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Via White Crane Institute / Notable ancient Greek warriors who had same-sex love relationships

 

Today's Gay Wisdom

Achilles and the death of Patroclus

2017 BCE -

TODAY'S GAY WISDOM

Notable ancient Greek warriors who had same-sex love relationships:

ARISTOMENES — Prince of the Messenians and Arcadians

CIMON — leader of the Delian League forces and the Athenian navy, gaining notoriety in the Persian Wars

ASOPHICHUS — great warrior and lover of Epaminondas

CAPHISODORUS — warrior and lover of Epaminondas whom he died with at the battle of Mantineia

CLEOMACHUS — led Chalcis to victory in the Lelantine Warns and introduced pederasty to the area

PAMMENES — general who was supposed to assume leadership after Epaminondas

THERON — warrior from Thessaly

HARMODIUS — credited with bringing about Athenian democracy with Aristogiton

ARISTOGITON — credited with bringing about Athenian democracy with Harmodius

PELOPIDAS — general of the elite Sacred Band of Thebes

EPAMINONDAS — Theban general and commander of the Boeotian army credited with ending Sparta’s dominance  Lover of Asophichus.

GORGIDAS — established the Sacred Band of Thebes selecting male couples within the Theban army

MELEAGER — infantry commander under Alexander

HEPHAESTION — top general and lover of Alexander

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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute

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Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989!
www.whitecraneinstitute.org

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Via Daily Dharma: No Self; No Problem

 The more solidly we grasp our identity, the more solid our problems become. Once I asked a delightful old Sri Lankan meditation master to teach me the essence of Buddhism. He just laughed and said three times, “No self, no problem.

Jack Kornfield, “Identity and Selflessness in Buddhism: No Self or True Self?”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Action: Reflecting upon Bodily Action

 

RIGHT ACTION
Reflecting Upon Bodily Action

However the seed is planted, in that way the fruit is gathered. Good things come from doing good deeds; bad things come from doing bad deeds. (SN 11.10) What is the purpose of a mirror? For the purpose of reflection. So too bodily action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61) When you wish to do an action with the body, reflect upon that same bodily action thus: “Is this action I wish to do with the body an unhealthy bodily action with painful consequences and painful results?” If, upon reflection, you know that it is, then do not do it. If you know that it is not, then proceed. (MN 61)

Reflection

As embodied beings, we are always performing some sort of action, even if that action is remaining still. Buddhist teachings recognize that physical actions begin with the mental intention to act and invite us to look carefully at the quality of our intentions. It is often hard to discern the intention before the action, and it feels as if the body is acting “on its own.” But if you investigate your experience closely, it is possible to see your intention.

Daily Practice

See if you can catch that brief moment before any action when the intention to do the action arises in the mind. You might try this when you decide to open your eyes after a sitting, for example. Then extend this capability to noticing the ethical quality of actions you perform in daily life, reflecting on whether a forthcoming action is likely to cause harm in some way. If you can catch it before you act and stop, that is good.

Tomorrow: Abstaining from Harming Living Beings
One week from today: Reflecting upon Verbal Action

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Speech: Refraining from False Speech

RIGHT SPEECH
Refraining from False Speech

False speech is unhealthy. Refraining from false speech is healthy. (MN 9) Abandoning false speech, one dwells refraining from false speech, a truth-speaker, one to be relied on, trustworthy, dependable, not a deceiver of the world. One does not in full awareness speak falsehood for one’s own ends or for another’s ends or for some trifling worldly end. (DN 1) One practices thus: “Others may speak falsely, but I shall abstain from false speech.” (MN 8) When one knows overt sharp speech to be untrue, incorrect, and unbeneficial, one should on no account utter it. (MN 139)

Reflection

How much of what we say is totally useless? We often emphasize the value of expressing ourselves and of “getting things off our chest,” and this accounts for many of the expletives we utter and emotional downloads we deliver. What about the role speech plays in communicating with others? Buddhist teachings encourage us to focus on speaking what is true and what is beneficial—that is, what brings out the best in others.

Daily Practice

Pay attention to how people speak and notice speech that is sharp. One text calls it “stabbing one another with verbal daggers.” You know it when you hear it because you almost feel stabbed or wounded by the aggressive hostility of the words. Now look at your own habits of speaking and see if you can catch yourself doing the same thing. Whenever you notice the intention to speak in ways that are harmful, don’t do it.

Tomorrow: Reflecting upon Bodily Action
One week from today: Refraining from Malicious Speech

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

 

[GBF] new GBF talks

A new talk has been added to the audio archive at the GBF website:

2022_08_07 Lien Shutt Compassion.mp3

Also, here are three talks either by or that featured Paul Shepard:

2013_09_08 Dharma Duo Paul Shepard Philip Rosetti.mp3

2006_05_28 Paul Shepard.mp3

1998_12_20 Buddhist Alliance for Social Engagement Tova Green Terry Stein Paul Shepard incomplete.mp3

Via Daily Dharma: Uprooting Ignorance with Truthfulness

Think of truthfulness not just as the quality of speaking truth but also as the practice of devoting yourself to the clear seeing of reality. Paired with a sense of urgency, truthfulness shows us that our lives are fleeting, which means we don’t have time to waste on delusion. 

Vanessa Zuisei Goddard, “Truthfulness”

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation II Words of Wisdom - August 10, 2022 💌

 
 

If you’re still becoming somebody, it’s too early to start your process to becoming nobody. You really have to solidify your somebodiness. Then, when you’re established in somebodiness, then explore your nobodiness. Then after you do that you can be nobody being somebody. That’s the game I play.

- Ram Dass -

Upland Hills Ecological Awareness Center, February 15-16th 1997

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Lovingkindness

RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Lovingkindness

Whatever you intend, whatever you plan, and whatever you have a tendency toward, that will become the basis upon which your mind is established. (SN 12.40) Develop meditation on lovingkindness, for when you develop meditation on lovingkindness, all ill will will be abandoned. (MN 62)  The far enemy of lovingkindness is ill will. (Vm 9.98)

Reflection

Ill will is the far enemy of lovingkindness because it is so clearly in opposition to it. These two polar opposites cannot occupy the mind at the same moment. This means that at any point we are are feeling kind or aversive or are experiencing a moment of mindful equanimity. Right intention means learning to use every opportunity to cultivate lovingkindness, since it is such a beneficial mind state.

Daily Practice

You cultivate mental and emotional states by encouraging them to arise and then working to maintain them as much as possible. Practice feeling friendly and kindly, if only in your mind, toward all the people and other beings you encounter each day. The more you do this, the more inclined your mind will be toward friendliness and kindness. One consequence of this is that the tendency toward ill will will diminish.

Tomorrow: Refraining from False Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Compassion

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

 

Via Daily Dharma: Accept What You Feel

 Perhaps the greatest irony of healing is that it occurs when we accept our felt experience, rather than rely on willpower or focused effort to get rid of the unwanted.

Josh Korda, “A Safe Container for Fear”

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Via NPR // Bashar Murad

 

Via LGBTQ Nation / Nurse Logan

 

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right View: Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering

 

RIGHT VIEW
Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering

When people have met with suffering and become victims of suffering, they come to me and ask me about the noble truth of suffering. Being asked, I explain to them the noble truth of suffering. (MN 77) What is suffering? (MN 9) Separation from the pleasant is suffering. Whoever has what is wanted, liked—pleasant sight-objects, sounds, smells, tastes, tangibles, or mind-objects—or whoever encounters well-wishers, wishers of good, of comfort, of security, such as mother or father or brother or sister or younger kinsmen or friends or colleagues or blood-relations, and then is deprived of such concourse, intercourse, connection, or union. (MN 9)

Reflection

One of the most obvious and common forms of suffering is the pain we feel when separated from something or someone we care deeply about and are thus attached to. In fact, the mental pain of loss that comes from caring is one thing, while the emotional pain of the loss grows in direct proportion to how much attachment there is. It is possible to care deeply about something or someone without being attached.

Daily Practice

Practice with easy things first, and work up to more challenging ones. See if you can feel equanimity instead of misery when you must separate from something like a favorite mug that breaks. Then see if you can apply that same approach to more serious matters, such as the breakup of a relationship or the loss of a dearly beloved person. Remember: Pain is inevitable, but how much suffering it causes depends on the level of attachment.

Tomorrow: Cultivating Lovingkindness
One week from today: Understanding the Noble Truth of the Origin of Suffering

Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
#DhammaWheel

Questions? Visit the Dhamma Wheel orientation page.

Via Daily Dharma: The Beauty of Asking For Help

 To awaken to the awareness of being helped is to enter the path of humility and gratitude.

Reverend Patti Nakai, “You Can’t Go It Alone”

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