Courage – Quotes on Living Exceptional Lives, from Lao Tzu, Pema Chodron, T.S. Eliot and Others

Bravery is not about becoming superheroes – it is about living wisely in the present moment, and learning to let go of the things and feelings that hold us back from living full lives.

Here are some great quotes from past and present philosophers, writers, and spiritual leaders on the qualities of courage we all carry inside.

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. (Lao Tzu)
– Only we can hold ourselves back. Only we can set ourselves free.
 

Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight of the shore.(Andre Gide)
– Adventure may be dangerous, but so can staying in one place forever.
 

Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth. (Pema Chodron)
– It is said that the only mistakes on the road to wisdom are not starting, and not going all the way – keep walking.
 

Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go. (T. S. Eliot)
– Teachers can show us the path, travelers can tell us how to walk it, but only the individual person can journey on it.
 

It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult. (Seneca)
– How often do we make obstacles larger in our minds than they really are?
 

You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. (Eleanor Roosevelt)
– Fear can be a great, liberating, powerful experience when we use it to grow.
 

Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point. (C. S. Lewis)
– All good deeds in our lives come down to courage – the bravery required to make the right choice even when the right choice is unpopular.
 

Courage is resistance to fear, mastery of fear, not absence of fear. (Mark Twain)
– Bravery is never a sudden enlightenment or magic power – rather it is the humble effort to keep moving forward in the face of uncertainty.
 

To have striven, to have made the effort, to have been true to certain ideals – this alone is worth the struggle. (William Penn)
– What else is life, but an effort to do something worthwhile? Do what challenges you and makes you feel afraid.

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Vi Daily Dharma:

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Boundless Compassion | March 15, 2014

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Traditional Buddhism describes boundless love and compassion as liberations of the heart that free us from ill will, cruelty, and indifference. They are called divine dwellings because those who practice them radiate holy wishes for the welfare, happiness, and security of all beings. Given, however, the gravity of the crisis that confronts us today, it is questionable whether the merely inward cultivation of such virtues is sufficient. If love and compassion don’t find expression in concrete action, they could remain purely subjective states, lofty and sublime but inert, unable to exert any beneficial influence on others.

 

—Bhikkhu Bodhi, “The Need Of The Hour”

 

Dra Yang Project " Namo Buddhaya, namo Dharmaya, namo Sanghaya "

Via Daily Dharma

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Great Questioning, Great Awakening | March 14, 2014

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The most important part of the practice is for the question to remain alive and for your whole body and mind to become a question. In Zen they say that you have to ask with the pores of your skin and the marrow of your bones. A Zen saying points out: Great questioning, great awakening; little questioning, little awakening; no questioning, no awakening. 

 

—Martine Bachelor, “What is This?”

Via JMG: SCOTLAND: Queen Elizabeth Gives Royal Assent For Gay Marriage Law

Gay Star News reports:

Queen Elizabeth II has signed same-sex marriage into law in Scotland today (13 March). By the end of the year, Scottish gay couples will be able to unite in matrimony. It is the last step in the long battle to get the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Scotland) Bill through Parliament, making it an Act. Alex Neil, cabinet Secretary for Health and Well-being, said: "I am delighted that the Same Sex Marriage Bill has now received Royal Assent. We continue to work in close co-operation with Westminster on implementation of the Act so that the first same sex marriage can take place in Scotland as soon as is possible."

The bill was approved by the Scottish Parliament last month in a lopsided vote of 105-18.

Labels: marriage equality, Queen Elizabeth, Scotland, UK

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: TEXAS: Joel Osteen's Prosperity Gospel Church Robbed Of One Week's Prosperity

 

But don't worry, they are insured. From the church:

We were heartbroken to learn today that funds were stolen from the church over the weekend. This includes cash, checks and envelopes containing written credit card information, and it is limited only to those funds contributed in the church services on Saturday, March 8 and Sunday, March 9, 2014. If you made a contribution during these weekend services, we would encourage you to pay close attention to your accounts over the next several days and weeks and report any suspicious activity to your financial institution or credit card company immediately. It is important to note this was not an electronic data breach, but was instead limited to donations made in the services on March 8 and 9, 2014. You were not affected if you put your offering in a drop box, you gave online or through other electronic means, or you made a bookstore purchase. We are working with the police to fully investigate the incident. The funds were fully insured, and we are working with our insurance company to restore the stolen funds to the church.

Below: Joel Osteen's 17,000sf mansion.

Labels: grifters, Joel Osteen, religion, Texas

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma

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The Path to Restoration | March 13, 2014

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My advice for people is to love the world they are in, in whatever way makes sense to them. It may be a devotional practice, it may be song or poetry, it may be by gardening, it may be as an activist, scientist, or community leader. The path to restoration extends from our heart to the heart of sentient beings, and that path will be different for every person.

—Paul Hawken, “The Movement With No Name”

 

Via Emerson Collins

← The Real Victory in Arizona

An Open Letter to Michele Bachmann

Posted on March 11, 2014 by emersoncollins

 

Michele Bachmann suggested that the gay community is bullying Americans and politicians.  You can read the full article and hear the clip for yourself here. This is my response.

Dear Michele Bachmann,

I would like to provide you with a definition of a word that, for all your legal experience, you seem not to comprehend. The word “bully” has become a buzzword, a convenient way for adults who are losing an argument to shut down the conversation. When your back is against the wall, you call someone a “bully” and if they don’t allow you to gracefully exit the argument you get to say, “SEE! They ARE a bully.”

Except, that’s incorrect. “Bully” is defined variously as “a person who uses superior strength or power to harm, intimidate or influence those who are weaker.”

Now let’s reconsider your words. “…the gay community, they have so bullied the American people, and they’ve so intimidated politicians. The politicians fear them, so that they think they get to dictate the agenda everywhere.”

Let’s consider the fallacy here, shall we?

Make the jump here to read the full article

Via The Other 98% / FB:

Via Daily Dharma

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Rising to the Occasion | March 12, 2014

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We cannot eliminate all of the challenges or obstacles in life—our own or anyone else’s. We can only learn to rise to the occasion and face them. 

 

—Dzigar Kongtrul, "Old Relationships, New Possibilities"

 

Via JMG: Jason Collins Staying With The Nets

The Brooklyn Nets will sign Jason Collins for the remainder of the season.

Sources told ESPN.com on Tuesday that the Nets, who feel they're getting everything they expected from Collins when they signed him for frontcourt depth Feb. 23, are already operating under the premise that the 34-year-old will finish the season with them even though his second 10-day deal doesn't expire until after Friday. Sources say that the internal expectation all along was that Collins would be a Net for the rest of the season, from the moment he signed his first 10-day deal, as long he proved that he could still be an effective defender, which he did immediately. Collins is averaging 9.8 minutes per game off the bench in eight appearances since his historic debut against the Los Angeles Lakers last month, which made him the first openly gay athlete in North America's four recognized major team sports. He most recently provided the Nets with some meaningful minutes defending against DeMarcus Cousins, logging 20 minutes in a 104-89 win over Sacramento last Sunday.

Labels: Brooklyn Nets, gay athletes, Jason Collins, NBA

Via HimalayaCrafts / FB:

Every morning we are born again. What we do today is what matters most. ― Buddha

Via JMG: United Methodist Bishop: No More Trials For Pro-Gay Marriage Pastors

Via press release:

At a joint press conference today, United Methodist Bishop Martin McLee and Rev. Dr. Thomas W. Ogletree announced that the church was dropping the case against Dr. Ogletree for officiating at his son’s wedding. In a huge victory for the Methodist movement that is organizing ministry to all couples on an equal basis in open defiance of church law, the bishop dropped the case without any conditions. Furthermore, Bishop McLee said in his statement “I call for and commit to cessation of trials,” the first time ever a sitting United Methodist bishop has categorically declared he will not prosecute pastors for ministering to LGBTQ people. “I am grateful that Bishop McLee has withdrawn this case and the church is no longer prosecuting me for an act of pastoral faithfulness and fatherly love,” said Dr. Ogletree. “But I am even more grateful that he is vowing not to prosecute others who have been likewise faithful in ministry to LGBTQ people. May our bishop’s commitment to cease such prosecutions be the beginning of the end of the United Methodist Church’s misguided era of discriminating against LGBTQ people.” 

There's gonna be a big ole pile of sadz about this.

Labels: marriage equality, religion, United Methodist Church

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Forbes: 7 Billionaires Are Openly LGBT

Forbes reports that seven of the world's billionaires are openly LGBT.

With a combined net worth of nearly $16 billion, the select group of LGBT ten-figure fortunes includes media mogul David Geffen, PayPal cofounder Peter Thiel and Hyatt hotel beneficiary Jennifer Pritzker, one of the Pritzker family’s 11 billionaires. In August 2013, Jennifer became the first and only transgender billionaire in the world when she announced she would be identifying herself as a woman for all business and personal undertakings. A retired army lieutenant colonel, she is CEO of private wealth management firm Tawani Enterprises in Chicago and has a personal net worth of $1.8 billion. “This change will reflect the beliefs of her true identity that she has held privately and will now share publicly,” a statement in Crain’s Chicago Business explained. Among the openly-gay hyper-wealthy are Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, the duo behind fashion power house Dolce & Gabbana. The retail-rich pair are joined by Michael Kors, who became a billionaire this year. Some of these businessmen and women have used their fortunes to advocate for gay rights. Jon Stryker, heir to the Stryker Corp. medical equipment family fortune, is one of the world’s most prolific donors to LGBT charities.

The seven listed above represent 0.4% of Forbes' list of 1645 billionaires worldwide.

Labels: David Geffen, Dolce and Gabbana, Forbes, Jennifer Pritzker, Jon Stryker, Michael Kors, Peter Thiel

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Via JMG: Bill Donohue Is Very Upset About Cosmos

Last night Fox debuted its 13-episode series, Cosmos; A Spacetime Odyssey, which is hosted by noted astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson and is produced by Family Guy creator Seth McFarlane.  Catholic League blowhard Bill Donohue is very upset about the first episode, which shamefully depicted the Spanish Inquisition as a bad thing. 

The propagandists involved in this show, represented most conspicuously by Seth MacFarlane, told viewers last night that “the Roman Catholic Church maintained a system of courts known as the Inquisition and its sole purpose was to investigate and torment anyone who dared voice views that differed from theirs. And it wasn’t long before [Giordano] Bruno fell into the clutches of the thought police.” The ignorance is appalling. “The Catholic Church as an institution had almost nothing to do with [the Inquisition],” writes Dayton historian Thomas Madden. “One of the most enduring myths of the Inquisition,” he says, “is that it was a tool of oppression imposed on unwilling Europeans by a power-hungry Church. Nothing could be more wrong.” Because the Inquisition brought order and justice where there was none, it actually “saved uncounted thousands of innocent (and even not-so-innocent) people who would otherwise have been roasted by secular lords or mob rule.” (His emphasis.)

All that torture and disemboweling? Good thing! Cardinal Fang, fetch the comfy chair for Bill.

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Labels: Bill Donohue, Catholic Church, Catholic League, Cosmos, crackpots, Fox TV, Neil deGrasse Tyson, religion, Seth McFarlane

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Judy Garland - I Don't Care

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Viaq Daily Dharma

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Intimate Joy | March 11, 2014

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When we are willing to be intimate with what actually is here now, to look directly at all of our experience, we might recognize that this is our life, however different from our thoughts and ideas about it.

 

—Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, “Simple Joy”

 

 

Via HimalayaCrafts / FB:

No one saves us but ourselves. - Buddha

 

Via Daily Dharma

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Two Kinds of Suffering | March 10, 2014

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The Buddha taught that there are two kinds of suffering: that which comes from the outside world, and that which comes from within you. With the latter, only you can do anything about it. Where does that suffering come from? Emptiness. Examining the thoughts and feelings that arise from emptiness is one tenet of Buddhism. Why do we suffer? What is at the root? Where did it begin? When we see the answers to those questions, our suffering, which has arisen from emptiness, returns to emptiness.

 

—Ittetsu Nemoto, “The Counselor”

 

Via Milkshakes Against the Republican Party / FB:

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 9, 2014

The World Will Break Your Heart

Grief might be, in some ways, the long aftermath of love, the internal work of knowing, holding, more fully valuing what we have lost.

- Mark Doty, "Don't They Know?"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through March 10, 2014
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Via Michael Smith / FB:

THE BEST GAY POSSIBLE - OPPRESSIVE DANCE MIX

Via Freedom to Marry / FB:

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 8, 2014

A Matter of Misdirection

Buddhist practice pulls both ways. From one perspective, it is a discreet activity, something we do. From another perspective, one which tends to emerge more clearly with time, it seems less something we do and more something we are; less a piece of life and more all of life. The good news may be precisely that our lives will never 'work out,' no matter how well we arrange the pieces or play the game, whether of career, relationships, or indeed practice. Buddhist practice is especially recalcitrant; it just won’t 'do' what we want, at least not for long, because what we want is the problem.

- Henry Shukman, "A Matter of Misdirection"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through March 9, 2014
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Via Hmalyacrafts / FB:

True happiness is based on peace. ― Thích Nhất Hạnh 

 

Via Pema Chodron / FB:

Could our minds and our hearts be big enough just to hang out in that space where we’re not entirely certain about who’s right and who’s wrong? Could we have no agenda when we walk into a room with another person, not know what to say, not make that person wrong or right? Could we see, hear, feel other people as they really are? It is powerful to practice this way, because we’ll find ourselves continually rushing around to try to feel secure again—to make ourselves or them either right or wrong. But true communication can happen only in that open space.

- Pema Chödrön

 

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 7, 2014

The Vulnerability of Truth

Truth has no action. Truth is weak. Truth is not utilitarian, truth cannot be organized. It is like the wind: You cannot catch it, you cannot take hold of it in your fist and say, ‘I have caught it.’ Therefore it is tremendously vulnerable, impotent like the blade of grass on the roadside—you can kill it, you can destroy it. But we want it as a thing to be used for a better structure of society. And I am afraid you cannot use it, you cannot—it is like love, love is never potent. It is there for you, take it or leave it.

- Krishnamurti, “A Question of Heart”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through March 8, 2014
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Via JMG: IRS Posts Help Video For Married Gays

Via press release from the White House:

The Internal Revenue Service released a new YouTube video designed to provide useful tax tips to married same-sex couples. The new video, less than two minutes long, is available in English, Spanish and American Sign Language and can be accessed via IRS.gov. It joins an array of online products, including answers to frequently-asked questions, designed to help same-sex couples file their federal income tax returns. Following last summer’s Supreme Court decision invalidating a key provision of the Defense of Marriage Act, the IRS ruled that same-sex couples, legally married in jurisdictions that recognize their marriages, are now treated as married for federal tax purposes. The ruling applies to all federal tax provisions where marriage is a factor, including filing status, claiming personal and dependency exemptions, taking the standard deduction, employee benefits, contributing to an IRA and claiming the earned income tax credit or child tax credit.

 

Labels: IRS, marriage equality, taxes, White House

posted by Joe Jervis

Via Middling America: The Latest Marriage Map

Via JMG: Colbert: "Self-Professed" Gays Should Send Rep. Steve King Proof Of Gayness

 

Mediaite recaps last night's Stephen Colbert show:

This past weekend, King told local TV station WHO-TV that these “self-professed” gays could just as easily be straight people “setting up a case” against a business that tries to discriminate them. Colbert recounted that familiar scenario in which someone pretends to come out to their family, then pretends to fall in love, then pretends to get engaged, just so they can sue their potential florist at the last minute. “As Steve King knows, even if gays do exist, it’s nearly impossible to prove it,” Colbert said. That’s why he’s asking gays from around the country to “send photos and/or videos to Steve King, proving that you are gay.” He went ahead and provided to address on screen to make it that much easier for everyone. “Be sure to label your envelope campaign contributions, so you know that he’ll read it,” Colbert added.

Watch the video at the link.

Labels: Colbert Report, Comedy Central, crackpots, crazy people, GOP, religion, Steve King, Tea Party, teabaggers

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 6, 2014

Selective Wisdom

To decide that a certain teaching is worthwhile simply because it echoes our established opinion is very unwise. Along that easy course there is no new discovery of truth, only more stale habit.

- Bhikkhu Nyanasobhano, "Selective Wisdom"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through March 7, 2014
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Via Mother Jones:

Make the Jump here to read the full article

Let's Play Grand Theft Auto 5 With Coco Peru

Via JMG: Pope Francis Indicates Catholic Church Could Support Some Types Of Civil Unions

In an interview published in Italy today, Pope Francis said that the Catholic Church could consider supporting some forms of civil unions, but not same-sex marriage.

The Pope reiterated the church's longstanding teaching that "marriage is between a man and a woman." However, he said, "We have to look at different cases and evaluate them in their variety." For instance, civil unions provide financial security to cohabitating couples, "as for instance in medical care," the Pope said in a wide-ranging interview published Wednesday in Corriere della Sera, an Italian daily. A number of Catholic bishops have supported civil unions for same-sex couples, including Pope Francis when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 2010, according to reports in National Catholic Reporter and The New York Times. This is the first time a Pope has "indicated even tentative acceptance of civil unions," according to Catholic News Service.

In January the Vatican denied reports that Pope Francis supported civil unions. Will slippery slope blowhards like Bill Donohue now denounce the Pope?

 

Labels: Catholic Church, civil unions, LGBT rights, marriage equality, Pope Francis, religion, Vatican

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: New Poll: Record Support For Marriage

Via ABC News:

Half of all Americans believe that gay men and lesbians have a constitutional right to marry, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll in which a large majority also said businesses should not be able to deny serving gays for religious reasons. Fifty percent say the U.S. Constitution's guarantee of equal protection gives gays the right to marry, while 41 percent say it does not. Beyond the constitutional questions, a record-high 59 percent say they support same-sex marriage, while 34 percent are opposed, the widest margin tracked in Post-ABC polling. The poll was conducted in the wake of a series of rulings by federal judges that state bans on same-sex marriage and prohibitions on recognizing marriages performed elsewhere are unconstitutional.

NOTE: A press release about this story mistakenly linked an earlier ABC/WaPo poll. I've replaced that graphic with today's poll result and corrected the link. The full poll results are here.

Labels: ABC, marriage equality, polls, WaPo

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 5, 2014

Kindness is Society

During a lecture while I was interpreting for the Dalai Lama, he said in what seemed to me to be broken English, 'Kindness is society.' I wasn’t smart enough to think he was saying kindness is society. I thought he meant kindness is important to society; kindness is vital to society; but he was saying that kindness is so important that we cannot have society without it. Society is impossible without it. Thus, kindness IS society; society IS kindness. Without concern for other people it’s impossible to have society.

- Jeffrey Hopkins, "Equality"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through March 6, 2014
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma:

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 4, 2014

Accepting the Invitation

One way to read the injunction for Right Conduct, an essential part of the Eightfold Path, is to see it as calling us—as citizens—to translate the dharma into specific acts of social responsibility.

- Charles Johnson, “Accepting the Invitation”

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through March 5, 2014
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Via JMG: BROOKLYN: Jason Collins Debuts In First Home Game, Sources Claim He Will Get Second 10-Day Contract

Via the Associated Press:

A person with knowledge of the situation says the Brooklyn Nets will sign Jason Collins to a second 10-day contract. Collins signed his original deal on Feb. 23, becoming the NBA's first openly gay player, and it expires Tuesday. The Nets then will re-sign him for another 10 days on Wednesday, the person tells The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the plans haven't been made public. After that, the Nets would have to sign him for the rest of the season if they wanted to keep him.

Tonight's game against the Chicago Bulls starts at 7:30PM. If you're in NYC, the game is being broadcast on Time Warner channel 753, Verizon channel 576, and Comcast channel 212. Hit this link for channel numbers outside of NYC.

UPDATE: Collins sat on the bench until the final three minutes when the crowd began chanting his name. YES Network announcers took note of that. When Collins finally checked in with Nets holding a comfortable lead, there was a huge ovation. His stats: 1 rebound, 1 steal, 1 foul, 0 points. I monitored the Nets' stream on Twitter, where there were some really ugly comments. Positive to negative tweets ran about 50-50 overall. But the Nets did win their first home game with Jason Collins.

Labels: basketball, Brooklyn Nets, gay athletes, Jason Collins, NBA, NYC, sports

Reposted from Joe Jervis

George Takei: Arizona Anti-Gay Bill Authors Used Religious Freedom As Cover For Prejudice

This is How its Done: TEXAS: Gay Couple Marries In United Methodist Church After 53 Years Together

NBC News in Dallas reports:

It was a wedding 53 years in the making. Jack Evans and George Harris made their relationship official in the eyes of at least one church. "The marriage of George and Jack is a sign of God's love and their love for each other and our love for one another," said Rev. Bill McElvaney, the minister officiating the marriage. Evans and Harris are in their 80's. They asked several churches to perform the ceremony. Northaven United Methodist Church in North Dallas was the first to say yes. "We're celebrating 53 years and finally saying let's make this... let's call it what it is... what it has been for a half a century," said minister Arthur Stewart. Hundreds of people witnessed the ceremony.

The above-linked article closes with this: "For now, the marriage will only stand in this church."

Labels: Dallas, gay seniors, gay weddings, LGBT rights, marriage equality, religion, Texas, United Methodist Church

 
Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via JMG: Scotland Offers Asylum To Gay Ugandans

Via the Herald Scotland:

Scotland is to offer asylum to Ugandans facing persecution under the country's oppressive new legislation against its gay population. Humza Yousaf, Minister For External Affairs, has written to UK Foreign Secretary William Hague detailing the Scottish Government's gesture to welcome "any Ugandan" persecuted by the new laws. It comes on the back of an outcry from the international community at the Ugandan anti-gay legislation and concern over the welcome being extended to countries with anti-gay laws during the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. With prominent members of the Ugandan government due in Glasgow this summer, the Scottish Government will also meet representatives of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender) groups to discuss proposals on handling human rights issues during the event.

Reading the above-linked article, it's not clear if the Scottish government actually has the power to offer asylum independent of UK approval. Readers?

Labels: asylum, Scotland, Uganda, UK

posted by Joe Jervis

Via JMG: NBA To Donate Proceeds From Jason Collins Jersey Sales To LGBT Groups

Via the Associated Press:

The NBA plans to donate proceeds from sales of Jason Collins jerseys to the Matthew Shepard Foundation and the Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network. Collins became the league's first openly gay player when he signed with the Brooklyn Nets last Sunday, and his No. 98 jersey has been the top seller on NBAStore.com. He chose the number in tribute to Shepard, who was killed in a gay hate crime in 1998. Collins met Shepard's parents on Thursday when the Nets played in Denver. The league says Friday the donations will total no less than $100,000, and it will also auction off Collins' autographed, game-worn jerseys to benefit the same organizations.

Collins says he is "thrilled" by the decision. His jersey is the NBA's top-seller since he was picked up by the Brooklyn Nets several days ago.

Labels: basketball, gay athletes, GLSEN, Jason Collins, Matthew Sheppard Foundation, NBA, sports

Reposted from Joe Jervis

Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 2, 2014

The Noblest Path

Walking the path toward the complete ending of clinging and suffering is the noblest thing a person can do. It opens the fist of the mind, and allows a person to walk in the world with gift-bestowing hands.

- Gil Fronsdal, "The Good News"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through March 3, 2014
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Via Tricycle Daily Dharma

Tricycle Daily Dharma March 1, 2014

Merciless Compassion

We should be compassionate to all. But compassion sometimes has to be harsh. How else can we pinpoint where the problem really lies? Hatred’s hold on us is so strong. Simple coddling will not do the job.

- Nawang Gehlek Rimpoche, "The Real Enemy"

Read the entire article in the Wisdom Collection through March 2, 2014
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Via Instinct Mag: The Dalai Lama Approves Same-Sex Marriage, Says Bullying And Homophobia Is What's Wrong

The Dalai Lama has taken Pope Francis' softened approach to modern civil rights for the LGBT community and raised the stakes. Significantly.

In a sit down interview for Larry King Now, His Holiness says same-sex marriage is fine—it's really bullying and homophobia that is morally wrong.

When asked about homosexuality in general and gay rights (with a lead in from Russia's current War on Gays), the Dalai Lama responds:

"That's a personal matter. People who have a special tradition, you should follow according to your own tradition. ... But non-believer, that's up to them. Different form of sex? So long as it's safe, okay! And fully agreed, okay! Bullied? Abused? That's what is wrong. That's a violation of human rights."

When asked about same-sex marriage rights, the Dalai Lama replies:

"That's up to the countries' laws. It's okay, I think individual business. If a couple really feels that way, practical, satisfaction ... if both sides fully agree, then okay!"

Make the jump here to see the full interview