Kuei-Shan

This passage was so to-the-point! I think the short length of this passage made it profound. When Keui-Shan said “what he hears and sees are ordinary sights and sounds, but nothing is distorted” it really jumped out at me. I think it is always the profoundly simple things that stick out to me, but with good reason. It continuously brings me back to the simple things in life that we take for granted all too often. In this instance, it jumped out at me because it reminded me of when I was younger. My mom would take my sister and I to Golden Gate Park (in San Francisco) and we’d lay in the grass and close our eyes. Every time we’d just listen to nature and inevitable one of us would say “I’ve never heard that before.” It wasn’t that it was a new animal making the sound we’d heard, it was the fact that we’d never slowed down enough to hear it in the first place. When you truly just sit and listen (which also helps in meditation), I think you can hear the world for what it is – nothing more and nothing less.

I also liked the part where he said “Because he has eliminated … bad thinking habits …” because it makes a great point: We can have negative or bad thought patterns that we are able to change in order to better ourselves. It is a relatively obscure concept, but it is a revelation in and of itself. We have to recognize that we can rid ourselves of negative views or preconceptions and that it will make us better in the long-run. In this case, it makes you a Zen Master!

Rilke

What a nice and unexpected read this was. Although the first long passage was a pleasure to read, the second passage was what jumped out at me.

The passage talks about the importance of patience and I think it is a really important virtue to talk about. We can jokingly say, “Patience is a virtue” but it rarely really sets in or clicks with people. How can you change how patient you are (or are not)? Well, just accept that things will come in time and do not be disappointed if it doesn’t come at all. It goes back to the Buddhist teaching that when we end desire we end suffering. Just be and let things happen. Whether it be waiting for a boyfriend or girlfriend to call you back, life-changing news from a doctor or simply waiting to see your child smile at you, you cannot force it to happen and you have to just wait for it to happen. I used to really struggle with waiting – waiting for everything, too – but now I relish the time I spend waiting because to me it isn’t “waiting” at all. Now, I see time spent as time I have to myself to do the things I’ve been meaning to do and I’ve found that I’m so much more productive and satisfied. And once the thing I’ve been waiting for comes along, it is all the better and means so much more.

Another passage that I really liked was the second to last, which said that one of “the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us” is that of loving our fellow human beings. We’ve talked about this in class and I couldn’t help but mention it again. Someone had said that it is truly one of the hardest things to be nice to one another, especially in the face of torment or ridicule. Luckily I haven’t had too much drama in my life in the past few years, but when I did it was so hard to just let things go and just love whoever was the cause of issue. It is easy to get caught up in the moment of the pain and only see the other person as an embodiment of what they’ve said, but they are so much more. They are a human, with a vulnerable body and feelings and a family and they are simply learning how to live their life just like me. When I think of it that way it is much easier to forgive and forget and just accept people for who they are instead of seeing them for their faults. I’m not perfect, though, and it very well may be the hardest thing to do in life!

Symeon the New Theologian

First of all, why does he get to be the “New Theologian”? Anyway, this was such a short, simple and sweet reading. All of it spoke to me on one level or another and really made me think. I love it when that happens!

The first passage was such a great metaphor for how people live in general. “When he dives into the water, he can no longer see anything outside, and he knows only that his whole body is in the water.” When we dive into the scenarios of our life or the routine even, we tend to close ourselves off from the things outside of what we know and can only see what we want. It is as if we walk through life with blinders on and can’t fathom a world beyond what we see. It is when we consciously take those blinders off and approach the world with wonder that we find the most fulfillment and are able to learn something new.

“The more a man enters the light of understanding, the more aware he is of his own ignorance.” I had to read that sentence twice before it hit me like a ton of bricks. It is so true that the more we learn the more we are able to acknowledge how little we know. It can be hard to swallow the fact that you don’t know everything you thought you knew, but it is rewarding to be able to take it in and embrace it. It keeps you humble and constantly searching and truly gives life meaning.

The third passage was so short and simple, but may be the truest of all. “When it [our mind] is emptied of thought … [it] finds nothing but the light.” Once I got into the hang of meditating this statement became true. I wasn’t even necessarily trying to meditate to be a holy being or to reach some sort of nirvana, but just to see if I could do it. When I finally was able to truly free my mind of thought and checked back in to reality I was left with a feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction and tranquility like I had never experienced before. I didn’t consider myself religious, but when that happened it was hard to deny that something had to have happened that was beyond me.

Exorcism

Hey everyone,

I am presenting my paper topic on the 22nd, however I’d love to get your thoughts and suggestions on my topic now so I can get a jumpstart on things!

I’d love to do my paper on Exorcism. I think it is really interesting from a psychological standpoint and am excited to soak up some info about it.

So far, here are some interesting things I’ve learned:

1. Some religions require you be exorcised (of what I’m not sure yet) before you are baptized.
2. There can be an exorcism of a ghost from a property or location – but not necessarily from a person – in the event of a haunting.
3. A demon can be exorcised from a human in the event of a demonic possession (and this is the most widely-known version of an exorcism).
4. If a loved one has died abruptly, some eastern cultures will hold an exorcism of the spirit so they don’t stay trapped on earth.

I think I’ll be focusing on demonic possession and the psychological factors involved, the religions that embrace/acknowledge it, the signs and symptoms and the process of exorcising.

What do you guys think of it? Have any of you had any experience with exorcism or known someone who has? If so, what was it like and what religion are you/are they? If you haven’t had any experience with it, what do you think about it regardless?

I’d love to get your feedback, so please feel free to comment!

Thanks everyone :)

Abi'l Khayr

This was a beautiful passage. I almost felt as though it would be a slow and steady, serene speech that would hit you to the core had you heard it aloud.

The part that really called to me the most was the very last page of the passage. It started out with “If men wish to draw near to God, they must seek him in the hearts of men.” Where have I heard that before? All over! We have seen this over and over that God is within each of us and what a beautiful sentiment it is to simply have to look into the hearts of one another to find what we are looking for.

What really struck me, however, was what followed. “They should speak well of all men … if they themselves seek to be a light to guide others … they must show the same face to all.” Like all of the other obvious but difficult sayings we’ve heard before, this one seems so basic. Still, somehow it can be so difficult for some people. It really spurred some thinking, though. If we show the same face to all does that mean we act the same way with everyone? I am googly and silly when I baby-sit, I am intellectual and quick-witted with my friends, goofy and loud with my sister and a little bit of everything with my boyfriend. I’m reserved and shy around the in-laws and new people. Does that mean I am not showing the same face? Or does it really imply that I am true to myself always and from that everyone can see I never stray from who I really am? I think it is the latter. If I am goofy, silly, loud, quiet or witty it doesn’t matter as long as I am always willing to help, always ready to keep someone from getting hurt, always willing to laugh away tears and always myself. All my moods are aspects of who I am and never affect my values and morals.

What do you think?

Huang Po in the Buddhahood

I laughed when I read the first part of this passage; not because it was humorous or light-hearted, but because it seems so simple. It makes so much sense though and seems so right. “It has no color or shape, neither exists nor doesn’t exist … It is what you see in front of you.” How can that be? It is everything and nothing and is right in front of us? What a clever riddle. It is hard to understand yet innately understood all at the same time and is an unanswerable riddle.

I also loved the part that said, “there is no distinction between Buddha and ordinary beings, except that ordinary beings are attached to forms and thus seek for Buddhahood outside themselves.” Buddhahood is such an awesome term in the first place, but overall it is an amazing concept. I think it is so true that humans often (not always) need something to hold onto and it manifests as a form of higher power.

“They don’t know that all they have to do is put a stop to conceptual thinking.” That is so true in so many aspects of life. Stop overanalyzing things and they usually work themselves out. Stop worrying about something and it either goes away or gets better. Really, stop following your brain all the time and follow your heart.

I think my favorite line from the first paragraph (which was my favorite overall) was the last line. “It is not any less for being manifested in ordinary beings, nor any greater for being manifested in Buddha.” That says so much. People often think themselves unworthy of things because they are not God and put a separation between them and their higher being, but it is unnecessary. We are all part of the same thing and no one thing or being is greater or less than another and we need to remember that and carry it with us.

Albert Einstein

I thought all of Einstein’s passages were really enlightening. In his first passage he said, “[He] who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead.” Socrates said “An unexamined life is not worth living.” Both say something similar, if not the same thing. If you can no longer take the time to stop in wonder and appreciate the world around you, why are you living? What is the purpose? To live like a drone with no emotion? Slow down, give in to your curiosity and run with it for a while. Most people find they are pleasantly surprised when they do.

Einstein also said a few things that really reminded me of Buddhism. First he said, “The true nature of a human being can be found in the degree to which he has attained liberation from the self.” And secondly, he talked about how “Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living beings and all of nature.” Amen! It sounded like something right out of our Buddhism lecture. It also made me think of how interesting it was the he referred to the illusion of consciousness as a prison and suggested we needed to be free of it. Why would we need to be free of our illusory consciousness? It is what we live through every day and often don’t know how to live any other way. His answer is to embrace everything and anything with compassion. How simple. Get over yourself, your drama, your problems, your desire, your life and simply love and be loved. It sounds pretty Utopian, I suppose, and reminds me of the question “Can’t we all just get along?” But it is so necessary. Really, just have an open mind and don’t judge others – accept them, help them, love them and appreciate it all.