Thursday, May 15, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
The Magic of Reflecting | May 15, 2014
Through the magic of reflecting on the
teachings, their force—sometimes clear, sometimes obscure—will cause
ferment in our minds from which we can gradually distill the wisdom of
reflection. This requires discipline, but also bravery—the bravery to
dig deep down to uncover our confusion.
—Lama Jampa Thaye, "How Do We Learn the Dharma?"
Wednesday, May 14, 2014
Via JMG: Support Michael Sam: Signorile Launches "The Great Facebook Kiss-In"
Labels: Facebook, gay athletes, Great Facebook Kiss-In, kiss-in, Michael Sam, Michelangelo Signorile, NFL, social media, sports
Via Bilerico: Capehart: Tolerance is Not a Two-Way Street
On Monday night's episode of The Last Word With Lawrence O'Donnell, Washington Post opinion writer Jonathan Capehart emphatically pushed back against the absurd notion that gays and lesbians should be expected to "tolerate" homophobic bigotry.
The person making this claim was New York Times sports columnist William Rhoden, who called Michael Sam's famous on-air kiss a "stunning moment" but then bizarrely expressed a slight discomfort about having seen it in the first place. And then came this desperate attempt at a false equivalency:
I think that to deal with things openly there has to be an open back-and-forth dialogue. Tolerance can't just work one way. You can't just be one way, that anybody who speaks out... this cannot turn into a Gestapo-type situation where if you express discomfort with something, then you're cast as a homophobe and you're fined by the league. I think that there has to be a back-and-forth.
I'll pause briefly to note that, predictably, Rhoden makes no such demand for "tolerance" of other forms of bigotry; as an example, he's been all over cable news (rightfully) condemning Donald Sterling's repugnant racism. Double standard much?
Capehart, to his credit, wasn't having any of it:
So what you're saying is that Michael Sam has to put up with people disrespecting who he is... and he just has to put up with it and take it? ...What you're saying is he's supposed to be silent, that he's supposed to stand silently by and let people disrespect him.
Rhoden resisted Capehart's characterization and doubled down on his homophobia apologism. "This [on-air same-sex kisses] is new," Rhoden said. "It's not like this happens every day."
And then came the smackdown. Capehart:
Hatred's not new, bigotry is not new, ignorance isn't new. And so when someone denigrates somebody else for who they are... I understand you're saying that it has to be a two-way conversation. But tolerance, no, is not -- it should not be a two-way street. It's a one-way street.You cannot say to someone that who you are is wrong, an abomination, is horrible, you know, get a room, and all of those other things that people said about Michael Sam, and not be... made to understand that what you're saying and what you're doing is wrong.
Amen, Jonathan. As I myself have said over and over and over again, calls for people to "tolerate" intolerance are actually demands that we accommodate and legitimize bigotry -- and that's something that we cannot and must not do. Ever.
Watch Capehart demolish the false "intolerance-must-be-tolerated" equivalency, after the jump.
Read more at http://www.bilerico.com/2014/05/capehart_tolerance_is_not_a_two-way_street.php#wZzrZt7l3iIReK95.99
Via Daily Dharma
Lacking Nothing | May 14, 2014
You lack nothing of the wisdom and
perfection of the Buddha, right at this moment. Hearing, breathing, you
don’t differ even one drop from hearing, breathing Buddha. Not even a
hair’s breadth. And yet we can be far away.
—Elihu Genmyo Smith, "No Need to Do Zazen, Therefore Must Do Zazen."
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Meditation in Perspective | May 13, 2014
It's one thing to view meditation as a
serious religious discipline that can help overcome craving and
attachment. This approach is perfectly consistent with many Buddhist
teachings. But that is quite different from viewing meditation as the
be-all and end-all of Buddhism, and it is also different from seeing
meditation in utilitarian terms—as a means to bring about an experience,
such as kensho [experience of an enlightened state] or sotapatti ["stream entry"], that will instantly transform the whole of one's existence.
—Robert Sharf, “Losing Our Religion”
Monday, May 12, 2014
Via JMG: Wikipedia's Updated Marriage Map
Via Daily Dharma
Learning to Control Our Emotions | May 12, 2014
If we want to succeed in life and bring
about a more peaceful world, we must learn to control our emotions and
not to be affected by a moment of anger.
—Master Hsing Yun, "Don't Get Mad, Don't Get Even"
Sunday, May 11, 2014
JMG Tweet Of The Day: Dan Savage
Labels: Conchita Wurst, Dan Savage, Eurovision, football, gay athletes, LGBT History, Michael Sam, NFL, pop music, sports
Via JMG: Obama Congratulates Michael Sam
USA Today reports:
Reposted from Joe Jervis
President Obama is honoring Michael Sam, who on Saturday became the first openly gay player to be drafted by a pro football team after the St. Louis Rams picked him in the seventh round. "The President congratulates Michael Sam, the Rams and the NFL for taking an important step forward in our Nation's journey," said a White House statement. "From the playing field to the corporate boardroom, LGBT Americans prove everyday that you should be judged by what you do and not who you are," said the White House of Sam, an award-winning defense end who played at the University of Missouri.The Teabagistanis are not happy about this.
Via Daily Dharma
Keep a Carefree Heart | May 11, 2014
Just practice according to the methods taught by the Buddha and do not worry about being a success. The Heart Sutra
says, ‘there is no wisdom and no attainment.’ Although practice may be
trying, even physically painful, if your heart is carefree, nothing will
bother you.
—Master Sheng-Yen, “Being Natural”
Saturday, May 10, 2014
JMG HISTORY: First Same-Sex Couple Legally Marries In Southern State, Witnessed By Lawyer Who Brought Down Arkansas Ban
An Arkansas clerk issued the state's first gay marriage license on Saturday, breaking a barrier that voters put in place with a constitutional amendment 10 years ago. Carroll County Deputy Clerk Jane Osborn issued a license Saturday morning to Kristin Seaton, 27, and Jennifer Rambo, 26, of Fort Smith. They had slept in a Ford Focus after arriving in Eureka Springs at 2 a.m. Saturday and were the first of about 10 couples to line up outside of the courthouse before it opened. When the license was issued, Rambo said, "Thank God." Seaton and Rambo, who have been together four years, then held a marriage ceremony on the courthouse steps. A woman in a rainbow dress officiated.
Via Daily Dharma
The Rope of Mindfulness | May 10, 2014
It is mindfulness that places the mind
on the chosen object of meditation and returns the mind to that object
when it wanders. As a well-known meditation instruction says, ‘Tie the
wild elephant of the mind to the post of the meditation object with the
rope of mindfulness.’ Mindfulness prevents distraction.
—Robert E. Buswell Jr. and Donald S. Lopez Jr., “Which Mindfulness?”
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