Tuesday, October 23, 2007
APPLYING TAO AND WU-WEI TO MY LIFE
I don't ever think I could apply Tao and Wu-Wei to my life because it just seems so hard. I don't think i could go through life without taking advantages of what this world has to offer. If I followed Tao I wouldn't be typing on my blog. I think that education is important just because its something i have to do to ex scape living a life of poverty. if I didn't need an education to get a good job then I don't think i would do it. I'm not saying that i want to have millions of dollars but i don't want to suffer in this world either. Also if we didn't need money in this world things would be much better. this world is controlled by greed and money and if it was the main thing people needed to survive it would change things for the better. what i could see myself practising a little is Wu-wei. I am not a real aggressive person and I don't like to fight. I also believe there are other ways to handle certain things without being violent. but in some cases violence is needed to get the point across in certain situations.
THE MEANING OF LIFE?
On the topic of the meaning of life Lao-Tzu and Confusion would dialog with one another by agreeing that the meaning of life is worthless. They believe that life was created by Tao"The way of nature" which destroyed peoples accomplishments and achievements. They both would preach to the Mercy College students that they turned there backs on taking advantage of the great things the world had to offer with all its benefits. Instead they wanted to live as peaceful and simple as possible life. the things we consider important in life, such as family, money, education, and family is meaning less and worthless to them. They would state that they didn't want to take part of the advantages of living civilized. Civilization is considered a bad thing to them. they also would speak about wu-wei. The believed that people shouldn't be violent it was part of there belief to not engage any any forms of war or violence against others. they believed anything that had to be settle could be settled in many other ways then violence and war.
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
"BIG" QUESTIONS!
The three questions that I choose to write about is:
1. What is ultimate reality/God?
2. What is the nature of a person?
3. What happens to us after death?
1. What is ultimate reality/God?
2. What is the nature of a person?
3. What happens to us after death?
Hinduism-
Hindus practice devotion of a single god. Even thought there devotion is to one god they still believe in other gods and except the belief of other gods and have the choice of devotion. Most Hindus believe in the spirit called the Atman. the soul called "true self" of each person. The nature of the person is to perform what ever caste you are in to the best of your ability. you must practice samsara, dharma, different yogas, and moksha. The Hindus believe that we are born into a different caste system. Depending on our duties and our behavior we will move up or down in the caste system. Rebirth is a good thing to the Hindus.
Jainism-
Jains see's God as the unchanging traits in the soul of each living person. Also known as infinite knowledge, happiness, consciousness, and perceptive. Jains don't believe in a creator or a person in charge, or supreme being. they believe in an eternal universe ruled by the natural laws. The nature of a Jain is that you must be spiritual independent and treat life with equality. you must practice non-violence to all life forms. Jains must have self control. they believe every person has eternal souls and each person is responsible for there own actions and all souls are equal. they believe we should live, act, and think with respect and honor life and the spiritual nature of all life. Jains strongly believe in karma when you die. they go by the logic "you reap what you sow". a happy life or miserable life is based on your actions in previous births.
Buddhism-
There altimate God is a statue figure called Buddha. He was a person who was born to a wealthy family. His father was a king and he didn't want to live in wealth. He went on to find himself and he is the creator of Buddhism. They prey to a god called Buddha, even thought he didn't think he was a god, nor did he act like it before his death. The purpose of human life is to achieve salvation. People have to stay clear of karma because the Buddhist believe all people in the world are subjected to laws of karma. they believe in rebirth. the Buddhist believe when they die they move on to the next body. the more positive you are the less karma you will have. rebirth is a bad thing with the Buddhist. If you die with karma you will be reborn into the world to suffer.
Sikhism-
God is formless,unobserved, and external. Sikhs must develop a relationship and faith in god to achieve salvation in life. the nature of a Sikh is to follow the ten Sikh gurus also known as the enlightened leaders and to read the holy scripture.
WHO IS THE BUDDHA?
Buddha lived and died like the average human being. Even though people may respected him like a god, he did not think nor did he act like he was one. Buddha never took the question"Is there a God?" seriously. he felt that the question was unimportant to ask. He felt people would never know if there was or was not a god. The real name of Buddha is Siddhārtha Gautama. He was from India and was considered a spiritual teacher and the person who created Buddhism. the dates of his birth and his passing time is uncertain. The name Buddha means the enlightening one, which the name fit him very well. He believe the mind is the passage to experience. Buddhas father was a very wealthy king and he was born into a very wealthy family. He was not materialistic and he didn't want to live off his parents money. he believed that people were reborn again depending on the deed of a persons behavior and beliefs. He was a studied and preached for many years and when he died he had left behind the a world known religion of Buddhism, which millions of people follow today.
MY COMMUNITY
1) The community that I am addressing is my job. I work for a small medical radiology facility and it a women based community. There is only 3 guys who work here including the Technologist.
2) The spiritual challanges I find in my community is that everyone is worrying about everyone elses work ethnics and business instead of worrying about themselves. I find that some females judge other females for no reason. The majority of the staff judge everyone else instead of themselves. The community is struggling to communicate and get along with each other and work as a team.
3) My solution for my community is to learn how to get along with one another and not judge other people knowing you are not perfect. What i have found is buddhism is that they help each other and work together. They believe in treating people as equal, so maybe what I can do is pass out some notes on how to communicate better with each other through the buddhism worship and practices. Maybe if my community learned how to treat people with respect it could change the situation of people judging each other and make them learn how to repsect each other.
2) The spiritual challanges I find in my community is that everyone is worrying about everyone elses work ethnics and business instead of worrying about themselves. I find that some females judge other females for no reason. The majority of the staff judge everyone else instead of themselves. The community is struggling to communicate and get along with each other and work as a team.
3) My solution for my community is to learn how to get along with one another and not judge other people knowing you are not perfect. What i have found is buddhism is that they help each other and work together. They believe in treating people as equal, so maybe what I can do is pass out some notes on how to communicate better with each other through the buddhism worship and practices. Maybe if my community learned how to treat people with respect it could change the situation of people judging each other and make them learn how to repsect each other.
Tuesday, October 2, 2007
Gandhi
Out of all my years of education and learning, Gandhi has made the biggest impression on me. I loved watching the movie. I can't believe that one man can lead so many people and have two religions come together to fight for independence. I loved the fact that he believed that everyone is equal and wanted to change a traditional belief, which was the caste system. He wanted equality for the Indian people. He went to jail for many years and even went to the extreme of fasting if the Muslims and Hindus didn't practice non-violence. he could have died from fasting so he really felt what he believed in and he proved a point by willing to fast until the people listened. He stud up against the British government and he gained a lot of respect from doing so. He was just a powerful man and I can truly understand why Gandhi is known as the father of the nation. What impressed me the most with Gandhi is that he didn't have to do anything he did. He was the voice for the Indian people. He did what ever it took to get his point across for the Indian people. he was a very spiritual and political leader and I admire him a lot. I want to learn more about the Hindu religion. After India won Indecency from the British the Muslims and the Hindus divided because they couldn't decide who would be the ruler of India. If Gandhi was not assassinated and if he was alive for more years to go, I believe that there wouldn't have been so much fighting amongs the Muslims and Hindus, and maybe no fighting at all would exist.
Gandhi Essay
The Gandhi movie was a very great movie. He was a man who stood up for his beliefs. In India he was considered the father of the nation. Gandhi lead thousands of people and taught them away to fight for there rights with peaceful and disobedience. One of the Hindus beliefs was the caste system and Gandhi wanted to change that. He wanted to change a lot of old traditional beliefs of the Hindu religion.
In a way that Gandhi practiced Hinduism he believed in the higher power. He was a very religious man and studied the Hindu philosophy. He also dressed the old traditional Indian way and made his own clothes. He wore a shawl and dhoti. Gandhi emphasized to his people that being truthful and non violent was the way to stand up for their rights. They listened to Gandhi and most of the people in India did what he asked for.
The less important parts of the Hindu religion to Gandhi were the caste system. He believed that all people were created equal. He wanted to do away with the cast system. He didn’t want any more untochability or caste discrimination. I believe that Gandhi considered himself a good Hindu because he practiced Hinduism just like the rest of the Hindus except he didn’t believe in the cast system. After India gained independence from the British most Hindus probably didn’t agree that Gandhi was a true Hindu because he gave the land that we now called Pakistan to the Muslims. But Gandhi had no control of the dividing of the Muslims and the Hindus. He wanted to create brotherhood between both religions.
I agree with Gandhi’s self assessment because he was a very powerful leader. He was a spiritual and major political leader of India. He freed India from the British. He went to jail and spent many years in jail for the rights of the Indian people. If his followers didn’t practice non violence and truth he would fast until they did so. He could have died from starvation. If you evaluate his life you will see that he made a lot of sacrifices for the Hindus and the Muslims.
In brief, the movie Gandhi had touched me in many different ways. It made me want to learn more about the Hindu and Muslim religion. He was a great spiritual and political person. He is someone that I look up to now. He wanted Independence for India. He practiced the Hindu philosophy but he just didn’t believe in the cast system and wanted to do away with it. He made many sacrifices for the Indian people such as going to jail and standing up to the British government. He believed in non violence and instilled it into the Indian people. All he wanted was brotherhood from the Hindus and the Muslims and to get the British out. He accomplished getting the British out, but what he didn’t accomplish before he died was the brotherhood of both religions. He is a man of honor in my eyes and I will never forget the father of the nation and all that he accomplished throughout his life.
In a way that Gandhi practiced Hinduism he believed in the higher power. He was a very religious man and studied the Hindu philosophy. He also dressed the old traditional Indian way and made his own clothes. He wore a shawl and dhoti. Gandhi emphasized to his people that being truthful and non violent was the way to stand up for their rights. They listened to Gandhi and most of the people in India did what he asked for.
The less important parts of the Hindu religion to Gandhi were the caste system. He believed that all people were created equal. He wanted to do away with the cast system. He didn’t want any more untochability or caste discrimination. I believe that Gandhi considered himself a good Hindu because he practiced Hinduism just like the rest of the Hindus except he didn’t believe in the cast system. After India gained independence from the British most Hindus probably didn’t agree that Gandhi was a true Hindu because he gave the land that we now called Pakistan to the Muslims. But Gandhi had no control of the dividing of the Muslims and the Hindus. He wanted to create brotherhood between both religions.
I agree with Gandhi’s self assessment because he was a very powerful leader. He was a spiritual and major political leader of India. He freed India from the British. He went to jail and spent many years in jail for the rights of the Indian people. If his followers didn’t practice non violence and truth he would fast until they did so. He could have died from starvation. If you evaluate his life you will see that he made a lot of sacrifices for the Hindus and the Muslims.
In brief, the movie Gandhi had touched me in many different ways. It made me want to learn more about the Hindu and Muslim religion. He was a great spiritual and political person. He is someone that I look up to now. He wanted Independence for India. He practiced the Hindu philosophy but he just didn’t believe in the cast system and wanted to do away with it. He made many sacrifices for the Indian people such as going to jail and standing up to the British government. He believed in non violence and instilled it into the Indian people. All he wanted was brotherhood from the Hindus and the Muslims and to get the British out. He accomplished getting the British out, but what he didn’t accomplish before he died was the brotherhood of both religions. He is a man of honor in my eyes and I will never forget the father of the nation and all that he accomplished throughout his life.
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