Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Via Daily Dharma: Let Go of Your “I, Me” Mind

Let Go of Your “I, Me” Mind

To whatever degree we’re moving in the direction of the lack of self-centeredness, when we’re on that trajectory, a natural occurrence is greater metta (lovingkindness) because we’re not so self-obsessed.

Joseph Goldstein, “How to Understand Selflessness, and Why It’s So Important”


CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Forward today's wisdom to a friend »

 

 

Via Ram Dass - Love Serve Remember Foundation // Words of Wisdom - July 5, 2023 💌



"The stroke got me to appreciate silence as much as I used to appreciate words."

- Ram Dass -

 

Sex Education: Season 4 | Official Teaser | Netflix

Rachel Maddow Presents: Deja News

 


Rachel Maddow BRINGS THE HOUSE DOWN with response to Trump indictment

Fox host attacks Pete Buttigieg. He makes her REGRET it

Buttigieg reacts to video shared by DeSantis campaign

Tuesday, July 4, 2023

Via White Crane Institute // WALT WHITMAN published the first edition of Leaves of Grass

 

Noteworthy
Walt Whitman
1855 -

On this day in 1855, WALT WHITMAN published the first edition of Leaves of Grass. The first edition consisted of twelve poems, and was published anonymously; Whitman set much of the type himself, and paid for its printing. Over his lifetime, he published eight more editions, adding poems each time; there were 122 new poems in the third edition alone (1860-61), and the final "death-bed edition," published in 1891, contained almost 400. The first edition received several glowing — and anonymous — reviews in New York newspapers. Most of them were written by Whitman himself.

The praise was unstinting: "An American bard at last!" One legitimate mention by popular columnist Fanny Fern called the collection daring and fresh. Emerson felt it was "the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom America has yet contributed." This wasn't a universal opinion, however; many called it filth, and poet John Greenleaf Whittier threw his copy into the fire.


ECHO Conference, NYC, 1965
1965 -

ECHO (East Coast Homophile Organizations) protesters picket Independence Hall in Philadelphia on Independence Day.


Today's Gay Wisdom
2018 -

Preface to Leaves of Grass
by Walt Whitman

This is what you shall do: Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul; and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body.


|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

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

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

Via White Crane Institute // STEPHEN FOSTER

 


This Day in Gay History

July 04

Born
Stephen Foster
1826 -

STEPHEN FOSTER, American composer, born (d: 1864); Like Yankee Doodle, the composer Stephen Foster was born on the Fourth of July. His list of sentimental down-home hits—“Oh Susanna,” “Old Folks At Home,” “Beautiful Dreamer,” "Jeannie with The Light Brown Hair,” and “Old Black Joe”—make the jingoistic George M. Cohan appear strident and un-American by comparison.

Flag-waving or no, what made fireworks go off for this star-spangled tune-smith was another composer – George Cooper, a handsome young man who is best known today for his “Sweet Genevieve,” a song perhaps best sung as a barbershop quartet, when drunk. So taken was Foster with sweet George Cooper that he abandoned his wife and family to run away with him. So, as you put out the bunting to celebrate the glorious Fourth, think of Stephen Foster, grand old American composer, “gwine to Lusiana” with George Cooper, not a banjo, on his knee.


|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

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

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

 

Via Daily Dharma: We Have All the Skills We Need

We Have All the Skills We Need

All too often, we can focus on the negative: what we haven't got, what we lack, what we desire. But actually, we all have skills that we use to negotiate our lives. The acknowledgement of these skills is vitally important.

John Peacock, “Tricycle Online Course: The Spiral to Freedom”


CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Forward today's wisdom to a friend »

 

Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Intention: Cultivating Equanimity

 


TRICYCLE      COURSE CATALOG      SUPPORT      DONATE

RIGHT INTENTION
Cultivating Equanimity
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 equanimity, for when you develop meditation on equanimity, all aversion is abandoned. (MN 62) 

The near enemy of equanimity is the ordinary indifference of the uninformed. (Vm 9.101) When a person, hearing a sound with the ear, is not attached to pleasing sounds and not repelled by unpleasing sounds, they have established mindfulness and dwell with an unlimited mind. For a person whose mindfulness is developed and practiced, the ear does not struggle to reach pleasing sounds, and unpleasing sounds are not considered repulsive. (SN 35.274)
Reflection
The idea of a near enemy is used in Buddhist commentaries to help define the meaning of words. A near enemy is something that seems like the right definition of a word (hence near), but is actually missing the mark and steering us in a wrong direction (hence enemy). What is being said here is that equanimity can easily be misconstrued as indifference, while in fact these two are miles apart. Real equanimity is fully engaged.

Daily Practice
Working with sound, see if you can hear sounds without favoring or opposing what you hear, without preferring some sounds and feeling aversion toward others. You will notice that this requires paying close attention and is thus far from indifference. When hearing a sound (bird calls, traffic, the refrigerator), just be aware of hearing the sound with an attitude of true equanimity: attentive but unattached.

Tomorrow: Refraining from Frivolous Speech
One week from today: Cultivating Lovingkindness

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.

© 2023 Tricycle Foundation
89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Monday, July 3, 2023

Via White Crane Institute // DOG DAYS

 

Noteworthy
2018 -

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac today marks the beginning of the DOG DAYS most commonly experienced in the months of July and August, which typically observe the warmest summer temperatures. In the Southern hemisphere, they typically occur in January and February, in the midst of the austral summer. The Almanac lists the traditional period of the Dog Days as the forty days beginning July 3rd and ending August 11th, coinciding with the ancient heliacal (at sunrise) rising of the Dog Star, Sirius. These are the days of the year with the least rainfall in the Northern Hemisphere.


|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

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

|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|O|8|

ia Daily Dharma: Nurturing a Virtuous Mind

 

Nurturing a Virtuous Mind

Every time we refrain from callously expressing irritation, every time we restrain ourselves from consuming more than we need, and every time we offer dharma nourishment and material sustenance to one another, our minds grow in virtue.

Shinge Sherry Chayat Roshi, “Deepening Our Resolve”


CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Forward today's wisdom to a friend »

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

 


TRICYCLE      COURSE CATALOG      SUPPORT      DONATE

RIGHT VIEW
Understanding the Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering
And what is the way leading to the cessation of suffering? It is just this noble eightfold path: that is, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right living, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration. (MN 9)

One perfects their ethical behavior by abandoning intoxication . . . (DN 2)
Reflection
Once again the importance of ethical behavior is emphasized, as the heart of walking the path toward the cessation of suffering, and so too is the particular value of keeping the mind clear and alert. Intoxication leads to a muddling of the mind, and the negligence that ensues can be the source of a lot of trouble. Sobriety in its many forms is a skill that can be learned, developed, strengthened, and ultimately perfected.

Daily Practice
Look at the many ways your diligence of mind is diminished throughout the day and becomes negligent. We get distracted by petty things, interrupted by random circumstances, confused by stray thoughts, or addled by any number of befuddling substances. The path to awakening winds its way among these obstacles. See if the image of gradually perfecting your ethical behavior can be useful in countering this.

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

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.

© 2023 Tricycle Foundation
89 5th Ave, New York, NY 10003

Sunday, July 2, 2023

Via Daily Dharma: See Beyond Partial Views

 

See Beyond Partial Views

Neither we ourselves nor the world around us can be saved unless we learn to see both sides of things, learn to pull as well as push, and learn to maintain a broad and lofty view of the truth.

Masahiro Mori, “Back Up and Take Another Look”


CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Forward today's wisdom to a friend »