George Dornbach

~~~ OH HOLY NIGHT ~~~

On December 24th, or Christmas Eve, my dad's side of the family all goes to a Christmas Eve mass at Christ the King Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It's one time in the year when we're all together as a family at church. The song I chose to look at was Oh Holy Night. I knew all of the songs that were sung, so I chose this one, it's one of my favorites. The song was written in 1847 by Adolphe Adam but it was originally adapted from the french poem, "Minuit, chrétiens" or "Midnight, Christians" in english. The beginning of the song talks about Jesus's birth and the wise men and shepherds coming to him. It's celebrating that birth of Jesus, and what he'd later teach us here on earth. The song kind of matches with the scripture from Luke Chapter 2. It's not a direct correlation, but it's still referencing the wise men and the Birth of Jesus. 
In the carol Jesus is portrayed as a king, the son of God, Christ the Lord, and our dear savior. Jesus is said to teach us how to love one another, bringing grace and peace to all. In the song it says...

Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we, His power and glory evermore proclaim!

I never would have looked into the true background of the song if I hadn't had to research it! Happy New Years! 

MY SHEMA

My idea of God

I believe that there is one, true God, and that he has a personal relationship with me. He know's more about me than anyone else does. He's forgiving, and someone who has the ability to save me from my sins. I guess if I had to pinpoint him to a certain part of religious history, I'd associate him with the Jewish god. I'm Catholic, and Christianity found its roots in Judaism. I don't actually have a clear view of what God looks like. Jesus has been shaped into my mind, long dark hair, and tanned skin. But I haven't really depicted God. Maybe older with a while beard:) 

Experiences 

Prayer has been my main experience. It always seems to help. Not that my prayers are always specifically answered, but something good always comes from me trusting and confiding in God. As for his image, I've been going to church since I was a little baby, as well as attending a Catholic school from K-4th grade. I've had these images shown to me as who God and Jesus are. 

Remember/Revere/Fear

I remember God in many different ways. Going to church for starters, is a big one. It's a time every week to give thanks and have an uninterrupted hour between me and him. Baptism is another. I was baptized before I really had a choice, but I'm glad I was. First reconciliation, First communion, as well as confirmation are other things I've done to remember God. Prayer, Easter sunday mass, and Christmas mass are also things I do. 

Shema

There is one true God, and he has a personal relationship with each and every one of us. He's forgiving,  loving, faithful, and someone who is always there. Whether we sin and choose to disobey, or follow Gods words, He'll always be there for us. 

What made the meditation difficult? What helped you during the meditation? What is something new you learned about yourself, the world, or Buddhism? How is Buddhism lived out at Bongwonsa?

From these two paragraphs you should share at least 1 new insight you learned about Buddhism and 1 new insight you learned about yourself.

"Meditation is the dissolution of thoughts in Eternal awareness or Pure consciousness without objectification, knowing without thinking, merging finitude in infinity. "

              -Voltair

We just finished spending last few class periods studying about Buddhism. In once class all we did was meditate! Never again do I think that any teacher well let me do that again:) Meditating isn't really something that I take on or do personally in my day to day life. If you count prayer as meditation, well then I guess I do in some way. Although very similar in my mind, I think that prayer and meditation are somewhat different. With mediation, you're really trying to clear your mind. It's more of a chance to get in touch with your body, your soul. With prayer, in my religion at least, it is about getting in touch with yourself, but you're also sharing something, sharing yourself with God. It was hard to focus sometimes due to the noise, but focusing on one specific thing helped me out. So I guess there's a little bit different take on the two. 

Going back to the top, I thought this quote that I found was really neat. It's a complex quote, I had to read it a few times to get it all in my head, but there's so much to take out of it. All that is said is so true as well. Knowing without thinking. I love that line. When we had the chance to meditate, I found myself just getting really quiet inside. The first note that I jotted down was that the silence lets me think. There was noise around me whether it was kids screaming, a bird, or something of the sort, I was silent. My thoughts became clearer. 

That Wednesday we meditated was probably the busiest day I've had since I've been here at SFS. I had a couple of tests, a big assembly I took part in, a cross country meet, and a then a big project due the next day. #firstworldproblems, but nevertheless it was a busy day. What I'm trying to get at though is the fact that there is SO much going on around us. It was such and unexpected and pleasant surprise to just have an hour or so to be silent, to clear my mind. Even though I wasn't always maybe focused on the topics that we were supposed to be focused on, I was focusing on the inside rather than the out. And hey, the assembly went great, and I ran a great race that day, maybe I should meditate more often!

During our last class period, we hiked up the mountain a bit to the Buddhist Temple. It's such a cool place up there. I've been to the temple many times before, just being that it's so close makes it a desirable running/walking location. But this time I really took into mind the thoughts of Wu Wei, and Buddhism, about things happening in natural order and the thoughts of tranquility. Enjoying everything that was around me, the rock piles that someone had taken the time to put together, walking though the 3,000 Buddha Room, looking at it all, there was so much to think about. I never knew that those paintings told a story, but now I do! One thing that i saw that resembled Buddhism at the temple was an elderly lady, hunched over, but still walking around. It's a literal "life is suffering" in action. It adds a whole new dimension to my look on Buddhism as a whole. 

 :) 

All in all this experience was a really cool one. Not just cool, but also very meaningful. 

Thanks Ms. James. :)

Hinduism Response 9/28/12

.....So I basically finished my whole response in class, then I came back to check on it a day later and it's gone. Not happy, but I shall start again....

“A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people.” We've just finished a unit on Hinduism. Last year, I took and AP World History course and we covered Hinduism extensively and in great detail. I knew quite a bit coming into this unit, but I was pleasantly surprised at how much I learned, especially about Gandhi. The quote above is a quote from Gandhi himself. His whole idea behind coming back to India after all of those years was to "rediscover" it. To see the state India was in. There was a lot he had yet to see and learn about, but what he did take away was that India wanted it's independence that the Indian people in their hearts and souls didn't want to give into the British as easily as they did, they just didn't have anyone to stand up and take the lead.

“A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.” This is another one of Gandhi's quotes, and I believe he was referring to Jesus. Not that he was trying to compare himself to Jesus, but this also applies to Gandhi. He literally "offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world." This also is a perfect example of Hinduism at work. In the movie, there was a reference to when Gandhi was a child and how the leader at his place of worship would preach from the Muslim Quran as well as from the Hindu Vedas. It shows that Hindu's are more focused on the whole, that each piece plays a part. Not just one.

One cool thing we did during this unit was to have a class of Yoga! Cool stuff I must say. I have done yoga before, but never have I done it with the ideas of Hinduism and its influence on yoga being said to me and being processed in my mind at the same time. I can remember that was pretty tired that class(didn't get too much sleep the night before) but getting "in-touch" with my "atman" just hearing the silence, it was a great moment. So many times, especially as high school students we have no time to just be in silence with ourselves, but to have to opportunity to do that in this class, to learn more about Hinduism, to think -- uninterrupted -- even if it was just for a few moments, was very special. 

Spiritual Poem 

Totem Poles 

(***Please play while reading***) 

Totem pole, totem pole stand so tall

Big eagle look down on me

Keep me safe and warm

Guide me as I paddle

Down the rushing river

Help me catch the big fish

To feed my growing tribe

When the night fall comes

Keep the wolves away

When the great winds blow

Help my teepees stay

Totem Pole, Totem Pole please I pray

Colors bright, powers might

We will follow and obey!