Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #4: Buddhist Meditation

Modern Religious Experience: Reflection #4: Buddhist Meditation: "Spend 20 mintues in a silent meditation; a place you won't be disturbed, your own 'fig tree' as was Buddha's inspiration. In those 20 mintue..."

Spend 20 mintues in a silent meditation; a place you won't be disturbed, your own "fig tree" as was Buddha's inspiration. In those 20 mintues, notice to where your mind wanders. Can you attain "right thoughts", "right mindfulness" and "right concentration".
Write a one paragraph reflection about this time. Could you empty your mind to seek life's truths? What did you have trouble controlling in your mind? Finally, what inspriation did you receive? Any? If not, why not?

My place of quiet and meditation was outside, on a bench in the playground. It was at night, so things were relatively quiet. And because of this quiet, I was truly able to meditate. I focused on breathing in blessings and breathing out distractions. It was good because amidst my busy schedule and the excessive amount of work I had it was good to focus. It was soothing, and because of the cold, I felt that I was able to refocus. However, even though I was able to refocus and relax, I was able not able to empty my mind, let alone seek life's truths. The very word refocus indicates that I was focused on one thing, and that was homework. But one thing I did recieve was inspiration. It was to stop, procrastinating. I understand that this again sounds superficial, but procrastination has been a growing problem for me. It keeps me from not only finishing my homework but from getting sleep, and doing more important things that I could do if i didn't procrastinate. One feeling that kept on popping in my head with this idea was regret. It was regret that as a senior, procrastination was keeping me from spending valuable and limited time with my family. My resolve to improve my time management was strengthened.

Gandhi Movie Reflection

Gandhi’s idea of hinduism was an accepting, all encompassing religion that at its core were all the traditional values that we consider quite important. These values included the idea of self sacrifice, moral higher ground, non-violence or Ahmisa, tolerance, and the power of the atman or true inner self. The aforementioned belief in an accepting, tolerant religion can be seen in the movie through his speech when a mob is chanting for the death of a muslim leader. In his speech to the mob, he addresses them by saying that his old guru used to preach to him not just from the vedas but also the Bible and Qu’ran. Another of Gandhi’s beliefs that was exemplified in the movie was that of the Ahmisa. When he was protesting the pass laws, Gandhi was struck down, yet he, in his Ahmisa, sacrificed his well being and burned his papers.

In his teachings, Gandhi once preached that “an eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.” Every time something bad happened, such as when he was beaten, protesting the pass laws, he never retaliated in anger. He always just took it. A prime example of his this teaching can be seen through tone of the final sketches in the movie when a man comes and confesses to killing a child out of anger and vengeance. Furthermore, whenever he an injustice was done to him, he instead of changing this injustice by taking from others, but from taking from himself, or sacrificing himself.

Ode to the Totem Pole

How tall doth thou stand?

As a testament to the grace of mine people,

built by mine forefathers hand,

thou remind mine friends and family of our heritage as Native Americans.

Teaching mine clan to stand with pride,

against the test of time,

thou art an exemplification, oh totem pole

to mine forefathers time with the Wolves.

Cared for by nature's wolves

lying betwixt wolf cubs,

did mine forefather learn to liveth and groweth

in the earth realm

Only then, from the earth realm of the wolves,

did mine forefather learn of the

sky realm and underwater world

and the many creatures within.

Though from these realms, many friends did mine forefather make,

easy was it not to be human.

So my forefather made the totem as an attestation

to the friendship and memories with Thunderbird, and Blackfish that mine forefather had made.

But two others did mine forefather regret,

with the beaver who hated the earth folk,

And the frog

Whom he accidentally angered to cause great calamity within the protruding belly of the earth

Red fires

and red waters did the frog cause to spew out

all to the chagrin of

mine forefather who had, craving meat hunted with the wolves, frogs to eat.