Via Common Dreams //

Time to 'Reinvest in People' and 'Cut Weapons of War': Barbara Lee Unveils Plan to Cut Up to $350 Billion From Pentagon

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

"Redundant nuclear weapons, off-books spending accounts, and endless wars in the Middle East don't keep us safe."

Via Daily Dharma: How to Experience Emptiness

The experience of emptiness is not found outside of the world of ordinary appearance, as many people mistakenly assume. In truth, we experience emptiness when the mind is free of grasping at appearance.

—Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche,“The Theater of Reflection”

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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - June 17, 2020 💌

I would like to play the part of someone who has worked on my consciousness sufficiently so that if things get tough, in terms of the environment, issues with social structures, oppression, protecting minority groups, whatever the thing is – I would like to be able to be in the scene without getting caught in my own reactivity to it, without getting so caught in my own fear that I become part of the problem instead of part of the solution.

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Be Open to Just This Moment

“Just this moment” is the only moment, and being open to it is the only true choice we ever really have.

—Diane Eshin Rizzetto,“In Brief”

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Via Daily Dharma: The Purpose of Our Human Life

The purpose of our human life is huge—to grow larger hearts and open minds—and we celebrate that we can do this in this moment. 

—Judith Simmer-Brown,“Five Practices to Change Your Mind”

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Via NYTimes // Civil Rights Law Protects Gay and Transgender Workers, Supreme Court Rules

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Via BBC // US Supreme Court backs protection for LGBT workers

Make the jump here to listen to the great news!

Via NowThis Politics / FB

 

 

The Supreme Court ruled that a key provision of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, known as Title VII, protects the LGBTQ+ community from workplace discrimination. The court made the decision by a 6-3 vote.

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - June 14, 2020 💌

Grace helps an individual see their own suffering and then use it to their advantage. It is not something that can be a rationalization for allowing another human being to suffer. And you have to listen to the level at which another person is suffering. When somebody is hungry, you give them food. As my guru said, "God comes to the hungry person in the form of food." You give them food and then when they’ve had their belly filled then they may be interested in questions about God.

Even though you know from, say, Buddhist training, or whatever spiritual training you have had, that the root cause of suffering is ignorance, to give somebody a Dharma lecture when they are hungry is just an inappropriate methodology in terms of ending suffering...

- Ram Dass -

Via Daily Dharma: Taking Spiritual Risks

In the spiritual life, one has always got to take risks and experiment. The way is never smooth, easy, or clear cut. One has to learn from it all.

—John Snelling,“Beware the Charismatic Guru”

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O Movimento LGBT e a Esquerda com James N. Green

Via Tmblr / THE TRUE ASPECT OF ALL PHENOMENA

— THE TRUE ASPECT OF ALL PHENOMENA — (pt.7)

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The Writings of Nichiren Daishonin

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But now you must build your reputation on the Lotus Sutra and give yourself up to it. At the Ceremony in the Air, when the Buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions gathered together, the two Buddhas, SHAKYAMUNI AND MANY TREASURES, NODDED IN AGREEMENT. WHAT THEY DECIDED ON WAS NOTHING OTHER THAN THE PERPETUATION OF THE LAW THROUGHOUT THE LATTER DAY.

Many Treasures Buddha had offered Shakyamuni Buddha a place beside him, and when they unfurled the banner of Myoho-renge-kyo, the two leaders of the entire multitude made their decision together. Could there have  been anything false in their decision? THEIR ULTIMATE PURPOSE IN MEETING WAS TO PROVIDE A WAY FOR ALL OF US LIVING BEINGS TO ATTAIN BUDDHAHOOD.

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Although I was not at that ceremony,  on looking at the sutra, this is crystal-clear. On the other hand, I may have been at the ceremony, but since I am a common mortal, it is beyond my power to know the past. There is no doubt, however, that in my present life I am the votary of the Lotus Sutra, and that in the future I will therefore reach the seat of enlightenment without fail. Judging the past from this point of view, I must have been at the Ceremony in the Air. There can be no discontinuity between the three existences of past, present, and future.

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Because I view things this way, I feel immeasurable delight even though I am now an exile. Joy as well as sorrow moves us to tears. Tears express our feelings for both blessings and misfortune. The one thousand arhats shed tears in memory of the Buddha, and in tears Bodhisattva Manjushri chanted Myoho-renge-kyo.

From among those one thousand arhats, the Venerable Ananda replied in tears, “This is what I heard.”

The tears of all the others fell, wetting their inkstones, and they wrote Myoho-renge-kyo, followed by “This is what I heard.” I, Nichiren, now feel exactly as they did.

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#Buddha #Buddhism #Buddhist #Dharma #meditation #Enlightenment #mindfulness #loveandlight #positvevibes #goodvibes #goodvibrations #meditator #Knowledge #awakening #wisdom #nichiren #nammyohorengekyo #spiritualvibes #power #greatness #truth #om #art

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Via Tricycle // Racial Justice Is Everyone’s Work

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We can all do better. To help us get started, these six thoughtful pieces from leading Buddhist teachers and practitioners of color offer insight, clarity, and guidance on engaging with racial injustice.   make the jump here to read the full article and more

Via Daily Dharma: Calming Our Suffering

In meditation we learn to cultivate and stretch the moments of being unencumbered, those places of non-suffering. We can experience the state of non-suffering with each breath, moment by moment, breathing in and breathing out.

—Zenju Earthlyn Manuel,“The Terror Within”

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Via The Fried Rice God / FB

Via NYT // Your 2020 Virtual Pride Guide

Your 2020 Virtual Pride Guide

L.G.B.T.Q. Pride events will look and feel very different this year, but many are still on — online. Here are some of the most notable, with details on when and how to tune in.

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Via Tashi Choling Center for Buddhist Studies // Prayer for the People and Nations of the Earth

Via Daily Dharma: Heighten Your Sense of Connection

The word [sangha] can be extended to encompass all sentient beings—and even all inhabitants of a unified ecosystem... This inspiring vision brings with it a heightened sense of connection, a greater appreciation of mutual interdependence, and a shared responsibility for all beings to respect and care for one another.

—Andrew Olendzki,“What’s in a Word? Sangha”

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