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Week of Oct. 30-Nov. 5

photo by Jacelyn Hart

There is no blogging assignment this week. Happy Halloween, Blessed Samhain, All Hallows Eve, All Saints Day, Dia de los Muertos, and Essay Writing!
~Namaste~

Comparative Religions: This I Believe

Comparative Religions: This I Believe
I find all of these articles to be very interesting. The Chinese girlis what I expect young Chinese people to be like. She was taught from childhood to do what she is told without question. I think it is wonderful to respect and obey your parents, but I don't believe it is healthy to do something with your life and give up what would truly make you happy. I think later in life she will have regrets, but it will be too late. She is following her destiny, but at what cost to her true self. The man who feeds monkeys each year is following a story of his life that was told when he was an infant. I think it shows great character and preservation of his Chinese heritage. He has a job that he likes, so it is the best of both worlds. The last woman has found an inner piece and connection with her activity. It is never good to follow blindly, but I think this form of exercise completes who she is.

this I believe

The people in these articles put their own beliefs first and did what they felt was best. I feel that this is greatly admirable. I believe education is very important as well. To a certain extent, I feel that it should be the center of every child's life. It is important to do well in school to have a more successful future. I do not agree that a grade less than an 85 is failing. I feel that is a little too harsh. I h!ve my own philosophy on life in which I follow each and every day. My beliefs, values, and morals may not all be influenced by my religion but simply ways in which I live my life. The article about feeding the monkeys was quite interesting. I don'tkthink that every year I would search for monkeys to feed although I know that the feeling of commitment is a wonderful thing in my opinion. As far as the story about Angelina, I could not even think about living life that way.

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This I believe

I now understand why the chinese take such heart in school in america. I never realized they felt it was their duty and such a big deal. More people should go by how they think about education. I think believing in non violence, self restraint, and respect is three of the greatest things a human being can learn. As for the monkey feeding, i agree with him, i would do it too, i have superstitions, like i have to knock on wood. That is sort of the same thing because i am protecting either myself or other people.
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I agree with many that see the youg girl's beliefs more of a burden for her than healthy faith. I respect this young girl very much. It is noble of her to put her family's being or status before her own desires, but at the same time it is sad to see the sacrifice effect her own personal goals. I respect the other two stories very much. They have heart and determination. They are unlike many of Western's ways. I do not agree with them ultimitely, but I agree abstractly with many of their views. I have gone out on the limb with many things, but only because it has made sense or is the best scenerio. I'm not big on blind faith.

This I believe.....

I thought that the article by Ying Ying Yu was very admirable. Her great respect for her family, country, and heritage has caused her to strive for her goals. Her ideas seem to be very much similar to those of Confucius. Confucius said that if you learn something, or study something, and then don't put what you have learned to use, than you have wasted your time. This girl reminds me very much of my sister. Though her reasoning for striving the way she does may not be the same, my sister strives to meet her goals in the same manner. She lives on her own, goes to college full time, and works to support herself, yet she puts all that she has into her school work and is not happy with anything that falls to far below excellence. The story about the Burma man who feeds the monkeys every year is interesting. Will he suffer if he doesn't feed the monkeys one year? Probably not. I find his ways a little superstitious, but our backgrounds are different, and I do admire him for making sure that he fulfills this every year.

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This I Believe

First.......... the young Chinese girl, I am not sure if all that is expected of her is truly her belief. Or maybe she is now influenced by western ways of thinking that she is questioning what has been "instilled" in her. I hear a young girl explaining what is the right way of doing things who seems to have different ideas about her future. I hear fear and pressure to do what is expected without any concern for what might best suit the individual. This young girl shows great strength and discipline but do we hear or sense any real happiness. The only happiness expressed is when the young woman has attained some sort of progress scholastically which is great.........yet those results were pretty much demanded.

I am saddened for this young girl. Strong beliefs are wonderful but in this case it has placed too much pressure on a person who has other interests and other talents that will be exhausted along the way due to what is expected by the family. We all know what it is like to do something we have to do rather than what we would like to do. How can someone live a life that is expected instead of following their personal goals or dreams?

Second............the Burma man, his belief was brought about due to a Buddhist monk who predicted that the feeding of monkeys every day on his birthday would ensure prosperity. Instilling this idea in the individual has pushed this man to find the strength and imagination in his search yearly for monkeys to feed. I admire his ability to feed monkeys every year but this is a discipline he has decided to adopt in an effort to maintain prosperity. He believes it is the right thing to do. He has made a committment to do this. Unlike the Chinese young girl who really has no choice but to do what is expected.

Third.............the young woman believes in the principles of karate-do, my dojo-kun. She has taken the time to decide what is best for her. She states, "I will seek perfection of character! Be faithful! Endeavor! Respect others! Refrain from violent behavior!" But here again, she decides what she wants to believe in. It is admirable how she endures the pain, bloody feet, and broken nose in an effort to attain achievment that an ancient system created for bodyguards. This woman chooses these beliefs. Again, unlike the young Chinese girl who has been brought up to do as is expected.

I think it is great to have specific beliefs or morals to live by and creating customs or traditions to carry on generation to generation. But, I do have a problem if someone is forced to do something they would not otherwise want to do. Or if the goals are too high for everyone to reach. Some religions have what I think of as "the fear of god". I do not think that using fear to motivate someone to do something will bring about the best results.

this i believe

i believe these people were all doing what they fealt in their heart was right. even if it seemed silly like the guy with the monkeys they all have a deep dedication to what they felt was rihgt. i can relate to this because i live by my beliefs, they are not religious but i have morals and standards that i live by.

Believe The Lie

The people in these articles put their beliefs before everything else in their lives. I can relate this because I do the same thing. My beliefs are not ones of religious convictions just principals by which I live my life. However, I also think people need to learn and adapt with the times. I had trouble relating with the Chinese girl because of her rigid ideals.

This I Believe

These essays on belief say alot about the individuals' belief system and what is important to these people. How people develope their beliefs is even more interesting. We are generally the products of our families and our belief system starts as children. We tend to follow the family practices and religions as our parents and grandparents did. Our sense of family changes as our world expands and we are exposed to more and more situations whereby we may alter our beliefs and the the way we see the world.

I truly admire people who can follow their beliefs and especially filial piety no matter what. In many cultures those beliefs were the only things that allowed them to survive difficult situations.

I do not think that I have ever been so committed that I would go and do something as difficult as finding monkeys to feed each year or follow my family's idea of destiny for me. In my family we encouraged our children to follow their dreams. We hoped we had given them a good base from which to grow as good people.

Each individual belief system is what gets us through life's journey, and there are practices of some of the religions we have studied such as meditation that can only support our beliefs. I admire the strong beliefs that Ying Ying YU, Angelina and Mr. Taw have.

This I Believe

The article by Ying Ying Yu reflects filial piety. It reflects the strong sense of duty and focus on education and the pressure and sacrifice involved to do everything for the family and her country. I wonder what it must be like for someone that can't make the grade. Imagine the low self esteem they must endure. She speaks of moments when she would like to do something else, but feels it's too late to start over, it is her duty to become a lawyer, this is what her family expects. While I can appreciate her sense of duty and obligation to do well, I also think it is sad that there is no individuality. It is sad to think that one can't have dreams or have the oppotunity to follow those dreams.

I think the article about the monkeys is interesting. He follows that ritual every year, even when it proved difficult to do. Even though he may questioned the practice at times, he became anxious when he encountered difficulties attemting to carry out this ritual. He obviously felt the deep obligation to continue so his family can prosper.

The story about Angelina is foreign to me. I don't understand the blind obedience and suppression of individuality.

Comparative Religions: Comparative Religions: This I Believe

Comparative Religions: This I Believe
I found the stories very interesting. The article by Ying Ying Yu made perfect sense to me, as I have always believed that Chinese people are very high believers in education. I know a few people from China and they are all very intelligent. I am sure there are exceptions out there, but for the most part, I believe they are intelligent people. In fact, the one Chinese person I know, sends his children to a Chinese school so they keep up with their speaking and writing of the particular part of China where they originate from. I enjoyed the story about Harold feeding the monkeys every year on his birthday. It makes me wish that I had some sort of ritual that I was commited to do every year to make me believe that I was helping my family in some way. We do have our birthday cakes every year and make our wishes, but do we wish for ourselves or for someone else? The story really made me think about this. The last story about Angelina was very foreign to me. Although we learned about these dedicated people in class, I can't imagine living my life that way. If this is what makes her happy and feel good about herself, then I say, why not? It is just not for me.

This I Believe

In regards to the first article, this hard work ethic and "no self" idea was always a characteristic of Chinese culture it was just more emphasized and enforced with the arrival of communism. I also think a lot of these ideas are strong aspects of Confuciusism although i could not open the other article which explained why they were considered irrelevant until recently. These articles show just how strong belief is in people, even if they question it or if it seems a little silly to them it is very hard to eliminate its effect on your life. The man that fed the monkeys even questioned it a little bit but he still continues to do it.