Via Daily Dharma: Creative Problem-Solving

We have to see with fresh eyes all of the conflicts that create suffering in our world. We don’t want to lose our heads. Instead we’re looking for new and imaginative ways to approach the suffering we behold.

Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, “Bodhisattvas Have More Fun”

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Matthieu Ricard: How to let altruism be your guide

Matthieu Ricard 2004 Sobre los hábitos de la felicidad subtitulado español

Matthieu Ricard - Memorias de un monje budista (en español)

Via Lions Roar // The Practice of No Practice

 

“How do we come to trust in Amida Buddha’s generosity and compassion?” asks Nagapriya. He explores Shinran’s teachings and the practice of nembutsu.

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Via GBF //Make a tax-deductible donation that saves the lives of LGBT+ refugees, today...

To my dear Gay Buddhists,

With the help of many friends here, my brother Frank Rodriguez and I are grateful to have gotten 24 Afghan activist and LGBT+ refugees to safety in the last year, including many to Canada. Just last week we successfully evacuated a lesbian human rights defender and her 5 daughters, and a young gay activist who is almost finished with his veterinary degree. 

We now face a crisis and an opportunity: we have 5 remaining refugees in Afghanistan. These women, human rights defenders, and LGBT+ are being actively hunted by the Taliban and face persecution, prison, death or forced marriage and rape. However, Canada has graciously invited these at-risk refugees in Afghanistan to come to Canada to become permanent residents, and then citizens. Since Canada has no embassy in Afghanistan, they must travel to a nearby country by the end of January, before this invitation expires. 

We are raising $30,000 to transport them out of Afghanistan (paying for their transportation, visas, and accommodations while they wait in an interim location to be flown to Canada). 100% of your tax deductible donation goes directly to the refugees for their safe passage and care. When Canada offers an invitation to refugees, their government program provides a year of financial support, free medical care, and language and career education. For refugees fleeing harm from the Taliban, it's a golden ticket to a hopeful future so these invitations are both hard to get and not to be taken for granted. But first we have to sneak them out of Afghanistan (dangerous) and support them in another country while they wait for their flight to Canada (often months of waiting). 

We are now collaborating with one of the most effective and agile refugee rescue organizations in the U.S., a 501c3 called SCM Medical Missions in Seattle. This week, we created a special fund to rescue these refugees, called the Freedom Partners Fund, at SCM. All donations are 100% tax deductible and directly to fund the evacuation of these refugees out of Afghanistan by the January 31st deadline. This is a completely volunteer operation, with no staff or overhead. 

If you are moved to contribute again by the promise of these 5 people and the extraordinary invitation from Canada, please donate now at this special landing page, by credit card, Paypal, or check. A donation of ANY AMOUNT would be helpful to raising the $30,000 needed. 

DONATE HERE: https://www.scmmedicalmissions.org/donations/freedom-partners-fund/

Happy New Year! We would be glad to answer any questions you may have about our LGBTQI refugee work.

Joe and Frank Rodriguez

P.S. Feel free to share this post to interested friends and family members.

Via Ram Dass LGBTQ+ Jan Meetup ~ Meditating with Ram Dass

 

January LGBTQ+ Satsang   Meditating with Ram Dass Jan 8 @ 8 pm EDT | 5 pm PDT REGISTER HERE         “It’s as if light were pouring forth from this being, from every cell. Just looking at this being, you experience the peace that emanates from it.” – Ram Dass Sit for a moment and recuperate in community as the holiday season comes to a close.  Reconnect with your heart space with a guided visual meditation from Ram Dass.  Join us for a spirited gathering to honor our queer fellowship community. This event will include meditation, social discussion time, and kirtan. Please feel free to bring a story, excerpt, or teaching to share with the satsang, that connects you to or reflects your queer spiritual experience. Join us for a spirited gathering to honor our queer fellowship community. This event will include meditation, social discussion time, and kirtan. Please feel free to bring a story, excerpt, or teaching to share with the satsang, that connects you to or reflects your queer spiritual experience. Add event to calendar         LGBTQ+ Fellowship Mission Statement The LGBTQ+ Ram Dass Satsang’s mission is to cultivate loving awareness and heart connections in a community of kindred souls. We celebrate our unity in the full spectrum of gender and sexuality in and from a space of supportive openness. GOALS: Create a refuge of satsang for LGBTQ+ individuals through the teachings of Maharaj-ji and Ram Dass Promote inclusive transcendence and self-acceptance of our human incarnation as members of the LGBTQ+ community Explore the intersection of seva/service & the spectrum of gender and sexuality  Hold a space for exploring being LGBTQ+ from the perspective of consciousness  Have a place to have a voice and be a valued part of the community   Remove barriers from LGBTQ+ identities within the spiritual world Help to generate a shift within the collective consciousness through awakening VALUES: Following the teachings of Neem Karoli Baba & Ram Dass Service Compassion Acceptance Spiritual Inquiry Cultivating the Witness Loving Awareness Devotion Healing Loving our Roles and Souls Honoring the individuality within the Unity Developing our Sadhana SEE YOU SOON The Ram Dass LGBTQ+ Satsang team Register Here

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) Such speech as you know to be untrue, incorrect, and unbeneficial but which is welcome and agreeable to others—do not utter such speech. (MN 58)

Reflection This teaching is pointing out the unhealthy effects of flattery and other kinds of hollow speech. Why speak something you know is untrue? Presumably in this case to make someone else feel good or to like you more. This is a short-term strategy that will only cause more harm than good in the longer term. Right speech is about understanding the more subtle aspects of cause and effect in the realm of human communication. Daily Practice The most direct way to practice right speech is to undertake a serious commitment to always speak the truth. From the Buddhist perspective, this has more to do with deeper health than with what you eat or how much exercise you get. Notice that this practice is not about judging other people for their wrong speech but is focused on your own dedication to abstaining from false speech and consistently telling the truth. 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.

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© 2022 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Daily Dharma: Attaining Wisdom

 We attain wisdom not by creating ideals but by learning to see things clearly, as they are.

Jack Kornfield, “Theravada Vipassana Practice”

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Via White Crane Institute // BRYNE R.S. FONE

 

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The Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature

1936 -

BRYNE R.S. FONE, American scholar and writer, born; It would be impossible to compile a complete survey of Gay male literature; the very looseness of the definition of "Gay" (not to mention the wealth of possible material) would overwhelm the project. Despite that, Byrne R.S. Fone fashioned a useful, intelligent, and amazingly functional volume that traces Gay male themes from classical antiquity to the present day.

Drawing on a variety of traditions and cultures -- from ancient Greece to modern Egypt, from the Hebrew Bible to the Russian revolutionary Sergei Esenin -- Fone reviews and reprints not only significant texts, but also supplies readable, intelligent introductions that illuminate the subject in the Columbia Anthology of Gay Literature (ISBN: 0231096712).

Most of the material, apart from a short section on Latin American and Cuban writing, is steeped in a Western European tradition; the book nevertheless conjures a good case for a Gay sensibility--or rather a series of sensibilities--that amazes, alarms, and endures. Fone is also the author of A Road to Stonewall: Male Homosexuality and Homophobia in English and American Literature, 1750-1969 and Masculine Landscapes: Walt Whitman and the Historical Text.

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Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute

"With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson

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

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Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - December 28, 2022 💌

 

Ramakrishna said, "Only two kinds of people can attain to self-knowledge: those whose minds are not encumbered at all with learning - that is to say, not overcrowded with thoughts borrowed from others - and those who, after studying all the scriptures and sciences, have come to realize that they know nothing."

That last part is when the Jnana yoga path is really working, because the "know nothing" is the next step in this trip. You learn and you learn and you learn until you realize that with all you've learned, you don't know anything - and that's the route through. You use your intellectual models to get you going - they're really helpful for that - but you don't cling to the models; you keep letting go of them, letting go of the intellectual structures. Otherwise they get in your way. 

-Ram Dass -

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 on 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 characteristic of lovingkindness is promoting welfare. (Vm 9.93)

Reflection One of the great insights of Buddhist practice is that who you are at any given moment is not set in stone, is not a matter of chance, and is not shaped by others. In every mind moment you are shaping who you will become in the next moment. Understanding this is profoundly empowering, for it gives you an opportunity to decide for yourself that you will be a better person in the future by being a better person now.     Daily Practice Kindness can become an ongoing practice, a habit of mind and heart that tries at every opportunity to wish the best for others. It is not a matter of liking people as much as wishing them well and caring for their well-being. Practice targeting random people you encounter throughout the day and wishing them well. Notice the subtle effect this has on your own mind, squeezing out any annoyance or resentment you might otherwise feel. 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.

Tricycle is a nonprofit and relies on your support to keep its wheels turning. Donate »

© 2022 Tricycle Foundation 89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Via Revista Bodisatva // Adeus ano velho, feliz ano novo. Mas já?!

 

Amigas e amigos da Bodisatva, Olá! Não é que estamos nos despedindo de um ano que parece novo e já se tornou velho? Ainda que luminoso, um novo ano relativo sempre começa com expectativas, anseios e curiosidades sobre o que está por vir. É natural também fazermos um balanço antes da meia-noite do dia 31 para olhar um pouco do que aconteceu. Que tal relembrarmos juntos como foi 2022 na Bodisatva? Que período lindo e desafiador tivemos! Primeiro, a reedição da revista nº1 da Bodisatva, que deu início a nossa trajetória e aborda temas como o sutra Surangama e a teoria quântica, inédito na língua portuguesa. Kazuaki Tanahashi Sensei generosamente disponibilizou um texto de seu livro Green Buddhism, ainda inédito, que fala sobre a relação entre ação e a prática contemplativa. E a trajetória do CEBB desde sua fundação não poderia faltar nessa edição, com fotos históricas que são uma relíquia! E a próxima revista está no forno: com 101% da meta arrecadada para a edição nº 34, a generosidade da sanga proporcionará mais essa impressão da revista, que aborda a interface entre a Espiritualidade e a Resistência e, em breve, chega em suas mãos. Novo recorde da Bodi Este ano, a Bodisatva bateu um recorde: foram três livros incríveis publicados, sendo duas biografias, As vidas e a liberação da Princesa Mandarava - que, contada a partir de uma buda mulher, narra as vidas de suas emanações compassivas nos locais mais turbulentos do samsara, para difundir o budismo - e Guru Rinpoche: Sua vida e tempos - que narra como ele domou e converteu o Tibete ao budismo, alterando o curso da história asiática. No lançamento, músicos da sanga musicaram lindamente a súplica à Mandarava. Em 2022 comemoramos também o lançamento do livro Nossa Vida como Gaia que, provocativo e profundo, trata de forma corajosa do desespero e da negação que sentimos diante das crises globais atuais, além de apontar um caminho para sairmos dessa apatia. A própria Joanna Macy falou sobre a sua experiência no evento de lançamento. Bodisatva nas redes Este ano, estivemos fortemente presentes nas mídias digitais. O site atingiu mais de 150 mil visualizações, sendo que 50 mil foram novos visitantes, atraídos pela sede da sabedoria que possa conduzir a uma melhor forma de experienciar a vida. Grandes mestres foram destaques nas matérias, como Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche, que abordou sobre o carma, um tema profundo e vasto devido a complexidade de suas causas e condições, que estão além da lógica; Erik Pema Kunzang, sobre a importância da contemplação, como usar os momentos livres para praticar e o que é mesmo realização, na abertura do programa Bodhi Training; Sua Santidade o 14º Dalai Lama, com um trecho do livro “O Caminho da Felicidade”, com métodos para gerar bodicita em benefício de todos os seres, além de muitos outros mestres como Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche, Thich Nhat Hahn e Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. Publicamos um trecho do ensaio surpreendente de Amitav Ghosh, escritor indiano, sobre a crise climática e, ainda sobre esse tema, trouxemos um pouco do livro Ecodarma de David Loy, que foi lançado esse ano no Brasil. Saber como os outros estão se movimentando no mundo para gerar benefício pode inspirar a nossa prática, por isso, temas como vivência formativa para jovens, ações das escolas Caminho do Meio e Vila Verde, cultura de paz as novas aldeias CEBB Abhirati e Dewachen, além de relatos sobre experiências com a arte e a espiritualidade, filosofia e compaixão, dança e morte fizeram parte da escolha dos temas desse ano. Tudo isso feito com muito carinho, por uma turma que foi se formando com o fluir da vida e que fez acontecer. São eles: Higor Soffe, Lia Beltrão, Jeane Caligari, Lorena Souza, Cristiane Shardosin Martins, Elen Cezar, Janaína Araújo, Elise Bozzetto, Rozana Folz e eu, Carol Franchi, recém-chegada e feliz da vida em ver meu quadradinho aparecer aí em cima :-). Lembrando que a Revista Bodisatva é um projeto sem fins lucrativos, feito de forma colaborativa por voluntari@s e seu apoio de forma recorrente é muito bem-vindo. Para saber como ajudar, só clicar aqui. Como será 2023? Não sei. Só sei que vamos construí-lo juntos e, daqui a pouco, nesse tempo relativo e rápido, estaremos aqui de novo pra contar como foi. Agradecemos a todes que vêm nutrindo conosco, em rede, o florescimento da Bodisatva. Carol Franchi e equipe da Bodi <3 Veja outras formas de apoiar o movimento da Bodisatva aqui: https://bodisatva.com.br/apoie/

- Revista Bodisatva - Centro de Estudos Budistas Bodisatva Estrada Caminho do Meio, 2600 Viamão, RS 94515000 Brasil