Ludwig Wittgenstein

"The solution of the problem that you see in life is to live in a way that will make what is problematic disappear. The fact that life is problematic means that your life doesn't fit into life's shape. So you must change your life, and when it fits into the shape, what is problematic disappears."

I dont agree with this. I don't think that changing your life to make things less problematic is the correct answer. I believe that it's all about how you look at things. This concept was drilled into my mind this past week when one of my sister's very close friends passed away from the cancer he had been batteling for over three years. He was only 16 years old. From the time he was diagnosed all the way to his death, he was the most positive person i've ever met, even dispite his critical condition. He never once complained about the cards he was dealt, the pain he undoubtably was feeling, or the fact that his life would be cut short. He always said, "this cancer isn't going to beat me, im going to beat this cancer." To me, he is a prime example of how someone can't change their life to fit the mold. That life is, sadly, the mold he was given. There was no way he could control the cancer, which was what was most problematic in his life. Instead, he kept a positive attitude and that i think is how you avoid problems in life. You must look at things through positive eyes, not try to change your life.

Bakhya Ibn Pakudu

"he who trusts in God is able to remove his attention from worldly anxieties and devote entirely to doing what is right." "The rich man who trusts in God will not find his wealth an obstacle to his faith; for he doesn't place his confidence in his wealth, which is for him a trust he has been assigned for a limited period so that he may apply it for the good of himself, his family, and his society."

I really liked these quotes for a few reasons. The first one i really like because it truly defines what it is like to worship. once you can honestly say that you trust in God and devote yourself to that trust, your not just devoting yourself to doing what is right, but doing what is right just seems to make sense. Its the easier thing to do.

The second quote i like because of the reasons listed above, and also because untill i read this passage i kind of felt that god didnt think that people should be wealthy. But now i understand that its not the wealth that is the issue, it is the problems that often arise from being wealthy. Some people can get greedy and selfish. But if you truely trust in god, like metioned about, doing the right thing comes easy. Thus, doing away with the greed and selfishness

Franz Kafka

"But perhaps there is only one main sun: impatiance." After i read this passage I ran the book over to my mom and made her read that passage as she is the most impatient person that i know. Then I got to thinking that maybe it's not just the quality of being impatient that Kafka belives is sinful, but perhaps the context in which impatience seems to happen. Usually, from my point of view, people grow impatient because they have better stuff to do or have more things to take care of. Thus, thinking of themself as the number one priorty, and not taking a second to step back and take a look at the situation to assess what is really making them impatient. I would say that this is also called selfishness.

"The fact that our task is exactly as large as our life makes it appear infinate." I'm not sure why that makes it seem infinate but I do like the first part of the quote. The reason that our task is exactly as long as our life is because the task is life. To live is the reason that we are put here. Everyone takes their own route and completes their "task" in a different way. It's humbling to think that you aren't the only person taking this journey and completing this "task", and that you become a piece of the journey of everyone that you meet along the way. That really puts things into perspective for me. Im just one small person in a big, big world.

Novalis

"There is only one temple in the world and that is the human body." I really liked thi s quote because it raised awareness that I did not previously have. I thought, "Of course! That makes sense." Everyone had their own set of beliefs and their own ways of worship. And every individual houses everything within their own body. It doesn't matter uf they go to special designated place ti worship, everything happens WITHIN them.

I also really liked the quote, "Marriage is the highest mystery." This struck my because not only is it the highest mystery, but it is also something that almost everyone strives for. I find it interesting to want something that you don't even know how it is going to work out. Wanting marriage isn't like wanting a new car or new clothes because emotions are hardly involved. But to want something that takes so much time and effort and commitment, and to be completely unsure about the outcome seems completely insane...but we do it anyway.

Abu Yazid Al-Bistami

"Nothing is better for a man than to be without anything, hvaing no ascetism, no theory, no practice. When he is without everything, he is with everything." This story reminds me of one that professor File told us in lecture. I belive it was Buhhah who was approched by a follower and he said he had done all these things and if Buddah would accept him. Buddah asks him to give away all his money and to come follow him. The point of buddah saying this is because he believed that once you have nothing, you have everthing, same as this reading.
"For thirty years i used to say. 'Do this' and 'give that'; but when i reached the first stage of wisdom, I said, 'O God, be mine and do whatever you want.'" This part, to me, illustrates prayer for most people. Every night they pray to God asking him to "do this for me, " or to "give this to me." But when one realizes what is truely important and realize that when they have God's ears they should jsut ask for him to be theirs and that is the only thing that really matters.

Muhammad

"We created man: We know the very whisperings within him and we are closer to him than his jugular vein." I found this to be a powerful choice of words. For some reason the choice of words alone makes this statement all the more powerful.
"My servant does not cease to come near me until I love him; and when I love him, I am the sight he sees with and the hearing he hears with and the hand he receives with and the foot he walks with." This passage reminds me of Christianity in the sense of followers seeking God's acceptance. When the followers finally believe that they have the acceptance of God, that's the only thing that really matters when it comes to their religious practice.

The Gospel of Thomas

"...the kingdom is inside you and outside you." Alot of these reads really reinforce to me, why i have never really tried to follow any religion. The kingdom is inside and outside of you? Alright. So i have a kingdom inside of me that i was never aware of. I don't know, it just seems silly to me. All of the philosophy and odd explanations don't seem to make any sense to me. I want something where i can here, This means that and only that. Whereas this something else shows this specific thing.
However, the part that reads. "Recognize what is in your sight, and what is hidden will become clear to you," sort of made sense to me. To me it sort of meant, you have to figure out who you are as a person, and everything else will fall into place.

Jesus of Nazareth

I really liked the very first part of this read which talked about doing good to those who hate you. I liked it because it reminded me of something my mom has been telling me ever since i was young, and that is to "kill them with kindness". Although that person may not think very highly of you, you can still be nice to you and perhaps in the end that will work to your advantage.
The next part of the read that i found interesting was , "Don't be anxious about what you will eat or what you will wear. Isn't your life more than its food, and your body more than its clothing?" Basically saying that you shouldn't worry about that stuff because God will take care of it for you. I'm not sure i liked this statement because I'm pretty sure that if i sat around all day and did nothing food and clothes would not just appear out of no where. I don't know though.
The last part of the read i enjoyed was the very last paragraph saying, "The kingdom of god does not come if you watch for it." It really opened my eyes to how similar all religions are. Many of the other reads we have read so far say the same thing

Hui-Hai

"'Reality is percieved through your own body.' If you don't run after sounds and sights, or let appearences give rise to conceptual thinkning, you will become men unattached to all things." I took this to mean, relating back to the previous post, if you don't feel feelings or think about the feelings that you feel, you will not be anything. You will be stuck in the "Center". The state in which you were born.
I also really liked the quote "We may compare it to a mirror which, though it doesn't contain any forms, can nevertheless reflect all forms. Why? Because it is free of mental activity." I really liked this metaphor that was used to describe pure essence and perception. In order to to expierience the perception, you have to clear your mind of everything and only then you can reflect pure essence.

Tzu-Ssu

This was a very insightful read. I really enjoyed the passage, "Before pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy have arisen, we are in the center. When these passions have arisen and when all attain their proper degree, we are in harmony. That center is the root of the universe; that harmony is the Tao, reaching out to all things. Once we find the center and achieve harmony, heaven and earth take their proper places, and all things are fully nourished." This passage, to me, meant that before you throw any emotions into the mix, we are all in the same state of mind. However, once we start experiencing emotion is when we start on our journey to happiness. Finding the right balance of emotion allows us to be happy, and everything else falls into place.
Another piece of this read that i liked stated, " Thus, in dealing with people, we already have the perfect model of behavior inside us. Just act sincerely in accordance with your true nature. Don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to you." I thought this quote was really true and was stated very nicely. We all know how we would want to be treated, but for some reason not all of us treat other's the same way. We were built with the perfect model of how to behave, but most shy away from this model. Almost as to say, act with instinct and not with feeling.

Shmelke of Nikolsburg

This read was very interesting in the sense that it gave great insight into the saying, "Love your neighbor as yourself." The disciple asks a great question as to how you are supposed to love someone who has committed an evil act. The response of the rabbi was the part of the story that was the most intriguing. By saying that "each spark is from the original should..." relates back to the Philo entry where the last paragraph states that everything has God's grace. Everything comes from the same thing. We are all part of the same soul. Therefore, just because one part messes up, doesn't mean that the whole soul should be appreciated any less. I, however think, you most likely have other neighbors to love :)

Philo

"'Today' means boundless and inexhaustible eternity. Periods of months and years and of time in general are ideas of men, who calculate by number; but the true name of eternity is Today." I really like this part of the story because i think that is how life should be viewed. Not in terms of time like days and months, but in the thought of a lifetime, or eternity. "Today" meaning, your life, and perhaps even your after life. Thus not leaving room for excuses like, "ill do it tomorrow" or "later", but infact forcing us to get things done "Today".
I also really liked the very last paragraph of this entry. The paragraph explains that when man goes searching for the nature of all things, he finds out that everything is God's Grace. I like this because it gives a starting point for everything. Where everything in the world originated from, therefore showing that everything would have the grace of it's creator.

Ramana Maharshi

This was a very insightful read. The wisdom behind the words were very intriguing. The section that reads, "If the mind is happy, not only the body but the whole world will be happy..." was the best section i have read so far in this book because it reflects on something that i live my life by. The sense that if you are happy, you will reflect that happiness to people around you, in turn, making the world you live in a happier place. The passage continues on to say that, in summation, you can't change the world unless you know who you are. Relating to the last part, you can't make the world happy, if you yourself are not.

The Upanishads

My favorite part of this read was the quote, "If you think that you know God, you know very little; all that you can know are ideas and images of God." This stuck out to me because of the sheer truth behind it. No one can fully grasp the whole meaning and understanding of God. To me, i think that that is why people turn to religions in the first place. It is a belief in a higher being that no one can explain in which we enlist our trust. I feel that if God was something that was explained and proved to be either true or untrue, religion would in turn lose it's luster.

Chief Seattle

Although i found the story of Chief Seattle a bit confusing what i gathered from it was this: The white man offered to buy the land from Chief Seattle and his people. Chief Seattle continues on to say that no matter where the tribe resides, their practice of their religion will live on. Chief Seattle says, "The ground beneath your feet responds more lovingly to our steps than yours, because it is the ashes of our grandfathers." To me, this was his way of saying, our people are all around us, and that is how it will always be. He also states that the religion of the white man was given to them by the finger of an angry god, whereas the religion of the tribe was passed down from generation to generation and will not be easily forgotten, as opposed to the religion of the white man. My favorite quote from the story is as follows: "It matters little where we spend the rest of our days. They are not many." I like this because Chief Seattle knows that the days he and his tribe have left are limited, however he would rather spend his remaining days on a reservation, free to practice religion any ways he pleases, rather than to be bombarded with the pressures of converting on a daily basis.

Sa-go-ye-wat-ha

The story of Sa-go-ye-wat-ha was very interesting to me in the sense that he was not willing to accept that the religion of the white man was the best religion for his people. He points out that just like his religion, the religion of the white people is passed down from generation to generation. However, he recognizes that the white man has a book in which the religion is recorded and from which the religion is taught. He states, "If it was meant for us as well as for you [to have a book], why hasn't the great Spirit given it to us?". This quote shows the true differences between what Sa-go-ye-wat-ha believes, and what the white man is telling them they should believe. The white man's religion is based on a book and what someone has told them to believe. The tribe believes what The Great Spirit wants them to. In other words, they believe in fate. If they were meant to be blessed with a prosperous hunt, that is what they would receive. While the white man would believe that if they wanted a prosperous hunt, they would need to act accordingly.