Jesus in Carols
The song itself is about the night Jesus was born and how the angels announced his birth to the shepherds on a hillside. This is a part of the Christmas story that was actually in the Christian scriptures. In this carol he is called child, holy infant, Christ, the Saviour, Son of God, Jesus, and Lord. The carol is celebrating his birth, and Jesus is appreciated for what he is from birth in the carol. His birth is what is "given" to the people as he is the long-awaited Messiah.
What is your idea of God? Is there a God? One or many? Are they like the Greek gods (human characteristics, capricious), the Babylonian god (evil and good), or the Jewish God?
I do not believe that there is a God, or many gods.
What experiences have shaped this conclusion for you?
My personal life has certainly been blessed, yet I still do not believe that there is a god. Examining history, current affairs in life, and the disparity pervasive throughout society clearly illustrate to me the absence of a god/gods. There is a small population of people living in relative extravagance to the rest of the world. The majority of the people in this world live poor, struggling to make a living and support their families. Last year a representative of an NGO said on CNN that over 10,000 children die every week due to a lack of access to clean drinkable water. Yet the people around me and myself have so much water that we can shower everyday and never worry for thirst. In the US billions of tons of edible food are thrown out every year. So much corn is produced in the US that they can afford to waste plenty on wild experiments and still have a surplus. Third world countries on the other hand are stricken by malnutrition.
Looking at history and the state of governments and politics also point to the absence of an omniscient and all powerful figure that is active in the world. Science has pointed out to us that our oldest ancestors came from Africa. For most of known history caucasians from Europe have been in a position of unparalleled power, exploiting the rest of the world. Europeans have colonized the entire world, cruelly taking over countries. They've tried to make natives lose their own cultures through breeding and schooling (Canadian residential schoolings, attempts to make all people into white people) and conditioning them to believe that their colonizers are truly superior. Some have argued that this has brought much modern development and improvements for the world that outweigh the ugly aspects of colonialism. Yet take a look at what this really brought. It created capitalistic societies dependent on the Western markets and cultures. People now are controlled by impulses, victims to decades of conditioning by advertising and media pumped out on a daily basis. The rich and poor divide keeps on getting bigger, families lose importance, and we lose valuable culture and knowledge that are not passed on as the children move further away from the elderly and favor what they see in the media.
On a large scale we see people exploiting and abusing each other without apparent consequences.
People keep on hurting each other and it seems to me that there's noone looking out for us.
We are the only ones here, and our decisions are what matter.
Write your own Shema. (3 or 4 sentences about who God is to you and your relationship with that God. Be prepared to discuss this in the next class.)
God does not exist. Do not look elsewhere but inside yourself for answers. Study yourselves and our history with rationality.
Reflection 3
The meditation we did together in class was difficult for me. Even at home in a less distracting atmosphere, I lose focus whilst meditating, and being in a class with people I knew made the meditation difficult. What helped me the most during meditations was relaxing and allowing myself to focus on me. At times instead of passively listening to the sounds around me I allowed myself to get distracted. This taught me that I wasn't in a stable, ready state at that time, or else I would have been able to focus.
Through its website, I found out that Bongwonsa is over a 1000 years old. This is an amazing fact when one considers that the temple is located in a forested mountain and the awesome scale of the temple. The art reflected how Buddhism is lived out at Bongwonsa. Monks have had to continuously renovate and restore the temple's architecture, wall papering, paintings, and sculptures over one thousand years and they have kept this up, showing a great devotion to their religion. Also, Bongwonsa as a member of the Taego branch of Buddhism still performs many rituals such as the Lotus rituals.
This unit taught me the importance of self-reflection and meditation, and helped me better myself at concentrate in distracting situations.
Silent Night was performed at a hotel dinner that our tour group attended as our Christmas day event. The majority of the song and dance performances were traditional song and dance from Rajasthan and gypsies, but a few Western carols were done in addition for our sake. Silent Night was a carol composed in 1818 in a small town called Oberndorf bei Salzburg, Austria. It was written by a young priest named Joseph Mohr who had come to the town in 1817. The lyrics to the song were already written by the time he arrived at Oberndorf. Father Mohr wrote the song in 1816 in Mariapfarr, the hometown of his father where he had worked in the church.Father Mohr actually grew up without his father, who abandoned his family before Mohr was born. By 1815 Mohr had been ordained a priest ( he needed the Pope's special permission for this as he was an illegitimate child) and was sent to Oberndorf for two years in 1817.
The song itself is about the night Jesus was born and how the angels announced his birth to the shepherds on a hillside. This is a part of the Christmas story that was actually in the Christian scriptures. In this carol he is called child, holy infant, Christ, the Saviour, Son of God, Jesus, and Lord. The carol is celebrating his birth, and Jesus is appreciated for what he is from birth in the carol. His birth is what is "given" to the people as he is the long-awaited Messiah.
What is your idea of God? Is there a God? One or many? Are they like the Greek gods (human characteristics, capricious), the Babylonian god (evil and good), or the Jewish God?
I do not believe that there is a God, or many gods.
What experiences have shaped this conclusion for you?
My personal life has certainly been blessed, yet I still do not believe that there is a god. Examining history, current affairs in life, and the disparity pervasive throughout society clearly illustrate to me the absence of a god/gods. There is a small population of people living in relative extravagance to the rest of the world. The majority of the people in this world live poor, struggling to make a living and support their families. Last year a representative of an NGO said on CNN that over 10,000 children die every week due to a lack of access to clean drinkable water. Yet the people around me and myself have so much water that we can shower everyday and never worry for thirst. In the US billions of tons of edible food are thrown out every year. So much corn is produced in the US that they can afford to waste plenty on wild experiments and still have a surplus. Third world countries on the other hand are stricken by malnutrition.
Looking at history and the state of governments and politics also point to the absence of an omniscient and all powerful figure that is active in the world. Science has pointed out to us that our oldest ancestors came from Africa. For most of known history caucasians from Europe have been in a position of unparalleled power, exploiting the rest of the world. Europeans have colonized the entire world, cruelly taking over countries. They've tried to make natives lose their own cultures through breeding and schooling (Canadian residential schoolings, attempts to make all people into white people) and conditioning them to believe that their colonizers are truly superior. Some have argued that this has brought much modern development and improvements for the world that outweigh the ugly aspects of colonialism. Yet take a look at what this really brought. It created capitalistic societies dependent on the Western markets and cultures. People now are controlled by impulses, victims to decades of conditioning by advertising and media pumped out on a daily basis. The rich and poor divide keeps on getting bigger, families lose importance, and we lose valuable culture and knowledge that are not passed on as the children move further away from the elderly and favor what they see in the media.
On a large scale we see people exploiting and abusing each other without apparent consequences.
People keep on hurting each other and it seems to me that there's noone looking out for us.
We are the only ones here, and our decisions are what matter.
Write your own Shema. (3 or 4 sentences about who God is to you and your relationship with that God. Be prepared to discuss this in the next class.)
God does not exist. Do not look elsewhere but inside yourself for answers. Study yourselves and our history with rationality.
Reflection 3
The meditation we did together in class was difficult for me. Even at home in a less distracting atmosphere, I lose focus whilst meditating, and being in a class with people I knew made the meditation difficult. What helped me the most during meditations was relaxing and allowing myself to focus on me. At times instead of passively listening to the sounds around me I allowed myself to get distracted. This taught me that I wasn't in a stable, ready state at that time, or else I would have been able to focus.
Through its website, I found out that Bongwonsa is over a 1000 years old. This is an amazing fact when one considers that the temple is located in a forested mountain and the awesome scale of the temple. The art reflected how Buddhism is lived out at Bongwonsa. Monks have had to continuously renovate and restore the temple's architecture, wall papering, paintings, and sculptures over one thousand years and they have kept this up, showing a great devotion to their religion. Also, Bongwonsa as a member of the Taego branch of Buddhism still performs many rituals such as the Lotus rituals.
This unit taught me the importance of self-reflection and meditation, and helped me better myself at concentrate in distracting situations.
Made out of stone
Made to protect
- Those no longer living in peace
- Now in death
By day and night
Hot and cold
They shelter the fragile souls
Nestled underneath
The sun recognizes their noble deed
By embracing them in light
For they can be seen
On hilltops day and night
Hot and cold
They shelter the fragile souls
Nestled underneath
The sun recognizes their noble deed
By embracing them in light
For they can be seen
On hilltops day and night
great work andrew
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteGood connection with the stones protecting the dead and "embracing them in light". A funeral ritual and the need for someone/thing to bring us into the next life. Is there that hope in this ritual? Is there an after life?
Hinduism in Action reflection? Email me when it's done. Thank-you.
ReplyDeleteAndrew,
ReplyDeleteI appreciated your engagement while at Bongwonsa and the questions/answers you came up with. Did this trip give you any insight into the practice of Buddhism in your life/your family's life? Good insight into the importance of self-reflection.
Andrew,
ReplyDeleteYou have created an extensive list of reasons that there would not be a God who cares about this world. And I would agree with you that there is much evil in this place. Where is God in the midst of these sufferings? But then your final sentence says "Do not look elsewhere, look inside yourself for answers". How could humans do that if we are also the creators of that evil? I mean, how could we really give answers that wouldn't be self-serving if history has taught us that is all we are and do? Don't your reasons suggest a GREATER need for God?
I appreciate your comments and completion of the assignment.