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Buddhism
has its own orienting perspectives, attitudes, and values, as does
American corporate culture. And not only are they very different from
each other, they are also often fundamentally opposed to each other.
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It
is important to distinguish between sense-pleasure and sense-desire.
There is nothing wrong with sense-pleasure. Pleasure and pain are part
of our human experience. Sense-desire, on the other hand, is the
grasping at pleasure or the avoidance of pain. This is what creates
suffering?grasping and avoidance.
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The Gay Men's Chorus of Washington is traveling to Cuba Saturday to spread their message through song. The 23 singers are among the first U.S. citizens who will be able to travel to Cuba since diplomatic relations with the U.S. improved. The group aims to raise awareness of LGBTQ rights through music. "It brings people together over something without addressing the issue head on. So, I often find that music can be actually more powerful than giving a speech at podium," Executive Director Chase Maggiano said. The chorus is scheduled to perform several concerts around Havana next week in addition to participating in forum-style discussions. They were invited by Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro.The chorus will perform in Miami tomorrow night before departing.
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That
the self advances and confirms the ten thousand things / is called
delusion; / That the ten thousand things advance and confirm the self /
is called enlightenment.
- Dogen Zenji, "Wandering Clouds: The Poets of Ch'an Buddhism"
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Today’s decision provides further recognition of the dignity and equality of LGBT people in Puerto Rico. We applaud the First Circuit for recognizing that Puerto Rico’s marriage ban is unconstitutional, and reversing the lower court ruling. We also commend the Puerto Rico government for joining in the call to end the marriage ban. Certainly, after the historic ruling from the Supreme Court, this ruling from the First Circuit was not unexpected. There remains no legal or moral justification for forcing same-sex couples in Puerto Rico to wait any longer to have their love and commitment recognized by the state. The Governor of Puerto Rico already signed an executive order on June 26 that marriages will begin 15 days after the Supreme Court ruling, but now that the First Circuit has agreed that the marriage ban is unconstitutional, same-sex couples should be able to marry now. To do otherwise is to put form over substance.
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Anger
doesn't just happen to us. If we're able to catch an angry thought as
it's budding, we can let it go. The same is true of despair or
hopelessness. And when letting go is too difficult, a good medicine for
dealing with these emotions is to reach out and help others, healing
them and ourselves.
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It
is good to remember that a new or an old way of considering and dealing
with life is not false just because it surprises us or contradicts our
theories. A sincere seeker should compare ideas for the purpose of
gaining a closer fix on truth.
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