The Mindful Life with Waylon H. Lewis

Today’s To-Do List: 1) Gay Rights 2) Animal Welfare 3) Save the Planet

By Waylon H. Lewis, 3-30-06

	Caption: This is the whole enchilada.

Each generation inherits (and strips away, and adds on) a layer (or two, or 2,000) of history (or karma) from its ancestors. We don't only inherit a working knowledge of science; inventions such as light bulbs, 2-ply recycled toilet-paper and 5-blade razors and cars and solar panels; and traditions such as tea ceremony and baseball -- but we inherit Victorian houses, family and national feuds, poetry, beer, bicycles…etc.

We also inherit prejudices. Two centuries ago, poor folk weren't allowed the vote. A century ago, womenfolk weren't allowed the vote. Then came Civil Rights. Then feminism. Next three on the list, in my sage opinion?

It ain't exactly rocket science. The targets are so big, throw a dart anywhere on the map and you'll hit 'em.

1) Queer Folk: fact is that our gay brothers and sisters aren't considered equal under the law. What was that Constitution thing? Something about all created equal? Well, if I came out of the closet tomorrow, I'd have fewer rights than I do today. Right now, gays aren't allowed to marry in 49 States. They get 'Civil Unions' in a few more -- which is great (they can visit each other in the hospital, receive tax and medical benefits of wedded couple) -- but, still, it's a bit like yesterday's leftovers. It ain't the whole enchilada.

2) Animal Kingdom: And, then, we have our animal brothers and sisters -- who represent the ultimate, perhaps, in talking funny, in looking and acting differently, and therefore in losing their rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in a world run by us crazy human folk—who consider our right to a resource-exhausting burger more unalienable than their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of whatever it is that animals like to pursue.

3) Mother Earth: This ain't your treehuggin' daddy's environmentalism. For all the very real doom and gloom of global warming and accelerating species extinction and rampant sprawl and gas-guzzling idiots—taking care of our Mother Earth will, I believe, become more and more mainstream as her seemingly endless reservoir of health is less and less able to sustain itself—and therefore, less and less able to sustain us. 'Cause we care about ourselves, yes we do. We may not care about poor folk or religious or racial minorities or gays or animals, but we care about No. 1.

That’s never been a problem. [End of article]

good opinion. though we seem to be regressing somewhat too: immigrant rights being stripped away rapidly around the world, with both domestic and foreign policies so designed to encourage the attitude that this is not only 'ok' but wise.

i think too that the second too are part of the same thing. understanding that animals should be protected immediately extends to their habitats, while protecting the planet assumes the delicate situation of most animals on this human-(de)generated world today.

once species survival (ours) becomes the dominant social, economic and politic issue, one hopes that the response is not prejudice (fear that the other will take away your ego/food) but compassion (the understanding that i am you, you are me, we are they, they are she, etc. etc.)

don't you think?

mf

ps. find me on inmyheartthereis.blogspot.com

I was just reading in a London newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, published today, an interview with the Dalai Lama. It says (and I quote) "Although he [the Dalai Lama] is known for his tolerant, humane views, he is a surprisingly harsh critic of homosexuality. If you are a Buddhist, he says, it is wrong. 'Full stop. No way round it.' 'A gay couple came to see me, seeking my support and blessing. I had to explain our teachings. Another lady introduced another woman as her wife- astonishing. It is the same with husband and wife using certain sexual practices. Using the other two holes is wrong.'"

I was quite astonished to read this in the newspaper today. I am aware of so many western Buddhists who are gay, some very good teachers of Buddhism. And while I am not gay, I have always been supportive of equal rights for gays and lesbians. I don't know what to make of this... Later into the article it mentioned that the Dalai Lama doesn't condone oral sex between two consenting adults.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/04/01/wdalai01.xml

Tibetian buddhism (there and historically, not here in US) the little I know seemed pretty hierarchial like most religions. Traditional / conservative would also seem to fit the religion as a whole (more so than the Dali Lama's western image).

If I named the next three I'd name the world's poor, the world, and the world's understanding of each other.

Thanks, Kathy S. and Rick. Kathy, my opinion (as a second-generation Buddhist) is this—the Dalai Lama, and many other old-school teachers of his generation, are a little out of touch. You ask them about homosexuality—or the greenhouse effect, or the problems presented by spam or online porn or the prevalence of drugs in inner cities, they won't have much to say. They're specialists—ask them about the human mind, and life from a spiritual or motivation point of view, they'll tell you how to get from point A to B. As for the 'dont use the wrong holes' bit, that doctrine was established for same-sex relationships, god knows why—but they didn't even have homosexuality in mind back in the day. As you said, there are plenties of GLBTQs among American Buddhists—so if Buddhism isn't (culturally) perfect, or up-to-date, then our American heritage can lend a hand. It's not a one-way street, and teachers such as Trungpa encouraged us to embrace the uplifted aspects of our culture—tablemanners, suits and ties, etc.

Rick, Buddhism traditionally was somewhat progressive re women—there are plenty examples (Yeshe Tsogyal, most prominently). As for traditional/conservative, there are elements of that in the tradition--but politically the Buddha was no less a firebrand than Jesus himself, dumping the established caste system, for one.

Yeah. That's it. The Dalai Lama is "out of touch".

Wow. What a case study these posts would make!