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Sarah goes to Church – her Baha’i on Life blogby justabahai |
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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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.
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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.
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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.The German Olympic Sports Confederation insists that the design was finalized "before the Russian protests had even begun." (Tipped by JMG reader Elroy)
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.
