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.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
Monday, November 14, 2016
Via Daily Dharma / November 14, 2016: A New Consciousness in Every Moment
The
mind that sees something quickly dies, and a different consciousness
hears a sound. No self or soul carries over from one perceptual act to
the next. In truth, your life-span is only one moment long.
—Cynthia Thatcher, "Disconnect the Dots"
—Cynthia Thatcher, "Disconnect the Dots"
Sunday, November 13, 2016
Via Ram Dass
The
game of powers is always very simple: Don’t use them. The minute you
get a power and say, “I’ve got this power, I will use it,” you’re stuck
again. A new attachment, a new ego trip. Don’t use them, rather let them
be used through you.
Purity brings powers. Unfortunately, that’s one of the lions at the gate that brings you incredible powers. The minute you’re a little less attached than everybody else, you have incredible power over everybody, because you don’t want anything that everybody else wants so much. The minute you don’t want so much, suddenly you’re free, in a way that you can’t believe because you’re so used to being trapped in this network of needs and desires.
Purity brings powers. Unfortunately, that’s one of the lions at the gate that brings you incredible powers. The minute you’re a little less attached than everybody else, you have incredible power over everybody, because you don’t want anything that everybody else wants so much. The minute you don’t want so much, suddenly you’re free, in a way that you can’t believe because you’re so used to being trapped in this network of needs and desires.
Via Daily Dharma / November 13, 2016: A Completely Useless Buddha
In
the very act of sitting, we actualize the completeness of the act
itself and we actualize our own full completeness as a useless human
being, another name for which is Buddha.
—Barry Magid, "Uselessness"
—Barry Magid, "Uselessness"
Saturday, November 12, 2016
Via Daily Dharma / November 12, 2016: The Speechless Center
The
only parts of the practice that can be described with confidence are
the rough, cerebral edges. What happens at the center, when the mind
quiets down, is impossible to verbalize.
—Jeff Greenwald, "The Great Indoors"
—Jeff Greenwald, "The Great Indoors"
Friday, November 11, 2016
ViaTricycle: Buddhist Teachings for Post-Election Healing
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Encouragement from 'Abdu'l-Baha:
The darkness of this gloomy
night shall pass away. Again the Sun of Reality will dawn from the
horizon of the hearts. Have patience, wait but do not sit idle; work
while you are waiting; smile when you are wearied with monotony; be firm
while everything around you is being shaken; be joyous while the ugly
face of despair grins at you; speak aloud while the malevolent forces of
the nether world try to crush your mind; be valiant and courageous while
men all around you are cringing with fear and cowardice. Do not yield
to the overwhelming power of tyranny and despotism. Serve the cause of
democracy and freedom. Continue your journey to the end. The bright day
is coming. The nucleus of the new race is forming. The harbinger of the
new ideals of international justice is appearing. The trees of hope will
become verdant; the copper of scorn and derision will be transmuted
into the gold of honor and praise; the arid desert of ignorance will be
transformed into the luxuriant garden of knowledge; the threatening
clouds shall be dispelled and the stars of faith and charity will again
twinkle in the clear heaven of consciousness."
- Abdu'l-Baha , Baha'i Scriptures, p. 547
- Abdu'l-Baha , Baha'i Scriptures, p. 547
Thursday, November 10, 2016
and that's how democracy dies
25.6% voted Clinton
25.5% voted Trump
46.9% didn't vote
and that's how democracy dies
(https://twitter.com/
Via JMG: NOM Issues Plan To Work With Donald Trump For “Inevitable Reversal” Of Same-Sex Marriage Ruling
November 9, 2016
Christianists, Hate Groups, Marriage Equality
And pretty much every other LGBT advance achieved by the Obama administration. From hate group leader Brian Brown:
Make the jump here to read the original and more at JMG
Donald Trump has won a historic election, an unprecedented victory that has turned the establishment upside down. We heartily congratulate him and his team on their incredible win. President-elect Trump will now turn his attention to governing, and NOM is committed to working with him. We are confident that our voice and our views will be important in a Trump administration.
Here is our plan:
We will work with President Trump to nominate conservative justices to the U.S. Supreme Court, individuals who will adhere to the words and meaning of the constitution. Such justices will inevitably reverse the anti-constitutional ruling of the Supreme Court imposing same-sex ‘marriage’ on the nation in the Obergefell decision, because that decision lacked any basis in the constitution.
We will work with President Trump to rescind the illegal, over-reaching executive orders and directives issued by President Obama, including his dangerous “gender identity” directives, attempting to redefine gender just as he sought to redefine marriage.
We will work with President Trump to reverse policies of the Obama administration that seek to coerce other countries into accepting same-sex ‘marriage’ as a condition of receiving US assistance and aid. It is fundamentally wrong for a president to become a lobbyist for the LGBT agenda, and we are confident that will end in the Trump administration.
We will work with President Trump and Congress to pass the First Amendment Defense Act (FADA), which Mr. Trump supports. FADA is critical legislation to protect people who believe in marriage from being targeted by the government for persecution.
This is a bright and exciting time for NOM, and we are committed to taking full advantage of the opportunity we have. Our voice and our views matter to the incoming administration, and that means your voice and views matter.
To make sure that we can influence the policy debates that are coming, we need to step-up our communications. The first step is to grow our presence on social media. Please act today to follow NOM and me on Twitter, and to like us on Facebook.
It only takes a few seconds to follow us on Twitter and to like us on Facebook, but doing so will help us increase our ability to educate and mobilize our supporters.NOM remains the sole national hate group to support the First Amendment Defense Act. The Family Research Council, the Liberty Counsel, and the American Family Association all withdrew their support after new language was added which would also legalize discriminating against married straight couples on the the basis of “sincerely held religious belief or moral conviction.”
We’re excited about the future, and we are looking forward to work with the Trump administration to restore marriage, uphold gender, protect religious liberty and promote families.
Make the jump here to read the original and more at JMG
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