Jesus Of Nazareth

This was a very interesting read and i feel like the writer of this would be very disappointed by our material world. “Don’t be anxious about what you will eat or what you will wear. Isn’t your life more than food and your body more than is clothing.” This is so profound when you think of how our society spends its time, whether its watching a pre awards show that praises actress’s who’s out fits aren’t made by some famous designer and by praising those who are physically gifted enough to look good on the red carpet. I didn’t love the third paragraph because I don’t view life in that way “Ask and it will be given to you seek and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.” In my mind you have to  put forth the effort for and anything worth wanting is worth working for so to ever get anything good in life you will have to  do the hard work to earn it.

Pai-Chang

From the first part of this reading I got that Buddhism is not something that will just come to you after reading a few verses but to learn you will have to open up your mind and let the meaning come to you. Just showing how vast the Buddhist religion really is, and how focused one person would have to be to really attain even a diminutive sample of it. Another strong point of this short story was in the part where is states that after enlightenment you are still the same as you were before and that you are simply free from unreality and delusion. Once you reach enlightenment your mind is set free and in my mind that is what we all need to be happy.

Tzu-ssu

“To find the Tao, there is nowhere you need to search. If it is not inside you, it is not the Tao.”  Since the Tao is the fulfillment of human nature. I took this as the only way to find true happiness is to find it inside oneself. Most people think that money is going to make them happy so they do any thing to make it and end up losing loved ones in the end, so this statement really does stand true. Another strong point was if a man finds himself rich and honored, he acts as a rich man should act; if he is poor, he acts as a poor man acts… A lot of people who are not happy with their life situations find themselves pretending to be different then they really are, through buying clothes that they can’t afford and just not being themselves and this will not make one happy by living a life that doesn’t reflect what kind of person they really are. A person will only be happy when they can accept their life.

The Diamond Sutra

This reading really stands out as a confident piece of literature it get to the point yet mind-set that you are supposed to attain through reading it is extremely vast. “The Buddha has no doctrine to convey. The truth is ungraspable and inexpressible. It neither is nor or not.” First of all from this passage I get the sense that Buddhism is not something that one could read about and simply understand this religion, but that it’s a lifelong following to just get a grasp of Buddhism. Another interesting point was “The mind should be kept independent of any thoughts that arise within it. If the mind depends upon anything, it as no sure haven.” Again not sure if I took this in correctly but what I got out of it was that basically you as a person should be grounded and not be someone who will fall into any new temptation that comes along the way. It also says that if the mind depends on anything , it has no sure haven, meaning if other people or other substance’s make up who you are then you are nothing, and really what I really got out of it what be yourself.

The Buddha

I found this reading to be very profound and it also read like a guide to life on how life should be viewed, how others should be treated and in turn how to live happily. The first paragraph was very beautiful, behind all of the insight and value in Buddha’s teaching, his message that was trying to get through was that we are all Buddha. “There is nothing that you need to achieve just open up your eyes.” I took this as, all people are what make up this world and that not one person is more valuable then another. Another profound point in this story state that life should not be lived by a form of writing but by ones own judgment if you find that something that you are a part of is bad, then stop doing it and if something that you find to be good then feel free to be a part of it. And one more small point was how we should treat others “As a mother at the risk of her life watches her only child, so let everyone cultivate a boundlessly compassionate mind toward all beings. I’m not sure if I took this in correctly but I took this as we should treat other like we would treat our child or loved ones, not to look at people as strangers but as family.

The Bible

I had to read the first paragraph a few times over to get some sort of grasp over the story of Jacob. He is left alone and some being is wrestling with him until day break and the being is god. I took this as everything is god and Jacob could have been wrestling with anything and I would still have been good he is going to be there in good times and bad and not always to save someone or to give a blessing. Another way that I viewed this story was that god in everything and even when you don’t see him and in a sort of weird way it made me think about driving when cops are around. When you know a cop is around your going to slow down and drive your best, but when you cant see any cops you don’t mind the speed limit or roll through stop signs when really you should drive safely all the time, on the other hand, in life “most” people live their life thinking that god is with them at times therefore making the right decisions an being the best person that they could be.

Philo

I found myself agreeing with this story when it was talking about how god shows us his extravagance of his wealth and goodness when he sends us the rain on the oceans, or when he cause the spring to gush in the most desolate waste lands,  that is why every soul he created has a seed of goodness in it. When I see these things in nature in my mind it’s just showing gods power, and how he cares for all and will provide as much as we need to survive. This first paragraph also motioned how god loves to give even to the imperfect. I took this a he can see the good in all people and even when people who may have a few set backs in life or are going down the wrong route are still okay in gods eyes and will always will have a second chance. The next paragraph to me didn’t really have anything to do with religion but was more like philosophy. The last paragraph seemed very meaningful as well. When a man searchs for the nature of all things he makes his own dicovery: that eerything is gods grace. I took this as when people find what makes them happy in the world it's not gonna be the same for everyone else and thats what god intended to have all these different beings coinciding with one another.