Buddhism, Taoism & Money

I first started to study Buddhism my senior year in high school after realizing that I didn’t really agree or feel a connection with my present religion. I found Buddhism after looking at a number of different religions and it seemed that I was drawn to it almost instantly. I find the religion to be one that contains a multitude of lessons to be learned. The idea that suffering is caused by attachment made sense to me almost immediately. Just the core idea that nothing is permanent and in order to be happy one must realize that nothing is permanent just makes sense. When we look around at all the things we have or want we fail to realize that the joy or pleasure from these things is gone once the novelty has worn off, and we are left with nothing other than material possessions. Furthermore, these materials serve no other purpose than to clutter our lives, and leave us wanting more things to fill the void left by the previous object. Learning about the ideas behind attachment and suffering has led me to make my own opinions. Personally, the idea of money is completely disgusting. I cannot stress enough how much disdain I have for people that go out and spend their money on frivolous things just to say that they have them. I am however not completely without fault in this matter. There have been times that I’ve gone out and bought something that I believed to be essential and the best new thing, however after buying it, I find myself thinking that I could have used that money for something else that I really needed like rent or groceries. It is strange that I often find myself conflicting with my own beliefs about money. I hate how it makes people act, yet at the same time, money has become such an integral part of our society, I find myself trying to make more money just to survive, and keep up with society. This experience has brought me to a point in my life where I have a desire to attempt to live a minimalist lifestyle where I have only the things essential to live, and I rid my life of all the clutter I have accumulated in my 20 years.

I also wanted to comment on the subject of Taoism in this chapter. My study of Buddhism has led me to a number of different sources of information Taoism only being one of them. Like Buddhism, I instantly connected with the idea of Yin and Yang. The idea that everything is connected and dependent upon each other makes perfect sense. You cannot have love without hate, light without dark, or male without female. Life is a constant balance and it has to be. You can never know one thing without something to compare it too. For instance, we could never tell what love was, if we first didn’t experience hate, or vice versa. I was also led to a branch of Buddhism called Zen. Besides its apparent laid back style, a main concept in Zen Buddhism is to question anything and everything. This teaching has given me the ability to get to the core essence of things instead of just taking things for face value or accepting things blindly.

Signing  Out

Brian

Thoughts on Plato’s Cave

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave talks about a group of individuals who are raised in an underground cave. While in the cave, the individuals are restrained to the point that they are unable to move or turn their heads to see what is behind them. However because of a large fire and stage set up behind them, the individuals are able to see shadows cast on the wall along with the echoes of voices from the people casting the shadows. The restrained individuals soon come to know these shadows as the real objects, instead of the objects they represent. The allegory soon discusses how an individual would react if they were released from the cave. That individual would struggle to see what was behind them as well as what the shadows on the wall truly represented. The individual would also struggle with the sunlight and soon start to experience what the world truly held, and would then be forced to make their own assumption about the things they’ve seen. Furthermore, when that individual returns to the cave, they are again forced to distinguish whether the images in the cave are real or the things they experienced outside of the cave are real. The allegory’s main purpose is to show people how that even though they are taught what certain things mean or how they should perceive certain things, those people always have the ability to form their own conclusions about the things they see and experience.

It is my opinion that Plato’s Allegory could also function as a metaphor for growing up. The cave that houses the individuals comes to represent the home in which the child is raised. The chains that bind them at the feet and neck serve as the rules and limitations set upon you by your parents, and the shadows and echoes on the wall function as the things taught by parents. However when the individual is set free, the freeing of the chains represent a person going out on their own and experiencing the world for the first time. The idea of the individual not being able to see when he leaves the cave for the first time is representative of the shock and confusion that comes when being on your own for the first time. The video tells about how the individual progresses through life and progresses from being able to see shadows, then reflections, and finally the actual object. This shows how person can evolve from knowing only what they are taught to being able to peel through the layers of deception and lies to get to the actual truth and furthermore, attain true knowledge.

Signing Out

Brian

Relationships…I guess

Relationships play an important role in life. Whether you’re in a relationship or searching for one, just the idea has a noticeable impact on one’s daily life. Being in a relationship Helps to make people feel good, to make them feel wanted or desired. However, it comes to a point when someone should ask themselves if they relay too much on being involved with someone. Is being with someone all of the time always a good thing? Is it always beneficial to the relationship? I don’t think so. I don’t really know. But given my recent success in relationships, I don’t have too much room to say anything. I guess I just try to take a relationship and make it grow, and learn to cherish it. I just don’t like to rush into things. I guess overall, I just want something real and honest. I almost feel like what I want now isn’t what other people my age want. What I want now, is what people want after years of falling in and out of love, and what they want after being hurt over and over again. It’s weird though because I also want the spontaneity of a new relationship and the excitement it brings. I guess I want the best of both worlds. It would be nice if that was possible but I know it’s not. In the end, I guess it doesn’t really matter as long as a person’s happy with their present situation, and the direction in which their life is heading. Just being happy is the most important thing overall…I guess.

Things to Think About:

Don’t overlook life’s small joys by searching for big ones

Signing Out

Brian

My Mantra, My Detriment, My Realization

“Going with the Flow” has long been somewhat of a personal mantra, and despite the sometimes overt criticism, I’ve tried to stay true to the meaning. Until recently, this task has been pretty easy.  However given my current situation, and living conditions, it seems  that it is almost impossible to just “go with the flow”. Moving out of my house and in with friends has proven to be more of a challenge than I thought previously. I am now forced to confront situations head on, in addition to getting used to how my friends really live. I have to honestly say that no one roommate is better than the other.  One is rarely in the same state let alone the same room, another is constantly jumping from one true love to just a friend and back again, and the third roommate is always looking to have a good time. And me. Well I have the tendency to perhaps, overlook some issues that may have more impact on someone else and not myself, which in turn makes me look like a conceited ass. “Going With the Flow” has been my mantra, my detriment, and then served in my realization of the world around me.

The characteristics mentioned are in no way meant to be negative or aggressive or passive aggressive in anyway. I have just come to the understanding that people are constantly changing and what Ive come to expect from the people around me never stays they same. These short eight months of living out on my own is a chance for me live, and I mean really live.To take chances, and create those memories that I can look back on and tell me kids about. Now is the time for me to take full advantage of the world around me. For now I don’t think I will completely stop “Going with the Flow” but maybe every once in a while Ill turn and go against the current and take the course that is a little bit more turbulent. But at this current moment, I’m happy. happy with school, happy with my job and money, but most of all, I am  happy with my friends and having them around to show me what I need to change in myself and how I can make things around me better.

Question for you to think about:

If you only had one more year to live, what would you do in that year?

Signing Out:

Brian

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