Via Alison Elizabeth Marshall blog

  Landscape of Light: Understanding the Kingdom of Abha

Image by Arek Socha from Pixabay

Over the past few years, I've begun a contemplative study of Jean-Marc Lepain's Archeology of the Kingdom of God, a philosophical work that explores Baha'u'llah's metaphysics in depth. It's a complex and thoughtful book, inviting a new kind of inquiry—one that examines the architecture of spiritual reality and the soul's unfolding within it. Rather than summarizing the entire work, I've decided to share my findings gradually, beginning here, with chapter 2.

This chapter focuses on the Kingdom of Abha. 'Abdu'l-Baha refers to it often, yet its meaning is rarely unpacked in everyday conversation. What is the Kingdom of Abha? What kind of reality does it name? And why does it matter to our spiritual life? This post offers a simplified overview of Lepain's insights, organized into five sections.

Via Daily Dharma: Be Your Dreams

 

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Be Your Dreams We have no fixed identity because we are constantly under construction, year by year, day by day, really moment by moment. The Buddhists would have it, then, that if you can dream it, you can be it. Robert E. Buswell Jr., “A Buddhist-Themed Commencement Address” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

The Beloved Embodiment of Community By Gabriel Kaigen Wilson Explore the stabilizing and grounding nature of the sangha and its potential role in enacting social change.  Read more »

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

 

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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.

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What Did Charlie Kirk Say About LGBTQ+ People?

Via Daily Dharma: Question Your Thoughts

 

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Question Your Thoughts Thoughts are not a problem. None of us would want to be thoughtless individuals. None of us would want to lose the capacity to use our minds wisely. But are you using your mind wisely or are you caught in habitual patterns?  Shaila Catherine, “Knowing Our Thoughts as Thoughts” CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE

Navigating Change with Grace By Deborah Eden Tull Learn how turning towards darkness can help us be courageous.  Read more »

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Mental Action

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

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Via White Crane Institute \\ MARCUS LEATHERDALE

 

Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989
This Day in Gay History
September 18

Marcus Leatherdale by Robert Mapplethorpe

1952 -

MARCUS LEATHERDALE was a Canadian photographer born on this date (d: 2022); Leatherdale started his career in New York City during the early eighties.

Leatherdale first served as Robert Mapplethorpe's office manager for a while and was photographed in the nude by the master, grabbing a rope with his right hand and holding a rabbit in his left.

Thereafter he worked as an assistant curator to Sam Wagstaff. He soon became a darling of the then vibrant club scene and the fashionable media: Interview, Details, The New Yorker, Vanity Fair and Elle Decor presented his work. Later on he was featured in artsy publications as Artforum, Art News and Art in America. He documented the New York life style, the extraordinary people of Danceteria and Club 57 where he staged his first exhibits in 1980. Leatherdale was an acute observer of New York in the eighties. His models were the unknown but exceptional ones – like Larissa, Claudia Summers or Ruby Zebra – or well known artists – like Madonna, Winston Tong and Divine, Trisha Brown, Lisa Lyon, Andrée Putman, Kathy Acker, Jodie Foster and fellow photographer John Dugdale. For quite a while Leatherdale remained in Mapplethorpe's shadow, but was soon discovered as a creative force in his own right by Christian Michelides, the founder of Molotov Art Gallery in Vienna. Leatherdale flew to Vienna, presented his work there and was acclaimed by public and press.

This international recognition paved his way to museums and permanent collections such as the Rheinisches Landesmuseum Bonn, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Australian National Gallery in Canberra, the London Museum in Ontario and Austria's Albertina. Above all, his arresting portraits of New York City celebrities in the series Hidden Identities aroused long-lasting interest amongst curators and collectors.

In 1993, Leatherdale began spending half of each year in India's holy city of Banaras. Based in an ancient house in the centre of the old city, he began photographing the diverse and remarkable people there, from the holy men to celebrities, from royalty to tribals, carefully negotiating his way among some of India's most elusive figures to make his portraits. From the outset, his intention was to pay homage to the timeless spirit of India through a highly specific portrayal of its individuals. His pictures include princesses and boatmen, movie stars and circus performers, street beggars and bishops, mothers and children in traditional garb. Leatherdale explored how essentially unaffected much of the country has been by the passage of time; this approach is distinctly post-colonial. In 1999, Leatherdale relocated to Chottanagpur (Jharkhand) where he had been focusing on the Adivasis. His second home base was Serra da Estrela in the mountains of central Portugal.

The Medical Care Team in Chottanagpur was created by Amit and Ilona Ghosh, Nilika Lal, Marcus Leatherdale and Jorge Serio in 2002; it is a private service to help the local people medically and financially. As many people in India suffer needlessly due to misfortune and ignorance, the project helps to salvage lives which have been devastated by accidents or illness. By connecting patients with the appropriate doctors and proper facilities, the project helps get people back on their feet and regain their lost dignity.

Via The Tricycle Community \\ Three Teachings on Seizing the Moment

 

Browse our online courses » September 18, 2025 The Opportunity of Karma   In writer Ann Tashi Slater’s book Traveling in Bardo: The Art of Living in an Impermanent World, she recalls the time in her life when she mistakenly likened karma to fate—an avoidable outcome of past deeds, and a present reality over which we have no control. When she started learning more about Buddhism, she realized that this interpretation was missing the mark. Karma refers to action. It’s how we shape our path in every moment. Through mindful awareness and living virtuously, the Buddha said, we can consciously respond to our present. Yes, the present is a result of past actions and intentions, but with ethical action and intention, we find opportunity. We’re no longer bound by the causes and conditions that led to the ever-evolving present, but able to plant seeds for a positive future.  As Thanissaro Bhikkhu says, “You don’t have to resign yourself to the present moment as a given. You can develop the skills to make it more livable, through your generosity, virtue, and meditation, even in the face of negative influences from the past. In doing so, you can create good conditions for many present moments in the future.”  This week’s Three Teachings reminds us that we can always work for a better present. Forward today's teachings to a friend » The Karma of Now By Thanissaro Bhikkhu American Theravada Buddhist monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu explains why the present moment isn’t the goal. “The Buddha is focusing you on the present moment not for its own sake but for the sake of something that lies beyond.” Read more » Traveling in Bardo With Ann Tashi Slater In an interview on Tricycle Talks, writer Ann Tashi Slater discusses how we can be the artists of our own lives.  Listen now » Karma in Action By Andrew Olendzki Professor Andrew Olendzki explains that if we fail to pay attention to the present moment, learned behaviors and conditioned responses will propel us through unconscious decision-making when we could have instead increased our capacity for a wise response. Read more »