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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) Sensations cognizable by the body are of two kinds: things to be cultivated and things not to be cultivated. Such sensations as cause, in one who cultivates them, unhealthy states to increase and healthy states to diminish, such sensations are not to be cultivated. But such sensations as cause, in one who cultivates them, unhealthy states to diminish and healthy states to increase, such sensations are to be cultivated. (MN 114)

Reflection

Sensual pleasures come in many forms, some obvious and overt, some more delicate and suggestive. All have the potential for leading us into misbehavior, which is defined as acting in ways that cause harm or are laced with greed, hatred, and delusion. The pleasures of physical sensations are particularly seductive, and it is conducive to overall health and well-being to be capable of abstaining from misconduct whenever possible.

Daily Practice

We practice observing physical sensations in formal sitting meditation, when we can remove ourselves somewhat from everyday sights and sounds that can be so distracting. By paying close attention to very subtle sensations, such as those accompanying the inbreath and outbreath, we learn that all sensations are impermanent, thus giving us the ability to avoid misconduct when facing more challenging enticements later.

Tomorrow: Developing Unarisen Healthy States One week from today: Abstaining from Intoxication Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: Learning from Difficult Emotions

 When you become uncomfortable or frightened, remember that difficult emotions are your most profound teachers.

Ruth King, “Soothing the Hot Coals of Rage”

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Via Daily Dharma: Enjoy the Task at Hand

 Doing tasks fully and thoroughly can help ground us while also providing a sense of accomplishment and, by extension, an enhanced sense of agency.

Christopher Ives, “Alarming Truths”

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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 are doing an action with the mind, reflect on that same mental action thus: “Is this action I am doing with the mind an unhealthy bodily action with painful consequences and painful results?” If, on reflection, you know that it is, then stop doing it; if you know that it is not, then continue. (MN 61)

Reflection

The mind is always in motion, either taking in information from the senses and processing it, or conjuring up thoughts and images, memories and plans, from its own interior reaches. It is valuable to learn how to watch what your mind is doing, for in this way you gain the ability to discern whether your mental actions are healthy or unhealthy and helpful or unhelpful to the agenda of well-being and happiness.

Daily Practice

Practice and develop the skill of metacognition: that is, being aware of what you are thinking as you are thinking it. The same goes for being aware of the entire range of mental activity, including remembering, imagining, and associating one mental object with another. In addition, measure your mental activity in terms of how harmful or beneficial the consequences of your actions are, and adjust your actions as appropriate.

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

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#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via White Crane Institute // THE FURIES COLLECTIVE

 

Noteworthy

House at 219 11th St., SE, now on the National Register of Historic Place

1971 -

THE FURIES COLLECTIVE was a short-lived commune of twelve young lesbian separatists in Washington, D.C., in 1971 and 1972. The exact date of its establishment is difficult to ascertain, but it is known that in the Fall of 1971, twelve women moved into 219 11th St., SE, Washington, D.C.  so we make note of it on this first day of Autumn.

The women viewed lesbianism as more political than sexual, and declared heterosexual women to be an obstacle to the world revolution they sought. Their theories are still acknowledged among feminist groups.

The Furies Collective was, along with the Gay Liberation House and the Skyline Collective, among Washington, D.C.'s best known communal living groups in the early 1970s. They were an example of lesbian feminism which emerged during the women's movement of the late 1960s and 1970s.

The twelve women in the collective were aged eighteen to twenty-eight, all feminists, all lesbians, all white, with three children among them. They shared chores and clothes, held some of their money in common, and slept on mattresses on a common floor.

All of the founding members had extensive organizing and activist experience before they started The Furies. In particular, many were members of the women's movement, specifically the DCWLM (D.C. Women's Liberation Movement). The group was modeled after other revolutionary movements such as the Black Panther Party and the Weathermen. In this sense, they aimed to promote a global revolution through the establishment of small radical groups. They wanted to abolish patriarchy, white supremacy and imperialism. They were particularly devoted to developing and exploring feminist theory, especially the way in which sexual identity is socially constructed.

As part of their mission, they started a school to teach women auto and home repair so they would not be dependent on men. Members called for other feminists to create more communes wherein women could nurture their relationships with one another away from male chauvinism. Not only men, but heterosexual women were also seen as impediments to progress.

Most of the members of the collective wrote for their newspaper, The Furies. From January 1972 until mid-1973, the paper was published and distributed nationally. In the first issue in January 1972, contributor Ginny Berson stated her view that: "Sexism is the root of all other oppressions, and Lesbian and woman oppression will not end by smashing capitalism, racism, and imperialism. Lesbianism is not a matter of sexual preference, but rather one of political choice which every woman must make if she is to become woman-identified and thereby end male supremacy."

The Furies received criticism from other feminist publications for using elitist, male-determined standards of language and theory. The criticism included focusing on theory because it was a tool used and created by men which ultimately perpetuates male power. Additionally, critics argued that The Furies publishing the names of authors undermines the collective nature of knowledge in the movement and upholds hierarchical power structures that parallel those in society. The members of the collective included little coverage of this criticism in their publication which some insisted displayed their unwillingness to engage in discussions with other women. This resistance to criticism and devotion to theory above personal experience alienated many women and hindered the Furies' ability to expand their membership in order to achieve their mass movement goals.

The group promoted a model of lesbianism for all members of the women's movement, an alternative identity which combined sexual orientation, gender identity, and radical philosophy. For  member  Charlotte Bunch, to be a lesbian "is to love oneself, woman, in a culture that denigrates and despises women." Berson also stated "Lesbians must become feminists and fight against woman oppression, just as feminists must become Lesbians if they hope to end male supremacy."

According to Rita Mae Brown in Rita Will, the members of the collective were "Rita Mae Brown, Charlotte Bunch, Tasha Byrd [sic], Ginny Berson, Sharon Deevey, Susan Hathaway, Lee Schwin [sic], Helaine Harris, Coletta Reid, Jennifer Woodull [sic], Nancy Myron and Joan E. Biren (J.E.B.)" The names marked "[sic]" are actually Tasha Petersen or Peterson, Lee Schwing, and Jennifer Woodul.

The collective did not last long (1971 - 1972) but its influence was felt beyond the group's end. Theoretical contributions to the women's movement included connecting the enforcement of heterosexuality with women's oppression, understanding sexual orientation as culturally, rather than biologically, constructed, and the legitimacy of lesbian feminism within the women's movement. Future feminist groups across the country cited the importance of the Furies' theoretical developments of feminism to their own organizing efforts. Former members of the collective went on to other organizing and activist positions, especially in media and publishing.

The first two members asked to leave were Joan E. Biren and Sharon Deevey, followed shortly thereafter by Rita Mae Brown. The newsletter survived the disbanding of the collective in the spring of 1972 by about a year. Olivia Records was founded in 1973 by former group members and the Radicalesbians

 

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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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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) Just see how many people fight! I’ll tell you about the dreadful fear that caused me to shake all over: seeing creatures flopping around, like fish in shallow water, so hostile to one another! Seeing people locked in conflict, I became completely distraught. But then I discerned here a thorn, hard to see, lodged deep in the heart. It’s only when pierced by this thorn that one runs in all directions. So if that thorn is taken out, one does not run and settles down. (Sn 935-939)

Reflection

This poignant passage attributed to the Buddha strikingly depicts the human situation under the effects of craving—like fish desperate to breathe in water that is becoming ever shallower—and the conflict to which that gives rise. It is not that we are evil, only wounded by the thorn of desire and driven to hostility by the pain. If the thorn were removed from our hearts we would all become well and live together in harmony.

Daily Practice

Look for the thorn in your own heart and pluck it out every time it pierces you. It is not a hard object lodged there since birth that can be removed once and for all. Rather it is a reflex triggered again and again when attachment or aversion or confusion is present. As such, it is a response you can unlearn and remove. Practice replacing craving with equanimity in small ways, gradually gaining the skill of removing the thorn.

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

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
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Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: Mindfulness Is Clear Sight

 Every moment of mindfulness renounces the reflexive, self-protecting response of the mind in favor of clear and balanced understanding.

Sylvia Boorstein, “The First Teachings”

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Via White Crane Institute // Toward A Gay Ecological Perspective: the Gay Experience and Ecology

 

Today's Gay Wisdom

2017 -

In 1992 White Crane #15 looked at The Wild Man, Robert Bly and Gays, and included a spirited debate among Harry Hay, Mark Thompson, and Arthur Evans on the origins of the Faeries. J. Michael Clark issued a call to ecological reflection:

Toward A Gay Ecological Perspective: the Gay Experience and Ecology

One important theme in Gay liberation is the realization that we cannot wait for others to sanction our efforts in theology or spirituality. We must instead find our own prophetic voice and assume our own authority to speak in theology and spirituality. Ultimately, neither Gay men and Lesbians, nor Native Americans, nor the poor, nor any other oppressed people can afford to wait for an external conferral of authority to speak. Moreover, the shared nature of oppression means that as we create our own liberation, so also are we obliged to seek the liberation of other people, and of the Earth itself, from objectification, disvaluation and exploitation.

Gay spirituality and theology, borne out of our experience of oppression, can contribute something unique to ecological reflection. While we would not expect the so called deep ecologists and other straight male writers to include our particular perspective, it is surprising that the majority of feminist writers also do not include Gay/Lesbian oppression as part of their analysis of human and ecological oppression and exploitation. Even when women, African Americans, Native Americans and Third World [sic] peoples and their environments are acknowledged and examined, Gay men and Lesbians are consistently absent and invisible. The extension of rights to Blacks, to women, and in a limited extent to some endangered species and the environment, conveniently passes over certain groups which, therefore, remain disenfranchised — most Native Americans, the poor, the homeless, and Gay men and Lesbians. These groups of people are all too much of the biosphere as well as invisible, even to so-called liberals, and treated as disvalued and disposable.

According to deep ecology, human self-centeredness has led to environmental problems. According to feminism, masculine privilege and social structures have devalued and exploited both women and nature. A Gay perspective would insist that not only are women, nature and the Earth devalued, but our society, with its fear of diversity, disvalues anyone (Gays, Lesbians, Native Americans, the poor and homeless, etc.) and anything (the environment, the Earth) designated as “other.” What we see is not just a devaluing which leads to domination and exploitation, but a disvaluing which strips away all value leading to exclusion, to being disposable, to being acceptable for extinction. This insight is one unique contribution to ecology which Gay people can offer, Gay thinking must move beyond the issues of domination and exploitation to those of disvaluation, exclusion and expendability to radically celebrate diversity and the intrinsic value of all that is, the human, the biospheric, the geospheric. Gay people must work against the disvaluation and exclusion of self and world as disposable, worthless commodities in a society that disdains diversity and eliminates the unnecessary — that which has no utilitarian value.

As Gay men and Lesbians look out on our disposable society of planned obsolescence and throw-away consumerism, we cannot help but be aware of the growing trash heap, the over-burdened landfills, the industrially polluted water and the wastelands of deforestation. We are able to see out society throwing away our Earth, our home, because we are also aware of how often human beings themselves have been treated as disposable and expendable. Historically, African-Americans, Native Americans, the poor and the homeless, the physically and mentally challenged and virtually all Third World [sic] peoples have been treated as either expendable after use (in slavery or minimum wage work) or as totally useless.

In the history of our own community, never has our expendability been so evident as in the rising incidence of anti-Gay violence and in the AIDS health crisis. Our government continues to spend money in the pursuit of protocols and vaccines, while ouor politico-medical system drags its feet in regard to approving treatment protocols or to finding a cure. Gay men, IV-drug users, people of color, and Third World [sic] communities where AIDS rages heterosexually are still devalued and/or disvalued. Our expendability becomes an example of our society’s attitudes toward all the Eart. Hence, our Gay ecological perspective must adamantly oppose any disvaluation and exclusion that leads to dispensing with diversity and disposing of life. Neither Gay men and Lesbians, nor the biosphere, nor the geosphere, nor any of the great diversity which god/dess creates and delights in is expendable.

An ecological perspective will also address our own lives as Gay men and Lesbians. We must be held accountable whenever we accede to or cooperate with the forces of oppression, exploitation and expendability. We must challenge any Gay/Lesbian assimilation which mitigates our diversity. Gor Gay men in particular, we must also examine our socialization as men. We must discern how we as men have been conditioned to accept exploitation, disvaluation and expendability — worthlessness — in our lives. If the typical masculine socialization process of our society works against a compassionate, caring, empathy for nature, spiritual Gay men who escaped that socialization may be able to demonstrate, for all men, a male-embodied love and care for nature.

As we (re)confront the abuses that imperil the environment, we can begin to create a Gay ecology that discloses that our Gay and Lesbian existence is not only a mode of being-in-the-world, but also a way of being-with-the-world, as co-partners in the process of healing and liberation throughout the Earth. Granted, in some respects Gay men and Lesbians, as a larger community, may lag behind other groups in wrestling with ecological issues and environmental causes because our energies are so consumed with dealing with AIDS, homophobia and other forms of oppression. Even with our considerable in-house agenda, which absolutely must not be forsaken, groups such as the various faerie circles and Gays United Against Nuclear Arms have pursued ecological concerns, while individuals have worked within local neighborhood groups on similar issues. Developing a broader, ecological perspective can help us see the connection among all forms of oppression, exploitation and disvaluataion and can facilitate liaisons to confront all of these. Not through co-option, but through cooperation, working together to achieve liberation for all peoples and the Earth itself, will we find out own liberation achieved as well.

Michael Clark is the author of Beyond the Ghetto: Gay Theology in Ecological Perspective, Pilgrim Press 1993

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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 Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - September 21, 2022 💌

 
 

"Patience is not something you develop out of choice; it’s something you develop because you see nothing else works."

- Ram Dass -

Via Facebook / Ram Dass

 

Via White Crane Institute // DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE (DOMA)

 

1996 - President Bill Clinton announced his signing of a bill outlawing homosexual marriages, DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE (DOMA) but said it should not be used as an excuse for discrimination, violence or intimidation against Gays and Lesbians.  No…of course not. Who would do such a thing? Thanks for nothing, Bill. Guess you had your fingers crossed for that “equal protection” part? In 2013 the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 to strike down DOMA. The Obama administration, which had declined to defend the law, took steps to insure the Federal government, including the Internal Revenue Service, recognized marriages from states where LGBT marriage is legal. Under the Full Faith and Credit section of the Constitution. We shall overcome!

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8| 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 |8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

Via The Upworthiest

 

3 Why are people 'unhappy' even when their material needs are met? Here are some thoughtful answers. What truly makes us happy? Psychologists, social scientists, artists, religious authorities and philosophers have grappled with this question for centuries and it doesn’t seem that anyone has completely cracked the code. It’s an important question a lot of people are asking in America where happiness seems to be on the decline. A U.N. report from 2019 found that when Americans rated their level of happiness on a scale of 1 to 3, the average person gave themselves a 2.18. That’s down from a high of 2.28 in the 1980s. What’s interesting is that this decline comes during a period in which Americans have become richer. Obviously, money doesn’t buy happiness, but it does provide the security necessary to find contentment. Spencer Greenberg, a mathematician and entrepreneur in the field of social science, asked his followers on Twitter: “Why do you think that many people are unhappy even when they have all their material needs met?” and the answers were thoughtful and varied.

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Appreciative Joy

 

RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Appreciative Joy

Whatever you intend, whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency towards, that will become the basis upon which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop meditation on appreciative joy, for when you develop meditation on appreciative joy, any discontent will be abandoned. (MN 62)  Appreciative joy is the way to purity for one who has much discontent. (Vm 9.108)

Reflection

Entangled as we are in a consumer economy that depends on the cultivation of desire and discontent, it can be hard to simply take joy in what we already have and feel joy in the good circumstances of others. Yet this can be practiced as an antidote to always feeling desire for one thing or another. Cultivate appreciative joy, or gladness for the happiness of others, at every opportunity and feel its cleansing and shielding effects.

Daily Practice

Discontent can be subtle and insidious. It can poison us slowly in small but steady doses, or erupt in episodes of jealously and resentment. By paying careful attention to the details of your experience, notice the next time you feel bad in some way about what others have or get. Now recognize that as a form of discontent and counter it with appreciative joy, deliberately taking pleasure in the good fortune of another person.

Tomorrow: Refraining from Harsh Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Equanimity

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: Reframing Body Image

 In contrast to an unhealthy positive body image, a healthy one focuses not on how good the body can look but on the good it can do.

Thanissaro Bhikkhu, “Under Your Skin”

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Via Tinybuddha // FB

 

Via Daily Dharma: Seeing the Ordinary as a Miracle

 The miracle of the ordinary is as close as the cedar tree in our backyard . . . if only we can learn to let go, even for a moment, of our obsession with doing, with making things happen, controlling, explaining, manipulating, thinking.

C. W. Huntington Jr., “The Miracle of the Ordinary”

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