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Tricycle Daily Dharma March 9, 2014

The World Will Break Your Heart

Grief might be, in some ways, the long aftermath of love, the internal work of knowing, holding, more fully valuing what we have lost.

- Mark Doty, "Don't They Know?"

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Via Michael Smith / FB:

THE BEST GAY POSSIBLE - OPPRESSIVE DANCE MIX

Via Freedom to Marry / FB:

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Tricycle Daily Dharma March 8, 2014

A Matter of Misdirection

Buddhist practice pulls both ways. From one perspective, it is a discreet activity, something we do. From another perspective, one which tends to emerge more clearly with time, it seems less something we do and more something we are; less a piece of life and more all of life. The good news may be precisely that our lives will never 'work out,' no matter how well we arrange the pieces or play the game, whether of career, relationships, or indeed practice. Buddhist practice is especially recalcitrant; it just won’t 'do' what we want, at least not for long, because what we want is the problem.

- Henry Shukman, "A Matter of Misdirection"

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Via Hmalyacrafts / FB:

True happiness is based on peace. ― Thích Nhất Hạnh 

 

Via Pema Chodron / FB:

Could our minds and our hearts be big enough just to hang out in that space where we’re not entirely certain about who’s right and who’s wrong? Could we have no agenda when we walk into a room with another person, not know what to say, not make that person wrong or right? Could we see, hear, feel other people as they really are? It is powerful to practice this way, because we’ll find ourselves continually rushing around to try to feel secure again—to make ourselves or them either right or wrong. But true communication can happen only in that open space.

- Pema Chödrön

 

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 7, 2014

The Vulnerability of Truth

Truth has no action. Truth is weak. Truth is not utilitarian, truth cannot be organized. It is like the wind: You cannot catch it, you cannot take hold of it in your fist and say, ‘I have caught it.’ Therefore it is tremendously vulnerable, impotent like the blade of grass on the roadside—you can kill it, you can destroy it. But we want it as a thing to be used for a better structure of society. And I am afraid you cannot use it, you cannot—it is like love, love is never potent. It is there for you, take it or leave it.

- Krishnamurti, “A Question of Heart”

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Via JMG: IRS Posts Help Video For Married Gays

Via press release from the White House:

The Internal Revenue Service released a new YouTube video designed to provide useful tax tips to married same-sex couples. The new video, less than two minutes long, is available in English, Spanish and American Sign Language and can be accessed via IRS.gov. It joins an array of online products, including answers to frequently-asked questions, designed to help same-sex couples file their federal income tax returns. Following last summer’s Supreme Court decision invalidating a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, the IRS ruled that same-sex couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages, are now treated as married for federal tax purposes. The ruling applies to all federal tax provisions where marriage is a factor, including filing status, claiming personal and dependency exemptions, taking the standard deduction, employee benefits, contributing to an IRA and claiming the earned income tax credit or child tax credit.

 

Labels: IRS, marriage equality, taxes, White House

posted by Joe Jervis

Via Middling America: The Latest Marriage Map

Via JMG: Colbert: "Self-Professed" Gays Should Send Rep. Steve King Proof Of Gayness

 

Mediaite recaps last night's Stephen Colbert show:

This past weekend, King told local TV station WHO-TV that these “self-professed” gays could just as easily be straight people “setting up a case” against a business that tries to discriminate them. Colbert recounted that familiar scenario in which someone pretends to come out to their family, then pretends to fall in love, then pretends to get engaged, just so they can sue their potential florist at the last minute. “As Steve King knows, even if gays do exist, it’s nearly impossible to prove it,” Colbert said. That’s why he’s asking gays from around the country to “send photos and/or videos to Steve King, proving that you are gay.” He went ahead and provided to address on screen to make it that much easier for everyone. “Be sure to label your envelope campaign contributions, so you know that he’ll read it,” Colbert added.

Watch the video at the link.

Labels: Colbert Report, Comedy Central, crackpots, crazy people, GOP, religion, Steve King, Tea Party, teabaggers

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 6, 2014

Selective Wisdom

To decide that a certain teaching is worthwhile simply because it echoes our established opinion is very unwise. Along that easy course there is no new discovery of truth, only more stale habit.

- Bhikkhu Nyanasobhano, "Selective Wisdom"

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Via Mother Jones:

Make the Jump here to read the full article

Let's Play Grand Theft Auto 5 With Coco Peru

Via JMG: Pope Francis Indicates Catholic Church Could Support Some Types Of Civil Unions

In an interview published in Italy today, Pope Francis said that the Catholic Church could consider supporting some forms of civil unions, but not same-sex marriage.

The Pope reiterated the church's longstanding teaching that "marriage is between a man and a woman." However, he said, "We have to look at different cases and evaluate them in their variety." For instance, civil unions provide financial security to cohabitating couples, "as for instance in medical care," the Pope said in a wide-ranging interview published Wednesday in Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily. A number of Catholic bishops have supported civil unions for same-sex couples, including Pope Francis when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 2010, according to reports in National Catholic Reporter and The New York Times. This is the first time a Pope has "indicated even tentative acceptance of civil unions," according to Catholic News Service.

In January the Vatican denied reports that Pope Francis supported civil unions. Will slippery slope blowhards like Bill Donohue now denounce the Pope?

 

Labels: Catholic Church, civil unions, LGBT rights, marriage equality, Pope Francis, religion, Vatican

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: New Poll: Record Support For Marriage

Via ABC News:

Half of all Americans believe that gay men and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll in which a large majority also said businesses should not be able to deny serving gays for religious reasons. Fifty percent say the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection gives gays the right to marry, while 41 percent say it does not. Beyond the constitutional questions, a record-high 59 percent say they support same-sex marriage, while 34 percent are opposed, the widest margin tracked in Post-ABC polling. The poll was conducted in the wake of a series of rulings by federal judges that state bans on same-sex marriage and prohibitions on recognizing marriages performed elsewhere are unconstitutional.

NOTE: A press release about this story mistakenly linked an earlier ABC/WaPo poll. I've replaced that graphic with today's poll result and corrected the link. The full poll results are here.

Labels: ABC, marriage equality, polls, WaPo

Reposted from Joe Jervis

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Tricycle Daily Dharma March 5, 2014

Kindness is Society

During a lecture while I was interpreting for the Dalai Lama, he said in what seemed to me to be broken English, 'Kindness is society.' I wasn’t smart enough to think he was saying kindness is society. I thought he meant kindness is important to society; kindness is vital to society; but he was saying that kindness is so important that we cannot have society without it. Society is impossible without it. Thus, kindness IS society; society IS kindness. Without concern for other people it’s impossible to have society.

- Jeffrey Hopkins, "Equality"

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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 4, 2014

Accepting the Invitation

One way to read the injunction for Right Conduct, an essential part of the Eightfold Path, is to see it as calling us—as citizens—to translate the dharma into specific acts of social responsibility.

- Charles Johnson, “Accepting the Invitation”

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Via JMG: BROOKLYN: Jason Collins Debuts In First Home Game, Sources Claim He Will Get Second 10-Day Contract

Via the Associated Press:

A person with knowledge of the situation says the Brooklyn Nets will sign Jason Collins to a second 10-day contract. Collins signed his original deal on Feb. 23, becoming the NBA's first openly gay player, and it expires Tuesday. The Nets then will re-sign him for another 10 days on Wednesday, the person tells The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the plans haven't been made public. After that, the Nets would have to sign him for the rest of the season if they wanted to keep him.

Tonight's game against the Chicago Bulls starts at 7:30PM. If you're in NYC, the game is being broadcast on Time Warner channel 753, Verizon channel 576, and Comcast channel 212. Hit this link for channel numbers outside of NYC.

UPDATE: Collins sat on the bench until the final three minutes when the crowd began chanting his name. YES Network announcers took note of that. When Collins finally checked in with Nets holding a comfortable lead, there was a huge ovation. His stats: 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 foul, 0 points. I monitored the Nets' stream on Twitter, where there were some really ugly comments. Positive to negative tweets ran about 50-50 overall. But the Nets did win their first home game with Jason Collins.

Labels: basketball, Brooklyn Nets, gay athletes, Jason Collins, NBA, NYC, sports

Reposted from Joe Jervis