Do Opposites Attract?

When you look at both Confucianism and Taoism, and compare the major beliefs of both religions, they are almost the complete opposite. Confucianism believes your role in life is who you are. You cannot get to your full wholeheartedness alone. They do not believe change is germane, to reaching your best. Taoism, on the other hand, believes the opposite. Wuwei or; action without action, spur of the moment; going with the flow: is one of the major parts of Taoism. They believe that you CAN reach your ultimate self, by yourself. That life is ever changing. I believe the two religions fit in with the "opposites attract" category. Someone, who believes in both, may think "Hey, I think I can achieve certain parts of my ultimate self on my own... but certain things I cannot." Or one may believe that change can be both good, and bad, but not things do not constantly change. Following different beliefs from each religion, would make it possible to follow both religions.

Asceticism, Samsara, and Castes

The Hindu religion revolves around 3 things most importantly; Samsara: the cycle of life, death, and rebirth, Castes: a strict set of social status, and, the ascetics: a few select renouncers. The idea of Samsara is to escape the cycle of life, death and rebirth. To find release, or liberation (known as moksha in the Hindu religion.) The caste system is what you could call strict. There are five different categories of status; Brahmins: priestly, Kshatriya: the warrior, Vaishya: the householder, Shudra: the servant, and, Dalits: the untouchables. You are born into a caste, and the decisions you make in life, effect where you will be placed in reincarnation. In a way, this system is a Hindu version of Christianity's Adam and Eve, meant to illustrate social status. One who chooses to follow asceticism, is what you would call a Holy Man. These men deny themselves of certain pleasures in life, and show extreme devotion to a higher deity. I believe Hindu religious practices and beliefs informed the Buddas new dhamma in a few ways. They have the same idea of finding a form of enlightenment, but go about it in different ways. Also, the idea in Buddhism of, how all of life is suffering, reminds me of the idea of escaping samsara in the Hindu religion. To me, both are a form of suffering, all for the idea of a better self, and a better life.

Hidden

After looking through some articles on the huffington post website, I found one that really sparked my interest. "Why Does God Hide?", by author Alan Lurie addresses the dilemma cause by God not literally being "present". For some, this makes it hard to truly believe, and for others it is just enough to believe he does not exist. Lurie explains four possible "misunderstandings" for those of whom the question of Gods presence is a dilemma. Firstly, the misunderstanding of the nature of God. This revolves around the idea of God as a being, which has been understood for years that God is not a limited being. Secondly, a misunderstanding of the nature of religion. Lurie explains that religion is the mass amount of the want to find a purpose or a meaning. Also, the misunderstanding of the means to experience Gods presence (there is too much going on to expect that Gods presence be immediately noticed by someone.) And lastly, a misunderstanding of the proof. Lurie simply states that even with all attempts made to prove the existence of God, few people must be convinced by the evidence given to them.

The attempt Lurie was trying to make in this article was to break down several ideas, in simple way, in hopes of creating an opening where one can be more in touch with the world and him/herself. The question of why God "hides",I agree, is simply possibly a misunderstanding Growing up I was raised Catholic. I attended CCD classes up until my junior year of high school. Over those years I had come to the realization of several things. I grew up believing that if God was real I should be able to see him, or feel him. For years I thought I was being lied to because I never actually saw God when I needed him. After graduating high school I started meeting several people of different religions. I had a realization that if there is a God, no matter what it be, or what religion, there may never have proof of existence. To me, that is what makes it easier for me to believe that there is a God, even though I am unsure of what religion I choose to follow.

My Life As Jess

Hi! My name is Jessica, but I usually go by Jess. I'm 20 years old and have lived in the Boston area my whole life. This blog will be used for my Philosophy of World Religions course this semester. I don't know much about blogging, or most of the religions I'll be learning about. But, this gives me more to look forward to! I look forward to all the different voiced opinions I will be hearing also (: