I'm sorry, but I have been cheered by reading your blogs.
You can actually finish your homework for Friday today (!): Read the rest of the Teachings assignment and write a second blog (under Comments here). I also recommend you at least browse your classmates' comments, as some of them have already answered Friday's quiz questions for you.
Don't forget to keep working on your semester projects.
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28 comments:
Katy
Pg. 28
“Live in joy,
In peace,
Even among the troubled.
Look within.
Be still.
Free from fear and attachment,
Know the sweet joy of the way.
I like these lines because they offer simple, yet power advice on how to
live by the philosophy of Buddhism. “The way” or “path” often described in
Buddhism seems to a personal journey. You can choose of a life of peace
“even among the troubled.” The answer is within yourself. You can choose
to live in joy. Buddhism seems to empower the individual to live their
life. Each path can be different, depending on the person; however they
all lead to the same end. To achieve the ultimate truth however, you must
be “free from fear and attachment,” that keep you from being awake. When
you are truly awake you are no longer controlled by attachments or desires
and can follow the way to the truth.
p. 69
“Drink deeply.
Live in serenity and joy.
The wise person delights in truth
And follows the law of the awakened.
“The farmer channels water to his land.
The fletcher whittles arrows.
And the carpenter turns his wood.
So the wise direct their mind.”
-Dhammapada
I am very interested in the metaphors that the Buddha uses to describe enlightenment in the second stanza. The lines depict three different types of people all dedicated and hard working people doing their jobs as they know how to do them. Most of these professions involve years of practice and teaching in order to refine their skills enough to properly practice their trade, and most likely a lifetime to master it. With this metaphor, the Buddha is implying that the path to enlightenment is training and practice in the refined skill of controlling their mental path that the enlightened will work at for the rest of their life. The work to direct one’s mind is very difficult, like farming, and is a refined skill, like fletching an arrow. It is only the dedicated who can become enlightened. It is not a path for those who will not put forth every effort to attain it.
P62: “Follow the truth of the way. / Reflect upon it. / Make it your own. / Live it. / It will always sustain you.
The reaching of nirvana in Buddhism is the realization of truth. It is like the allegory of the cave where enlightenment is the clearing of all the haze that surrounds you until finally, the truth is clear. Here it is saying that once you find “the truth” then you must follow it forever. You cannot change your mind and no longer have the truth because it is always there. By “reflecting upon it” you are actually “mak[ing] it your own” in that your thoughts about truth are specific to yourself—no one else can think the things you do, the way you do. By making the truth your own, you are personalizing the journey to nirvana and the actual enlightenment. The goal of Buddhism is to reach nirvana, and the Buddha did come back and teach us the way to reach it and the path we must follow. However, to each of us, the rules and the path can be followed in a different way. The rules are not specific to each action and to “make it your own” you need to reach it in a way that is right for you. One person’s journey to enlightenment may not be the same as another’s journey because we all function differently and reach our goals differently. The teaching says for us to “make it [our] own” and then to “live it” because “it will always sustain you”. The truth must be lived forever once you have found it because truth is what you spend your entire life, and many following, trying to find in order to reach enlightenment. Without truth, your life is incomplete. The lesson here is to “follow the truth of the way… [because] it will always sustain you”.
Page 61
“Are you quiet?
Quieten your body.
Quieten your mind.”
In our modern culture there is little respect for silence. Noise permeates every aspect of our daily lives. There is always a TV on somewhere, a radio on in the car, the constant drone of conversation in the student center, and the ever-present clicking sound of text messaging. Everyone always wants to be talking, or listening to something—anything. Silence is extremely hard to come by. Silence makes us uncomfortable. Along with the constant barrage of sounds, there is constant motion and activity. Everyone has a schedule. Within a single day, how much time does each person spend in stillness, and in quiet, mindful relaxation? Instead we are taught that stillness equates to laziness, and that success comes only to those who are constantly doing, constantly talking, constantly working. Are our schedules so crammed, so utterly full that we don’t have a moment to enjoy stillness? Are we so addicted to noise that we have lost the ability to appreciate silence? The Buddha’s advice is simple, and I think for our culture and generation especially, it is the most important. In the silence and the stillness, we gain perspective on what is truly important, and we have a better appreciation for the present moment.
“He who seeks happiness
By hurting those who seek happiness
Will never find happiness”
Pg10
I find these lines to be exactly right. You grow up learning a rule like this. It’s was the first lesson I learned in kindergarten “treat others the way you want to be treated.” I think this falls into the same category as the lines listed above. If one wants happiness then they need to find it themselves. They need to find it for one’s sake then share the happiness with others. The one who hurts others when trying to seek happiness doesn’t deserve it. If you have to guts to hurt someone seeking happiness then what is wrong with you. There is no need for that. You should treat people the way you want to be treated. I’m sure if you are seeking happiness you want no harm to yourself, so don’t do it to others. If you harm others things will harm you, like not seeking happiness.
mary adams-
“To straighten the crooked
You must first do a harder thing—
Straighten yourself.” -65
Too often religious people are characterized as being hypocritical. By no means do I believe this is always true, but sometimes I have noticed people (unfortunately, mainly Christians in the US) who use religion as a way to merely make-up for their sins instead of using the spiritual practice as a way of life, as it should be. Like the stereotypical molesting priest or the alcoholic Baptist minister, derogatory presumptions of the Christian faith circulate today’s media and humors television series. Perhaps this is primarily because of the overwhelming majority of Christians in the US, but it is interesting to note that Buddhists are very rarely viewed in a bad light in American media (of course maybe I’m just watching the wrong shows). I think such teachings as this quote from the Dhammapada, explain why that is. Buddhism is based around the inner life and personal development; before you begin to worry over the malicious intentions of another, your own intentions must be completely justified. The make-up of humans makes it hard for many of us to fight the temptation to blame others or causes us to seek refuge in darkness. But due to Buddhists’ detachment from material wealth and much practiced escape from cravings, they are able to avoid this human tendency to blind themselves from their faults, and thus have been rarely criticized as being hypocritical.
"To straighten the crooked you must first do the harder thing-straighten yourself" (pg.65)
This quote symobolizes being a "traitor". Many people try to help others that have gone down the wrong paths in life. The simple fact is that many of those people don't respect the person that is trying to help them down the right path. If one student is trying to tell a fellow student not to cheat on a test, but the night before that one student copied an essay, he/she needs to fix her own cheating problem first. The realization of your personal flaws is one of the hardest things in life. We all want to believe we are perfect and don't do anything unlawful or wrong. Another example is a father that smokes telling his son not to smoke. That father needs to realize the son looks up to him and will not believe the dangers of smoking unless his father "straightens" himself.
"To straighten the crooked, you must do a harder thing-straighten yourself." p. 65
The Buddha talks about becoming your own "master" in The Teachings of the Buddha, and how to become your own master you must be "straight".The journey of life is meant to be a journey to the ultimate end-enlightenment, and with each lifetime we become more and more straight. Within this context, straight seemingly means a complete and total devotion to the eight fold path and upholding of the noble truths, unwavering for temptations of any form. When the Buddha first found his enlightenment and went to sit under the Bodhi Tree to test himself, he completely repelled Mara’s every effort to persuade him back into the world of sin and temptation. When we have reached this straightness, it is our duty to try and minimize the other evils in the world and to create as much positive as we can which stems from this new found wisdom.
"How joyful to look upon the awakened and to keep company with the wise."
It seems that a fairly persistent theme in the Buddha teachings is that the practitioner should rid himself of lethargy. It is understood in the teachings that wisdom is achieved through wakefulness, and that those who submit themselves to sleepiness cannot effectively achieve dharma. I find it difficult to determine whether the Buddha is referring to the actual act of sleeping or sleepiness acquired through not being mentally present in each moment. If he refers to the actual act then maybe he thinks that when we sleep we are wasting time that could be devoted to bettering the world. If this is what he is teaching then I disagree. I feel that sleep is a method of meditation that is crucial to a healthy existence. It must be mental drowsiness. Another prominent theme of Buddhism is sustaining complete and utter focus. If the mind is drowsy and lingering then focus and wisdom are unreachable concepts.
Taylor
p. 35
This story was interesting to me. It speaks of how a man wants Buddha to explain all these questions he has before he decides to practice Buddhism. Buddha tells the man that there is not enough time for him to explain all the truths of the world, and he uses the example of if a man were hurt he wouldnt allow them to treat him until he fully understood why another man would hurt him. the hurt man would die before knowing. The man claims that he will not follow the teachings of the Buddha until he knows the truths. Sometimes things cant be explained, they are better explained by experience rather than words. There also always isnt enough time for some things to be explained, like the Buddha says. It would make more sense to the man if he were to experience Buddhism rather than is be explained to him.
p. 53
“All formations are transient; all formations are subject to suffering; all things are without a self.”
This statement explains one of the chief principles of the philosophy of Buddhism, and that is that fulfilling your desires in life does not matter, because everything changes so often that what may fulfill your desires in one portion of your existence, may be retrograde to your desires the next. Since the universes existence extends to infinity, finite portions of time of any magnitude equate to nothing (one divided by infinity is the same as one million divided by infinity.) This is why your focus should be on achieving enlightenment, which will stay with you for all eternity. Nothing with a form stays that way forever. Life forms die, rocks erode, the sky becomes pollute, and by the same token your existence means nothing. Long story short: focus on becoming awake.
Mary Adams! Why do we do the same things. I just noticed that I commented on the same page under the other blog without checking this one.
Mary Adams talks about hypocrisy in religion. Remember that it happens everywhere, like the brahmin in Water. The Japanese who savaged China and Korea were all Buddhists.
p.69
This passage is interesting to me because it compares the effects that wisdom has on a person to the everyday activities farmers or carpenters do. It states, “So the fletcher whittles his arrows… so the wise direct their mind”. This is unique because most non-Buddhist people wonder how Buddhists meditate for so long or how they are so eager to gain more and more wisdom. I know I’ve always wondered this, and this page basically says the answer. Apparently wisdom to them is like religions to Mr. Gawry’s. It is just built into their nature to learn more about it and expand off certain philosophies they discover. One thing I find somewhat hard to believe is the line that says, “The wise person delights in the truth”. If someone is truly wise, and they understand the truth of many things, then they must not delight in most of it. Sure, some things are extremely delightful in life, but most things are still very tragic and depressing. Surely someone so wise must understand this too. Perhaps they are so wise that they understand this sorrow and learn to love it or get used to it.
p.32~34
I heard about the Buddha's life story so many times from my grandmother, for she was a really devoted Buddhist. However, each time I hear the story, I feel as if I am getting closer to Buddha. My mind and soul cleanses, and I look back about myself. There is no doubt that I grow with hearing this story, but I have not heard the story from my grandmother since I came to Baylor. Therefore, reading it today made me to contemplate about myself. As I grow older, I feel like becoming an evil. For example, I used to try not to kill ants or even cockroaches. Now I can even kill spiders without any guilt. I also sometimes talk bad to my peers, hurting their feelings. However, since I read this today and recollect my childhood memories, I hope I will become better person like me in childhood.
"To straighten the crooked, you must do a harder thing-straighten yourself." Pg.65
This quote beautifully states the importance of self-reflection to religion. By looking inwards and contemplating what faults and reservations I have, rather than judging others and pointing to their faults, I will be able to clear my own mind of distractions and other things inhibiting me from seeing God clearly. Although this line could also be read as a commentary on hypocrisy, I like to think that it is more encouraging us to work on ourselves and become closer to enlightenment and understanding.
“Unattached to speculations, views and sense desires, with clear vision, such a person will never be reborn in the cycles of suffering.” (8)
On pages 26 and 27, the Buddha speaks to Rahula, teaching her to develop a state of mind like the earth, water, fire, air, and space. Humans dispose of both clean and unclean things upon the earth and water, which become neither more pleasant nor more unpleasant as a result. Fire burns all things, air blows upon all things, and space encompasses everything. Similarly, humans must live without being affected in any way from “contacts with pleasant or unpleasant.” This reminded me of the concept we’ve briefly discussed in class that has to do with living like a lotus. Lotuses remain beautiful and pure, even when they reside in ugly and unclean water. They metaphorically detach themselves from material things. As explained on pages 54 and 55, those who seek Nirvana should learn to detach themselves from material objects and desire: clinging causes craving, which causes “becoming,” which causes rebirth, and therefore the cycle of samsara continues until craving is effectively eliminated. Samsara binds people to old age and death, sorrow, lamentation, pain, grief, and despair – the essence of suffering.
Page 21-22, the story about the children and the sand castles.
I feel like this story speaks true for everyday life. Many things seem extremely important but at the end of the day, whatever was important no longer matters. Everything in Buddhism must be let go, and one must not hold on the material items because they will pass eventually. I think this also says that at the end of the day, everything is treated equally. In Buddhism everyone has the potential of becoming a Buddha. No matter how extravagant or simple, big or small, each sandcastle ended up the same way. It reminds me of Hinduism, how each child tried to protect their castle in a different way, but in the end they were the same. In Hinduism, there are many paths to god, but the all get you to god. This story, related to Buddhism, tells me that one must not worry about what happens along the road because in the end, everyone and everything will work itself out.
Pg. 29-31
The story told in this passage was very interesting and helped me get a better grasp on the religion. The story is about a man who does his chores and reemphasizes "Therefore, if thou like, rain , O sky!", no matter what the man does he is satisfied. If is life becomes darkened, he knows how to see the light in every situation, he knows a way to live in peace. The man has found fulfillment in his life, he knows himself, he knows what is around him. I find this concept hard to grasp in todays society, I feel that in this religion its message is to let go, I personally seem to hold on for too long, this story has helped me to better understand the logic behind it.
“As a mother watches over her child, willing to risk her own life to protect her only child, so with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings, suffering the whole world with unobstructed loving kindness.”
These lines come out of the Metta Sutta and caught my eye because it shows what Buddhist believe about the other people in the world. The line that says, “with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings,” says that people should love and cherish everything in the world good or bad. That we should love and look out for one another like a mother watching over her own child. It says that we should go through this world with love and kindness in all aspects of our lives. I also liked these lines because I have enjoyed finding similarities between Christianity and the eastern religions we have studied thus far. These lines remind me of the bible because the bible talks about how we should love and cherish our neighbors and love and treat them like brothers. These lines from the Metta Sutta are telling us just that.
"The farmer channels water to his land, The fletcher wittles his arrows. And the carpenter turns his wood. So the wise direct their mind."
My favorite part about Buddhism is the importance of perfecting the function of our mind. Once again, this passage is saying we should teach our mind to help us fulfill enlightenment. Enlightenment, however, does not come easily. We can't reach enlightenment by simply wishing for it. Like a farmer channeling his water, we must direct our minds to the right path, and it takes discipline and devotion to truly get our thoughts to the mindset we strive to achieve.
"The farmer channels water to his land
The fletcher wittles his arrows.
And the carpenter turns his wood.
So the wise direct their mind."
-pg 69
This seems like a fairly straightforward explanation of dharma. Every man has a duty, a task, and 'the wise' apply this idea not only to daily life or concrete action, but also to their minds and thought. I think the occupations addressed here are interesting; certainly, each has very specific tasks that contrast starkly the abstract duties of the mind. But each man and their accompanying occupation described are obviously different. It makes the concept of dharma pretty clear: the only constant is duty itself; the specific process of obeying dharma may be different for each and every person.
Various quotes from page 63
This passage confused me because of the contradictions in wording with which Nirvana is described. Nirvana is related to plenty of helpful, necessary, and everlasting things, but it is also used with the word ‘desire.’
“Like the wishing jewel, Nirvana grants all one can desire..”
Throughout reading the many passages on pages 1-78 I got a sense that desire was either to be completely dropped, acknowledged when had, and now expected with nirvana. I grasped the need for it to be dropped, and grasped that it should be noticed and let go of, but describing nirvana with desire in one sentence and then a few sentences stating
“As no seeds can grow on a mountain peak, so the seeds of all the passions cannot grow in Nirvana,”
causes huge contradictions and confuses me as the reader. Is passion not within desire? Desires for what? Nagasena referred a physical item (the wishing jewel) in the statement, but one would assume it would have nothing to do with material items. I hope to gain a better understanding of Nirvana soon!
Pg. 34
At the very end of this story, itgives a good metaphore for rebirth which reminded me of one of the Hindu poems we read. There was one about how you should be a temple and would be like the pillars and would be unshakable. This story's metaphore goes along with that image really well. It says that once you finished the cycle of rebirth, the house shall not be built again. that the "rafters have been broken down." I just really liked this because it went along with the poem so well.
"He who seeks happiness
By hurting those who seek happiness
Will never find happiness.
For your brother is like you.
He wants to be happy."
This passage is about universal compassion which is one of the requirements to reach Nirvana. The Buddha taught against greed and selfishness. He taught compassion and love for all living things. To achieve the middle path, you must learn to love everything around you and not wish to harm any being. If you have universal compassion, then not only will you not want to harm any other being, but you will understand that each being should have an equal chance in the world and you should not let your human greed get in the way of another's chance for success. The first three lines of this passage display the idea of universal compassion, but it's the last two lines that I really like. These lines show compassion. They show you why compassion is necessary and why awareness of surrounding beings and their needs and wants is necessary. I think this passage truly shows the Buddha's ability to teach in a very simplistic way. Though this passage is only five lines, it clearly and effectively teaches us that compassion is necessary.
"You are your only master.
Who else?
Subdue yourself,
And discover your master."
You are the only person who can control your thoughts, your feelings, your moods, your actions. You are the only person who controls you. This is a rather universal fact, yet when applied to Buddhism it becomes something much more. It's saying that you must take responsibility for your own life and your own path - you must find your own way.
While you have some teaching from previous Buddha's, you must discover your own personal Nirvana through experience. This passage also seems to reinforce the lack of a god in Buddhism. It claims that you are your master and you are your own highest power. There is no one above watching you to guide or help you. Though Buddhism and this passage to not claim that there absolutely is no god, they more claim that there is no way to know whether there is a god or not, so take control of your own life, achieve Nirvana, and then the question of god will be revealed to you.
The perfume of sandalwood,
Rosebay of jasmine
Cannot travel against the wind.
But the fragrance of virtue
Travels even against the wind,
As far as the ends of the world.
Like garlands woven from a heap of
flowers,
Fashion from your life as many good
deeds.
Sometimes people, including me, think that material (nice car such as BMW, and Mercedes Benz, nice clothes by famous designer like Gucci and Armani, and nice house like up the mountain). Since I am not a monk, I agree that, somewhat, material can define people and I do not hate materialists. If someone drive a nice car and wear nice clothes and have a huge house, I would say he or she might be successful. However, I realized that material does not define everything; I could see materialists as successful people, but I never see them as nice people. Here, in this book, it says the perfume of sandalwood, Rosebay of jasmine cannot travel against the wind. Like this material thing cannot define everything and it also can not affect other people. I agree with this book that only virtue can defines people and it affects other people as the book says.
Love yourself and be awake-
Today, tomorrow, always.
First establish yourself in the way,
Then teach others,
And so defeat sorrow.
To straighten the crooked
You must first do a harder thing-
Straighten yourself.
You are your only master.
Who else?
Subdue yourself,
And discover your master.
Actually, I believe in no religion though my grandma believes Buddhism and my parents believe Catholic. There are many reasons that I do not believe any god. One of them is that I hate begging to god to be strong, because I think all I need to be strong is my mind. However, I realized that Buddhism do not want me to begging Buddha to be strong, but it wants me to subdue myself as I train myself. As it says, to be strong, I need straighten myself which is hard thing. Buddhism suggests some ways to help it. Through meditation and loving myself, this religion forces me to reform myself. I love last paragraph. In other religion, the master means the god, but here the master can be I. I am pretty impressed by this thought. Now, I want to be one of the people who believe Buddhism. Studying Buddhism is going to be really fun for me.
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