Friday, June 20, 2014

Via JMG: HomoQuotable - John Paulk


"There was a time in my life when I used to sound a lot like Rick Perry. In fact, for more than ten years I was one of the nation’s leading spokesmen for the 'ex-gay' movement. I traveled the country telling audiences that being gay was a preventable condition, and it could be treated if only you followed a simple plan, obeyed God and sought repentance for your sins. 'Ladies and gentlemen, homosexuality is not a genetic, inborn condition,' I would say. 'It is the result of traceable causes that, once unraveled, can bring about understanding and transformation in the life of one who is motivated and submitted to God.' [snip]But I was in denial. It wasn’t in fact true, any of it. Worse than being wrong, it was harmful to many people—and caused me years of pain in my own life. Which is why I have this to say to the Rick Perrys of the world: You don’t understand this issue. At all." 
 
- Former "ex-gay" poster boy John Paulk, writing for Politico Magazine.

Read the full essay.


posted by Joe Jervis

Via Daily Dharma


The Luminous Gap | June 20, 2014

At the moment, because of ignorance of our real nature, we experience everything as the confused manifestations of samsara. 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"
 

Why the tide is turning in support of same-sex marriage


Via Flower of the Day: 06/20/14

"Your heart rejoices when you feel that you are being guided, when you realize that you are not alone and that you are not a leaf being strewn in the wind. When you perceive that there is an intelligence that connects everything, and you are a part of this play, then you feel like you belong: like you are a flower in the Creator's garden. There is no sadness anymore. But to reach this state of contentment, one has to learn how to listen to the voice of intuition and to pay attention to synchronicities. There is always a message for you behind any mysterious ‘coincidence.’ Synchronicity is the language the universe uses to show you the next steps of your journey."
Sri Prem Baba

Thursday, June 19, 2014

The Flag of Equal Marriage


Via JMG: Presbyterian Church USA Votes To Allow Pastors To Perform Same-Sex Marriages


Via the Associated Press:
The top legislative body of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) has taken major steps toward recognizing gay marriage. The General Assembly voted Thursday in favor of redefining Christian marriage in the church constitution as the union of "two people" instead of "a man and a woman." The redefinition will take effect only if most of the 172 regional Presbyteries approve it in voting over the next year. The Presbyterian delegates in Detroit also voted to immediately allow pastors to preside at gay weddings in states that recognize same-sex marriage.
More from GLAAD.
“The Church affirmed all its faithful members today. This vote is an answer to many prayers for the Church to recognize love between committed same-sex couples,” said Alex McNeill, Executive Director of More Light Presbyterians, a national network of Presbyterians working for the full inclusion of the LGBT community within the church. “We will keep praying that the majority of our 172 presbyteries will confirm that all loving couples can turn to their churches when they are ready to be married.” The General Assembly of PC (USA) is taking place this week from June 14 – 21 in Detroit, Michigan. At the last General Assembly two years ago, marriage equality was not upheld, though a policy had been amended around that time to allow gay and lesbian Presbyterians to be ordained as clergy.
UPDATE: The Human Rights Campaign reacts.
"This is a giant step forward for the PCUSA Church and for people of faith everywhere. Presbyterian LGBT couples are now one step closer to being able to get married in the church of their choice,” said Sharon Groves, Director of HRC's Religion and Faith Program. “Perhaps even more significantly, young people and their families can go into a Presbyterian church and know that their denomination has not turned a blind eye to them but has instead taken a giant step toward becoming a more loving and more welcoming place for all people to worship. We at HRC congratulate the Presbyterian Church (USA) on a job well done and thank the good people at More Light Presbyterian, The Covenant Network, So We May Freely Serve and Presbyterian Welcome for their years of dedication that got us to this point.”
UPDATE II: The anti-gay Institute On Religion & Democracy is ever so pissed about this.
By overturning natural marriage the PCUSA is only accelerating its already fast-paced demise. It will become even smaller, whiter and older. Only declining denominations reject historic Christian standards and in nearly every case that rejection reinforces the decline. Who respects a church that only echoes the secular world? Many faithful have already quit the PCUSA and many more now will. But some faithful will remain. May the Holy Spirit bless their witness and lay the groundwork for the PCUSA's return some day to the teachings of the global church.

Reposted from Joe Jervis

A Good Man


Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu


Via Cory Booker / FB:


Wednesday, June 18, 2014

Full Speech: Jim Carrey's Commencement Address at the 2014 MUM Graduation


Here’s Colbert on the gay marriage juggernaut, followed by his interview with Olson and Boies:

Via Good News Network

A 64 year-old man in Istanbul decided to brighten the neighborhood by painting rainbow colors on some wide, gray, crumbling stairs. When municipal officials sent workers after nightfall to hurriedly repaint the steps gray, a quiet revolution started on Twitter. Not only did volunteers come out to repaint those stairs that Huseyin Cetinel had spent hundreds of dollars on, they painted other stairs and walkways in cities around Turkey, posting photos on social media. A Pandora's Box of color had unwittingly been opened.

VIDEO at Good News Network: http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/civics/brightly-painted-stairway-in-turkey-starts-color-revolution-against-drab-gray.html

Photo credit: Gürol Demirutku



Via Daily Dharma


Why Meditate on Skeletons? | June 17, 2014

In urging his followers to meditate on skeletons and bloody remains, the Buddha was advocating consciousness, not disdain for the body. When we are aware of all the intricate processes and parts that make up our bodies, we are less likely to identify the overall image as 'me.' Disdain for our bodies is, in fact, born not of detachment but of identification.
—Hannah Tennant-Moore, "Not Our Bodies, Not Ourselves"

Monday, June 16, 2014

Via Flower of the Day

"It's a great challenge to speak about the truth, since it is an experience, and it is always difficult to translate an experience into words. How can we transform the experience of love into words? How do we explain joy, ecstasy and compassion? Words are too small to express the greatness of the truth, but they can be used as a bridge to reach this experience. Words can help you transition from the state of the mind to the state of ‘no-mind.’ As your questions are answered, the mind starts to calm down and become free of anxiety. The mind then becomes receptive to being flooded with the awareness that comes with the experience of the truth."
Sri Prem Baba

Via Tricycle:

June 16, 2014 | New at Tricycle: Restoring Zen's female lineage, learning to listen deeply, and kicking off the Fourth Annual Tricycle | BuddhaFest Online Film Festival.


 
 MAGAZINE: ROUSED FROM A DREAM
The importance of lineage in Zen Buddhism cannot be overstated. Yet the transmission of Zen has been documented through an exclusively male lineage chart—until now. Journalist Mary Fowles reports on restoring Zen’s female lineage and embodying a new story for Zen, "a story that includes women."

Via Daily Dharma


End This Suffering, Too | June 16, 2014

Buddhism is, of course, a tradition that strives to end suffering, but concern with the suffering that is caused by gender stereotypes, constrictive narratives, and discriminatory customs is relatively new, at least in its public discourse. How women’s lives have been marginalized from the Buddhist narrative is still being discovered, acknowledged, and remedied.
 
—Mary Fowles, “Roused from a Dream”
 

Saturday, June 14, 2014

Via Daily Dharma


Spiritual Hunger | June 14, 2014

The spiritual journey involves stepping into unknown territory with a hunger to know what is true.
 
—Aura Glaser, “Into the Demon’s Mouth”
 

Friday, June 13, 2014

Via JMG: AFA Refuses Donation With Milk Stamp


The Wire reports:
How much do anti-gay groups hate the new Harvey Milk stamps from the U.S. Postal Service? One organization refused to even open a mailed donation to their cause using one such stamp as postage. Staying true to their announcement that they would boycott all mail with the Milk stamps, the American Family Association told The Wire that the organization had mailed back our attempted $5 donation to their anti-gay group unopened. Speaking to The Wire, AFA's Director of Issues Analysis Bryan Fischer said that the very existence of the Harvey Milk stamp was akin to "honoring Jeffrey Dahmer on a postage stamp designed to honor the culinary arts." That's because Fischer and the AFA, citing a line from a biography of Milk, believe that Milk was a sexual predator. "He is not somebody that should ever be honored on a postage stamp," Fischer said.
Maybe the Wire shouldn't have announced the attempt two weeks ago? Focus On The Family and the Family Research Council both processed Milk-stamped donations sent by the Wire.


Reposted from Joe Jervis

Thursday, June 12, 2014

Via Daily Dharma


Beware of Celebrity Teachers | June 12, 2014

Western people who really want to study Buddhism should not follow celebrities. Of course, His Holiness the Dalai Lama is a great master. And of course people can receive his teachings. That’s no problem. But if somebody wants to be a good student, they might look for a learned teacher, and among the learned lamas, one that has renounced. 
 
—Shamar Rinpoche, "Tulku, Inc.: The Perils of Picking a Teacher"