The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF

47:32

What We Turn Toward: Reclaiming Our Joy - Tom Moon

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/09/13

Tom Moon addresses the challenge we face of staying grounded, peaceful, and resilient when our world feels overwhelmed by political turmoil, cruelty, and constant outrage. How? By inviting us to reframe our spiritual focus: true liberation doesn't come from trying to suppress negative emotions or forcing empty, feel-good affirmations, but from intentionally cultivating what is wholesome. Tom draws on Buddhist history, Mary Oliver's poetry, and his own experience recovering from a stroke to re...

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55:59

The Mindful Sanctuary: Why We Go on Retreat

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/09/06

In this reflection on retreat life, four GBF community members explore how taking time away from our relentless routines, news cycles, and digital devices offers a quiet sanctuary to examine our habits and cultivate genuine peace. Rather than an escape, a retreat serves as a vital "laboratory for daily life"—a container where the cloudy, stirred-up waters of our busy minds can finally settle so we can see the deep substrate beneath. By immersing ourselves in extended silence, noble hear...

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55:38

A Contemporary Eightfold Path for Navigating Hard...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/08/30

Donald Rothberg helps us lean into dharma wisdom to navigate the difficult realities of our world without becoming numb, overwhelmed, or cynical. We often focus our Buddhist practice solely on personal meditation, but Donald reminds us that true path-walking spans wisdom, meditation, and ethical care for the broader world. Looking back to early Buddhist history and figures like Emperor Ashoka, Donald shows us that spiritual practice has always held a vital social dimension alongside ind...

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55:07

Trusting the Heart: Finding Faith Beyond Belief -...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/08/24

John Martin explores how we can find a steadfast sense of peace and trust when life brings us unexpected pain, uncertainty, and constant change. John defines Buddhist faith not as blind adherence to dogmas or rigid beliefs, but as pasada—a radical, wholehearted trusting of our own direct experience. He reminds us that true freedom isn't dependent on having perfect health, ideal finances, or flawless circumstances, but on cultivating an inner contentment that cannot be shaken by the ups ...

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53:03

Relating to the Mettā Sutta on Our Own Terms –...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/08/16

This talk is a preview of the GBF Fall Retreat: Our Belonging to Kindness: Awakening to the World We Carry Together, September 25-27, 2026. ______________ How do we take ancient, highly analytical Buddhist teachings and make them truly land in our everyday, modern lives? In this warm and deeply personal talk, Prasadachitta helps us imagine what it must have been like to be in the presence of the Buddha, hearing him speak directly to us in language that is easily understood. He invites us to s...

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62:30

The Gifts of Imperfection: Finding Faith in...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/08/09

Eli Talen invites us to examine our endless pursuit of perfection and the exhausting habit of waiting until everything is organized before we allow ourselves to start living. We can easily get caught wishing for ideal conditions—whether waiting for smooth traffic, perfect relationships, or orderly cupboards—rather than meeting the messy reality of the present moment. Recalling a phrase from Emily Dickinson, that we "believe and disbelieve a hundred times an hour," Eli explains that this...

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55:27

The Sacred Dance of Joy: Practicing Mudita in Daily...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/08/02

How can we remember that we were created for joy when our minds are busy and our hearts feel weighed down by the world's troubles? In this uplifting talk, JD Doyle invites us to explore mudita—traditionally translated as appreciative, altruistic, or relational joy—as one of the four essential heart practices (brahma viharas) in Buddhism. Opening with the Persian poet Hafez's poem The Sacred Dance for Life, JD reminds us that joy is not a performance or something we must force, but...

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59:18

The Power of Words: Practicing Right Speech in Daily...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/07/26

Ryuko Laura Burges invites us to consider how our words shape our reality and whether they serve as a force for division or healing in a troubled world. Laura demonstrates the profound weight our speech carries, by drawing on a tender story about giving her hundred-year-old mother permission to let go, as well as an ancient tale of the Sufi weaver-poet Kabir whose gentle prayers calmed a sick child while his sharp words exposed a priest's rage. She frames Right Speech—one of the foundat...

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58:29

Becoming Ordinary: The Five Ranks of Zen Service -...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/07/19

Despite the world around us constantly changing, we can remain grounded in the timeless stillness beneath it all. Roshi David Blackwell walks us through what happens when we transition from years of formal spiritual training back into the texture of ordinary daily life. Reflecting on his own journey after stepping down from a Zen training center, David introduces us to an ancient Tang Dynasty framework known as the "Five Ranks of Merit" or "distinguished service". Rather than focusing solely ...

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54:28

Remagining Buddhist Pride - Trip Weil

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/06/28

In this talk from Pride weekend, Trip Weil explores how we can find a true, universal sense of freedom in our lives if we allow the dharma to reveal and heal painful aspects of shame we may be carrying. Trip invites us to join him in "reimagining" what Pride and liberation can mean over the course of a lifetime. Journeying back to his very first Pride parade in San Francisco in 1985, Trip shares his own early struggles with internalized homophobia, vulnerable self-worth, and a defensiv...

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40:41

How We Can Stop Judging and Start Living - Daigan...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/06/21

We become disconnected from our actual lives when we’re constantly trapped in a cycle of judging every feeling we have. Here Daigan Gaither invites us to look at how we often dismiss our own pain by comparing it to "first-world problems" or the greater struggles of others. He shares his own journey with a "neurospicy" brain and rejection sensitivity, explaining that when we tell ourselves our feelings "aren't real" just because they have a biological cause or aren't "logical," we’re act...

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57:05

Finding Our Universal Flow - Bill Weber

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/06/07

Can we move beyond that small, tight sense of feeling separate and truly experience ourselves as part of the vast, magical universe? In this heart-opening talk, Bill Weber shares how a powerful Qigong practice called the "Six Verses" helped him dissolve the "tightness" he carried for years, particularly the isolation often felt by gay men. He reminds us that while we often feel solid and separate, we are actually 99.99% empty space—and if we crushed the entire human species down t...

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57:40

The Practice of Unselfish Joy - Melvin Escobar

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/05/31

Melvin Escobar helps us discover how we can tap into a source of happiness that doesn't depend on our personal wins, but actually grows the more others succeed. Here he explores the concept of mudita—often translated as unselfish or appreciative joy. He dives into how this practice, one of the four "divine abodes" or Brahma-viharas, helps us break out of the Western individualistic trap and realize that our happiness is deeply interconnected with everyone else's. Melvin reminds us...

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65:26

The Bard and the Buddha: Finding Your Refuge in the...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/05/24

In this moving and lyrical talk, Matthew Perifano shares how he found a sense of true refuge when facing deep grief and the uncertainty of life. Matthew shares how he began weaving together the wisdom of the Dharma with the timeless plays and sonnets of William Shakespeare. He describes how his relationship with these texts evolved from a daunting college requirement into a vital mind-body practice that eventually helped him navigate the devastating losses of the AIDS epidemic. He sugge...

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56:44

The Path to Freedom in an Ever-Changing World - Walt...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/05/17

The Path to Freedom in an Ever-Changing World How can we find lasting peace when everything in our lives—from our favorite shops to our own bodies—is constantly changing? In this talk, Walt Opie explores impermanence, the "bedrock" of Buddhist teaching, showing us how our suffering often comes from fighting a reality we cannot change. He explains that our brains are hardwired to look for "signs"—characteristic marks that help us recognize things—which trick us into believing life is more perm...

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57:47

Embodying Our Truth: The Perfection of Queer Wisdom -...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/05/10

Rev. Liên Shutt explores how the Buddhist path of wisdom can help us fully celebrate and embody our identities as queer people. The concept of prajna (wisdom) is not an abstract theory, but as an interactive way of being that honors our lived experiences. Liên breaks down the traditional three levels of wisdom and maps them onto the queer journey, showing how we move from simply seeking information about our identities to reflecting on our shared stories and, finally, to an embodied pre...

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51:19

Fueling Our Resilience with Joy - Eve Decker

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/05/03

Eve Decker explores the vital necessity of cultivating joy not as a way to ignore suffering, but as a spiritual practice to maintain internal balance and equanimity. It is an internal ease independent of external circumstances. By embracing her personal mantra, "right now it's like this," Eve invites us to meet the present moment with intimacy and kindness, rather than reactivity or denial, whether it involves a beautiful sunrise or deep grief. Eve offers a roadmap for navigating the ob...

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56:25

The Resilience of Joy - Mary Stancavage

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/04/26

Finding a sense of lightness and joy ? Mary Stancavage explores the vital necessity of cultivating joy as a spiritual practice to maintain internal balance and equanimity in a world marked by violence, cruelty, and despair. Drawing on the wisdom of The Book of Joy by the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu, she argues that joy is an internal ease that remains independent of external circumstances. By embracing her personal mantra, "right now it's like this," Mary invites us to meet the

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57:21

The Softened Heart: Cultivating Wisdom Through...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/04/12

How can we prevent our hearts from hardening against a brutal world and instead use our own imperfections as a bridge to connection? Joe Goode addresses this by arguing that while political or social resistance is necessary, the act of opposition can unintentionally cause us to harden, losing touch with the vulnerability where love and intimacy live. He suggests that instead of trying to "fix" ourselves or bypass suffering, we should practice loving the "broken bits" of our own minds—our regr...

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56:22

The Balanced Heart: Redefining Equanimity in Times of...

The Gay Buddhist Forum by GBF ·

2026/04/05

How can we maintain a steady heart and a sense of purpose when the systems we rely on seem to be collapsing and the world feels overwhelmed by conflict? René Rivera shows us that equanimity is not mere "composure" or "evenness of temper" -- a misunderstanding that can lead to suppressing anger in order to remain perfectly calm. Drawing on a three-month retreat in South Africa, René suggests that true equanimity (upekkha) is better understood as a "balanced heart" or "steadiness" that allows f...

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