Tuesday, October 8, 2013

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 8, 2013

A Serious Engagement

When we engage seriously with the Buddhist tradition we learn other ways of construing the world, other stories we can tell about the way things are, and these can be cogent, coherent, and compelling in their own way. This is not to argue for a naive acceptance of Buddhist epistemology and cosmology. But we won't see what Buddhism has to offer if, at the outset, we twist it out of shape to make it conform to contemporary norms.
- Robert Sharf, "Losing Our Religion"
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Monday, October 7, 2013

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 7, 2013

Spacious Mind

Noticing the space around people and things provides a different way of looking at them, and developing this spacious view is a way of opening oneself. When one has a spacious mind, there is room for everything. When one has a narrow mind, there is room for only a few things.
- Ajahn Sumedho, “Noticing Space”
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Sunday, October 6, 2013

Via JMG: CALIFORNIA: Governor Signs Bill Allowing Children More Than Two Legal Parents


After vetoing a similar measure last year, California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed a bill which allows children to have more than two legal parents.
Sen. Mark Leno (D-San Francisco) said he authored the measure to address the changes in family structure in California, including situations in which same-sex couples have a child with an opposite-sex biological parent. The law will allow the courts to recognize three or more legal parents so that custody and financial responsibility can be shared by all those involved in raising a child, Leno said. "Courts need the ability to recognize these changes so children are supported by the adults that play a central role in loving and caring for them," Leno said. "It is critical that judges have the ability to recognize the roles of all parents so that no child has to endure separation from one of the adults he or she has always known as a parent."
Anti-gay groups, of course, are furious about the bill.
posted by Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 6, 2013

Forgive

Forgiveness is really not about someone’s harmful behavior; it’s about our own relationship with our past. When we begin the work of forgiveness, it is primarily a practice for ourselves.
- Gina Sharpe, “The Power of Forgiveness”
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Saturday, October 5, 2013

Via JMG: Married


 
The gay Marine whose homecoming kiss went globally viral last year got married to his boyfriend yesterday in a small town the Finger Lakes area of western New York. Hit the link for more.


Reposted from Joe

Friday, October 4, 2013

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 4, 2013

Nothing to Get, Everything to Give

On the spiritual path, there's nothing to get, and everything to get rid of. Obviously, the first thing to let go of is trying to 'get' love, and instead to give it. That's the secret of the spiritual path. How can we give ourselves? By not holding back. By not wanting for ourselves. If we want to be loved, we are looking for a support system. If we want to love, we are looking for spiritual growth.
- Ayya Khema, "What Love Is"
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Via JMG: State Department Updates Russia LGBT Travel Warning, Cites "Propanganda" Ban


Source.


Reposted from Joe

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Via JMG: Germany Unveils Rainbow Olympic Outfits


 
German athletes will wear the above rainbow-hued uniforms at the Sochi Olympics, but officials insist the design is not intended as a commentary on Russia's anti-gay laws. Der Spiegel reports:
The uniforms were created by German designer Willy Bogner, in cooperation with Adidas and the shoe company Sioux. Bogner claims they were an homage to the aesthetics of the 1972 Munich Summer Games and said he wanted to create a "celebratory design, inspired by the great atmosphere of the times." It conveniently comes in the wake of Munich's announcement that it will bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics, which, if it is successful, would make it the first city ever to have hosted both the winter and summer games.
But other commentators have seen a more explicitly political message in the uniforms. On Twitter, German users interpreted the uniforms "as a rainbow pattern" and as a "clear political statement." "Looks great, like a gay and lesbian pride parade," wrote one user. "Extremely hideous -- but a well-intentioned move supporting the rights of gays and lesbians," wrote another. The official description, which claims the outfits "were created using colors and materials specially tailored to the conditions in Sochi" seemed to, in ambiguous fashion, support that interpretation.
The German Olympic Sports Confederation insists that the design was finalized "before the Russian protests had even begun." (Tipped by JMG reader Elroy)


Reposted from Joe

Lewis Black Skewers Barilla Chairman for Anti-Gay Remarks


Via the Advocate: Two Same-Sex Couples Married in Colombia

After a 2011 court ruling that ordered the Colombian Congress to create equal relationship recognition for same-sex couples, gay and lesbian Colombians are finally tying the knot.

BY Sunnivie Brydum

September 30 2013 5:22 PM ET

 
26
Two same-sex couples have become the first to be legally married in Colombia, reports LGBT Latino blog Blabbeando

Colombian attorney and LGBT advocate Germán Humerto Rincón Perfetti announced Wednesday that a civil court judge had declared Julio Alberto Cantor Borbón and William Alberto Castro Franco "united in civil matrimony" following a September 20 ceremony, according to Blabbeando. 

On Monday, the nation's leading newspaper published a front-page article announcing the legal marriage of Elizabeth Castillo and Claudia Zea, who were also granted a marriage license by a different civil court judge Wednesday. 

"I join you in a legitimate civil matrimony with all of the prerogatives and rights that civil law grants you and the same obligations imposed by civil law," said the judge before he pronounced the couple married, according to Blabbeando's translation of the Spanish-language article from El Espectador. The newspaper's headline read "Marriage Equality Is a Right" and featured a picture of the newlywed couple beaming. 
Colombia has been on a long journey to embracing marriage equality, but last week's rulings seem to clear the way for same-sex couples throughout the nation to begin receiving marriage licenses. 

In 2011, Colombia's Constitutional Court ruled that gay and lesbian couples could legally register their relationships beginninh June 20, 2013, if the nation's lawmakers failed to extend them the same benefits to them guaranteed to heterosexual married couples. When Congress failed to present any kind of marriage equality legislation, same-sex couples in Colombia began filing June 21 to register their relationships. But at that time, it was still unclear whether those relationships would be recognized as marriages or some other form of union. 

Marriage equality advocates with the LGBT group Colombia Diversa reported that dozens of same-sex couples had attempted to register their relationships with local clerks since the June 20 deadline passed but were issued a document declaring their "solemn union," according to Blabbeando. Colombia Diversa argued that there is no legal structure to recognize a "solemn union" in Colombia's family code, and since Congress failed to meet the deadline set by the Constitutional Court, same-sex couples should automatically be allowed to marry, as it's the only way to guarantee them the same rights and privileges afforded to opposite-sex couples. 

Blabbeando notes that the Colombian inspector general has been a vocal opponent of marriage equality, fighting the court ruling so vigorously that the Constitutional Court itself scolded his staff twice and told Inspector General Alejandro Ordoñez that his office had no legal right to interfere in these cases. 

Colombia joins a handful of other Latin American nations that embrace marriage equality, including Argentina, Uruguay, and many regions in Brazil. Some states in Mexico, including the nation's capital, Mexico City, also perform same-sex marriages, and the nation's highest court ruled in 2010 that same-sex marriages performed in marriage equality jurisdictions must be recognized and honored throughout Mexico. Last year, the Mexican Supreme Court struck down a ban on same-sex marriage in the southern state of Oaxaca, effectively changing that state's civil code to say that marriage takes place "between two people" rather than "between a man and a woman." 
 
Tags: Colombia

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 3, 2013

Letting Go

Letting go of fixation is effectively a process of learning to be free, because every time we let go of something, we become free of it. Whatever we fixate upon limits us because fixation makes us dependent upon something other than ourselves. Each time we let go of something, we experience another level of freedom.
- Traleg Kyabgon Rinpoche, “Letting Go of Spiritual Experience”
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Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Via Waves of Gratitude\ FB:

Waves of Gratitude shared Living Life, Making Choices's photo.
 
I wish I knew who to give photo credit to for this... it's awesome. Anything is possible, indeed - we just have to believe!

Via FB:


Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 2, 2013

The Art of Living

Vipassana teaches the art of dying: how to die peacefully, harmoniously. And one learns the art of dying by learning the art of living: how to become master of the present moment.
- S. N. Goenka, "S. N. Goenka, Pioneer of Secular Meditation Movement, Dies at 90"
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Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Via JMG: Olympian Bode Miller Slams Russia


Five-time Olympic skiing medalist Bode Miller didn't hold back yesterday when the Associated Press asked him about Russia's anti-gay laws.
"'I think it's absolutely embarrassing that there's countries and there's people who are that intolerant and that ignorant," he said Monday, one of the few athletes willing to take a stand on the subject at the U.S. Olympic media summit featuring Sochi hopefuls. 'But it's not the first time," Miller said. "We've been dealing with human-rights issues probably since there were humans." At 35 and with five Olympic medals to his credit, Miller is trying for his fifth Winter Games. He has, over the years, built a reputation as an unconventional firebrand, unafraid to state his opinion on sports, skiing or society in general. He said the Russian law puts athletes in an awkward position. "I think it's unfortunate when they get stuffed together because there are politics in sports and athletics," Miller said. "They always are intertwined, even though people try to keep them separate or try to act like they're separate. Asking an athlete to go somewhere and compete and be a representative of a philosophy and ... then tell them they can't express their views or they can't say what they believe, I think is pretty hypocritical or unfair."

Reposted from Joe

Young boy pops Gillard the question on gay marriage


Via JMG: HomoQuotable - Ian McKellen


"As a gay participant in the opening ceremony of the London Paralympics in 2012, I am angered by the International Olympics Committee's announcement that harsh Russian anti-gay laws do not transgress its own Sixth Fundamental Principle of Olympism that 'any form of discrimination is incompatible with belonging to the Olympic movement.'  In Russia, it is now effectively illegal to speak about homosexuality in public. That means that openly gay visitors to Russia, including Olympians, are only welcome if they bring their closets with them. I agree with the Human Rights Campaign that, 'The IOC has completely neglected its responsibility to athletes, corporate sponsors, and fans.'" - Ian McKellen, writing on his Facebook page.


Reposted from Joe

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma October 1, 2013

Immediate Gratification

When you analyze it, the motivation to 'just feel good right now' is really just indulging our desires. The motivation to immediately gratify desire is what has driven most of our actions throughout our beginningless sojourn in samsara—all it has accomplished is to perpetuate our confusion, pain, and habitual inability to pull ourselves out of this mess. This is precisely the problem that Buddhism was invented to solve.
- David Patt,“Who’s Zoomin’ Who? The Commodification of Buddhism in the American Marketplace”
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Monday, September 30, 2013

Via JMG: COLOMBIA: Judges Declare That Two Couples Are Married, Gov't To Appeal



Blabbeando's Andres Duque reports a development in Colombia's complicated journey towards marriage equality:
In a surprising statement released on Wednesday, Colombian attorney and long-time LGBT-rights advocate Germán Humerto Rincón Perfetti announced that a civil court judge had declared Julio Albeiro Cantor Borbón and William Alberto Castro Franco "united in civil matrimony" in a ceremony that took place on September 20th. Then today the leading national newspaper El Espectador announced in its front page that Elizabeth Castillo and Claudia Zea had joined them on Wednesday when a second civil court judge also granted them a marriage license. "I join you in a legitimate civil matrimony with all the prerogatives and rights that civil law grants you and the same obligations imposed by civil law," said the judge before the couple signed their marriage license. [snip]  Yesterday the Inspector General's office announced that it would fight to stop these marriages using a fast track appeal legal form called a "tutela". Lawyer Mauricio Albarracín argues that for a "tutela" to proceed the applicant has to prove these marriages violate a person's rights which Albarracín says will be impossible for Ordoñez to prove. The issue will probably head back to the upper courts in the future but as of this week Julio Albeiro Cantor Borbon is married to William Alberto Castro Franco and Claudia Zea is married to Elizabeth Castillo.
Hit the link for a detailed explanation of the situation.


Reposted from Joe