Friday, August 8, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Challenge How We Cling | August 8, 2014
When Buddhism says, 'It's an illusion,
it's empty,' I think back to when Ignatius said, 'Your self—that's your
problem. You have to conquer self, kill the self.' It's that tradition,
both in Christianity and in Buddhism, in which we are challenged to let
go of what is so comfortable and what we cling to as who we are, if
we're going to open ourselves to reality and truth.
-Jerry Brown, “Politics and Prayer”
Flower of the Day: 08/08/14
“A
lot of light is arriving on this planet, but our bodies are not yet
fully attuned to these new frequencies of light. So it is possible that
you may enter situations that are a result of this dissonance, but that
still serve to move the energy that is stuck in your system. When this
happens, be careful not to frighten yourself because that opens a hole
that you can be swallowed by. In this case, you enter a spiritual
emergency, which some may call an existential crisis, madness, or
panic.”
Sri Prem Baba
Thursday, August 7, 2014
Flower of the Day: 08/07/14
“Surrender
is only possible if there is trust, and trust is a blossoming. One can
remain cowering at the edge of the abyss of love for months, years, or
many lives, too afraid to jump. One may be hearing love’s call asking
one to jump, but it’s not possible to determine when one will be ready
for this to happen.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
The Long Road to Sitting Still | August 7, 2014
The Buddha, perhaps, taking the Middle
Way and always reminding us that even our destination is unfixed and
perhaps illusory, is every walker’s special friend. Those who journey
with him know that they may not come to knowledge so much as a deepened
sense of their own ignorance.
- Pico Iyer, “The Long Road to Sitting Still”
Wednesday, August 6, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
The Natural Order of Things | August 6, 2014
While we live, we are able to live.
When it's time to die, we are able to die. This is the natural order of
things, and to the extent that we align ourselves with this, we
experience peace even in the midst of distress.
- Meikyo Robert Rosenbaum, "Breathless"
Flower of the Day: 08/06/14
“The
main aspect of the spiritual journey is creating union. Every river
flows towards the ocean, and the ocean never refuses a river. But, for
the river to approach the ocean, it must have the strength to overcome
all of the challenges along the journey. This strength is gained through
the union of various rivers, because one river alone easily
disappears.”
Sri Prem Baba
Tuesday, August 5, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Bliss is a By-Product | August 5, 2014
There may be bliss with awakening,
because it is actually a by-product of awakening, but it is not
awakening itself. As long as we are chasing the byproducts of awakening,
we will miss the real thing.
- Adyashanti, "Bliss is a By-Product"
Flower of the Day: 08/05/14
“Identifying
the negative aspects of the personality is like opening up a window to
brighten a dark room. When you open it, the darkness disappears, but you
see that the room is dirty. The light comes in to illuminate your
perception, but it’s not enough to remove all of the impurities. If the
floor is very dirty, then it might have to be cleaned several times. You
keep cleaning until it is very clean. The same thing happens with the
heart.”
Sri Prem Baba
Monday, August 4, 2014
Flower of the Day - 08/04/14
“Desire
and ambition generate unrest. All anxiety and the compulsion to do are
symptoms of desire and ambition. One only frees oneself of a symptom by
eliminating the cause, which is only eliminated by understanding the
cause. Self-investigation generates this comprehension. By investigating
the causes, one will discover that one is obsessed with success. But I
ask you: what is success for you? Is it reaching a certain level in your
life? And once you reach this level, what do you do? You want more.
This is the nature of desire.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Self Disappears | August 4, 2014
When we are freed from the reactive
patterns sprung from the boundaries we live by—good and bad; love and
hate—we are not the self we were before. And when the boundaries
themselves dissolve, self as we understand it disappears.
- Anne C. Klein, “The Four Immeasurables”
Sunday, August 3, 2014
Via Bilerico: Nepal Regressing Dangerously on LGBT Rights
Sunil Babu Pant, the first openly gay politician in the mountainous south Asian nation of Nepal and the head of the country's only LGBT rights group, is warning that the country is at risk of a dangerous backslide on LGBT rights inspired by similar reversals in India, Russia, and some African nations.
In an op-ed for the Nepali Times, Pant writes:
The Law Ministry, under the NC's Narhari Acharya, is trying to enact punitive laws that re-criminalise LGBT relationships, completely overturning previous Supreme Court decisions. After the first Constituent Assembly was dissolved in 2012, there is not a single person from the third gender community in the bureaucracy, ministry, parliament or any other decision-making level...Pant tells Gay Star News that the Law Ministry is preparing to push the measures through parliament after an attempt to do so in 2011 failed. The proposed laws would punish gay sex with three years' imprisonment, which is a tougher penalty than the one-year jail sentence attached to gay sex before it was decriminalized in 2007.
This new draft provision of civil and criminal codes prepared by the Law Ministry not only defines homosexuality, but also oral and anal sex among heterosexuals, as 'unnatural' acts. The definition of rape is narrowed only to women. The notion that only men can be rapists and only women can be victims comes from a deep-rooted patriarchal mindset. These notions seem to be inspired by conservative reversals in India, some western and African countries...
All Nepalis who believe in equality and tolerance must raise their voices. The right to justice of all marginalised peoples is under threat from a regressive state. They are going to be excluded, margninalised, discriminated against, criminalised and demonized.
"We are really concerned about this attempt of taking Nepal back to draconian era after so much progress we made. Unbelievable that the government is going all against the Supreme Court decisions on LGBTI rights and other minority and marginalized people's rights in Nepal," he said.
Read more at http://www.bilerico.com/2014/08/nepal_regressing_dangerously_on_lgbt_rights.php#DGFS5pAOB6jYbLeu.99
Marriages In California Reach Near Record High w/ Legalization Of Same-Sex Marriages
Looks like same-sex marriage is actually saving the institution of marriage in California! Marriage had been on the decline in the state and now it's on the rise with the legalization of same-sex marriage.
The Sacramento Bee reports:
It was looking like another tough year for the California wedding industry. Through June of 2013, the number of new marriages statewide had fallen by almost 4,000, or 3 percent, from 2012.
Then the Supreme Court overturned Proposition 8 and allowed gay marriages in California.
After that decision, from July to December, the number of weddings grew by 27,000, or almost 25 percent, compared to the same period in 2012.
In Sacramento County, the number of weddings increased by 1,150, or 27 percent, during the last six months of 2013 compared to 2012.
Total weddings statewide for 2013 eclipsed all recent years except 2008 - the last prior time that gays were allowed to marry.
NOM's crying in a corner somewhere.
Via Daily Dharma
Willing to Look | August 3, 2014
If we are willing to look long enough
in the mirror of zazen [seated meditation], past seeing ourselves as
objects, we have the potential to see that we are nature itself—we are
born and will die, just as the trees, flowers, and animals in the wild
do.
- Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, “The Hidden Lamp”
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