The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF

Sometimes it can be a relief to hear the recognition offered in the First Noble Truth: that suffering exists and everyone experiences it.   In addition to this fact, the Buddha taught that suffering can be ended. All of his teachings on achieving this freedom from suffering fall under two wings: wisdom and compassion. In this talk, infused with dharma songs, Eve Decker highlights a few of the nume...

Dharma friends for over 30 years, Danadasa and John Del Bagno present Dharmic poetry, artwork, and chanting. View the artwork and poetry selections at https://gaybuddhist.org/podcast/art-poetry-and-the-imagination-danadasa-chan-john-del-bagno/ ______________ Dhammachari Danadasa has been practicing with the San Francisco Buddhist Center (SFBC) community since 1993 and was ordained in 2011. His cur...

Understanding impermanence is essential for awakening to the dharma - the truth of the way things are. All conditioned phenomena that we experience are impermanent, which is part of the difficulty in life, yet it is perfectly normal.   In this talk, Eugene Cash begins with instruction for listening to any dharma talk: by relaxing but remaining aware. This is done by invoking the Satipatthana Sutta...

We often come with specific expectations about how the practice will help us reduce our suffering. But how do we react when these expectations are not met? What can we learn from these experiences? In this talk, Steven Tierney helps us explore:  We often get attached to fixed views because we crave certainty, knowing that we are doing something the "right" way so as not to be criticized....

Instead of seeing ourselves as separate from the world we observe, can we imagine that it is the Buddha looking out through our eyes, wishing the best for everyone and everything? In this talk, Larry Robinson explains that in the Mayahana traditions, we sit and practice not to attain or accomplish anything, but to express our Bodhicitta, our true nature, and to connect with the underlying reality...

In some of her books, Laura Burges writes about addiction, which she sees as a metaphor for the craving we all experience that leads to suffering. To counter this, the dharma, much like recovery, is passed from person to person. In this talk, she examines the fable of Rumplestiltskin and how greed and craving can take hold of us like a curse or a spell. By facing our demons and naming them, we bre...

Who or what do we refer to when we say, "I am..."? In this talk, Dorothy Hunt explores the difference between the 'home ground' of just being, before we add definitions of 'I am.' Our pure being, or Buddha nature, is always becoming something, and often underlies the doing that we experience. However, as we focus more on doing, it draws us into a need for accomplishme...

In what ways do we engage in retaliation in our relationships? How can we let go of this urge? In this talk, Dave Richo defines retaliation as reacting equally to the harm that was initiated against us; revenge on the other hand is a magnified form of retaliation. He looks at what various spiritual traditions have to say about retaliation. From a psychological view, we often dream of revenge so th...

Part 3: GBF 2023 Fall Retreat. How do we embody in our lives the practices we learn and the qualities we develop on retreat? In this talk, Donald Rothberg examines how we can 'bring the retreat home' with us and make our practice real in everyday life. He suggests key methods for accomplishing this, including:  Become grounded in one's body.  Meditate on a different quality each wee...

Part 2 - GBF 2023 Fall Retreat Most spiritual traditions and religions speak about the value of compassion, but Buddhism seems to be the only one with specific practices for developing this quality and opening our hearts. In this talk, Donald Rothberg explores the challenges we face when opening our hearts. Once we do, how do we integrate this compassion with wisdom? What challenges do we face whe...

Part 1: GBF 2023 Fall Retreat. Our teacher for the weekend, Donald Rothberg , informs us that the purpose of Buddhist practice is to move beyond techniques and teachings, into a deep state of resting in one's own being. There we can experience insight into Impermanence, Dukkha, and Not-Self that informs our behavior in daily life. A 45-min dharma talk is followed by a 45-min Q&A and group...

In this stressful world, there are many things we can do to alleviate our suffering and the world's, but there's only so much we can change. That's when it becomes important to realize the ways in which we are powerless, and to take refuge from the resulting stress. In this talk, David Lewis shares that true refuge is not a place or a person, it is within us. We can find peace and s...

As queer/non-conforming individuals, how do we claim our unique way of living, but also let go of our attachment to an identity? In this talk, JD Doyle explores how we can re-orient ourselves to our lives, and connect with the non-human aspects of our world, such as other life forms and the natural world. As we witness so many attacks on various categories of people, it's easy to begin thinki...

When we open our heart, we open it to all experiences: our greatest joys and our deepest sorrows. Danadasa opens this talk by reading a poem from the book by Dawna Markova, "I Will Not Die an Unlived Life " He shares an image that represents the meaning of Vadrasana - the "Diamond Throne," on which the Buddha is said to have gained enlightenment under the bodhi tree at Bodhgaya...

Can we see the extraordinary in the ordinary? How can we discover the sacred in the mundane? In this talk, Tetsugan Tom Baker  examines how we can come to realize that we already have everything we need to experience the sacred in our lives. He looks at the common desire for transcendence that underlies most spiritual pursuits, whether Bhakti yoga or Zen practice.  Both are deeply rooted in sangha...

How can we use the experience of anxiety to understand the Buddhist concept of emptiness? Dale Borglum shares that our understanding of emptiness is necessary for conscious living and conscious dying, the subject of his life work. Just being on the spiritual path can lead us into anxiety at times, because we are letting go of our identity. This anxiety can be a difficult experience because it beco...

Do we have the ability to laugh at ourselves?  Bill Weber shares that this is a terrific way to work with one of the foundations of Buddhist wisdom: the concept of Non-self. The allure of our sense of self can easily lead us to become overly attached to our identity. We become competitive, demanding, and obsessive about the way we are treated.   To counter this, Bill encourages us to instead find...

John Del Bagno discusses Pure Land Buddhism and reads his poems devoted to Amitābha Buddha.  John describes Pure Land Buddhism as an alternative to self-powered practice, which often engages the willful, striving aspects of our ego. Pureland relies instead on an 'other power' to bring us to enlightenment: Amitābha Buddha. This is accomplished through the habit of reciting the Buddha-name...

What does the Third Noble Truth really promise when it speaks of "an end to dukkha?" Does it mean an end to unpleasant experiences?  In this rich talk, Donald Rothberg shares that the end of dukkha actually means the cessation of our REACTIVITY to unpleasant experiences. He relates the analogy of "the second arrow" to our reactivity (both clinging and aversion) rather than the...

In her signature humorous fashion, Ryuko Laura Burges shares wisdom from her latest book: " The Zen Way of Recovery: An Illuminated Path Out of the Darkness of Addiction. " Listen in as she reveals her insights on: How recovery can unshackle the mind to deepen one's practice  The healing power of forgiveness, of self and others We don't have to be limited or defined by the ways...

Can compassion serve as an antidote to the judgmental messages in our hyper-capitalist society?  Told we must justify our worth, we begin clinging to self-righteousness and perceive the world through only our physical senses. Metta practice disrupts this energy that keeps us emotionally stuck. It allows us to see the interconnectedness of all conditioned things and realize that we can't truly...

Do we truly understand the world around us that we encounter, and the true nature of reality? In this talk, Zerdan explains that the highest wisdom teachings in Buddhism center on Emptiness - realizing the true nature of reality that we experience. To understand the place of Emptiness in Buddhist teachings, Zerdan examines the Three Poisons, or obstacles to enlightenment, along with their associat...

In Part 3, René Rivera looks at how we connect intimacy with self and others to the whole of our life. He examines how we can become more aware of, and present to, the world around us. ______________ René Rivera is a meditation teacher, restorative justice facilitator, and leader, working and learning in all the spaces in-between race, gender, and other perceived binaries, as a queer, mixed-race,...

After first exploring intimacy with ourselves in Part 1, we now look at how the dharma informs all our relationships: Intimate, friends, family, colleagues, society, and even the natural and unseen world - ancestors, guides and deities.  In this talk, René Rivera reminds us that we can become more grounded in our relationships using the Four Foundations of Mindfulness, which are awareness of: 1. T...

Welcome to EPISODE 800! Most Buddhist practices, such as loving-kindness and compassion, begin with ourselves. So it is with the concept of intimacy, which Daigan describes as "being authentic in the experience of the moment." (One sangha member frames Intimacy as "In-to-me-I-see") In this first of a series on intimacy, Daigan posits that we must become connected to ourselves i...