“If he afflicts her, she suffers patiently, and her love for him only grows.”
I think we all need to learn to suffer patiently. The purpose of suffering is not to suffer but to open our eyes to that which we would otherwise be unable to see or comprehend. If every single day were bright and sunny and wonderful, life would become dull and meaningless. Physical and emotional suffering gives our lives meaning. It is because our hearts get broken that we appreciate love. It is because we die that we appreciate life. The emotions we experience during suffering are connected with the emotions we experience when our suffering has ended. Despair turns to hope. Hate turns to love. Sadness turns to joy. There is a purpose for everything and everything is necessary. Good could not exist without evil and evil could not exist without good. It is not the good I know that brings me joy and understanding, but the evil I have endured and survived that creates depth in my spirit.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Kuei-Shan
“Clarity means straightforwardness. That is why the Master has been compared to a clam: as soon as she opens her mouth, you can see her intestines.”
I think that honesty with oneself and other people is not only important, but essential; however, sometimes it’s hard to be a clam. I agree that eliminating delusion from your life is a necessity in order to attain any sort of personal growth, but always being completely honest and straightforward can be difficult when the possibility of pain or rejection may lay waiting for you. That doesn’t mean that we should fail to act or speak out of the fear of the unknown, but I suppose that’s why we’re not all Zen Masters. It takes a lot of strength to put all the bullshit aside, look in the mirror, and face yourself, but ultimately, being the real you and saying what you really think and telling people what you really feel feels a hell of a lot better than holding back and hiding in a state of make believe.
I think that honesty with oneself and other people is not only important, but essential; however, sometimes it’s hard to be a clam. I agree that eliminating delusion from your life is a necessity in order to attain any sort of personal growth, but always being completely honest and straightforward can be difficult when the possibility of pain or rejection may lay waiting for you. That doesn’t mean that we should fail to act or speak out of the fear of the unknown, but I suppose that’s why we’re not all Zen Masters. It takes a lot of strength to put all the bullshit aside, look in the mirror, and face yourself, but ultimately, being the real you and saying what you really think and telling people what you really feel feels a hell of a lot better than holding back and hiding in a state of make believe.
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Johannes
“But if we start imagining God as behind the world, or beyond, or prior, or separate in any way, we have already stirred up mud in the clear water.”
I found this reading to be really interesting because it’s sort of the opposite approach I take when looking at God and his relation to me and the world. This reading stated over and over how God is all things and he’s not separate from anything or anyone. I feel separate from God and I don’t see that separateness as muddying up clear water or in any way negative. The way I think about God’s relationship with people is kind of like from the perspective as a parent. When a child is an infant, the parent has to be with that child 24/7 to do everything for them because they don’t know how to take care of themselves. As the child grows older, a parent does less and less because the child slowly becomes capable of independence. Finally, a child is no longer a child, but an adult and can take care of themselves. At this point, the parent isn’t doing everything for their son or daughter or telling them how to solve all their problems because they now have most of the tools to fix it themselves. Mom and dad call and check in, and may offer advice if it’s really needed, but ultimately they are on their own. I feel like that’s how God works. It’s not that he doesn’t care or couldn’t help you or even that he’s not watching, but like a parent, eventually trusts in your ability to make good decisions or to rectify a situation when you make poor ones. I don’t really see God in everything and I’ve never felt like God was working through me. When I accomplish something in my life or when I screw up, I don’t attribute either to God. I don’t feel like he takes such an active role in everything. It’s not that I think he isn’t present, but if he was going to do everything for us, why the hell would we even be here? I feel like he’s more on the sidelines like a coach or guide or a parent cheering you on and believing in your ability to think for yourself. I feel like he shows up when we truly need it. The only time I’ve ever really felt the presence of God is when I visited the Dachau concentration camp and stood in the crematorium in front of these two giant ovens and listened to a former prisoner tell me how he had put his father’s body into the oven we were staring at. I needed desperately to feel God and know that he was there in that moment and became filled with this profound sense of peace I can’t put into words. I don’t even know what I’m trying to say at this point and sort of feel like I’m off topic, but there it is…
I found this reading to be really interesting because it’s sort of the opposite approach I take when looking at God and his relation to me and the world. This reading stated over and over how God is all things and he’s not separate from anything or anyone. I feel separate from God and I don’t see that separateness as muddying up clear water or in any way negative. The way I think about God’s relationship with people is kind of like from the perspective as a parent. When a child is an infant, the parent has to be with that child 24/7 to do everything for them because they don’t know how to take care of themselves. As the child grows older, a parent does less and less because the child slowly becomes capable of independence. Finally, a child is no longer a child, but an adult and can take care of themselves. At this point, the parent isn’t doing everything for their son or daughter or telling them how to solve all their problems because they now have most of the tools to fix it themselves. Mom and dad call and check in, and may offer advice if it’s really needed, but ultimately they are on their own. I feel like that’s how God works. It’s not that he doesn’t care or couldn’t help you or even that he’s not watching, but like a parent, eventually trusts in your ability to make good decisions or to rectify a situation when you make poor ones. I don’t really see God in everything and I’ve never felt like God was working through me. When I accomplish something in my life or when I screw up, I don’t attribute either to God. I don’t feel like he takes such an active role in everything. It’s not that I think he isn’t present, but if he was going to do everything for us, why the hell would we even be here? I feel like he’s more on the sidelines like a coach or guide or a parent cheering you on and believing in your ability to think for yourself. I feel like he shows up when we truly need it. The only time I’ve ever really felt the presence of God is when I visited the Dachau concentration camp and stood in the crematorium in front of these two giant ovens and listened to a former prisoner tell me how he had put his father’s body into the oven we were staring at. I needed desperately to feel God and know that he was there in that moment and became filled with this profound sense of peace I can’t put into words. I don’t even know what I’m trying to say at this point and sort of feel like I’m off topic, but there it is…
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Huang-Po
“Start to think about it and immediately you are mistaken. It is like the boundless void, which can’t be fathomed or measured.”
I’ve been thinking about the discussion we had today in class for like the last eight hours. I don’t have strong and conservative religious convictions, so it’s really interesting to hear from those who do. Belief in an afterlife is egotistical? Our morality isn’t a ticket into heaven, but affection towards God? What is heaven and hell? Where is heaven and hell? What the hell does it matter anyway? Like the quote says, I start to think about it all and I think I know what I think and how I feel and then I think about something else that makes me think about it all from a completely different angle. The interesting thing about taking this class and reading this book is that the more I know and understand, the less I know and understand. But perhaps not understanding is understanding. Why is it so hard to just admit to ourselves that we don’t know? Why do we feel the need to debate people on an argument that is impossible to win? Why are we so quick to point out who is a Christian or a Jew or an Atheist? Why are we so quick to point out everything that the other person or faith is doing wrong? When is the last time any of us looked at another human being and just saw a human being instead of seeing a sin/fault we could point out? Human beings always seem to want the world to be in black and white. Yes or no. Right or wrong. I’m beginning to think more and more that when it comes to God and religion, it isn’t black, white, or even grey. It just is or it just is not. I don’t think it is something that can or ever will be answered and I don’t think that is something we need to worry or feel guilty about. After all, if these concepts were easily measured and understood, Pharisees would have been out of a job and Jesus wouldn’t have had to speak in parables.
I’ve been thinking about the discussion we had today in class for like the last eight hours. I don’t have strong and conservative religious convictions, so it’s really interesting to hear from those who do. Belief in an afterlife is egotistical? Our morality isn’t a ticket into heaven, but affection towards God? What is heaven and hell? Where is heaven and hell? What the hell does it matter anyway? Like the quote says, I start to think about it all and I think I know what I think and how I feel and then I think about something else that makes me think about it all from a completely different angle. The interesting thing about taking this class and reading this book is that the more I know and understand, the less I know and understand. But perhaps not understanding is understanding. Why is it so hard to just admit to ourselves that we don’t know? Why do we feel the need to debate people on an argument that is impossible to win? Why are we so quick to point out who is a Christian or a Jew or an Atheist? Why are we so quick to point out everything that the other person or faith is doing wrong? When is the last time any of us looked at another human being and just saw a human being instead of seeing a sin/fault we could point out? Human beings always seem to want the world to be in black and white. Yes or no. Right or wrong. I’m beginning to think more and more that when it comes to God and religion, it isn’t black, white, or even grey. It just is or it just is not. I don’t think it is something that can or ever will be answered and I don’t think that is something we need to worry or feel guilty about. After all, if these concepts were easily measured and understood, Pharisees would have been out of a job and Jesus wouldn’t have had to speak in parables.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Franz Kafta
“The Messiah will come when he is no longer necessary.”
Jason said that to me once during his office hour and I have been thinking about it ever since. Every time it comes to mind, the very first think that pops into my head is “Oy vey. I guess he’s not coming.” The idea that the Messiah will only come when he is no longer necessary is either very exciting or very depressing. It could be exciting in the sense that perhaps humanity will wake up and get itself together and someone coming in and fixing everything won’t be necessary because we will have already done that ourselves. Or it is completely depressing because human beings so often show the worst side of humanity which isn’t really humanity at all.
Jason said that to me once during his office hour and I have been thinking about it ever since. Every time it comes to mind, the very first think that pops into my head is “Oy vey. I guess he’s not coming.” The idea that the Messiah will only come when he is no longer necessary is either very exciting or very depressing. It could be exciting in the sense that perhaps humanity will wake up and get itself together and someone coming in and fixing everything won’t be necessary because we will have already done that ourselves. Or it is completely depressing because human beings so often show the worst side of humanity which isn’t really humanity at all.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Novalis
“We are alone with everything we love.”
I thought about this quote in a few different ways. Considering Emerson referred to Novalis as a “pure romantic,” one way I interpreted this quote was how it feels to be completely and utterly head over heels in love. When you’re in that mode, you and your significant other can be in a room with a thousand people and yet it feels like the only two people in the room are just you and the one you love. Another way I interpreted this quote is how it feels to lose someone or something that you love. You really are alone with the pain or disappointment you can feel from love. Whether it is that you broke up with someone or that someone you loved has passed away, even when friends and family are trying to support you or cheer you up, you are the one who feels that love and the pain from losing that love. You can only cheer yourself up. Another way I thought about this quote was that we are the only ones who truly know how we feel. Another person can have an idea of what we’re feeling, but nobody can know your heart but you.
“There is only one temple in the world and that is the human body.”
I felt like this was saying what many of our previous readings have stated-that it is not a temple, church, or another person that creates our relationship with God. God’s grace, heaven, or enlightenment will not be given to us through outside sources, but will be discovered within ourselves. You don’t have to go somewhere else to worship. You just have to look inside yourself to see the truth and know the truth. Buddha said,”Be a lamp to yourself. Be your own confidence. Hold to the truth within yourself, as to the only truth..You are all Buddhas. There is nothing that you need to achieve. Just open your eyes". I think that is the message here. We are all capable of understanding truth and God. Simply showing up at a church every week isn’t guaranteeing anything or necessarily bringing you any closer to anything. Like my grandmother always told me,”It’s on the inside that counts.” So if the “kingdom of heaven is within you” as Jesus has said, then it doesn’t matter what you’re doing in the outside world in front of other people; it only matters what is in your own heart and what you are doing when you think that no one is watching. The outside temple isn’t going to help you anyway if the inside temple is in disarray.
“When you understand how to love one thing-then you understand how best to love everything.”
I think the one thing he’s referring to is ourselves. You can’t truly be happy with anything around you unless you are first happy with yourself. Once you figure out how to love yourself and feel content with who you are, you can love other people and allow other people to really know and love you. This quote reminded me of the quote in the Ramana Maharshi reading that said,”If the mind is happy, not only the body but the whole world will be happy. So one must find out how to become happy oneself. Wanting to reform the world without discovering one’s true self is like trying to cover the whole world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes.” I think that loving yourself is like wearing shoes. If you’re trying to love other things and other people when you don’t even love yourself, it’s like walking barefoot over thorns-you’re not going to get very far.
I thought about this quote in a few different ways. Considering Emerson referred to Novalis as a “pure romantic,” one way I interpreted this quote was how it feels to be completely and utterly head over heels in love. When you’re in that mode, you and your significant other can be in a room with a thousand people and yet it feels like the only two people in the room are just you and the one you love. Another way I interpreted this quote is how it feels to lose someone or something that you love. You really are alone with the pain or disappointment you can feel from love. Whether it is that you broke up with someone or that someone you loved has passed away, even when friends and family are trying to support you or cheer you up, you are the one who feels that love and the pain from losing that love. You can only cheer yourself up. Another way I thought about this quote was that we are the only ones who truly know how we feel. Another person can have an idea of what we’re feeling, but nobody can know your heart but you.
“There is only one temple in the world and that is the human body.”
I felt like this was saying what many of our previous readings have stated-that it is not a temple, church, or another person that creates our relationship with God. God’s grace, heaven, or enlightenment will not be given to us through outside sources, but will be discovered within ourselves. You don’t have to go somewhere else to worship. You just have to look inside yourself to see the truth and know the truth. Buddha said,”Be a lamp to yourself. Be your own confidence. Hold to the truth within yourself, as to the only truth..You are all Buddhas. There is nothing that you need to achieve. Just open your eyes". I think that is the message here. We are all capable of understanding truth and God. Simply showing up at a church every week isn’t guaranteeing anything or necessarily bringing you any closer to anything. Like my grandmother always told me,”It’s on the inside that counts.” So if the “kingdom of heaven is within you” as Jesus has said, then it doesn’t matter what you’re doing in the outside world in front of other people; it only matters what is in your own heart and what you are doing when you think that no one is watching. The outside temple isn’t going to help you anyway if the inside temple is in disarray.
“When you understand how to love one thing-then you understand how best to love everything.”
I think the one thing he’s referring to is ourselves. You can’t truly be happy with anything around you unless you are first happy with yourself. Once you figure out how to love yourself and feel content with who you are, you can love other people and allow other people to really know and love you. This quote reminded me of the quote in the Ramana Maharshi reading that said,”If the mind is happy, not only the body but the whole world will be happy. So one must find out how to become happy oneself. Wanting to reform the world without discovering one’s true self is like trying to cover the whole world with leather to avoid the pain of walking on stones and thorns. It is much simpler to wear shoes.” I think that loving yourself is like wearing shoes. If you’re trying to love other things and other people when you don’t even love yourself, it’s like walking barefoot over thorns-you’re not going to get very far.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
The Hermetic Writings
“The person who says “I am God” may be a raving egomaniac.”
I laughed out loud when I read that and thought about various religious figures ranging from Jesus to Joseph Smith. It’s interesting how in Jesus’ lifetime many thought he was nuts and he is now arguably one of the most beloved and worshiped figures around the world. Today, you can’t really walk around saying that you’re the Son of God or a prophet of some sort; you’ll get put in a straightjacket. I find it fascinating how we respect these figures of the past, but are completely suspicious of anyone walking down a similar but modern path.
“Realize that nothing is impossible for you; recognize that you too are immortal and that you can embrace all things in your mind…”
I really like this quote. I’m supposed to graduate this semester and at times, it’s pretty overwhelming managing 17 units on top of my regular life. That quote fits perfectly and I think it can be applied to everyone. Coming to the realization that just because something is hard or even painful doesn’t make it impossible is an important part of growing up. I’m definitely partial to anything advocating believing in your own strength and abilities. If we don’t believe in ourselves, who will?
I laughed out loud when I read that and thought about various religious figures ranging from Jesus to Joseph Smith. It’s interesting how in Jesus’ lifetime many thought he was nuts and he is now arguably one of the most beloved and worshiped figures around the world. Today, you can’t really walk around saying that you’re the Son of God or a prophet of some sort; you’ll get put in a straightjacket. I find it fascinating how we respect these figures of the past, but are completely suspicious of anyone walking down a similar but modern path.
“Realize that nothing is impossible for you; recognize that you too are immortal and that you can embrace all things in your mind…”
I really like this quote. I’m supposed to graduate this semester and at times, it’s pretty overwhelming managing 17 units on top of my regular life. That quote fits perfectly and I think it can be applied to everyone. Coming to the realization that just because something is hard or even painful doesn’t make it impossible is an important part of growing up. I’m definitely partial to anything advocating believing in your own strength and abilities. If we don’t believe in ourselves, who will?
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