Shaolin Buddhism

When we were discussing the ways of Buddhism in class last time, I was thinking about something within their rules. One of those rules is that one must not harm or kill any sentient being. But Shaolin monks are Buddhists, why do they practice an art that is focused on harming others???

I then went into a little further research on the net and found that Bodhidharma, an Indian Buddhist, went to the Shaolin temple to introduce to them martial arts due to them being out of shape. This then became known as kung fu. I'm kind of confused on this though. If you are supposed to not harm or kill any sentient being, then wouldn't using martial arts against someone hypocritical?

I don't know the depths of Shaolin Buddhism, but on the surface it just seems like it's a little hypocritical to see such peaceful connotation in Buddhism, yet see these guys practice martial arts. I don't know, maybe a lot more further research would clear my confusion just a little...

Hindu Gods

Last class we talked a little on the Hindu gods and were about to close Hinduism and move on to Buddhism. How Deitrick said that we are only scratching the surface makes me just wonder how humungous these religions are.

I think that Deitrick had a strong point last class when he was talking about the vast number of Hindu gods that exist. He was kind of questioning the Christian concept of only having one God when there are so many aspects of life. There are so many elements, situations, and things in life that having gods for each one would seem more reasonable. I mean, you dont give 100 different jobs to one person do you?

Sacrifices

In class we have discussed about the sacrifices Hindu priests make to the Gods in order to please them and get fortune and good things happen to them in return. We've also talked about how if bad weather were to happen after praying for good weather, for example, then the reason would solely be that the sacrifice was done improperly. But I have a question; what would happen if some priest apparently did the sacrifice wrong but then went throught the process of making sure it was right, but then bad weather insued again?(This is for all things not just weather) Would they keep making sacrifices until good fortune occured? To me, this seems inpractical because realistically, as human beings, we are able to change our own fate, fortune or future by our own will alone. I don't think relying on pleasing a god by doing sacrifices really helped someone consistently. You could most likely prove this by pitting someone against someone else in a boxing ring. One person makes a sacrifice to their god before the match while teh other one has been practicing way more and has more talent. I think naturally the more talented one will win the boxing match. Afterwards though, the person who made the sacrifice will go back and think to themself: "Maybe I didn't do the sacrifice right, I'll have to do it again". Then again he gets beaten over and over again. Most people would just kind of have to question the credibilitiy of doing this ritual wouldn't they? Maybe this is one of the few reasons why this ritual is pretty much outdated with the exception of a few devout priests who still practice it today.

The 4 Main Yoga Paths/Margas

Towards the end of last class we discussed the four main Yoga Paths or Margas that a person could take to achieve the goal of being free from the material world and living life truly free(Moksha). Anways, I was kind of thinking to myself a little later about this concept. A person could take any of these paths and get to the same goal, but the thing is that the Jnana Yoga, Raja Yoga, and Karma Yoga are all harder than going by the Bhakti Yoga path to attain Moksha. So therefore, is it more fulfilling to take the harder Yogas? If a person was to go through the easier Bhakti Yoga, would their goal to Moksha feel less rewarding or deserved? I wonder if anyone would point fingers to someone who just went the Bhakti Yoga path and blamed them for attaining true liberation by cheating their way to it. Since the other Yogas require serious and focused mental, physical and spiritual discipline, I would have to think that a person on these paths would feel kind of angry at someone who took teh Bhakti Path. But on the other hand, attaining true liberation/spiritualism would require someone to release their anger/jealousy and realize that everyone has the natural right to choose whatever path they want. I mean, The Bhagavad Gita laid out these paths for everyone to choose, not force to use a certain path for a certain person.

Unrelated news, kind of....

I was browsing through the news pages and I saw this article that read "Federal Judge Rules Pledge Unconstitutional". I read into it and it read: an atheist by the name of Michael Newdow was trying to, for the second time, to remove the Pledge of Allegiance from public schools on the behalf of his daughter. I found it interesting because I think that this is an age old discussion and I think it should've been solved a long time ago. Everyone should know that not everyone has the same religion, so why put the Christian God in a public school reciting? It's like, you're forced to say your institution, the place you learn and grow is under God whether you like it or not, or whether you believe in him or not. I just don't agree with forcing religions on other people. In this case, its a little more indirect because I don't know whether they made her stand up and recite the Pledge or they let her sit down but obviously there was a problem if that dude had to say something about it. Well, ultimately, the judge ruled it unconstitutional to have the pledge in public schools and now I know I probably made a lot of people down in the south disappointed, but who cares that my opinion. I don't think a person of the Christian faith would like it if they were an exchange student in China from here, and then they had to recite every day: "..One Nation, Under Buddha". That's it.

Concept of Brahman

Well, i accidently just got off track with my posts and am a little behind. Anyways, today in class, there were some interesting things that were talked about and asked regarding Brahman. I feel that the concept that Brahman is everything is pretty cool, even though I am not Hindu. You can just imagine someone who has already attained the true belief of Brahman and seeing him/her as a different kind of person with a certain air to them. This is exactly what Professor Deitrick just stated also. Also, the question came up: "What would a person do afterwards after attaining the Atman or whatever it may be?" I think this is an interesting question because after a person attains that, do they get to be reincarnated? What would they be reincarnated into, even after attaining the true belief of Brahman? I think this aspect of Hinduism is complicated and it is expected that a multitude of questions would be asked about this concept.

Hinduism on your Threads...

I was browsing the Internet and I found this interesting article. It was about this French Clothing company marketing these women's shoes with the image of Lord Ram on them. Then, the Hindu Human Rights organization spoke out against them to stop the sale and manufacturing of them because of Lord Ram being a sacred image, it would be sacriligious to sell these shoes. Afterwards, after the success of the organization stopping the sale of these shoes, the dilemma was brought up of how to get rid of these shoes in order to not be sacriligious in disposing them also.

Isn't this similar to Christians marketing images of the cross and images of Jesus Christ on various clothing? I don't see Christian activists protesting against the sale of such items. In fact, I see many people wearing them with pride. So why is it so much different from the Hindu god Lord Ram being depicted on shoes? I would say that it can be explained by seeing the differences of the actual religions. Hindus would regard things as sacred and would be sacriligious to put them on certain things. The strictness of Hinduism and the keeping of ceremonies, rituals and beliefs as the same, even throughout the years would accredit this. Christians on the other hand would most likely regard certain things as sacred also, but with more openness and pride due to the "Americanization" or the continuous development and diversness Christianity has gone through over the past couple thousand years.

Starting on Religions...

Last class was pretty much the end of the introductory phase of how to learn about different religions. I am anxious and ready to learn about Hinduism and the other religions. I don't really want to keep talking about how we should subjectively learn because he kind of dragged on with that for like several classes. I do like Deitrick's teaching style however, like how we relates religion to our every day lives and puts a human face on non tangable things. I especially liked his talk on Jesus and how we have to eat bread(his body) and wine(his blood) in order to be saved. He related it to himself by telling us how we would feel if we had to eat him to live and drink his blood. We would all feel guilty, but him telling us that it would be okay really gave me a new perspective on Christianity, as Jesus said the same kind of thing.

First Post

This is my first post in my blog for World Religions 1320. I was thinking about things to put in and the Katrina hurricane disaster was a good way to start. Religion, I think, plays an important role in this particular situation because the hurricane is testing the survivors' faiths. Will they still rely on their God or whosoever it may be to carry them through this disaster? Another aspect of religion you can clearly see by watching the news is the generosity the churches in New Orleans have displayed by letting in victims/survivors seek refuge in the walls of their churches. Of course, the spotlight is set upon Christianity since the hurricane struck in the Bible Belt and according to popular perspective we can assume that the people, especially the African American and poor, will have a strong grip on their faith and will perservere through this disaster. Hopefully everyone is praying for them, even non-Christians; just as long as they place those victims in their hearts, minds and souls.

More on this at: Religion&Ethics Newsweekly