Via JMG: Missouri Changes Its Stripes

Wikipedia's marriage map monitor, who decloaked this week as a JMG reader, has made a change to reflect the complicated situation in Missouri.

Labels: marriage equality, Missouri, Wikipedia

Reposted from  Joe Jervis

Flower of the Day: 11/15/14

“The process of transformation includes going beyond the shame of admitting our imperfections and even our negatively oriented pleasure. In other words, it involves being able to see how much we are insisting on a negative repetition only to get some pleasure out of it. Once we see this, we begin a deep process of transforming the personality’s structure, which is not so easy. Some people may feel like they’re walking backwards, but really it's that they are now starting to become aware of the games of the lower self. Beforehand, they weren’t visible since we were numb. We begin to see that the other is not responsible for our suffering, because he or she cannot hurt us without our permission.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma

What Was Mindfulness? | November 15, 2014 When the studies on mindfulness started rolling in a few years ago, it was good news for those of us who had been practicing Buddhist meditation for years. . . . But in the midst of all this there was a question few of us ever thought to ask: What was mindfulness for? Did it stand for anything? Did it have any ethical content? Did it produce compassionate people—or compliant people? - Clark Strand, "What Was Mindfulness?"

O que é uma Sangha?

Sangha Virtual

 Estudos Budistas

Tradição do Ven. Thich Nhat Hanh

O que é uma Sangha?

Uma Sangha é uma comunidade de amigos praticando o Dharma juntos de forma a fazer acontecer e manter a consciência. A essência da Sangha é consciência, entendimento, aceitação, harmonia e amor. Quando você não vê isto em uma comunidade, não é uma verdadeira Sangha e você deveria ter a coragem de dizer. Mas quando você encontra esses elementos presentes em uma comunidade, sabe que tem a felicidade e a sorte de estar em uma Sangha real.

No evangelho de Mateus, achamos a seguinte frase: “Vocês são o sal da terra; mas se o sal se tornar insípido, com que se há de restaurar-lhe o sabor? Para nada mais presta, senão para ser lançado fora, e ser pisado pelos homens.” Nesta passagem Jesus descreve seus seguidores como sal. Comida precisa de sal de forma a ficar saborosa. Vida precisa de entendimento, compaixão e harmonia de forma a ser possível de ser vivida. Esta é a contribuição mais importante para a vida que os seguidores de Jesus podem trazer ao mundo. Significa que o Reino dos Céus tem que ser percebido aqui, não em nenhum outro lugar, e que os cristãos precisam praticar de forma que possam ser o sal da vida e uma verdadeira comunidade de cristãos.

Sal é também uma importante imagem no cânone budista e este ensinamento cristão é equivalente ao ensinamento do Buda sobre Sangha. O Buda disse que a água nos quatro oceanos tem um só sabor, o sabor do sal, assim como seus ensinamentos tem apenas um sabor, o sabor da liberação. Portanto os elementos da Sangha são o sabor da vida, o sabor da liberação e temos que praticar de forma a nos tornarmos sal. Quando dizemos, “Eu tomo refúgio na Sangha” não é uma declaração, é uma prática.

Nas escrituras budistas é dito que há quatro comunidades: monges, monjas, homens leigos e mulheres leigas. Mas eu também incluo elementos que não são humanos na Sangha. As árvores, água, ar, pássaros e assim por diante, podem todos ser membros da Sangha. Uma boa almofada também pode. Podemos transformar muitas coisas em elementos de apoio da Sangha. Esta idéia não é inteiramente nova, pode ser achada através dos sutras e no Abbidharma também. Uma pedrinha, uma folha e uma dália são mencionados no Sadharmapundarika Sutra. É dito no Sutra da Terra Pura que se você for plenamente consciente, então quando o vento ventar pelas árvores, você ouvirá os ensinamentos dos Quatro Estabelecimentos de Atenção Plena, o Nobre Caminho Óctuplo e assim por diante. O cosmos inteiro está rezando o Dharma do Buda e o praticando. Se você for atento, entrará em contato com esta Sangha.

Eu não acho que o Buda queria que abandonássemos nossa sociedade, nossa cultura ou nossas raízes de forma a praticar. A prática do budismo deveria ajudar as pessoas a voltar para suas famílias. Deveria ajudar as pessoas e se reintegrar na sociedade de forma a redescobrir e aceitar as boas coisas que existem na nossa cultura e para reconstruir aquelas que não estão.

Nossa sociedade moderna cria muitos jovens sem raízes. Eles estão desenraizados de suas famílias e da sua sociedade. Eles vagam, não completamente como seres humanos, porque não tem raízes. Um bom número deles vêm de famílias desestruturadas e se sentem rejeitados pela sociedade. Eles vivem à margem, procurando por um lar, por algo a que possam pertencer. Eles são como árvores sem raízes. Para essas pessoas é difícil praticar. Uma árvore sem raízes não pode absorver nada, não pode sobreviver. Mesmo se eles praticarem intensamente por dez anos, será difícil para eles serem transformado se permanecerem como uma ilha, se não puderem estabelecer uma ligação com outras pessoas.

Uma comunidade de prática, uma Sangha, pode proporcionar uma segunda chance para um jovem que vem de uma família desestruturada ou é alienado da sua sociedade. Se a comunidade de prática é organizada como uma família, com uma atmosfera amigável e morna, os jovens poderão ter sucesso na prática.

Sofrimento (dukka) é um dos maiores problemas do nosso tempo. Primeiramente temos que reconhecê-lo e notá-lo, Então precisamos olhar profundamente para a sua natureza de forma a encontrarmos uma saída. Se olharmos para a situação presente em nós mesmos e na nossa sociedade, poderemos ver muito sofrimento. Precisamos chamá-lo por seus verdadeiros nomes: solidão, sentimento de ser cortado, alienação, divisão, desintegração da família, desintegração da sociedade. Nossa civilização, nossa cultura foi caracterizada pelo individualismo. O indivíduo quer ser livre da sociedade, da família. O indivíduo não pensa que tem que tomar refúgio na família, na sociedade e pensa que pode ser feliz sem uma Sangha. É por isso que não temos solidez, não temos harmonia, não temos a comunicação que precisamos tanto.

A prática é, portanto, fazer crescer algumas raízes. A Sangha não é um lugar para se esconder de forma a se evitar responsabilidades. A Sangha é um lugar para praticar, para a transformação e a cura do ego e da sociedade. Quando você é forte, pode estar presente de forma a ajudar a sociedade. Se sua sociedade está em confusão, sua família está desestruturada, se sua igreja não é capaz de te prever vida espiritual, então você trabalha para tomar refúgio na Sangha de forma que possa restabelecer sua força, seu entendimento, sua compaixão, sua confiança. Então você poderá usar sua força, entendimento e compaixão de volta para reconstruir sua família e sociedade, para renovar sua igreja, para restabelecer comunicação e harmonia. Isto pode ser apenas feito como comunidade – não como indivíduos, mas como uma Sangha.

De forma a conseguirmos desenvolver algumas raízes, precisamos de um tipo de ambiente que nos ajude a nos tornar enraizados. Uma Sangha não é uma comunidade de prática onde cada pessoa é uma ilha, incapaz de comunicar com os outros. Isto não é uma Sangha verdadeira. Nenhuma cura ou transformação resultará de tal Sangha. Uma verdadeira Sangha deveria ser como uma família na qual há um espírito de irmandade.

Há muito sofrimento, sim, e temos que abraçar esse sofrimento. Mas para ficarmos fortes, também precisamos tocar os elementos positivos e quando formos fortes, poderemos abraçar o sofrimento em nós e ao nosso redor. Se virmos um grupo de pessoas vivendo em plena consciência, capazes de sorrir, de amar, ganhamos confiança no nosso futuro. Quando praticamos respiração consciente, sorrindo, descansando, andando ou trabalhando, nos tornamos um elemento positivo na sociedade e inspiraremos confiança em todos ao nosso redor. Este é o caminho para evitar deixar o desespero nos derrotar. É também o caminho para ajudar as gerações jovens de forma que eles não percam a esperança. É muito importante que vivamos nossa vida diária de tal modo que demonstremos que um futuro seja possível.

Na minha tradição aprendemos que indivíduos não podem fazer muito. É por isso que tomar refúgio na Sangha, tomar refúgio na comunidade é uma prática muito forte e importante. Quando eu digo: “Eu tomo refúgio na Sangha”, não significa que eu quero expressar minha devoção. Não. Não é uma questão de devoção, é uma questão de prática. Sem estar em uma Sangha, sem ser apoiado por um grupo de amigos que estão motivados pelo mesmo ideal e prática, não podemos ir longe.

Se não temos uma Sangha que nos dê suporte, podemos não estar obtendo o tipo de apoio que precisamos para nossa prática, que precisamos para nutrir nossa bodhicitta (o desejo forte de cultivar amor e entendimento em nós mesmos). Às vezes chamamos isso, “mente principiante”. A mente de um principiante é sempre muito bonita, muito forte. Em uma Sangha boa e saudável há encorajamento para a mente do principiante, para nossa bodhicitta. Portanto a Sangha é o solo e somos a semente. Não importa o quanto seja bonita e vigorosa nossa semente, se o solo não nos provê vitalidade, nossa semente morrerá.

Um dos irmãos de Plum Village, Irmão Phap Dung, foi ao Vietnã alguns anos atrás com alguns membros da Sangha. Foi uma experiência muito importante para ele. Ele está no Ocidente desde que era pequeno. Quando ele foi ao norte do Vietnã, pode entrar em contato com alguns dos elementos mais antigos da cultura vietnamita e com as montanhas e rios do norte do Vietnã. Ele me escreveu e disse: “Nossa terra do Vietnã é tão bonita, bonita como um sonho. Eu não ouso dar passos pesados nessa terra do Vietnã”. Ele quis dizer que tinha a atenção plena correta quando andou. Sua plena atenção correta foi devido à prática e ao apoio que ele teve na Sangha antes de ir ao Vietnã. Esta é a mente de principiante, a mente que você tem no início quando se compromete com a prática. É muito bonito e precioso, mas a mente principiante pode ser quebrada, destruída, perdida se não for nutrida ou apoiada por uma Sangha.

Embora ele tivesse sua pequena Sangha perto dele no Vietnã, o ambiente era de muita distração, e ele viu que se ficasse muito tempo longe de uma Sangha maior, ele seria levado pelo ambiente, pelo esquecimento – não apenas seu próprio esquecimento, mas o esquecimento de todos ao seu redor. Isto porque a atenção plena correta para alguém que apenas começou na prática é ainda fraca e o esquecimento das pessoas ao nosso redor é muito grande e capaz de nos arrastar na direção dos cinco desejos. Como a maioria das pessoas ao nosso redor é levada pelos cinco desejos, é este ambiente que nos arrasta e nos impede de praticar a atenção plena correta.

Para praticar a atenção plena correta precisamos de uma ambiente correto, e este é a nossa Sangha. Sem uma Sangha, somos fracos. Em uma sociedade onde todos estão correndo, todos estão sendo levados pelas suas energias de hábito, a prática é muito difícil. É por isso que a Sangha é a nossa salvação. Uma Sangha onde todos estão praticando a caminhada atenta, fala atenciosa, alimentação consciente parece ser a única chance para termos sucesso para terminar o círculo vicioso.

E o que é a Sangha? A Sangha é uma comunidade de pessoas que concordam que se não praticarmos a atenção plena correta, perderemos todas as coisas bonitas na nossa alma e ao nosso redor. As pessoas na Sangha perto de nós, praticam conosco, nos apoiando de forma que não sejamos puxados para fora do momento presente. Seja quando for que nos encontremos em uma situação difícil, dois ou três amigos na Sangha estão lá para nós, entendendo e nos ajudando e nos farão superar tudo. Mesmo na nossa prática silenciosa, ajudamos uns aos outros.

Na minha tradição dizemos que quando um tigre deixa a montanha e vai ao vale, será capturado por humanos e morto. Quando um praticante deixa sua Sangha, abandona sua prática depois de alguns meses. De forma a continuar nossa prática de transformação e cura, precisamos de uma Sangha. Com uma Sangha, é muito mais fácil praticar, e é por isso que eu sempre tomo refúgio na minha Sangha.

(Traduzido do livro “Friends on the path” – Thich Nhat Hanh)

Comente esse texto em http://sangavirtual.blogspot.com

Tricycle dharma talk: Free from Fear When we are not fully present, we are not really living

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Our greatest fear is that when we die, we will become nothing. Many of us believe our entire existence is limited to a particular period, our “lifespan.” We believe it begins when we are born—when, out of being nothing, we become something—and it ends when we die and become nothing again. So we are filled with a fear of annihilation.

But if we look deeply, we can have a very different understanding of our existence. We can see that birth and death are just notions; they’re not real. The Buddha taught that there is no birth and no death. Our belief that these ideas about birth and death are real creates a powerful illusion that causes us a great deal of suffering. When we understand that we can’t be destroyed, we’re liberated from fear. It’s a huge relief. We can enjoy life and appreciate it in a new way.

When I lost my mother, I suffered a lot. The day she died, I wrote in my journal, “The greatest misfortune of my life has happened.” I grieved her death for more than a year. Then one night, I was sleeping in my hermitage—a hut that lay behind a temple, halfway up a hill covered with tea plants in the highlands of Vietnam. I had a dream about my mother. I saw myself sitting with her, and we were having a wonderful talk. She looked young and beautiful, with her hair flowing down around her shoulders. It was so pleasant to sit and talk to her as if she had never died.

When I woke up, I had a very strong feeling that I had never lost my mother. The sense that my mother was still with me was very clear. I understood then that the idea of having lost my mother was just that: an idea. It was obvious in that moment that my mother was still alive in me and always would be.

I opened the door and went outside. The entire hillside was bathed in moonlight. Walking slowly in that soft light through the rows of tea plants, I observed that my mother was indeed still with me. My mother was the moonlight caressing me as she had so often done, very gentle, very sweet. Every time my feet touched the earth, I knew my mother was there with me. I knew this body was not mine alone but a living continuation of my mother and father, my grandparents and great-grandparents, and of all my ancestors. These feet I saw as “my” feet were actually “our” feet. Together my mother and I were leaving footprints in the damp soil.

From that moment on, the idea that I had lost my mother no longer existed. All I had to do was look at the palm of my hand, or feel the breeze on my face or the earth under my feet, to remember that my mother is always with me, available at any time.

When you lose a loved one, you suffer. But if you know how to look deeply, you have a chance to realize that his or her nature is truly the nature of no-birth, no-death. There is manifestation, and there is the cessation of manifestation in order to have another manifestation. You have to be alert to recognize the new manifestations of one person. But with practice and effort, you can do it. Pay attention to the world around you, to the leaves and the flowers, to the birds and the rain. If you can stop and look deeply, you will recognize your beloved manifesting again and again in many forms. You will release your fear and pain, and again embrace the joy of life.

The Present Is Free from Fear
When we are not fully present, we are not really living. We’re not really there, either for our loved ones or for ourselves. If we’re not there, then where are we? We are running, running, running, even during our sleep. We run because we’re trying to escape from our fear.

We cannot enjoy life if we spend our time and energy worrying about what happened yesterday and what will happen tomorrow. If we’re afraid all the time, we miss out on the wonderful fact that we’re alive and can be happy right now. In everyday life, we tend to believe that happiness is only possible in the future. We’re always looking for the “right” conditions that we don’t yet have to make us happy. We ignore what is happening right in front of us. We look for something that will make us feel more solid, safer, more secure. But we’re afraid all the time of what the future will bring—afraid we’ll lose our jobs, our possessions, the people around us whom we love. So we wait and hope for that magical moment—always sometime in the future—when everything will be as we want it to be. We forget that life is available only in the present moment. The Buddha said, “It is possible to live happily in the present moment. It is the only moment we have.”

The Here and Now
I have arrived, I am home
In the here, in the now
I am solid, I am free
In the ultimate I dwell 

When we come back to the here and now, we recognize the many conditions of happiness that already exist. The practice of mindfulness is the practice of coming back to the here and now to be deeply in touch with ourselves and with life. We have to train ourselves to do this. Even if we’re very intelligent and grasp the principle right away, we still have to train ourselves to really live this way. We have to train ourselves to recognize the many conditions for happiness that are already here.

You can recite the poem above as you breathe in and out. You can practice this poem when you drive to your office. You may not have arrived at your office, but even while driving you have already arrived at your true home, the present moment. When you arrive at your office, this is also your true home. In your office, you are also in the here and now. Just practicing the first line of the poem, “I have arrived, I am home,” can make you very happy. Whether you are sitting, walking, watering the vegetable garden, or feeding your child, it is always possible to practice “I have arrived, I am home.” I have run all my life; I am not going to run anymore; now I am determined to stop and really live my life.

When we practice breathing in and we say, “I have arrived,” and we really arrive, that is success. To be fully present, 100 percent alive, is a real achievement. The present moment has become our true home. When we breathe out and say, “I am home” and we really feel at home, we no longer have to be afraid. We really don’t need to run anymore.

We repeat this mantra, “I have arrived, I am home,” until it feels real. We repeat breathing in and out and taking steps until we are firmly established in the here and now. The words should not be an obstacle—the words only help you concentrate and keep your insight alive. It is the insight that keeps you home, not the words.

The Two Dimensions of Reality
If you have succeeded in arriving at home, truly dwelling in the here and now, you already have the solidity and freedom that are the foundation of your happiness. Then you are able to see the two dimensions of reality, the historical and the ultimate.

To represent the two dimensions of reality, we use the images of the wave and water. Looking at the dimension of the wave, the historical dimension, we see that the wave seems to have a beginning and an end. The wave can be high or low compared with other waves. The wave might be more or less beautiful than other waves. The wave might be there or not there; it might be there now but later not there. All these notions are there when we first touch the historical dimension: birth and death, being and nonbeing, high and low, coming and going, and so on. But we know that when we touch the wave more deeply, we touch water. The water is the other dimension of the wave. It represents the ultimate dimension.

In the historical dimension we talk in terms of life, death, being, nonbeing, high, low, coming, going, but in the ultimate dimension, all these notions are removed. If the wave is capable of touching the water within herself, if the wave can live the life of water at the same time, then she will not be afraid of all these notions: beginning and ending, birth and death, being or non-being; non-fear will bring her solidity and joy. Her true nature is the nature of no-birth and no-death, no beginning and no end. That is the nature of water.

All of us are like that wave. We have our historical dimension. We speak in terms of beginning to be at a certain point in time, and ceasing to be at another point in time. We believe that we are now existing and that before our birth we did not exist. We get caught in these notions, and that is why we have fear, we have jealousy, we have craving, we have all these conflicts and afflictions within us. Now if we are capable of arriving, of being more solid and free, it will be possible for us to touch our true nature, the ultimate dimension of ourselves. In touching that ultimate dimension, we break free from all these notions that have made us suffer.

When fear loses some of its power, we can look deeply into its origin from the perspective of the ultimate dimension. In the historical dimension, we see birth, death, and old age, but in the ultimate dimension birth and death are not the true nature of things. The true nature of things is free from birth and death. The first step is to practice in the historical dimension, and the second step is to practice in the ultimate dimension. In the first step we accept that birth and death are happening, but in the second step, because we’re in touch with the ultimate dimension, we realize that birth and death come from our own conceptual minds and not from any true reality. By being in contact with the ultimate dimension we are able to be in touch with the reality of all things, which is birthless and deathless.

Practicing in the historical dimension is very important for our success practicing in the ultimate dimension. Practice in the ultimate dimension means being in touch with our no-birth, no-death nature, like a wave being in touch with its true nature of water. We can ask metaphorically, “Where does the wave come from, and where will it go?” And we can answer in the same manner, “The wave comes from water and will return to water.” In reality, there is no coming and going. The wave is always water; it doesn’t “come from” water, and it doesn’t go anywhere. It is always water; coming and going are just mental constructions. The wave has never left the water, so to say the wave “comes from” the water is not really correct. As it is always water, we cannot say it “returns to” water. Right at the moment when the wave is a wave, it is already water. Birth and death, coming and going are just concepts. When we are in touch with our no-birth, no-death nature, we have no fear.


No Coming, No Going
For many of us, the notions of birth and death, coming and going, cause our greatest pain. We think the person we loved came to us from somewhere and has now gone away somewhere. But our true nature is the nature of no coming and no going. We have not come from anywhere, and we will not go anywhere. When conditions are sufficient, we manifest in a particular way. When conditions are no longer sufficient, we no longer manifest in that way. This doesn’t mean that we don’t exist. If we’re afraid of death, it’s because we don’t understand that things do not really die.

There’s a tendency for people to think that they can eliminate what they don’t want: they can burn down a village, they can kill a person. But destroying someone doesn’t reduce that person to nothing. They killed Mahatma Gandhi. They shot Martin Luther King, Jr. But these people are still among us today. They continue to exist in many forms. Their spirit goes on. Therefore, when we look deeply into our self—into our body, our feelings, and our perceptions—when we look into the mountains, the rivers, or another person, we have to be able to see and touch the nature of no-birth and no-death in them. This is one of the most important practices in the Buddhist tradition.

Finding Solid Ground
In our daily lives, our fear causes us to lose ourselves. Our body is here, but our mind is all over the place. Sometimes we plunge ourselves into a book, and the book carries us far away from our body and the reality where we are. Then, as soon as we lift our head out of the book, we’re back to being carried away by worries and fear. But we rarely go back to our inner peace, to our clarity, to the buddhanature in each of us, so that we can be in touch with Mother Earth.

Many people forget their own body. They live in an imaginary world. They have so many plans and fears, so many agitations and dreams, and they don’t live in their body. While we’re caught in fear and trying to plan our way out of fear, we aren’t able to see all the beauty that Mother Earth offers us. Mindfulness reminds you to go to your in-breath and to be totally with your in-breath, be totally with your out-breath. Bring your mind back to your body and be in the present moment. Look deeply straight in front of you at what is wonderful in the present moment. Mother Earth is so powerful, so generous, and so supportive. Your body is so wonderful. When you’ve practiced and you are solid like the earth, you face your difficulty directly, and it begins to dissipate.

Practice
Breathing in the Present

Please take a moment to enjoy the simple practice of mindful breathing: “Breathing in, I know that I am breathing in; breathing out, I know that I am breathing out.” If you do that with a little concentration, then you’ll be able to really be there. The moment you begin to practice mindful breathing, your body and your mind begin to come back together. It takes only 10 to 20 seconds to accomplish this miracle, the oneness of body and mind in the present moment. And every one of us can do it, even a child.

As the Buddha said, “The past no longer is, the future is not yet here; there is only one moment in which life is available, and that is the present moment.” To meditate with mindful breathing is to bring body and mind back to the present moment so that you do not miss your appointment with life. 

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Buddhist monk, teacher, author, and peace activist. He lives at Plum Village, a meditation center in the Dordogne region of southern France.

For the original posting please make the jump here

"Ultimately, life is very short. Even if we live one hundred years more, that is still very short. We don't have time to hate anybody. We don't have time to judge anybody. So how are we going to spend the rest of our life from this moment on? This is a good question. 'How am I going to spend the rest of my life from this moment on?' We must realize that life is extremely short. It is like the snap of our fingers until the time we die. So we have to realize that ultimately there is nothing to gain and nothing to lose. Ultimately there are no enemies, there are no friends. There is not even any 'I.' From this moment on the only thing that matters is to live life from compassion, awareness, and wisdom." 

-- Anam Thubten, "Are We On the Right Track?" from "No Self, No Problem"

Via JMG: LA Galaxy Sign Out Soccer Star Robbie Rogers To Multi-Year Contract Extension

 

Via press release:

The LA Galaxy announced today that the club has signed defender Robbie Rogers to a multi-year contract extension. Rogers, an MLS veteran and former U.S. Men’s National Team member, joined in Galaxy in May 2013 and has made 30 appearances and 22 starts as a member of the Galaxy. “We are excited that Robbie will remain a part of our organization going forward,” LA Galaxy Head Coach and General Manager Bruce Arena said. “He has proven to be a dynamic player in our League and an integral part of our success this year. We look forward to his continued contributions in the years to come.” Rogers, 27, has made 15 appearances for the Galaxy this season in addition to recording two assists. After making the move to defense full-time with a start against Chivas USA on June 8, the Galaxy have gone 10-2-7 in all MLS competitions in which Rogers appeared, including MLS Cup Playoffs.

(Tipped by JMG reader Benjamin)

RELATED: Last month ABC green-lighted a sitcom based on Rogers' life. The show is tentatively titled Men In Shorts.

Labels: gay athletes, Robbie Rogers, soccer

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Mountain Stream Meditation Center:

 

 

Often when we feel we don’t know, we want to do something right away. We want to impose our little intelligence on Reality. Without trust habit dominates. With trust there can be a willingness to not interfere, to not try to change things, to not manipulate them, to not push and pull at them. Instead we allow things to emerge. This opens us to the possibility of surrender and to the guidance of our more essential nature. 

~~Frank Ostaseski

Via JMG: Happy Purple Marriage Map

 

JMG reader Jay Sheckley has sent us an alternative map to the Wikipedia version posted here several times a week in recent months. Embiggen for the details.

Labels: maps, marriage equality, United States

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Flower of the Day: 11/14/14

“The phase of the journey that we call the ABC’s of Spirituality where we heal and transform the lower self involves becoming aware of the parts of ourselves that are denied or that we have not yet come into agreement with. This healing process has phases, and the first step is to identify these parts within ourselves. We go on following these steps until we enter the abyss of denied feelings. Here, it is necessary to learn how to navigate the dark waters of the ocean of fear, until all fear can be dissolved.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Dialy Dharma

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Life in the Present Moment | November 14, 2014

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We’re afraid all the time of what the future will bring—afraid we’ll lose our jobs, our possessions, the people around us whom we love. So we wait and hope for that magical moment—always sometime in the future—when everything will be as we want it to be. We forget that life is available only in the present moment.

- Thich Nhat Hanh, "Free From Fear"

Thich Nhat Hanh

Flower of the Day: 11/13/14

“Bad habits open the doorways for evil to enter our lives. Little by little, our consciousness diminishes and we become more and more dense. The first symptom can be detected in our dreams when we begin to have nightmares and lose our presence. I am referring to bad habits in relationship to food, various behaviors and ways we relate to others, and even the places we sometimes go to. The more sensitive you are, the more attentive you should be, because your tendency to absorb the energies from those around you is greater. With time, you will learn how to deal with this: you learn to walk on fire without getting burned. But even at this stage it is necessary to know your limits, or to know how long you can stay in a place vibrating in cruelty without getting contaminated. A sensitive person is like a delicate flower – any mishandling of it can hurt it.”

Sri Prem Baba

Via Daily Dharma: BLOG: DON'T JUST SIT THERE, DO SOMETHING

Ever since Western converts began adopting Buddhist traditions, their community has sought a balance between the quest for personal peace and tranquility and the sense of social engagement. That seemingly irreconcilable conflict made itself felt when several generations of Buddhists came together for the 2014 National Gathering of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship.

Via Daily Dharma

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Thoughtful Conviction | November 13, 2014

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To question is unbelievably powerful. But if you question all the time and you remain in doubt, going first this way and then that, conviction is absent. If you develop a line of inquiry and learn from your experience, conviction grows.

- Segyu Rinpoche, "Buddhist Training for Modern Life"

Via JMG: Kansas Joins The Sapphire States

 

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Labels: Kansas, marriage equality, United States

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Thich Nhat Hanh: On Homosexuality

Posted on March 29, 2009

Thich Nhat Hanh, the noted Zen monk, poet, teacher who is the inspiration behind Deer Park Monastery and the Plum Village tradition, shares these words about the Buddhadharma’s view of “homosexuality” in the latest book, ANSWERS FROM THE HEART.

 

Q. What is the Buddhist view of homosexuality?

 

A. The spirit of Buddhism is inclusiveness. Looking deeply into the nature of a cloud, we see the cosmos. A flower is a flower, but if we look deeply into it, we see the cosmos. Everything has a place. 

The base-the foundation of everything-is the same. When you look at the ocean, you see different kinds of waves, many sizes and shapes, but all the waves have water as their foundation and substance. If you are born gay or lesbian, your ground of being in the same as mine. We are different, but we share the same ground of being. The Protestant theologian Paul Tillich said that God is the ground of being. You should be yourself. If God has created me as a rose, then I should accept myself as a rose. If you are a lesbian, then be a lesbian. Looking deeply into your nature, you will see yourself as you truly are. You will be able to touch the ground of your being and find peace. 

 

If you’re a victim of discrimination, then your way to emancipation is not simply by crying out against injustice. Injustice cannot be repaired by recognition alone, but by your capacity to touch the ground of your being. Discrimination, intolerance, and suppression stem from lack of knowledge and lack of understanding. If you’re capable of touching the ground of your being, you can be released from the suffering that has been created in you through discrimination and oppression.

 

Someone who discriminates against you, because of your race or the color of your skin or your sexual orientation, is ignorant. He doesn’t know his own ground of being. He doesn’t realize that we all share the same ground of being; that is why he can discriminate against you.

 

Someone who discriminates against others and causes them to suffer is someone who is not happy with himself. Once you’ve touched the depth and the nature of your ground of being, you’ll be equipped with the kind of understanding that can give rise to compassion and tolerance, and you will be capable of forgiving even those who discriminate against you. Don’t believe that relief or justice will come through society alone. True emancipation lies in your capacity to look deeply.

 

When you suffer because of discrimination, there’s always an urge to speak out. But even if you spend a thousand years speaking out, your suffering won’t be relieved. Only through deep understanding and liberation from ignorance can you be liberated from your suffering. 

 

When you break through to the truth, compassion springs up like a stream of water. With that compassion, you can embrace even the people who have persecuted you. When you’re motivated by desire to help those who are victims of ignorance, only then are you free from your suffering and feelings of violation. Don’t wait for things to change around you. You have to practice liberating yourself. Then you will be equipped with the power of compassion and understanding, the only kind of power that can help transform an environment full of injustice and discrimination. You have to become such a person-one who can embody tolerance, understanding, and compassion. You transform yourself into an instrument for social change and change in the collective consciousness of mankind. 

 

Thich Nhat Hanh, Answers from the Heart: Practical Responses To Life’s Burning Questions (Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2009), 119-122.

 

Make the jump here to read the original posting

Via Lions Roar: A Bad Day at the Airport

What better place to work with your mind?

Here is a practice I have been working with for more than a decade. I recite, usually silently, these two sentences:

May I meet this moment fully.
May I meet it as a friend.

These blessing phrases cultivate and sustain a mind of peace and goodwill. For me, they represent the promise of practice. “May I meet this moment fully” expresses my faith that an alert and balanced mind is a possibility for human beings. “May I meet it as a friend” reminds me that my mind’s natural benevolence is my best refuge. Although most of my daily practice has always been the simple practice of alert attention to changing experience, I often begin periods of simple sitting with some repetitions of this two-phrase mantra as a kind of mood-setter, an incliner of my mind toward relaxing.

In recent years, I find this blessing comes to mind naturally in times of stress as I go about my life. Recently, I decided to track its activity through a particularly stressful day:

I arrive at the airport well in time for my early morning flight to Orange County, where an old friend has taken quite ill. I notice the flight is delayed. I feel myself starting to cry.

May I meet this moment fully.
May I meet it as a friend.

I realize that I am feeling sad because I love my friend, and am sad to be losing her. I think about how long we’ve been friends. The pleasure of that thought settles my mind.

Then, I hear the announcement that the flight has now been cancelled. I ask about the next available flight and am waved in the direction of a long line, where I’m told I need to wait for the next available agent. “If I wait in that line, it will be too late for the next flight. I already have a boarding pass,” I say. “You need to be in that line,” I’m told again.

I feel mad. I think, “I’ll write that letter on behalf of all passengers who should be treated more respectfully!”

May I meet this moment fully.
May I meet it as a friend.

I realize that everyone needs to wait and that I feel particularly sensitive because I’m sad. A helpful person standing in line says, “If we phone the airline while we stand here, we can probably get faster service.” I decide to do that. I dial. The phone rings and rings. I am feeling irritable.

May I meet this moment fully.
May I meet it as a friend.

I am told, electronically, that my call is very important to the airline and that an agent will be with me soon. That message repeats many times. I hear my mind again composing indignant letters to Customer Service.

May I meet this moment fully.
May I meet it as a friend.

My mind calms down and I realize that I am disappointed with myself because my friend is sick and I am indulging myself in indignation. “Really, Sylvia! What are you thinking?”

May I meet this moment fully.
May I meet it as a friend.

The line progresses slowly. I repeat my phrases slowly, paying attention to what I am saying. I look around at the other travelers and wonder where they are going. In my mind, I begin blessing them.

May I meet this moment fully.
May I meet it as a friend.

It is my turn at the ticket counter just at the point that my phone call is answered and so I hang up. I realize I’ve calmed down. The agent is courteous. I learn that all the flights until mid-afternoon have been cancelled because of the thunderstorms. I rebook for the next day.

The airport bus for my trip home arrives just as I emerge from the terminal in time to board it. I’m grateful, and a little bewildered from the morning of hurrying up and waiting and ultimately going back home. But I’m all right. Just a little tired.

May I meet this moment fully.
May I meet it as a friend.

I travel without difficulty the next day to be with my friend.

Meet the full article fully here

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