A personal blog by a graying (mostly Anglo with light African-American roots) gay left leaning liberal progressive married college-educated Buddhist Baha'i BBC/NPR-listening Professor Emeritus now following the Dharma in Minas Gerais, Brasil.
Friday, September 26, 2014
Flower of the Day: 09/26/14
“Once
we become independent, we may or may not end up helping to sustain our
parents, but we need to observe who in us is doing this. Where does our
sense of responsibility come from: guilt or love? Do we want to help
because our heart is open, or because we feel guilty? Many people help
their parents out of a sense of obligation, but they will later expect
'compensation,' even charging 'interest' and 'inflation adjustments.'
Rather than being monetary, this compensation comes in the form of
emotional pressure. One actually ends up subtly humiliating one’s
parents, taking revenge for having been hurt in the past.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Dialy Dharma
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Flower of the Day: 09/25/14
“Gluttony
is related to sexual repression. There is a subtle channel that
connects the tip of the tongue to the sexual organ. You cannot fulfill
the objective of life without looking at sexuality. Once you are able to
free yourself from repression, your whole body can relax and an
internal space will open up. An awareness springs, which also helps
bring one’s eating habits into balance.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Hanging Off a Rock | September 25, 2014
Hanging off a rock is an exaggerated
experience of facing the unknown. It is exhilarating, scary, and
completely vibrant. When we can’t find a foothold, the mind falls into
an open stillness—the same brief pause we encounter in any situation
where we lose our familiar reference points. If we have the wherewithal
to relax, we find our way.
- Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel, "Open Stillness"
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Via NYT Opinion: ‘I Do’ Means You’re Done
In
and around Rome, the talk is of Pope Francis’ sage acceptance of the
21st century, of his empathy, of his departure from the stern moralizing
on matters of the heart that his predecessors engaged in.
In
Montana, a gay couple who have been together for more than three
decades have been told that they’re no longer really welcome in the
Catholic parish where they’ve been worshiping together for 11 years.
This
happened last month, in the town of Lewistown. By all accounts, these
two men, one of them 73, the other 66, had done no one any harm. They
hadn’t picked a fight. Hadn’t caused any particular stir. Simply went to
Mass, same as always. Prayed. Sang in the church choir, where they were
beloved mainstays.
There
was only this: In May of last year, without any fanfare, the men had
traveled to Seattle, where they had met and lived for many years, to get
married. And while they didn’t do anything after to publicize the civil
ceremony, word eventually leaked out.
So
in early August, a 27-year-old priest who had just begun working at the
parish summoned them to a meeting, according to local news reports. And
at that meeting, he told them that they could no longer be choir
members, perform any other roles like that or, for that matter, receive
communion.
If
they wanted those privileges restored, there was indeed a remedy, which
the priest and other church officials spelled out for them over
subsequent conversations. They would have to divorce. They would have to
stop living together. And they would have to sign a statement that
marriage exists only between a man and a woman.
Translation:
Renounce a love fortified over 30 years. Unravel your lives. And affirm
that you’re a lesser class of people, barred from the rituals in which
others blithely participate.
With those little tweaks, the body of Christ can again be yours.
In
one sense there’s nothing revelatory here. For all the changes afoot in
enlightened countries around the world, the church remains censorious
of same-sex marriage — fervently so, in many instances — and Catholic
teaching still forbids sexually intimate relationships between two men
or two women.
But
there are details to note, rue and reject. One is the hypocrisy (or
whatever you want to call it) of punishing a same-sex couple for
formalizing a relationship that was already obvious, as these men’s
partnership was.
Such punishment has befallen many employees of Catholic schools or congregations since the legalization of same-sex marriage in many states allowed them civil weddings. Teachers long known to be gay are suddenly exiled for being gay and
married, which is apparently too much commitment and accountability for
the church to abide. Honesty equals expulsion. “I do” means you’re
done.
I
reached the Montana couple, Tom Wojtowick and Paul Huff, on the phone
Tuesday, and Wojtowick expressed befuddlement. “We’re just two old men,”
he said, and their relationship was no secret. “We’re only 5,900 people
in this town, and Paul and I are really well known.”
Flower of the Day: 09/24/14
“The
deepening of a loving relationship cannot be forced. At times a person
needs variety, which may even be the remedy for healing their
repression. They may need variety because they aren’t ready to look at
certain pages of the book of their life yet. There is nothing wrong with
this. These are just moments along the journey. We must not fall into
the trap of the idealized self which expects us to give what we don’t
have to give. The idealized self is a cruel tyrant who demands that we
be something we are not. It asks us to surrender ourselves to a
relationship, even if we are not ready for that.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Flower of the Day: 09/23/14
“I
know that many people who are with me are praying for others who are
ready, that they may wake up. This is a spiritual current for awakening.
It is a vigil happening around the globe. This vigil is made up of current of souls that are mature enough to understand that they need to
pray for their brothers and sisters.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Touch the Core of Time | September 23, 2014
Through spiritual practice we can go
beyond our egoistic point of view. We can touch the core of time, see
the whole world in a moment, and understand time in deep relationship
with all beings. Then we cannot be isolated and cold people. We become
beautiful and warm people, appreciating and helping all beings.
- Dainin Katagiri, "Time Revisited"
|
Monday, September 22, 2014
Flower of the Day: 09/22/14
“The
remedy for all wounds is understanding why you had to go through a
particular situation that hurt you. Emotional wounds are like thorns
stuck in the flesh, and sometimes they get infected. This infection is
when bitterness and skepticism develop regarding the possibility of
being happy. This bitterness can sometimes turn into revenge, and can
activate vicious circles that act in different ways, but always generate
suffering and destruction. However, the wound should be seen as a
teacher, because it is always teaching you about the mystery of life: it
is teaching you to forgive.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Sunday, September 21, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
A Tree Needs Roots | September 21, 2014
In Buddhism, we study and reflect on
the dharma; and then, fully blending what we have understood with our
mind, we practice resting evenly in meditation. In the beginning, a tree
needs strong roots. Similarly, what is most important for meditation is
calm abiding.
- Ogyen Trinley Dorje, "Calm Abiding"
Via Daily Dharma
If We Could Let Go| September 20, 2014
The very act of clinging causes mental
distress—have you ever noticed that longing hurts? Moreover, the
exertions are futile since grasping cannot extend the life of pleasure,
not even by a nanosecond. As for unpleasant sensations—in truth, they
disappear in a moment, too. But when you feel averse to them, the pain
doubles. It’s like trying to remove a thorn in your foot by piercing the
skin with a second thorn. If we could let go, the mind wouldn't suffer.
- Cynthia Hatcher, "What's So Great About Now?"
Flower of the Day: 09/19/14
“Absolutely
everything that happens has a spiritual significance, because life is a
spiritual adventure. But of course there are more meaningful moments
and less meaningful ones. The greater the change that life brings you,
the greater the spiritual significance you will unveil. For example,
even if you were satisfied with your job and end up losing it, take this
as a gift from existence that is helping you to align yourself with
your dharma, your greater purpose.”
Sri Prem Baba
Thursday, September 18, 2014
Flower of the Day: 09/18/14
“Some
people are stuck in the game of accusations, but are not the slightest
bit aware of it. Their lives are a disaster, but they cannot see where
they are putting themselves. The person may believe they are a saint, or
at least a really good person, but doesn’t stop complaining and
speaking ill of others. This negative energy turns against them and this
becomes a vicious circle that can only be broken if there is space for
friendship, cooperation, union and most importantly
self-responsibility.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Flower of the Day: 09/17/14
“As
you evolve along the journey, you start to see beyond the veil of
illusion and to perceive that everything is part of the divine game.
Everything that happens is a chance for you to free yourself of karmas.
Even negative situations are the manifestation of divine mercy, because
they are opportunities that teach you to overcome attachments and your
identification with the ego. They’re an opportunity for you to fulfill
the objective of life, which is to experience unity within
multiplicity.”
Sri Prem Baba
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