch hunt is coming.

 

Labels: Catholic Church, Pope Francis, religion, Vatican

Reposted from Joe

Via Gay Politics Report

Can same-sex couples save marriage?
Liza Mundy writes about same-sex couples' approach to marriage, and wonders whether it can be a model for opposite-sex couples, many of whom have struggled to adapt their marriages to the realities of modern life. "[I]f a genderless marriage is a marriage in which the wife is not automatically expected to be responsible for school forms and child care and dinner preparation and birthday parties and midnight feedings and holiday shopping, I think it's fair to say that many heterosexual women would cry 'Bring it on!' " Mundy writes. A 2006 study found that heterosexual divorce rates dropped in European countries that granted legal status to same-sex partnerships. The Atlantic online (5/22)

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Colin & Joe - Binational Couple Fights Uncertainty Brought on by DOMA gaybinationals

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	It is through not understanding, not penetrating four things that we have run so erratically, wandered on so long in this round of existence, both you and I. What are the four? Goodness, concentration, wisdom, and liberation. When these four things are understood and penetrated, craving for superficial existence is rooted out and that which leads to continued return to the same conditions is ended. There is no more constant journeying. - Digha Nikaya More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma / FB:

Tricycle Daily Dharma June 11, 2013

A New Approach

What disintegrates in periods of rapid transformation is not the self, but its defenses and assumptions. Self-protection restricts vision and movement like a suit of armor, making it harder to adapt. Going to pieces, however uncomfortable, can open us up to new perceptions, new data, and new responses.

- Joanna Macy, "The Greatest Danger"

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Via JMG: Google Salutes Maurice Sendak

Today's Google Doogle pays tribute to gay author Maurice Sendak, who died last year.  Sendak came out in 2008 at the age of 80 and revealed a 50-year relationship with his partner.

For what would have been his 85th birthday on Monday, Google has drawn up a wonderfully imagined Google Doodle as a tribute to the beloved illustrator and children’s book author Maurice Sendak. It begins, of course, with Max sailing to the land of Where the Wild Things Are, but soon also ventures to the surreal cityscape of In The Night Kitchen and ends, appropriately, with the birthday party from Sendak's 2011 book Bumble-Ardy. Happy birthday, Mr. Sendak.

Labels: gay writers, Google, Maurice Sendak

Reposted from Joe