Via Daily Dharma: Deepen Your Love for the World

 The deeper our love for the world gets, the more motivated we become to find solutions to address suffering. 

Radhule Weininger, “How to Follow the Bodhisattva Path Without Burning Out”

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multigay | colour me in

Via Ram Dass

 

Via FB // Peacemaking

 

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Effort: Developing Unarisen Healthy States

 

RIGHT EFFORT
Developing Unarisen Healthy States

Whatever a person frequently thinks about and ponders, that will become the inclination of their mind. If one frequently thinks about and ponders healthy states, one has abandoned unhealthy states to cultivate healthy states, and then one’s mind inclines to healthy states. (MN 19) Here a person rouses the will, makes an effort, stirs up energy, exerts the mind, and strives to develop the arising of unarisen healthy mental states. One develops the unarisen awakening factor of joy. (MN 141)

Reflection

Buddhism sometimes gets a reputation for not being joyful enough, with all the emphasis on suffering and the calm emotional balance of equanimity. There may be only the hint of a smile on the face of a Buddha statue, but we can be assured that inwardly the Buddha is experiencing great joy. Joy is one of the seven awakening factors and is therefore a beneficial capacity to develop. Make an effort to stir up joy; it is good for you.

Daily Practice

The way to develop the arising of joy that has not arisen on its own is by rousing the will or generating an intention to be joyful. This is done by thinking of something, either through memory or imagination, that you find joyful. Even when fleeting, a joyful moment is a moment devoid of its opposite mental states, such as unhappiness or dejection. The effects are amplified greatly if you are able to sustain joy for some time.

Tomorrow: Establishing Mindfulness of Mind and Abiding in the Third Jhāna
One week from today: Maintaining Arisen Healthy States

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Via Daily Dharma: Build Lasting Happiness

Trying to build happiness on a foundation of ego is like trying to build a tower on quicksand.

Pamela Gayle White, “A Slow, True Path”

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Coldplay Planting Trees in the Andes | One Tree Planted

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Living: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures

RIGHT LIVING
Undertaking the Commitment to Abstain from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures

Sensual misconduct is unhealthy. Refraining from sensual misconduct is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning sensual misconduct, one abstains from misbehaving among sensual pleasures. (MN 41) One practices thus: “Others may engage in sensual misconduct, but I will abstain from sensual misconduct.” (MN 8) Flavors cognizable by the tongue are of two kinds: those to be cultivated and those not to be cultivated. Such flavors as cause, in one who cultivates them, unhealthy states to increase and healthy states to diminish, such flavors are not to be cultivated. But such flavors as cause, in one who cultivates them, unhealthy states to diminish and healthy states to increase, such flavors are to be cultivated. (MN 114)

Reflection

How easy it is for some of us to misbehave among sensual pleasures associated with the tongue and flavors! We are used to hearing that some foods are better or worse for our physical health because of their nutrients and/or toxins, but here we are being told that some flavors arouse unhealthy states such as greed and hatred, while some do not. We should learn to look at the impact of what we eat on the mind as well as the body.

Daily Practice

Try looking at your eating experience as a series of choices, not only of what you eat but also of the quality of mind with which you are eating. An easy example is eating something that tastes so good that craving for more arises in the mind. Whether it is raw kale or a sugar doughnut is not the point, nor is it necessary to stop eating it. What is important is learning to eat without the co-arising of greed. Try this out in your own experience.

Tomorrow: Developing Unarisen Healthy States
One week from today: Abstaining from Intoxication

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Via Daily Dharma: Practice in Small Ways

 Rather than constantly seeking to eliminate all small irritations from our lives, we can use them as a basis for developing more patience. If you emphasize comfort over the practice of patience, your mind will get weaker and weaker.

Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche, “The Path of Patience"

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Mental Action

 

RIGHT ACTION
Reflecting Upon Mental Action

However the seed is planted, in that way the fruit is gathered. Good things come from doing good deeds; bad things come from doing bad deeds. (SN 11.10) What is the purpose of a mirror? For the purpose of reflection. So too mental action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61) When you wish to do an action with the mind, reflect upon that same mental action thus: “Is this action I wish to do with the mind an unhealthy bodily action with painful consequences and painful results?” If, upon reflection, you know that it is, then do not do it; if you know that it is not, then proceed. (MN 61)

Reflection

We are familiar with the expression Think before you act. Here it is suggested, Think before you think! It is not as hard as it sounds. The idea is to pay attention to intention, that function of the mind that decides what to do next or points the actions of the mind in a particular direction. Is it really a good idea to go back over what you should have said in that argument last week? Probably not. Choose a different path.

Daily Practice

By getting in touch with the workings of your intentions, you gain access to the rudder of the ship, so to speak. Learn to notice, not only what you are thinking but also what you are planning. Much of the time we have no access to this, as things are moving so fast or we are so reactive that we don’t feel we are in control of ourselves. But there is an executive function in the mind, and we can learn to notice what it has in mind to do.

Tomorrow: Abstaining from Misbehaving Among Sensual Pleasures
One week from today: Reflecting upon Social Action

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Daily Dharma: Close the Gap

 Dharma practice is an ethical path that leads into that gap between aspiration and habit; pursuing the ethic of care will gradually close it.

Winston Higgins, “Treading the Path with Care”

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Via White Crane Institute // TRUMAN CAPOTE

 

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Truman Capote

1984 -

TRUMAN CAPOTE, American author died (b. 1924) an American writer whose non-fiction, stories, novels and plays are recognized literary classics, including the novella Breakfast At Tiffany’s (1958) and In Cold Blood (1965), which he labeled a "non-fiction novel" and was co-written by an uncredited Harper Lee, Capote’s childhood friend. Lee modeled the character of Dill on Capote, known then as Truman Persons. A recent memoir by Chicago Tribune reporter, Marja Mills, The Mockingbird Next Door, quotes childhood friend of Capote’s, Harper Lee calling him “a psychopath.”

At least 20 films and TV dramas have been produced from Capote novels, stories and screenplays. Capote, all of 5 feet 4 inches tall and openly gay in a time when it was common among artists, but rarely talked about, was well known for his distinctive, high-pitched voice and odd vocal mannerisms, his offbeat manner of dress and his fabrications. One of his first serious lovers was Smith College literature professor Newton Arvin, who won the National Book Award for his Herman Melville biography.

Capote often claimed to know intimately people he had in fact never met, such as Greta Garbo. He professed to have had numerous liaisons with men thought to be heterosexual, including, he claimed, Errol Flynn. He traveled in eclectic circles, hobnobbing with authors, critics, business tycoons, philanthropists, Hollywood and theatrical celebrities, royalty, and members of high society, both in the U.S. and abroad. Part of his public persona was a long-standing rivalry with writer Gore Vidal ("Truman Capote has tried, with some success, to get into a world that I have tried, with some success, to get out of."). He famously commented on Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, "[It] isn't writing at all -- it's typing"

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Today's Gay Wisdom

2017 -

The wisdom of Truman Capote

All literature is gossip.

Failure is the condiment that gives success its flavor.

Fame is only good for one thing - they will cash your check in a small town.

Finishing a book is just like you took a child out in the back yard and shot it.

I don't care what anybody says about me as long as it isn't true.

Life is a moderately good play with a badly written third act.

Love is a chain of love as nature is a chain of life.

Mick Jagger is about as sexy as a pissing toad.

My major regret in life is that my childhood was unnecessarily lonely.

No one will ever know what 'In Cold Blood' took out of me. It scraped me right down to the marrow of my bones. It nearly killed me. I think, in a way, it did kill me.

Sometimes when I think how good my book can be, I can hardly breathe.

The quietness of his tone italicized the malice of his reply.

Well, I'm about as tall as a shotgun, and just as noisy.

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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute

"With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson

Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org

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Via FB

 

Via The Raft: You Are Wonderful As You Are // Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation

 

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from Harsh Speech

 

RIGHT SPEECH
Refraining from Harsh Speech

Harsh speech is unhealthy. Refraining from harsh speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning harsh speech, one refrains from harsh speech. One speaks words that are gentle, pleasing to the ear, and affectionate, words that go to the heart, are courteous, and are agreeable to many. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others may speak harshly, but I shall abstain from harsh speech.” (MN 8) The monks at Kosambi had taken to quarreling and brawling and were deep in disputes, stabbing each other with verbal daggers. They could neither convince one another nor be convinced by others; they could neither persuade one another nor be persuaded by others. The Buddha then said to them: “What can you possibly know, what can you see, that you take to acting like this? It will lead to your harm and suffering for a long time.” (MN 48)

Reflection

This is such an incisive question: What can you possibly know or see to make you act like this? We think it must be something compelling for someone to turn against their own best interests and harm themselves. What higher purpose justifies this? These brawling and quarreling people were not only stabbing each other with verbal arrows, but by doing so they were also inflicting a lot of harm upon themselves.

Daily Practice

The next time you are engaged in an argument with someone, stop and look inward, examining your state of mind and body. Notice the physical tension and the harsh emotional attitude of the moment. Now ask yourself: Does the issue under dispute really require inflicting damage on myself? Can you feel the harm and suffering involved in such agitated and aversive emotional states? Let it go; you’ll be better off.

Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Mental Action
One week from today: Refraining from Frivolous Speech

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Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: The First Step in Compassion

 The first step in compassion is to notice the other’s need. It all begins with the simple act of attention.

Daniel Goleman, “I Feel Your Brain”

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Ellen Page entrevista Jair Bolsonaro

Stephen Fry entrevista Jair Bolsonaro - Out There

Via White Crane Institute // STEPHEN JOHN FRY

 

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Stephen Fry

1957 -

STEPHEN JOHN FRY  is an English comedian, actor, writer, presenter, and activist born on this date.  With Hugh Laurie, he is half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, who starred in Jeeves and Wooster.

Fry's acting roles include a Golden Globe–nominated lead performance in the film Wilde, portraying Oscar Wilde, Melchett in the BBC series Blackadder, the title character in the television series Kingdom, a recurring guest role as Dr Gordon Wyatt on the crime series Bones, and as Gordon Deitrich in the dystopian thriller V for Vendetta. He has also written and presented several documentary series, including the Emmy Award–winning Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive, which saw him explore his bipolar disorder, and the travel series Stephen Fry in America. He was also the long-time host of the BBC television quiz show OI, with his tenure lasting from 2003 to 2016.

Besides working in television, Fry has contributed columns and articles for newspapers and magazines and written four novels and three volumes of autobiography, Moab is My Washpot, The Fry Chronicles and More Fool Me. He also appears frequently on BBC Radio4, starring in the comedy series Absolute Power, being a frequent guest on panel games such as Just A Minute, and acting as chairman during one series of I'm Sorry I haven't A Clue, where he was one of a trio of possible hosts who were tried out to succeed the late Humphrey Lyttelton, Jack Dee getting the post permanently.

Fry is also known for his voice-overs, reading all seven of the Harry Potter novels for the UK audiobook recordings, narrating the LittleBigPlanet and Birds of Steel series of video games, as well as an animated series of explanations of the laws of cricket, of which he is a particular fan, and a series of animations about Humanism for Humanists UK.

Fry married comedian Elliott Spencer in January 2015. Fry is on cordial terms with Prince Charles, through his work with the Prince's Trust. He attended the Prince's wedding to Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005. Fry is a friend of comedian and actor (and Blackadder co-star) Rowan Atkinson and was best man at Atkinson's wedding to Sunetra Sastry at the Russian Tea Room in New York City.

Fry struggled to keep his homosexuality secret during his teenage years at public school, and by his own account did not engage in sexual activity for 16 years from 1979 until 1995. When asked when he first acknowledged his sexuality, Fry quipped: "I suppose it all began when I came out of the womb. I looked back up at my mother and thought to myself, 'That's the last time I'm going up one of those'." Fry was in a 15-year relationship with Daniel Cohen, which ended in 2010. Fry was listed #2 in 2016 and #12 in 2017 on the World Pride Power list.

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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute

"With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson

Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org

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