Teachings of the Very Old

We are back to very, very boring teachings in a language I cannot understand. Although Luke writes in a fun and more modern way, he happens to cite Jesus a lot and it is pretty unexciting. Since Luke tells about Jesus' life as a teacher, we are shown many of his parables which might be relevant if one actually wanted to interpret it. These messages of the Lord are basically what the next few chapters are all about.

In one of his many teaching sprees Jesus says:

'Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: 9 But he that denieth me before men shall be denied before the angels of God. 10 And whosoever shall speak a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but unto him that blasphemeth against the Holy Ghost it shall not be forgiven.' (Luke 12:8-10)

This troubles me because, as you can see, it is totally contradictory. First Jesus says that if you speak against him you will be denied by the Lord, and then he says that if you speak against him it will all be forgiven. Say what?! However, I begin to notice a change of focus in Jesus' teachings. He now always talks about the importance and the holiness of the Lord God, and that he is His son. I'm not sure what age he is right now, but this sudden interest in the Father maybe has something to do with his moving to heaven is the soon future.

Jesus' mission leads him back to Jerusalem, where he is warned to leave because Herod, the ruler, will kill him, 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee' (Luke 13:34) I find this incredible, that even that far back, when the world was supposed to follow God, someone would be thrown out, threatened, and even killed just because they have their own beliefs. Especially when they are banished from their own cities, like in Jesus' case.

It seems that all that touring has paid off, because Jesus is one popular guy. So popular in fact, that he has to be very picky about his disciples, 'If any mancome to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.' (Luke 14:26) I understand that a task like Jesus' and that religion is no small matter, but I simply don't understand this condition that Jesus has set for his followers. What I get from what he said is: if you don't hate your family, you may not be y disciple. First of all, hate is a very strong word, and I don't see how this fits into God's message of loving everybody. Furthermore, how will you hating or not hating your family affect Jesus? There are too many things happening in our world every second, yet we are never affected by them. And if Jesus keeps on being so strict and bossy, he is soon going to be found out of people left to boss.

Maybe this is what happened to the Catholic Church. They used to be a tyrant power that controlled every aspect of their followers' lives, and those that didn't follow it, as we saw in the Crusades, paid the price. Nowadays the Church has been forced to lower its standards and increase its flexibility as a response to being countered by technology, government, society, and high school.

All Give, No Take

In the Gospel of Luke we mostly hear about Jesus' adulthood, and when he was teaching and spreading his beliefs to the people. We also see that some people don't like him or believe him or agree with how he does things. I find it very selfish that the people only come to him so he can heal then them of any of their wrongs, from a 'withered hand' to a bad spirit, and yet after he does everything that is asked of him they still plot what evil they shall do unto him.

However, Jesus puts up with this and spreads his philosophy of 'as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.' (Luke 6:31) this aphorisms also appears in the Tao Te Ching, and it is a very common belief which some people call the Golden Rule. In the Bible it is used to describe the kind of life you should lead here on Earth: 'unto him that smiteth thee on the onecheek offer also the other' (Luke 6:29) Jesus says that we should let ourselves be beaten and bullied and stolen from and abused, all the while treating the other party kindly and basically thank them for doing these things to us. I have this before, but only now does it seem to me very unreasonable. If we live like this it would be as if our lives wouldn't be worth anything and that we don't really deserve to have a good life because then in heaven we will be repaid. I don't agree with this.

Wherever he goes Jesus teaches and preaches, but most of all, we see that he cures people. Perfect strangers, even sinners, just go up to him and he cures them for no apparent reason. If you think about it, it is quite strange- we never heard when the Lord gave – Jesus these awesome powers or when he told him to use it with no restrictions. I would like to think that finally someone in the Bible chose to be independent and think for themselves, but this is too much of a miracle for it not to be a work of God. Or at least that is what the bible has lead me to think.

The most amazing miracle yet is when Jesus sees the only son of a widow dead and he decides to cure him 'And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak.' (Luke 7:15) I not only find this totally unexplainable, bringing someone back from the dead, but this is also something I had never heard of before. He was brought back from the dead just like Jesus was after his death. Everybody seems to paint Jesus in such a unique way, the high point of his life being that he was brought back from the dead after three days. I really don't see what the big deal is, seeing as it has apparently happened before, or what makes his case more important than this one. Why don't we hear about the holiness of this one man to whom what happened wasn't that different from what happened to Jesus? Maybe it's because this guy didn't spend three days dead, or maybe it's because he isn't 'the Son of God'- such an honor!

I also see that Jesus doesn't mind so much when people don't like him or believe him but he adores when they do. For example, when a sick man says he isn't worthy enough to come into his house but that only his words would be enough to heal him (I'll finally know what I'm saying in mass- I guess reading the Bible does have its perks!), or when a lady comes in the middle of his dinner and starts rubbing and kissing and crying all over his feet for forgiveness. I personally would slap whoever tried to kiss my feet, but Jesus praises them and says 'Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.' (Luke 7:50)

Throughout his life, Jesus is done many wrongs by many people, but he does not get revenge from any one of them. Even when his loyal disciples offer him to get back at those who have insulted him he declines and tells them that they are misguided, 'For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them.' (Luke 9:56) His philosophy of 'turn the other cheek' is clearly against any revenge, but I think his disciples don't find it that easy to take on. We have seen many times when God hasn't liked how man turned out so he decides to just kill everybody on earth for a fresh start, and I wonder how someone who is apparently so good and pure is related of someone as revengeful as God has been shown to be.

Back to the Bible, According to Luke!

In spite of how annoyed I was at the Tao Te Ching, it is better than reading the Bible. Yes, we are once again reading the King James Bible. Oh, have mercy! Speaking of mercy…

One of the things I hated the most about the Old Testament was how God was portrayed, that mean, selfish, angry, jealous, and vengeful fellow that was mentioned. I figured that since this is the New Testament this is not going to be a problem anymore, right? Wrong! He is still up in His pedestal for being the Almighty, although it is a little subdued. One of the things that showed me this is this part from the text: 'And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.' (Gospel According to St. Luke 1:50)

Luke is kind of narrating the story of Jesus, but I was very surprised at how little importance- none, actually- they gave to his birth. You always hear the story of the night Jesus was born, Christmas told very intricately, as though everyone knew the most minimal detail by heart. Well, they don't know. I just realized that I actually like the fact that he didn't dwell on his birth, it is actually not that important for the story. It does say in this part: '(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)' (Gospel According to St. Luke 2:23) This I find strange, because it never happened before yet it was a holy law when it did happen, and I am now thinking about the physical possibility of that. (Plus, there is a winking smiley face in the quote! He he)

In the next chapter we encounter a genealogy of Jesus' family. I know what you're thinking, No! Not that again! I thought so too but Luke was smart and put a twist to it, after naming about a hundred old, dead men (no offense), he ends the chapter with 'which was the son of God.' (Gospel According to St. Luke 3:38) That was awesome! I was expecting a boring narration of Jesus' family but instead it showed a direct- not so direct but let's ignore that fact- link from God to Jesus. He proved that Jesus is, in fact, God's son.

I find it somehow sad how Jesus and all the characters in the Bible seem to move about from place to place, from family to family, from woman to woman. They have no place 'they can call home'. It sounds cliché but if you think about it it's true. This leads me to feel sad, or rather think that humans as a whole are disappointing. Jesus is traveling through cities to preach his beliefs and nobody listens to him at first. They only start to pay attention when he performs miracles and cures and takes evil spirits out of people right in front of them. It's like that saying: I won't believe it until I see it. It is like we have no faith in anything that we can't prove, and that is very depressing.

In chapter four we have a special guest, the devil. I know, what the hell (pardon the pun) is he doing in the middle of the Bible- again? He's apparently just dropping in for a chat with Jesus. It's amazing how these people just sit down and try to teach their sworn enemy the ways of the Lord without even batting an eyelash! They could both destroy each other right then and there and they aren't even worried.

So the devil tries to lure Jesus to the bad side but Jesus, very unconvincingly or passionlessly might I add, answers: 'It is written' that I should not, 'It is written' that you should not tempt the Lord like that, 'It is written' that you should not only eat bread. What I get from this is that if it wasn't written then he, the Son of God, might actually considering following the devil.

Towards the end of chapter five Jesus is asked why he socializes with the sick, the poor, and the sinners. I find that totally classist, as if they are saying that just because someone is less fortunate, nobody different than them can be with them. But Jesus answers, 'I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.' (Gospel According to St. Luke 5:32) This statement is totally modest and we can see that Jesus really cares about everyone, which is for once the image I actually had of him.

The Inactive End, Finally

The last forty pieces of the Tao Te Ching really could not be more repetitive. They continue with the message of non-action mentioned before, and it's basically all they say. They describe this idea in a way that sounds negative, it sounds as though they are telling to sit down in a couch and do nothing for the rest of your lives. Literally.

The Tao and its concept are just like the universe and the sun: it's always there and majestic, not doing anything but at the same time doing it all.

http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/index.html

Here are some quotes that caught my attention:

'In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped. Less and less is done until non-action is achieved.' (FORTY-EIGHT) 'I take no action and people are reformed. I enjoy peace and people become honest. I do nothing and people become rich. I have no desires and people return to the good and simple life.' (FIFTY-SEVEN) These two passages are examples of what I said before, the idea of us doing absolutely nothing and getting everything we want. I don't agree with this idea because it makes life seem as if we needed to put no effort into it or anything we do, and it is not like that. I do agree with the go-with-the-flow side of it though. These are sadly just two of many (too many) examples of this concept in the book.

'Approach the universe with Tao, and evil will have no power… the sage himself will also be protected. They do not hurt each other, and the Virtue in each one refreshes both.' (SIXTY) This part caught my attention, mainly because they are comparing an important and wise follower of Tao with evil. They are basically saying that evil lives by the Virtue and that it is equal to the Tao. I find that completely incomprehensible, especially after everything it says about Tao being the master of everything and above 'all the ten thousand things'.

'There is no greater catastrophe that underestimating the enemy.' (SIXTY-NINE) This is completely true, as well as what they say: 'never underestimate a girl'. I really like this aphorism, even though it is stuck in the middle of nothing related to it. The book is organized without any order, which makes very confusing for me.

'The Tao of heaven is to take from those who have too much and give to those who do not have enough. Man's way is different. He takes from those who do not have enough to give to those who already have too much.' (SEVENTY-SEVEN) This sadly is true, it's a Robin Hood kind of aphorism. Well, it's actually the exact opposite but you get what I mean. It makes me wonder exactly what Tao is. It is always spoken about as 'the Tao' or 'the way of Tao', but we never know what it is. It might be a religion, a culture, a way of life, or just random poems brought together, but I guess we'll never know.

'Why does everyone like the Tao so much at first? Isn't it because you find what you seek and are forgiven when you sin?' (SIXTY-TWO) I was very surprised to find this set of questions in the middle of my reading, because it is exactly what happened to me. When we started reading the Tao Te Ching I was very excited because it was so simple, so easy to relate to. I guess in a way I did find what I was looking for, some kind of answer for a problem I could understand. The sinning part has nothing to do with me though. Towards the end I noticed that all the writings were focused on the same and topic that they all wanted to convey only that one message. It evidently became much more complex and it took more effort to understand what it meant to say. This is something I didn't like so much. Why can't anybody just say things as they are? Why do we have to use symbols and ideas and confusing words to say something that could be very simple? But the Tao seemed not to care about that, it gave off an attitude of read me if you want, if you don't I don't care. It just kept on going and spreading its message, oblivious to everything else, and that is something I really admired (although in my case, it was kind of obligatory to read it!)

Yin-Yang, Yin-Yang, Yin-Yang

Today's Tao Te Ching readings were very much like all the ones before. That is one thing I don't like about this book, it is very repetitive. Anyways, it talked about to live by the Tao, since that is the only reasonable way and the way of nature. We have to learn to live… humbly. It really makes a lot of sense, if you don't take credit or arrogance from any achievements you do then the world would be a better place. The Tao isn't exactly telling us not to do anything, it is telling us to achieve stuff, because it is the way of nature of course, but to move on.

Some aphorism that caught my attention:

'Achieve results, but never glory in them. Achieve results, but never boast. Achieve results, but never be proud. Achieve results, because this is the natural way. Achieve results, but not through violence.' (THIRTY) (Excuse me, it was 'the natural way', not the way of nature.) This is exactly what I was explaining. We should do all kinds of things but move right past them without letting them raise our ego or our self-image one little bit. I agree with the concept but I think that this might be a little extreme.

'Tao abides in non-action.' (THIRTY-SEVEN) We encounter the term 'non-action' again. We saw it in the Bhagavad-Gita, I think or way before now so it is kind of strange how such different texts have the same base. We came to the conclusion that everything is an action, even non-action. I think that the Tao Te Ching adapts it here to mean that even though we are acting, we are acting through non acting- it's the opposites again. Even through the simplest act we affect a much bigger picture, we just maybe don't realize it.

'The ten thousand things carry yin and embrace yang. They achieve harmony by combining these forces.' (FORTY-TWO) Ha, I was right! This thing is all about yin and yang! Read it and cry suckers!

Sorry, I just saw it and had to boast. I am going against the ways of Tao, oh dear me!

My Literary Soul-Mate

Today I continued reading the oh-so-amazing Tao Te Ching. Today, however it wasn't as simple and great. Parts THIRTEEN through TWENTY-EIGHT all talk basically about being good. They explain that following the Tao is eternal and the only way to become good, it talks again about doing one things as well as its opposite- the same yin-yang thing but only now it is a kind of give-and-take thing. A great example of the type of relationship talked about in the text is this aphorism, which was included in various parts of the text, 'He who does not trust enough will not be trusted.' He will only be trusted by others if he trusts them, the others give then he takes. By not doing anything then everything will work out and we won't be disappointed.

This is still my favorite literary piece we have read so far, but in today's reading the message wasn't as clear as the last time. This is probably because the texts covered lots of different topics, each of them very complex. Here are some aphorisms I liked:

'Give up ingenuity, renounce profit, and bandits and thieves will disappear.' (NINETEEN) I really like this part and the message it conveys. It is something that I've always believed in: as long as there is something there will be something bad that goes along with it. It's not like I'm a pessimist, to me it is just logical to think that if there is one piece of bread and two people want it, they are going to fight for it. The Tao is telling us to do the exact opposite, it is telling us to renounce what we have and do nothing. This is a bit depressing but it also makes sense when you think about it.

'Must I fear what others fear? What nonsense!' (TWENTY) The message= be yourself! This is also I strongly believe in, being who you truly are and not who others think you are or want you to be. Living your whole life under a cover just to try and please other is exactly as the text says, nonsense! Are you yourself not important enough to please too?

'The greatest Virtue is to follow Tao and Tao alone.' (TWENTY-ONE) It is self-explanatory. That is mainly what I like about this aphorism, how simple it is. I also really admire the confidence it emits. I just hate complications, all the drama that people add in just to make life more 'interesting'. I don't see it like that, I just see it as another problem blown up to a ridiculous size, without that being necessary. What I admire are confident and simple people, just as this aphorism seems.

 

It looks like this book and I are more alike than I thought. We would make a good couple! (Just joking)

Tao Te-Te Ching, I’m Lovin’ It

The Tao Te Ching is a compilation of poems about life, from ancient china I think. My point is, that it is the closest thing to today's literature as we have come to read in class. I have only read the first 12 parts, and I am already automatically relating to these poems and the message I take from them. These 12 poems talked mostly about how each thing is balanced out by its opposite, how whatever we do we should do it well, but we should also do it balanced. These are some aphorisms that really caught my attention from the texts:

'Under heaven all can see beauty as beauty only because there is ugliness. All can know good as good only because there is evil.' 'Work is done then forgotten. Therefore it lasts forever.' (TWO) these two passages are explaining what I said about everything and its opposite. They are representing a kind of yin-yang relationship, where each thing can be defined only because we know its opposed.

'Not seeing desirable things prevents confusion of the heart.' 'If nothing is done, then all will be well.' (THREE) Here we see the parallels again, but in a different situation. This is basically telling us that by not knowing that there is something better, then we will always be happy with what we have. If we don't see anything more than what we have, we won't want anything more, if we do know that there is more we will never be content with what we have even if it is enough for us. It is a perfect definition of human greediness which I think is pathetic, if we live controlled by greediness then life will just seem like any other competition and we will eventually get too tired to continue the race.

'More words count less.' (FIVE) This aphorism could also compliment the last ones I mentioned. It means that the more there is, the less it matters, the less value everything has. The same goes to greediness, the more we want the less we want what we do have.

'Heaven and earth last forever. Why do heaven and earth last forever? They are unborn, so ever living.'(SEVEN) What I understood by this passage is that everything will end. Everything that has a life, a soul, that is. Heaven and earth, being as majestic as they are, are lifeless and that is basically what makes them so majestic. They will live forever because they are so different to humans, so much more perfect.

'the sage is guided by what he feels and not by what he sees.' Senses make your body numb, just as logic makes your brain smart but your head dumb. Don't listen to what you can prove, follow your heart and your imagination to live a full life.

 

I think I'm really going to like this book.