Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Sakka asked: "What is the cause of self-interest?" The Buddha answered: "It is perception of the world as one's object." "How does one overcome this perception of the world as apart from oneself?" "By acting for the increase of goodness and happiness. It is in this way that the world ceases to be one's object." - Digha Nikaya More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 16, 2013

Meditation in Action

Buddhism often appears to promote personal transformation at the expense of social concern. Some Buddhist teachings claim that the mind does not just affect the world, it actually creates and sustains it. According to this view, cosmic harmony is most effectively preserved through an individual's spiritual practice. Yet other Buddhists amend the notion that mind is the primary or exclusive source of peace, contending that inner serenity is fostered or impeded by external conditions. Buddhists who place importance upon social factors and social action believe that internal transformation cannot, by itself, quell the world's turbulence.

- Kenneth Kraft, “Meditation in Action”

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Via JMG: ¡Viva los Gigantes!

GLAAD To Honor SF Giants

Next month the world champion San Francisco Giants will become the first professional sports team to be honored by GLAAD.

In 1994, the San Francisco Giants became the first-ever professional sports team to host an HIV/AIDS benefit game, "Until There's A Cure Day." Since then, the Giants and the Giants Community Fund have repeated the effort, generating more than $1.3 million for Bay Area HIV/AIDS education, care/service organizations and international HIV/AIDS research. The Giants were also the first major league sports team to record a video for the It Gets Better Project, a campaign devoted to bettering the lives LGBT youth.  Last September, pitcher Matt Cain, the longest tenured player on the team, was photographed for the NOH8 Campaign in response to California's passing of Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to ban marriage for same-sex couples. In October, the Giants took yet another stand in support of LGBT youth by participating in Spirit Day, GLAAD's annual anti-bullying campaign.

The event takes place on May 11th.

Labels: baseball, GLAAD, San Francisco, sports

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Whose minds are well-developed in the factors of self-awakening, who delight in non-clinging, relinquishing grasping-- resplendent, their effluents ended: they, in the world, are Unbound. - Dhammapada, 6, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu. More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 15, 2013

Living a Virtuous Life

Buddhist practice is never about creating goals and trying to achieve them. It’s about learning to see clearly for ourselves our own real state in each and every moment. As we come to see what life really is, we begin to behave more logically and ethically, because that’s what makes sense.

- Brad Warner, “The Enlightenment Pill”

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Via JMG: State Department Announces LGBT Rights Program For Western Hemisphere

Yesterday the State Department's Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs announced a new program:

Secretary of State John Kerry has committed to advancing the human rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) individuals as a central part of our human rights engagement. Taking into account the Secretary’s commitment as well as the Presidential Memorandum issued December 6, 2011, that directs all federal agencies engaged abroad to ensure that U.S. diplomacy and foreign assistance promote and protect the human rights of LGBT persons, the Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs has developed a regional strategy that strives to eliminate violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
Respect for the human rights of LGBT persons in the Western Hemisphere varies dramatically by country. Some countries offer legal protections for LGBT persons, whereas others have laws that criminalize same-sex sexual conduct between consenting adults. Recognizing that violence and discrimination based on a person’s real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity hinder the prosperity of countries.

The four-part strategy of the new program: 1) Expand public outreach and awareness of LGBT issues; 2) Create and leverage existing partnerships and programs; 3) Collaborate with multilateral partners; and 4) Engage directly with host country governments.

Labels: LGBT rights, Obama administration, State Department

Reposted from Joe

JMG HomoQuotable - Dan Savage

"My father was a Catholic deacon, my mother was a lay minister and I thought about becoming a priest. I was in church every Sunday for the first 15 years of my life. Now I spend my Sundays on my bike, on my snowboard or on my husband. I haven’t spent my post-Catholic decades in a sulk, wishing the church would come around on the issue of homosexuality so that I could start attending Mass again. I didn’t abandon my faith. I saw through it. The conflict between my faith and my sexuality set that process in motion, but the conclusions I reached at the end of that process — there are no gods, religion is man-made, faith can be a force for good or evil — improved my life. I’m grateful that my sexuality prompted me to think critically about faith. Pushed out? No. I walked out." - Dan Savage, from his New York Times book review of Jeff Chu's Does Jesus Really Love Me?

Labels: books, Dan Savage, HomoQuotable, religion

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 14, 2013

The Light of Reality 

The sense of self creates a feeling of solidity, like the apparent solidity of the clouds veiling the face of the sun, but at certain moments a gap is opened up, through which we may receive a glimpse of the light of reality.

- Francesca Freemantle, “The Luminous Gap in Bardo”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through April 15th, 2013
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 13, 2013

Great Enlightenment

Great enlightenment is the tea and rice of daily activity.

- Dogen, “Tea and Rice”

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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 12, 2013

Simple Practice

It’s definitely the case that we can practice at any given moment. We can always try a little more to be kind, to be compassionate and be careful about what we do and say.

- Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche, "Keeping a Good Heart"

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Via JMG: Marriage Equality Nations

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Subhuti asked: "What does buddha mean?" The Buddha answered: "Buddha is reality. One who thoroughly comprehends all the factors of existence is a buddha." - Prajnaparamita More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via JMG: Missouri Man Arrested For Refusing To Leave Partner's Hospital Bedside

A gay man in Missouri has been arrested after refusing to leave his partner's hospital beside when the ill man's family demanded that he be ejected from the premises. Via Raw Story:

Roger Gorley [on the right in this photo] told WDAF that even though he has power of attorney to handle his partner’s affairs, a family member asked him to leave when he visited Research Medical Center in Kansas City on Tuesday. Gorley said he refused to leave his partner Allen’s bedside, and that’s when security put him in handcuffs and escorted him from the building. “I was not recognized as being the husband, I wasn’t recognized as being the partner,” Gorley explained. He said the nurse refused to confirm that the couple shared power of attorney and made medical decision for each other. “She didn’t even bother to look it up, to check in to it,” the Lee’s Summit resident recalled.

The arrested man in now under a restraining order and may not enter the hospital grounds at all. A hospital spokesman has issued a statement.

"We believe involving the family is an important part of the patient care process. And, the patient`s needs are always our first priority. When anyone becomes disruptive to providing the necessary patient care, we involve our security team to help calm the situation and to protect our patients and staff. If the situation continues to escalate, we have no choice but to request police assistance."

The arrested man says he and his partner were joined in a civil union five years ago. Civil unions, of course, are not legally recognized by the state of Missouri. (Tipped by JMG reader Str8 Grandmother)
RELATED: In 2010 President Obama mandated that any hospital that receives federal funding such as Medicare or Medicaid must allow visitation privileges for same-sex partners.

Labels: disgusting, hospital rights, LGBT rights, Missouri

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 11, 2013

See the World in a Moment

It is very important to see your life not only from the narrow view of your egoistic telescope but also from the broad view of the universal telescope called egolessness. This is why we have to practice. Right in the middle of the stream of time, we have to open our eyes there and see the total picture of time. Through spiritual practice we can go beyond our egoistic point of view. We can touch the core of time, see the whole world in a moment, and understand time in deep relationship with all beings.

- Dainin Katagiri, “Time Revisited”

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Via Marriage Equality USA / FB:

Marriage Equality USA

 

 

 

The legislature has until 6/20/13 to approve a bill, or the courts have threatened to instate marriage equality on their own.

Colombia: Senate Marriage Equality Debate to Begin Next Wednesday

purpleunions.com

 

After a bumpy start, the Colombia Senate will open its debate on a proposed gay marriage bill on Wednesday, April 17. Colombia Senate President Roy Barreras said in an announcement that LGBT community leaders may choose a spokesman to participate in the debate, the Spanish news agency AFP reported..

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 10, 2013

Beyond the Reach of Stress

We should be intent on cleansing and polishing our hearts so that they can gain release from their worries and preoccupations, the source of pain and discontent. Peace, coolness, and a bright happiness will arise within us, in the same way as when we unshackle ourselves from our encumbering burdens and debts. We'll be free—beyond the reach of all suffering and stress.

- Ajaan Lee, “Sowing the Seeds of Freedom”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through April 11th, 2013
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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	A monk asked, All of the buddhas and all of the buddadharmas come forth from this sutra. What is this sutra? Qinshan said, Forever turning. - Zens Chinese Heritage More Buddhism Quotes >>

LEVANTA-TE! - Não Aceites o Bullying Homofóbico

Via JMG: CNN Poll: Obama's Approval Ratings Are Highest Regarding LGBT Rights

 

The president's overall approval rating is 51%.  That's up four points since last month but is four points below his all-time high.  When those polled were asked about specific issues, only his "policies towards gays and lesbians" scored over 50%.

Labels: Barack Obama, CNN, LGBT rights, polls

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: We Need An Executive Order On LGBT Employees And Federal Contractors

In 2008 then-Sen. Obama promised to deliver an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against employees on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.  Since then the White House has repeatedly said that a legislative solution that would affect all employers is the goal. But that goal, ENDA, very clearly is out of reach while the GOP controls the House.  So how about that executive order? Chris Geidner reports some new stats at Buzzfeed:

Nearly $250 billion in federal contracts given out in the last fiscal year went to contractors operating in states where the companies could fire a worker solely because the person is gay, lesbian or bisexual, a new report has found. A group of organizations that have been urging President Obama to sign an executive order banning federal contractors from discriminating against LGBT workers will be releasing the new report Tuesday as a step in increasing pressure on the president to act during tax time.

The report, a copy of which was provided to BuzzFeed Monday night, also has found that nearly $300 billion in federal contracts were given out in states that have no specific state-level protections against anti-transgender discrimination.

Although federal government employees are protected from anti-LGBT discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, there is currently no protection for employees of federal contractors against sexual orientation discrimination and protections against gender identity discrimination are unclear. And while most of the top federal contractors have policies against LGBT discrimination, the report aims to draw attention to the limits employees would have in states without legal protections.

While an executive order would only affect companies that do business with the federal government, it's a start. A start with $250B in federal money attached to it.

Labels: employment, ENDA, feds, LGBT rights

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 9, 2013

The Ground of Compassion

To be truly and wholly present even for the briefest moment is to be vulnerable, for we have arrived at the point where the obstacle that fear constructs between ourselves and others dissolves. It is here that the heart is drawn out of hiding and the inherent sympathetic response called compassion arises.

- Lin Jensen, “An Ear to the Ground”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through April 10th, 2013
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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	As a Buddhist monk my concern extends to all members of the human family and, indeed, to all sentient beings who suffer. I believe all suffering is caused by ignorance. People inflict pain on others in the selfish pursuit of their own happiness or satisfaction. - His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Nobel Peace Prize Acceptance Speech, Oslo, December 1989 More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via JMG: REPORT: Gay Couples Will Not Be Included In Immigration Reform Bill

The director of Immigration Equality said today that she does not expect that gay couples will in included in the immigration reform bill about to be introduced in the US Senate. Michael Lavers reports at Washington Blade:

“We are not expecting LGBT families to be included in the Gang of 8 bill,” she told the Washington Blade during a conference call ahead of a rally in support of comprehensive immigration reform on Wednesday that is expected to draw tens of thousands of people to the U.S. Capitol. “That in our minds means that of course the bill is incomplete.” Tiven’s comments come roughly three months after President Obama publicly unveiled an immigration reform proposal that includes bi-national gay couples.

Rep. Jerrold Nadler confirmed to the Blade  that "LGBT-specific language will likely not appear in the bill. Nadler: "This is disappointing but not particularly surprising."

Labels: immigration, Immigration Equality, Senate

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: OREGON: Haters Lose Bid To Rewrite Marriage Ban Ballot Measure

Oregon's Attorney General has rejected the "absurd" bid of an anti-gay group to rewrite a proposed 2014 ballot measure to overturn that state's ban on same-sex marriage.

The attorney general's office on Friday announced its final wording on a ballot title -- and it rejected the legal argument from an attorney for the Oregon Family Council that the title should reflect the notion that the initiative would require every governmental agency in Oregon to issue marriage licenses. Basic Rights Oregon, the gay-rights group sponsoring the initiative, has rejected that argument as absurd. It says county clerks would continue to be the only ones issuing marriage licenses if this initiative is approved by voters.

Here is the ballot language approved by the state: "Amends Constitution: Recognizes marriage between couples of same gender; protects clergy/religious institutions' refusal to perform marriages."  Basic Rights Oregon has until July 2014 to collect 116,000 petition signatures.

Labels: 2014 elections, marriage equality, Oregon

Reposted from Joe

Via JMG: Dan Savage On Margaret Thatcher

"I was living in London—waiting tables, seeing plays, stealing silver, pining after British boys—when Section 28 was being debated. The law prompted Ian McKellen to come out of the closet and it prompted some righteous lesbian parents to tag Thatcher billboard with "Lesbians Mums Aren't Pretending." Coming at the height of the AIDS epidemic, Section 28 instilled panic. It felt like this law might the first of many anti-gay laws to come. Instead Section 28 was the beginning of the end for political homophobia in the UK. Because McKellen wasn't the only gay person to come out in protest. And you know what happens when gay people come out. So thanks for that, Maggie." - Dan Savage, writing for Slog.

Labels: Britain, Dan Savage, LGBT rights, Margaret Thatcher

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	When everything is clean-clear in your own mind, nobody can create obstacles for you. - Lama Thubten Yeshe, "The Bliss of Inner Fire" More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 8, 2013

Putting Your Body to Good Use

What should you do to put your body to good use? Most people have no idea. A craftsman who borrows some tools will try to make the best possible use of them while they are available. Your body, too, is actually on loan to you for the time being, for the brief period left before it is taken back from you by death. Had you better not use it to practice the dharma while you can?

- Dilgo Khyentse, "The Day After You Die"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through April 9th, 2013
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Vua JMG: Tenth Brazilian State Legalizes Marriage

The Brazilian state of Parana has become the tenth in that nation to legalize same-sex marriage.

According to a count by the office of Rep. Jean Wyllys, Brazil's first openly gay lawmaker, ten states out of twenty-seven now automatically convert such unions into marriage, they include: Alagoas, Bahia, Ceara, Sergipe, Espiritu Santo, Piaui, Sao Paulo, Parana, Mato Grosso do Sul and the Federal District.

Marriages conducted in those ten states are recognized nationwide. (Via Zack Ford)

Labels: Brazil, marriage equality, South America

Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 6, 2013

An Ever-Present Refuge

Love and compassion make us feel safe because they express the safety of their source—the deep buddhanature within us, the unchanging inner space of primal awareness that cannot be harmed. By receiving unconditional love and compassion from those who’ve awakened before us, we sense that we too can relax into the very source of such love in the unconditioned nature of our minds, our buddhanature.

- John Makransky, "Aren't We Right to be Angry?"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through April 7th, 2013
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Via Being Gay Becoming Gray - With Passion, Beauty and a Sense of Adventure / FB:

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

 April 5, 2013

Seeing Possibility in Suffering

Being intolerant of suffering, in the Buddhist sense, does not mean that we reject it or fight against it. It means that we stop and look at it, not morbidly, but with faith in the possibility of living a joyful and peaceful life.

- Gil Fronsdal, "Living Two Traditions"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through April 6th, 2013
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 4, 2013

Lighten Your Load

Consider the possibility, and I am only saying consider the possibility, that maybe nothing is unforgivable. Maybe there is a way to find forgiveness even for what we have believed for so long to be unforgivable. Explore this mindfully.

- Allan Lokos, “Lighten Your Load”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through April 5th, 2013
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Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Whoever, with a rod, harasses an innocent man, unarmed, quickly falls into any of ten things: harsh pains, devastation, a broken body, grave illness, mental derangement, trouble with the government, violent slander, relatives lost, property dissolved, houses burned down. At the break-up of the body this one with no disconcernment, reappears in hell. - Dhammapada, 137-140, translated by Thanissaro Bhikkhu More Buddhism Quotes >>

JMG Quote Of The Day - Kobe Bryant

"Of course Magic is supportive of and loves his son.  Why should anyone be surprised? What I can't tolerate is a lack of tolerance." - NBA superstar Kobe Bryant, responding to yesterday's TMZ story about Magic Johnson's support for his gay son. TMZ ponders: "The strong implication -- tolerance is not just limited to parents and their kids, but to pro athletes whose teammates may soon come out of the closet. In case you aren't reading between the lines -- given Kobe's stature, his statement could have a huge impact on athletes coming out."

Labels: basketball, coming out, gay athletes, Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson, NBA, sports, TMZ

Reposted from Joe

Via Mitt Witt for runner up / FB:

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 3, 2013

Nirvana Right Now

Maybe we think that nirvana is a place where there are no problems, no more delusions. Maybe we think nirvana is something very beautiful, something unattainable. We always think nirvana is something very different from our own life. But we must really understand that it is right here, right now.

- Maezumi Roshi, “Appreciate Your Life”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through April 4th, 2013
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Via JMG: Uruguay Approves Same-Sex Marriage!

 

Moments ago the Uruguay Senate approved its marriage equality bill by a vote of 23-8. The bill now returns to the nation's lower legislative chamber to reconcile a minor change.  President Jose Mujica has promised to sign the bill and marriages should commence within a few months. ¡Felicidades Uruguay!
UPDATE: Freedom To Marry cheers via press release.

“Freedom to Marry applauds the people of Uruguay and their government for moving forward into a future in which all loving and committed couples can share in the freedom to marry and the meaning and protections marriage brings to families. Uruguay’s vote today to move past civil union to marriage itself, Argentina’s enactment of the freedom to marry in 2010 and the Mexico Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling last month in favor of the freedom to marry -- citing the U.S Supreme Court cases of Brown v. Board of Education and Loving v. Virginia -- all are inspirations and examples decision-makers here in the United States, including our Supreme Court justices, should swiftly follow to get the U.S. where it needs to be.”

Labels: marriage equality, South America, Uruguay

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	He who has put away evil, who is humble, free from impurity, self restrained, versed in knowledge, leading a holy life, That man may be truly called a Brahmana. For him there are no desires anywhere in the world. - Udana More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 2, 2013

Spacious Mind

Most of our suffering comes from habitual thinking. If we try to stop it out of aversion to thinking, we can’t; we just go on and on and on. So the important thing is not to get rid of thought, but to understand it. And we do this by concentrating on the space in the mind, rather than on the thought.

- Ajahn Sumedho, “Noticing Space”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through April 3rd, 2013
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Via JMG: Uruguay To Advance Marriage Tomorrow

Rex Wockner passes along this email from Uruguay's LGBT rights group.

The Uruguayan Senate will vote the marriage equality bill tomorrow, Tuesday, April 2. As you may remember, the bill had been passed by the Chamber of Deputies in December, but the Senate has modified it. According to our Constitution, those modifications will have to be confirmed by the Deputies for the bill to be finally approved. The modifications are minor and do not affect the bill's essence. We know the bill will be passed by both Chambers by an overwhelming majority, and in a speedy way. After this Tuesday's vote by the Senate, the lower chamber will probably vote and pass it in one or two weeks (all in April). Once passed, the government has up to 90 days to regulate it, i.e., to make the necessary changes in red tape to implement it. Hopefully, the first couples will be getting married in July/August.

Zoom, zoom, zoom.

Labels: marriage equality, South America, Uruguay

Reposted from Joe

Via Buddhism on Beliefnet:

	Daily Buddhist Wisdom
	Live in joy, In love, Even among those who hate. Live in joy, In health, Even among the afflicted. Live in joy, In peace, Even among the troubled. Look within. Be still. Free from fear and attachment, Know the sweet joy of the way. - from the Dhammapada More Buddhism Quotes >>

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma April 1, 2013

A Kind Heart

In order to cultivate a truly loving and kind heart, we need to develop the practices that cultivate and strengthen forgiveness and the natural compassion within us. Our ability to forgive allows us to make space for our ability to meet suffering—our suffering as well as the suffering of others—with a kind heart.

- Gina Sharpe, “The Power of Forgiveness”

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