Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from Harsh Speech

 

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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) A person may be extremely kind, extremely gentle, extremely peaceful, so long as disagreeable courses of speech do not touch them. But it is when disagreeable courses of speech touch them that it can be understood whether that person is really kind, gentle, and peaceful. (MN 21)

Reflection Learning to speak words that are "gentle, pleasing to the ear, and affectionate" is about taking care that the emotion with which they are uttered is not laced with hatred or ill will. It does not mean that we should refrain from stating what is true, only that we take care with what attitude we deliver it. Even very hard truths can be uttered with kindness rather than with an intention to cause harm. Speaking harshly is unhealthy for the speaker as well as for the hearer. Daily Practice Pay careful attention to your own patterns of speech and especially be on the lookout for nastiness or an intention to harm. Consider your words before you speak. And when you catch yourself speaking harshly, reflect on whether the same thing might have been said in a more skillful manner. Harsh speech brings out the worst in others. But it can be very challenging to refrain from hurtful speech, even when the other person has provoked it.  Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Mental Action One week from today: Refraining from Frivolous Speech Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Daily Dharma: Lovingkindness for Control Freaks

 

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Lovingkindness for Control Freaks With mindfulness and compassion, all of us can learn to meet our precious lives without aversion or ignorance and instead attend to our sadness and anxiety with love, kindness, and wisdom. Kimberly Brown, “Lovingkindness for Control Freaks” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation //

 

It's a little like the image of a caterpillar - enclosing itself in a cocoon in order to go through the metamorphosis to emerge as a butterfly. The caterpillar doesn't say, "Well now. I'm going to climb into this cocoon and come out a butterfly." It's just an inevitable process. It's inevitable. It's just happening. It's got to happen that way. - Ram Dass -

Via FB //We are the Ones We've Been Waiting For

 

We are the Ones We've Been Waiting For

Pink - What About Us | One Voice Children's Choir | Kids Cover (Official...

Via White Crane Institute //

 

Noteworthy The Mattachine Society first meeting [l to r] Harry Hay (upper left), then Konrad Stevens, Dale Jennings, Rudi Gernreich, Stan Witt, Bob Hull, Chuck Rowland, and Paul Bernard 1950 - First organized discussion group of Harry Hay’s secret society, which would become known as THE MATTACHINE SOCIETY. The Mattachine Society is usually regarded as America’s first Gay Rights advocacy group. They met in secret due to the atmosphere of the time, and organized in cells (Hay had been involved with the Communist Party in the U.S. -- along with actor Will Geer -- and he used their organizational model).  In 1951 Dale Jennings was arrested on police entrapment charges. Police entrapment was a common form of harassment against homosexuals then. Suspects’ names were printed in the newspapers, which caused many to lose their jobs and become estranged from their families. By standing up to defend Jennings, the Mattachine Society not only rose to the defense of one of their members, but also took on the notorious Los Angeles Police Department for its pattern and practice of homosexual harassment. Jennings’ charges were dismissed due to the judge catching the arresting officers in a lie. This victory was not reported in the newspapers, but the Mattachine Society took it upon themselves to publicize it through flyers distributed throughout Los Angeles to areas where homosexuals met. The result was a swelling of attendance at Mattachine Society meetings. The origins of standing up to entrapment was one of the main underpinnings of the activism. When Rudi Gernreich died in 1985, he left the bulk of his estate to establish a defense fund for Gay men who were facing prosecution due to entrapment.

|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 Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Appreciative Joy

 

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RIGHT INTENTION Cultivating Appreciative Joy Whatever you intend, whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will become the basis on 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)  Suppose there were a pond with lovely smooth banks, filled with pure water that was clear and cool. A person scorched and exhausted by hot weather, weary, parched, and thirsty, would come upon the pond and quench their thirst and their hot-weather fever. In just the same way a person encounters the teachings of the Buddha and develops appreciative joy, and thereby gains internal peace. (MN 40)

Reflection When lovingkindness encounters the good fortune and happiness of another, it transforms into appreciative joy. This is the emotion of feeling good for another person, of being glad that good things are happening for them. Appreciative joy arises easily for the people we care about, but so often its opposite—some form of jealousy, envy, or resentment—comes up for us. The antidote for these forms of discontent is learning how to feel good for others, which generally takes a lot of practice. Daily Practice Try reminding yourself on a regular basis that the world is ruled by impersonal laws of cause and effect, also known as karma. Sometimes good things happen, sometimes bad things, and we often have little control over these things. Why not feel happy for other people when they experience good fortune or reap the rewards of their hard work? Like a cool drink on a hot day, feeling happy is more beneficial than feeling bad.  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.

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Via Daily Dharma: Resisting the Spirit of Panic and Fear

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Resisting the Spirit of Panic and Fear There are many spiritual practices centered on choosing love, like lovingkindness meditation. But I think on the day-to-day level, choosing love is about resisting the spirit of panic and fear. Kai Cheng Thom, “Writing Love Letters to Monsters” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Revealed to the Bahá’ís of the Western States The following commune is to be read every day:

O God! O God! This is a broken-winged bird and his flight is very slow—assist him so that he may fly toward the apex of prosperity and salvation, wing his way with the utmost joy and happiness throughout the illimitable space, raise his melody in Thy Supreme Name in all the regions, exhilarate the ears with this call, and brighten the eyes by beholding the signs of guidance. 

O Lord! I am single, alone and lowly. For me there is no support save Thee, no helper except Thee and no sustainer beside Thee. Confirm me in Thy service, assist me with the cohorts of Thy angels, make me victorious in the promotion of Thy Word and suffer me to speak out Thy wisdom amongst Thy creatures. Verily, Thou art the helper of the weak and the defender of the little ones, and verily Thou art the Powerful, the Mighty and the Unconstrained. 

‘Abdu’l-Bahá 

Baha'i Prayers

Via LGBTQ Nation // How a gay Holocaust survivor-turned-Nazi hunter took down one of the Reich’s most prominent leaders

 

Via FB //

 

Have you ever thought about this?

In 100 years like in 2123 we will all be buried with our relatives and friends.

Strangers will live in our homes we fought so hard to build, and they will own everything we have today. All our possessions will be unknown and unborn, including the car we spent a fortune on, and will probably be scrap, preferably in the hands of an unknown collector.

Our descendants will hardly or hardly know who we were, nor will they remember us. How many of us know our grandfather's father?

After we die, we will be remembered for a few more years, then we are just a portrait on someone's bookshelf, and a few years later our history, photos and deeds disappear in history's oblivion. We won't even be memories.

If we paused one day to analyse these questions, perhaps we would understand how ignorant and weak the dream to achieve it all was.

If we could only think about this, surely our approaches, our thoughts would change, we would be different people.

Always having more, no time for what's really valuable in this life. I'd change all this to live and enjoy the walks I've never taken, these hugs I didn't give, these kisses for our children and our loved ones, these jokes we didn't have time for. Those would certainly be the most beautiful moments to remember, after all they would fill our lives with joy.

And some of us waste it day after day with greed, selfishness and intolerance.

Every minute of life is priceless and will never be repeated, so take time to enjoy, be grateful for, and celebrate your existence.

Via FB

 

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering

 

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RIGHT VIEW Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering What is the cessation of suffering? It is the remainderless fading away and ceasing, the giving up, relinquishing, letting go, and rejecting of craving. (MN 9) When one knows and sees visual forms as they actually are, then one is not attached to visual forms. When one abides unattached, one is not infatuated, and one’s craving is abandoned. One’s bodily and mental troubles are abandoned, and one experiences bodily and mental well-being. (MN 149)

Reflection The third noble truth declares that once suffering has been identified (the first noble truth) and its origin has been discovered (the second noble truth), it is possible to bring that suffering to an end. This is the great promise of the Buddhist path: that any time we are experiencing suffering, we can reverse or neutralize it with insight and practices that loosen the specific craving that causes the particular instance of suffering. Daily Practice Let's begin with focusing on the sphere of visual experience. So many of the things we see give rise to impulses of attachment, infatuation, and craving. When we want what we see, that visual object becomes the trigger for a brief episode of suffering. Notice, however, that this impulse to crave what we see need not have irresistible power over us. Practice noting the craving, then letting go of it. Notice the ensuing sense of well-being.  Tomorrow: Cultivating Appreciative Joy One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Way to the Cessation of Suffering Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media #DhammaWheel Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

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Via Daily Dharma: Indispensable Love

 

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Indispensable Love  Love is possible—do not be afraid of it. Love is indispensable to life, and if in the past you have suffered because of love, you can learn how to love again. Thich Nhat Hanh, “Dear One, I am Here for You” CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE