The Buddha

I'm surprised that this section is so short.  It seems like there would be a lot more that could be writen about The Buddha and his teachings.  I really enjoyed going over Siddarthas life in class on Wednesday.  I found it rather amusing that he was so sheltered even when he was around thirty that he didn't know what aging was.  What I find really impressive is the sudden change in lifestyle he started with.  That alone would be pretty tough. I don't even think I could go without drinking soda for a day let alone giving up a life like his.  Then there's how long he lived.  Back in his days it seems like it would be a rarity for anyone to live past fifty.  

Anyways, one portion of the section stood out to be pretty well.  I enjoyed the first teaching where he says that if you find out something is bad for you then you should stop doing it, and if you find something thats good for you you should do it.  It's really simple, straight forward, and can be considerered to be common sense.  The thing that makes this idea so much more powerful is because there are no 'but's in it.  He doesn't say, 'If something is bad for you doing do it... But if you really enjoy it you might as well continue.'  We all do stuff that we know is bad for us but in our mind we justify the bad behavor.  I drink copious amounts of soda and I know I shouldn't do that but I love the flavor and the feeling so I still do it.

Shmelke of Nikolsburg

This section was absolutely amazing. I have a very large problem reading and understanding and remembering what I read. This section though had sucked me in on the very first few words. The imagery and metaphor was very clear and and clean cut. I can't remember any reading that was this much fun since I read Enders Game over five years ago.  

The message in this section is very clear which is something I appreciate very much. If it wasn't then I wouldn't feel inspired enough to write about it let alone remember it and in the future read it again. The section is about a disciple that asks a Rabbi how he can love another person who has wronged him in the past. Everyone has someone who has wronged them and everyone has wronged someone else even if they are unaware of it. I certainly know that I've hurt someone in someway even without knowing it. It's unavoidable but if everyone held their grudges and refused to help or communicate with everyone who has wronged them, then society will break down in a matter of days.

The metaphor used in this section was fabulous. It really shows how each person can be connected to one another and with god. It also gives you a sense of how when you punish someone who has wronged you that it will come back to hurt you and perhaps even God himself. It was very clear cut and I really enjoyed this section.

Bakhya Ibn Pakuda

This was an interesting read. I enjoyed the authors notes at the beginning of it. It summed up a good portion of the section very well. I believe that if there really is no real god or anything, the teachings and beliefs within most religions were essential for human survival. The only thing that we had over the rest of the animal kingdom is a more advanced brain. We learned to make tools, we learned to communicate, and we learned to gather and become organized societies. Each person in a community is there for survival but each person wants personal gain. If we had no morals and beliefs each person who lie, cheat, steal, and murder to gain a safer and more prosperous position in the community. Religion gives everyone a standardized set of morals and beliefs which makes the society grow.

This reading seems to talk about how no matter what your status in society is you'll always be with God. If you have no wealth or positions you have a gift from God. If you have a lot of wealth and positions then you shouldn't let that get in your way of being with God. However if you are rich you should use your wealth to help and protect those around you who are more needy. This idea probably helped a lot of civilizations prosper in their earlier millennia.  

Shankara

I really enjoyed the concept of the Brahman.  Wednesdays lecture on it was very interesting.  When you look at any object on the timeline of eternity everything exists for a single small instant.  Even the earth will be broken down and turned into something else.  (Although the connection to the String Theory was unsettling for me.  I tend not to beleive theories I can't easily test myself.  I feel like our generation are trying to push the limits of science beyond our grasp which can have devistating consiquences.  Death, Destructions, and even a setback in our knowledge and understanding of the universe.  I admit that I am not well educated in Einstines theories but I do beleive that it is a little too early to say there is no real way to travel faster than light.  If you look back in the early 1900s it was widely beleived that no one could travel faster than down.)

Some of the thought behind the Brahman is pretty interesting.  I like how it makes people beleive they have a connection to everything around them.  I tend to feel this when I'm getting better from being sick.  I'll suddenly get the idea that I can touch my walls with my eyes and that I can swim through the air.  I don't know what in me gets me to feel this way but its always been something that lets me know beforehand that I will be getting well again.  

I got off on a few tangents but while I was reading this section these were the things I was thinking about.  Also I faced some confusion while reading this.  What is an Atman.  I got the impression that it is like a soul but I have a poor understanding of what it is.

Upanishads

The main part of the Upanishads that I really enjoyed was the understanding that they can't truely know or understand god.  That understanding seems to bring them closer to realizing what a god is.  It is a very neat concept.  It seems so counter intuitive but when you sit down and think about it, it really makes sense.  How do you see god or talk to god or understand god.  All religions have teachings and scripture and stories about when their gods walked the earth but none of that happens now.  We can hear those stories and read the scriptures but in the end they are just words.  Unless one of these gods can come into existence on earth no one will ever be able to truely understand god.  Until then we can only beleive.

The part that says, "...those that claim they know, know nothing." is something that I will be thinking about when I am approached by those who are so religous that they look down on others.

The section of the Upanishads mostly seems to describe what a soul is.   It talks about how your body is just a vessle for your soul.  Your soul will control your body like a rider controling a horse or how we control our computers.  Every letter that is here isn't put here by me but rather by the computer, I just control the computer so it aranges the letters where they should be.  So according to the Upanishads concept of the soul, you are the being that controls your body.  You feel as though you are the body but the body can not have any action on the soul.  

Chief Seattle

This speech is difficult for me to understand. Chief Seattle was a lot more hostile than Sa-go-ye-wat-ha was but that is perfectly understandable. He had a better understanding that the white men didn't respect the Native Americans as they probably should have. The white men lied and cheated all too frequently. They took advantage of the Native Americans given nature. It seemed like Chief Seattle had all this in mind during his speech.

What struck me as sad is that even though Chief Seattle had some sort of hatred for the white men he still had to agree to their arrangement and move his people to a reservation. He also seemed to have the foresight to know that there would be issues with his people being to see the barial grounds of their ancestors.  

I believe that each nation and race has their own great pride for their culture and people but it is that pride that allows them to be defeated before their time. The Native Americans didn't stand much of a chance against the greater technology of the colonists but their pride probably allowed them to be defeated easier than they could have. I am not blaming the Native Americans for their own demise but I do think that things would be much different if each nation that faces a large challenge can get past their pride.

Likewise the new Americans may have had a brighter beginning if they respected the Native Americans and learned to work together. As far as I can recall there have never been any real alliance between a civilized culture and a tribal or savage (for lack of a better term) culture. It would be very interesting to see what Native Americans would be like now if the two people could get along.

Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha

One of the greatest things that bugs me with the more religous crowd is how they push themselves and their religion on others.  Where I live we will have street fairs every thursday for about two months during summer.  Most of the time there is a small group of christians who gather at the corners of the street fair with signs and banners talking about God and how to become 'saved'.  Some of them will approach people and ask them if they want to hear more.  That does not bother me.  The other few people will yell at people who don't pay them any attention or act differently from the average person.  Sometimes they are provoked by kids who want to act tough and get in their face.  Most of the times it appears as though its unprovoked.

In the story of Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha the missionary instantly got on my nerves.  His close minding behavior is a bad representation of his religion.  As for the speach by the native america, I have to say that I loved how thoughtful he was of the missionaries feelings even though there have been such bad experiences between the Colonists and the Native Americans.