The Cloud of Unknowing

I fount "The Cloud of Unknowing" to be both confusing and interesting. I think that one of the things it was saying that our goal in prayer should be to have our whole focus on God in that moment. We should strive to pray without any other distractions or desires at that time. As I think about it, it seems to be really difficult to focus our minds/emotions/desires on any one thing at any one time. I will try to focus on one thing and before I know it I am thinking about how I am tired or I get distracted by my surroundings. It is not easy to be that dedicated to anything! If it is easily possible there are at least times where it is really difficult (for example is you are really hungry or tired). "This is the work of the soul that most pleases God. All saints and angels rejoice in this work and hasten to help it with all their might." If this is not referring to have our focus in every possible way on God, it is in the very least referring to having our whole heart turned towards God (having no desire for anything but be praying to God at that time). It is difficult to maintain this full focus and it says that we should keep "laboring" towards this and that we will be helped in ways we do not even realize (by angels for example). The fact that it uses the word "laboring" indicates that this type of prayer is difficult to reach and is always a continual process. I do no think it means that one day you will know how to pray like this. It makes more sense for it to be saying that everyday is a challenge to pray like this and some days will be better than others. When reading "The Cloud of Unknowing," the parts in the very beginning about this kind of prayer are what stood out to me more than anything else.

Jesus of Nazareth

I have grown up my whole life hearing these words of Jesus. I cannot tell you how many times I have heard these parts of the Bible. It is interesting how no matter who you are and what you believe, you have probably heard, "Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you." Even if you have not actually heard or read this verse, you are probably at least familiar with these concepts and teachings of Jesus. I think with any religion/wisdom at first, their is something beautiful to experience. That first time taking something in and believing it to be true is a really joyful time for most (well at least if it is a happy truth). When I was younger, I would hear something about religion and would believe it with all my heart. The thought of losing that "joy" I felt at the moment or to stop believing whatever it was seemed nearly impossible. I guess what I am trying to say is that when someone first gets excited about a religion they usually (or at least in my experience) feel that for the rest of their life they will be so excited about it and forever changed. For all people who experience this "joy" with some new beliefs/truths, it is inevitable that they will experience "dry spells" in their spirituality. To bring this all back to what I was saying in the beginning, I have heard these words of Jesus ALL MY LIFE. When I first began to take it seriously, I felt very excited by it. Over the years though, I can read these words and now get bored with them. It is weird how the same concept can bring out different thoughts and emotions at different times. I wonder how much this happens for other people (especially in comparison of all religions to each other). My guess is that everyone at one time or another experiences this "dullness" at least occasionally in whatever they believe... including the most highly regarded spiritual leaders throughout history.

Hui-Hai

The speech to the assembly really caught my attention because it seemed a little different from what most religious writings say. Usually I hear that we should strive to reach enlightenment, know the truth, or understand God. Sometimes religions make it seem like it is possible to understand God if we only study, sacrifice, and pray enough. It was different to read that someone refers to all of that as “blabbering about our understanding and that it was all a waste of energy.” The writer made it seem like trying to understand spiritual things and God was also a waste (even if it was just “trying” and not claiming to actually understand). The writer said, “Do not search for the truth with your intellect. Do not search at all. The nature of the mind is intrinsically pure.” I think his point is that we should not dedicate our time and energy to reading about truth and life but rather we should just go out and live our lives. In simply experiencing life we will gain understanding. Also I think he is questioning how important knowledge is. How we live our lives seems much more important and better to give our energy to than just simply knowing. I think that religious people have different ways of expressing and growing in their beliefs. Some people find themselves being closest to God when they are alone in a room studying for endless hours and gaining knowledge. I guess a good way to put it is that they feel like the best way to worship God or follow their beliefs is with their intellect. Other methods people may use is prayer, helping others, or giving up all their possessions. I think that this reading makes a good point about how intellect is not everything. I also think that people are very different in their personalities and how they like to do things (which it then would only make sense that for some people they feel most enlightened by seeking truth through their intellect while others may think that they are on the best path when doing good deeds).

Tzu-Ssu

I really enjoyed this reading because I could see that there was a lot of truth in it. This reading gave a lot of wise thoughts that I never really thought about. For example, I have always heard that we should treat others the way we would like to be treated. I have never thought about reversing that concept and saying, “Don’t do to others what you wouldn’t want done to you.” In a way it seems a little bit easier to follow because instead of focusing on trying to do things (for example give someone a compliment) you focus on not doing certain things (for example try not to gossip about someone). I thought that the part about being a mature person had a lot of truth in it. According to the reading, I am not that mature (haha). As I kept reading I realized how much America’s society is reflected in this reading. The part where it said, “The mature person accepts his situation and does not desire anything outside it,” is such a different outlook on life than the American culture possesses. Materialism and the idea that we always need more in our lives is the opposite from accepting one’s situation and not desiring anything outside of this. There is a strong contrast between American culture and this reading. Another part about the mature person read, “Therefore the mature person lives in perfect serenity, awaiting the decrees of heaven, while the unworthy person walks on the edge of danger, always trying to keep one step ahead of his fate.” The mature person seems to live in peace because they are not caught up in what they have. In life there will always be things getting stolen, broken, or worn out. Trying to run from this truth and lie to yourself to believe that “one day” everything will be perfect will not give you a peaceful life. The way the mature person is described seems to be a very wise and a better way to live your life.

The Bible, Shmelke of Nikolsburg

One of the most famous teachings from the Bible is, "Love your neighbor as yourself." It sounds simple and in a way easy to do. Many people think that this teaching is saying, "Treat others how you would like to be treated." The Schmelke of Nikolsburg reading brought up a lot of good questions like, "How can we love our neighbor as ourself if our neighbor has wronged us?" Are we supposed to just let people treat us as horrible as they want while remaining kind and loving to them? Easier said than done! I guess that I (and probably a lot of other people) have a tendency to think "loving" someone is being nice and making that other person happy. When I was younger I thought that if someone wanted to eat Chinese food for dinner (while I was craving Italian and did not want Chinese at all) I would go along with it. To me this was "loving" someone. I often times would not mention what I wanted to do in order to let others be happy and have their needs and desires met. I am not saying that I was this great person that always put others first or anything. I just tried really hard to love others and saw this as the best way how. I think now that it is definently okay to sometimes do what you want to do and ask people to sometimes give up their desires for you. So back to the dinner thing... I know think it is okay to try to convince people to go to Italian for my sake even though they may really want Chinese. I know it is not the best example but I think you get my point. I like how the rabbi answers, "Love your neighbor like you yourself are. For all souls are one. Each spark is from the original soul, and this soul is wholly inherent in all souls, just as your soul is in all members or your body." I think before I was missing the point when I focused on all the little things like where I will eat dinner. Yes, it is good to sometimes happily do something because someone else wants to. That can go along with love. It seems like the bigger point about, "Love your neighbor as yourself" is having a deep respect and care for those around us because we all originated from the same place and in many ways are much alike.

The Upanishads pg 3

I found this reading to be kind of confusing. Some parts made a lot of sense and were beautiful while I found other parts to be weird. Look at the first sentence for example. “That is perfect. This is perfect. Perfect comes from perfect. Take perfect from perfect, the remainder is perfect.” What does this mean?! I try to come up with things that this may be actually saying but ultimately cannot really think of anything. Also (whatever the true meaning of this writing) it does not seem like it could benefit anyone’s life. Maybe for someone in a different culture at a different time could much better benefit from it and gain more wisdom than I can from reading it.
I found some parts of this writing to be very beautiful and true in my own understanding of them. There are many universal principles here that for the most part people except. For example, “Claim nothing; enjoy, do not covet his [God] property,” is a common belief that most religions seem to have. I personally find this to be something that people should live by even though none of us could ever do it perfectly. Many religions teach that we should not be selfish and seek after worldly things for they could never satisfy us fully. The less someone seems to care about earthly possessions the more fulfilled someone seems to be. Whenever I think about whether or not something like money can make us happy I just look at the lives of many celebrities. Sometimes it seems like the richer and more successful someone is, the more likely they are to be depressed and maybe even suicidal. It is probably true that for most people the more they want of something, the less satisfied they are with it. Take money for example. If someone becomes consumed with getting more and more money, the less satisfied they are with the money they have. Someone who makes let say $30,000 a year could be more content and happy than a millionaire who becomes obsessed with money and how much they are making. Now I am not saying that I would rather have $30,000 than a million dollars. Obviously I would take the million in a second! I just think that seeking after worldly things could never fully satisfy any of us (or at least not long term).

Padmasambhava

The Tibetan Book of the Dead talks about death as if there is nothing to fear. They make it sound like an opportunity to become more enlightened and be at peace. The book seems as though it would be a great comfort to someone who is dying. To me death does not seem so glorious or a positive experience to improve oneself or understanding. Honestly death makes me afraid. Maybe I am more scared of how I will die. It would be one thing if I knew I would be old and feel no pain in my death. It is a scary thought to think that any one of us could die tomorrow. It is especially scary to think of all the painful ways it could happen. Most of us try to not think about it. I know that I try not to most of the time! I guess that it makes sense to try and make the most of every situation, no matter how bad it my be. The Tibetan Book of the Dead said that when death comes we should adopt this attitude: 'I will adopt only the attitude of an enlightened state of mind, friendliness and compassion, and attain perfect enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings as limitless as space.' The book carries a different attitude about death than I do. Maybe there is more positive things in death than I see. I believe that there is heaven and hell after death, but that does not erase my fears. I think that The Tibetan Book of the Dead is for both those that are close to death and those that will continue living. I can see how death can provide people with a last opportunity to create peace among their relationships and themselves. I like how this reading starts out with, "Even a deathbed can be a place of rebirth." I generally do not associate death with peace like that book does.