Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 10, 2013

Devotional Practice

In Asia, laypeople generally relate to Buddhism devotionally. But in America, when laypeople engage in these traditions they most often want to relate to them solely as a yogic path, beyond devotion. The problem is that they have all of the problems that lay Buddhists have always had. Trying to force yourself into the yogic path while living with all of the distractions, complications, and follies of the lay life may not always work so well.

- Mark Unno, “The Buddha of Infinite Light and Life”

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Via Sarah Goes To Church: AND THAT'S WHEN SARAH STEPPED OFF THE BAHA'I BOAT

Baha'i on Life 

 Sidebar - I'm tired of talking about gay issues at church. My life is like a gay pride parade - it's constantly raining glitter and fabulous. Gay is all around me and it's wonderful. I wouldn't want it any other way. My life is amazing. It's just...I know people are still working through this whole "Is it okay to be gay?" thing and trying to figure out where God fits in with the issue. But I'm really losing my patience and I'm starting to get angry. GOD LOVES EVERYONE NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!! Can we please talk about something other than gayness? Please? PLEASE!!??!!! Anything. Syria. Gun violence. The afterlife. Mysteries of the universe. Tacos. A.N.Y.T.H.I.N.G. 

Gayness follows me. I cannot escape it. Long ago I accepted that I indeed have magical gay powers and everything I touch turns to gay. So, I should have known the Baha'i service would eventually start heading down a gay road...and it did. 

Out of nowhere the conversation turned to David's son, who recently realized he was gay. David was very supportive of his gay son - standing up for his desire to wear skirts and make-up at school. David's son felt for some time that he was transgender - living life as a woman in a man's body - and started expressing himself as such. David beautifully described how God didn't see gender or biological sex. God only sees our soul and our souls are without gender or biological sex. It's not your human body that matters - it's your soul. Up until this point I appreciated everything David had to say about gender and homosexuality.

Then things got sticky...someone brought up the issue of having sex.

Baha'i's are to refrain from sexual activity until they enter into a religious marriage - and the only marriages recognized are marriages between...you guessed it...one man and one women. The Baha'i faith doesn't exactly condemn gay love. They are big believers in legal marriage equality and protecting gay rights.  And you can totally hold hands and talk and snuggle and share your deepest darkest secrets with your same-sex partner, but you can't have sex with him or her. EVER. Not even oral. Nope. Not okay. If you are gay and you follow the Baha'i faith you are expected to practice life long chastity.  

AND THAT'S WHEN SARAH STEPPED OFF THE BAHA'I BOAT.

WHAT?!?!?!!!!! Does God hate gay people? Cause that seems like lifelong punishment for being gay...the way God made them to be. What kind of God does that? Here ya go, here are all these desires and feelings and instincts but DON'T YOU DARE DO ANYTHING WITH THEM OR I WON'T LIKE IT! Also, if God doesn't see the physical body and only cares about the soul then why does God care about gay sex or sex at all for that matter?

No really, why does God care if we have sex? WHY?  See, I don't think God cares. Not even a little bit. I think God could give two shits about where you poke your pickle or who's dusting your closet. I think sex is a good thing - not a curse, or a punishment or a test of will-power. It's a great stress reliever - like all natural Xanax. It's a sleep-aid. It helps you deal with body issues. It can give you energy. It makes you happy. Maybe God created us with these "feel good places" because God wants us to...I don't know...feel good?

There was a woman at the service, a gay woman, who talked about how hard it was to be chaste but  she knew this life was only but a blip and that her devotion would be rewarded in the next life.

This just does not make sense to me. AT ALL. This Earthly life is but a test for the next one? Baha'i's don't believe in a literal hell or heaven, but instead gauge heaven and hell by your closeness with God. So, apparently God is King Candy and having gay sex is like drawing that horrible gum drop guy when you are half way through with Candyland (the children's game) and are now even further away from a heavenly ice- cream palace finish. It helps me if you can explain things in preschool terms. Candyland exhausts me and I really think God can do better.

After the service the nice man sitting next to me talked about how having standards is so important. I questioned which standards you are supposed to follow because lately I've found everyone is claiming different standards as "God's". He was very understanding and explained that the great thing about Baha'u'llah is that he was truly a messenger of God and spoke the truth.

Uh huh. Right. Thanks. Gotta run. I need a drink - which you do not believe in. 

 

This sex loving booze drinking spiritual enthusiast left church and headed straight to Cherokee street for some authentic Mexican cuisine and a delicious homemade margarita. I said a quiet prayer for all the gay people around the world who have been led to believe they shouldn't live a happy and full and SEXUAL life because of their orientation. I wish you all many wonderful orgasms and lots and lots of post-coital snuggles.

 

I'm so glad I finally made it back to church.

 

Cheers!

Make the jump here to read the full article at Sarah Goes to Church

 

JMG Quote Of The Day - Rev. Gary Hall

"In its wisdom, the church came to its senses and labeled both racism and sexism as sinful. And now we find ourselves at the last barrier—call that barrier homophobia, call it heterosexism. We must now have the courage to take the final step and call homophobia and heterosexism what they are. They are sin. Homophobia is a sin. Heterosexism is a sin. Shaming people for whom they love is a sin. Shaming people because their gender identity doesn’t fit neatly into your sense of what it should be is a sin. Our job, as Christians, is not only to proclaim that Gospel. Our job is to live it. And if we are faithful in proclaiming and living it, today’s generation of LGBT youth will thrive and grow and take their places around this table, with Jesus, as we bless, forgive, heal, and love the world. Amen." - Rev. Gary Hall, chief ecclesiastical leader of the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, in a sermon marking the 15th anniversary of the death of Matthew Shepard.

Labels: Gary Hall, Matthew Shepard, religion

Reposted from Joe

Jimmy Fallon, Miley Cyrus & The Roots Sing "We Can't Stop" (A Cappella)

Via JMG: Activists To IOC: Uphold Principle 6

Athlete Ally and All Out have joined forces to urge the International Olympic Committee to uphold its own Principle 6, which bans discrimination at the Olympic Games. The groups intend to make Principle 6 into a method of denouncing Russia's anti-gay laws without actually risking the arrests of attendees or the medals of supporting athletes at the Sochi Games. Frank Bruni explains at the New York Times:

Athlete Ally, working with a company called the Idea Brand and the professional football player Brendon Ayanbadejo, came up with and developed the notion of using the very name of that clause, along with a logo or logos that allude to it, as a rebuke of Russia’s laws and a method for athletes and fans to express their convictions. The symbol and the syllables P6, perhaps worn as a sticker, perhaps woven into clothing, could evolve into something along the lines of a Livestrong bracelet: a ubiquitous motif that doesn’t spell out a whole philosophy but has an unmistakable meaning and message. [snip] It’s an attempt to take full advantage of the world’s attention to the Winter Games without putting athletes at risk of censure. Maybe they hold up six fingers. Maybe their outfits include something with a P6 logo, several designs for which are being considered.

Read more about the Principle 6 campaign at the Athlete Ally site. Their petition is at the link.  Samples of the proposed Principle 6 logos are at the Times link.

 

Labels: activism, Athlete Ally, LGBT rights, Principle 6, Russia, Sochi Olympics, sports

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 9, 2013

Faith in Mind

Reject existence and you fall into it, Pursue emptiness and you move away from it. With many words and thoughts You miss what is right before you. Cutting off words and thought Nothing remains unpenetrated.

- Jianzhi Sengcan, "Faith in Mind"

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We Choose to be Gay: Suna: Prof. Cüneyt Can ein Interview mit einem Bahai

Via Karmapa / FB:

I usually consider the planet to be a living system. I think of it like the mother earth, as being a loving, gentle goddess. - Karmapa

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 8, 2013

A Serious Engagement

When we engage seriously with the Buddhist tradition we learn other ways of construing the world, other stories we can tell about the way things are, and these can be cogent, coherent, and compelling in their own way. This is not to argue for a naive acceptance of Buddhist epistemology and cosmology. But we won't see what Buddhism has to offer if, at the outset, we twist it out of shape to make it conform to contemporary norms.

- Robert Sharf, "Losing Our Religion"

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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 7, 2013

Spacious Mind

Noticing the space around people and things provides a different way of looking at them, and developing this spacious view is a way of opening oneself. When one has a spacious mind, there is room for everything. When one has a narrow mind, there is room for only a few things.

- Ajahn Sumedho, “Noticing Space”

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Via JMG: CALIFORNIA: Governor Signs Bill Allowing Children More Than Two Legal Parents

After vetoing a similar measure last year, California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill which allows children to have more than two legal parents.

Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) said he authored the measure to address the changes in family structure in California, including situations in which same-sex couples have a child with an opposite-sex biological parent. The law will allow the courts to recognize three or more legal parents so that custody and financial responsibility can be shared by all those involved in raising a child, Leno said. "Courts need the ability to recognize these changes so children are supported by the adults that play a central role in loving and caring for them," Leno said. "It is critical that judges have the ability to recognize the roles of all parents so that no child has to endure separation from one of the adults he or she has always known as a parent."

Anti-gay groups, of course, are furious about the bill.

Labels: California, gay families, gay parenting, Mark Leno

posted by Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 6, 2013

Forgive

Forgiveness is really not about someone’s harmful behavior; it’s about our own relationship with our past. When we begin the work of forgiveness, it is primarily a practice for ourselves.

- Gina Sharpe, “The Power of Forgiveness”

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Via JMG: Married

 

The gay Marine whose homecoming kiss went globally viral last year got married to his boyfriend yesterday in a small town the Finger Lakes area of western New York. Hit the link for more.

Labels: gay weddings, military, New York state, USMC

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 4, 2013

Nothing to Get, Everything to Give

On the spiritual path, there's nothing to get, and everything to get rid of. Obviously, the first thing to let go of is trying to 'get' love, and instead to give it. That's the secret of the spiritual path. How can we give ourselves? By not holding back. By not wanting for ourselves. If we want to be loved, we are looking for a support system. If we want to love, we are looking for spiritual growth.

- Ayya Khema, "What Love Is"

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Via JMG: State Department Updates Russia LGBT Travel Warning, Cites "Propanganda" Ban

Source.

Labels: Obama administration, Russia, State Department

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Germany Unveils Rainbow Olympic Outfits

 

German athletes will wear the above rainbow-hued uniforms at the Sochi Olympics, but officials insist the design is not intended as a commentary on Russia's anti-gay laws. Der Spiegel reports:

The uniforms were created by German designer Willy Bogner, in cooperation with Adidas and the shoe company Sioux. Bogner claims they were an homage to the aesthetics of the 1972 Munich Summer Games and said he wanted to create a "celebratory design, inspired by the great atmosphere of the times." It conveniently comes in the wake of Munich's announcement that it will bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, which, if it is successful, would make it the first city ever to have hosted both the winter and summer games.
But other commentators have seen a more explicitly political message in the uniforms. On Twitter, German users interpreted the uniforms "as a rainbow pattern" and as a "clear political statement." "Looks great, like a gay and lesbian pride parade," wrote one user. "Extremely hideous -- but a well-intentioned move supporting the rights of gays and lesbians," wrote another. The official description, which claims the outfits "were created using colors and materials specially tailored to the conditions in Sochi" seemed to, in ambiguous fashion, support that interpretation.

The German Olympic Sports Confederation insists that the design was finalized "before the Russian protests had even begun." (Tipped by JMG reader Elroy)

Labels: Germany, Russia, Sochi Olympics, sports

Reposted from Joe

Lewis Black Skewers Barilla Chairman for Anti-Gay Remarks

Via the Advocate: Two Same-Sex Couples Married in Colombia

After a 2011 court ruling that ordered the Colombian Congress to create equal relationship recognition for same-sex couples, gay and lesbian Colombians are finally tying the knot.

BY Sunnivie Brydum

September 30 2013 5:22 PM ET

 

26

Two same-sex couples have become the first to be legally married in Colombia, reports LGBT Latino blog Blabbeando. 

Colombian attorney and LGBT advocate Germán Humerto Rincón Perfetti announced Wednesday that a civil court judge had declared Julio Alberto Cantor Borbón and William Alberto Castro Franco "united in civil matrimony" following a September 20 ceremony, according to Blabbeando. 

On Monday, the nation's leading newspaper published a front-page article announcing the legal marriage of Elizabeth Castillo and Claudia Zea, who were also granted a marriage license by a different civil court judge Wednesday. 

"I join you in a legitimate civil matrimony with all of the prerogatives and rights that civil law grants you and the same obligations imposed by civil law," said the judge before he pronounced the couple married, according to Blabbeando's translation of the Spanish-language article from El Espectador. The newspaper's headline read "Marriage Equality Is a Right" and featured a picture of the newlywed couple beaming. 

Colombia has been on a long journey to embracing marriage equality, but last week's rulings seem to clear the way for same-sex couples throughout the nation to begin receiving marriage licenses. 

In 2011, Colombia's Constitutional Court ruled that gay and lesbian couples could legally register their relationships beginninh June 20, 2013, if the nation's lawmakers failed to extend them the same benefits to them guaranteed to heterosexual married couples. When Congress failed to present any kind of marriage equality legislation, same-sex couples in Colombia began filing June 21 to register their relationships. But at that time, it was still unclear whether those relationships would be recognized as marriages or some other form of union. 

Marriage equality advocates with the LGBT group Colombia Diversa reported that dozens of same-sex couples had attempted to register their relationships with local clerks since the June 20 deadline passed but were issued a document declaring their "solemn union," according to Blabbeando. Colombia Diversa argued that there is no legal structure to recognize a "solemn union" in Colombia's family code, and since Congress failed to meet the deadline set by the Constitutional Court, same-sex couples should automatically be allowed to marry, as it's the only way to guarantee them the same rights and privileges afforded to opposite-sex couples. 

Blabbeando notes that the Colombian inspector general has been a vocal opponent of marriage equality, fighting the court ruling so vigorously that the Constitutional Court itself scolded his staff twice and told Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez that his office had no legal right to interfere in these cases. 

Colombia joins a handful of other Latin American nations that embrace marriage equality, including Argentina, Uruguay, and many regions in Brazil. Some states in Mexico, including the nation's capital, Mexico City, also perform same-sex marriages, and the nation's highest court ruled in 2010 that same-sex marriages performed in marriage equality jurisdictions must be recognized and honored throughout Mexico. Last year, the Mexican Supreme Court struck down a ban on same-sex marriage in the southern state of Oaxaca, effectively changing that state's civil code to say that marriage takes place "between two people" rather than "between a man and a woman." 

 

Tags: Colombia

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 3, 2013

Letting Go

Letting go of fixation is effectively a process of learning to be free, because every time we let go of something, we become free of it. Whatever we fixate upon limits us because fixation makes us dependent upon something other than ourselves. Each time we let go of something, we experience another level of freedom.

- Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche, “Letting Go of Spiritual Experience”

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