Chuang-Tzu wrote of “that” and “this” in a matter meant to boggle the mind. At first glace, I felt dizzy, but soon realized it could be quite simple. I interpreted “that” to mean one or self and “this” to mean whole, higher-self or God. The labyrinth of words he used to describe the Tao was deep and shallow, wisdom and gobbledygook. I enjoyed trying to keep up.
There were a couple of verses that moved me deeply. They were, “How do I know that loving life is not a delusion? How do I know that in hating death I am not like a man who, having left home in his youth, has forgotten the way back?” And, “How do I know that the dead do not wonder why they ever longed for life?” I’ve attended 9 funerals of very close family members in the last few years and pondered the very same questions. I feel that life is a journey, but not the final destination in my existence, so I don’t have a fear of dying. This life feels temporary, almost like a vacation. Now, a vacation can be fabulous and fun or completely rotten. If it’s rotten, you’re more likely to want it to end because you feel home sick. If it’s fabulous, you don’t ever want it to end. Maybe you even decide to relocate and eventually forget your first home. This may be like the man Chuang-Tzu mentioned that left home and forgot his way back. Either way, this world doesn’t quite feel like home to me, especially since my family has moved. I say moved because it feels strange like they’re on the outskirts of the Milky Way and I can only get my outer-galactic passport and meet them again when I die too. It’s also possible that I’ll be like the atheist who prays to God on his deathbed and finally feel fear of death and intense longing for life on mine.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Tzu-Ssu
This reading contained two passages that were incredibly thought provoking. The first was, “The mature person accepts his situation and doesn’t desire anything outside it. If he finds himself rich and honored, he acts as a rich man should act; if he is poor, he acts as a poor man should act; if he is in trouble, he acts as someone in trouble should act. Life can present him with no situation in which he isn’t master of himself.” Maybe this means that no matter what your lot in life is, rich or poor, in trouble or carefree, you don’t need a guide to tell you how to exist in that way and be content. For instance, if I lost my job and my home tomorrow, I would suddenly know how to exist as a homeless person. It may not seem like I possess the knowledge to live my life in this way, but if it became my new reality, I’d be the master of my homeless self just as I’m the master of my sheltered self now. But is it really possible for a person to be homeless, accept it, and not have any desires? Maybe, if I let go of my perceptions of what life is supposed to be I could grasp this concept. If I accept life as a journey, then I wouldn’t feel like my life is off track because I find myself homeless. Being homeless is the track which is a part of the same journey.
The second passage, “He makes sure that his own conduct is correct and seeks nothing from others; thus he is never disappointed. He has no complaints against heaven and no blame toward other people.” This made me think of life as a game in which I can always choose to have the ball in my court. If the ball is in my court, then I have the power, and if I throw the ball away, I lose my power. So, if I keep the ball and have the power to be peaceful, loving and kind, then why would I ever choose to toss my ball to feel the pain of disappointment, guilt or jealousy? This passage shows that our choices to use correct conduct along with disengaging in negative emotions, can produce inner harmony.
Bad feelings diminish the power we have left to do good and be well, but having these feelings are still choices that we make. From moment to moment we can choose happiness over sadness, delight over bitterness, and acceptance over disapproval. I feel empowered already.
The second passage, “He makes sure that his own conduct is correct and seeks nothing from others; thus he is never disappointed. He has no complaints against heaven and no blame toward other people.” This made me think of life as a game in which I can always choose to have the ball in my court. If the ball is in my court, then I have the power, and if I throw the ball away, I lose my power. So, if I keep the ball and have the power to be peaceful, loving and kind, then why would I ever choose to toss my ball to feel the pain of disappointment, guilt or jealousy? This passage shows that our choices to use correct conduct along with disengaging in negative emotions, can produce inner harmony.
Bad feelings diminish the power we have left to do good and be well, but having these feelings are still choices that we make. From moment to moment we can choose happiness over sadness, delight over bitterness, and acceptance over disapproval. I feel empowered already.
Friday, September 19, 2008
Shmelke of Nikolsburg
This reading was incredibly thought provoking. I think that the message of, “…love our neighbor as ourself” is powerful, but I cannot agree that one should be honored with love if they have wronged me.
Over time I’ve found that forgiveness is the key to overcoming people that have wronged me, not necessarily loving them. I know that I cannot control others and what they do, but I do have control over myself. I also know that when someone does me wrong, doing them wrong doesn’t work for me. It makes me feel like I’ve been sucked into their world of hate and nastiness, and this makes me feel unhappy and out of control. Therefore, forgiveness is the key to maintaining happiness and control in my life. I once heard that not forgiving someone is like taking the poison and expecting the other person to die. This hit me hard because I imagined how physically ill I get when I'm mad or hold a grudge against someone, yet they go on seemingly unaffected. I’m taking the poison and waiting for them to drop dead, and it’s never going to happen. For this reason, forgiveness isn’t optional, it’s essential to my being.
I agree with Rabbi Shmelke when he said, “If you punish him, you only hurt yourself.” when referring to a neighbor who has wronged you. I can appreciate the idea (not necessarily agree with) that we all come from God so we should love each other the way we love God no matter what. I wish I were a bigger person, but the idea of honoring someone with love goes way beyond what I’m willing to commit to. But maybe one day, the idea of loving the wicked will be as necessary to my existence as forgiveness is now.
Over time I’ve found that forgiveness is the key to overcoming people that have wronged me, not necessarily loving them. I know that I cannot control others and what they do, but I do have control over myself. I also know that when someone does me wrong, doing them wrong doesn’t work for me. It makes me feel like I’ve been sucked into their world of hate and nastiness, and this makes me feel unhappy and out of control. Therefore, forgiveness is the key to maintaining happiness and control in my life. I once heard that not forgiving someone is like taking the poison and expecting the other person to die. This hit me hard because I imagined how physically ill I get when I'm mad or hold a grudge against someone, yet they go on seemingly unaffected. I’m taking the poison and waiting for them to drop dead, and it’s never going to happen. For this reason, forgiveness isn’t optional, it’s essential to my being.
I agree with Rabbi Shmelke when he said, “If you punish him, you only hurt yourself.” when referring to a neighbor who has wronged you. I can appreciate the idea (not necessarily agree with) that we all come from God so we should love each other the way we love God no matter what. I wish I were a bigger person, but the idea of honoring someone with love goes way beyond what I’m willing to commit to. But maybe one day, the idea of loving the wicked will be as necessary to my existence as forgiveness is now.
Bakhya Ibn Pakuda
The author summed religion up perfectly in his statement, “Do good; avoid evil.” This sounds so easy to follow, but what happens when you throw money into the equation? This simple and obvious statement becomes way easier said than done. I loved how this reading shed light on this dilemma.
Bakhya Ibn Pakuda said that wealth is a blessing from God. A man with money is able to focus on caring for himself, his family and society, but money does not exclude him from his religious and ethical duties. Wealth and ethics don’t usually go hand in hand in our world (or religion and ethics for that matter). In fact, whether you read the Bible or not, you’re probably familiar with the passage, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” (Timothy 6:10). Everywhere we see someone suffering, we can find someone else getting rich in connection with that suffering. In war, soliders and civilians may suffer injury or death while individuals get rich producing the equipment and weapons used. In free trade, a ten year old in Tailand may suffer in a sweatshop making ten cents an hour while others get rich when they sell the garments at a 5000% + markup. What possesses people to exploit others for their own gains? So many people believe you can’t take your possessions with you to the afterlife, yet place so much energy in acquiring wealth. Even if you don’t agree with Bakhya Ibn Pakuda’s opinion that wealth is a blessing from God that is only entrusted to a man for a limited amount of time, couldn’t you agree that you can’t take it with you when you die, therefore it could never be worth the suffering, death and destruction caused while attaining it?
The absence of wealth is also a blessing according to Bakhya Ibn Pakuda. “…and if he is poor, he will consider the absence of money as a blessing from God, relieving him of the responsibilities its possession involves, and from the labor of guarding and managing it.” I love the simplicity of the point, if you have no money, you don’t have the worries and problems associated having money.
I can appreciate the idea that being poor and wealthy are both blessings. When it comes to money, I’ve experienced both sides to some extent. I know that money contributes to your livelihood when you use it to pay your mortgage, or buy food and clothes. But being poor makes you grateful for the things you take for granted when you do have money, like your family, the sunshine and the rain. Money may make life more easy, but being poor may make it more meaningful.
Bakhya Ibn Pakuda said that wealth is a blessing from God. A man with money is able to focus on caring for himself, his family and society, but money does not exclude him from his religious and ethical duties. Wealth and ethics don’t usually go hand in hand in our world (or religion and ethics for that matter). In fact, whether you read the Bible or not, you’re probably familiar with the passage, “For the love of money is the root of all evil.” (Timothy 6:10). Everywhere we see someone suffering, we can find someone else getting rich in connection with that suffering. In war, soliders and civilians may suffer injury or death while individuals get rich producing the equipment and weapons used. In free trade, a ten year old in Tailand may suffer in a sweatshop making ten cents an hour while others get rich when they sell the garments at a 5000% + markup. What possesses people to exploit others for their own gains? So many people believe you can’t take your possessions with you to the afterlife, yet place so much energy in acquiring wealth. Even if you don’t agree with Bakhya Ibn Pakuda’s opinion that wealth is a blessing from God that is only entrusted to a man for a limited amount of time, couldn’t you agree that you can’t take it with you when you die, therefore it could never be worth the suffering, death and destruction caused while attaining it?
The absence of wealth is also a blessing according to Bakhya Ibn Pakuda. “…and if he is poor, he will consider the absence of money as a blessing from God, relieving him of the responsibilities its possession involves, and from the labor of guarding and managing it.” I love the simplicity of the point, if you have no money, you don’t have the worries and problems associated having money.
I can appreciate the idea that being poor and wealthy are both blessings. When it comes to money, I’ve experienced both sides to some extent. I know that money contributes to your livelihood when you use it to pay your mortgage, or buy food and clothes. But being poor makes you grateful for the things you take for granted when you do have money, like your family, the sunshine and the rain. Money may make life more easy, but being poor may make it more meaningful.
Friday, September 12, 2008
Shankara
“This universe is nothing but God: what else is new?” I agree with this statement made by the author. The claim that God is everywhere was not an original idea presented in this selection. However, I still enjoyed how they spoke of bliss in a light-hearted way and the importance silence.
“Supreme bliss”, “ever-blissful”, and “unmingled bliss” were a few ways ultimate pleasure through enlightenment was described. I felt a playful tone in their descriptions of bliss. As I read, I reflected on what bliss means to me. I realized that my bliss-inspiring moments were all things that occur in nature. For instance, bliss to me equals rainbows, puppy breathe and the blue time of day (the time of day right before the sun sets completely and everything is enveloped in blueness). I’m happy to simply know that these things exist and I’m happy to see or experience them first hand.
I could relate to, “Remain absorbed in the joy which is silence.” I love how silence is equated to joy. Silence has been my salvation on many occasions. It’s empowering and satisfying, but it doesn’t come easy, especially in our culture. It was refreshing to read about the benefits and beauty of silence.
“Supreme bliss”, “ever-blissful”, and “unmingled bliss” were a few ways ultimate pleasure through enlightenment was described. I felt a playful tone in their descriptions of bliss. As I read, I reflected on what bliss means to me. I realized that my bliss-inspiring moments were all things that occur in nature. For instance, bliss to me equals rainbows, puppy breathe and the blue time of day (the time of day right before the sun sets completely and everything is enveloped in blueness). I’m happy to simply know that these things exist and I’m happy to see or experience them first hand.
I could relate to, “Remain absorbed in the joy which is silence.” I love how silence is equated to joy. Silence has been my salvation on many occasions. It’s empowering and satisfying, but it doesn’t come easy, especially in our culture. It was refreshing to read about the benefits and beauty of silence.
The Upanishads
I thoroughly enjoyed this passage. I smiled while I read it, and when I came to the end, I smiled and read it again. Their interpretation of God seemed fluid and intangible.
“The Self” was an interesting way to refer to God. This implied that God flows through, myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, themselves and so on. This idea that God is a part of everything and everything is a part of God illustrates infinite fluidity. This reminded me of something else I once read. There was a comparison between God and man’s soul to the vast ocean and a cup of ocean water. It said that a soul is made up of God so both have always existed since God has always existed. Now, consider that like God, the ocean has always existed. Doesn’t it continue to exist as ocean even in a cup? This was the visual I had as I read the passage, “Take perfect from perfect, the remainder is perfect.” I also had this visual when Professor File held up a pen in class and asked everyone to consider the essence of the object. Was it a pen or a pluma? What was it 30 years ago and what will it be 100 years from now? I could picture the cycle of how everything continues to exist and never really ceases to exist. It only exists in different forms.
The intangible for me was the path to ‘eternal life’. Although the path didn’t include mysticism, magic or miracles, in order to grasp it we must go beyond our senses. This made me wonder, what senses can comprehend God if not the five we know of? Perhaps, the being that possess nothing and doesn’t attempt to articulate the ineffable will develop this extra sense and be on the path to ‘eternal life’.
I could appreciate many of the beliefs I read in this passage. Mostly, the idea that once you stop searching for God and trying to wrap your head around the concept of God you will realize nothing you can point to is either void of God or full of God. Nothing is good or bad, it’s simply perfect.
“The Self” was an interesting way to refer to God. This implied that God flows through, myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, themselves and so on. This idea that God is a part of everything and everything is a part of God illustrates infinite fluidity. This reminded me of something else I once read. There was a comparison between God and man’s soul to the vast ocean and a cup of ocean water. It said that a soul is made up of God so both have always existed since God has always existed. Now, consider that like God, the ocean has always existed. Doesn’t it continue to exist as ocean even in a cup? This was the visual I had as I read the passage, “Take perfect from perfect, the remainder is perfect.” I also had this visual when Professor File held up a pen in class and asked everyone to consider the essence of the object. Was it a pen or a pluma? What was it 30 years ago and what will it be 100 years from now? I could picture the cycle of how everything continues to exist and never really ceases to exist. It only exists in different forms.
The intangible for me was the path to ‘eternal life’. Although the path didn’t include mysticism, magic or miracles, in order to grasp it we must go beyond our senses. This made me wonder, what senses can comprehend God if not the five we know of? Perhaps, the being that possess nothing and doesn’t attempt to articulate the ineffable will develop this extra sense and be on the path to ‘eternal life’.
I could appreciate many of the beliefs I read in this passage. Mostly, the idea that once you stop searching for God and trying to wrap your head around the concept of God you will realize nothing you can point to is either void of God or full of God. Nothing is good or bad, it’s simply perfect.
Friday, September 5, 2008
Hum 10 ~ 2pm Chief Seattle
The author posed a question, “Can any decent white American read this speech without feeling great shame?” My answer is, yes. Some people indeed can read this with no shame at all. But I also think that everyone should feel shame regardless of race since we’re all a part of the human race. Shouldn’t this question be asked of any decent human being? The shame comes from knowing what happened next. Knowing historically what happened next over and over again. Is this story an example of how white Americans behave, white people behave or how humans behave? I feel this story demonstrates a travesty against humanity. Not white Americans against Indians, but human against human.
I found it unsettling that the white people had recently fled their land to escape the unfair rule of their king, but now are unfair in their dealings with the Indians. It seems like their experience with the king would have made them more sympathetic towards the Indians and allowed them embraced their differences and live in peace. Instead, they perpetuated the behavior that they encountered in Europe. They made the Indians suffer wrongly as they had suffered by forcing them off of their land and slaughtering them. Unfortunately, this is the path chosen throughout the history of mankind.
Our past shows that the wrongs done onto us, we commit against others. Many ill acts are committed in the name of religion, even though it is incredibly difficult to find support for these acts in religious doctrines. It seems that the persecuted will always eventually become the persecutors. However, I’m keeping hope alive that we’ll come to the conclusion that this cycle of wrong against our fellow man must be broken so that a new cycle of peace and tolerance can emerge. Is this blind faith on my part or naivety?
I found it unsettling that the white people had recently fled their land to escape the unfair rule of their king, but now are unfair in their dealings with the Indians. It seems like their experience with the king would have made them more sympathetic towards the Indians and allowed them embraced their differences and live in peace. Instead, they perpetuated the behavior that they encountered in Europe. They made the Indians suffer wrongly as they had suffered by forcing them off of their land and slaughtering them. Unfortunately, this is the path chosen throughout the history of mankind.
Our past shows that the wrongs done onto us, we commit against others. Many ill acts are committed in the name of religion, even though it is incredibly difficult to find support for these acts in religious doctrines. It seems that the persecuted will always eventually become the persecutors. However, I’m keeping hope alive that we’ll come to the conclusion that this cycle of wrong against our fellow man must be broken so that a new cycle of peace and tolerance can emerge. Is this blind faith on my part or naivety?
Hum 10~2pm Sa-go-ye-wat-ha
This passage inspired feelings of anger and frustration, but ultimately hope within me. First, anger welled up in me as I read about the vile hypocrisy of the young Christian missionary. I tried examine this feeling, but became frustrated quickly. I find it incredibly difficult to understand or relate to an individual that identifies as a Christian, but does not practice the fundamental beliefs found within that religion. Perhaps, “Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you”, Matthew 7:1-2 and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”, Mark 12:31, weren’t verses the missionary was familiar with. If he was, how could he have the audacity to insist the Indians lived their lives in error and refuse to part in a friendly manor after being shown hospitality and treated with respect?
I had an experience not unlike that between the Senecas and the young Christian missionary. I was visited at my home, well, my front porch, by two religious young men that explained to me that my “lifestyle” would lead to an eternity in hell if I didn’t become saved. Fortunately, the young men I met weren’t rude like the missionary the Senecas came in contact with, but their views were very judgmental. Although I could appreciate their dedication to saving others, I had to let it be known that I didn’t require their services. I told them that I’m confident I live my life in a manner pleasing to my god because my good intentions and the content of my heart is what matters. I also told them that I believe that all people come into ours lives for a reason, no matter how brief the encounter. I thanked them for coming into mine and offered them a cool drink before sending them on their way. They politely declined, but didn’t turn to leave. Instead, they surprised me and offered to stay and help with my chores around the house. It was my turn to decline politely, but I was moved by this gesture.
Sa-go-ye-wat-ha’s speech to the young Christian missionary and my experience with the young religious men on my porch both gave me hope. Hope that we can agreed to disagree about god but still be kind to one another. Hope that we don’t have to live segregated by our religious or ideological beliefs forever. And hope that there will be a time that the human bond between us will trump the religious bonds that separate us.
I had an experience not unlike that between the Senecas and the young Christian missionary. I was visited at my home, well, my front porch, by two religious young men that explained to me that my “lifestyle” would lead to an eternity in hell if I didn’t become saved. Fortunately, the young men I met weren’t rude like the missionary the Senecas came in contact with, but their views were very judgmental. Although I could appreciate their dedication to saving others, I had to let it be known that I didn’t require their services. I told them that I’m confident I live my life in a manner pleasing to my god because my good intentions and the content of my heart is what matters. I also told them that I believe that all people come into ours lives for a reason, no matter how brief the encounter. I thanked them for coming into mine and offered them a cool drink before sending them on their way. They politely declined, but didn’t turn to leave. Instead, they surprised me and offered to stay and help with my chores around the house. It was my turn to decline politely, but I was moved by this gesture.
Sa-go-ye-wat-ha’s speech to the young Christian missionary and my experience with the young religious men on my porch both gave me hope. Hope that we can agreed to disagree about god but still be kind to one another. Hope that we don’t have to live segregated by our religious or ideological beliefs forever. And hope that there will be a time that the human bond between us will trump the religious bonds that separate us.
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