Monday, March 18, 2024

Via DailyChatter \\ ‘A Journey of 1,000 Miles’

 


A Japanese high court ruled that a ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, a move that has divided the country’s judiciary and could pressure the conservative government to act, Reuters reported.

The High Court of Sapporo, on northern Japan’s Hokkaido Island, said that rules in Japan’s civil code limiting marriage to two people of opposite genders are “unconstitutional” and “discriminatory.” Judge Kiyofumi Saito added that the ban violates Article 14 of the Constitution, which provides that all citizens are equal.

The ruling was the first one to use such strong language. It came after other decisions, issued by lower courts, arguing the ban was in a “state of unconstitutionality,” the Japan Times noted. Those verdicts had frustrated rights groups because they represented little progress.

The Sapporo court’s decision was met with tears of joy from activists. One of them told the Japan Times it went beyond their expectations.

The verdict’s firm language is expected to force the government to act, as the environment is increasingly congenial for advancing LGBTQ rights in Japan. A recent public opinion poll showed that nearly two-thirds of Japanese people supported same-sex unions.

However, the ruling conservative Liberal Democratic party of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida opposes the measure.

Press secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the government would monitor public opinion and upcoming court rulings, believing that “an introduction of same-sex marriage closely affects family values of the people.”

On the other hand, the Sapporo court said that “enacting same-sex marriage does not seem to cause disadvantages or harmful effects.” Advocates added that the ban could even harm the Japanese economy.

Japan is the only member of the Group of Seven – whose member states are listed among the world’s wealthiest – offering no legal protection for same-sex couples, Reuters explained.

An executive at Goldman Sachs in Tokyo told the newswire that by keeping the ban, Japan risks repelling talented foreign LGBTQ workers who could not move to the country with their partners and enjoy the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts.

So far, nearly 400 local governments in Japan have approved partnership systems for same-sex couples, with a limited set of benefits.

US Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emmanuel praised the court ruling’s step on “a journey of 1,000 miles” toward legalizing same-sex marriage.

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

 


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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)

Sorrow and lamentation are suffering: the sorrow, sorrowing, sorrowfulness, inner sorrow, inner sorriness of one who has encountered some misfortune or is affected by some painful state. (MN 9)
Reflection
The first noble truth, the truth of suffering, is described in some detail in these texts. Here the experience of loss and sorrow is highlighted. Elsewhere we might be able to make a distinction between sorrow as a form of mental pain and suffering as a state of emotional affliction, but here we are simply directed to the universal human experience of the pain of loss or misfortune. It hurts a lot to lose someone you love. 

Daily Practice
The truth of suffering is not meant to encourage us to wallow in our afflictions, but it does not let us try to escape them through some kind of denial. The first noble truth is a starting point. Only when the suffering is acknowledged can the healing begin. Look at some aspect of your own suffering with courage and without fear and decide that you can and will undertake a path to heal the pain by understanding it and letting it go.

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

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Via Daily Dharma: Turning Sleep into Practice

 

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Turning Sleep into Practice 

When we are asleep, our consciousness is more detached from the perceptions and sensations that come to us through the senses. Through devoted practice, we can discover the 'clear light' of consciousness that is not bound to the physical body, and that is not extinguished when we die.

Noelle Oxenhandler, “Making Friends with the Night”


CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE

Prioritizing Human Flourishing
By Matthew O'Connell
How Aristotle, the Buddha, and Confucius can inform a renewal of virtue ethics. 
Read now »

Via Buddhist Geeks

 


Via White Crane Institute \\

 


Poet Wilfred Owen
1893 -

On this date the soldier and iconic war poet WILFRED OWEN was born (died 1918).  Regarded by many as the leading poet of the First World War, his shocking, realistic war poetry on the horrors of trench and gas warfare was heavily influenced by his friend Siegfried Sassoon and sat in stark contrast to both the public perception of war at the time, and to the confidently patriotic verse written earlier by war poets such as Rupert Brooke. Some of his best-known works—most of which were published posthumously—include "Dulce Et Decorum Est", "Insensibility", "Anthem for Doomed Youth", "Futility" and "Strange Meeting". His preface intended for a book of poems to be published in 1919 contains numerous well-known phrases, especially 'War, and the pity of War', and 'the Poetry is in the pity'. He is perhaps just as well-known for having been killed in action at the Battle of the Sambre just a week before the war ended, causing news of his death to reach home as the town's church bells declared peace.

Robert Graves and Sacheverell Sitwell (who also personally knew him) have stated Owen was homosexual, and homo-eroticism is a central element in much of Owen's poetry. Through Sassoon, Owen was introduced to a sophisticated homosexual literary circle which included Oscar Wilde's friend Robbie Ross, writer and poet Osbert Sitwell, and C. K. Scott-Moncrieff, the translator of Proust. This contact broadened Owen's outlook, and increased his confidence in incorporating homoerotic elements into his work.

The account of Owen's sexual development has been somewhat obscured because his brother, Harold Owen, removed what he considered discreditable passages in Owen's letters and diaries after the death of their mother. Owen also requested that his mother burn a sack of his personal papers in the event of his death, which she faithfully did.


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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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Sunday, March 17, 2024

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Via Dhamma Wheel | Right Mindfulness and Concentration: Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects and the Fourth Jhāna

 


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RIGHT MINDFULNESS
Establishing Mindfulness of Mental Objects
A person goes to the forest or to the root of a tree or to an empty place and sits down. Having crossed the legs, one sets the body erect. One establishes the presence of mindfulness. (MN 10) One is aware: "Ardent, fully aware, mindful, I am content." (SN 47.10)
 
When restlessness is internally present, one is aware: "Restlessness is present for me." When restlessness is not present, one is aware: "Restlessness is not present for me." When the arising of unarisen restlessness occurs, one is aware of that. And when the abandoning of arisen restlessness occurs, one is aware of that … One is just aware, just mindful: "There is a mental object." And one abides not clinging to anything in the world. (MN 10)
Reflection
As we move into practicing with the fourth foundation of mindfulness, mindfulness of mental objects, the instructions become somewhat more detailed. The first section goes through each of the five hindrances and invites us to notice not only whether they are present or not but also how they arise in the mind. The teaching also points out that each hindrance can be abandoned once it has arisen. Observing this is important.

Daily Practice
Sometimes when you are sitting in meditation you will notice that the mind is restless. That’s okay; just notice it. And other times the mind will be calm and without restlessness. Notice this as well. Once familiar with these two modes, you can look more closely at the transition from one state to the other—watching the arising and passing away of restlessness. It is just a mental factor that comes and goes. Looking carefully, you’ll see that.


RIGHT CONCENTRATION
Approaching and Abiding in the Fourth Phase of Absorption (4th Jhāna)
With the abandoning of pleasure and pain, and with the previous disappearance of joy and grief, one enters upon and abides in the fourth phase of absorption, which has neither-pain-nor-pleasure and purity of mindfulness due to equanimity. The concentrated mind is thus purified, bright, unblemished, rid of imperfection, malleable, wieldy, steady, and attained to imperturbability. (MN 4)

When one sees oneself purified of all these unhealthy states and thus liberated from them, gladness is born. When one is glad, joy is born; in one who is joyful, the body becomes tranquil; one whose body is tranquil feels pleasure; in one who feels pleasure, the mind becomes concentrated. (MN 40)
Reflection
Concentration is not something we do to the mind, but is something we allow the mind to do. The mind would naturally be far more concentrated than it usually is if we could just stop interfering with it. The states of restlessness, sluggishness, sense desire, ill will, and doubt act as obstacles or hindrances preventing the mind from reaching a natural state of great tranquility, clarity, unity, and strength.

Daily Practice
Once you are able to experience this particular kind of pleasure, the pleasure born of freedom, gladness, and joy, it is only a small step to develop a deep and stable concentration. The pleasure morphs into equanimity and allows for a profound seeing of things as they actually are, without distortion. Approach concentration in your practice in this way, as uncovering a natural state of mind.


Tomorrow: Understanding the Noble Truth of Suffering
One week from today:  Establishing Mindfulness of Body and Abiding in the First Jhāna


Share your thoughts and join the conversation on social media
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Questions?
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