Sunday, April 15, 2012

Buddhism, Dhammapada & Taoism


Page 145.  Gotama starts out by telling his story of when he was a young boy.  He tells of how his parents always gave him everything he wanted and made sure everything was taken care of for him.  He started noticing this and wasn’t pleased with it.  He decided to leave this lifestyle and set out to try and find out who he was.  For a little while, he denied himself of food and other things necessary for life.  After that, he traveled to quite a few different places and meditated and found his path of life that he was supposed to take.  He became the Buddha over the course of his life journey.  “Though my parents wished otherwise and were grieving with tears on their faces” (p. 146).  Often times, young adults need to leave their parents and figure out who they are on their own without their parents help, and often times without their approval.  “They quarrel and fight – people seeing one side” (p. 154).  People that are close-minded often have a hard time accepting other people’s opinions, even though they may both be correct.  To lead a moral life, people need to take care of their bodies as well as take care of other people.  Everyone needs to be kind to others and themselves and always be honest and healthy.
Page 155.  In these passages, it is basically talking about a few of the principles on which this religion is based.  It talks about how to live healthily, how to be happy, to not be evil, etc.  I really liked the phrase “’She abused me, attacked me, defeated me, robbed me!’  For those not carrying on like this.  Hatred ends” (p. 155).  This shows that you need to let go of grudges to finally be happy.  I also really liked the phrase “Do not consider the faults of others or what they have or haven’t done.  Consider rather what you yourself have or haven’t done” (p. 156).  I really liked this because it shows that you shouldn’t judge others before taking a good, long look at yourself to see what you need improvement on.
Page 165.  These are just a few verses from the book of principles based on the religion of Taoism.  “In this way we harvest eternal importance because we never announce it” (p. 165).  This is really profound because the most amazing things in life are unspoken.  Actions speak louder than words.  “The spirit of life never dies” (p. 166).  I really like this phrase because it shows that no matter who you are or where you come from, you can carry on the spirit of life within you and show it off to the world.

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