Publicado em 05/05/2013
Friday, August 1, 2014
A violência invisível - Monja Coen Roshi
Flower of the Day: 08/01/14
“At
some point, one tires of walking in the circles of ignorance, because
one becomes aware that one’s actions generate more and more suffering
each time. One sees oneself stuck in the same place, and feels a sincere
willingness to go beyond this place and to free oneself of all lies and
self-deceit. So one says: ‘I want to know what my responsibility is in
this game. Why do I keep repeating the same negative situations? Why am I
always falling in the same hole?’ At this moment, one commits oneself
to the truth, as much as it may hurt one’s vanity.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Ignorance is King | August 1, 2014
Ignorance is like the king, and
clinging attachment and hostility are his ministers. To rid ourselves of
the king's minions we must get rid of the king. And so it is of
greatest importance to identify ignorance properly.
- Geshe Sonam Rinchen, "Like a Pig In..."
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Via JMG: CHINA: Man Sues Search Engine For Directing Him To "Ex-Gay" Torture Clinic
Via the Associated Press:
Reposted from Joe Jervis
A gay Chinese man said Thursday he was suing a psychological clinic for carrying out electric shocks intended to turn him straight, as well as the search engine giant Baidu for advertising the center. The Beijing LGBT Center, which campaigns for gay rights, said it was the first court case involving so-called conversion therapy in China. China declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 2001. The center's executive director, Xin Ying, said some professional hospitals in China, as well as smaller private clinics, still provide conversion therapy and that the group hopes the case at the Haidian District People's Court in Beijing will lead to a ban on the therapy. Yang Teng, 30, told The Associated Press that the therapy given to him included hypnosis and electric shock and he was left physically and mentally hurt. He said he voluntarily underwent the therapy in February following pressure from his parents to get married and have a child.Local activists demonstrated outside the court today carrying a banner that read: "Homosexuality is not a disease, we don't need to be cured." A judgment in the case is expected by the end of the year.
Flower of the Day: 07/31/14
"When
you develop the virtue of trust to the point where you are able to
surrender yourself to the flow of life, you become a hollow bamboo flute
which God’s melody is played through."
Sri Prem Baba
Wednesday, July 30, 2014
Via JMG: UTAH: Language School Fires Teacher For Blog Post Explaining Homophones Because There And Their Is Totally Gay
Homophones, as any English grammarian can tell you, are words that sound the same but have different meanings and often different spellings — such as be and bee, through and threw, which and witch, their and there. This concept is taught early on to foreign students learning English because it can be confusing to someone whose native language does not have that feature. But when the social-media specialist for a private Provo-based English language learning center wrote a blog explaining homophones, he was let go for creating the perception that the school promoted a gay agenda. Tim Torkildson says after he wrote the blog on the website of his employer, Nomen Global Language Center, his boss and Nomen owner Clarke Woodger, called him into his office and told him he was fired. As Torkildson tells it, Woodger said he could not trust him and that the blog about homophones was the last straw. "Now our school is going to be associated with homosexuality," Woodger complained, according to Torkildson, who posted the exchange on his Facebook page.The school has denied the teacher's claim of homophonia - but has also deleted his post from its website. Their clunky mission statement could use some work: "Nomen Global Language Centers substantially helps students from all cultures and walks of life to excel in each aspect of their English acquisition and to obtain their goals for the future. We achieve this goal by means of qualified and experienced faculty, dedicated staff, engaging and challenging curriculum, and professional and ethical student services." (Tipped by JMG reader Joseph)
Flower of the Day: 07/30/14
"When
you fall in love with someone, you project all of your dreams onto them
and you start to daydream. The other person does the same thing, and
you both go on trying to keep this dream alive while avoiding the truth.
You avoid revealing yourself to the other, just as you avoid seeing the
other’s revelation because it could be a threat to your dream. Thus,
the truth becomes a threat, because you prefer to keep on living in your
dreamworld."
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Romantic Love | July 30, 2014
In Buddhist practice, we discover that
mindful attention can reveal a deeper truth in whatever object we are
paying attention to. The same is true in romantic love. When we use our
attention to touch and open the deeper truth in a person, we not only
catalyze the experience of love, we become love. The source of love is
revealed to be within us; we no longer have to go looking for it
somewhere outside.
- Nicole Daedone, "Love Becomes Her"
Via Daily Dharma
Blowin' in the Wind | July 29, 2014
How do we renounce? How do we work with
this tendency to block and to freeze and to refuse to take another step
toward the unknown? If our edge is like a huge stone wall with a door
in it, how do we learn to open the door and step through it again and
again, so that life becomes a process of growing up, becoming more and
more fearless and flexible, more and more able to play like a raven in
the wind?
Pema Chödrön, "Like a Raven in the Wind"
Monday, July 28, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/28/14
"We
waste a great part of our journey looking for someone to blame for our
unhappiness, and believing that we are not good or worthy enough to be
happy. This addiction to accusing others is so deeply rooted and can be
so subtle that, when you least expect it, you find yourself accusing the
other and believing that you are a helpless victim. But when you can
transform this victim within you and free yourself from the lenses that
distort your perception, you experience a major change in perspective:
you stop seeing the glass half empty and start seeing it as half full."
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Heart of Mine | July 28, 2014
Men ask the way to Cold Mountain
Cold Mountain: there’s no through trail.
In summer, ice doesn’t melt
The rising sun blurs in swirling fog.
How did I make it?
My heart’s not the same as yours.
If your heart was like mine
You’d get it and be right here.
Cold Mountain: there’s no through trail.
In summer, ice doesn’t melt
The rising sun blurs in swirling fog.
How did I make it?
My heart’s not the same as yours.
If your heart was like mine
You’d get it and be right here.
—Han-Shan and Gary Snyder, "Parting Words Summer 2014"
Sunday, July 27, 2014
Via Daily Dharma
Clear Insight | July 27, 2014
A clear insight into the nature of physical forms and mental events will release you from all suffering and stress.
—Upasika Kee Nanayon, "Tough Teachings to Ease the Mind"
Flower of the Day: 07/27/14
~ Worldwide current of Prabhu Ap Jago for peace in the Middle East ~
PRABHU AP JAGO, PARAMATMA JAGO, MERE SARVE JAGO, SARVATRA JAGO
“This mantra in itself only has an effect on the body, mind and spirit. But if one is aware of the meaning of the words and sings them with awareness, then this song is transformed into a prayer. It becomes a prayer from God to God. The meaning of this mantra is: ‘God awaken, God awaken in me, God awaken everywhere.’ But we can understand its meaning in other ways as well. Since we know that God is love, we are also saying: ‘May love awaken, may love awaken everywhere’, or still, ‘Open my heart, and with my heart open, I ask you to open the hearts of my brothers and sisters.”
PRABHU AP JAGO, PARAMATMA JAGO, MERE SARVE JAGO, SARVATRA JAGO
“This mantra in itself only has an effect on the body, mind and spirit. But if one is aware of the meaning of the words and sings them with awareness, then this song is transformed into a prayer. It becomes a prayer from God to God. The meaning of this mantra is: ‘God awaken, God awaken in me, God awaken everywhere.’ But we can understand its meaning in other ways as well. Since we know that God is love, we are also saying: ‘May love awaken, may love awaken everywhere’, or still, ‘Open my heart, and with my heart open, I ask you to open the hearts of my brothers and sisters.”
Sri Prem Baba
Friday, July 25, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/25/14
"Trust
and freedom are intimately related to vulnerability. Human beings fear
being vulnerable, which is why trust and freedom are rare phenomena. A
leaf doesn’t know where the wind is blowing, but that doesn't stop it
from going with the wind. If you are a leaf full of expectations, always
trying to control the wind's direction, your life will become full of
challenges. This controlling self is fear itself trying to make things
go the way it imagines they should be. But this approach always ends up
creating separation, destruction and suffering."
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
A Place for Desire | July 25, 2014
The ultimate aim of my own Buddhist
practice is an indestructibly confident and happy state of life through
which I can help suffering people. Finding a balanced place for desire
in that pursuit helps keep me motivated to do the hard, personal work
demanded of a Buddhist practitioner.
—Jamie Liptan, "Chanting for Stuff"
Thursday, July 24, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/24/14
"The mind tries to understand the truth, as it wants a rational answer to everything, so it actively seeks out these answers. But these answers only arrive when the mind quiets down. This is when you understand the truth, and when knowledge becomes wisdom. Knowledge only transforms into wisdom through experience, not through the mind."
Sri Prem Baba
|
Via Daily Dharma
Real Devotion | July 24, 2014
Real devotion only arises when you have
a glimpse of emptiness, some glimpse of the nature of mind. Once you
have some very precise insight as to how emptiness helps to alleviate
suffering, then devotion is based on a real, embodied experience.
—Kyabgön Phakchok Rinpoche, "Keys to Happiness"
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/23/14
"The
deepest reason for our being here on this planet is to awaken love.
This is what moves us in this world, what makes us get up in the
morning, and keeps us alive. Some people are aware of this, and they
experience the joy of being alive. If you are not aware of this, you
feel anxious because you are unable to find any meaning in life. You
have no reason to get up in the morning. This generates depression and
the feeling that you don’t belong. Giving meaning to life is a choice:
we choose what to do with our time. But we can only make this choice
once we are mature enough to hear our heart's calling, which is always
exclaiming, ‘Awaken love! Awaken in everyone and everywhere!’ "
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma:
Non-Lying | July 23, 2014
Fully facing, getting to know, and
actually welcoming the various kinds of liar that I am gives me a taste
of not excluding anything; a taste of no inside, no outside. The more I
can do this with no outcome or gaining idea in mind, the more
truth-speaking and selflessness can naturally arise.
—Roshi Nancy Mujo Baker, "Non-Lying"
Tuesday, July 22, 2014
Via Gay Politics Report: White House bans LGBT discrimination by federal contractors
President Barack Obama on Monday signed an executive order protecting LGBT employees of federal contractors and the federal government from workplace discrimination. The order makes it illegal to fire or harass employees of federal contractors based on their sexual orientation or gender identity and also bans discrimination against transgender employees of the federal government. The order did not include a religious exemption opposed by LGBT groups. NBC News (7/21), The Huffington Post (7/21), Politico (Washington, D.C.) (7/21), The Washington Post (tiered subscription model)/PostPartisan blog (7/21)
Flower of the Day: 07/22/14
"Who
am I? Who inhabits this body? Who is playing this game of life? Why am I
here and what am I here for? Why am I being led to live certain
experiences? Sensible people ask themselves these questions. This
sensibility is where you begin remembering who you really are."
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma:
Mindful of the Dharma | July 22, 2014
We can be mindful of the dharma as we
go about our lives. Then we notice our imperfections, but rather than
becoming frustrated by our inability to rid ourselves of these
shortcomings, we notice that our interdependence with all life also
brings us kindness and joy, unconditionally.
—Rev. Patricia Kanaya Usuki, "The Great Compassion"
Via JMG: IDAHO: "Add The Four Words" Protesters Given Light Sentences By Cheering Judge
Via Idaho's Spokesman-Review:
The last of more than 100 Idahoans arrested this year in gay-rights protests at the state Capitol were sentenced in a four-hour-plus hearing Monday, and the judge had this message for them: “I respect your courage in doing what you did.” The protesters took part in “Add the 4 Words” demonstrations during this year’s session of the Idaho Legislature, standing silently, hands over their mouths, and refusing to leave until lawmakers agreed to hold a hearing on legislation to amend the Idaho Human Rights Act – or until they were arrested. No hearing was held. The protesters want the words “sexual orientation” and “gender identity” added to the types of discrimination banned by the act. Lawmakers have refused to hold a hearing on the proposed legislation for the past nine years.The vast majority of the protesters, who were arrested only once, had their charges dismissed. Another two dozen activists who had been arrested multiple times were fined $10 per arrest plus court costs. (Tipped by JMG reader Javier)
RELATED: The entire national LGBT movement should heed the actions of our heroes in Idaho. Adding those four words (sexual orientation and gender identity) to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is our only way forward after the crumbling of ENDA.
Monday, July 21, 2014
Via JMG: MINNESOTA: Vikings Coach Suspended For Anti-Gay Remarks, Kluwe Vindicated
The Vikings said that three-game suspension could be reduced to two games provided that Priefer "also attend individualized anti-harassment, diversity and sexual-orientation sensitivity training." Priefer also apologized in a statement. "I owe an apology to many people -- the Wilf family, the Minnesota Vikings organization and fans, my family, the LGBT community, Chris Kluwe and anyone else that I offended with my insensitive remark," Priefer said. "I regret what has occurred and what I said. I am extremely sorry but I will learn from this situation and will work on educating others to create more tolerance and respect." The team announced that it would donate $100,000 to LGBT rights charitable and educational organizations.The Vikings report also contains "negative information" about Kluwe, prompted him to threaten to release more "dirty" stories about the Vikings. He also said that his $10M lawsuit against the team will continue. The Vikings' action against Preifer is being denounced as "homofascism" across Teabagistan.
The Vikings lawyers acknowledge that Kluwe was encouraged by Vikings management to scale back his activism in support of LGBT rights, but insist it was completely unrelated to the substance of his activism. The analysis claims that “players and management were concerned about the distraction that Kluwe’s activism was creating, as opposed to the nature and content of his activism.” Of course, it was the “nature and content of his activism” that ultimately created the “distraction.” It’s hard to image if Kluwe was speaking out to reduce childhood obesity that it would have become an issue.
Although the full investigation has not been released, the Vikings lawyers did make sure to include information that casts Kluwe in a negative light. Specifically, the analysis alleges that Kluwe made crude jokes about the Penn State rape scandal. Kluwe appeared to confirm the allegations were true on Twitter but that the jokes were pervasive throughout the entire team. No one claims Kluwe was fired for the jokes so it’s unclear what relevance they had to the investigation.
Flower of the Day: 07/21/14
"One
of the mind's numerous traps is guilt. People easily go from being the
victim, to feeling guilty and condemning themselves for being in a bad
situation. This is one way of keeping oneself stuck in a hole.
Self-responsibility is not blaming oneself; one instead recognizes what
exactly lures one into a hole or towards some negative situation.
Examples of these situations could be having financial difficulties,
problems in a relationship, dissatisfaction with one’s professional
life, or even an existential anguish."
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
At Ease in Goodness | July 21, 2014
Moral resolve is like this. A noble
person does not do good because of willpower. She does it through a
combination of, on the one hand, modesty about self, and, on the other
hand, faith in a higher purpose, a higher meaning, in powers more potent
than self-will. Such a person is not moral through gritted teeth. She
is at ease in goodness.
—David Brazier, "Other-Power"
Sunday, July 20, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/19/14
"As
difficult as the symptoms may be, this planetary transformation is a
change for the better. The sustainability crisis, the economic crisis,
the lack of water and food – all of this is happening precisely to
create space for a new vision to emerge, a new way of looking at life in
a way that includes spirituality. As long as we believe that nature is
spiritless, or something to be negotiated for like a product, nature
will show its limits. As long as the economy is based on a fear of
scarcity and money remains at the service of greed, it is natural that a
there will be a collapse in the system. Change comes to shine light on
these aspects of life."
Sri Prem Baba
Buddhism for Our Time | July 20, 2014
Since we find ourselves living at a
time when it is the individual and not the group that is privileged and
empowered, we should acknowledge that, like practitioners throughout
history, we orient our Buddhisms to the realities we’ve constructed
rather than the other way around.
—John Nelson, “Experimental Buddhism”
Friday, July 18, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/18/14
"We
can translate the journey of life as the transition from the false to
the real, from the sleeping state to the state of awakening. Once awake,
we stop projecting the contents of our minds or dreams onto the other
and we discover that separation is but an illusion. We find unity within
multiplicity. We finally discover the answer to the big question, ‘Who
am I?’ Then, all other questions disappear and our minds start to be at
peace. This happens because we begin to have a profound understanding of
the play of life, and this brings us contentment and satisfaction."
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
Inspiration from the Inside | July 18, 2014
Inspiration must come from within
ourselves. If we hope to get inspiration from the outside—as if it was
falling from the sky—this is wrong. It should be like water coming out
of a source. From where else could we receive it?
—Myongsong Sunim, “What Does Being a Buddhist Mean to You?”
Thursday, July 17, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/17/14
"The
essence of codependency lies in one’s need for the other to suffer in
order for one to be happy. Codependency is when one needs the other to
feel inferior so one can feel superior, or for the other to feel
helpless so one can feel powerful."
Sri Prem Baba
Wednesday, July 16, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/16/14
“There
are moments along one’s journey when there is nothing to be done. One
must give in, because even though there is a desperate controlling
self inside of oneself, it cannot do anything at all. This moment comes
when one realizes the senselessness of trying to force things to happen
in a different way than life is providing. In other words, one
perceives the absurdity of trying to go against the flow of life. This
is not an easy passage because it requires a deep trust in divine
justice. One is being called to discover the wisdom of uncertainty, and
should begin to value the signs that appear along the way, even if they
seem unfair.”
Sri Prem Baba
Monday, July 14, 2014
Flower of the Day: 07/14/14
“The
world is full of distractions that can completely overwhelm you. The
mind can easily be dragged down and fall into decay. This is the nature
of the world. It is your work to learn how to walk the fine line of
living in the world without getting lost in it. This is the path of the yogi,
the one who becomes Lord of himself. On this path, it is important that
you be able to rein in your mind in order to re-inform it. To this end,
I suggest practicing silence daily, even if it’s for short periods of
time.”
Sri Prem Baba
Via Daily Dharma
The Results of Practice | July 14, 2014
One becomes an ordinary person, but in
an extraordinary way. Your words are still there, your hang-ups may
still be there, you still have to deal with all your karmic baggage and
so on, but you see it in a totally different light. You’re at peace with
yourself, at peace with the world. Not in a complacent sense, but in
the sense that you can simply devote yourself to a life of compassion.
—L.F. Habito, “Other Fingers Pointing to the Moon”
Sunday, July 13, 2014
Via JMG: World Health Organization: ALL Gay Men Should Be On Anti-Retroviral Drugs
The World Health Organization has suggested for the first time that all men who have sex with men should take antiretroviral medicine, warning that HIV infection rates among gay men are exploding around the world. In guidelines published Friday, it said that it “strongly recommends men who have sex with men consider taking antiretroviral medicines as an additional method of preventing HIV infection.” Similar guidelines were issued by the U.S. in May.In May, the CDC expanded its own recommendations, saying that anybody at risk for HIV, not just gay men, should be taking Truvada.
JMG Editorial Of The Day
From the editorial board of the New York TImes:
President Obama should resist a pressure campaign by some religious groups to weaken a promised executive order that would prohibit federal contractors from discriminating against gay men, lesbians and transgender people in their hiring practices.(Tipped by JMG reader Win)
Emboldened by the Supreme Court’s addlebrained Hobby Lobby decision, several groups wrote to Mr. Obama on July 1 asking him to allow federal contractors to fire or refuse to hire workers based on their religious objections to a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
This is not a question of religious freedom. It is a question of whether to allow religion to be used as an excuse to discriminate in employment against a particular group of people. Many states already have laws protecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender workers. There is no such federal law, so the presidential order (promised but not yet produced) would extend those rules to companies that receive federal contracts in states without those kinds of anti-bias laws, protecting millions more people.
Mr. Obama’s resolve is being tested. There is no good reason to give religious employers a special privilege to inflict undeserved pain by, for example, refusing to hire someone to work on a government-backed project just because she happens to be a lesbian, or firing a capable employee who marries someone of the same sex.
Labels: Barack Obama, Christianists, employment, executive orders, feds, Hobby Lobby, LGBT rights, New York Times, Obama administration, religion
Via JMG: Ian Thorpe On Coming Out
Via the Guardian:
On Sunday night on Australian television Thorpe faced Sir Michael Parkinson to overturn what he said had become the "big lie" in his life. "What happened was, I felt that the lie had become so big that I didn't want people to question my integrity and a little bit of ego comes into this," Thorpe said in a 90-minute interview on the Ten network. "I didn't want people to think that I had lied about everything." Now 31, the swimmer said the words he had been avoiding: "I'm not straight and this is only something that very recently – we're talking in the past two weeks – I've been comfortable telling the closest people around me." His mother was shocked; his friends less so. But everyone had embraced him and he was relieved. When the interview goes to air in Australia, he said, I can finally "breathe out".
(Via Towleroad)
Reposted from Joe Jervis
Via Robert Reich / FB
The
real dividing line in America today isn’t between conservatives and
liberals or between Democrats and Republicans. It’s between the haters
and the big-hearted. The haters direct their venom not just at child
refugees seeking asylum from the drug war we created, but also at gays
who want to marry, African-Americans who want to vote and exercise their
other rights of citizenship, women who seek abortions, or even women in
general, Latinos who want their children to be taught in Spanish,
immigrants in general, Muslims, Jews, government “bureaucrats,” the poor
and needy, anyone who dares suggest a required background check before
buying guns, people they call “liberals” or “socialists” or
“communists,” even the President of the United States. The haters are
enflamed by hate-mongers in the media who blame the nation’s troubles on
“them.” The haters are loud and angry; they yell and wave their signs
before the cameras. But the haters are not America. They are a small and
vocal minority. Most Americans are generous and welcoming, decent and
kind-hearted. We are the silent majority, who have been silent too long.
- Robert Reich
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