Prayer
just for itself, just for the act of praying, is a way of connecting to
the deep ocean of being that we all are. It is a way of offering our
bows, our incense, our flowers, to the ineffable reality of the moment,
to the absolute reality of this experience.
—Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara, “Prayer: Sensei Pat Enkyo O’Hara”
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Friday, November 20, 2020
Via Daily Dharma: Connecting to This Experience
Via Daily Dharma: Bearing Difficulty
It
is only natural that we don’t like suffering. But if we can develop the
willpower to bear difficulties, then we will grow more and more
tolerant. There is nothing that does not get easier with practice.
—H. H. the Dalai Lama, “Enduring the Fires”
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Wednesday, November 18, 2020
Via No Matter How Fine a Love: The LGBTQ Baha'i Experience
It’s been a while since I last posted and for that I apologize, since my last post I have been contacted by those investigating the Baha’i Faith both heterosexual allies and those who identify as LGBTQ asking me for clarification on the Baha’i stance on LGBTQ people and same sex relationships, in each case they said that there is nothing on the US Baha’i website which I found odd, at the end of the last decade there was guidance which if one read between the lines stated that same sex couples wouldn’t qualify to declare as Baha’is unless they fell in-line with Baha’i law which realistically is a passive aggressive way to suggest getting a divorce. Today I was startled to see on the US Baha’i website absolutely no reference to the Baha’i stance on LGBTQ people and same-sex relationships / marriage (please correct me if I overlooked this). For many Americans LGBTQ issues are very important, not only for LGBTQ Americans seeking a loving religious community, but also our heterosexual allies who value LGBTQ people’s humanity. The erasure of LGBTQ guidance on the US Baha’i website (good, bad, or indifferent) simply stings for me as a gay man, it’s the very same sinking feeling I had when the Trump Administration expunged any LGBTQ references on the White House website, it made me feel invisible yet again. For the individual investigating the Baha’i Faith and wanting to know what the Baha’i Faith’s stance on a good 10% of the population (conservative estimate) the website leaves them perplexed as the Baha’i Faith’s rallying cry for “unity in diversity”, the Oneness of humanity, and the elimination of prejudices of any kind assuredly gives the impression that Baha’is would value the humanity of LGBTQ people and would accept them, their spouses, and their families with open arms. It’s also been brought to my attention by a heterosexual mother of a transgender child that not once is homophobia or transphobia listed as forms of prejudice that Baha’is actively address on the website, with Hate Crimes on the rise (transgender women of color in particular) is quite alarming to her as she investigated the Baha’i Faith. As I am writing this I’m doing my very best to not feel rage, instead I’m seeking out clarification from the Public Relations Office at the Baha’i National Center and will share what they say to my inquiry. Attached are screenshots from the US Baha’i website from a few years ago pertaining to guidance on same-sex relationships/ marriage, one must remain vigilant when it comes to this sensitive subject in the Baha’i Faith, one day guidance is up, the next day its invisible (there’s a theme here).
For the current public website of the American Baha’i community sans LGBTQ / same sex relationship information
and finally, after all their cruelty and homophobia... they end with:
The Baha’i Teachings and Homosexuality
Via Daily Dharma: Broadening Your Mindset
Adopting a mind that is free from grasping is a direct antidote to a narrow and fixed perspective.
—Khentrul Rinpoche, “Unity in Difference”
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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - November 18, 2020 💌
There are billions of tiny acts that create suffering in the world—acts of ignorance, greed, violence. But in the same way, each act of caring—all the billion tiny ways that we offer compassion, wisdom, and joy to one another—serves as a preservative and healing agent.
- Ram Dass -
Tuesday, November 17, 2020
Via Daily Dharma: Seeking with an Open Mind
If one seeks understanding with a vacant mind,
the moon seems full each and every moment.
—Jiaoran, “A Full Load of Moonlight”
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Via Daily Dharma: Counteract Aversion
In
the throes of aversion, we tend to one-sidedly focus on what is
unpleasant and irritating rather than look at the situation from a more
global and balanced perspective. The traditional counteraction to
aversion is loving kindness practice, which broadens our view of things.
—Bo-Mi Choi, “Five Drinkable Remedies for the Five Hindrances”
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Monday, November 16, 2020
Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - November 15, 2020 💌
"There are billions of tiny acts that create suffering in the world—acts of ignorance, greed, violence. But in the same way, each act of caring—all the billion tiny ways that we offer compassion, wisdom, and joy to one another—serves as a preservative and healing agent."
- Ram Dass -
Via White Crane Instistute // The VAGINA MUSEUM
Noteworthy
2019 -
The VAGINA MUSEUM opened in London's Camden Market; In July we talked about the Penis Museum, one of the top tourist attractions in Reykjavic, Iceland. Now, in a sort of response to its erection, it has a sister museum across the pond, in London. The Vagina Museum is the first of its kind and is driven by a mission for social justice and public health initiatives.
Visitors to the museum will discover informational posters and sculptures, a small shop with vaginally themed products and an events calendar that includes a dinner for Trans Day of Remembrance and "Cliterature" (book club) meetings.
"The anatomy has such complex politics around it that we found it was best to first engage people through what they know, so we can teach them things they don't know," said the museum curator, Sarah Creed. "It's all about unpacking social constructs and changing perspective through engagement."
Via Daily Dharma: Traveling Toward Truth
The
Buddha found what he had to see by sitting still, but even he had to
travel to get to that point, to see through the other roads that would
lead nowhere and come finally to the understanding that the truth we’re
looking for is no further than the hair on our arms.
—Pico Iyer, “The Long Road to Sitting Still”
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