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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"D'oh. They aren't supposed to be able to be answered, though, right?" Cally asked.

"I don't know. But probably not one that you think of that quickly."

"These are weird," Cally said.

"I think they're kind of neat."

"I like dealing with definites," Cally said.

"I've noticed."

Cally raised an eyebrow. "You have?"

"With the viper. You wanted to know exactly what was wrong with it, and you were willing to dismantle it and get dirty to find out."

"Yeah," Cally said. "I'm good with things that follow exact rules, I guess."

"That's cool. I admire that."

"Thanks," Cally said. "I really am sorry about yesterday."

"It's okay. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"Can I just say one thing? Just one little thing?" Cally bit her lower lip.

Nadia sighed. "You can say whatever you want. I doubt you'll change my mind, though."

"It's just... I think I know full well what Bel is capable of," Cally said, pointing to her eye.

Nadia shrugged noncommitally. It was one thing to know that a guy could punch you. It was another to know that he could kill you.

Cally nodded. "Catch you later, okay?" She stood up, giving Nadia a soft smile.

"Yeah. I'll see you."

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

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