How Should We Live- The Tao Te Ching

Throughout literature we are confronted with a question that every human being may have a different opinion on. How should we live? The Analects by Confucius were one opinion of living. He called his theory “the Way”. A way we should lead our lives, applying virtues, values, and morals to our everyday lives. The Tao Te Ching inspires it’s readers to follow “the Tao”. These two terms seem very similar. A path or way that one takes to achieve “goodness” as said by Confucius. The Bible is also a similar work or works since it was written by many different people. The Bible inspires us to follow Christ and God in order to attain salvation and, “a place among those who are by faith,” in the Lord. They teach us lessons through passages that we may be able to reflect and apply into our own every day lives.
Many people follow at least one of these “ways” and believe in it extraordinarily. Christians follow Christ, followers of Confucius walk “the Way,” and the people who read and follow the Tao Te Ching, aspire to have aspects found in “the Tao.” Like education different people give us different sides and methods to do certain things. We can either talk back and give them what we think, or we can take what they all say and filter the things that we don’t agree with out, keeping the more important points. We can learn a great deal about life, and the meaning of life from these works and they are absolutely worth reading.

We Have Become Drunk In Our Own Power

What kind of a people have we become? One where social acceptance and status matter more to us than values, virtues, and morals. Have we become so vile and vain that we would push someone else into a bullet to save our own skins, smother our own babies to save our own lives? As we have advanced in technology and power, our morality has dramatically decrease. If you were waling on a crosswalk today and a car were coming, you would know from experience that the car wouldn’t even slow down. The man believes himself superior to everyone else and thinks they should get out of his way or else. This mentality is reflected in mankind today. We believe ourselves superior and more important than everyone else. Be it differences in nationality, skin color, ancestry, or religion, we bicker and argue over who is the best, who is right.

Once man had a code of chivalry, a certain set of rules or expectations society had for man. To be gentlemen was considered a duty and was done without question. Their desire was not for personal gain, self preservation or anything that would promote their social status. It was merely a desire to put others before themselves, and value others the same or more than they would value themselves. Nowadays, society has become corrupt, drunk in its own power. Now attaining the highest social acceptance and status is the most important aspect of life. One today would not help someone out of the kindness of their hearts but for personal gain. We have become a selfish society that is so distracted by image and others opinions of that image that we forget what comes before ourselves. Once we die all of our material belongings, reputations, images, status and life will be taken away and discarded like trash.

We have spoken of equality among men and how we desire to attain that equality no matter our race or religion or social class might be. But the truth is, friends, that we don’t really want those things. The world isn’t fair or equal and we may never be able to treat each other as equals. Before we can have equality we must humble ourselves. If we do so we will realize the value of another person in this world. They might not mean much to you at that time but they may be everything to someone else. We need to let go of the material and precious items that really are worthless and put others before ourselves.

Confucius mentions in the Analects the joy, simplicity, and humility that comes with letting go. He would rather eat bread and drink water and have only an arm as a pillow than live as though he needed the material. The truth is, we don’t. We depend so much on these things that we lose sight of the other, more important aspects of life. If we lost our things, we would mourn for a while. Some would act as though their lives had just gone down the drain but we will come to realize that what was really important was not lost and life was worth much more than unnecessary objects.

Try Things The Hard Way- Confucius Books 7, 8, and 11

Although this topic does not recur much throughout the Analects, it caught my eye more and made me think. The Master said, “Eating plain food and drinking water, having only your bent arm as a pillow- surely there is joy to be found in this! Wealth and eminence attained improperly concern me no more than the floating clouds.” (Confucius pg.20) It made me think of modern society and the basis of social status we all desire to attain. The Master enjoyed simplicity much more than wealth and power.

Nowadays people believe the most important aspect of life is what others think of you and where you are in the world. If you are rich and powerful you doing pretty good for yourself, whereas if you are poor and humble you are a disgrace to society. As our technology expands and advances it seems we are finding new and easier ways to do everything but sometimes, maybe it’s better that we do things the hard way rather than attempt to find a way to make it easier on ourselves.

Iv’e heard that someday we will all have floating chairs or some kind of transportation which will enable us all to never have to stand or walk around. Honestly that does not sound in the least bit appealing to me at all. I would rather walk to school or work rather than take the bus or car. Maybe sometimes as the Master points out, it is better when it is simple and humble.

The Teachings Of A Sage- Confucius Books 4-6

Virtue, Goodness, the Ways, all terms I have heard of but never really understood. Confucius seems to me to be a master of wisdom and Goodness who instructs his disciples in ways they might become Good. As I read through his teachings, though, the passages reminded me of the Bible, or at least a book in the Bible. It brought to mind Proverbs. One of the first passages the master says was, “If one does not choose to dwell among those who are Good, how will one obtain wisdom?” (Confucius pg.10) I was instantly reminded of the proverb passage, “Those who walk with the wise, becomes wiser still but the companion of fools suffers harm.” (Proverbs 13:20) Both of these books seem to be trying to reach out to people and instruct them on the path to Goodness and in the Bible’s case, Godliness. When the Master is confronted with questions about wisdom and Goodness, he responds with his teachings. “The wise take joy in rivers, while the Good take joy in mountains. The wise are active, while the Good are still! The wise are joyful, while the Good are long lived.” (Confucius pg.18) It seems the master has attained Goodness and wishes only that his students might learn from him and become as him. Some people mentioned that these Analects were more direct, but I might disagree. While neither are absolutely direct, the Analects seem to leave more room for interpretation. The Bible also does so but in many cases it is as direct and simple as possible. Follow what God says. Read the Bible and you will know what to do with your life. It’s very simple and easy to understand whereas some of the Analects confused quite a bit. “A gu that is not a proper gu- is it really a gu? Is it really a gu?”(Confucius pg. 18) I’m not really sure what to take from that.

God Bless America-Barrack Acceptance Speech

Barrack Hussein Obama, the president of the United States. At first I didn’t think it would happen. With so many flaws and questionable traits, for sure he would lose. But using what he does best he won over the crowd and the race. I don’t believe he will be that great of a president, but I have to admit that he is an excellent public speaker. He knows how to appeal to the audience and seems to know what they want. Even if he doesn’t believe it he might say something to please his crowd. He uses expressions, gestures, tone, volume, movements, that clarify and emphasize what he wants to say.
I’ve heard that people cry at Obama’s rallies. I don’t think it’s that great but it’s an example of the audience being appeased and satisfied with what he says. Another thing I noticed. Barrack makes a lot of promises. Some of which he very well might not be able to keep. He know this but it deceives the audience into thinking he can and he will do everything possible to help the people. He knows what he’s doing on stage and he’s got his plan for the United States burned into our minds. Change. That’s his plan. He promises change for the greater good. We’ll see how well he can live up to that.

Where Is God Now?

Elie, the main character of the novel “Night” finds himself in the same predicament as Job. He thought to himself, “How I sympathized with Job! I did not deny God existence, but I doubted His absolute existence.” (Night pg. 42) Once he was happy, in a peaceful town, oblivious to pain and suffering. He lived with his family, enjoyed time with his friends, “believed profoundly.” (Night pg. 1) Like Job he was without flaw in God’s eye. He believed and found himself deeply influenced by God in everything he did. Then one day, the inconceivable happened. Everything he knew, everything he loved and had just blew out the window. Job lost his family, land, wealth, purpose. Elie lost the same. His family and him went separate ways, he no longer had a sense of purpose, simply to survive. He was treated like an animal and deprived of every human right. If Elie is to Job, then the Nazis were to Satan. They took everything from the two. After all was taken from them they began to question God. How could a loving God allow imprisonment and torture and the death of so many people? How could God take everything away from a man who was so devoted to the faith? They blamed God for their predicament when all they had to do was be attentive and trust God, trust their brothers and sisters in faith. Moshe the Beadle warned them of what could happen, there were rumors of concentration camps and slavery of all the Jews, but they would not listen. Eventually their pain and suffering came to such an extent they questioned his existence. They asked one another, “Where is God now? … Where is He? Here He is-He is hanging here on this gallows.”(Night pg. 62) Then out of the havoc and pandemonium, out came salvation. For Job, he was shown the light by Elihu the young boy who was wiser than the old men. For Elie it was the Americans who liberated him and freed him from his torment.

Fallacies

1. Obama -I think everybody knows now we are in the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. And a lot of you I think are worried about your jobs, your pensions, your retirement accounts, your ability to send your child or your grandchild to college.
2. Obama -Part of the problem here is that for many of you, wages and incomes have flat-lined. For many of you, it is getting harder and harder to save, harder and harder to retire.
3. McCain - Well, thank you, Oliver, and that's an excellent question, because as you just described it, bailout, when I believe that it's rescue, because -- because of the greed and excess in Washington and Wall Street, Main Street was paying a very heavy price, and we know that.
4. McCain -And so let's look at our records as well as our rhetoric. That's really part of your mistrust here.

Job’s Worth- Job Chapters 38-42

The entire predicament, the cause of Job’s wealth and prosperity as well as his loss and suffering were a result of Job’s faith. He was as close to perfect as a man can get in God’s eyes and he was well off before the Satan intervened. After the catastrophes set against Job he almost lost all trust and faith in God. His friends unsuccessfully attempted to comfort and open his eyes to the truth. Eventually Elihu was the only one who could do so. Once Job opened his eyes, he begged forgiveness, promised redemption and understood the purpose of the test. As soon as God saw that Job had returned in his trust towards Him, “the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.”(Job 42:10) The test had proved that even Job, as close to perfect as a man can get in God’s eyes, was breakable and the only person who could really understand was a youth. Obviously no man is perfect, we are all born into sin and we all sin thousands of times in our lives, but if we only open our eyes God will bless us and give us what we lose from our ignorance and evildoings. This is yet another side of God and a very frequent case that recurs throughout the Bible. God is forgiving. Job had everything, then lost everything, then was returned everything he had lost and more. God giveth, God taketh away, and God giveth back.

The Old And Ignorant. The Young And Wise- Job Chapters 11-37

Back and forth Job argued with his three friends. They attempted to dissuade Job from his lamentation and mourning but unsuccessful to do so. They come to him with their advice, “they set out from their homes and met together by agreement to go and sympathize with him and comfort him.”(Job 2:11) Job blamed God for his suffering. Was he not perfect in the eyes of the Lord? Did he not follow as much of the word said? He came to a conclusion that, “the arrows of the Almighty are in me, my spirit drinks in their poison; God’s terrors are marshaled against me.”(Job 6:4) None of his friends could do anything to defend God from Jobs curses and complaint. Watching all the time was Elihu, attentive and thoughtful he listened to the elders argue until finally his anger took over. He said to the elder men, “I am young in years, and you are old; that is why I was fearful, not daring to tell you what I know. I thought, Age should speak; advanced in years should teach wisdom. But it is the spirit in a man, the breath of the Almighty, that gives him understanding. It is not only the old who are wise, not only the aged who understand what is right.”(Job 32:6-9) Against the culture of his people he spoke out and gave the truth of God. The young boy was the only one among them who could win the argument with Job, who could dissuade his anger away from God and open his eyes to the truth. In culture today it is not as similar as then. We value the opinion of a younger as much as that of an elder. But sometimes they might be more unbelievable than what the elders say just because of the fact that they are younger. We should take from this that sometimes we should value the opinion of people, less in years, over the opinion of people, “advanced in years.”