practical conceptual translation

New SpringWidget

2008-06-29T11:05:00.001-07:00

From a friend of Do No Harm

2008-06-08T19:01:00.000-07:00

I was recently asked: What is the point of the "do no harm" campaign?

The point is to remind ourselves to live harmlessly. We each experience, understand and view the world uniquely; but regardless of what we believe is the true nature of the universe, of others, and of ourselves – the holy life, the noble life, the well-lived life is to live harmlessly.

-Clyde

Do No Harm

2008-05-24T13:34:00.000-07:00

Let your love flow outward through the universe,
To its height, its depth, its broad extent,
A limitless love, without hatred or enmity.
Then as you stand or walk,
Sit or lie down,
As long as you are awake,
Strive for this with a one-pointed mind;
Your life will bring heaven to earth.

Sutta Nipata

COMFORT

2008-04-23T14:14:00.000-07:00

You are not the first man to have the shakes,
the wheels, the horrors, to wear the scarlet
snowshoe, nor yet the invincible harlot
dogged by eyes like fishnets. Leaning, aches
the iron face with agate eyes, and wakes
the guardian angel, sees the past
a parthenon of possibilities...
You are not the first man to be caught lying,
nor to be told that you are dying.

Malcolm Lowry

Anger

2008-04-19T19:00:00.000-07:00

If those who are like wanton children
Are by nature prone to injure others,
What point is there in being angry--
Like resenting fire for its heat?

-Bodhicaryavatara

sums up a big part of my last 6 months

2008-04-09T10:33:00.000-07:00

In the same way that someone in the midst of a rough crowd guards a wound with great care, so in the midst of bad company should one always guard the wound that is the mind.

-Santideva, "Bodhicaryavatara"

2008-04-08T18:55:00.000-07:00

Queer Liberation and an end to repression

2008-04-05T21:34:00.000-07:00

In a speech to the European Feminist Summit in London last month, activist and human rights advocate Peter Tatchell argued that by challenging traditional heterosexual masculinity, the queer emancipation movement can contribute to the liberation of all of humanity.

Queer liberation is not a mere minority issue, nor purely a question
of personal lifestyle, civil rights or sexual freedom.

It is, or can be, socially transformative, with the potential to aid all emancipation struggles everywhere.

Queers deviate from traditional masculinity. We reject the orthodox
model of what it is to be a man.

By so doing, we are sexual subversives who unravel the straight machismo that underpins all relations of oppression and exploitation.

Traditional hetero masculinity oppresses women and gay people, with
sexist jibes, domestic violence, rape, homophobic taunts and
queer-bashing assaults.

It is also a source of the toughness and aggression that makes possible the social violence of racist attacks, police brutality, war and torture.

Not all straight men embrace this macho mindset. Some rebel and
dissent.

Conversely, a few women and gay men also adopt their oppressor's machismo. But on a global scale it is predominantly heterosexual males who express violent masculinity and perpetrate such crimes.

Macho ways of thinking and acting are not, of course, biologically
ordained and immutable.

They are primarily the socially-determined product of a specific set of culturally-constructed institutions and ideologies.

In societies the world over, these institutions and ideologies
continue to result in male children being reared and socialised quite differently from female ones.

They tend to be conditioned to see rivalry, toughness, domination and even violence as acceptable and normal attributes for young boys and real men.

During boyhood these harsh masculine values often become internalised and machismo ends up being seen as a routine, legitimate and even desirable mode of male behaviour.

In contrast, emotion, sensitivity, gentleness, persuasion and
conciliation tend to be looked upon with relative disfavour amongst
men.

They are frequently depicted within our culture as signs of
weakness, typically associated with women and with gay men. We queers risk disparagement for failing to conform to a rugged masculine ideal.

In this cultural context, from a very early age many (not all) male
children learn to be competitive, strong, aggressive and unyielding.

The idea that problems can be ultimately resolved - and often validly resolved - by threats and violence becomes deeply etched into their inner psyche.

Echoing the women's liberation movement, the lesbian and gay
liberation movement that emerged four decades ago, following the
Stonewall Riots in New York in June 1969, identified straight machismo as a source of queer oppression and set out to challenge it.

In contrast to earlier, more liberal-oriented movements for homosexual law reform and equality, the 1970s Gay Liberation Fronts in New York and London did not seek to ape heterosexual values or secure the acceptance of queers within the existing sexual conventions.

Indeed, they repudiated the prevailing sexual morality and
institutions - rejecting not only heterosexism but also orthodox
heterosexual masculinity.

Straight maleness was seen as the oppressor of queers, as well as women; with its predisposition to male rivalry, toughness and aggression symbolised most potently by the rapist and the queer-basher.

The "radical drag" and "gender-bender" politics of Gay Liberation
Front politics glorified male gentleness.

It was a conscious, if sometimes exaggerated, attempt to renounce the oppressiveness of masculinity and subvert the way traditional masculinity functions to buttress the subordination of women and gay men.

Four decades on, we also need to question male/female gender roles and straight patriarchy, and the consequent macho cult of competitiveness, domination and violence � including its gay and female imitators.

Let's reaffirm the worthwhileness of male sensitivity and affection
between men and, in the case of lesbians, the intrinsic value of an
eroticism and love independent of heterosexual men.

The social implications of this new queer thinking are enormous. The
bottom line is this:

The construction of a cult of machismo and a mass of aggressive male
egos is a precondition for sexual, gender, class, species, ethnic and imperial oppression.

All forms of oppression depend on two factors for their continued maintenance.

First, on specific economic, political and ideological structures.

Second, on a significant proportion of the population being socialised into the acceptance of harsh masculine values which involve the legitimisation of aggression and the suppression of gentleness and emotion.

The embracing of these culturally-conditioned macho values is what
makes millions of people - mostly straight men, but some women and gay men too - able to participate in repressive regimes.

This interaction between social structures, ideology and individual
psychology was a thesis which the communist psychologist, Wilhelm
Reich, was attempting to articulate six decades ago in his book, The Mass Psychology of Fascism.

In the case of German fascism, what Nazism did was merely awake and
excite the latent brutality that is intrinsic to the forms of
heterosexual masculinity that are usually characteristic of
patriarchal class societies.

It then systematically manipulated and organised this machismo into a fascist regime of terror and torture which culminated in the holocaust.

Since it is the internalisation of the masculine cult of toughness and domination which makes people psychologically suited and willing to be part of oppressive relations of exploitation and subjection,
repressive states invariably glorify masculine "warrior" ideals, and
persecute those men - mainly queers - who fail to conform to them.

The embrace of masculine aggression by sizable chunks of the male
population is a prerequisite for injustice and tyranny.

Love and tenderness between men therefore ceases to be a purely private matter or simply a question of personal lifestyle. Instead, it objectively becomes an act of sexual and cultural subversion that undermines the psychological foundations of oppression.

Hence the Nazi vilification of gay men as "sexual subversives" and
"sexual saboteurs" who, in the words of Heinrich Himmler, had to be
"exterminated root and branch."

The ending of tyranny, injustice and exploitation therefore requires
us to change both the social structures and the individual personality.

To create people who, liberated from orthodox masculinity, no longer psychologically crave the power to dominate and exploit others and who are therefore unwilling to be the agents of oppressive regimes.

Whether as soldiers, police, gaolers and censors or as routine civil servants and state administrators who act as the passive agents of repression by keeping the day-to-day machinery of unjust government ticking over.

By challenging the cult of heterosexual masculinity, queer liberation is about much more than the limited agenda of equal rights.

It offers a unique, revolutionary contribution to the emancipation of the whole of humanity from all forms of subjugation.

Peter Tatchell is the Green Party parliamentary candidate for Oxford East.

www.greenoxford.com/peter and www.petertatchell.net

Thanks to Pink News UK

The Theme of Dharma Practice

2008-03-22T22:01:00.000-07:00

The foundation and initial goal of [our] transformation is avoiding doing harm to others. Whether alone or with others, we must strive to avoid doing harm either directly with our words or deeds or indirectly with our thoughts and intentions. We may injure others with abuse, slander, sarcasm, and deceit, or by acts of omission due to insensitivity and thoughtlessness. The most subtle way of harming others is indirectly by means of our thoughts, judgments, and attitudes. When the mind is dominated by hostility, we may be viciously attacking others with our thoughts. Although no apparent injury may be inflicted, these thoughts affect us internally and influence our way of interacting with others, and the long-term effect is invariably harmful. So the initial theme of Dharma practice is a nonviolent approach to our own lives, to other living beings, and to our environment. This is a foundation for spiritual practice, and can provide well-being for both ourselves and others. On this basis of nonviolence we can look for ways to serve others keeping in mind that any work will be altruistic if our motivation is one of kindness and friendliness. --B. Alan Wallace,

2008-03-18T05:48:00.002-07:00

This is I
As wax melts near a lit wick and burns, it emits light near the tip of the candle. For the most part, this place from which light is emitted remains the same and appears as a fixed shape; it is this seemingly unchanging shape that we refer to as flame. That which is called I is similar to the flame. Although both body and mind are an unceasing flow, since they preserve what seems to be a constant form, we refer to them as I. Therefore, actually there is no I existing as some substantial thing; there is only the ceaseless flow.... That there is this seemingly fixed form based on various conditions is interdependence.

--Kosho Uchiyama, Opening the Hand of Thought
From Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book

Gay Buddhist Fellowship

2008-03-04T09:56:00.000-08:00

By the power and truth of this practice,
may all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness,
may all be free from sorrow and the causes of sorrow
all never be separated from the sacred
happiness which is without sorrow,
and may all live in equanimity,
without too much attachment or too much aversion,
and live believing in the equality of all that lives.
—GBF Dedication of Merit

2008-02-29T20:47:00.001-08:00

THE FOURTEEN PRECEPTS

2008-02-27T03:39:00.000-08:00

By Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh (From the book Interbeing)

1
Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.

2
Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive others' viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.

3
Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education. However, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrow-mindedness.

4
Do not avoid suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, visits, images and sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.

5
Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not take as the aim of your life fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure. Live simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.

6
Do not maintain anger or hatred. Learn to penetrate and transform them when they are still seeds in your consciousness. As soon as they arise, turn your attention to your breath in order to see and understand the nature of your hatred.

7
Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings. Practice mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present moment. Be in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing both inside and around you. Plant seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depths of your consciousness.

8
Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break. Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.

9
Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people. Do not utter words that cause division and hatred. Do not spread news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticize or condemn things of which you are not sure. Always speak truthfully and constructively. Have the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety.

10
Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party. A religious community, however, should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.

11
Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation that helps realise your ideal of compassion.

12
Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war.

13
Possess nothing that should belong to others. Respect the property of others, but prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.

14
Do not mistreat your body. Learn to handle it with respect. Do not look on your body as only an instrument. Preserve vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realisation of the Way. (For brothers and sisters who are not monks and nuns:) Sexual expression should not take place without love and commitment. In sexual relations, be aware of future suffering that may be caused. To preserve the happiness of others, respect the rights and commitments of others. Be fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world. Meditate on the world into which you are bringing new beings.

From the book 'Interbeing': Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism, revised edition: Oct. l993 by Thich Nhat Hanh, published by Parallax Press, Berkeley, California

2008-02-23T07:38:00.001-08:00

when he himself is not his own...

2008-02-22T06:48:00.000-08:00

"He abides, having suffused with a mind of loving-kindness
one direction of the world,
likewise the second, likewise the third, likewise the fourth,
and so above, below, around and
everywhere, and to all as to himself;
he abides suffusing the entire universe with loving-kindness,
with a mind grown great, lofty, boundless and
free from enmity and ill will."^[10]

Metta Sutta

2008-02-22T06:45:00.000-08:00

This is what should be done By one who is skilled in goodness, And who knows the path of peace: ... Wishing: In gladness and in safety, May all beings be at ease.	Karaṇīyam- atthakusalena yaṃ taṃ santaṃ padaṃ abhisamecca ... Sukhino vā khemino hontu sabbe sattā bhavantu sukhitattā
Whatever living beings there may be; Whether they are weak or strong, omitting none, The great or the mighty, medium, short or small,	Ye keci pāṇa bhūtatthi tasā vā thāvarā vā anavasesā Dīghā vā ye mahantā vā majjhamā rassakāṇukathūlā
The seen and the unseen, Those living near and far away, Those born and to-be-born — May all beings be at ease!	Diṭṭhā vā yeva addiṭṭhā ye ca dūre vasanti avidūre Bhūtā vā sambhavesī vā sabbe sattā bhavantu sukhitattā
Let none deceive another, Or despise any being in any state. Let none through anger or ill-will Wish harm upon another.	Na paro paraṃ nikubbetha nātimaññetha katthaci naṃ kañci Byārosanā paṭighasaññā nāññamaññassa dukkhamiccheyya
Even as a mother protects with her life Her child, her only child, So with a boundless heart Should one cherish all living beings;	Mātā yathā niyaṃ puttaṃ āyusā ekaputtamanurakkhe Evampi sabbabhūtesū mānasaṃ bhāvaye aparimānaṃ
Radiating kindness over the entire world Spreading upwards to the skies, And downwards to the depths; Outwards and unbounded, Freed from hatred and ill-will.	Mettaṃ ca sabbalokasmiṃ mānasaṃ bhāvaye aparimānaṃ Uddhaṃ adho ca tiriyañca asambādhaṃ averaṃ asapattaṃ
Whether standing or walking, seated or lying down Free from drowsiness, One should sustain this recollection. This is said to be the sublime abiding....^[16]	Tiṭṭhaṃ caraṃ nisinno vā sayāno vā yāvatassa vigatamiddho Etaṃ satiṃ adhiṭṭheyya brahmametaṃ vihāraṃ idhamāhu....^[17

Buddha Vacana

2008-02-21T08:06:00.001-08:00

Verse 52:

Come, live with the doors of the senses guarded, watchfully mindful, carefully mindful with the ways of the mind well watched, possessed of a mind that is awake and observing.

2008-02-21T07:28:00.000-08:00

"Love is our true destiny". Thomas Merton

Lawrence King

2008-02-20T10:10:00.001-08:00

May he find peace and an end to suffering.

Engaged Buddhism

2008-02-19T11:00:00.000-08:00

1. Aware of the violence in the world and of the power of non-violent resistance, I stand in the presence of the ancestors, the earth, and future generations and vow to cultivate the compassion that seeks to protect each living being.

2. Aware of the poverty and greed in the world and of the intrinsic abundance of the earth, I stand in the presence of the ancestors, the earth, and future generations and vow to cultivate the simplicity, gratitude, and generosity that have no limits.

3. Aware of the abuse and lovelessness in the world and of the healing that is made possible when we open to love, I stand in the presence of the ancestors, the earth, and future generations and vow to cultivate respect for the beauty and erotic power of our bodies.

4. Aware of the falsehood and deception in the world and of the power of living and speaking the truth, I stand in the presence of the ancestors, the earth, and future generations and vow to cultivate the ability to listen; and clarity and integrity in all I communicate—by my words and actions.

5. Aware of the contamination and desecration of the world and of my responsibility for life as it manifests through me, I stand in the presence of the ancestors, the earth, and future generations and vow to cultivate; discernment and care in what I take into my body and mind.

The Three Refuges

1. I take refuge in the Buddha.
I stand with clear intention to work for the Awakening and Liberation of all Beings

2. I take refuge in the Dharma.
I stand with gratitude for all the ways that lead to the Awakening and Liberation of all Beings

3. I take refuge in the Sangha.
I stand in solidarity with all the Communities that support and work for the Awakening and Liberation of all Beings

2008-02-18T13:38:00.000-08:00

The absolute desire of 'having more' encourages the selfishness that destroys communal bonds among the children of God. It does so because the idolatry of riches prevents the majority from sharing the goods that the Creator has made for all, and in the all-possessing minority it produces an exaggerated pleasure in these goods.
Archbishop Oscar Romero

2008-02-18T06:01:00.000-08:00

Where the mind is without fear and the head held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by Thee into ever-widening thought and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Rabindranath Tagore

I guess it's Presidents day

2008-02-18T05:59:00.000-08:00

Only Love. Only the holder the flag fits into, and wind. No Flag.

Rumi

Perspective

2008-02-09T10:01:00.000-08:00

‘He abused me, he struck me, he overcame me, he robbed me’

— in those who harbor such thoughts hatred will never cease.

‘He abused me, he struck me, he overcame me, he robbed me’

— In those who do not harbor such thoughts hatred will cease.

(Dhammapada 1.3-4; trans. Radhakrishnan)

Dhammapada

2008-02-06T07:05:00.000-08:00

Verse 37:

45. A striver-on-the path shall overcome this earth, this realm of Yama and this sphere of men and gods. The striver-on-the-path shall bring to perfection the well-taught path of wisdom, as an expert garland-maker would his floral design.

What is The Dhammapada?
The Dhammapada is part of the Khuddaka Nikaya in the Pali Canon.
Source: From The Dhammapa: The Buddha's Path of Wisdom, translated from the Pali by Acharya Buddharakkhita, with an Introduction by Bhikkhu Bodhi (Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1985). Transcribed from the print edition in 1996 by a volunteer under the auspices of the DharmaNet Transcription Project, with the kind permission of the BPS.
Copyright c 1985 Buddhist Publication Society.
Access to Insight edition c 1996

Rumi

2008-02-06T05:45:00.000-08:00

This quest is blessed; your seeking destroys the obstacles on the way of God. Your seeking is the key to what you seek, this quest is your army and the victory of your banners.

M III 1442/1443

On Buddhism and Homosexuality

2008-02-03T11:42:00.000-08:00

From Buddhanet

Buddhism teaches to, and expects from, its followers a certain level of ethical behaviour. The minimum that is required of the lay Buddhist is embodied in what is called the Five Precepts (panca sila), the third of which relates to sexual behaviour. Whether or not homosexuality, sexual behaviour between people of the same sex, would be breaking the third Precept is what I would like to examine here.

Read More...

Really?

2008-02-01T14:17:00.001-08:00

Ummm

2008-01-29T06:10:00.001-08:00

2 Good Lessons on Karma

2008-01-28T08:46:00.000-08:00

Tricycle's Daily Dharma

What Does Karma Mean?
In simple terms, what does karma mean? It means that whatever we do, with our body, speech, or mind, will have a corresponding result. Each action, even the smallest, is pregnant with its consequences. It is said by the masters that even a little poison can cause death, and even a little seed can become a huge tree. And as Buddha said: "Do not overlook negative actions merely because they are small; however small a spark may be, it can burn down a haystack as big as a mountain." Similarly he said: "Do not overlook tiny good actions, thinking they are of no benefit; even tiny drops of water in the end will fill a huge vessel." Karma does not decay like external things, or ever become inoperative. It cannot be destroyed "by time, fire, or water." Its power will never disappear, until it is ripened. - Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying from Everyday Mind, a Tricycle book edited by Jean Smit

The Light of the World
The Buddha identified karma as a volitional activity. That is, each volition in the mind is like a seed with tremendous potential. In the same way that the smallest acorn contains the potential of a great oak tree, so too each of our willed actions contains the seed of karmic results. The particular result depends on the qualities of mind associated with each volition. Greed, hatred, and delusion are unwholesome qualities that produce fruits of suffering; generosity, love, and wisdom are wholesome factors that bear fruits of happiness. The Buddha called the understanding of this law of karma, the law of action and result, the "light of the world," because it illuminates how life unfolds and why things are the way they are. The wisdom of this understanding allows us the freedom to make wise choices in our life. - Joseph Goldstein, Insight Meditation from Everyday Mind, ATricycle book edited by Jean Smith

2008-01-28T05:32:00.000-08:00

Once the temple flag was blowing in the wind.
Two monks were arguing about it.
One said: "The flag is moving."
The other said: "The wind is moving."
Thus they argued back and forth, reaching no agreement.
Then the Patriarch [Master Huineng] said:
"It is not the wind that's moving; it's not the flag that's moving -
it's your mind that's moving."

The Daily Enlightenment

2008-01-24T05:48:00.000-08:00

From BuddhaNet

There are many things we have to learn. But there are not "too many" things-the number is just right despite it being astronomical. This is because what we ought to learn, we ought to learn. It is crucial then, that we live sharply and mindfully, moving quickly through the school of life, learning lessons properly and promptly, paying attention to the details going through the mind, being honest and undefensive to oneself and the world. Life is short. This makes learning quickly and moving on quickly important. This is where the practice of effort and energy comes in. For example, if you know you have a bad temper, read about it, meditate on it... ask others about it. Do the following:

1. Truly recognise the state of anger.
2. Truly recognise its causes.
3. Truly recognise what angerlessness is-peace and calm.
4. Truly recognise the path that leads to angerlessness and walk it.

Sometimes, the anger returns-but if you are able to recognize it each time, resolving it becomes easier and faster. That, if you had noticed, is the formula according to the structure of the Four Noble Truths-it is the universal problem-solving approach. It is possible for us to train ourselves such that we can quickly run through this formula within our minds within seconds when anger arises. As soon as anger arises, it can diminish into non-existence. Don't believe it? Here's a scenario:

1. Someone blames you for something.
2. You hear it and anger arises. (takes 1/2 second to be recognised if mindful enough)
3. You recognise its cause. (takes 1/2 second)
4. You remember how you should be-angerless and calm (takes 1/2 second)
5. You search for the yourself there and then and realise that there is no one "person" angry-there is just an attachment to an unreal self. (takes 2 seconds)

You see? Took only 3.5 seconds. It can be done. Pretty soon if you mastered this, you can hardly get angry generally. The only difficult part is being mindful-extinguishing the volcano of anger before it erupts.

In Memoriam - Heath Ledger

2008-01-23T09:55:00.001-08:00

2008-01-23T09:11:00.000-08:00

From Tricycle

The Buddha described what we call self as a collection of aggregates elements of mind and body that function interdependently, creating the appearance of woman or man. We then identify with that image or appearance, taking it to be I or mine, imagining it to have some inherent self-existence. For example, we get up in the morning, look in the mirror, recognize the reflection, and think, Yes, thats me again. We then add all kinds of concepts to this sense of self: Im a woman or man, Im a certain age, Im a happy or unhappy person the list goes on and on.

When we examine our experience, though, we see that there is not some core being to whom experience refers; rather it is simply empty phenomena rolling on. It is empty in the sense that there is no one behind the arising and changing phenomena to whom they happen. A rainbow is a good example of this. We go outside after a rainstorm and feel that moment of delight if a rainbow appears in the sky. Mostly, we simply enjoy the sight without investigating the real nature of what is happening. But when we look more deeply, it becomes clear that there is no thing called rainbow apart from the particular conditions of air and moisture and light.

Each one of us is like that rainbow an appearance, a magical display, arising out our various elements of mind and body. --Joseph Goldstein, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review,/i>, Vol. VI, #3
from Everyday Mind, edited by Jean Smith, a Tricycle book

Lao-Tzu

2008-01-22T08:44:00.001-08:00

He who knows does not speak. He who speaks does not know.

Socrates

2008-01-22T08:40:00.001-08:00

I do nothing but go about persuading you all, old and young alike, not to take thought for your persons or your properties, but and chiefly to care about the greatest improvement of the soul. I tell you that virtue is not given by money, but that from virtue comes money and every other good of man, public as well as private. This is my teaching, and if this is the doctrine which corrupts the youth, I am a mischievous person.

2008-01-22T07:59:00.000-08:00

Whoever follows the Dhamma
Should take no drink or encourage others to drink,
Knowing that intoxication is the result.
Because of intoxication,

The fool commits evil deeds
And makes others negligent too.
So, avoid this root of wrong,
This folly loved only by fools.

Vs. 22 Buddha Vacana

Martin Luther King Jr.

2008-01-21T06:14:00.001-08:00

Nonviolence is the answer to the crucial political and moral questions of our time; the need for mankind to overcome oppression and violence without resorting to oppression and violence. Mankind must evolve for all human conflict a method which rejects revenge, aggression, and retaliation. The foundation of such a method is love.

2008-01-18T08:43:00.000-08:00

A person with the tendency to respond will succeed in all walks of life; a person who is not responsive will become disappointed in all affairs of life. Responsiveness comes by interest, also by concentration, also by power of one's mind. ... Responsiveness may be explained as faith, trust, concentration, singlemindedness, a living interest, contemplation, and love. To respond means to give full attention and not divided attention but single attention. Responsiveness is focusing one's whole being to something of interest. When a person, even in his interest in worldly affairs, has so developed his faculty of responsiveness, then it becomes easy for him to respond to the call of the Spirit.

The mystery of responsiveness is that the responsive one must forget himself in order to respond; and the same mystery may be called the path to perfection. A person who is not capable of forgetting himself, however good, pious, or spiritual, will always prove imperfect in his life. All misery comes from the consciousness of the self. The one who does not forget is constantly called by his own limited life, which enslaves him constantly. The one who forgets himself receives the call of God.

~~~ "Sangatha II, Tasawwuf ", by Hazrat Inayat Khan (unpublished)

Hazrat Inayat Khan

2008-01-16T08:10:00.000-08:00

Reason is the illusion of reality

Inter-are

2008-01-15T11:01:00.000-08:00

You are me and I am you.
It is obvious that we are inter-are.
you cultivate the flower in yourself
so that I will be beautiful.
I transform the garbage in myself
so that you do not have to suffer.
I support you
you support me.
I am here to bring you peace
you are here to bring me joy.

Thich Nhat Hanh

My Aftercare Program

2008-01-13T18:35:00.000-08:00

"Expectations are premeditated resentments"

Buddhism teaches us that all anticipated results of our actions are merely fantasies.

2008-01-13T18:32:00.000-08:00

Verse 13:

II. Appamadavagga - Heedfulness
21. Heedfulness is the path to the Deathless. Heedlessness is the path to death. The heedful die not. The heedless are as if dead already. 3

What's Morally Wrong With Homosexuality?

2008-01-10T12:14:00.000-08:00

Thanks to notdeadyet

2008-01-10T05:30:00.000-08:00

What is the relationship between my higher power and my higher purpose? Is there a difference?

2008-01-10T05:29:00.000-08:00

The soul can split the sky in two,
And let the face of God shine through. --Edna St. Vincent Millay

2008-01-04T08:11:00.001-08:00

"To be in love is to love an ideal within yourself. To love is to love no ideal but love within itself." James Stephen Cathcart

John Legend

2008-01-04T06:05:00.000-08:00

"Show Me"

I realized as I lay down to sleep
We haven't spoke in weeks
So many things that I'd like to know
Come have a talk with me
I need a sign, something I can see
Why all the mystery?
I try not to fall for make believe
But what is reality?
Where do we go?
What do we know?
Life has to have a meaning
Show me the light
Show me the way
Show that you're listening

Show me that you love me
Show me that you walk with me
Hopefully, just above me
Heaven's watching over me

Guess it's funny how I say thanks to you
For all you've given me
Sometimes the price of what you gave to me
I can't stop questioning
O God of love, peace, and mercy
Why so much suffering?
I pray for the world, it gets worse to me
Wonder if you're listening
When people go
Why do they go?
Why don't you choose me?
But someday I know
I'm gonna go
I hope you're waiting for me

Show me that you love me
Show me that you walk with me
Hopefully, just above me
Heaven's watching over me

Maybe we'll talk
Some other night
Right now I'll take it easy
Won't spent my time
Waiting to die
Enjoy the life I'm living

Show me that you love me
Show me that you walk with me
Hopefully, just above me
Heaven's watching over me

Talmud

2007-12-26T09:11:00.000-08:00

Whoever destroys a single life is as guilty as though he had destroyed the entire world; and whoever rescues a single life earns as much merit as though he had rescued the entire world. - Talmud

Happy Birthday (sort of)

2007-12-21T05:37:00.000-08:00

to me! Today is my 60 day birthday! woo hoo yipee! Seriously, sobriety is the best thing I have done. I've never been happier and more grounded. My relationships have never been stronger and I mean all my relationships including my dogs! (bitchy out on the east coast pointed out that it's not actually a birthday...whatever! ;-)

2007-12-19T09:48:00.000-08:00

From Buddhanet

Bahiya of the Bark Garment asked the monks: "Pray, sirs, where is the Lord staying he who is a Noble One, he who is a fully awakened Buddha?"

"The Lord has gone into the town to get alms-food."

So, Bahiya quickly left the Jeta Grove, went into Savatthti, and found the Lord in quest for alms food. Handsome he was, good to look upon, with senses calmed, tranquil in mind, composed and controlled like a well trained elephant.

"Sir, let the Lord teach me Dhamma so that it will be for my welfare and happiness for a long time."

"You have come at the wrong time, Bahiya. I am getting my alms-food."

A second and a third time he asked, so the Lord answered: "This is how you must train yourself. When, in the seen there is just the seen, in the heard just the heard, in the sensed just the sensed and in the cognized just the cognized, then there will be no 'thereby', and when there is no 'thereby' there will be no 'therefore', and when there is no 'therefore', there will be no here, no there, no midway in between. That is the end of suffering."

Then and there, because of this concise Dhamma teaching, Bahiya's mind was freed from the defilements.

2007-12-15T20:29:00.000-08:00

is faith the acceptance of hope?

2007-12-12T14:24:00.000-08:00

(Spiritual) knowledge, like the appreciation of beauty, is not attained by a logical process of thought but by experience and feeling. -Quakers

On Plato and Human Nature

2007-12-12T14:16:00.000-08:00

Ancient, classical, Greek philosophy also evidences cogent suggestions that human nature is complex with that complexity following the pattern set out in the teachings and texts of several World Faiths:-

Plato was a pupil and friend of the greek philosopher Socrates. Amongst the many works attributed to Plato's authorship is his "The Republic" wherein is set out a series of discourses that allegedly took place between Socrates and a number of other persons who variously arrived and departed as the discussions continued. (Plato may actually have been putting his own ideas in Socrates' mouth!!!)
It is in this record, made by Plato, of "Socrates? " philosophising that most intriguing themes are developed -

...can we possibly refuse to admit that there exist in each of us the same generic parts and characteristics as are found in the state? For I presume the state has not received them from any other source. It would be ridiculous to imagine that the presence of the spirited element in cities is not to be traced to individuals, wherever this character is imputed to the people, as it is to the natives of Thrace, and Scythia, and generally speaking, of the northern countries; or the love of knowledge, which would be chiefly attributed to our own country; or the love of riches, which people would especially connect with the Phoenicians and the Egyptians.
Certainly.
This then is a fact so far, and one which it is not difficult to apprehend.
No, it is not.
But here begins a difficulty. Are all our actions alike performed by the one predominant faculty, or are there three faculties operating severally in our different actions? Do we learn with one internal faculty, and become angry with another, and with a third feel desire for all the pleasures connected with eating and drinking, and the propagation of the species; or upon every impulse to action, do we perform these several actions with the whole soul…
Socrates à la Plato's Republic Book 4

...As there are three parts, so there appear to me to be three pleasures, one appropriate to each part; and similarly three appetites, and governing principles.
Explain yourself.
According to us, one part was the organ whereby a man learns, and another that whereby he shews spirit. The third was so multiform that we were unable to address it by a single appropriate name; so we named it after that which is its most important and strongest characteristic. We called it appetitive, on account of the violence of the appetites of hunger, thirst, and sex, and all their accompaniments; and we called it peculiarly money-loving, because money is the chief agent in the gratification of such appetites.
Yes, we were right.
Then if we were to assert that the pleasure and the affection of this third part have gain for their object, would not this be the best summary of the facts upon which we should be likely to settle by force of argument, as a means of conveying a clear idea to our own minds, whenever we spoke of this part of the soul? And shall we not be right in calling it money-loving and gain-loving?
I confess I think so, he replied.
Again, do we not maintain that the spirited part is wholly bent on winning power and victory and celebrity?
Certainly we do.
Then would the title of strife-loving and honour-loving be appropriate to it?
Yes, most appropriate?
Well, but with regard to the part by which we learn, it is obvious to everyone that its entire and constant aim is to know how the truth stands, and that this of all the elements of our nature feels the least concern for wealth and reputation.
Yes, quite the least.
Then shall we not do well to call it knowledge-loving and wisdom-loving?
Of course we shall.
Does not this last reign in the souls of some persons, while in the souls of other people one or other of the two former, according to circumstances is dominant?
You are right.
And for these reasons may we assert that men may be primarily classed as lovers of wisdom, of strife, and of gain?
Yes, certainly.
And that there are three kinds of pleasure, respectively underlying the three classes?
Exactly so.
Now are you aware, I continued, that if you choose to ask three such men each in his turn, which of these lives is pleasantest, each will extol his own beyond the others? Thus the money-making man will tell you, that compared with the pleasures of gain, the pleasures of being honoured or of acquiring knowledge are worthless, except in so far as they can produce money.
True.
But what of the honour-loving man? Does he not look upon the pleasure derived from money as a vulgar one, while, on the other hand, he regards the pleasure derived from learning as a mere vapour and absurdity unless honour be the fruit of it.
That is precisely the case.
And must we not suppose that the lover of wisdom regards all other pleasures as, by comparison, very far inferior to the pleasure of knowing how the truth stands, and of being constantly occupied with this pursuit of knowledge…
Socrates à la Plato's Republic Book 9

Thanks to Age of the Sage

Bhagavad Gita - Passion

2007-12-11T05:58:00.000-08:00

Arjuna spoke.
But by what is a man impelled, O Varshneya! when he commits sin even against his will, as if compelled by force?

The Holy One spoke.
It is lust: it is wrath, born from the "passion" mode: know that this, all-devouring, all-defiling, is here our foe.
Bhagavad Gita 3: 36- 37

2007-12-06T08:22:00.001-08:00

"Love suffers long, and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.... And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love". Paul of Tarsus, 1 Corinthians 13:4 - 8 (New King James Version) and an alternative "take":

going to check there good folks out - clicky click

2007-12-04T10:36:00.001-08:00

Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender Community
Unitarian Universalism is very supportive of Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender (BGLT) people and their families, and has officially welcomed this community since 1970. We believe that our first principle, respecting “the inherent worth and dignity of every person,” applies equally to people of all sexual orientations and gender identities.

Since 1987, more than half of our congregations have completed a program to become especially welcoming to the BGLT community. These congregations are known as Welcoming Congregations, and are indicated on the congregation list with a rainbow chalice icon.

Unitarian Universalism is one of the few religions that ordains openly Bisexual, Gay, Lesbian, and Transgender people. We encourage our BGLT clergy to participate as fully in our faith as our heterosexual clergy.

In addition to welcoming BGLT people into our religious community, we also work to protect the civil and legal rights of BGLT people and families across the country. Unitarian Universalists have been at the forefront of the same-sex marriage debates, advocating for the right for each person to marry the partner of his or her choice.

For more information contact obgltc @ uua.org.

Last updated on Thursday, August 2, 2007.

2007-12-03T12:07:00.000-08:00

Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition, do not lie against the truth.

This wisdom is not that which comes down from Above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing.

But the wisdom from Above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.

And the seed whose fruit is righteousness, is sown in peace, by those who make peace.
(James 4:13-18)

My Belief Results

2007-12-03T09:50:00.001-08:00

1. Unitarian Universalism (100%)
2. Liberal Quakers (89%)
3. Neo-Pagan (88%)
4. Mahayana Buddhism (86%)
5. New Age (84%)
6. Theravada Buddhism (79%)
7. Secular Humanism (76%)
8. Taoism (76%)
9. Mainline to Liberal Christian Protestants (75%)
10. Scientology (70%)
11. Hinduism (65%)
12. New Thought (65%)
13. Jainism (64%)
14. Christian Science (Church of Christ, Scientist) (62%)
15. Reform Judaism (58%)
16. Sikhism (55%)
17. Orthodox Quaker (51%)
18. Nontheist (46%)
19. Bahá'í Faith (46%)
20. Orthodox Judaism (30%)
21. Islam (28%)
22. Mainline to Conservative Christian/Protestant (28%)
23. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons) (26%)
24. Seventh Day Adventist (24%)
25. Jehovah's Witness (16%)
26. Eastern Orthodox (14%)
27. Roman Catholic (14%)

2007-12-01T10:25:00.001-08:00

The water in a vessel is sparkling; the water in the sea is dark. The small truth has words which are clear; the great truth has great silence.
-Rabindranath Tagore

World AIDS Day Tribute - Essex Hemphill

2007-11-30T14:55:00.000-08:00

Poet, editor, and activist Essex Hemphill was born April 16, 1957, in Chicago, Illinois. He was raised in Southeast Washington, DC, and began to write poems at the age of fourteen. He was educated at the University of Maryland.

Hemphill's first books were the self-published chapbooks Earth Life (1985) and Conditions (1986). He first gained national attention when his work appeared in the anthology In the Life (1986), a seminal collection of writings by Black gay men. In 1989, his poems were featured in the award-winning documentaries Tongues Untied and Looking for Langston.

In 1991, Hemphill edited Brother to Brother: New Writings by Black Gay Men, which won a Lambda Literary Award. In 1992, he released Ceremonies: Prose and Poetry, which won the National Library Association's Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexual New Author Award. His poems appeared in Obsidian, Black Scholar, Callaloo, Painted Bride Quarterly, Essence, and numerous other newspapers and journals. His work also appeared in numerous anthologies including Gay and Lesbian Poetry in Our Time (1986) and Life Sentences: Writers, Artists and AIDS (1993). He was a visiting scholar at The Getty Center for the History of Art and the Humanities in 1993. On November 4, 1995, Hempill died from complications relating to AIDS.

From Poetry.org

Conditions XIV
Essex Hemphill

You left me begging for things
most men thought they had below their belts.
I was reaching higher.
I could throw my legs up like satellites
but I knew I was fucking fallen angels.
I made them feel like demigods.
I believed my mission
to be a war zone duty:
don't create casualties,
heal them.
But I was the wounded
almost dead.
Helping the uninjured.
Men whose lusty hearts
weakened in the middle of the night
and brought them to tears, to their knees
for their former lovers.
They could look at me and tell
they did not want to endure
what beauty love scars give me.
So touch me now --
Hannibal, Toussaint.
I am a revolution without bloodshed.
I change the order of things
to suit my desperations.
You can raise your legs,
almost touch heaven.
I can be an angel,
falling.

Godself

2007-11-30T10:07:00.000-08:00

If I can say to somebody else, I love you, I must be able to say, I love in you everybody, I love through you, the world, I love in you, also myself. - Erich Fromm

Ubuntu

2007-11-28T08:25:00.000-08:00

Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1999):

“

A person with ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good, for he or she has a proper self-assurance that comes from knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed.

From Wikipedia

”

2007-11-27T10:23:00.000-08:00

God is the infinite ALL. Man is only a finite manifestation of Him.
Or better yet:
God is that infinite All of which man knows himself to be a finite part.

God alone exists truly. Man manifests Him in time, space and matter. The more God's manifestation in man (life) unites with the manifestations (lives) of other beings, the more man exists. This union with the lives of other beings is accomplished through love. God is not love, but the more there is of love, the more man manifests God, and the more he truly exists...

We acknowledge God only when we are conscious of His manifestation in us. All conclusions and guidelines based on this consciousness should fully satisfy both our desire to know God as such as well as our desire to live a life based on this recognition.

* Entry in Tolstoy's Diary (1 November 1910)

2007-11-26T12:28:00.001-08:00

Substance Dependence: Common Myths
Substance Abuse Add comments

Drug dependence is simply a failure of will or of strength of character.

Dependence is a brain disorder and people with drug dependence have altered brain structure and function. It is true that dependence is expressed in the form of compulsive behavior, but this behavior is strongly related to brain changes occurring over time, with repeated use of drugs. In recent years genetics was found to be associated with the predisposition of individuals to be more or less susceptible to develop drug dependence.

People who have drug dependence can easily move back to occasional use.

Drug dependence is difficult to control due to compulsive drug use and craving, leading to drug seeking and repetitive use, even in the face of negative health and social consequences. Once dependent, the individual often fails in his or her attempts to quit.

It’s not worthwhile to invest in treatment for individuals who have drug dependence - it is a waste of time and money.

Investing in evidence-based treatment for substance dependence decreases negative health consequences and social effects (e.g. crime, economic burden and HIV infection). For every dollar spent on treatment 7 dollars are returned in cost-savings. Treatment is proven to be cost-effective in both developed and developing countries. It costs less than imprisonment.

Adapted from What Do People Think They Know About Substance Dependence (World Health Organization, 2001).

Hello

2007-11-25T10:54:00.001-08:00

The Invitation
Oriah Mountain Dreamer

"It doesn't interest me what you do for a living.
I want to know what you ache for,
and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are.
I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love,
for your dreams,
for the adventure of being alive.

It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon.
I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow,
if you have been opened by life's betrayals
or have become shriveled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own,
without moving to hide or fade it or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own:
if you can dance with wildness
and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes
without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic,
or to remember the limitations of being a human.

It doesn't interest me if the story you're telling me is true.
I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself;
if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul.
I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see the beauty even when it is not pretty everyday,
and if you can source your life from ITS presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine,
and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, "Yes!"

It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.
I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair,
weary and bruised to the bone,
and do what needs to be done for the children.

It doesn't interest me who you are, or how you came to be here.
I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.
I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself,
and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments."