Daoism

Last week in class we discussed Daoism and tried to interpret the best we could of what Daoism explained because it is very difficult to read and understand it well. We discussed how Daoism is a religion and also a philosophy that many people believe in. For example, in class we compared Daoism with 'the force" of star wars because it is similar in that it can't be seen, but people know what it is. The force can be thought of as the way that everything happens naturally without having to do anything, like the flow of life. I like how our instructor related the way of describing Daoism to having to describe what salt tastes like to a person that has never tried salt. It seems impossible to describe exactly what salt tastes like with our language and words because it is like having to describe a color. People know what salt tastes like and also what a certain color looks like because we were born naturally with the capabilities to do so. Daoism is similar in that it is very hard to explain to someone that has never experienced the Dao because it is something almost unexplainable, it is something that occurs naturally. I think that Daoism is very interesting, but like other philosophies it is very difficult to understand so you have to read and reread everything to understand it better. Daoism can be interpreted in different ways by different people from different perspectives because of the way it is written, it doesn't really state something, it leaves the reader having to interpret the reading however he/she may choose. Last week we also watched the first part of Kung Fu Panda and I think that it has some Dao characteristics like when master Shifu and the furious five tell master oogway that the panda can't be the dragon warrior because it was an accident that the master chose the panda as the dragon warrior, but master oogway says that there aren't no accidents. I think that master oogway meant is similar to destiny and to daoism because it happens naturally. My favorite line of the movie so far is when master Oogway tells master Shifu that " yesterday was history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift that's why it's called the present" because it makes you think about why the present is really called the present. I had never though or questioned why we call the present the present until I saw the movie.


word count: 419

The Ramayana

Last week we read and discussed the story of The Ramayana. It is an Indian story that depicts the way of thought that people had in those times. For example, the main character, Rama, is exiled to the woods for no reason and he doesn't complain or say anything in regards to his punishment. Rama goes into exile because he says he wants to fulfill his Darma, or his obligations. In class we discussed why Rama was exiled and concluded that the Hunchback sort of brain washed one of the King's wives to send Rama into exile so that her son would become prince, then king. The hunchback was only trying to look after her well being because she was friends with the queen Kaikeyi and wants her son to become king. In class we also discussed that Kaikeyi refers to the hunchback repetitively by calling her hunchback. We also discussed that in the times of the Ramayana, people believed in reincarnation and that once you died you were born again, but depending on how you comported yourself in your previous life, you would be punished in your current life. For example, we concluded that the hunchback was probably a bad person or had done something terrible in her previous life in order to become a hunchback in her present life.
Rama is sent to exile and he doesn't complain about anything, he just wants to please his father, the king Dasharatha. Rama's wife is kidnapped by the demon Ravana that tries to seduce her into becoming his wife. In class we had a discussion to see if Rama was a superhero because he goes to save his wife from the demon. I think that Rama isn't a superhero because i think that most husbands would go and try to rescue their wife if they are kidnapped. I think that Rama can be classified more as a hero for the actions he took into saving his wife. I think that Rama meets some of the values or characteristics that superheroes must meet in order to be a superhero. For example, Rama protects the weak, Sita, from a demon that he kills. Rama also has unique weapons like an arrow that returns to him after he shoots it. I think that Rama's biggest flaw is when he rescues Sita and then accuses her of infidelity. Rama puts Sita through a test to see if she was unfaithful with Ravana and she passes the test because the Gods save her from the fire and tell Rama that she has not sinned. Rama then says that he knew that she wasn't unfaithful but that he had to make sure that other people knew that she wasn't because he didn't want people to think of Rama as a foolish son of a king that took back his wife after she had lived with another man even though it wasn't voluntary. I think that Rama could have proven to the people or the 3 worlds that Sita was faithful some other way or at least not have insulted Sita as he did in the story. I also think that Rama isn't a superhero because he doesn't dedicate all of his time to protecting people, which is what superheroes should do. 

word count: 545

gilgamesh tablets 6-10

Last week we discussed the tablets of Gilgamesh 6-10. After Gilgamesh and Enkidu return from their heroic journey of killing Humbaba, Ishtar tries to seduce Gilgamesh and make him sleep with her. Gilgamesh refuses to be Ishtar's plaything. Ishtar is the goddess of war and love. She becomes furious and enraged and sets out to harm Gilgamesh for refusing to sleeping with her. Gilgamesh refuses to sleep with Ishtar because he knows what happens to the men that sleep with her, some end up in the underworld. Gilgamesh and Enkidu are faced with another battle, this time the battle is to protect themselves and the city of Uruk because Ishtar released the bull onto Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh and Enkidu kill the bull and toss it to Ishtar. The actions of Gilgamesh and the language that Gilgamesh uses when he speaks to Ishtar seems, misogynistic because of the patriarchal society in which they lived in. In the next tablet, Enkidu becomes ill and he curses the prostitute for taming him and blames her for falling ill for if he would have been left alone, he would still be living in the forest with the animals. I think that there is something interesting about when Enkidu curses the prostitue because he curses her then after a while he reasons and takes back the curse and instead hopes for her good and thanks her for taming him and clothing him. After Enkidu's death, Gilgamesh sets out to find Utanapishtim because he is scared of death and he wants to find a way to overcome death and be immortal and young forever. I think that Gilgamesh's journey to find Utanapishtim is like another heroic journey in which he engages in by himself because his friend is dead. I think that this part of the story is similar to the last part of Beowulf when he fights the dragon. Beowulf realizes that he is not invincible as he though when he was younger and so he uses a shield and sword to fight the dragon. Gilgamesh becomes aware that he isn't invincible after the death of Enkidu so he sets off to try to become invincible, but fails to do so. At the beginning of the epic of Gilgamesh, Gilgamesh seems to be invincible and he treats his people bad and really doesn't care of what happens because he is king and can do whatever he wants. But now the tables are turned around and Gilgamesh experiences fear, which he hadn't experience in the epic.  After traveling through forests and waters, Gilgamesh reaches Utanapishtim and asks him how to become invincible. Utanapishtim tells Gilgamesh that death is our destiny, even if we don't know when it is going to happen and that nothing lives forever. I think that the moral or point of the story is to demonstrate that no matter what someone does to try to avoid death, ebventually it will happen. But that people die and another generation of other people are born and the human race continues. The test that Utanapishtim does on Gilgamesh illustrates this point, Gilgamesh tries to not fall asleep as hard as he can, but eventually he does because it is natural to fall asleep because it is something that our body needs.


word count: 514 

Gilgamesh/presentation

Last week in class we talked about the story of Gilgamesh and talked about whether he was a superhero. I think that most of the class concluded that he was not a superhero because of the way he treated the people of Uruk and how he would sleep with the brides before the husband slept with them. In the beginning of the epic, Gilgamesh didn't protect his people like he was supposed to. Gilgamesh was tamed by Enkidu, who was created to tame Gilgamesh. Gilgamesh and Enkidu fought until they became close friends. It is weird how one second both men are fighting and the next they are best friends and they even kiss. In class we discussed how some readers interpret Enkidu's and Gilgamesh's relationship as homosexual because they kissed after they fought. The story doesn't say where they kissed, but even so some readers interpret it as homoerotic, but as our instructor stated, homoerotic contact doesn't mean that the persons are homosexual it just means that there was contact between two people of the same sex. In class Mr. Bahlmann talked about how back in the day some people considered batman and robin to be homosexual and lovers because they were always together and because of robins inappropriate outfit that led to conclude some people that they were lovers. I think that Gilgamesh isn't a superhero because he would rape women, and superheroes should never do that. Although I don't consider Gilgamesh as a superhero, I would like to point out that he does have a few superhero characteristics like super strength and he goes on a heroic quest that changes who he is and becomes a better king to the people of Uruk. I also wanted to point out that even though Gilgamesh and Enkidu set out on a quest because of the god Shamash, the sun god, their trip was not all good in the sense that they killed Humbaba, the monster of the forest, even though Humbaba was the servant of Elil, the god of Earth and a superior god than Shamash. Humababa warned the men that if they killed him that they would bring a curse upon themselves. Both men didn't care at the moment and hurried up to kill Humababa before Enlil found out and set out to stop them. Because of that action both men are not considered as superheroes because they killed a "monster" on their quest to becomes better men. On wednesday there was also a presentation on Gilgamesh and I think that most of the class enjoyed the presentation and remember it well because of the song that the group put together that summarized the entire story of Gilgamesh and was entertaining. 

word count: 453

The Iliad book 1 and 18

This week we read The Iliad book 1 and book 18. I think that Achilles doesn't qualify as a superhero because he really doesn't have any special power and his attitude is not superhero like. For example in The Iliad book 1, Achilles gets into an argument with Agamemnon because of some women that they claimed to be theirs after they won a battle. Chryses, the father of Chryseis, one of the girls that were taken by the Achaean army, begs Agamemnon to return his daughter to him. That is the reason that Achilles and Agamemnon get into an argument. Agamemnon says he will return Chryseis only if Achilles gives him Briseis, which is the other woman that they captured. Achilles attitude is arrogant  because he doesn't want to give up his prize and both men treat women as objects rather than human beings. That is one reason Achilles doesn't qualify as a superhero. I think that Achilles acts like a little kid because after the argument he has with Agamemnon, he refuses to fight in the battle with the Trojans and he lets his people, the Achaeans fight alone, when he is a great warrior that can help his people win in battle. Achilles doesn't participate in the war until after the death of his friend, Patroklos, is killed by Hektor, a trojan warrior. Achilles only goes back to the war to avenge the death of his friend. I think that Achilles isn't a superhero because if he was, he wouldn't have let his people fight the war by themselves because of an argument he had with Agamemnon. A superhero is supposed to help and protect the weak, not abandon them in times of war and danger because of his foolish attitude. Also, the only reason that Agamemnon returned Chryseis to her father was because Apollo had put a plague on the Achaeans because of what they did. I wanted to point out that Zeus and Hera act like human beings and often tend to be humorous. For example, Zeus doesn't want to help out the Trojans because he says that his wife is going to get mad at him. Also, later on in the story Zeus threatens Hera of strangling her when she found out that Zeus was helping the Trojans. Zeus's argument with Hera contrasts the argument between Achilles and Agamemnon, which almost resulted in death if it wasn't for Athena that talked some sense into Achilles. I have a question about Achilles, why do the Trojans get scared when Achilles shows up in the battle to recover the body of Patroklos? Does Achilles scream so loud that he scares the Trojans? or is it just the fact that the Trojans know it is Achilles and that he has returned to battle?

word count: 465