Saturday Evening LGBT/SGL Friendly Meditation/Chant

Hare Krishna Hare Krishna

Krishna Krishna Hare Hare

Hare Rama Hare Rama

Rama Rama Hare Hare

Toby Johnson on Kuan Yin

Kuan Yin

By Toby Johnson

Reprinted with the permission of the author

Kuan Yin, the Chinese form of the name, is also known by his/her original Indian name Avalokiteshvara.

The myth tells that the lovely, androgynous saint, Avalokiteshvara, was on the verge of entering into nirvana. Just as his meditation was deepening, he was distracted by a groan, rising up all about him. He came out of his trance and asked: What is this? The birds and trees and grass and all sentient beings replied to him: O Avalokiteshvara, our lives are times of suffering and pain; we live in a delusion from which we cannot seem to escape. You are so beautiful and so kind. Your presence here among us has given us joy and a reason for living. We all love you so, and we are saddened by the prospect of your leaving us. And so we groan.

The young saint was filled with compassion and chose to remain in the cycle of birth and death so that the others would not have to suffer. He saw that it was better that one should suffer than all. Avalokiteshvara, whose name means "The Lord Looking Down in Pity," agreed to take upon himself the suffering of the world. And he willed that the merit for this selfless act should go out from him to all beings, so that all should be saved. I will not enter nirvana, he vowed, until all beings have entered nirvana.

The name also means “The Lord Who is Seen Within,” for at that moment all sentient beings did enter nirvana. And Avalokiteshvara remained behind to live their incarnations for them. Thus each and every one of us is Avalokiteshvara fulfilling his vow. We are not separate individuals, we are really that One Being. Hence, compassion for others isn’t just about being nice; it’s about recognizing the reality that that other person really is you. The neighbor Jesus says to love as yourself is yourself.

It is said there are Three Wonders of the Bodhisattva. The first is that he is androgynous, simultaneously both male and female, transcending the polarity of gender. That’s why he is so sweet and lovable: he/she blends the best of masculinity and the best of femininity.

The second wonder is that he sees there is no difference between nirvana and the life of suffering and rebirth in time, no difference between eternity and temporality, no difference between heaven and earth. Thus he could renounce his own nirvana and embrace all human experience. This life is nirvana; this is heaven on earth.

And the third wonder is that the first two wonders are the same!

That’s why this is such a nice myth for gay people. It says we’re really all One, all reflections of one another, that the distinction between male and female is illusory and needs to be transcended and that transcending gender is part and parcel with experiencing heaven now.

Hat tip to Jesus in Love blog, GLBT Saints Series.

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I consider Toby Johnson to be one of my heroes and mentors. He is a mentor in the areas of spiritual writing, sacred activism, psychotherapy and being an ardent student of the worlds religions and spiritual traditions. He has written a number of books including, Gay Spirituality, Gay Perspective, Plague: A Novel about Healing and several others. Toby is the production manager of Lethe Press and the former publisher of White Crane Press. An extended bio for Toby can be be found here, which is also Toby's website.

Black Thursday: A Photo Essay By Sage

A tour around the world and around the world's religions through the lens of some of the world's black and dark blue spiritual guides.

One reason I chose to create this photo essay is for it to represent a certain type of spiritual empowerment that is available specifically to people of the African Diaspora simply through the presence of these images. Similarly, I also believe these images can provide a certain type of empowerment to LGBT people as well. Symbolically, the color black, from a spiritual understanding of the universal color spectrum, represents overcoming obstacles, transmuting negativity into something more beneficial--usually compassion and wisdom, letting go, particularly the letting go of rage, transmuting the "darkness" in us, etc. These are awarenesses that can easily be translated into everyday practices that can be beneficial to anyone especially however, those who are victims of oppression of any kind. We can develop practices around any of the "dark" spiritual guides," particularly "the dark mother" without a corresponding religious devotion or "worship" of such figures.

Yes, it is true. The Dark Mother, for example, is an absolutely universal concept that crosses many cultural and religious/spiritual lines. The Black Madonnas of Catholicism, Kali, from Hinduism, Isis from ancient Egyptian religions and Black Tara from Buddhism are all considered expressions of The universal Black or Dark Mother. Their appearance may at times seem quite frightening and/or foreboding. However, they are primarily spiritual mother figures. Remember that. Still, there is an undeniable type of "fierceness" in them. This type of fierceness however, is well known and respected in the LGBT community, particularly the African American, trans and drag queen communities. So this makes The Black Mother exceedingly accessible to many members of the LGBT community. These practices I speak of, at their most basic expression, simply involves us allowing or inviting the "dark spiritual guide" to be a channel for positive transformation within us. They do not need to involve worship or devotion of any kind. In other words, these practices are available to those who view themselves as atheist or agnostic as well. I plan to say much more about all of this in future posts here at moyo afame.

Ashé. Namaste'. Om Shanti Shalom. Amen. And So It Is.

Depiction of Jesus,The Nazarean, as a member of The African Diaspora (Jamaica)
"Rasta Jesus" Painting by Frank Hazen

(Christianity)

Bronze statue depicting The Buddha as a member of The African Diaspora
"Black Buddha"

(Buddhism)

Our Lady of Częstochowa, one of world's many "Black Madonnas" (Poland)

(Christianity/Catholicism)

Our Lady of Candelaria, one of the world's many "Black Madonnas" (Canary Islands)

(Christianity/Catholicism)

Our Lady of Einsedeln, one of the world's many "Black Madonnas (Switzerland)

(Christianity/Catholicism)

Medicine Buddha (Buddhism)

Kali (Hinduism)

Black Tara (Buddhism)

Isis (Ancient Egyptian Religious System)

(Egypt, Northern Africa)

Krishna (Hinduism and incarnations in other world religions)