Jesus of Nazareth

Jesus preached about non-materialism, forgiveness and most of all love.  The love about which he spoke is true love, the kind that can only come from God.  It is a love that transcends all social, economical and political boundaries.  It is a love that given freely even to those who don't deserve it.  This is because the love we should have is the love of God.  If God cares for people that curse and hate him, his followers should do the same because they should try to be as much like him as possible.  God loves people so much that he forgives them of anything they have ever done against him or will ever do.  This leads to the question, what is sin?  Sin is anything that is not of God.  God is all Good and therefor anything that is not of him is evil. ya.

Thomas

Although I have previously stated this I will do so once again.  It seems that all of these religions focus on allot of the same things.  Most notably, changing yourself is a way toward God or the light of enlightenment.  Also the things that are hidden will be revealed through dedicated searching.  The scriptures are not something one is to understand by simply reading them.  instead, understanding comes from constant searching.  By the passages given it appears that the kingdom of heaven is on earth.  Therefore people should focus on what is here and now. 

Pai-Chang

Enlightenment is described as being like awakening from a dream.  What an individual learned is one's own and not from outside sources.  Meaning the individual sees the world in all its aspects without the fog obstructing its view.  This fog takes many manifestations including; (in our own world) how we are instructed to think from school, how we are suppose to look by the magazines and TV, how much money we should make, the way we should act and dress,  all of which are only the cognitive constructions of someone else's mind dictatorially forces as "the way it should be" into our minds.  The enlightened mind will be free from these mind traps.

Tzu-ssu

Like all of the previous readings I enjoyed this one.  Even if I do not agree with the principles and philosophies contained in the text I still profit from the knowledge and understanding of other religions.  Taoists have a lot of the same ideas and beliefs as hinduism.  Notably the idea that the world and everything in it is connected.  We are as much a part of the ecosystem as we are of the universe.  This idea of human nature and its connection to the world is Tao.  Tao is the harmony of balance and equilibrium of the senses, emotions, thinking and all aspects of life.  Job, social status, family, location of residency, are all things that if enjoyed and accepted the way they are bring about the fulfillment of the Tao, creating what is known as the "mature person."  Fulfillment of the Tao does not spontaneously manifest itself in an individual.  Instead it is cultured over the individuals lifetime like a flower who's light is obscured by the growth of another plant changes its direction to regain the light it lost.  This happens over and over throughout the flowers life until it finally dies. 

The zen philosophy described in the text Wu-Men goes hand in hand with that of the text the Diamond Sutra.  the focal point of meditation is to be on the word MU and only on the word MU.  Meditation on the word MU will cut off the mind road and allow access through the barrier of the ancestors.  One way in which the this Zen philosophy deviates from that of the Diamond Sutra, is that it calls the mind to focus on one thought, MU, while in the Diamond Sutra the mind is called to not be called and therefore not the think of anything.  Secondly Wu-Men goes say that if attained the attainer will reach a point where they will see and hear the same as all the great ancestors of the ages.  

the diamond sutra

I enjoyed the reading.  It gives a good snapshot view into the underlying philosophy of the Buddhist religion.  The concept that there is no self and there is no lack of self is particularly interesting.  Evert thing is and is not.  "the truth is ungraspable and inexpressible. it neither is nor is not."  It is hard to grasp this concept.  but that is the point, if one were to grasp it, that individual would attain true wisdom and become a Bodhisattva.  The only way to this higher state of being is through enlightenment.  In the beginning of the passage the author shows the reader the mindset of a person who seeks enlightenment but has the wrong idea of what it is that enlightenment really is.  Another concept involved in the text, reveals how the mind should be free from thoughts, only because the mind is conditioned to needing thoughts.  If the mind was free from its dependance of thoughts than it need not give them up.  "when I attained Absolute Perfect Enlightenment, I attained absolutely nothing.  It can't be attained it can only be received.  To attain something one must be in the act of doing to receive which will negate the reason for doing it in the first place.   I do not agree with the concepts involved in the text, for people to strive for something greater than themselves they must have exactly this. something to strive for.  without something to strive for and a mind free from thought we are essentially in a vegetative state. Plus no man can fully give up what he needs.  For example everyone depends on food, even if it is a pea for breakfast and a carrot for lunch.  Everyone also depends on water and oxygen and must sleep from time to time.  With that in mind it seems impossible to reach a state where the body, mind and spirit could ever be free from those things which it needs.  Unless the full manifestation of true enlightenment is only found in death.