Eight Fold Path Final Project Reflection

For my final project, I decided to worship my Christian God through doing Eight Fold Path Buddhist meditation. I created my own meditation activities for each step to worship my own God.
I believe that my God is omnipotent, saving, loving, and personal.

The Eight Fold Path is the Buddhist way of ending suffering, and it was laid out by Siddhartha Guatama. There 8 parts of the Eight Fold Path can be categorized into three main groups: Wisdom, Ethical Conduct, and Concentration

Step 1: RIGHT VIEW
Read favorite verses in the bible in a quiet place to get the right thoughts about Christianity and about God

Favorite Verses
John 3:16
For God so loved the world that He gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Revelation 3:20
Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.

Step 2: RIGHT THOUGHT 
Go to a subway station, sit down, and repeat mantra "Everyone is important because everyone is God's special and original creation" while watching people walking around in the subway station. 

Step 3: RIGHT SPEECH
Give compliments to everyone/anyone to realize the right thoughts and have the right speech

Step 4: RIGHT CONDUCT
Give help to others when people are in need of help (holding doors, helping on homework, giving advice) in order to do right conduct. Repeat mantra "Be selfless"

Step 5: RIGHT LIVELIHOOD
Teach kids/neighbor kids how to play games. Roll around in grass and appreciate nature and God's creations.

Step 6: RIGHT EFFORT
Greet others first to rid myself of shy-ness. Be friendly to others.

Step 7: RIGHT MINDFULNESS
Lie down on the floor in my room with no distractions and think/reflect about my day and how I can improve for the next day

Step 8: RIGHT CONCENTRATION
Make a detailed schedule for studying to have right concentration. Resist temptation to get distracted by my computer (Facebook). Focus on what needs to be done.

Insight:
From my meditation experience, I gained insights about God's love. Even though I don't think I will ever fully be able to understand the depths of God's love, I can now somewhat feel his love around me. When I did step 1, which was reading the bible in a quiet place, I read my favorite verses carefully. This helped me realize, understand and feel God's love. He loved us so much that he sacrificed his son for us. Also, He loves me so much that he is constantly knocking on my door, waiting for me to open the door for him.

I also gained insight on how to live the right way through doing steps 4, 7, and 8 which were helping others, reflecting to improve the next day, and making a detailed schedule to study. I realized that it's important to always have a heart to serve, and to put effort into living life, like Jesus did. When I live like this, it makes me happy, and it makes me feel useful and purposeful. I think that the purpose of life is to try to love others like God loves us, and experience the joy that comes from loving and doing good things.

The Spiritual Nature Of "Spirited Away"

There were several instances in the movie Spirited Away in which Shinto beliefs were portrayed. The first example of Shintoism in the movie was when Chihiro gets stuck to the ground and Haku recites a prayer, or an incantation to release her. Haku says "In the name of the wind and water within me, unbind her." In Japanese, prayers are called Norito, and they are essential to the Shinto belief. The second example of Shintoism in the movie was when the river spirit came to the bath house. When he first came, he was stinky and he was filled with trash such as bicycles, toilets, and etc. However, after Chihiro pulled all the junk out of him, he was just a kind mask. After the river spirit was all cleaned, he gave Chihiro a gift. Chihiro used the gift that the river spirit gave her to heal others around her. The gift from the river spirit was so potent because in the Shinto belief, purification or Hirai, is important. Purification comes from a natural source, so the river spirit is the natural source in this case. Purification is a recurring theme in this movie. The bath house was significant because bath houses are places for cleansing. Additionally, Haku was also a river spirit and Haku helped Chihiro through out her journey. As a result, he helped purify her.

Chihiro had to go on this spiritual journey because she had to bring her parents back to their human form. The initial reason why she stayed in the spirit realm was to save her parents. However, during her spiritual journey, she learned how to be selfless, kind, caring, and she also learned the importance of her true identity. Zeniba and Haku informed her that her true name was extremely important and they told her to never forget her real name. If she forgot her name, she would be stuck in the spiritual realm forever, without her true identity. Chihiro's beliefs were changed throughout her journey, and as a result of the change in her beliefs, her actions began to change. Initially, she only wanted to help her parents and she was scared of everybody else. However, during her journey, her beliefs changed and she began to help others more. For example, she helped No Face by being his friend. He also helped Lin and Haku, and she was kind to other characters such as Yubaba's baby.

Gandhi

Quotes

“An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” 

This quote is well known, and it truly reflects Gandhi's outlook on life. I think that Gandhi wanted to convey two messages through this quote. Firstly, Gandhi wanted to tell others that people should do good deeds just for the sake of doing good deeds; not for the sake of receiving anything in return or as an obligatory act. Several of Gandhi's actions support this quote. Secondly, I think Gandhi wanted to show others that people should not try to get revenge on other people to get "even" with them. 
Gandhi's ideals and morals can be seen through his actions throughout the movie. For example, Gandhi performs good deeds towards the whole of India without expecting anything in return. He fought hard for India's independence, and sacrificed a lof of himself, yet he did not want anything in return; in fact at the end of the movie, the news reporter states that Gandhi believes that he himself had failed in achieving his goals. Gandhi also did not want to get revenge on the British even though the British oppressed the Indian people. After Gandhi comes from his conference in London, he explicitly states that he wanted to "see the British off as friends." This shows how Gandhi did not have a heart for revenge. Additionally, after 1516 Indian people were injured or killed at the Massacre of Amritsar, Gandhi does not want the Indians to get revenge on them. Instead, he continues to advocate peaceful, nonviolent, noncooperation. If he had wanted to take "an eye for an eye," then Gandhi would have employed more violent means of achieving his goals of Indian independence. 

"I am a Muslim, and a Hindu, and a Christian and a Jew; and so are you."

This quote demonstrates Gandhi's strong Hindu beliefs. Hinduism is a religion that has a lot of tolerance, and Hindu people believe that there are several ways of representing Brahman - the ultimate reality. They believe that other religions such as Islam, Christianity, Judaism, etc. are all alternative and equal ways that Brahman represents itself. Therefore, Hindu people are tolerant of other belief systems and religions. Gandhi demonstrates his religious tolerance a few times throughout the movie. For example, he demonstrates his religious tolerance when he decides to stay at a Muslim persons' house during the conflicts between the Muslims and the Hindus. After India gained their independence from Britain, the Muslim people and Hindus began to fight against each other. Gandhi was displeased with this fighting, and he tried to set an example of tolerance for the other Indians and Hindus. Gandhi also displays religious tolerance when he tells the Hindu man about his way to heaven. After the fights between the Muslims and Hindus broke out, a Hindu man came to Gandhi and told him that he was going to hell because he had killed a Muslim child. Gandhi told him that the only way to heaven was to find a Muslim orphan and raise the Muslim orphan as his own child. This shows that Gandhi wanted Hindus to have religious tolerance towards Muslims. 


New Insight 

After watching the Gandhi movie, I gained a few new insights about Hinduism. Firstly, I now have a better idea of what Hinduism looks like. I think that Gandhi is a perfect example of a "good" Hindu, in that Gandhi has religious tolerance, does good deeds, and lives mainly to serves others. Due to all of these actions that make him a "good" Hindu, I can now see why people say that Gandhi has found Nirvana. From this movie, I also realized the unifying power of Hinduism. The Hindus in the movie were unified because they were Hindus. It was as if all Hindus had a spiritual connection because they believed in the same religion. Additionally, Hindus heavily discriminated against people who were not Hindus. Hinduism simultaneously acted as a unifying force, and a discriminating force. 

Easter Reflection: Second Chances

Because my parents had taken me to church regularly since I was a toddler, I have always been aware about God and Christianity. However, I never really learned the deep meaning behind the Easter story. I learned about other stories such as Noah's Arc, Joseph and the Technicolor Dream Coat, and Moses parting the Red Sea, but I had never really learned the Easter story. Of course, I had learned about how Jesus was crucified, and how because of the crucifixion, everyone had the chance to go to heaven and be with God forever. I also participated in activities such as Easter Egg scavenger hunts and Easter egg painting. But I never really thought about the meaning of Easter and of Jesus' crucifixion.
I was touched by the Easter assembly, and I thought that it was done very well. It conveyed the Easter message, and it really helped me understand the meaning of Easter. The part of the Easter assembly that really stood out to me was the skit done by Reca and Isaac. It depicted a situation in which people were able to fix mistakes and have second chances just by ringing a bell. I realized that God allowed us to have second chances that easily by giving up his only son, Jesus. Because Jesus was God in flesh, and because his blood was shed, the world automatically has a second chance. I now understand the phrase "Jesus died on the cross for our sins." Another part of the Easter assembly that I enjoyed was the video that was shown of Peter being given a second chance after Jesus' resurrection. It made me realize that God really does give second chances. Even though Peter had denied him three times on the day of Jesus' crucifixion, Jesus still asked Peter to feed his sheep. I believe that a God who is full of grace and love is a God who gives second chances. Learning about Easter and second chances over the past week has made me feel grateful and saved. I'm grateful that God exists, and I'm grateful that he sacrificed himself in the form of Jesus to give us all second chances. 

My Shema

Characteristics: My God is a powerful God who controls everything. He and has specific plans for everyone. My God loves everybody, and he wants everybody to let him into their lives.
Experience: Last year, my grandpa was very sick. I prayed to God and asked him to relieve my grandpa of his pain. My grandpa passed away very peacefully. I think that God listened to my prayers and decided that it was time to bring him up to heaven. Also, on the day of the burial, the weather was forecasted to be extremely cold, cloudy and windy. I prayed and asked God to make the burial day be a nice day since it was the day that my grandpa's body would be buried. The sun was shining brightly, and it seemed like it a perfect spring day, despite the fact that it was January. It was a very nice day, and I think that God answered my prayers.
My way of revering: I revere my God by going to church, praising him, and praying to him.

My Shema

My God is so almighty, powerful, and omnipotent. 

My God is so loving, gracious, and caring. 

My God is a God whom I can have faith in, 

for he is a faithful God. 

I will forever praise my God and pray to him, 

because he is my one and only God. 

Sacred Poetry: Ancient Egyptians

The Red Pyramid, also known as the North Pyramid, was built in Dashur. Pharaoh Snerfu, built this pyramid at around 2600 B.C. Because the casing was dated, archaeologists were able to postulate that this pyramid took around 17 years to build. The Red Pyramid is the fourth tallest pyramid ever built in Egypt, and it consists of 160 layers of stone. The Red Pyramid served as a precursor to the Pyramids of Giza. Inside of the Red Pyramid, there lies a single burial chamber that could be accessed through two smaller chambers. Snerfu is believed to have been buried in this pyramid. There is a mortuary temple, east of the Red Pyramid. The mortuary temple is significant because Snerfu purposely positioned the east west alignment of the temple to the path of the sun. This is significant because Egyptians worshipped the Sun God, Ra. The Egyptians believed the Ra was the creator and controller of the universe. In Egyptian religion, pyramids were built for the purposes of burying the dead. Egyptians carefully preserved dead bodies and buried them inside pyramids because they believed that the soul would return to the body in the after life. Egyptians placed a lot of emphasis on the afterlife. They believed in the God of Death Anubis (Egyptian Gods). The Ancient Egyptian Religion can be categorized as a prehistory religion because they have the characteristics common to prehistoric religions. 

Sacred Poem

The

pyramid is

not a creation of 

man but a creation of the 

almighty gods.We thank you 

gods, for giving us the strength and the

power to build these mighty mighty structures.

The pyramid lies on the west of the nile river and 

we have aligned the mortuary temple to the direction

of the sun to praise you, oh mighty gods. Today is the day

that we will bury one of our leaders. I grieve for our loss, but 

we believe in you god of death, Anubis. We believe that you have 

chosen our Pharaoh's soul to bring to the afterlife. We pray that you 

guide Pharaoh Snerfu through the afterlife. Place your gracious hand on 

Pharaoh and lead him through your world of death. Here is a healthy lion

 that we will sacrifice for you Anubis, god of the death. Ra, we pray that you 

bring life and bless us with good food. Thank you almighty gods for saving us

Religion's Influence

Authors argue that religion has a good influence in America. Research has shown that America's diversity and devoutness makes the country more tolerant of other beliefs. For example, because American's are able to switch their religions with such ease, many families consist of several religions within the family. Also, Americans don't think that their friends and family members are damned if they are of other religions. America is far more religious than any other country. Researchers argue that religion produces practical benefits for Americans. Religious people are more likely to do good deeds such as volunteer work, blood donations, etc.

 CNN Article: Religion is good for America