A Little Bit of Everything

Today my mind is not dead, its actually very awake. Maybe it’s the fact that as I am reading this I am focusing way more since I find it so interesting. Up to now these pages have been the best we’ve read. They were so varied and full of random topics. I felt I could connect to the random part seeing how when I talk to my friends I can be talking about Brad Pitt and end the conversation talking about my cat. Don’t think badly about me, I just seem to connect topics to the strangest things.

On page 36 they go a bit into depth of why the Tao is great. Having already read most of the book, I agree with what they said and believe it is not only the Tao that accomplishes this. Those who do “not show greatness” and are “therefore truly great” (34), are the people that should be applauded around the world. I mean can you imagine the Pope saying “Oh yeah I’m the Pope! Not you or you, me!” not very “Popey” of him huh? People that don’t show off their greatness are the ones that are good inside because sometimes when you show greatness you cause other things around you. For example if you get a better grade than someone doesn’t go around screaming that you got a better grade. If you do that others will feel unworthy and could think of you as an annoying competitive idiot that only cares about yourself. Be the best you can be and not the best you want to be for others.

Ten thousand things, a mystery to be revealed. Now some people have lucky numbers and believe that these numbers bring good fortune. In the Tao the number “ten thousand” accompanied by the word things, is always in its pages. What are these ten thousand things? Could they be ten thousand bananas or ten thousand unicorns? No one truly knows but “ The Tao begot one. One begot two. Two begot three. And three begot the ten thousand things”. Maybe the writer of the Tao also knew the writer of the Bible because “begating” was big in both texts. All we know is that ten thousand things are all over, but never truly what they are.

“A truly good man is not aware of his goodness,
And is therefore good.
A foolish man tries to be good,
And is therefore not good.
A truly good man does nothing,
Yet leaves nothing undone.
A foolish man is always doing,
Yet much remains to be done.”
Pg 40 (38)

Men, can’t live with them can’t live without them. Here there are two kinds of men, the good guy and the jerk. It is usually the good guy that goes unappreciated and wishes he was seen differently, when in reality he is perfect the way he is. The jerk is the idiot whose hobbies include being a douche bag and breaking hearts. The good guy always acts good but doesn’t see the goodness within him but, we girls do. Yet we always manage to somehow fall for the jerk, which is only good when it benefits him in some way. An example of the good guy is Jacob in the Twilight Saga. He is always the one that ofers protection and a good shoulder to cry on but, never eally sees his worth.

My dad (hate to say it) is “the foolish man”. He is always doing his job and is really good at it but, when it comes to the house, he doesn’t move a finger. My mom does everything and in a sense it feels like my dad is the one that causes things to “remain to be done”. All I can hope for, in my very distant married life, is to be wedded to the “good man” not the other kind.

Things get hard at times and it seems like “breathing is hard” or “sometimes it comes easily.” I comfort myself with thought that there is always sunshine after rain (except in Bogota) meaning that there is always a happy ending. Like those times when you look into the mirror and hate what you see or, when you see the guy you like chatting up another girl. Those moments last seconds and later they become positive. You could wake up the next day and think “Hey I look good today” or, you find out that the conversation the guy was having was nowhere as deep as what he talks to you about. Challenges are things we are faced with every day and the Tao actually has a good quote to see things in a positive approach, which I am sure I will say a lot:
“So sometimes things are ahead and sometimes they are behind;
Sometimes breathing is hard, sometimes it comes easily;
Sometimes there is strength and sometimes weakness;
Sometimes one is up, sometimes down.” Pg 31(29)

War sucks. Seriously I can’t even handle fighting with my friends yet alone handle a big country war. Whenever Chavez opens his big froglike mouth, all I can feel is worry he is about to declare war on us. War is such a drastic measure that results in lots of death and the sad part is deaths are celebrated by the opposing side. To me “war is conducted like a funeral” (31) instead of celebrating death on the other side, one should truly mourn for the deaths of both sides. Pain was inflicted by both sides so in a sense mourning for one comes with mourning their deaths; like a package deal.

Wow! Talk about a varied set of topics. These were lots of pages so more topics were approached, in my own way. It was fun putting ideas in the Tao in a personal or modern context. I felt I could give my opinion on things and regret that I can’t really explain each aspect of the Tao because there is so much to learn.By the way the picture above was cool to find becasue it just so happens I have that necklace with someone. Fun huh? Tao and style.

"Sacrificial Feast of the Ox"

Today is one of those days in which my mind isn’t feeling very thoughtful. I just finished reading what I had to for English and find myself staring at the screen like a moron. This is a first. I usually have so much to say, but then again this is a different type of text. Poetry is a little hard to grasp on the first read. If something truly got your attention you have to read it many times. In this reading there were quotes I could relate to things going on in my life right now and as usual felt calm and serene while reading.

You know how you feel that by sucking up to the teacher it will somehow improve your grades? Well the Tao is not on your side. Usually when one is sucking up to someone you brag and boast about your achievements. Well according to the Tao by boasting you will “achieve nothing”, and by bragging you will not “endure.” So why spend so much time trying to get into someone’s good side if it won’t prove fully great in the end. Don’t make a show either because all it means is that you are not “enlightened.” Just work hard and earn a person’s respect don’t just take the easy road. (24)

“Is there a difference between yes and no?
Is there a difference between good and evil?
Must I fear what others fear? What nonsense!
Other people are content, enjoying the sacrificial feast of the ox.”
(20)

I had never really thought if yes and no are completely opposite, or that good and evil could be equal in some way. Sure there are those times when no means yes (mainly with women), but you really have to know how to interpret the “no” a person gives you. About good and evil, I believe that if there was no evil we wouldn’t know “good.” So is “evil” truly evil for making us cherish the good times? Good exists because there is evil.

I completely agree that you shouldn’t fear what others fear. If everyone had feared Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter 1 and thought he lived in your attic, there would have been a bunch of six year olds sleeping with their parents. Yes; I was afraid of Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, sew me. I’m not anymore, but the memory remains.

“The sacrificial feast of the ox” a holiday filled with killing and murder. Christmas is a cupcake compared to this mother of feasts. Families come together and join hands around an ox as a butcher steps into the circle and kills it. Yep, pure family fun! Ok I am kidding. What is this mysterious “sacrificial feast of the ox?” It probably does have something to do with what I wrote above.

I hope I am not left without an explanation for the “feast of the ox.” I hate feeling left out of the loop and this is just one of those questions that can’t just go unanswered. So seeing how it is recommended to “give up learning, and put an end to your troubles”(20), I will now follow the advice of the Tao and end my post here, and hope I am not the only one asking questions about mysterious feasts with animals.

Tao and Sensibility

The Tao is a bit different to the other texts in a special way. The Bible is stories put together to explain faith in God, the Bhagavad Gita is only the teachings of Krishna to one man, and The Analects were a colection of thematic books exploring the teachings of Confucious. The Tao differs to all of these because instead of just telling you the lesson, it adds flavor to it. What does that mean? Some kind of sauce they put on it that makes it better? Not at all. Its the way in which the Tao feels like a poetry book. Everytime I read a new section, it didnt feel like I was reading a new religious book. It was more like I was back being a little girl reading Shell Silvertein in my second grade classroom.

Sure with the Bible I got to imagine all the characters of the story and how what happened to them could be interpreted as a lesson from God. But with the Tao it triggered a deeper sense in me that made me feel both calm and relaxed as I read it. None of the other texts made me feel this way. With The Bhagavad Gita I was scared someone might kill the guy in the middle of the battle but with the Tao there is a sense of serenity when one reads that doesn't come with aditional stress. Never in my life have I felt relaxed while reading texts (then again I always read cliff hanging romance books). It opened something deep inside of me.

I liked the descriptions of heaven given throughout the reading. I dont know if we will be described heaven in the Bible but I liked how in the Tao they show it is a place above all of us. How "under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness"(2). This just shows that why should you be scared to die if your going to a place where everything is better? Earth is fun and all but it is not the end. I know there are people that dont believe in heaven but I justs can't imagine stop existing. To me heaven is a place where my existence will remain intact and go on to live forever.

"The highest good is like water.

Water gives life to the ten thousand things and does not strive.

It flows in places men reject and so is like the Tao."

(8)

I really liked this metaphor to water. It is true that without its existance human kind would stop existing so by saying its like water, is the Tao an esential to exist? I dont really understand the last part about being where men refuse it. Maybe it is just found in unexpected places that are hard to get to and pose a challenge for men.

I am enjoying the Tao up to now and hope it will continue making me questioning certain aspects of life like heaven.

Inherit the Wind

For years the Bible was esteemed as the source of knowledge of where we come from. It was where we would find the truth behind the past of human kind and the knowledge of the existence of the other creatures that surround us. In Genesis it talks about the creation of Earth and all the things upon it from the mountains, to the ocean, and of course humans. But what if there was more to it? A theory that the yellow pages of the Bible could neither proof guilty or innocent? The theory of evolution. A theory that connects us directly to animals of which the Bible says we are above and higher in the ranks. Why can’t anyone have a say in what they believe either holly, scientific, or any other form of faith? Why can’t a teacher teach his students what he believes?
Who wrote the Bible? Who took the time to sit and record all these teachings? It is unknown and yet we still have faith in the Bible. Faith comes to us naturally and it is up to each and every human being, being the free thinkers we are, to choose what we put our faith to. B.T Cates has chosen both science and God. Like attorney Henry Drummond stated: “ Suppose that a lesser human being, Suppose that a Cates or a Darwin, had the audacity to think, that God might whisper to him; that an unBrady thought might still be holly. Must the man go to prison because he differs with the self appointed profit?” Why should everyone think the same?
If everyone did think the same, Gods point of creating diversity in the world would be shattered by his own creation. God wants man to think for himself, he wants each of us to think differently. He himself wanted us to be separated from one another not only in our thoughts but in our languages: “And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. … 5 And the LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded. 6 And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. 7 Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another’s speech. 8 So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. 9 Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”
Interpretation is also a big part of what the Bible is. It was created for each and everyone of us to get the inner meaning that we wanted from the Bible. Sure there are global interpretations that we all share but each and everyone one of us should also have the freedom to interpret it however we want. God gave us brains and he didn’t give it to a sponge but e what if that sponge wanted to think? Brady said that God would make the sponge think if he wanted to. Then B.T Cates only wants to be like the sponge he wants to think, he wants to be able to make his own conclusions, and teach whatever he wants with no one reprimanding him.

Magic, Stalkers, and Another Stereotype Towards Women

What would you could call the men that accompany Confucius? Maybe stalkers, followers, or disciples? From the way they talk to him is like they only hang out with him for internal wants and needs. Sure they are striving for a better life, but can’t Confucius just give them some tips and write them a book called "Confucianism for Dummies" and be done with it? I mean we´ve all seen Forest Gump and in the scene when he keeps running across the U.S people look up to him but he couldn’t care less. Confucius kind of reminds me of Forest in this way, because he is just there doing something he likes and others think it’s over the top. He must feel like Forest Gump, that the people are there but if they leave he wouldn’t really mind. Though, I am pretty sure that if Confucius was running across China again and again he wouldn’t just stop like Forest did. He would keep striving to teach as many as he can the Way.

“Let his words be sincere and truthful and his actions honorable and careful;-such conduct may be practiced among the rude tribes of the South or the North. If his words be not sincere and truthful and his actions not honorable and careful will he, with such conduct, be appreciated, even in his neighborhood?"

This is my kind of man! I believe that the gentleman being described here is basically a model citizen. Now that I think about it this is the type of person laws are striving for us to become. Confucius lessons not only help guide those who follow this religion but also governments around the world. If laws can be based on the 10 Commandments, they can surely be based on a wise mans sayings.

I wonder if characters have been based on Confucius in fictional books. As I was reading I kind of saw that he reminds me of Dumbledore. His way of talking and guiding toward goodness is all things that the old Hogwarts headmaster would have liked. I mean they were both trying to keep people on a path towards goodness and away from darkness (Lord Voldemort). So could there be a relationship between Dumbledore and Confucius?

“Women and servants are particularly hard to manage: if you are too familiar with them, they grow insolent, but it you are too distant, they grow resentful”

Gee thanks Confucius. I don’t believe women become insolent when you are too familiar with them. They might not be as cuddly and warm as in the beginning of whatever you had with them but, they will always act gracefully and with poise. Trust me. My parents are zero percent romantic with each other but they still manage to have a bond that unites them. Sure they are apart sometimes but my mom isn’t resentful about it and neither is my dad. My dad depends on my mom too much and my mom is just to cool to be resentful. Why do all these religious books place women in a place where we look like idiots?

To finish I would like share a video of the gentlemen in “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer”. I hope these murderers are the complete opposite to what Confucius seeks in all of us. I am sure they are not and I think Confucius hung out with better looking people.

My So Called Confucius Life

It turns out Confucius understood some of the aspects of being a teenager. I know, weird. As I was reading, I was trying to look at the Analects with a different point of view that wasn´t a student doing her homework, but more as me. What I mean by this is I was trying to see how I, a Catholic 15 year old girl, could put these teachings into a modern context. Even though Confucius is dead and has been dead for a very long time, his teaching still work in the present.

“I do not open up the truth to one who is not eager to get knowledge, nor help out any one who is not anxious to explain himself. When I have presented one corner of a subject to any one, and he cannot from it learn the other three, I do not repeat my lesson.”

If I was to write a song right now, these words would inspire me. This quote impressed me alot just because it explains how I feel sometimes. I have friends who don't know who I like or how much my cat annoys me and I´ve never been able to understand why I just don't tell them. With this quote in a way I understood that these are things that they can understand without me explaining it to them. And why should I give up time explaining something I have, subconsciously, already explained? Its their problem if they "can´t figure out the rest of the corners."

Confucius is hungry for knowledge and I believe everyone is hungry for knowledge. Maybe not math or science but for other things. Who doesn't like to check out what scandal Miley Cyrus brought upon herself recently and learn the facts to tell your friends later? Or maybe read a blog about a topic that interests you, just so you know how to improve your skills? Don't expect me to be going into my computer and researching quadratic equations, but I am hungry for knowledge in topics that interest me.

You know how you fight with a friend and an hour later you are talking and laughing like it never happened? Well it turns out Confucius also forgot the bad moments when they were filled with joy. He was a truly a kid at heart. But its annoying when people get mad all the time about the most dumb issues and then make a big deal out of them. I agree with Confucius about getting caught up in the joy, but it doesn't justify it when it happens on a daily basis with someone who has these freak outs and then expects you to be normal. Its ok if you do it once in a while but why live your life in misery?

“When a bird is about to die, its notes are mournful; when a man is about to die, his words are good."

I found this quote very funny. I don't know why but as soon as I read it I laughed. Maybe its because the irony of dieing and being nice is such a cliche. Hello? Everyone who has been on their death bed is super nice and deep. Take Simon Bolivar for example, there he was about to die and he still made time to write a speech. Sure death is not a funny topic but what happens before death is so predictable. Take it from someone who has gone to 5 funerals in her life and has seen the people before they died. Anyway, its nice that they try to make amends before they leave the world and in a sense it gives the person a new slate in your mind to remember them by.

“Why did you not say to him,-He is simply a man, who in his eager pursuit of knowledge forgets his food, who in the joy of its attainment forgets his sorrows, and who does not perceive that old age is coming on?”

I already discussed this above but would just like to put the quote where I got those ideas from.

To finish I would just like to say that being called an "ancient worthy" is like being called a hottie for Confucius, but in the "good way".

The Master Said...

In Book 4, we see how Confucius introduces us to the superior man. Reading about the superior man I saw how he could be described as good, impartial, smart in his affairs, and understanding. He is basically a role model for everyone to follow. Reading this book I noticed that it was always about men but it never mentions women. Do women have the same rules

By talking about the superior man Confucius was talking about how a true gentleman should be formed. A person who no matter the circumstances would always choose right over wrong. I believe everyone is born to be the superior man but as we grow some challenges get harder and some choose to do bad over good. Then again, these are different times.

1. Riches and honors are what men desire.


2. If they cannot be obtained in the proper way, they should not be held.


3. Poverty and meanness are what men dislike.


4. If they cannot be avoided in the proper way, they should not be avoided.
   

My paraphrase:

1. Being wealthy is what everyone wants.


2. If you don't reach wealth the proper way, then let it go because it wasn´t meant to be.


3. Being poor and mean is what people don't like.


4. If there is no way to avoid them, then don't try to.

From what I understood here, Confucius was saying that things can only happen if you follow the Way to get to them. If you do not follow the "guidelines", it is unfair for you to obtain these objects. Only through Goodness can one hope to be successful and complete. Even though they talk about good stuff they also mention poverty and being mean which cant be avoided either. The last two sentences show that even though you are going to come across good and wealth, roadblocks will be in your path and you'll just have to embrace them.

I found that like in the Bible, in the Analects there are popular sayings like: “What I do not wish men to do to me, I also wish not to do to men." Even though now we say them in a different way they mean the same thing and carry the same message to the person you say it too. I that particular example it could be "don't do to others what you wouldn´t want done to yourself." We saw the same thing happened with the Bible but mostly for titles like Inherit the Wind.

In Book 5, we got a view of politics from Confucius. He talks about the leaders and I got a feeling that he didn't agree with some of the things they did but he thought some of them were good just because they followed the way. I guess that if you rule with goodness and guide people toward the way, Confucius approves. If he had to vote for the next Colombian president, who would he vote for?

1. Where the solid qualities are in excess of accomplishments, we have rusticity


2. Where the accomplishments are in excess of the solid qualities, we have the manners of a clerk


3. When the accomplishments and solid qualities are equally blended, we then have the man of virtue.

Me:

1. Where the good qualities are full of praise, there is simplicity.


2. Where accomplishments are plentiful in comparison to good qualities, there is a working man.


3. When accomplishments and good qualities are balanced, we have a man full of virtue.

What I understood from this is that to truly be a man of virtue you have to balance your behavior and your accomplishments. I think that to achieve the bast accomplishments you rely truly on your qualities because they are your strengths. You also have to be humble about your affairs and don't devote yourself completely to gaining more and more because that goes against goodness.

Up to now I am enjoying the Analects a bit more than the Bible but I miss the story way of explaining the teachings. Here we just have a guy talking with his friends. Still the lessons here are clearer to decipher.