Al-Misri Response

While reading this passage my mind was rushing with thoughts of things to say in my response. I love the passages that give me new ways of thinking about things. So far, this set of blog readings has been my favorite. They make me feel really good inside and also make me think, which is hard to come by with anything these days.
As soon as I read "Why is it that we become more humble as we become more like God?" THAT immediately made my mind start spinning. I began to think of all of the religious people that I know and for the most part, their biggest and most likable characteristic is that they are so humble! Now, I'm not saying that ALL religious people are humble because I know PLENTY that are the complete opposite but I believe that we should all be humble. We are living our lives for God because He died for us. We are His servants and we should be doing everything we can to please Him.
I loved the part where it said "O my saints, if you meet someone who is sick through separation from me, heal him..." God is willing to do pretty much anything to make anyone believe that He is the truth and the path you should be following. He wants to prove that he is the truth and once you realize it you will be content and will want to seek for more. He has done everything for us, why shouldn't we give back to Him? He deserves it.

Al-Muhasibi Response

I really enjoyed this passage and agreed with a lot of what was said. In the beginning it said that if you follow God then negative things/people such as hell and satan are not on your mind because you are so focused on God and His teachings that nothing else, especially negative things, really matter. Why focus on the negative and feel badly when you could focus on the positive and feel better than ever? When one devotes themselves to God one gets rewarded in so many ways. Why wouldn't you follow Him, knowing that in the end you are going to such a magnificent place? I feel like this passage is giving non-believers to believe. If you do not believe I think it would make one wonder why negative thoughts may be going on in their head and realize if they do follow God that life seems so much more full of love and understanding. Dwell with God and you are blessed. Simple as that. God does not make it difficult to believe and follow Him, or else no one would follow Him. I believe that it is the easiest thing in the world to do good acts, but these days we are so enveloped with what its like on "the other side" that once we start going down the bad path it is much harder to become "good" again. That is why it is such a reward once we are back to being a believer. It is all worth it. This passage very agreeable in every thing it said. Not only was it an agreeable passage but it was also an easy one to read, which is not exactly common in this book.

John the Evangelist Response

I really enjoyed reading this passage. Even if there was not a lot said, I got a ton from it. After reading the Bible and going to church on Sundays it seems as though if you are in touch with God and have a relationship with him, there is no reason to be sad or mad or discouraged in any way. If you know that you are living your life for God and that he is looking out for you and leading you on the right path then there is nothing to worry about. If you have all the riches in the world, then one day your house burns down and you suddenly go bankrupt, you just have to believe that there is a reason for everything and in the end it will all be okay because God is looking out for you. I loved where it said ".. those who don't know love, don't know God; for God is love." I definitely believe that that is true because He is love. He is every emotion that we have. "to all who receive him, he gives the power to become children of God." THAT is the life that I hope to live one day; to be a child of God in Heaven. He has power over all and He knows what is right for us. Receive His teachings and believe everything that He says is true and you are his child. Like I was saying before, there is no reason to be sad when one has a relationship with Him. Just trust that He will help you and He will be right by your side.

Jesus of Nazareth Response

Reading this passage made me feel so good! The beginning part where it talks about loving your enemies, praying for those who mistreat you, not to dwell over what you don't have but to realize what you have been blessed with and "knock, and the door will be opened to you" is absolutely amazing. All of that is so true and I wish that I always thought like that. Life would be a lot easier I think. My favorite part of this passage was when it talked about how the birds in the sky don't get together and complain about how hard their life is and God still feeds them. So why should we complain? God will still aid us in all that we do. The story about the father and his two sons was very empowering. It made me rack my brain of all the arguments I have gotten in and whether or not I made it easy for others to forgive. I feel like if someone took me back that fast and so kindly, I would have so much more respect for them and feel even worse about whatever I did since they were so nice about it. I love at the end how it says that the kingdom of God is not here nor there for it is within you. Once you have found God, it really is a kingdom! There is so much to learn, to explore and so much knowledge to obtain. I love how positive one can be if they just live their life for God. If you think about it, there really is nothing to complain about. Thing are fixable, whether it is today or twenty years from now, things can change. You just gotta believe that God is on your side.

Wu-Men Response

When we mentioned koans in class, I figured it sounded easy enough to understand, so I didn't write it down. Now, after reading this, I wish I had so I didn't have to take the time to research it some more.
What I do not understand the most is, why can't these people think "normally". For example, when I think of a strawberry I think, "it is something I really enjoy eating and it goes well with chocolate or powdered sugar." When Hindu or Buddhists think of it, I feel that they would think, "This is a fruit with leaves at the end, maybe these green leaves symbolize the envy that strawberries have for raspberries because they don't have leaves and maybe...." I can not even go on because it is too much for my brain to handle!
In this koan they made it so much more intricate than it needed to be. Talking about all the hair follicles in one's head and eyebrow hairs tangling, the amount of bones in the body and swallowing red hot iron balls?! With all this "fluff" that they add it makes my mind wander and I can't understand what this really comes down to.
Pretty much, I feel that this comes down to just being a better person. Learn from your mistakes, throw away the attitudes you once had because it did not get you anywhere. "You're like a mute person who has a dream-- You know it for yourself alone" You know what you have to do to be successful. You know what you need. It is your prerogative whether or not you want to share that with others.
And as for this whole "Mu" deal, I STILL do not understand. I feel like "Mu" means "whatever". As the Hindu (or is it Buddhists, I don't even know anymore) would say, "It is what it is".

The Buddha Response

In the first part of this passage, I kind of like what it says. With most religions, to convert you have to go through baptism, but before that you really have to devote yourself to the religion. You have to prove yourself to the Pastor, Bishop, Rabbi, whoever it may be, that you are in for it til the end. With Buddhism it seems like I can just says I am a Buddhist right now. To me, it seems like this religion comes down to common sense. You know whats good and you know whats bad. Keep doing good things and you win. Stay away from the bad, you win. Pretty easy!
With the man with the boat scenario and how it said to let go of the truths once you have arrived, I do not believe I have fully grasped what that means. Let go of truths to make room for more truths since you already understand what you learned? I am not sure..
I love how it says to "be a lamp to yourself". You are your own light. Sure, others will come and go and try to help along the way, but everyone only cares about themselves. You have control over how much you believe in yourself. "Be your own confidence". Same thing. Some may come into your life and build your confidence sooo high, but then they leave and it all comes crumbling down. Some may come into your life and lower your confidence until you cannot even look at yourself in the mirror because you are so disgusted. No one needs either of those people. All you need is yourself because at the end of the day, you're all you got.

Pai-Chang Response

I really sort of enjoyed this little passage. It reminded me of people whose though process is a little off. If they want to make a decision, but can not decide which is best, they will tell themselves in their mind what is the best decision and then they'll be like "Well God told me to do this in my mind.. so I'm gonna do it." Nooo. You just told yourself what YOU think would be best so you did it. Like it said in the passage, "When the time comes, you are awakened as if from a dream." One will know what the right decision to make is because everything will make sense and it will almost seem to fit. I guess this passage was talking about when it is time to accept Buddha this is all that happens. It fits into your life; you know its right because it will feel right, and nothing will go harmed. You are still the same person. Nothing has really changed except everything is more clear. But I believe this can go along with any important decision one will make; even unimportant. "When you have arrived at this recognition, please hold onto it." Again, can go both ways. When you arrive with the recognition that Buddha is the way to live your life and the way to go, hold onto it because it is the truth. When you arrive with the recognition that the choice you made is right, hold onto it because once you have accepted it, it will work right into your life and when looking back it will not seem like such a big deal as it was made to be.
I feel as if I am rambling. Hopefully it will all make sense. After reading Chuang-Tzu my mind has been over thinking EVERYTHING.

Chuang-Tzu Response

While reading this I felt like I was reading a Dr. Seuss book. So many of the same words being used and in the weirdest ways, it just got my head spinning. In this first part, it seemed to say that everything connects. If it does not connect then it connects in the fact that it does not connect. All in all, connections connect and disconnections still connect..? I don't even know anymore. Then it seemed to turn into a bad camp song. You know the sleep away camps you go to and you say "I have a dog" then the next person says "I have a cat, she has a dog" and it goes on and on and all around the circle til the last person says what everyone has? As annoying as that song is to hear and to even think about, is as annoying as this passage was to read. Basically it seemed to say "it is what it is". Trying to make sense of things is stupid because theres really no sense in anything. Thinking too hard is a waste of time because when you may think its one thing, it is realy another. It seems as if there is no emotion for people who think like this. "The True Man of ancient times knew nothing of loving life, knew nothing of hating death. He emerged without delight; he went back in without a fuss." They just seem like SUCH boring people. No wonder the Chinese are responsible for making virtually everything, their minds never stop thinking!!

Shmelke of Nikolsburg Respone

I really enjoyed this passage and found that I, myself have been that person of question. God tells us to "Love thy neighbor" but why should I love someone who only does evil things? But it does come down to the fact that God did not make 75% percent of us and left the other 25% to be made my satan; He made all of us. Therefore, like it says in the passage "... the original soul came out of the essense of God." I love that because it is so true! No matter who the person is, whether they be a total "holy roller" or the number one person on America's Most Wanted list, we were all made by God and he lives within all of us, whether we chooose to believe it or not. I know a girl who was once heavily into drugs and while she is not as bad now, she thinks about doing them a lot, and she will jump at the chance of doing them any day. One day I went onto her MySpace and she had a scripture from the Bible. This made me very very angry because I believe deeply in God and I felt like she was almost mocking Him in a way? It might have just been because I don't like her so anything she does is negative in my eyes haha, but after venting about it to a close friend, he told me to accept that fact that she may be trying to better herself and to respect her for that. After reading this passage and looking back on that experience, I realize that he was right. She has the essense of God within her too. I am no more special than she is just because I have followed God and His teachings longer than she has. To honor God, I should help her instead of judge her. And I believe that that is what this passage ultimately comes down to.

Bakhya Ibn Pakuda Response

Wow. So far this was my favorite reading. The whole time I couldn't help but smile at every word I read! I only wish I could feel this way about God and everything he has done. While reading I just felt such warmth at everything the author was saying. I especially loved "Then she drinks deeply out of the cup of God's love..". That honestly makes me feel so amazing everytime I read it. It is such a great analogie and so true if you ever get to experience something like that. At the last paragraph where it says that they are so blessed that God had given them money, and they don't use it selfishly is so cool. They know God gave it to them for a reason so they are going to please Him by spreading the joy that they have been handed, to others. Then when all the money is gone they do not have a pity party and say "woe is me" because everything they once had is disappeared, they thank God for taking it away because they know it happened for a reason and they know that they are blessed with or without it. I think that this whole passage came down to "everything happens for a reason". God has a plan for each and every one of us and it is our choice whether or not we choose to follow that path. By believing that everything happens for a reason and knowing that God is behind it all, can be very very comforting. If one cannot find a job after looking for months, theres a reason for it. Maybe God is making you wait so you know not to take advantage of making money, or He has something great lined up along the way, but you just have to wait. There are many scenarios that can back this up. I only hope that when I have bad days and I feel like the whole world is against me, that I know that God is there for me and He will make everything okay, because it is all apart of His plan. God never plans for others to be unsuccessful. It is their choices that take them down that negative and sinful road. Follow the holy way and God will be with you with every step that you take.

Ramana Maharshi Response

I loved the little passages within this, especially the one talking about forgiving the wicked, happiness in doing good deeds, etc. It was all a really uplifting message that made me think about how I act and if I am going about my life in an optimistic manner or not. I believe that if people really think about what that paragraph is saying it can help them think about who they are and how they live their life. I think that that goes hand in hand with karma. For me, it is extremely difficult for me to "forgive the wicked" but in the end you may feel like a better and bigger person. "If the mind is happy, not only the body but the whole world will be happy." I think that this is sooooo true! Like we discussed in class, if you portray yourself as a happy person, the people and things around you will be happy as well! Live your life in a sad, angry, bitter way and that will be the "theme" throughout your life until you change your ways. I also liked where it says "Destroy the ego by seeking its identity." This, to me, is very true because someone with a large ego seems to use that as a huge shield to almost separate themselves from others. But when you are able to knock down that barrier and get down to the real person, you see who they truly are. I like where it says that if you pray for God's grace it is like begging for water when you are already neck deep. This gives me a real optimistic outlook on life because it is showing everyone that God is always there for you. You can pray for His grace, but He has been there the whole entire time.

Upanishads Response

While reading this entry, I could not help but to furrow my eye brows the whole time and roll my eyes a couple times throughout it as well. Maybe I didn't understand it completely, but the whole thing really annoyed me. First of all, I am a Christian and believe deeply in God. But anyways, I believed that in the begging of this entry they were talking about faith. Faith in God, Buddha or whoever you believe in. Knowing He can do many things and has done many things. If you believe He has, then it is true. Then it seemed to completely flip. It seemed like it was saying; for example, many believe that "everything happens for a reason". That God has a plan for all of us. But with this Upanishads passage, to me, it was basically saying, no, everything doesn't happen for a reason. THIS happened because you made THAT decision. God didn't help you. Then it goes on to say "If you understand the meaning of 'I neither know nor don't know,' you understand God. With that and the whole last part of the passage it almost seemed to say, if you know nothing, you believe in God. If you're totally intelligent and have a great understanding of things, you don't believe in God. So, you're smart if you don't believe in God and a total fool if you do believe??
Someone, tell me if I completely butchered the understanding of this passage. Otherwise, I'm not too fond of these Upanishads..

Chief Seattle Response

The chief seems to show a massive amount of love for the Earth and all that surrounds him. He shows appreciation all the way down to dirt, which most of us think of it as nothing but something we walk on. He seems to have accepted the fact that "fate hunts the red man down". Its like he believes everyone is out to get him. When he said "Your religion was written on tables of stone by the iron finger of an angry God, so you would not forget." it was almost as if he was intentionally insulting them because he thinks they do not have enough imagination to remember. The way Chief Seattle speaks is almost as if he is painting what is going on with his words. With everything he says, you can taste, smell, hear or feel it. The Indians founded this land and the white men stripped them of it. The Indians do not seem to have as much of an aggressive attitude as the white people did, which made it a lot easier for them to take what they had, and take advantage of them and the entire situation. The Christians had not even preached their word to all of the Indians, but they seemed to believe that if one Indian did not agree with their Word then all of them must not, which ultimately led to the white men taking over.

All in all, I'm not sure how I felt about what Chief Seattle had to say. He almost seemed to be complaining, and while I don't disagree that they had tons of things to complain about, it just kind of annoyed me. He seemed to go on and on about things and in the end there was really nothing he or anyone else could do about it because things for them were already upside down. I feel bad about how the white people took over like it was nothing, but at least they're making a ton of money with casinos! :)

Sa-go-ye-wat-ha response

In 1805 a Christian missionary went to the Seneca Indians to give a speech on God and what he had learned to believ was the truth. He spoke to them in hopes that they would join him in his beliefs. After two hours of the Seneca tribe listening to him give his talk, Sa-go-ye-wat-ha answered back with a talk on their beliefs. He also said how their tribe thought they could trust the white men, until they were attacked and stripped of their land. The Christian man was unhappy and bitterly left. He believed that what his forefathers learned and eventually taught was the truth; however, the Seneca tribe also learned from their forefathers' teachings and believed that was the truth as well. Why would they switch their opinions for the sake of the Christian man?
I thoroughly enjoyed this passage. I liked the way that he spoke. Even though you couldn't hear his voice, you could tell that what he was saying was sincere and spoken with kindness. When he was being honest about not wanting to follow the Christian's religious beliefs, and he knew that the Christian man wouldn't like his answer, he still was sympathetic. I agreed with most of what he was saying in the passage. At the beginning they all were very accepting of the white men and welcomed them with open arms. Later, the white men started to take advantage of that and they began to treat the Natives like animals. It wasn't fair to the Natives. It almost seemed that the white men thought they were better than the Natives so the Natives should believe and think and act as they do. I found this passage pretty moving because I never realized how accepting they were and the white men totally took over, giving the Natives no say whatsoever. And then at the end, to actually have the Christian man think that they would follow his religious beliefs because he said so? Rediculous.