Chuang-Tze

I really loved Chuang-Tzu’s story of the monkeys. I think that there are a lot of instances in my life where I act like the monkeys. Things that seem so important and I’m fighting to control often don’t really matter that much. I know that there have been time where like the monkeys I really fought and experienced all of these emotions trying to get my way. But later after some reflection I realized that the very thing that I thought matter so much, was not that important and I used effort stressing over it that could have been used some other way.

I think that it ties in well with the story of the man of ancient times who seemed to just live life and stress over the amount of nuts he received. I need to try to live where I don't stress so much about the future and just focus on the gifts that I have.

I also enjoyed the part where Chuang-Tze askes "How do I know that the dead do not wonder why they ever longed for life?" I think that there are a lot of people that are fearful of death, but there may not be any reason to be afraid. Sometimes the thing that we are most afraid of turns out to be a pretty good thing afterall. Why fear something you can't really control?

Tzu-ssu

“What is bestowed by heaven is called human nature. The fulfillment of human nature is called the Tao. The cultivation of the Tao is called true learning.”

If we are all heaven gives us human nature and human nature is supposed to be so great, then why is there so much bad in the world? It seems so contradictory to tell people to just act with their true nature and they will find the way to God. I think that for a lot of people it can be hard to do the right thing at times. I guess it just seems like if something is natural to you and good then it shouldn’t be so hard for society to be in harmony. Yet as much as people tell us that we are inherently good, etc. we still have wars and say mean things at times. I think that people are inherently good, but at the same time why is it so hard to act good?

Nothing is more manifest than the hidden; nothing is more obvious than the unseen.”

It can be so difficult for me to read this kind of stuff. What on earth are they trying to say? That things are infinite and interconnected? I don’t know but whatever is being said is over my head. It can be such a headache to read this type of contradictory stuff.

“The mature person accepts his situation and doesn’t desire anything outside it…”

I can see from this quote where people get the attitude of religion brainwashing people. Here the author is telling people to be happy with their lot in life regardless of whether they are rich, poor, or a barbarian. It doesn’t even seem to encourage that they should try to better themselves. By saying that “if he is among barbarians, he acts as a barbarian should ” it suggests one should just sort of go with the flow and accept whatever life gives you. I think that one needs to appreciate life and all that one has been given, but I don’t know if the whole go with the flow attitude here is the best attitude to have.

The Hebrew Bible

I liked this highlights of the Hebrew Bible reading, although it is a bit difficult to get if you are like me and are not familiar with the Bible and so do not know what contexts the quotes were taken from. Just like the previous reading I was really struck by the faith in God. I just got the overall impression that God is always there for his people. There is no need to question his presence because he will provide for you. Not only that but God is in everybody’s heart so one can always find him. Even in darkness God is present. Anyone can find and love God. There was an overwhelming sense that God is there for his people.

I found this quote rather interesting: “I form light and create darkness; I make peace and create evil.” I’m not really religious so I don’t really have a very good sense of God, but I had always pictured God as the embodiment of goodness. I had always assumed that any action that God performs is one of goodness. However in this quote it characterizes God as creating evil. Maybe it’s possible to create evil for good or maybe you get into some sort of philosophical thing where you need evil for peace and goodness – I don’t really get it, but I thought that it was interesting that in this definition of God he is both the light and the dark. Maybe it ties in a bit to the Bakhya Ibn Pakuda reading where you have to trust God in both suffering and good times.

Bakhya Ibn Pakuda

Bakhya Ibn Pakuda
I really liked the relationship the author talks about people having with God in this reading. That imagery of the woman realizing God’s infinite goodness and bowing down before him with God coming to lift her up was pretty powerful. I liked the idea of her complete trust in God, but I also really like that God was there to help and guide her. It just sounds like a very fulfilling relationship. I have a hard time trusting in one thing as much as the author encourages us to trust in God. However, it seems that by living your life for God and trusting completely in him you will find a peace of soul and all one’s worldly anxieties will disappear. Even all the sufferings that befall one are fine because you can trust in God. It quotes Job who says, “Thought he kill me, yet will I trust in him.” It’s a bit of a weird concept to grasp; suffering isn’t really suffering if you have God. In a way it’s almost a good thing to suffer because it’s almost like a badge of honor to show that even in bad times you stand by your God. I guess that overall I was really struck by the grace that one lives by if they can devote themselves to God. The introduction by Mitchell really sums up the article for me in that if you can master devoting your life to God suddenly it becomes a natural easy thing to do. Suddenly you live life with the natural grace of a concert pianist or a great tennis player. Somehow by living in this way you no longer will have to worry about suffering, money, wealth, and all of the other underpinnings of life. I wonder if many people actually embody this way of life?

SA-GO-YE-WAT-HA

I really admired the faith and compassion of Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha. He talked about how the Great Spirit had always provided for his people by creating food and clothing. He felt that the Great Spirit taught and loved his people. This is a very positive outlook considering that they had lost so much. His faith is still very important to him and he still has very strong beliefs. I think that if I was in this guys shoes I would really be questioning the existence of a Great Spirit. I was really impressed by the strength of his faith - the man feels very blessed.

I also found the passage where Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha talked about how the Great Spirit had made us all very interesting. The idea that the Great Spirit had created everybody but given different gifts to his children was cool. I liked how tolerant this man seemed to be towards other people’s religions and beliefs. The idea of honoring your God with a “sincere heart” was very moving. He seems to be saying that as long as you are a good person God doesn’t care what religion you choose. I think the world would be a much less complicated place if more people could adopt this way of thinking.

I also found it interesting that he questioned the Bible. I don’t really know anything about religion but it seems like many people use the Bible as proof of God’s existence. You hear people quoting passages as fact. Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha’s outlook on the Bible was an interesting contrast to this. The written words did not have any meaning for him. The Bible was not important for his relationship with the Great Spirit.
The other part of Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha’s speech that was interesting was his call for results. Towards the end of the speech Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha says that he wants to see the effect that this religion has on his neighbors. Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha says that if the religion causes people to be more honest and good then perhaps he would consider it.

SHANKARA

In this reading the author asks the question “When the moon shines in its exceeding beauty, who would care to look at a painted moon?” I think here Shankara was trying to make the point that real satisfaction comes from a world with the true experience of God. Shankara talks about how Atman is everywhere. This statement seems contradictory to me because the author goes on to say, “The Vedas, the Puranas, all scriptures and all living creatures only exist because the Atman exists. How can any of them reveal the Atman, which is the revealer of everything?” If Atman is indeed everywhere why wouldn’t you see it in scriptures. I can understand that nobody can tell one how to find God - you need to find it on your own - but if Atman is everywhere wouldn’t you be able to see it in both scriptures and painted moons?

The other thing that I found interesting about this piece was the need to be selfless. The lack of attachment, and emotion is supposed to bring one satisfaction. By not having expectations or desires I guess that leaves little room for disappointment. In some ways this seems like a very apathetic way to live life. But it is also very admirable to follow the advice to forget all thought of “I” and “mine.” To be able to live your life where you find satisfaction in following the Atman, regardless of hunger or pain, is pretty amazing. I really enjoyed the comparison to that child like state of being absorbed by a toy. To be able to find such peace would truly be a cool thing to find.