When a gay Buddhist woman is asked by her sister why same-sex marriage is such an important issue, she is shocked into silence. Years later, she realizes that the only way we might communicate what we most care about is to have tolerance for another’s ignorance or confusion.
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.
Monday, January 15, 2018
Via Ram Dass / 9 of 20 Words of Wisdom - January 14, 2018
You are loved just for being who you are, just for existing. You don’t have to do anything to earn it. Your shortcomings, your lack of self-esteem, physical perfection, or social and economic success— none of that matters. No one can take this love away from you, and it will always be here.
Imagine that being in this love is like relaxing endlessly into a warm bath that surrounds and supports your every movement, so that every thought and feeling is permeated by it. You feel as though you are dissolving into love. This love is actually part of you; it is always flowing through you. It’s like the subatomic texture of the universe, the dark matter that connects everything.
When you tune in to that flow, you will feel it in your own heart—not your physical heart or your emotional heart, but your spiritual heart, the place you point to in your chest when you say, “I am.”
Imagine that being in this love is like relaxing endlessly into a warm bath that surrounds and supports your every movement, so that every thought and feeling is permeated by it. You feel as though you are dissolving into love. This love is actually part of you; it is always flowing through you. It’s like the subatomic texture of the universe, the dark matter that connects everything.
When you tune in to that flow, you will feel it in your own heart—not your physical heart or your emotional heart, but your spiritual heart, the place you point to in your chest when you say, “I am.”
- Ram Dass -
Via Daily Dharma: Interdependence and Civil Rights
Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr. was trying to deliver the same message as Zen
Master Thich Nhat Hanh’s teaching of interbeing. He wanted us to
understand interrelatedness.
—Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, “Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr”
—Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, “Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr”
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Via Daily Dharma: A Marriage of Doing and Being
Meditation, simply defined, is a way of being aware. It is the happy marriage of doing and being.
—Lama Surya Das, “The Heart-Essence of Buddhist Meditation”
—Lama Surya Das, “The Heart-Essence of Buddhist Meditation”
Saturday, January 13, 2018
Via 1 of 3,073 Daily Dharma: Desire Isn’t Always Bad
Passions
and desires, like words and concepts, are not negative in and of
themselves. It is only when we become obsessed by our ideas about what
we think we are or should be that we become blind to the reality before
us.
—Mark Unno, “The Original Buddhist Rebel”
—Mark Unno, “The Original Buddhist Rebel”
Friday, January 12, 2018
Via Daily Dharma: You Can’t Force Your Heart Open
A wide and caring heart is not a “should” or an obligation but a longing that awakens naturally.
—Radhule Weininger, “Brief Teachings”
—Radhule Weininger, “Brief Teachings”
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Via 3 of 13 Daily Dharma: The Seed of True Kindness
When we start to develop maitri for ourselves—unconditional acceptance of ourselves—then we’re really taking care of ourselves in a way that pays off. We feel more at home with our own bodies and minds and more at home in the world. As our kindness for ourselves grows, so does our kindness for other people.
—Pema Chödrön, “Unlimited Friendliness”
—Pema Chödrön, “Unlimited Friendliness”
Wednesday, January 10, 2018
Via BBC / Inter-American Human Rights Court backs same-sex marriage
The Inter-American Court of Human Rights has ruled that same-sex marriages should be recognised.
Some of the signatories already recognise same-sex marriages while others recognise same-sex civil unions.
But others, such as Bolivia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Paraguay and Peru do not recognise either and will be expected to change their laws.
The court was established by the regional body, the Organization of American States (OAS), and signatories to the Inter-American Convention on Human Rights are bound by its rulings.
Western hemisphere countries where same-sex marriage is legal:
- Argentina
- Brazil
- Canada
- Colombia
- Mexico (certain states only)
- US
- Uruguay
The ruling comes as a number of Latin American countries have changed or are debating changing their laws to allow same-sex couples to marry.
Most recently, outgoing Chilean President Michelle Bachelet sent a gay marriage bill to Congress for debate.
Other western hemisphere countries, such as Ecuador, have introduced same-sex civil unions.
'Without discrimination'
The judges said that governments "must recognise and guarantee all the rights that are derived from a family bond between people of the same sex".They also said that it was inadmissible and discriminatory for a separate legal provision to be established just for same-sex marriages.
The judges demanded that governments "guarantee access to all existing forms of domestic legal systems, including the right to marriage, in order to ensure the protection of all the rights of families formed by same-sex couples without discrimination".
Recognising the difficulty in passing such laws in countries where there is strong opposition to same-sex marriage, they recommended that governments pass temporary decrees until new legislation was brought in.
The judges issued the ruling in response to a motion brought by Costa Rica.
The Central American government asked the court to give its opinion on whether it had an obligation to extend property rights to same-sex couples. The court ruled that it did.
The Costa Rican government also wanted to know whether it should allow transgender people to change their name on their identity documents. Again, the court ruled that it should.
Costa Rica's Vice-President Ana Helena Chacón welcomed the court's ruling, saying it would be adopted "in its totality".
Via Ram Dass / 4 of 21 Words of Wisdom - January 10, 2018
I
don't want people doing their practices because they ought to be good. I
want you doing your practices like you go to the toilet. You don't go
to the toilet because you're good, I mean, you know why you go to the
toilet. That's the way spiritual practices should be done. It's a great
advertisement for spiritual practice: Come spend the weekend with spiritual practices, it's like going the toilet!
- Ram Dass -
Via Daily Dharma: Zig Zag Practice
Practice
is never a straight line to a fixed goal. It is always a mixture of
moments of confusion and moments of clarity, periods of discouragement
and periods of aspiration, times of feeling like a failure and times of
going deeper.
—Ezra Bayda, “Reflect, Without Thinking”
—Ezra Bayda, “Reflect, Without Thinking”
Tuesday, January 9, 2018
Via Daily Dharma: Finding Freedom Through Attitude
The
attempt to look at your attitude—what you are feeling and thinking and
the frame that holds it, and then your attitude to your attitude, is one
of the routes to freedom.
—John Tarrant, “In the Wild Places”
—John Tarrant, “In the Wild Places”
Monday, January 8, 2018
Via Daily Dharma: Honesty’s Advantage
Being
honest about our limitations protects us from becoming patronizing and
self-satisfied. When we are more honest, we don’t have as much to prove.
—Judy Lief, “On Beginning at the Beginning”
—Judy Lief, “On Beginning at the Beginning”
Sunday, January 7, 2018
Via Ram Dass / Words of Wisdom - January 7, 2018
The reason we are addicted to power is because of separateness—separate nations, separate states, separate religions, and separate people. When you are separate the whole universe is powerful, and you are so little…When you get into your soul, the whole world is made of love—trees are made of love; beings, in their souls, are made of love.
- Ram Dass -
Via Daily Dharma: Sorting Out Love and Attachment
Attachment is the very opposite of love. Love says, “I want you to be happy.” Attachment says, “I want you to make me happy.”
—Tenzin Palmo, “No Excuses”
—Tenzin Palmo, “No Excuses”
Saturday, January 6, 2018
Via Daily Dharma: The Compassion We Give, The Compassion We Want
To
be compassionate to those we do not have to be compassionate towards,
and to those who expect little if any compassion—is this not the same
contract we hope exists between us and some further, more powerful
force?
—Rick Bass, “Animal Realm”
—Rick Bass, “Animal Realm”
Friday, January 5, 2018
Via Daily Dharma: Jealousy Is a Warning
When
I start feeling jealous of others, it’s a warning sign that I’ve become
a little bit too entranced by some idea of myself and have lost touch
with the reality of my life.
—Shozan Jack Haubner, “Middle Way Manager”
—Shozan Jack Haubner, “Middle Way Manager”
Via Daily Dharma: Letting Go of Perfection
A good fit is not the same as a perfect fit, if such a thing even exists. Rather, a good fit contains good imperfections, things that don’t fit, problems you can sink your teeth into.
—Andrew Cooper, “The Good Fit”
—Andrew Cooper, “The Good Fit”
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
Via Daily Dharma: Right Action through Community
Connection with others loosens the bonds of self-concern and helps us find our best course of action in the world.
—Henry Shukman, “The Meeting”
—Henry Shukman, “The Meeting”
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