Friday, June 20, 2014
Via JMG: HomoQuotable - John Paulk
Via Daily Dharma
The Luminous Gap | June 20, 2014
At the moment, because of ignorance of
our real nature, we experience everything as the confused manifestations
of samsara. The sense of self creates a feeling of solidity, like the
apparent solidity of the clouds veiling the face of the sun, but at
certain moments a gap is opened up, through which we may receive a
glimpse of the light of reality.
—Francesca Freemantle, "The Luminous Gap in Bardo"
Via Flower of the Day: 06/20/14
"Your
heart rejoices when you feel that you are being guided, when you
realize that you are not alone and that you are not a leaf being strewn
in the wind. When you perceive that there is an intelligence that
connects everything, and you are a part of this play, then you feel like
you belong: like you are a flower in the Creator's garden. There is no
sadness anymore. But to reach this state of contentment, one has to
learn how to listen to the voice of intuition and to pay attention to
synchronicities. There is always a message for you behind any mysterious
‘coincidence.’ Synchronicity is the language the universe uses to show
you the next steps of your journey."
Sri Prem Baba
Thursday, June 19, 2014
Via JMG: Presbyterian Church USA Votes To Allow Pastors To Perform Same-Sex Marriages
The top legislative body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has taken major steps toward recognizing gay marriage. The General Assembly voted Thursday in favor of redefining Christian marriage in the church constitution as the union of "two people" instead of "a man and a woman." The redefinition will take effect only if most of the 172 regional Presbyteries approve it in voting over the next year. The Presbyterian delegates in Detroit also voted to immediately allow pastors to preside at gay weddings in states that recognize same-sex marriage.More from GLAAD.
“The Church affirmed all its faithful members today. This vote is an answer to many prayers for the Church to recognize love between committed same-sex couples,” said Alex McNeill, Executive Director of More Light Presbyterians, a national network of Presbyterians working for the full inclusion of the LGBT community within the church. “We will keep praying that the majority of our 172 presbyteries will confirm that all loving couples can turn to their churches when they are ready to be married.” The General Assembly of PC (USA) is taking place this week from June 14 – 21 in Detroit, Michigan. At the last General Assembly two years ago, marriage equality was not upheld, though a policy had been amended around that time to allow gay and lesbian Presbyterians to be ordained as clergy.UPDATE: The Human Rights Campaign reacts.
"This is a giant step forward for the PCUSA Church and for people of faith everywhere. Presbyterian LGBT couples are now one step closer to being able to get married in the church of their choice,” said Sharon Groves, Director of HRC's Religion and Faith Program. “Perhaps even more significantly, young people and their families can go into a Presbyterian church and know that their denomination has not turned a blind eye to them but has instead taken a giant step toward becoming a more loving and more welcoming place for all people to worship. We at HRC congratulate the Presbyterian Church (USA) on a job well done and thank the good people at More Light Presbyterian, The Covenant Network, So We May Freely Serve and Presbyterian Welcome for their years of dedication that got us to this point.”UPDATE II: The anti-gay Institute On Religion & Democracy is ever so pissed about this.
By overturning natural marriage the PCUSA is only accelerating its already fast-paced demise. It will become even smaller, whiter and older. Only declining denominations reject historic Christian standards and in nearly every case that rejection reinforces the decline. Who respects a church that only echoes the secular world? Many faithful have already quit the PCUSA and many more now will. But some faithful will remain. May the Holy Spirit bless their witness and lay the groundwork for the PCUSA's return some day to the teachings of the global church.
Wednesday, June 18, 2014
Via Good News Network
A 64 year-old man in Istanbul decided to brighten the neighborhood
by painting rainbow colors on some wide, gray, crumbling stairs. When
municipal officials sent workers after nightfall to hurriedly repaint
the steps gray, a quiet revolution
started on Twitter. Not only did volunteers come out to repaint those
stairs that Huseyin Cetinel had spent hundreds of dollars on, they
painted other stairs and walkways in cities around Turkey, posting
photos on social media. A Pandora's Box of color had unwittingly been
opened.
VIDEO at Good News Network: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/civics/brightly-painted-stairway-in-turkey-starts-color-revolution-against-drab-gray.html
Photo credit: Gürol Demirutku
VIDEO at Good News Network: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/civics/brightly-painted-stairway-in-turkey-starts-color-revolution-against-drab-gray.html
Photo credit: Gürol Demirutku
Via Daily Dharma
Why Meditate on Skeletons? | June 17, 2014
In urging his followers to meditate on
skeletons and bloody remains, the Buddha was advocating consciousness,
not disdain for the body. When we are aware of all the intricate
processes and parts that make up our bodies, we are less likely to
identify the overall image as 'me.' Disdain for our bodies is, in fact,
born not of detachment but of identification.
—Hannah Tennant-Moore, "Not Our Bodies, Not Ourselves"
Monday, June 16, 2014
Via Flower of the Day
"It's
a great challenge to speak about the truth, since it is an experience,
and it is always difficult to translate an experience into words. How
can we transform the experience of love into words? How do we explain
joy, ecstasy and compassion? Words are too small to express the
greatness of the truth, but they can be used as a bridge to reach this
experience. Words can help you transition from the state of the mind to
the state of ‘no-mind.’ As your questions are answered, the mind starts
to calm down and become free of anxiety. The mind then becomes receptive
to being flooded with the awareness that comes with the experience of
the truth."
Sri Prem Baba
Via Tricycle:
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June 16, 2014
| New at Tricycle: Restoring Zen's female lineage, learning to listen
deeply, and kicking off the Fourth Annual Tricycle | BuddhaFest Online
Film Festival. |
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 | MAGAZINE: ROUSED FROM A DREAM | ||||
| The importance of lineage in Zen Buddhism cannot be overstated. Yet the transmission of Zen has been documented through an exclusively male lineage chart—until now. Journalist Mary Fowles reports on restoring Zen’s female lineage and embodying a new story for Zen, "a story that includes women." | |||||
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Via Daily Dharma
End This Suffering, Too | June 16, 2014
Buddhism is, of course, a tradition
that strives to end suffering, but concern with the suffering that is
caused by gender stereotypes, constrictive narratives, and
discriminatory customs is relatively new, at least in its public
discourse. How women’s lives have been marginalized from the Buddhist
narrative is still being discovered, acknowledged, and remedied.
—Mary Fowles, “Roused from a Dream”
Saturday, June 14, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Spiritual Hunger | June 14, 2014
The spiritual journey involves stepping into unknown territory with a hunger to know what is true.
—Aura Glaser, “Into the Demon’s Mouth”
Friday, June 13, 2014
Via JMG: AFA Refuses Donation With Milk Stamp
How much do anti-gay groups hate the new Harvey Milk stamps from the U.S. Postal Service? One organization refused to even open a mailed donation to their cause using one such stamp as postage. Staying true to their announcement that they would boycott all mail with the Milk stamps, the American Family Association told The Wire that the organization had mailed back our attempted $5 donation to their anti-gay group unopened. Speaking to The Wire, AFA's Director of Issues Analysis Bryan Fischer said that the very existence of the Harvey Milk stamp was akin to "honoring Jeffrey Dahmer on a postage stamp designed to honor the culinary arts." That's because Fischer and the AFA, citing a line from a biography of Milk, believe that Milk was a sexual predator. "He is not somebody that should ever be honored on a postage stamp," Fischer said.Maybe the Wire shouldn't have announced the attempt two weeks ago? Focus On The Family and the Family Research Council both processed Milk-stamped donations sent by the Wire.
Labels: AFA, Bryan Fischer, crackpots, douchebaggery, ex-gay. religion, Harvey Milk, hate groups, USPS
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Beware of Celebrity Teachers | June 12, 2014
Western people who really want to study
Buddhism should not follow celebrities. Of course, His Holiness the
Dalai Lama is a great master. And of course people can receive his
teachings. That’s no problem. But if somebody wants to be a good
student, they might look for a learned teacher, and among the learned
lamas, one that has renounced.
—Shamar Rinpoche, "Tulku, Inc.: The Perils of Picking a Teacher"
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