13 Photos From Taiwan’s First Same-Sex Buddhist Marriage
Huang Mei-yu and Yu Ya-ting wed Saturday in a traditional Buddhist ceremony. Their union still isn’t recognized by the Taiwanese government, though support for gay marriage is mounting across Asia.
By Jessica Testa on Buzzfeed
Buddhist Master Shih Chao-hwei performed the ceremony, giving the women his full support: “I am certain you will lead a life of happiness together, especially after you have overcome so much difficulty and societal discrimination,” he said. “You have blessings not only from the Buddha, but also from those whom you may or may not know who are in attendance.”
Appa’s saddle strongly resembles the lotus flower on Buddha statues.
The roots of a lotus are in the mud, the stem grows up through the water, and the heavily scented flower lies pristinely above the water, basking in the sunlight. This pattern of growth signifies the progress of the soul from the primeval mud of materialism, through the waters of experience, and into the bright sunshine of enlightenment.
The Airbenders: The people of the Air Nomads were, without any seen exception, all benders due to the high level of spirituality of their people.
Their enlightenment is reflected in their art, clothing etc which are heavily based on Buddhism. I will point out and provide references for that in later posts.
