fandomhigh | World Religions, Wednesday, 2nd Period [10/11]

Another night making friends with Mr. Miller and Mr. Daniels has left Jesse a bit less than exuberant this morning. He's standing by an open window when the first student enters and might possibly have flicked a cigarette away like a guy caught smoking in the boys room.

The handouts are waiting with the sign-in sheet and Jesse starts up as soon as everyone has taken a seat.

"When you think about religions, you probably think about a god or gods. Thing is, we've talked about more than one religion in this class that doesn't have that. Buddhism¹ is another one. Buddha's not a god, he's an enlightened person. Anyone has the potential to be a Buddha, if they just wake up and see existence for what it really is. You could argue that Jesus was a Buddha. And Mohammed.

"Siddhartha Gautama² is the guy most folks are probably thinking of when they say 'Buddha.' He's a Buddha, but he's also the Buddha, since he's the guy behind the religion we currently call Buddhism."

"Buddha said, 'I teach one thing and one thing only: suffering and the end of suffering.'

"Unlike religions that want you to go strictly on faith, Buddhist teaching encourages individuals to practice and verify the Buddha's teachings based on their own personal experience, and also after consulting with 'the wise'. If they find the teachings are true - leading to more happiness and less suffering - they can apply these teachings in a practical form into their daily life if they so wish. There's no hellfire and brimstone in the teaching and no insistence that there's only one way to get from here to there."

Jesse then goes on to discuss the various sects and approaches within Buddhism, concluding with Zen Buddhism³.

"Today I want y'all to have a look at koans⁴. Get together with a partner and either talk about one of the example koans. Or, and I'll give extra credit to anyone who does this, come up with a koan of your own."

Handout links:
¹Buddhism at Wiki
²Gautama Buddha
³Zen Buddhism
⁴Koans

Syllabus

[ooc: My thanks to wikipedia for the parts I cribbed verbatim.]

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Billy tapped his pen idly on his note book as he pondered koans.

"What do you think about these?" Stark asked.

"I don't know if I ever really understood them, but they can be helpfull in clearing your mind for meditation."

"You've heard of them before? Do you have one you know you'd like to talk about?"

"Well the sound of one hand clapping is a common one." Billy said. "One of my teachers was fond of Why is a Christmas Tree."

"Why is a Christmas tree?" Stark echoed. "I think I like the one hand clapping one."

"There's a reason it's a classic." Billy agreed.

"Do you have an answer? Since you've thought about it before? Or many answers?" Stark asked. He was trying to formulate an answer he thought would make sense to someone who wasn't him.

"Well the point as I've understood it, is that there is no answer. But trying to come up with one makes your mind wander, and helps you clear it. Which in turn helps meditation, and supposedly brings you closer to...whatever."

"Does it work? For you? Clear minds are good. When you can get them."

"Sometimes. Mostly I listen to music, or nature sounds."

"That works better? There's no thinking then. Not thinking makes it easier to have a clear head, I think."

"It does for me yeah. Helps me sleep sometimes too."

World Religions, Wednesday, 2nd Period [10/11]

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