Via Buddhist Network:

Via Equality House

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 30/05/2016

“Eu vejo que nosso grande desafio enquanto humanidade é aprendermos a usar nossa inteligência e capacidade criativa para transcender os nossos ancestrais pactos de vingança. Precisamos nos espiritualizar a ponto de irmos além da identificação com a nossa história, que é tão permeada por choques de humilhação e exclusão. Precisamos colocar nossa consciência no momento presente, pois somente nesse lugar o amor pode fluir. Em outras palavras, precisamos aprender a ser felizes, lembrando que a felicidade está dentro de nós mesmos.”

“Veo que nuestro gran desafío como humanidad es aprender a usar nuestra inteligencia y capacidad creativa para trascender nuestros ancestrales pactos de venganza. Necesitamos espiritualizarnos al punto de ir más allá de nuestra identificación con nuestra historia, que está tan permeada por shocks de humillación y exclusión. Necesitamos colocar nuestra consciencia en el momento presente, porque solamente en ese lugar el amor puede fluir. En otras palabras, necesitamos aprender a ser felices, recordando que la felicidad está dentro de nosotros mismos.”

“The greatest challenge for us as humanity is to learn how to use our intelligence and creative capacity to transcend our ancestral pacts of revenge. We need to come into harmony with our spirituality to such an extent that we may go beyond our identification with our story, which is so laden with shocks of humiliation and exclusion. We need to place our consciousness in the present moment, for it is only from this place that love can flow. We need to learn how to be happy, remembering that happiness comes from within.”

Via Daily Dharma / May 30, 2016: How Realistic Is Peace?

Peace can be realistic given the will, insight into an opponent’s view, patience, and the power to seek reconciliation.

—John Crook, "Peace: How Realistic Is It?"

Via Ram Dass

May 29, 2016 When you look at yourself as a set of phenomena, what is there to judge? Is this flower less than that flower? It’s just different. You will begin to appreciate your uniqueness without it being better or worse; it’s just different. This is cultivating an appreciation of uniqueness rather than preference.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 29/05/2016

“Toda a vida se move em direção à união, por isso o isolamento é um estado extremamente nocivo. Ele gera uma série de distúrbios e perturbações que fazem de você um prisioneiro do labirinto da mente. Se o seu espírito se move em direção a união, mas a sua mente condicionada, acreditando que a sociedade é inimiga, faz com que você se isole e crie barreiras para a união, isso gera uma contradição interna: são duas forças se movendo em direções opostas dentro de você. E dependendo da intensidade dessas forças, você pode ser esquartejado e sentir-se completamente impotente.”

“Toda la vida se mueve en dirección a la unión, por eso el aislamiento es un estado extremadamente nocivo. Este genera una serie de disturbios y perturbaciones que hacen de ti un prisionero del laberinto de la mente. Si tu espíritu se mueve en dirección a la unión, pero tu mente condicionada, creyendo que la sociedad es enemiga, hace que te aísles y crees barreras para la unión, esto genera una contradicción interna: son dos fuerzas moviéndose en direcciones opuestas dentro tuyo. Y dependiendo de la intensidad de esas fuerzas, puedes ser descuartizado y sentirte completamente impotente.”

“All of life moves towards union; for this reason, isolation is harmful. Isolation creates a series of disturbances and disorders that make us a prisoner of the labyrinth of the mind. If our spirit wants to move towards union, but our conditioned mind believes society is the enemy and makes us isolate ourselves and create barriers against union, then we suffer an internal conflict. These two forces move in completely opposite directions within us. Depending on the intensity of these forces, we may find ourselves utterly divided and feeling completely helpless.”

Via Daily Dharma / May 29, 2016: In It Together

Each of you–not separately, but in the cauldron with all beings, cooking and being cooked—is realizing awakening. Not you by yourself, because that is not who you really are. You by yourself are not Buddha-Nature; but your being in the cauldron of all beings is realizing the Buddha-Way.

—Reb Anderson, "In It Together"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day - 28/05/2016

“A crença é um programa mental instalado no seu sistema a partir de choques vividos no passado. E esse programa passa a determinar suas escolhas, decisões e comportamentos no mundo. As crenças são instaladas mediante situações que geram impacto, formando marcas na substância da alma. São imagens congeladas que agem criando fendas nos corpos emocional e mental. Essas fendas se manifestam prioritariamente como rigidez de pensamento: você tem absoluta certeza de que as coisas funcionam de determinada maneira, porém, nem sempre isso é verdadeiro.”

“La creencia es un programa mental instalado en tu sistema a partir de shocks vividos en el pasado. Y ese programa pasa a determinar tus elecciones, decisiones y comportamientos en el mundo. Las creencias son instaladas mediante situaciones que generan impacto, formando marcas en la sustancia del alma. Son imágenes congeladas que actúan creando grietas en los cuerpos emocional y mental. Estas grietas se manifiestan prioritariamente como rigidez de pensamiento: tienes absoluta certeza que las cosas funcionan de determinada manera, sin embargo, no siempre eso es verdadero.”

“A belief is a mental program installed in our systems due to the shocks we experienced in our past. This program determines our choices, decisions and behavior in the world. Beliefs are generated by situations that have an impact on us, forming scars on the substance of our souls. Frozen images remain in our systems that act to create fractures in our emotional and mental bodies. These fractures manifest primarily as rigidity of thought: we think we can be absolutely certain that things work in a particular way, yet this is not always true.”

Via Daily Dharma / May 28, 2016: History’s Changing View

History is a mirror we look into in order to see ourselves; it evolves as we do.

—Henry Shukman, "Zen and the Art"

Via BuzzFeed: American Baha’is Struggle With LGBTQ Issues

In recent years, American Baha’is have felt a dilemma between their identities as Baha’is and their desire to support members of the LGBTQ community. 

Why are some American Baha’is leaving their faith?

 

In the past two years, three written pieces by Baha’is who left, or considered leaving their faith have gained publicity on social media. All three people who published such pieces left or considered leaving the Baha’i faith due to the faith’s stance on homosexuality. The Universal House of Justice, the Baha’i authority of the world, describes homosexuality as similar to issues such as drinking and doing drugs. While Baha’is are encouraged to be sympathetic toward LGBT members of the faith, the UHJ considers homosexuality immoral if expressed in sexual acts. Since April of 2015, three prominent Baha’is have expressed their struggles and disagreements with this stance. 

In recent years, the first person to come forth so publicly on this issue was former Baha’i Sean Rayshel. In an April 2015 interview with the Huffington Post, Rayshel discussed his journey leaving the Baha’i Faith due to feeling that the official Baha’i stance on homosexuality “debased” him, and claimed that he was part of the world’s disintegration. Just one month later, out gay Baha’i radio talk show host Jake Sasseville published a statement titled, “Baha’i Curious? Religion and Sexuality” in which he mentioned that he considered leaving the Baha’i Faith. Sasseville stated that being a gay Baha’i makes him feel “unlovable” in what is otherwise “the most accepting, loving, and global community I’ve ever known.” In February of 2016, Baha’i actress Anisa George published her letter of resignation from the Baha’i faith to the Universal House of Justice on gaybahai.net. George expressed her sorrow in leaving the faith, however she also stated “when it comes to civil rights issues pertaining to the LGBTQ community, Baha’is are so woefully behind the curve.” 

Rayshel and George express a sentiment that Baha’i holy texts condemn pederasty, and not homosexuality, as the Universal House of Justice has interpreted them. 

Sources:
bahai-library.com/compilation_homosexuality_bwc

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Via Daily Dharma / May 26, 2016: Attachment Awareness

In the meditative process, sometimes all objects seem to disappear, and all that’s left is consciousness, the knowing mind. But care is needed here, because there can be a subtle attachment to this state, an identification with awareness itself.

—Joseph Goldstein, "The End of Suffering"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 27/05/2016

“Você pode deixar a família para seguir um caminho monástico, acreditando estar em busca da iluminação, mas pode estar apenas tentando fugir da sua responsabilidade. Você pode não estar dando conta do aprendizado que é estar nesse lugar. Porque uma coisa é sentar para meditar dentro da caverna ou no alto da montanha; outra coisa é meditar enquanto troca a fralda do bebê. Uma coisa é praticar yoga na hora que bem entende; outra é ter que acordar de madrugada com o bebê chorando. Talvez a melhor prática de yoga para você seja estar em família, pois é ali que o seu ego será constantemente provocado e você terá a chance de superar seus padrões negativos; é ali que você aprenderá a sustentar a presença e o coração aberto diante dos desafios da vida e onde poderá exercitar de verdade a renúncia e o perdão.”

“Puedes dejar la familia para seguir un camino monástico, creyendo estar en búsqueda de la iluminación, pero puedes estar solo intentado huir de tu responsabilidad. Puedes no estar haciéndote cargo del aprendizaje que es estar en ese lugar. Porque una cosa es sentarse a meditar dentro de una caverna o en lo alto de la montaña; y otra cosa es meditar mientras cambias el pañal del bebé. Una cosa es practicar yoga en la hora que te plazca, otra es tener que levantarte de madrugada con el bebé llorando. Tal vez la mejor práctica de yoga para ti sea estar en familia, pues es allí que tu ego será constantemente provocado y tendrás la chance de superar tus patrones negativos, es allí que aprenderás a sustentar la presencia y el corazón abierto delante de los desafíos de la vida y donde podrás ejercitar de verdad la renuncia y el perdón.”

“We may leave the family in order to follow a monastic path, believing that we are in search of enlightenment, whereas we are actually attempting to escape our responsibilities. We may not be taking into consideration the valuable lessons being given to us from this life experience. It is one thing to sit and meditate in a cave or on a mountaintop, but it is another thing to meditate while we are changing a diaper. It’s one thing to practice yoga at anytime we choose; it’s another to wake up in the middle of the night with a crying baby. Perhaps the best yoga practice is to be in a family, because it is precisely in this place that our egos will be constantly provoked and we get the chance to go beyond our negative patterns. From this point we learn to sustain presence and an open heart while facing life’s challenges. From here we can truly exercise renunciation and forgiveness.”

Via Daily Dharma / May 27, 2016: Heart, Broken Open

Disbelief of snow, suspended. So sudden
the plum blossoms
cannot close and hang instead
like broken parasols. As the heart, un-steeled
against pain, is broken.

—Paula Bohince, "Birds, Beasts, Blossoms, and Bugs"

Via FB:

Via Ram Dass:

May 25, 2016

One doesn’t have to beat down one’s ego for God; that isn’t how it works. The ego isn’t in the way; it’s how we’re holding the ego. It’s much better to just do spiritual practices, open to God, love God and trust your intuitive heart. As the transformation happens, the ego becomes a beautiful instrument which is available to you to deal with the world.

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 25/05/2016

“O karma é um instrumento divino que nos ensina o caminho da liberdade. Certos karmas não podem ser evitados e não há o que possa ser feito; muito pelo contrário: muitas vezes, você precisa parar de fazer. Você precisa ampliar a percepção, manter-se aqui e agora, apenas observando. Dessa maneira você compreende que aquele que observa é isento de karma.”

“El karma es un instrumento divino que nos enseña el camino de la libertad. Ciertos karmas no pueden ser evitados y no hay nada que se pueda hacer, muy por lo contrario: muchas veces necesitas parar de hacer. Necesitas ampliar la percepción, mantenerte aquí y ahora, solo observando. De esa manera comprendes que aquel que observa estáexento de karma.”

“Karma is a divine tool that teaches us the path to freedom. Certain karmas cannot be avoided and there is nothing that can be done about them – to the contrary: we must stop with our incessant ‘doing’. We need to increase our awareness by placing ourselves in the present moment and simply observe. Thus we comprehend that the one who simply observes is freed from karma.”

Via Daily Dharma / May 25, 2016: Remembering Generosity

The dimension of generosity is hidden in plain sight, yet we can overlook it even if we spend every waking hour in a temple. Perhaps as a way of reminding us, Buddhist ceremonies often end with an invocation or, if you’d prefer, a prayer: “May all beings find happiness.”

—Kurt Spellmeyer, "Buddhism and the Market"

Via Sri Prem Baba: Flor do dia - Flor del día - Flower of the day 24/05/2016

“O amor tem suas leis, portanto alguns acordos precisam ser cumpridos. Uma das leis do amor diz respeito à responsabilidade: se você estabeleceu uma família, você tem um compromisso com ela. Se você colocou um filho no mundo, você tem responsabilidade sobre ele. E mesmo que você tenha se libertado do apego à família, ainda existe um compromisso com o seu filho. Você pode não estar apegado ao papel de pai, mas o seu filho ainda precisa de você. E essa lei do amor pede que você dê conta disso.”

“El amor tiene sus leyes, por lo tanto algunos acuerdos necesitan ser cumplidos. Una de las leyes del amor dice respecto de la responsabilidad: si establece una familia, tienes un compromiso con ella. Si trajo un hijo a este mundo, tienes una responsabilidad sobre él. Y aunque te hayas liberado del apego a la familia, aún existe un compromiso con tu hijo. Puedes no estar apegado al papel de padre, pero tu hijo aún necesita de ti. Y esa ley del amor pide que te hagas cargo de eso.”

“Love has its laws, and due to these laws some agreements need to be kept. One of love’s laws has to do with responsibility. If you have created a family, you have to keep your commitments to it. If you have brought a child into this world, you are responsible for this child. Even if you are no longer attached to this family model, you still have a commitment to your child. You may not be attached to the role of father or mother, but your child still needs you. This law of love commands us to take responsibility.”

Via Daily Dharma / May 24, 2016: A Fortunate Life

To attain a human life is extremely fortunate, and since we have this good fortune, we need to use it.

—Kenchen Thrangu, "On What Is Most Important"