Shinto

Shinto is a very fascinating religion. Although I don’t yet know too much about it, I am fascinated by what I have found out. In particular, I learned about the beliefs of life after death in Shinto. People believe strongly in kami, which are spirits. Many Shinto people believe that they may become kami after death. Either that or they will be with the kami when they die. People also believe that they become one with nature after death. Meaning they escape to the sky and specifically, to the mountains when they pass away.

An interesting belief, which I find rather disturbing, is the idea of water children. It is sometimes said that when a Shinto child dies they continue to plague and terror the other Shinto belief. I don’t think I would be want to part of a religion with this belief, for I would constantly be in fear. However, it is not very popular and there are other beliefs, which trump them. Another intriguing part of their religion is their shrines. They are very famous specifically the one in water.

The movie, Spirited Away, has some very blatant Shinto beliefs throughout. It is a movie I would recommend for everyone. My favorite part of it, which I loved, was when they bathed the river spirit. Nature and purification are a huge part of Shinto, and those ideas were all throughout the movie. The specific part with the river spirit was the most blatant to me, though. The nature part of the religion is something I can relate to, for I find nature particularly beautiful and moving. Overall, Shinto is very interesting and there are many parts of it I would follow and be devoted to, and some I wouldn’t. However, I think that will be the case in any religion one chooses to follow.

Buddhism

I think the buddha's life is extremely interesting. He is born and is able to walk 8 steps and talk. Then is is put in this wonderful please palace by his dad. His dad hopes that the please palace will distract the Buddha enough that he wont realize the harsh realities of the world. However, eventually the Buddha does leave and he slowly sees the terrible reality of the world. People get old, they get sick, they are poor, etc. Seeing this ruins the Buddha, for he becomes completely distraught and he refuses to live knowing he's going to become old, sick, and eventually die. The Buddha searches for a way out of this life. At first he tries fasting, but after 6 years of only eating a grain of rice a day and become grossly skinny, he realizes that he must be strong and well- nourished to truly meditate and become enlightened. I think this whole story is fascinating, but i don't quite understand the Buddha's extreme reactions to thing. He doesn't do things halfway, but instead goes completely overboard and become very dedicated and obsessed with certain things.

However, i like the way he runs his religion. The "spirit" of Buddhism is very unique, and it is fascinating because of it's differences. The religion is non ritualistic, which immediately intrigues me. I don't particularly like going to church and doing similar rituals. I understand why the Buddha sees them as a waste of time, and i think there are many other valuable ways to spend one's time. The religion is also non metaphysical/ non-abstract, which means not worrying about things you don't know. This aspect of the religion makes me wish i followed Buddhism, for i am constantly worrying and it would be very nice to be able to stop. The Buddha also believes he is unnecessary to the religion, but that everyone should be their own Buddha. I like this philosophy, for you don't have to depend on anyone but yourself. There are no secrets in Buddhism, for it is revolved around the individual themselves. People need to be aware if themselves, and to just rely on themselves. I find the idea of relying on one god or one priest very limiting and frustrating,

so Buddhism greatly appeals to me.

Another part of Buddhism i find very intriguing is nirvana. It is giving up craving, desires, and hatred, and is overall the state of no attachment, which is described as 'bliss'.

For me, nirvana means happiness and an overwhelming peace. You are happy with yourself, and you have no worries in the world. Peace means

being calm in your heart and calm with yourself. The quote attached describes it well, for that would be my nirvana.

Jnana Yoga

Jnana Yoga is knowledge. It means properly understanding your soul and you body. It means understanding that you are atman and brahman is everything. You don't do actions, you're just a cavity with an atman inside. You must realize you are not really you. The only thing that is really you is your atman. It means detaching yourself from everything that is temporary. The focus is on understand what is real, and what is just 'stuff'.

Karma Yoga

Karma Yoga means doing your duty, whatever that may be, without worrying or being anxious about the results. It means doing your work wholeheartedly simply for the satisfaction of doing it. It means not worrying about getting a raise, or making money, but just doing work for the spiritual satisfaction. It means reaching Moksha, and releasing your atman to your brahman. You do the duty, for your religion and for your deities, instead of for the material rewards. If i did Karma Yoga, i wouldn't worry about getting good grades, making money, or getting a raise. I would simply be working and learning to do my duty and to help whoever i could in the process. I would do my best in school and i would help my parents with their work and with chores around the house. I wouldn't complain about the duty i needed to do. I would use up all my free time to accomplish my duties and therefore, i wouldn't watch TV or go on Facebook or use up my time with any other menial pleasure. I wouldn't spend time hanging out with friends or anything like that. Even if i became very successful and made lots of money, i wouldn't care about it because i wouldn't be doing work for the goal of being successful. I would help people and do whatever i could to help all people all around the world. I would do this for my god and for the spirits of the world. It wouldn't matter whether i got a material reward for it, as long as i had the satisfaction that i had done my duty.

More Hinduism

Some other interesting aspects of Hinduism are the 4 castes, the 4 stages of life, and Puja. The four castes are Brahmins, which are Priets, Kshatriys, which are rulers are warriors, Vanishyes, which are merchants, farmers, and artisans, and sutras/shudas, which are unskilled laborers. There is also another sub category where the outcasts and untouchables go. They are usually people who deal with the dead and garbage and are therefore looked down upon. (see first picture on left) Then there are the 4 stages of life. They are student, which are people learning, householder, which are married people who work and raise a family, forest dweller, which are grandparents helping with grandchildren and who focus on spiritual matters, and Sannyasin, which are people who give up all worldly attachments. (see second picture on left). All people of the Hinduism faith must fall into one of the four casts and one of the 4 stages of life. I find it interesting that people have to be in one of those four categories for both the casts and stages of life. I don't see why someone can simply be unmarried without a job just living freely. Why do they have to have a specific role? I also think the four casts should have some gray area. what if someone is not quite a priest, but is not as low as a ruler or warrior? I, personally, do not think a religion should tell people that they need to fall in a specific role. People should encouraged to be unique and different. On a totally different note, i find Puja very interesting. Puja involves many steps, which lead to a person having Darshan and having an intense climati

c moment with their divine deity. Some of these steps are similar to other religions, such as chanting/praying, giving gifts to the deity, and the drinking and touching of holy water. However, some are very unique, such as ringing of the bells, anointing the deity, marking the third eye, and touching the fire and then your eyes. I like how Puja incorporates so many different things and rituals. They manage to be unique and yet relatable, which is very difficult to do. There are examples of deity's decorated and worshipped to the left and below. I think decorating a deity is overall a very significant and powerful way to worship a god, and i think these steps of Puja are some of the most interesting aspects of Hinduism.

(pictures all taken from Google Images)

Hinduism

There are many parts to Hinduism. The history includes the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Puranas, etc. However, some main ideas are atman, brahman, and samsara. The atman is self, soul, it lives on when you die, and it can't be harmed. Brahman, though, is the source of everything, the eternal peace and joy, and it is the spirit in all things. Samsara is the cycle of reincarnation. I, personally, like the idea of reincarnation. You are able to live again and again, experiencing new and exciting lives. It's almost like living forever, but you can experience different lives and different bodies. Although in Hinduism they want Moksha, which is becoming enlightened and ending samsara, i don't think i would want to experience that. I'd be fine with just living different lives every time you die. Although these are rather difficult ideas to grasp, they are extremely important to Hinduism. Also important are the four goals of Hinduism. They are Moksha, dharma, Artha, and Kama. Moksha is enlightenment, dharma is your duties, Artha is power and success, and Arma is pleasure. If i had to choose one of the four goals of Hinduism, I'm not sure which one i would choose. I would probably choose Artha because power and success is the most appealing option. Success is a very fulfilling and satisfactory feeling, which usually leads to a good and happy life. I almost wish there was a success button that would give me success, power, and wealth with just one click.

http://www.mspmentor.net/2009/02/09/four-secrets-to-msp-success-regardless-of-the-economy/

Shamans

I thought the shaman reading and our overall class today was extremely interesting. I agree with some people in our class though, for most of the information seemed unreasonable. I dont think shamans actually had the medical power that people seemed to believe. It was possible they made people think they were healed and then they actually felt better. (the placebo effect) i doubt they were actually able to talk with plants and animals, control the weather, etc. I find it amazing that people actually believed they could be healed by these spiritual men. Also i thought the Navajo Sand paintings were extremely fascinating. They believed that they could restore the balance of life and make a holy person happy by doing this painting. I also cant quite grasp the fact that they thought the Kwakiuti Masks held actual spirits in them, and that they became the spirit when they put the mask on. The article i read was also interesting because it showed the modern side of shamans. However, it seems like they have became much less important and more of a joke. They can simply take a week long class and became a shaman, and they make people pay money for their help. Overall, i think shamans are very interesting and i hope to learn more about their ways.