Isaac of Nineveh

I really like that this article talks about how if we trust God with our entire heart then we do not to think about oursleves when we pray. We would trust that God knows more about what we need than we do, and that his ideas for what we want will be much greater than our own ideas. He loves us more than we would even know, or more than anyone else could love us. A strong, good person knows that he needs to trust God completly, and to become absorbed into himself in order to be completely in touch with God. People who pray for themselves need to trust in God more, and need to be less self absorbed. This reading really contradicted itself the entire time. It was pretty interesting though, and it made some very good points.

Ludwig Wittgenstein

I really like that the article talks about how if you have to climb a ladder to get somewhere then it isnt needed because you are already in the place you need to be. Whatever is reachable by a ladder has no interest. It also talks about how the truth can be told only by people who know the truth, if you deny truth then you cannot speak it. It is really intersting to say that people who do not accept the truth in turn can not speak the truth. I also like that to say you do not need to be anywhere but where you are, and you do not need anything but what you have. People need to be happy with what they have, but the american culture does not do a good job with that. We are always striving for more, and wanting way more than we actually need. The american dream is basically being rich. Im not saying that it would not be nice to never have to worry about money, and to be able to buy whatever you want. I am just saying that people need to be able to be happy with what they have. They need to be able to know that they do not need material posessions in order to live a great life. The happiness does not come from the material objects, but from yourself.

Hugh of St. VIctor

I found this reading incredibly interesting. I really liked it. "The way down is the way up; the way in is the way out" it totally contradicts itself, yet somehow it still makes sense. The whole reading is full of metaphors. "to ascend to God is to enter into oneself, and not only to enter into oneself, but, in some unsayable manner, in the inmost parts to pass beyond oneself" You obviously can not literally pass through yourself, but they are just saying that is not about you. Its about finding God, by letting go of yourself and your wants, and needs. To look deep into yourself is to see whats true. It talks about knowing that the world is outside of us, but that God is inside of us. God is something that you have to find on your own. You can have help, but all in all you have to do it for yourself, and you have to figure it out on your own because God is you. You can not find God unless you look deep down and find what you desire. The world is outside of us because we just live in it. Other people affect us, but only if we let them. The world does not have to affect us.

Symeon The New Theologian

It is interesting that he compares going into the vision of God to diving into the sea. When I picture the sea I imagine turbulent water rushing all around you. I dont imagine anything peaceful of enlightening which is exactly what I imagine for experiencing the vision of God. I guess the point of the reference is to show that the vision of God is all you see when you imerse yourself in it, just like water is all you see when you imerse yourself in the sea. The story was short, and I think that was the entire point it was tryin gto convey. But when talking about how the mind is simple, and how when seeing the light of God all is sees is the light. I think it means that people make things to complicated and just need to enjoy the pure and simple things of life. Thats much harder to do than it would seem. In my experience the human mind over complicates things.

This reading seemed kind of negative toward humans, but it seemed to be very positive about God. It does not make sense to think that way though if you believe that God created humans. If he created something that you do not like then it would make sense for you to have a problem with the way God did it, and not with the creation itself. They seemed to think that God was so much better than the humans, yet he created them so in a way mankind is a recreation of God. It is nice to think that a way to be close to God is to bring joy to anothers heart. A lot of these readings do not talk very much about happiness, but i think that most people are just searching for true happiness. It is a great thing to desire, but it is so difficult to reach. Most people never really find true happiness, or true love. I wish that everyone could find this, but people seem all too happy to just settle. I think everyone deserves to be happy and loved. People just need to brush off the little things and they need to search for what will truely fulfill them. Sometimes it is so simple, but people just do not take the time to find it.

Johannes Scotus Erigena

"God is the source, the well of creation....unknowable, unthinkable, unnamable, yet at every moment inexhaustibly present." I have read a lot about how God is the creator of everything yet he is present in everything, but I really like this way to say that. You can say that many different ways, it just seems so right to say he is inexhaustibly present. "We ought not to understand God and creation as two thingsdistinct from eachother, but as one and the same." If he created everything then it is logical to say that God is creation. He is not only the source of creation, but the act of creation. I think that a lot of these reading are basically saying the same thing, just in a different way. I think a lot of religions are basically saying the same thing just in a different way. I guess that is why I do not really understand why people argue over religion. If they would just listen to eachother and not be stuck in their own ways then I think they would probably end up agreeing with eachother...not necessarily believe eachothers religions but realizing that they are not as different as they seem. People are uncomfortable with anything different than themselves though, and I think that is where a lot of religious tension comes from. I think it also comes from a lack of understanding, and misperceptions about other faiths.

Albert Einstein

This starts out in a rather sarcastic tone, but it was funny. When they are talking about all the babbling someone is doing, but then they find out he is a scientist and are like oh...i knew it all long. People need to be made fun sometimes, just in a nice way. "He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead." They are talking about being or feeling mystical. I do think it is true though that people might as well be dead if they are not going to feel life or to have emotion. The basis of life is emotion, you are always feeling some emotion or the other. it is sad to see people who try really hard to shut that off. Sometimes life is difficult, and sometimes it just plain sucks but the good stuff would not be as good with out the bad. I guess that if you never felt sadness than happiness would not be as great.

Novalis

I found this reading to be very interesting. I liked a lot of the statements it made, but my favorite is when they say "When you understand how to love one thing-then you also understand how to love everything." I do not know why I like that so much, but it appears to be true. Once you understand how to love it becomes possible for you to love anything and everything. I find it very sad that people dont choose to embrace this. People dont love everything, they dont even love most things, and have the capacity to love all but not choosing to do so is sad. It does not say much for human nature. "marriage is the highest mystery." Obviously it is very difficult to figure out since the divorce rate in our country is so high. People just seem to have problems being able to accept love and being able to love unconditionally. I think a lot of issues with love come from such a strong desire to have it. It is human nature to love and be loved.

Maximus of Tyre

I like how he says God is "greater than time and eternity and all the flow of being." Obviously if God created earth he is greater then it, but is God is all, God is greater than anything, he is the creator of everything. "Only let them know, let them love, let them remember." This story is full of love, and acceptance. He is not judging people he is just letting them know, know all. Since God is all knowing everything he does it right. I dont know if i really believe in all the creation stories, or the fact that it is all Gods creation, but the idea is really cool. It is amazing though to think that one being could ever possibly have that big of an impact. He not only changed the world, but created it.

Heraclitus

"To men, somethings are good and some are bax. But to God, all things are good and beautiful and just." Men see things in a much more negative light than God. It is his creation though therefore he is bound to like it. It is just a personal opinion, but i think that it is not just a more negative view, but it is a more relastic view of life. Life is not always going to be good and perfect. A large part of life is incredibly difficult and really sucks. They also say "The sun is new everyday." So even though things are not always good and beautiful each day is a new day. Its a fresh start, and a new chance at something beautiful. I found this very optimistic about God, but not so much about man.

Dhu'l-nun Al-misri

So this reading was really interesting. They are not saying anything to profound, but they describe the saints. How God sees them, how they see God, and how they must act. God gives them very specific ideas of what to do in many different situations. God has given them love, and they have given God love in return. They also give Gods love to other people through their caring, and helping ways. "When I love a servant, I am his ear, so that he hears by me; I am his eye, so that he sees by me; and I am his tongue, so that he speaks by me."God is basically saying that when he love his servant, or a saint that everything they do is through God. their actions are not really their own, but just an act of God.

Muhammad

"True religion is surrender" I know a lot of people who would not agree with that statement, but i think it is true. In order to truely one hundred percent follow a religion you have to give up a lot. You have to do everything it says to do, and follow all these rules. It almost seems to me like you have to surrender your free will. Im not trying to say that religion is bad though. "Do not despise the world, for the world too is God." I guess that this is saying that God created the world, God is the world, so to love God you must love the world. God is everywhere, and is everything. The whole reading is basically saying just that. God affects everything "his is the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth and to Him alll things return." God is there before life, during life, and after life. God is always there "and he knows the innermost heart."

John the Evangelist

This reading was very short, but i thought it was descent. It had a lot of under the suface stuff. I had to read it a few times. When it talks about how "in the beginnning was the word, and the word was with god, and the word was god." At first I did not understand it at all, but then i thought about it and it is really pretty simple. They are saying that word was the start and it was not only with God, but it was God. Therefore God was the beginning. I do not know if that made it more clear for you, but i got it. It also says that love comes from God. This article is basically saying that all the important stuff came from God, and all of the non-important stuff came from that. Basically everything comes from God, and God is everything.

The Gospel of Thomas

Well the article is basically just a bunch of things that Jesus has said. On of my favorite things he said is "if you bring forth what is inside you, what you bring forth will save you. If you don't bring forth what is inside you, what you don't bring forth will destroy you." I found it very thoughtful. He is saying that if you do not explore yourself and that if you are not yourself then it kills you. Not literally, but its more of an emotion thing. Keeping things inside of you is very difficult and tend to slowly eat away at people until they snap. It is important for people to figure out who they are at an early age and stick to themselves. He also says something along the line of how people who choose solitude are more likely to find heaven. I think that is because people who choose solitude do not have the temptations of other peoples influences. Other people can strongly influence your choices if you let them, and therefore people who have chosen a life of solitude only have their own temptations.

Hui-hai

This reading was very long, and rather confusing. I really liked that it was in question ans answer format though. I thought that made it much more understandable. When they say that "reality is perceived through your own body" I was a bit confused. I guess it is just saying that reality is grasped different from person to person and that peoples views of reality are different rightly so. What is real for one person my not be everyones version of life and truth. Even people of the same family, or the same group of any kind may different views on life. The Dharmapada Sutra says"to establish ourselves amid perfect emptiness in a single flash is the existence of wisdom." It seems almost like he is saying that amid the emptiness something amazing like wisdom can be created just by you being there and existing. Its pretty cool if you really think about it. If just your existence can make such a huge impact upon anything at all.

Pa-chang

Even though this passage was really short it was also very powerful. I liked how it talks about when you get that awakened feeling you realize that it came from within you. People look all over, but wont find it untill they look inside themselves which is often the hardest place to go. People do not want to reflect upon themselves. It also says the original mind was perfect, people just dont realize this. The understanding is very rare, and thats what people are looking for even though it is within themselves that they will find it. Self reflection is just very difficult. People often see things that they do not want to even though they know its there.

The Diamond Sutra

This reading did not make quite as much sense to me as the others.It is hard to talk about something that is "ungraspable and inexpressible." I think that it has to be something like how people just know when they know. When people talk about find the right one for them they always say I just knew. It is something you can not convey to others. "The mind should be kept independent of any thoughts that arise within it." I think this is supose to be the meditative state. You seperate your body and mind. To be truely at peace, or in the trace of meditation this seperation is necessary. It is not something that you can show others, it just is. Many people do not understand how this could be possible until they experience it for them selves. There is no such thing as perfect wisdom, I think being wise is just observing and looking outside yourself for answers. It is also not being worried about finding all the answers.

The Buddah

I found this reading very interesting. I think my favorite parts tend to be either the beginning or end. I liked teh very last sentence where he says "hold to the truth within yourself, as to the only truth". If you believe in something then you should believe in it fully, and you shouldnt let others change your beliefs. You need t0 be proud of what you believe in. It is true to you. The passage about the raft also makes good points. I like how it points out that you should use things while you need them, but then let others have it. The man no longer needed the raft after he crossed the river, so it was smart of him to leave it behind for others to use. The Buddah is a very smart man, and his comment about everyone being Buddahs really made me think. He is saying that everything you need is right in front of you all you have to do is see it. People try too hard. They work to earn things they do not need, and sometimes it is right there.

Philo

"God loves to give, and freely bestows good on all people, even the imperfect..." No one is perfect so if God only gave gifts to the "perfect" people then he would never bestow gifts upon anyone. I think that sometimes people just dont realize what great gifts they are being given. Things such as children are some of the greatest gifts, yet some people view them as a curse. I think that all of the readings this week were pretty deep. They all had a strong message. They also seem to have a lot of life lessons hidden in them as well. You just have to pay attention to your life, and to what you are doing. If you think about how things will affect you before you do them then life would be much simpler, but people tend to just react. They dont think first.

The Bible

My favorite line from this entire reading was one of the last ones. "God has made everything beautiful in its time, and has put eternity in our heart." It just sounds so good and happy. I like how it says beautiful in its time, because everything isnt classically beautiful. It all depends on your perception. And to say God put eternity in our heart is just a cool statement. It makes me think about eternal love. This entire reading seemed full of profound statements such as "Love your neighbor as yourself" and "you have hidden the truth in darkness; through this mystery you teach me wisdom." The first one has an obvious message. Its the same thng we have been taught since we were children, that you should treat other people the way that you would like them to treat you. The other one isnt quite as obvious, but it is basically saying that people hide the truth even from themselves especially when they are ashamed of it, but that they learn from their mistakes.

Tu-Shun

I did not fully grasp teh concept of this reading either, but was fascinated by it. When it is talking about the jewels I think it is kind of a metaphor about how each person, or jewel is interconnected. What one person does affects every other person in that network. They say by liberating yourself you liberate everyone, and I do not think this means imediately. It can be a process. The moment you do something it does not automatically affect everyone else, but eventually it will in some form or another. "In one jewel there are all the jewels." It just shows yet again how everything is tied together in life. I did not understand the last line though. "Nonsimiles are used as similies. Those who practice should think of this in accord with the similes."

The Upanishads

I did not understand any of the readings this week. I read them all in the hopes of finding one that I would be able to understand and discuss in depth. I found this particular one very interesting though. The beginning caught my attention when they say "That is perfect. This is perfect. Perfect comes from perfect. Take perfect from perfect, the remainder is perfect." In a sense the author does the same thing with peace by saying"May peace and peace and peace by everywhere." If you take this all at a whole then its a bit confusing, but line by line it makes perfect sense. Everything can be perfect, but everything isnt. If you take perfect from perfect then all you could possibly have is perfect. If peace can be everywhere, which is ideal....then peace peace and peace can be everywhere. It was also very interesting talking about how each thing alone is God. It is all these different ways of having God. They are all simple, but incredible things. Everyday things.

Chief Seattle

I also liked this story, but I did not find it quite as relatable as Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha. However, it is realatable in the sense that they were being pushed out. The white men came in and took what was theres, and many of the "red men" died because of it. The white men acted as though they were helping them, but the red men were fine on their own. The chief talks about how the white man acts like he is being generous by leaving the chief some of his own land. The chief says they dont need it all anymore since his people have died, but that the dead have power too. Even after they are all gone the red men will still be there. The chief also talks about how young men view revenge as gain. I dont believe this relates directly to young men, but it is still common today for people to want revenge. Once they get it they feel as though they have gained something. The chief says that "the old men who stay behind in time of war, mothers with sons to lose-they know better". That is a very true statement. People who see the paon caused, or who experience that pain know better. They know that revenge does not gain you anything. It isnt a worhty thing to spend your time on. These people are the ones who know better, and it kind of goes back to that whole respect your elders thing. Not that all older people are wiser, just in general they have had mor elife experiences and therefore more opportunities to gain insiteful knowledge such as this.

Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha

I really enjoyed this story. I found it very thought provoking. It applies to many different senarios. I like the part where he says "We do not worship the great spirit as the white men do, but we believe that forms of worship do not matter to the great spirit..." I think that most of the time when people try to preach their religion to anyone else that would be an amazing response. To just say I dont do it your way, but the "great spirit" doesnt care how I do it. I think people get too caught up in being right, and just. I also like how he talks about how if the same book was meant for them wouldnt the great spirit have given it to them also. Its not like one group of people were worthy enough to recieve it, so they were supose to pass it on and push it onto other groups of people. I also thought it was very interesting how the author started off by saying that the young minister represented "a narrowhearted, bigoted christianity". I believe that Sa-Go-Ye-Wat-Ha was a very interesting man. He seems very smart, and very honest. I would reccomend this story to anyone, but especially to those who push their religion onto others. Religion is a personal choice, and should be respected.