By Gary Snyder
|
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.
|
The
wisdom and insight cultivated from meditation allow us to see things as
they are and act in the most skillful way. All situations, no matter
how similar, are fluid and require their own genuine responses.
—Brent R. Oliver, “I Take Refuge in the Humor”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
We
[can] realize the nature of our true selves as we really are, with our
imperfections and so on, and at the same time we [can] understand that
we are the recipients of this immeasurable wisdom and compassion of life
that sustains us and embraces us at all times.
—Interview with Reverend Patricia Kanaya Usuki by Jeff Wilson, “The Great Compassion”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
The existence—and persistence—of racism can be baffling. Our society sees the suffering of historically disadvantaged people and treats them with scorn rather than compassion. Buddhism would explain that our current situation is the result of karma. But what does that mean? Contrary to popular depictions, the Buddhist notion of karma is not a tit-for-tat system of crime and punishment where people suffer for their past sins. Karma is a theory of action and consequence that describes how good deeds generate good results and more good deeds in a positive feedback loop, while bad deeds do the opposite. Through the lens of Buddhist karma, we may be able to understand how racism and the pain it causes are perpetuated.
Make the jump here to read the full article and more
When
we take the one seat on our meditation cushion we become our own
monastery. We create the compassionate space that allows for the arising
of all things: sorrows, loneliness, shame, desire, regret, frustration,
happiness.
—Jack Kornfield, “Take the One Seat”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Only
after the ground of self-compassion has been established can the wisdom
born of self-analysis and critical discernment deepen our process of
healing.
—Miles Neale, “How to Heal After Your Teacher Crosses the Line”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
What is happening in this country at this moment is that a lot of people
are having an intuitive sense of something else happening. In a way,
the world views that are represented by the extreme nationalism of this
country are being de-juiced very slowly by the intuitive hearts of the
people. That's not just true in this country, it's true in the world.
And television has helped it and travel has helped it and mobility, all
these things have helped.
It's as if there is a kind of consciousness growing that is ahead of the
structures and myths that we are still living out. And we are part of
an edge of that process, just by the nature of why we would gather here
for this reason. How you manifest in your jobs, in your marriages, in
your suffering, in your politics, in your marketplace, in your voting...
all of that is part of the way the individual human hearts start to
transform the process.
- Ram Dass -
Liberating Impermanence
By Kurt Spellmeyer
|
Even
though it may seem counterintuitive, when you’re suffering, if you can
focus on another person’s joy, you can share it, and that makes you feel
better.
—Rick Heller, “Sympathetic Joy”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
Ordinary
people just want life to be smooth, without problems. But Buddhist
practitioners have a different attitude. They are ready to endure many
difficulties if they are in the service of transforming others.
—Master Sheng-Yen, “The Wanderer”
CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE
President Trump has once more tried to cast himself as an ally of the Christian right — this time, by nominating Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. This week, On the Media explains how the religious right goes beyond white evangelicals and the persistent allure of persecution narratives in Christianity. Plus, we examine the overlooked religious left. And, we explore how the image of Jesus as a white man was popularized in the 20th century, and why it matters.
1. Andrew Whitehead [@ndrewwhitehead], professor of sociology at Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis, explains how Christian nationalism holds the religious right together. Listen.
2. Candida Moss [@candidamoss], professor of theology and religion at the University of Birmingham in the U.K., on how false claims of persecution date back centuries, to the early Christian church. Listen.
3. Jack Jenkins [@jackmjenkins], national reporter at Religion News Service, explains why the religious left is harder to define, and its influence more difficult to measure, than its right-wing counterpart. Listen.
4. OTM reporter Eloise Blondiau [@eloiseblondiau] examines how "White Jesus" came to America, how the image became ubiquitous, and why it matters. Listen.
Music from this week's show:
Ave Maria — Pascal Jean and Jean Brenders
Amazing Grace — Robert D. Sands, Jr.
I Got a Right to Sing the Blues — Billy Kyle
What’s That Sound? — Michael Andrews
Wade in the Water — Charlie Haden and Hank Jones
For the Creator — Hildegard von Bingen
Walking by Flashlight — Maria Schneider (The Thompson Fields)