I went online yesterday with WC2008 and downloaded the ghosts:
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas 1
Both ghosts give 13000 or more DP which is very useful!!!
Wednesday, December 26, 2007
Christmas Day
Yesterday was Christmas and I was so busy yesterday that I couldn't type in my blog. First off, my family went to Thunder Valley casino. It was so smokey in the part where I entered that I almost died of not breathing, lol. Then we got to the area where the restauraunts were and we got to a Chinese restaraunt where everyone inside was Chinese! The food was a little expensive but we got it for free because of my uncle. Uncle Jack had $1000 credit at the restauraunt. Well the food was super good. First it was chicken feet with some spicy sauce on it with extra bell peppers. Oh man, that was good! Then there was ordinary looking fried rice, but it wasn't ordinary. It had a delicious seafood taste to it. I don't know what it was because there was no fish in it but it was good! OOOO OOOO there was also chow mein, China style with some cool flavoring... IT WAS GOOD! Everything was good except the won ton soup had like no won ton in it. It was mostly noodles and beef. But what surprised me the most was the boxes they give you to take out food. It was in these plastic containers that you usually might see at Wal-Mart selling for $2 each.
Afterwards, I went to my Uncle's house in Thuder Valley. I played some Guitar Hero III on their Wii and some Wii sports. I should've brought Mario Galaxy so I could play, lol. Anyways Brandon and Gavin are becoming taller now. So is Stacy. Cousin Silas might be moving to Sacramento so I might not have a place to stay when I am in San Jose now... but if I go anywhere else I might have a chance living with cousins :).
Well we traveled back home and got a call from Sam. He said that my mom left her purse at my Uncle's house. So once we got back home we traveled to Sam's house in Sacramento and got my mom's purse... Why would you leave a purse with everything in it somewhere? What if it was at Chuckee Cheese's?! Anyways I was so tired yet a few moments after I fell asleep we arrived at my grandparent's house to have Christmas dinner. Bwah I was so tired from everything...
When my other cousins came over we opened presents. From grandma and grandpa I got $50, a new shirt with a NICE design and a new jacket with a cool design and it so WARM that I am wearing it right now!!! hahaha... From my cousins, I got a gift card for gasoline, which is very USEFUL!!! Then from my uncle and auntie I got a new Quicksilver Sweatshirt and some money.
From the other side of the family, I got a sudoku book to keep me away from the many times of boredom. Some money from my aunt and uncle. Uncle Jack treated the whole family out to lunch which I think cost about $400 and we got like 5 boxes of leftover. Oh, did I mention that the tea had a rich taste to it??? But where was the coffee?!!! Sam got Andrew and I a gift card to Chili's. My Uncle who lives right next door, got me a $25 target gift card.
So I got 3 $25 target gift cards and I play the spell card polymerization to fuse all three to create the ultimate $75 target eyes dragon!!! LOL...
Christmas was dinner was also good. Grandma's home cooking always beats any food that I eat from a fancy place. Grandma's cooking would get 10 out of 5 stars from me because I like it better and it costs more. Also Grandpa made some good mochi ice cream which was real good.
Christmas good this year, I especially like my gift: the giant pikachu thing. It is a good use of a pillow, lol.
Afterwards, I went to my Uncle's house in Thuder Valley. I played some Guitar Hero III on their Wii and some Wii sports. I should've brought Mario Galaxy so I could play, lol. Anyways Brandon and Gavin are becoming taller now. So is Stacy. Cousin Silas might be moving to Sacramento so I might not have a place to stay when I am in San Jose now... but if I go anywhere else I might have a chance living with cousins :).
Well we traveled back home and got a call from Sam. He said that my mom left her purse at my Uncle's house. So once we got back home we traveled to Sam's house in Sacramento and got my mom's purse... Why would you leave a purse with everything in it somewhere? What if it was at Chuckee Cheese's?! Anyways I was so tired yet a few moments after I fell asleep we arrived at my grandparent's house to have Christmas dinner. Bwah I was so tired from everything...
When my other cousins came over we opened presents. From grandma and grandpa I got $50, a new shirt with a NICE design and a new jacket with a cool design and it so WARM that I am wearing it right now!!! hahaha... From my cousins, I got a gift card for gasoline, which is very USEFUL!!! Then from my uncle and auntie I got a new Quicksilver Sweatshirt and some money.
From the other side of the family, I got a sudoku book to keep me away from the many times of boredom. Some money from my aunt and uncle. Uncle Jack treated the whole family out to lunch which I think cost about $400 and we got like 5 boxes of leftover. Oh, did I mention that the tea had a rich taste to it??? But where was the coffee?!!! Sam got Andrew and I a gift card to Chili's. My Uncle who lives right next door, got me a $25 target gift card.
So I got 3 $25 target gift cards and I play the spell card polymerization to fuse all three to create the ultimate $75 target eyes dragon!!! LOL...
Christmas was dinner was also good. Grandma's home cooking always beats any food that I eat from a fancy place. Grandma's cooking would get 10 out of 5 stars from me because I like it better and it costs more. Also Grandpa made some good mochi ice cream which was real good.
Christmas good this year, I especially like my gift: the giant pikachu thing. It is a good use of a pillow, lol.
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas Morning
Well I'm the only one that is up and on the internet this morning. I have to get ready though because in like 2 hours I have to go to Thunder Valley Casino for dim sum with family. I might bring my PSP to play Naruto or Guilty Gear because I might get bored in a casino because I don't want to gamble.
I hope they have an arcade or something for younger kids. Or maybe I might play 2 rounds of round table poker.
I hope they have an arcade or something for younger kids. Or maybe I might play 2 rounds of round table poker.
Monday, December 24, 2007
Christmas Eve
Well Christmas Eve was the day when my parents were working and I was home watching over my brother. Basically he played video games the whold day. So muchos boring!
I watched the Rick Warren Christmas Special again this year and it was good.
I have a bunch of merry xmas' already and a bunch of merry christmas' from my friends off internet profiles and such but this year I received less Christmas greeting cards...
I watched the Rick Warren Christmas Special again this year and it was good.
I have a bunch of merry xmas' already and a bunch of merry christmas' from my friends off internet profiles and such but this year I received less Christmas greeting cards...
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Today's Today
Interesting title?
Well today I dressed up for Sunday service because I was supposed to help the children sing at church today. (=_=) I was the only one that dressed up...
Well we had 8 people helping today and 2 of us were in college, the rest were in highschool. Did you do the math for highschool? The answer is 6. If you got the wrong answer then you probably should read a first grade math book. The children's program was 30 minutes long and I missed service today so I have to download the podcast of iTunes later. I was in the nursery with Marisa (Eric and Kathy's daughter). With some people from old school (LIFE). Josh was here today but I couldn't chat that long because Norman wanted to give me my apple soda gift and Becky wanted me to get Zachary so I can get a gift from him.
Then in the afternoon I fell asleep after playing Guilty Gear Judgement on my PSP, which is a really addicting game when you already know the buttons. Then I woke up when cousin Christian, Candice and Zach came over (The Gin Family).
Then the last thing I did before eating milk and cookies and going to write this blog for today was I played Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii. I am almost farther than my brother in the game even though my brother started yesterday and played longer than me.
Well today I dressed up for Sunday service because I was supposed to help the children sing at church today. (=_=) I was the only one that dressed up...
Well we had 8 people helping today and 2 of us were in college, the rest were in highschool. Did you do the math for highschool? The answer is 6. If you got the wrong answer then you probably should read a first grade math book. The children's program was 30 minutes long and I missed service today so I have to download the podcast of iTunes later. I was in the nursery with Marisa (Eric and Kathy's daughter). With some people from old school (LIFE). Josh was here today but I couldn't chat that long because Norman wanted to give me my apple soda gift and Becky wanted me to get Zachary so I can get a gift from him.
Then in the afternoon I fell asleep after playing Guilty Gear Judgement on my PSP, which is a really addicting game when you already know the buttons. Then I woke up when cousin Christian, Candice and Zach came over (The Gin Family).
Then the last thing I did before eating milk and cookies and going to write this blog for today was I played Super Mario Galaxy for the Nintendo Wii. I am almost farther than my brother in the game even though my brother started yesterday and played longer than me.
Fronteir DSL
Fronteir DSL service is horrible. At first it was okay. It was just like having cable internet, but then when I was watching Get Backers on Youtube, my internet got really slow. Then we tried to cancel it but it took forever to do so. Stupid Fronteir DSL, I never trusted it. I always told my parents to just keep comcast. Comcast is COOL!
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Flash Boredom
Flash Homepage
Check it out. I was making this during my free time and this is what I made in a half hour.
Check it out. I was making this during my free time and this is what I made in a half hour.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Brother's Fault
Its my brother's fault that he can't ride his bike to school on a minumum day. Dang these kids these days are hecka lazy. Before I had my license, I always rode my bike to school when it was rain or shine. Now I can't go to Davis and eat sushi. Bummer...
Philosophy Journals
Well I'm done with finals now. I turned in the philosophy journals that I posted below. It all is 50 pages including extra journals that I did.
Journal 1 to 6
Journal 1
Today was the first day of my philosophy class. We discussed the term philosophy because to start a class off, each person must know what philosophy is. Each student in the class was able to say a word relating to philosophy and give an explanation about the relations. Some of the words that were mentioned: religion, scripture, and especially the term known as “Zen”. From religion there were links between many religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism and so on. The word, scripture established a link to the passages for the different religions. As each student received a chance to speak about their mentioned words, our professor talked about the real meaning of the course of philosophy and how it has influenced others.
I think the first lecture was good today because the teacher and students are allowed to participate a lot more than any other class. Most classes have the students sit in class and take notes, quizzes and then tests. Most of the time, participating can be done only to answer a question or read a passage from the reading. In Dr. Schubert’s class, students answer multiple questions and participate in the discussion which I think is good. Also the teacher can turn a simple question into a question that is hard to answer. This class really makes me think in class.
From Dr. Schubert’s lecture I received his definition of philosophy. His definition according to my notes was: of that discipline concerned with formulating, understanding, and answering fundamental questions through the use of reason. Fundamental question examples that were used in our discussion were:
1) What is the ultimate nature of reality?
2) What is it to reason well?
3) What is it to a person to be a good person?
Today we focused on religion, which is our shared values, our beliefs, our way of life, our deities and our spirituality. These were the main terms for religion picked out by the class discussion.
What I thought of today’s lecture: Well it was continuing the lecture from the previous lecture. I learned a lot more of what the class was. At first I signed up for the class because it sounded really interesting and the class is very interesting. I can’t wait to learn about more in Eastern Philosophy.
Journal 2
Today, we have discussed the differences between Western and Eastern philosophy. There are two different categories of philosophy classes at Los Rios Colleges. A person has the choice to choose the side of Western philosophy or Eastern philosophy. Western teaches about the religions in the United States. Eastern philosophy is my current course right now and it seems very interesting because it talks about the religions in the Eastern part of the world such as places in Asia.
The Eastern are elitist, practical and are based on experience. The Western are egalitarian, theoretical and are based on reason.
If the terms “elitist” and “egalitarian” are unclear, I shall provide their definitions according to Harper Collins Webster’s Dictionary.
A) Elitist- the pick or best part of society
B) Egalitarian- a person that believes that all people should be equal and to promote the idea
From the lecture today, I got to have a chance to know more about Western Philosophy which is another course taught by Schubert at Consumnes River College (CRC). The thoughts of the religions on the East and West are different. Western philosophy seems really interesting. I might want to take that course as well when I have time.
Hinduism is the religion that is generic for Indian philosophy. The oldest text of Hinduism includes the Vedas. In these texts contain great knowledge. The Vedas have three different parts just like in Christianity where God is split into three different forms. These forms in Christianity are known as the Holy Father, the Holy Spirit and the Almighty God. The Vedas has three forms known as the Samhita, Brahmana and the Sutra. First I would like to say a few words about these forms about what the names mean. These are Vedic divisions.
Brahma Samhita
It is a Sanskrit Pancarata. It is comprised with verses of prayer spoken by Brahma to Krishna at the beginning of creation. So the main word would be “beginning”.
Brahmana
The Brahmanas explain the Vedic rituals and Vedanta. Vedanta is a school of philosophy within Hinduism dealing within the nature of reality. It also talks about departure.
Sutra
It was a rule that held the two schools of Hindu philosophy together. Sutra refers to scripture and records.
Terms or notes from class discussion today:
The rishis or seers were the communicators of the divine.
The shruti were given authority.
Journal 3
The Upanishads has a thing called Trimurti. Trimurti means “three forms”. So what are these three forms of the Upanishads? (This is basically a re-cap of journal 4) The three forms are Brahma who creates, Shiva who destroys and Vishna who maintains everything.
Monotheism/Henotheism: It is the devotion to a single God while accepting that there exists other gods.
Polytheism: It is the belief and worship of multiple deities. The Greeks used polytheism because they believed in many gods and goddesses.
Through my visit to China, I went to a temple where there were different statues that people worshipped. They were different types of gods and spirits.
(Check out the Main Temple of Dali, China where chickens are sacrificed every week)
Brahman is the one god, divine of all reality, who is pervading the universe. He is involved in creation of the gods and unification of gods. Brahma stops being a human and he becomes a force.
My Question: Brahma becomes a force. What does that mean?
Read Page 68 of the Upanishads in discussion for more information…
Brahman is…
a) world ground
b) the creator and inner controller of all things
c) unitary (union of opposites)
d) omnipresent (everywhere)
e) the essence (“finest” part of everything)
f) the supreme personal good
g) the Self (consciousness)
h) non-dually self aware EXAMPLE: watching yourself in the past like a movie
i) beyond the power of ordinary discursive thought
j) transcendent of nama-rupa “Name and Form”
k) mystically discoverable
Page 76 of the Upanishads says Atman is Brahman.
Page 77 in paragraph two, Prajapati says “That which is seen in the eye, which is the Self. That is immortal, that is fearless, and that is Brahman.”
Class Notes:
____ has characteristics x, y, z by definition.
-------- lacks characteristics x
_____
: . --- is not _____.
This is one diagram of a basic philosophical argument. In Schubert’s class, we use a lot of philosophical arguments.
Material vs. Immaterial
Reality is depended on substance. Those who are materialistic think of their bodies. For example, people like to buy objects such as television sets and materialistic objects that aren’t needed. Those who are immaterial think of their soul which is also known as their mind. The body is known as a gross manifestation.
Notes:
The Self (notice how Self is uppercased) is more subtle than the body. The Self is also known as your consciousness.
The self (this time it is lowercased) is attached to the body.
In historical times, analogical argumentation was used.
There were two different types of these arguments: two valued logic and multi-valued logic. This is also known as our modern world way of saying “true or false”.
What is Advaita Vedanta? Let’s split it up, shall we? “Ad” means non and “vaita” means dual. So it would mean Non-dual Vedanta.
Illusions are neither real nor unreal.
Ignorance is surely an illusion.
Maya means illusion.
Maya is the phenomenal world, the world of ordinary experience.
Brahma isn’t material stuff.
Brahma isn’t individual existence.
Brahma isn’t Earth.
Journal 4
Vedanta means ending or conclusion of knowledge. “Veda” means knowledge and “Anta” means end or conclusion. Vedanta was similarly referred to the Upanishads. The book we have currently in class is a translated version of the Upanishads.
A simple question: What exactly are the Upanishads?
They are part of the Hindu Scriptures. They discuss philosophy, meditation and the nature of God. Again they are referred as the Vedanta for their mystical and spiritual contemplations of the Vedas.
Quick reflection:
There are scriptures for many religions which include philosophy and meditation. Are these two comparisons alike in any way?
From Class Discussion Notes:
Axioms are the belief or principle accepted without justification and is seen in no need of justification. Some examples of axioms included in the class discussion were:
1) The eternal, unchanging and unitary is more real than the transient, changing and multiplications.
Ex: Real romantic love is unchanging, but professing to someone else is changing
2) The universe is fundamentally fair. This includes suffering.
3) The suffering that’s part of the ordinary human condition is escapable.
To me, the lecture today didn’t make any sense until Schubert gave examples of what axioms were.
Journal 5
In class discussion, we learned about karma. Karma is a Sanskrit that exists in the world today. It is an action or deed based on the things you do. Each action has an external consequence. When reincarnation happens the body dies but the soul attaches to something else. In other words an old man that has lived a really long prosperous life could have gone through a lot of pain and sorrow. He may all of a sudden come to death and reincarnate into a little boy who is one of the richest people on Earth.
Media notices:
Sometimes in media, there are uses of reincarnation in the wrong way. Such as the way they use it in cartoons. Sometimes on Halloween specials an evil spirit will die and transfer to someone’s body and possess them. In religious beliefs, this cannot happen.
A question that I must ask would be, if a person reincarnates back into a human being do they have to go through everything they ever went through all over again?
From the class discussion meeting, Dr. Schubert mentioned it all depends on the balance of karma. The karma must be balanced.
Skandha – group, heap, aggravate: psychological aggravate
The 5 Skandhas
1) Corporeality
2) Sensation
3) Perception
4) Volitimal Formations
5) Consciousness
The Skandhas exist in the Upadana, Trishna, Buddhas and the Arhats.
The Abhidarma Kosha has four kinds of attachments. These attachments are sense, views, rites and rules, and individuality. Trishna causes this attachment.
Journal 6
We read excerpts from “The Sermon of Benures” today. We also read questions that are not tending towards edification in the teachings of the compassionate Buddha.
Terms:
Du (Bad) Kkha (Empty, hollow)
Anitya/annica: impermanence
I didn’t even know what impermanence was until I looked it up in the dictionary. Permanence means fixedness. (Ex from dictionary: The boy has fixed his hair) So impermanence means not fixedness.
Everything in the phenomenal world is “conditioned”.
There are five groups of Dukkha, these are called the skandhas. These skandhas are corporeality, sensation, perception, volitional formations and consciousness.
Notes: Sanskrit is an Indo-European language
Proto à Indo-European
Indo-European à Latin
à Sanskrit
à German à English
From Indo-European language a lot of languages originated from it.
Parts of an item do not make up a self, if you can accept the self does not exist than suffering will end. What is meant by this? An example would be if I bought a can of chicken noodle soup. Would I have to pay for every ingredient in that soup or just the soup can? In the can there may be over a hundred ingredients with a price for each one of them. No like the first sentence says the self is not made up by the parts of the body. It is a hard answer to answer when saying of what it is made up of. The self which is the body is made up of the soul and the body parts. Like the example used in class, the teacher used the example of the exchange of old car parts. The old car parts that were exchanged were not described as the car. A good example of this would be a commercial on television where one lady buys this new healthy microwavable product and it has so many ingredients in it. The cashier rings up the item and it turns out to be over a hundred dollars.
Today was the first day of my philosophy class. We discussed the term philosophy because to start a class off, each person must know what philosophy is. Each student in the class was able to say a word relating to philosophy and give an explanation about the relations. Some of the words that were mentioned: religion, scripture, and especially the term known as “Zen”. From religion there were links between many religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Hinduism and so on. The word, scripture established a link to the passages for the different religions. As each student received a chance to speak about their mentioned words, our professor talked about the real meaning of the course of philosophy and how it has influenced others.
I think the first lecture was good today because the teacher and students are allowed to participate a lot more than any other class. Most classes have the students sit in class and take notes, quizzes and then tests. Most of the time, participating can be done only to answer a question or read a passage from the reading. In Dr. Schubert’s class, students answer multiple questions and participate in the discussion which I think is good. Also the teacher can turn a simple question into a question that is hard to answer. This class really makes me think in class.
From Dr. Schubert’s lecture I received his definition of philosophy. His definition according to my notes was: of that discipline concerned with formulating, understanding, and answering fundamental questions through the use of reason. Fundamental question examples that were used in our discussion were:
1) What is the ultimate nature of reality?
2) What is it to reason well?
3) What is it to a person to be a good person?
Today we focused on religion, which is our shared values, our beliefs, our way of life, our deities and our spirituality. These were the main terms for religion picked out by the class discussion.
What I thought of today’s lecture: Well it was continuing the lecture from the previous lecture. I learned a lot more of what the class was. At first I signed up for the class because it sounded really interesting and the class is very interesting. I can’t wait to learn about more in Eastern Philosophy.
Journal 2
Today, we have discussed the differences between Western and Eastern philosophy. There are two different categories of philosophy classes at Los Rios Colleges. A person has the choice to choose the side of Western philosophy or Eastern philosophy. Western teaches about the religions in the United States. Eastern philosophy is my current course right now and it seems very interesting because it talks about the religions in the Eastern part of the world such as places in Asia.
The Eastern are elitist, practical and are based on experience. The Western are egalitarian, theoretical and are based on reason.
If the terms “elitist” and “egalitarian” are unclear, I shall provide their definitions according to Harper Collins Webster’s Dictionary.
A) Elitist- the pick or best part of society
B) Egalitarian- a person that believes that all people should be equal and to promote the idea
From the lecture today, I got to have a chance to know more about Western Philosophy which is another course taught by Schubert at Consumnes River College (CRC). The thoughts of the religions on the East and West are different. Western philosophy seems really interesting. I might want to take that course as well when I have time.
Hinduism is the religion that is generic for Indian philosophy. The oldest text of Hinduism includes the Vedas. In these texts contain great knowledge. The Vedas have three different parts just like in Christianity where God is split into three different forms. These forms in Christianity are known as the Holy Father, the Holy Spirit and the Almighty God. The Vedas has three forms known as the Samhita, Brahmana and the Sutra. First I would like to say a few words about these forms about what the names mean. These are Vedic divisions.
Brahma Samhita
It is a Sanskrit Pancarata. It is comprised with verses of prayer spoken by Brahma to Krishna at the beginning of creation. So the main word would be “beginning”.
Brahmana
The Brahmanas explain the Vedic rituals and Vedanta. Vedanta is a school of philosophy within Hinduism dealing within the nature of reality. It also talks about departure.
Sutra
It was a rule that held the two schools of Hindu philosophy together. Sutra refers to scripture and records.
Terms or notes from class discussion today:
The rishis or seers were the communicators of the divine.
The shruti were given authority.
Journal 3
The Upanishads has a thing called Trimurti. Trimurti means “three forms”. So what are these three forms of the Upanishads? (This is basically a re-cap of journal 4) The three forms are Brahma who creates, Shiva who destroys and Vishna who maintains everything.
Monotheism/Henotheism: It is the devotion to a single God while accepting that there exists other gods.
Polytheism: It is the belief and worship of multiple deities. The Greeks used polytheism because they believed in many gods and goddesses.
Through my visit to China, I went to a temple where there were different statues that people worshipped. They were different types of gods and spirits.
(Check out the Main Temple of Dali, China where chickens are sacrificed every week)
Brahman is the one god, divine of all reality, who is pervading the universe. He is involved in creation of the gods and unification of gods. Brahma stops being a human and he becomes a force.
My Question: Brahma becomes a force. What does that mean?
Read Page 68 of the Upanishads in discussion for more information…
Brahman is…
a) world ground
b) the creator and inner controller of all things
c) unitary (union of opposites)
d) omnipresent (everywhere)
e) the essence (“finest” part of everything)
f) the supreme personal good
g) the Self (consciousness)
h) non-dually self aware EXAMPLE: watching yourself in the past like a movie
i) beyond the power of ordinary discursive thought
j) transcendent of nama-rupa “Name and Form”
k) mystically discoverable
Page 76 of the Upanishads says Atman is Brahman.
Page 77 in paragraph two, Prajapati says “That which is seen in the eye, which is the Self. That is immortal, that is fearless, and that is Brahman.”
Class Notes:
____ has characteristics x, y, z by definition.
-------- lacks characteristics x
_____
: . --- is not _____.
This is one diagram of a basic philosophical argument. In Schubert’s class, we use a lot of philosophical arguments.
Material vs. Immaterial
Reality is depended on substance. Those who are materialistic think of their bodies. For example, people like to buy objects such as television sets and materialistic objects that aren’t needed. Those who are immaterial think of their soul which is also known as their mind. The body is known as a gross manifestation.
Notes:
The Self (notice how Self is uppercased) is more subtle than the body. The Self is also known as your consciousness.
The self (this time it is lowercased) is attached to the body.
In historical times, analogical argumentation was used.
There were two different types of these arguments: two valued logic and multi-valued logic. This is also known as our modern world way of saying “true or false”.
What is Advaita Vedanta? Let’s split it up, shall we? “Ad” means non and “vaita” means dual. So it would mean Non-dual Vedanta.
Illusions are neither real nor unreal.
Ignorance is surely an illusion.
Maya means illusion.
Maya is the phenomenal world, the world of ordinary experience.
Brahma isn’t material stuff.
Brahma isn’t individual existence.
Brahma isn’t Earth.
Journal 4
Vedanta means ending or conclusion of knowledge. “Veda” means knowledge and “Anta” means end or conclusion. Vedanta was similarly referred to the Upanishads. The book we have currently in class is a translated version of the Upanishads.
A simple question: What exactly are the Upanishads?
They are part of the Hindu Scriptures. They discuss philosophy, meditation and the nature of God. Again they are referred as the Vedanta for their mystical and spiritual contemplations of the Vedas.
Quick reflection:
There are scriptures for many religions which include philosophy and meditation. Are these two comparisons alike in any way?
From Class Discussion Notes:
Axioms are the belief or principle accepted without justification and is seen in no need of justification. Some examples of axioms included in the class discussion were:
1) The eternal, unchanging and unitary is more real than the transient, changing and multiplications.
Ex: Real romantic love is unchanging, but professing to someone else is changing
2) The universe is fundamentally fair. This includes suffering.
3) The suffering that’s part of the ordinary human condition is escapable.
To me, the lecture today didn’t make any sense until Schubert gave examples of what axioms were.
Journal 5
In class discussion, we learned about karma. Karma is a Sanskrit that exists in the world today. It is an action or deed based on the things you do. Each action has an external consequence. When reincarnation happens the body dies but the soul attaches to something else. In other words an old man that has lived a really long prosperous life could have gone through a lot of pain and sorrow. He may all of a sudden come to death and reincarnate into a little boy who is one of the richest people on Earth.
Media notices:
Sometimes in media, there are uses of reincarnation in the wrong way. Such as the way they use it in cartoons. Sometimes on Halloween specials an evil spirit will die and transfer to someone’s body and possess them. In religious beliefs, this cannot happen.
A question that I must ask would be, if a person reincarnates back into a human being do they have to go through everything they ever went through all over again?
From the class discussion meeting, Dr. Schubert mentioned it all depends on the balance of karma. The karma must be balanced.
Skandha – group, heap, aggravate: psychological aggravate
The 5 Skandhas
1) Corporeality
2) Sensation
3) Perception
4) Volitimal Formations
5) Consciousness
The Skandhas exist in the Upadana, Trishna, Buddhas and the Arhats.
The Abhidarma Kosha has four kinds of attachments. These attachments are sense, views, rites and rules, and individuality. Trishna causes this attachment.
Journal 6
We read excerpts from “The Sermon of Benures” today. We also read questions that are not tending towards edification in the teachings of the compassionate Buddha.
Terms:
Du (Bad) Kkha (Empty, hollow)
Anitya/annica: impermanence
I didn’t even know what impermanence was until I looked it up in the dictionary. Permanence means fixedness. (Ex from dictionary: The boy has fixed his hair) So impermanence means not fixedness.
Everything in the phenomenal world is “conditioned”.
There are five groups of Dukkha, these are called the skandhas. These skandhas are corporeality, sensation, perception, volitional formations and consciousness.
Notes: Sanskrit is an Indo-European language
Proto à Indo-European
Indo-European à Latin
à Sanskrit
à German à English
From Indo-European language a lot of languages originated from it.
Parts of an item do not make up a self, if you can accept the self does not exist than suffering will end. What is meant by this? An example would be if I bought a can of chicken noodle soup. Would I have to pay for every ingredient in that soup or just the soup can? In the can there may be over a hundred ingredients with a price for each one of them. No like the first sentence says the self is not made up by the parts of the body. It is a hard answer to answer when saying of what it is made up of. The self which is the body is made up of the soul and the body parts. Like the example used in class, the teacher used the example of the exchange of old car parts. The old car parts that were exchanged were not described as the car. A good example of this would be a commercial on television where one lady buys this new healthy microwavable product and it has so many ingredients in it. The cashier rings up the item and it turns out to be over a hundred dollars.
Journal 7 to 10
Journal 7
The Mayana is the doctrine of Atman that implies to all arising dharma (phenomenon). The sunyta is emptiness. The Theravada means doctrine of the elders. Hinayama means lesser vehicle. Mahayana is the great vehicle, it says do not give up what is important to you, just don’t attach to other things.
What attracts people to Buddhism?
Buddhist doctrine is enlightened for anyone.
It offers moksha, which is the release of the soul.
My thoughts:
Buddhism is something that a lot of people become attracted to. I’ve noticed that some people who watch and enjoy a lot of Asian cultural things may sometimes revert from their religion to Buddhism. People who watch Japanese animation become interested in Japanese Buddhism for a reason. Japanese and Chinese culture has become popular in the United States.
Theravada accepts the doctrines of Antman. Mahayana extends the doctrine to everything. Mahayana is split up into schools. These schools are the Madhyamika which cannot conduct in metaphysical reality and their ultimate reality is empty.
Schools:
a) Yogacara – idealist school, independently unveiled
b) Nichirin – a school in Japan
c) Zen – mature product of Chinese Taoism
Buddha emphasizes compassion for enlightment. Bodhisattva puts off Buddha in order to assist others to obtain Nirvana. Bodhisattva does not enter Nirvana though. The doctrine of Parinamana is the transfer of merit, you get what you deserve.
Important!
j/ren – humanity
j/ren j/ren – person of j/ren
chun tzu – game
Journal 8
Confucius believes than the jen ren equals goodness. He also believes in benevolence. Confucius uses fu-li to follow the rituals of society. First, what is fu-li? In Schubert’s lecture, fu stands for discipline or submission of self and li stands for ritual. So fu-li means the path that trend to ____.
Through Hsun Tzu, social relations are developed.
a) ruler/minister
b) father/son
c) older brother/younger brother
d) husband/wife
e) friend/friend
Hsun Tzu’s social relations are also in the modern time today. We have friends; we have a father and a mother. People become married. Some have younger brothers or sisters. The father/son relationship can also be like teacher/student relationship.
In the excerpts from Mo Tzu, human nature has different people thinking if it is good or bad. Mencius thinks it starts out good and ends to be good. Hsun Tzu thinks the human nature is evil or bad. Kao Tzu thinks it is neutral. All of them are Confucians. Also all of them think people can become good.
Analogical Arguments are used in Mo Tzu. Analogical arguments have a structure.
X, Y: things
A, B: properties (features)
The structure:
X has A
Y has B
X has B
Then Y has B
Mo Tzu describes the nature of man and a willow tree has righteousness and can become wooden cups and wicker baskets. They are not originally good and they require outside influence.
Journal 9
For an introduction of the new section of lectures that we will be studying I want to introduce Tao which is pronounced (Dao) and Te which is pronounced (Day). Tao is the world and its reality in its totality. The Te is one’s particular appropriate relationship to the world. Tao Te can also mean “what is our relationship to the world?”
In class I received a handout that tells more about the symbol of Tao. The character for Tao is composed of several ideograms. The square with two horizontal dashes inside it represents a head with little tuffs of hair on top, the head of a leader. It is combined with the marks of feet running and stopping, which is now written in modernized script, and means “to advance.” Together they symbolize the higher mind, along with the feet, advancing on the same path.
Everyone has noticed the yin-yang symbol on martial arts uniforms or Asian media. The symbol is not authentic. The yin and yang are two alternate premeditates. The world arises from the interplay of the yin and the yang. The yin and the yang also permit change. The yin can be described as the cloudy and the overcast. The yin is yielding. The yang can be described as banners waving in the wind. It can be known as the sun. It is firm and easy to be understood. The yin and yang can be described as the dark and light side of mountains or rivers.
Journal 10
Before we begin going through Tao Te Ching, we have to understand the way of the Chinese language. Without knowing how the Chinese language is written it is hard to understand and of Chaung Tzu or Tao Te Ching.
The Chinese language has many oral “dialects”, many of which are, in linguistic terms, full languages and can be as different as French is from German. Even those who may speak the same linguistic language, e.g. Cantonese, may have trouble understanding each other, similar to how people who speak the British English might have trouble understanding people who speak English in the deep Southern United States. In fact, sometimes a person from one village will have trouble understanding a person from a neighboring village in China.
In contrast to the diversity of oral languages, there is only one written Chinese language. No matter what oral dialect a person speaks, all literate Chinese people can understand the written Chinese language. So no matter where you go in China, if you know the written Chinese language, you can always communicate with the literal locals.
There are two forms of each character. There is traditional and simplified. The simplified characters are now the main use in the main lands and in classroom at Chinese schools. Unlike Western languages, Chinese does not have an alphabet. Each character represents a whole word or an idea. This is from another handout I received. It is true because in Southern China I went to a village and my dialect was a little different than the people speaking there.
The Mayana is the doctrine of Atman that implies to all arising dharma (phenomenon). The sunyta is emptiness. The Theravada means doctrine of the elders. Hinayama means lesser vehicle. Mahayana is the great vehicle, it says do not give up what is important to you, just don’t attach to other things.
What attracts people to Buddhism?
Buddhist doctrine is enlightened for anyone.
It offers moksha, which is the release of the soul.
My thoughts:
Buddhism is something that a lot of people become attracted to. I’ve noticed that some people who watch and enjoy a lot of Asian cultural things may sometimes revert from their religion to Buddhism. People who watch Japanese animation become interested in Japanese Buddhism for a reason. Japanese and Chinese culture has become popular in the United States.
Theravada accepts the doctrines of Antman. Mahayana extends the doctrine to everything. Mahayana is split up into schools. These schools are the Madhyamika which cannot conduct in metaphysical reality and their ultimate reality is empty.
Schools:
a) Yogacara – idealist school, independently unveiled
b) Nichirin – a school in Japan
c) Zen – mature product of Chinese Taoism
Buddha emphasizes compassion for enlightment. Bodhisattva puts off Buddha in order to assist others to obtain Nirvana. Bodhisattva does not enter Nirvana though. The doctrine of Parinamana is the transfer of merit, you get what you deserve.
Important!
j/ren – humanity
j/ren j/ren – person of j/ren
chun tzu – game
Journal 8
Confucius believes than the jen ren equals goodness. He also believes in benevolence. Confucius uses fu-li to follow the rituals of society. First, what is fu-li? In Schubert’s lecture, fu stands for discipline or submission of self and li stands for ritual. So fu-li means the path that trend to ____.
Through Hsun Tzu, social relations are developed.
a) ruler/minister
b) father/son
c) older brother/younger brother
d) husband/wife
e) friend/friend
Hsun Tzu’s social relations are also in the modern time today. We have friends; we have a father and a mother. People become married. Some have younger brothers or sisters. The father/son relationship can also be like teacher/student relationship.
In the excerpts from Mo Tzu, human nature has different people thinking if it is good or bad. Mencius thinks it starts out good and ends to be good. Hsun Tzu thinks the human nature is evil or bad. Kao Tzu thinks it is neutral. All of them are Confucians. Also all of them think people can become good.
Analogical Arguments are used in Mo Tzu. Analogical arguments have a structure.
X, Y: things
A, B: properties (features)
The structure:
X has A
Y has B
X has B
Then Y has B
Mo Tzu describes the nature of man and a willow tree has righteousness and can become wooden cups and wicker baskets. They are not originally good and they require outside influence.
Journal 9
For an introduction of the new section of lectures that we will be studying I want to introduce Tao which is pronounced (Dao) and Te which is pronounced (Day). Tao is the world and its reality in its totality. The Te is one’s particular appropriate relationship to the world. Tao Te can also mean “what is our relationship to the world?”
In class I received a handout that tells more about the symbol of Tao. The character for Tao is composed of several ideograms. The square with two horizontal dashes inside it represents a head with little tuffs of hair on top, the head of a leader. It is combined with the marks of feet running and stopping, which is now written in modernized script, and means “to advance.” Together they symbolize the higher mind, along with the feet, advancing on the same path.
Everyone has noticed the yin-yang symbol on martial arts uniforms or Asian media. The symbol is not authentic. The yin and yang are two alternate premeditates. The world arises from the interplay of the yin and the yang. The yin and the yang also permit change. The yin can be described as the cloudy and the overcast. The yin is yielding. The yang can be described as banners waving in the wind. It can be known as the sun. It is firm and easy to be understood. The yin and yang can be described as the dark and light side of mountains or rivers.
Journal 10
Before we begin going through Tao Te Ching, we have to understand the way of the Chinese language. Without knowing how the Chinese language is written it is hard to understand and of Chaung Tzu or Tao Te Ching.
The Chinese language has many oral “dialects”, many of which are, in linguistic terms, full languages and can be as different as French is from German. Even those who may speak the same linguistic language, e.g. Cantonese, may have trouble understanding each other, similar to how people who speak the British English might have trouble understanding people who speak English in the deep Southern United States. In fact, sometimes a person from one village will have trouble understanding a person from a neighboring village in China.
In contrast to the diversity of oral languages, there is only one written Chinese language. No matter what oral dialect a person speaks, all literate Chinese people can understand the written Chinese language. So no matter where you go in China, if you know the written Chinese language, you can always communicate with the literal locals.
There are two forms of each character. There is traditional and simplified. The simplified characters are now the main use in the main lands and in classroom at Chinese schools. Unlike Western languages, Chinese does not have an alphabet. Each character represents a whole word or an idea. This is from another handout I received. It is true because in Southern China I went to a village and my dialect was a little different than the people speaking there.
Journal 11 to 13
Journal 11
An action in Tao Te Ching can be gained or lost. The goal is to empty the mind and work with one’s spirit. The one who must do this has to align their nature. This is called Ziran. Ziran means self way.
In the book of Tao Te Ching, people have to find the “wei”. The “wei” is the doing. The “Wei wu Wei” is the doing the not doing. Tao Te Ching consists of different passages that some people can see them as Chinese proverbs. In Chuang Tzu, there is a mediocre cook and there is Cook Ting. The mediocre cook uses his skills to cook and he chops meat swiftly and in beauty. (Ming à Shih) Cook Ting slashes and hacks the meat. Cook Ting uses his spirit to cook. He is doing the not doing. One example is on how a typical college student studies for a midterm. How does he/she do it? Do they hang out with friends at a library or bubble tea shop to study together? Do they go to a quiet place to study? Do they ask for guidance from their teacher? A student who is effortless knows how to study.
Martial Arts Example
To find wei, a child comes into a martial arts temple. He asks the sensei about how he should train. It would take 15 years to train, 20 years to do double the training and 30 years if the child trained both day and night. His training methods just increased his years of training. He understands that he must find his own wei. He has to empty his self and inhibit his master.
From notes:
Energy à Quality Action Has à Performance of Action
Tao Te Ching Chapters 1-3
Ming Chia known as the Names School maintains language and knowledge. Ming Chia determines ibject and what their names apply to. For example take a normal ordinary chair. It can be called a metal chair, a seat or a piece of furniture.
The two primary figures of Ming Chia are Hui Shih and Kung Sun Lung. Hui Shih was Chaung Tzu’s teacher. In Chuang Tzu, a passage said: I go to Yueh today and I arrive there yesterday. So in English terms we can take the date today which is November 6th and say that we go to Yueh. We can say on November 7th that we arrived there yesterday. Another passage says “The heavens are as low as the earth and the mountains are as low as the marshes”. The advantage point at looking at things is special and earthly properties have a similar relation. Another passage said: that which has no thickness cannot be increased in thickness and yet it is so great as to cover a thousand miles. The universe covers a thousand miles but it changes. It is hard to describe this passage.
Hui Shih rode on a horse one day and wanted to get past a gate that said no horses allowed. Hui Shih claimed his horse was not a horse because it was white and these are some of his arguments:
1) The word “horse” denotes a shape. The word “white” denotes a color. Therefore a white horse is not a horse.
2) When a horse is required a yellow or black horse is included. A white horse is excluded so the white horse is not a horse.
The language fixes, reality (Tao) is not fixing.
Great similarity differs from little similarity. This is called little similarity indifference. All things are similar and individually all things are different; this is called great similarity difference.
Page 3 Chapter 1 verse 3 --- Give up trying to use it
“The nameless is the beginning of heaven and the earth.” – Tao Te Ching Chapter 1 v. 3
Journal 12
A Taoist point of mind believes that they must acquire stillness. Their mind has to come to a rest through meditation. Building spiritual temples doesn’t give any merit and copying scriptures is a total waste of time due to the story of Bodhidharma. The things we see are they real or are they a dream? The Taoist view shows that each thing has its own inner nature. According to Te there is power and virtue.
Here is a poem about the true and false mind from The Book of Five Rings
It is the mind
That is the mind
Confusing the mind.
Do not leave the mind
O mind, to the mind.
The Taoist stages are over-developed. There is the contemplative which is reclusive. There is the purposive which is possible to walk two roads. There is the religious which contains Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. It is all included in the central doctrine of Wu Wei. (Chaung Tzu pg. 40 and pg. 126)
Now we begin studying Zen. The basic principles of Zen are:
1) No dependence on words
2) Seeing clearly into one’s own Buddha nature
3) Direct pointing at reality
4) Direct transmission from mind to mind
Zen masters teach monks about Zen. They teach them that they must empty their mind first before obtaining Zen. They must accept disgrace willingly and also accept reality. To understand Zen masters, you have to go beyond the teachings and symbols. General Mahayana scriptures have a lot of symbols. They do not need the monastery for enlightenment. Zen says scriptures have no meanings. They must recognize their own Buddha nature. Normal activity such as jogging can be an enlightenment of Buddha or not. It doesn’t matter if they are a cook or a wood carpenter to obtain Satori. They will have to obtain prajna which is the wisdom to know the truth and not knowing. Theravada extinguishes desires by excavation. Mahayana extinguishes desire by assisting. One way of holding back senses is to do yoga. Zen uses tathagata which is also known as p’u. One good book to read based off of Tao Te Ching is the Tao of Pooh. Buddha means awareness. They use language to find meaning.
Journal 13
This week we watched a video based on Zen practices throughout China and Japan. Zen masters do hard training on martial arts such as kendo, aikido and jujitsu. Different Zen monks do different practices. Such as Japanese Zen monks do practices for the tea ceremony. Chinese Zen monks do practices such as plays or dance ceremonies. They meditate during the day by walking and sitting in one position. Their main goal is attain satori. Zen monks use writing to express their thoughts and their mind. They go through non-attachment which is to be open minded and attached. Some of them become naturalists, who make nature for a test. They live in a temple with three halls of silence. These three halls are the meditation, dining and bathe halls. Most of the time they meditate day and night in the meditation hall. In the dining hall they eat limited amounts of food and tea. Sometimes they are able to drink sweet sake on an occasion. At the end of every month they take a test by their master or they go out to practice begging.
At the end of the Lunar Calendar, each monk goes through Satori which is also known as enlightenment. This is the final part. They roshi which is to control their mind and body. In their test by Zen masters, they are asked a question. They may not use real life logic. They must find themselves in their mind. The first step is Za’Zen. The next is Za’Sui. Za’Sui is the period of time where they meditate for 7 days without laying down. They do takkuhatsu which is training to become beggars.
Iku created the tea ceremony. Through serving tea, a monk can discover the awakening principles of Zen. Mostly everything is done in silence especially eating a meal. In Zen training, you need posture.
From past experience, I’ve gone near a temple in China. I saw monks walking around the temple. Most of them did things in motion. They each followed each other like their minds were empty.
An action in Tao Te Ching can be gained or lost. The goal is to empty the mind and work with one’s spirit. The one who must do this has to align their nature. This is called Ziran. Ziran means self way.
In the book of Tao Te Ching, people have to find the “wei”. The “wei” is the doing. The “Wei wu Wei” is the doing the not doing. Tao Te Ching consists of different passages that some people can see them as Chinese proverbs. In Chuang Tzu, there is a mediocre cook and there is Cook Ting. The mediocre cook uses his skills to cook and he chops meat swiftly and in beauty. (Ming à Shih) Cook Ting slashes and hacks the meat. Cook Ting uses his spirit to cook. He is doing the not doing. One example is on how a typical college student studies for a midterm. How does he/she do it? Do they hang out with friends at a library or bubble tea shop to study together? Do they go to a quiet place to study? Do they ask for guidance from their teacher? A student who is effortless knows how to study.
Martial Arts Example
To find wei, a child comes into a martial arts temple. He asks the sensei about how he should train. It would take 15 years to train, 20 years to do double the training and 30 years if the child trained both day and night. His training methods just increased his years of training. He understands that he must find his own wei. He has to empty his self and inhibit his master.
From notes:
Energy à Quality Action Has à Performance of Action
Tao Te Ching Chapters 1-3
Ming Chia known as the Names School maintains language and knowledge. Ming Chia determines ibject and what their names apply to. For example take a normal ordinary chair. It can be called a metal chair, a seat or a piece of furniture.
The two primary figures of Ming Chia are Hui Shih and Kung Sun Lung. Hui Shih was Chaung Tzu’s teacher. In Chuang Tzu, a passage said: I go to Yueh today and I arrive there yesterday. So in English terms we can take the date today which is November 6th and say that we go to Yueh. We can say on November 7th that we arrived there yesterday. Another passage says “The heavens are as low as the earth and the mountains are as low as the marshes”. The advantage point at looking at things is special and earthly properties have a similar relation. Another passage said: that which has no thickness cannot be increased in thickness and yet it is so great as to cover a thousand miles. The universe covers a thousand miles but it changes. It is hard to describe this passage.
Hui Shih rode on a horse one day and wanted to get past a gate that said no horses allowed. Hui Shih claimed his horse was not a horse because it was white and these are some of his arguments:
1) The word “horse” denotes a shape. The word “white” denotes a color. Therefore a white horse is not a horse.
2) When a horse is required a yellow or black horse is included. A white horse is excluded so the white horse is not a horse.
The language fixes, reality (Tao) is not fixing.
Great similarity differs from little similarity. This is called little similarity indifference. All things are similar and individually all things are different; this is called great similarity difference.
Page 3 Chapter 1 verse 3 --- Give up trying to use it
“The nameless is the beginning of heaven and the earth.” – Tao Te Ching Chapter 1 v. 3
Journal 12
A Taoist point of mind believes that they must acquire stillness. Their mind has to come to a rest through meditation. Building spiritual temples doesn’t give any merit and copying scriptures is a total waste of time due to the story of Bodhidharma. The things we see are they real or are they a dream? The Taoist view shows that each thing has its own inner nature. According to Te there is power and virtue.
Here is a poem about the true and false mind from The Book of Five Rings
It is the mind
That is the mind
Confusing the mind.
Do not leave the mind
O mind, to the mind.
The Taoist stages are over-developed. There is the contemplative which is reclusive. There is the purposive which is possible to walk two roads. There is the religious which contains Taoism, Confucianism, and Buddhism. It is all included in the central doctrine of Wu Wei. (Chaung Tzu pg. 40 and pg. 126)
Now we begin studying Zen. The basic principles of Zen are:
1) No dependence on words
2) Seeing clearly into one’s own Buddha nature
3) Direct pointing at reality
4) Direct transmission from mind to mind
Zen masters teach monks about Zen. They teach them that they must empty their mind first before obtaining Zen. They must accept disgrace willingly and also accept reality. To understand Zen masters, you have to go beyond the teachings and symbols. General Mahayana scriptures have a lot of symbols. They do not need the monastery for enlightenment. Zen says scriptures have no meanings. They must recognize their own Buddha nature. Normal activity such as jogging can be an enlightenment of Buddha or not. It doesn’t matter if they are a cook or a wood carpenter to obtain Satori. They will have to obtain prajna which is the wisdom to know the truth and not knowing. Theravada extinguishes desires by excavation. Mahayana extinguishes desire by assisting. One way of holding back senses is to do yoga. Zen uses tathagata which is also known as p’u. One good book to read based off of Tao Te Ching is the Tao of Pooh. Buddha means awareness. They use language to find meaning.
Journal 13
This week we watched a video based on Zen practices throughout China and Japan. Zen masters do hard training on martial arts such as kendo, aikido and jujitsu. Different Zen monks do different practices. Such as Japanese Zen monks do practices for the tea ceremony. Chinese Zen monks do practices such as plays or dance ceremonies. They meditate during the day by walking and sitting in one position. Their main goal is attain satori. Zen monks use writing to express their thoughts and their mind. They go through non-attachment which is to be open minded and attached. Some of them become naturalists, who make nature for a test. They live in a temple with three halls of silence. These three halls are the meditation, dining and bathe halls. Most of the time they meditate day and night in the meditation hall. In the dining hall they eat limited amounts of food and tea. Sometimes they are able to drink sweet sake on an occasion. At the end of every month they take a test by their master or they go out to practice begging.
At the end of the Lunar Calendar, each monk goes through Satori which is also known as enlightenment. This is the final part. They roshi which is to control their mind and body. In their test by Zen masters, they are asked a question. They may not use real life logic. They must find themselves in their mind. The first step is Za’Zen. The next is Za’Sui. Za’Sui is the period of time where they meditate for 7 days without laying down. They do takkuhatsu which is training to become beggars.
Iku created the tea ceremony. Through serving tea, a monk can discover the awakening principles of Zen. Mostly everything is done in silence especially eating a meal. In Zen training, you need posture.
From past experience, I’ve gone near a temple in China. I saw monks walking around the temple. Most of them did things in motion. They each followed each other like their minds were empty.
Journal 14 to 15
Journal 14
Mu Shin… To transcend motion is the highest meditation. Chuang Tzu contends that we can appear to be still but aren’t really still. Zen practices is doing the not doing, in other words it is Wei Wu Wei. The goal of Zen is to see one’s own nature. It is not to create disillusions. This is enlightenment. Not engaging in appearance is wisdom. To look on life is different than death. “Nirvana is an empty mind.” Nirvana is emptiness. Zen is commited to the descendant that transcends. The Self is a conceptual fiction. Using the mind to study reality will not allow you to understand reality or the mind. This is understanding the not understanding. The absence of understanding is not true understanding. When reality depends on you that which is fake becomes real. When you depend on reality that which is real becomes fake. To see form or hear corruption is liberation. Mahayana Zen is social. Zen teaches living in enlightenment in social paths. Be in harmony of what we do. Form and mind are both pure. Zen says that there is no heaven or hell.
Schubert argues that Zen is not a religion it is a philosophy. Zen practice is a form of psychotherapy. A book to read based on Zen is Alice in Wonderland.
When we fail to see clearly we need to practice itelligence za’zen. We can love and enjoy. We can be liberated. It is okay for someone to be okay when they are enlightened.
Journal 15
We want to be somewhere else or something else sometimes. This is called unenlightenment. A man who lacked compassion once said, “Do I need my material covered?” He was not wanting to be at the place he was at the moment. During Zen meditation practice, the meditation can not be bothered. Sharp experience is okayness. Thich Nhat Hanh who was a Vietnamese monk wrote a book on Zen. He dwelled in awareness. He could smile and breathe in awareness.
In a cold classroom, do you feel cold? You have a choice to choose if it is or not. Choices are problematic. There is also the choice of emotions. Anger can be transformed into something else. Internal formation that depend on reality are unenlightened. Those who are afraid to bring in conscience mind practice breathing and smiling. To feel suffering we must understand it. There are steps to becoming one with feeling. First you need to recognize each feeling as it arises. Second, you must best to become friends with your fear. Don’t feel fear. The problem most time is drowning in your own fear. Lastly, calm your feelings. Become one with the feelings.
Extra Journal (Reflection of the Class)
I think this class was really great. From start to finish, I learned a lot in the class. Even though I won’t be in Schubert’s class anymore, during free time I may want to gather some more information on what I had studied in his class and learn more. Schubert was a great teacher and I am glad that I took his course.
Sources of Reference:
In my journal entries, I included passages from:
a) The Upanishads: Breath of the Eternal by Swami Prabhavananda and Fredrick Manchester
b) Confucius: The Analects translated by D.C. Lau
c) The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha by E.A. Burtt
d) Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings translated by Burton Watson
e) Tao Te Ching translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English
f) The Book of Five Rings translated by Thomas Cleary
Mu Shin… To transcend motion is the highest meditation. Chuang Tzu contends that we can appear to be still but aren’t really still. Zen practices is doing the not doing, in other words it is Wei Wu Wei. The goal of Zen is to see one’s own nature. It is not to create disillusions. This is enlightenment. Not engaging in appearance is wisdom. To look on life is different than death. “Nirvana is an empty mind.” Nirvana is emptiness. Zen is commited to the descendant that transcends. The Self is a conceptual fiction. Using the mind to study reality will not allow you to understand reality or the mind. This is understanding the not understanding. The absence of understanding is not true understanding. When reality depends on you that which is fake becomes real. When you depend on reality that which is real becomes fake. To see form or hear corruption is liberation. Mahayana Zen is social. Zen teaches living in enlightenment in social paths. Be in harmony of what we do. Form and mind are both pure. Zen says that there is no heaven or hell.
Schubert argues that Zen is not a religion it is a philosophy. Zen practice is a form of psychotherapy. A book to read based on Zen is Alice in Wonderland.
When we fail to see clearly we need to practice itelligence za’zen. We can love and enjoy. We can be liberated. It is okay for someone to be okay when they are enlightened.
Journal 15
We want to be somewhere else or something else sometimes. This is called unenlightenment. A man who lacked compassion once said, “Do I need my material covered?” He was not wanting to be at the place he was at the moment. During Zen meditation practice, the meditation can not be bothered. Sharp experience is okayness. Thich Nhat Hanh who was a Vietnamese monk wrote a book on Zen. He dwelled in awareness. He could smile and breathe in awareness.
In a cold classroom, do you feel cold? You have a choice to choose if it is or not. Choices are problematic. There is also the choice of emotions. Anger can be transformed into something else. Internal formation that depend on reality are unenlightened. Those who are afraid to bring in conscience mind practice breathing and smiling. To feel suffering we must understand it. There are steps to becoming one with feeling. First you need to recognize each feeling as it arises. Second, you must best to become friends with your fear. Don’t feel fear. The problem most time is drowning in your own fear. Lastly, calm your feelings. Become one with the feelings.
Extra Journal (Reflection of the Class)
I think this class was really great. From start to finish, I learned a lot in the class. Even though I won’t be in Schubert’s class anymore, during free time I may want to gather some more information on what I had studied in his class and learn more. Schubert was a great teacher and I am glad that I took his course.
Sources of Reference:
In my journal entries, I included passages from:
a) The Upanishads: Breath of the Eternal by Swami Prabhavananda and Fredrick Manchester
b) Confucius: The Analects translated by D.C. Lau
c) The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha by E.A. Burtt
d) Chuang Tzu: Basic Writings translated by Burton Watson
e) Tao Te Ching translated by Gia-Fu Feng and Jane English
f) The Book of Five Rings translated by Thomas Cleary
Sunday, December 16, 2007
WC2008 Unlockables
I will post unlockables that I unlocked that can't be found on other websites.
1. Mindy and Jasmine in CPU Tag Duel: Defeat 5 tag teams in CPU 5 times each
2. Dark Magician Girl in CPU duel: Beat Curran in duel world at least 5 times
3. Yubel and Marcel in CPU Tag Duel: Beat the gate challenge in world 4
4. Joey Wheeler in CPU duel: Beat the Master of Oz challenge in Grace
5. Chazz Princeton in CPU duel: Beat the VWXYZ challenge in world 3
6. Adrian Gecko in CPU duel: Beat the Exodius challenge in world 5
7. Jessie Anderson in CPU duel: Beat Rainbow Dragon challenge in world 5
8. Elemental Hero Lady Heat in CPU duel: Beat Knospe 5 times
9. Manju the Ten Thousand Hands in CPU duel: Beat Senju 5 times
10. Dark Scorpion Menae the Thorn in CPU duel: Beat Don Zaloog 5 times
11. Adrian Gecko Disk: Beat Adrian Gecko 10 times
12. Amazoness Disk: Beat Amazoness Paladin with every structure deck
13. Water Dragon in CPU duel: Beat Karyu-shin 5 times
14. Ojama Yellow in CPU duel: Save Ojama Yellow
15. Woodborg Inpachi in CPU duel: Beat Woodborg Inpachi
16. Kozaky in CPU duel: Beat Kozaky's Inpachi Challenge 5 times
17. Ancient Gadjitron Dragon in CPU duel: Beat Green Gadget 5 times
I will post more when I have more time.
1. Mindy and Jasmine in CPU Tag Duel: Defeat 5 tag teams in CPU 5 times each
2. Dark Magician Girl in CPU duel: Beat Curran in duel world at least 5 times
3. Yubel and Marcel in CPU Tag Duel: Beat the gate challenge in world 4
4. Joey Wheeler in CPU duel: Beat the Master of Oz challenge in Grace
5. Chazz Princeton in CPU duel: Beat the VWXYZ challenge in world 3
6. Adrian Gecko in CPU duel: Beat the Exodius challenge in world 5
7. Jessie Anderson in CPU duel: Beat Rainbow Dragon challenge in world 5
8. Elemental Hero Lady Heat in CPU duel: Beat Knospe 5 times
9. Manju the Ten Thousand Hands in CPU duel: Beat Senju 5 times
10. Dark Scorpion Menae the Thorn in CPU duel: Beat Don Zaloog 5 times
11. Adrian Gecko Disk: Beat Adrian Gecko 10 times
12. Amazoness Disk: Beat Amazoness Paladin with every structure deck
13. Water Dragon in CPU duel: Beat Karyu-shin 5 times
14. Ojama Yellow in CPU duel: Save Ojama Yellow
15. Woodborg Inpachi in CPU duel: Beat Woodborg Inpachi
16. Kozaky in CPU duel: Beat Kozaky's Inpachi Challenge 5 times
17. Ancient Gadjitron Dragon in CPU duel: Beat Green Gadget 5 times
I will post more when I have more time.
Basketball Game Today
It was our church's bball team's first win for this season. It was because K. Okino scored all 3 pointers in the first quarter. Then Matt did a lot of shots in the second quarter. Hau was super fast. It was a good game.
Endeavor Christmas Party
So I didn't want to participate in the word games, so I played and watched over Evan and Grace. The food was good and I met some new people.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Random Website Banner
Tokimeki Memorial Completed Series
Tokimeki Memorial ~Only Love~
Plot: Aoba Riku has just transferred to a new high school because of his father`s job, and things aren`t quite what he expected. The headmaster`s secretary controls the school while espousing the virtues of academic freedom, the teachers are even stranger than normal teachers, and half the student body is walking around with animal ears on. On his very first day, Riku is unfortunate enough to find himself at the center of the student council`s latest event, which has him running for his life. All this on top of the normal high school rigour of popularity contests, crushes, and homework makes it unsure whether Riku will be able to survive this new school.
Source:Animenewsnetwork
Genre: Romance, Slice of life, comedy
Format: Rmvb
File Size: ~80-90mb
Host: Megaupload
Episodes: 25(complete)
Episode 01: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T1XNGFLL
Episode 02: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7GYB08LO
Episode 03: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PV3GVLEP
Episode 04: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FTCH2TQ3
Episode 05: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CFDT8TQ8
Episode 06: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=K1WEVT9S
Episode 07: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VCVUN34W
Episode 08: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5ODLKA4A
Episode 09: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AEBSZ6SR
Episode 10: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NPPG6281
Episode 11: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5QD0H1XG
Episode 12: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BELABOXF
Episode 13: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YS05DH77
Episode 14: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BP80IV1Y
Episode 15: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GIEM5PNV
Episode 16: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4RGTBAXK
Episode 17: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ON51KGVC
Episode 18: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N1IE5MLT
Episode 19: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=48E27WVL
Episode 20: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2QAIZNKL
Episode 21: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RGQJ269V
Episode 22: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XKPHL1QB
Episode 23: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KSUP41AN
Episode 24: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RVD3CPQA
Episode 25: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=A0YP2R9D
Plot: Aoba Riku has just transferred to a new high school because of his father`s job, and things aren`t quite what he expected. The headmaster`s secretary controls the school while espousing the virtues of academic freedom, the teachers are even stranger than normal teachers, and half the student body is walking around with animal ears on. On his very first day, Riku is unfortunate enough to find himself at the center of the student council`s latest event, which has him running for his life. All this on top of the normal high school rigour of popularity contests, crushes, and homework makes it unsure whether Riku will be able to survive this new school.
Source:Animenewsnetwork
Genre: Romance, Slice of life, comedy
Format: Rmvb
File Size: ~80-90mb
Host: Megaupload
Episodes: 25(complete)
Episode 01: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T1XNGFLL
Episode 02: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7GYB08LO
Episode 03: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=PV3GVLEP
Episode 04: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=FTCH2TQ3
Episode 05: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CFDT8TQ8
Episode 06: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=K1WEVT9S
Episode 07: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VCVUN34W
Episode 08: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5ODLKA4A
Episode 09: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=AEBSZ6SR
Episode 10: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=NPPG6281
Episode 11: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=5QD0H1XG
Episode 12: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BELABOXF
Episode 13: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=YS05DH77
Episode 14: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=BP80IV1Y
Episode 15: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=GIEM5PNV
Episode 16: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4RGTBAXK
Episode 17: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=ON51KGVC
Episode 18: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=N1IE5MLT
Episode 19: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=48E27WVL
Episode 20: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=2QAIZNKL
Episode 21: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RGQJ269V
Episode 22: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=XKPHL1QB
Episode 23: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KSUP41AN
Episode 24: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=RVD3CPQA
Episode 25: http://www.megaupload.com/?d=A0YP2R9D
Tokimeki Memorial Only Love
I just finished watching it and now I'm sad... I wish there was more to the story... I want to see Aoba get together with Kasuga, Amamiya and Yayoi... boohoo...
I saw the online game which was in like episode 15 or something like that... but I don't have a Konami online pass...
I saw the online game which was in like episode 15 or something like that... but I don't have a Konami online pass...
Kids These Days: Game Addiction
Young kids these days especially boys are addicted to video games. I have experienced this when I was young but I wasn't really addicted because I only had two video games and they were Pokemon and Street Fighter II. Well nowadays we have younger kids who play video games A LOT. My brother is so addicted with video games that he can't quit and also he can't talk about anything other than video games. Also he only likes video game music. Okay so my cousin and I were gamers also when we were young but hey I've changed and so has he. My cousin now likes sports and music and stuff. I like drawing, music, and web design. We still play video games once in awhile but we are not as addicted as children are.
Well at least when Super Smash Bros Brawl comes out I'll be addicted to it and won't stop playing, lol.
My brother is annoying with his video game noises in the morning... Its annoying waking up to his annoying sound effects.
Well at least when Super Smash Bros Brawl comes out I'll be addicted to it and won't stop playing, lol.
My brother is annoying with his video game noises in the morning... Its annoying waking up to his annoying sound effects.
Saturday, December 8, 2007
RRNC Christmas Party 2007
Well yesterday night was the Christmas party and I went and ate dinner and played some of the events there. Since most of my friends are away for college it was kind of a drag. I was so tired that night that I didn't do much.
I was like an Infernape about to punch someone to have fun.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
World Championship 2008 (USA)
It came out and it is no different than the Japanese version. So yeah... I think I might just stick with the Japanese version.
Tales of Innocence came out but it doesnt work :(
Tales of Innocence came out but it doesnt work :(
Facebook vs Myspace Blog 2
Well I have to say Facebook has a lot more people I know on there than Myspace. I just got one of my good pals added onto facebook. He was a good friend in my Advisory class since I knew like nobody when I got into the class.
Anyways Neopets somehow got me on again because of the Advent Calender thing.
Anyways Neopets somehow got me on again because of the Advent Calender thing.
Good Anime
Katekyo Hitman Reborn!
A really funny anime when it started out because the main character Tsuna doesn't know what is going on, but then when he gets his powers of a hitman it becomes really exciting.
Tokimeki Memorial ~Only Love~
I think it is a pretty good anime. Love Hina was a funny anime but I like this anime better because the art is a lot better and the story is much more interesting.
Monday, December 3, 2007
WC 2008 Japan
The game was already released in Japan, but I have it. I have the Japanese version, but the whole game is in English. So I am like the only kid in America on the rankings.
My Weekend
On Saturday, I went shopping with my brother. He bought a Yu-Gi-Oh! 2007 Christmas Gift Tin and a "Wicked Eraser" card. Cards and Comics were selling common cards for 10 cents, I lost interest in buying cards years ago so I bought nothing there. I went to Target and bought a Gozarutchi plush from the Tamagatchi series. I couldn't decide if I wanted that or a Pikachu plush. Then at Best Buy, I bought the Naruto game for my PSP.
On Sunday though, my brother was blaming me for taking his sandals when they were my sandals. If you look at the bottom and side of the sandals, you'll see my name on them so they were my sandals and yeah the family got into a stupid arguement over my sandals. No one believed the fact that I put my name on the sandals.
On Sunday though, my brother was blaming me for taking his sandals when they were my sandals. If you look at the bottom and side of the sandals, you'll see my name on them so they were my sandals and yeah the family got into a stupid arguement over my sandals. No one believed the fact that I put my name on the sandals.
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