True Learning

The Tao mentions some things that I agree with completely but like everything I don’t agree with all its ideas. It leaves much room for interpretation which I already mentioned could be a good thing or a bad thing but it also mentions some things that I find are very straight forward. In chapter twenty they mention “Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles. Is there a difference between yes and no? Is there a difference between good and evil? Must I fear what others fear? What nonsense!” (chapter. 20) It is very clear to me that there is no room for interpretation where they say to give up learning. This is an idea which I totally disagree with. I can understand his point very well when he mentions that our ideas are influenced by others and therefore we can’t for our own ideas. This is true but you also have to understand that our ideas have to be formed on a combination of what we learn. A human learns from many things like experiences, school and family and if we take a combination of all these teachings we will be able to have an all around knowledge.

Many things in the Tao have led me to have two very different opinions. I agree with what it has to say and at the same time I don’t. This is something that I like about text because it can lead to very different opinions which are both very well supported. It has taught me that true learning lies where you see everybody’s point of view and then you form your own.

Open To Interpretation

The Tao Te Ching is a very different text that the Analects. I would say that the Analects are a text which states its teachings clearly and doesn’t leave much room for interpretation. On the other hand Tao Te Ching is a text much like the bible in that way. Every different person can have a different interpretation. A book that can do this is interesting but at the same time dangerous. It is interesting because if you take all the interpretations that the people give you will be able to form a better and more accurate interpretation. It will also teach more since a different interpretation may come from the background a persons in. A Christian person is more likely to have a different interpretation than a Jewish person. You will learn about different cultures just by seeing how they interpret the text. It can also be said that it is dangerous because people sometimes interpret it in wrong way. I remember that a few years ago I saw a movie about the crusades where the term “God wills it” was used a lot. The way they used this term was to justify war and killing. These people interpreted the bible in a very different way than what I would have interpreted it. It is clear that different interpretations can bring good and evil. This quote mentions how good will not exist with ought evil ad how evil will not exist with ought to good “All can know good as good only because there is evil. Therefore having and not having arise together (chapter 2).” This may lead to very different interpretations that can harm people and at the same time benefit them.

Count and Noncount Exercises

1.

world C
textbook C
acid D
smoking N
poetry N
applause N
thought D
banana C
conduct N
progress N
biology N
essay C
crystal N
shopping N

2.

defense X
beauty ___
garbage ___
experience X
baggage ___
rain X
rug ___
nature ___
bag ___
emotion X

3.Diabetes: Beyond the Basics

Because diabetes can cause devastating damage to virtually all body systems, people with diabetes should not underrate the seriousness of their disease. Learning to live with a chronic illness such as diabetes must be an ongoing process.

The Hospital's Center for Family Life Education is sponsoring a five-part educational series on diabetes. The series will begin on April 30 and continue through May 29. The program will be held in the second floor classroom of the Education Center from 7-9 p.m.

The diabetes series is free and open to the public and will be of specific interest to people who have diabetes and their families and friends.

4.

a table
X these person
this furniture
that assignment
a boy
the poetry
a difficulty
a research
X this eggs
X those argument

5. The Computer Jungle

Though you can make the decision on purely economic grounds, buying a computer is often more like joining a religious cult. Buy an Apple, for example, and almost by default you join Apple chairman Steve Jobs in his crusade against IBM. Every machine has its "users' groups" and a band of loyal enthusiasts who tout its merits. That makes it all the more difficult for the uninitiated to decide what machine to buy. Students have a huge advantage, however. The computer companies are so eager for students' business (it builds "brand loyalty") that many offer huge discounts.
In the past six months, IBM, Apple, and others have brought out new computers, and the fierce competition has forced prices down. Also, time is on your side: next year at this time you'll have even more choice and more computing power and features for the same price. On the other hand, this will probably be true for many years. So for those who need or want a computer now, it's a great time to buy one.

6.

1. Quite a few students have trouble with economics.
2. It requires quite a little reading.
3. Few advisors spend as much time with their students.
4. He has little hope of passing his exams.
5. George's advisor spends quite a little or quite a bit of time with him.
6. He knows few people in the class.
7. Bill spends little money on clothes.
8. She spends quite a little or quite a bit of money on CDs.

A Great Teaching

After finishing Confucius I have come to one conclusion and that is not to believe everything I see. Sometimes human beings can be very trustworthy at what is thrown at them like the newspapers and media. This is very dangerous because if you do this then you are not forming and opinion for yourself but you are following what other people say. Sometimes it may not hurt the person but other times the public’s general idea can be wrong. As the master mentions “When the multitude hates a person, you must examine them and judge for yourself. The same holds true for someone whom the multitude loves.” (15. 28) a person might argue that Confucius is wrong and it is important not to believe what that person is saying but to form a personal opinion on Confucius. If you are able to do this then you will be able to live your own life. I don’t agree in all that is mentioned because I also believe that you can take the different opinions and use them as back up to form your own opinion. It shows us how important it is to compare but still have our own opinion. Overall I believe that Confucius is one of the greatest texts that I have ever read and that by reading it I have learned some of the most important teachings in my life.

A blog that I could really compare myself to was Daniel Toros “Universal Community”. I felt as If his ideas about women and how he interpreted what the book was saying was very similar to mine. I agree with him that women have been mistreated for a very long time and there still is some preference of men over women. To me this point is clear but I don’t necessarily agree that this has had nothing to do with women. I believe that no problem comes when one person is totally innocent and by saying this I feel that women have let men take the advantage and now it is very hard for them to catch up.

Important Teachings

Something that I had missed when reading the Analects was Confucius ideas about other people. He believes that you should respect the elderly “To bring comfort to the aged, to inspire trust in my friends, and be cherished by the youth.” (Pg. 15 5.26) The first time I read I had missed this but now I realize how important it is to treat the elderly well and with the respect they have earned. Many people believe that old people don’t have anything interesting or anything that they can take from them but they are wrong. Old people have the most important teaching of all. They have the teaching of knowledge and experience. For me these are the most important teachings since experience is not something that can be learned but if you are able to include your experience with the experience of someone else you will be very rich in knowledge. He is telling us that we are the ones who will shape the future and that we want to leave a good legacy behind us. This is very important and it is very important to realize that even though you may read Confucius once you will miss a lot of things. This is also a very important teaching and something that I can apply in my life. Sometimes I don’t read things as attentively as should and by not doing so I miss very important details. Confucius is telling us that the elderly should be treated with respect and what impresses me the most is how he is able to have a vision that is predicting the future.

Writing Exercises

1. Where is my jacket? I wanted to wear it today, and if I can't find it, we're going to be late.

2. Jane wanted to go on the school trip, but her mother said that two hundred dollars was too much for the family budget.

3. As she waited for Rodney to become conscious, Selma was seized with an attack of conscience -- was there anything she could have done to prevent the accident?

4. The map led the intrepid treasure hunters to a lead box of precious stones.

5. Have you seen their coats? They're going to need them; it's cold outside. I last saw the coats over there .

6. After conducting careful research, Shufang had a brilliant idea ; she'd write a paper on Thomas More's concept of the ideal society in Utopia.

7. Even though Bob would rather play video games than study, he decided to hit the books and then play some Halo.

8. It's easy to admire a business that puts so much effort into creating its signs and window displays.

9. You're fortunate to have survived the car crash without a scratch; it must have been because you were wearing your seat belt.

10. I would advise you to seek qualified legal advice about how to handle this situation.

Never Too Late

In Analects we can see different way of life from the one we live in. I don’t agree with all the ideas that the master proposes but I generally see them as something that will make the world a better place. When I read these sections of analects I found the greatest teaching of all and that is to serve the community. The master mentions the effects of public service “To avoid public service is to be without a sense of what is right… The gentleman takes office in order to do what is right even though he already knows that the way will not be realized (book 18.7).” but what is important to understand is that this lesson can only work if the community as a whole works together. There are some people that believe the good of the public is above their personal good but we can also see people who believe their good is above the good of the public. This is the reason why our society is stuck and will not work. The good action of one person is taken away by the other person because of a lack in trust. What people don’t understand is that if I believe in the benefit of the public over my own benefit and everybody else believes the same thing the public as a whole will be better off. My good deed will eventually come back and I will receive a good deed from somebody else. If society is able to change and remove that self serving mentality the world will slowly become a better place.

Some people believe that it is impossible to change because of the mistakes we have made. This is entirely false “To make a mistake and yet not to change your ways- that is what is called truly making a mistake (book 15.30).” What you have to do when you make the mistake is make it right. It is very important to understand that it is never too late for improving.

Choosing The Correct Path

Something that the master said which I really liked was “I will not open the door for a mind that is not already striving to understand, nor will I provide words to a tongue that is not already struggling to speak.” (Book eight) I felt that this could really apply to my daily life since some days when I am very tired and don’t want to play golf I see the teacher struggling to teach me but he can’t. This is a problem that is very common it is impossible for a teacher to teach his pupil if the pupil doesn’t have the will to learn. It is the same as the people who won’t accept or ask for any help, the other person won’t go looking to help them.

This brought me to another very important topic. In order for a person to want to learn he has to be learning something that he likes. Many people often say that their goal is to make money but if they want to make money through something that they don’t like it is very likely that they don’t make money and don’t live a happy life. When this happens the person ends up with ought his original goal and without happiness which is probably the most important thing in life. As the master mentions “If wealth were something worth pursuing, then I would pursue it, even if it meant serving as an officer holding a whip at the entrance to a marketplace. Since it is not worth pursuing, however, I prefer to follow that which I love.” (Book seven) Your goal should be something that you like and this will bring upon very positive effects. You will live a happy life and probably make enough money to live well. What many people miss is that money is not what is important and happiness comes with money but this is false money cant buy happiness and happiness will probably bring money.

A Better Life

Perhaps one of the most important things in life is to be one’s self and not to act as society tells you. Many people want to be at par with society so they act according to some of its rules and not to their own beliefs. What these chapters are trying to teach us is how to be one’s self. In order to resist societies pull it is very important that you have good and trustworthy friends. If you have friends that support you and they themselves are a good example to you then you will become a better person. The problem is it is not easy to choose good friends but we must do as the Analects propose and “Observe closely the sort of mistakes a person makes—then you will know his character.” (Book 4, verse 7) Once you have chosen good friends the next step is to learn to accept one’s self. Many people believe that their way of being is not acceptable by society but what they should do is believe that they are correct and they have a great way of living. People don’t understand that if they seem independent and confident enough as we see Barack Obama people will start following them. Something that I liked very much and which is very true is “Do not be concerned that no one has heard of you, but rather strive to become a person worthy of being known (Book4, verse 14).” If we are able to follow these ideas we will start living a better and more independent life.

A Confident Speaker

Obama has marked history by becoming the president of the United States. His great speaking skills are in great part what helped him get to the white house. He employs great use of Ethos, Pathos, and Logos. This lets him capture great audiences and convince them of his ideas. He is letting the people know that change has finally come to America and by using his great speaking skills he is able to convince them of what he is saying.

Obamas joy must have been overwhelming but thought the speech he was able to maintain a serious and professional tone of voice. By using great tone and changing the tone, when necessary, he is able to create a feeling of pride and suspense in the public. He uses a constant tone through most of the speech but he is able to change it when an important event comes up. Part of what makes him a great speaker is his self confidence. When you see him in the stage he is standing with his head tall and totally straight as if he knew exactly what he was doing. By doing this he is creating a feeling of confidence within the public because they feel he is experienced and a man of great knowledge. He constantly changes the direction he is looking at which makes everyone feel included in the speech and not just the people in front of him. Obama is a master at publicly speaking and with a single speech he is able to convince a total stranger of what he believes. His confidence makes us feel like he is right and anyone that is in disagreement with his ideas is wrong.

A Question Of Belief

These two great texts have brought me to a very important question which is the question of if god really exists. Thought the harsh and trying times in our lives we sometimes doubt god’s existence, fairness and power. Job and Elie are both angry at god because the world has not changed and is exactly the same even though there are horrors going on “Yes, man is very strong, greater than God. When You were deceived by Adam and Eve, You drove them out of Paradise. When Noah’s generation displeased You, You brought down the Flood. When Sodom no longer found favor in Your eyes, You made the sky rain down fire and sulfur. But these men here, whom You had betrayed, whom You have allowed to be tortured, butchered, gassed, burned, what do they do? They pray before You, they praise Your name.” (Pg. 64) These two characters constantly doubt god’s existence and fairness. They believe something should be different because of all that is going on in the world and that brings them to the question: Does god really exist?

Elie is sad with what god has done and Job is doubting god’s power. There is a point where they are compared “How I sympathized with Job! I did not deny God’s existence, but I doubted His absolute justice.” (Pg. 42) When I compared these texts I myself started asking the same questions. When people in Colombia are taken and held against their will for years most of them start doubting god’s existence. Some people doubt gods existence more than others but that depends on the person. The truth is that they are totally changed the people who the Fark have taken, Elie, and Job all suffered from a life changing experience that make them see the world differently. Some of them see the world and god in a bad way “God is dead, the God of love, of gentleness, of comfort, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, of Jacob, has vanished forevermore, beneath the gaze of this child, in the smoke of a human holocaust exacted by Race, the most voracious of all idols.” (ix) Other people see everything in a better way but that all depends on the person’s belief.

It is certain that a person will never be the same after an event like the ones they have suffered, but it is also true that not everyone will have been changed in the bad way. Some people see the world as something different, they understand things that nobody else can and all of this is due to their experiences. After all experiences is what forms the way we live our lives and the only thing that determines if we believe in god is our belief.

Perfection Is Not Perfect

It is important to understand that humans aren’t perfect and that not even god can expect them to be perfect because he will be disappointed. After all that he had gone through Job was finally starting to lose faith and this angered god "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?" (Job 38) It was not reasonable for god to have put so much on Job and expect him not to change and when he did change he felt great disgust. Sometimes when I entrust people to do certain things I get angry because they didn’t do it how I expected them to do it. I believe that I could have done it better and I stop trusting the person. This is wrong because something that I have learned from the bible is that nothing is perfect and if I expect it to be I am only losing hope myself. After reading what the lord should have done “the Lord made him prosperous again and gave him twice as much as he had before.”(Job 42) I realized that what I should have done was thank the person for helping me and instead explained how to do it next time. By reading this we not only realize that there is no such thing as human perfection but that there is no such thing as perfection. God himself is nothing close to perfect and he has taught us that perfection is not good. It will only bring us despair and make us unhappy and if people have strengths and weaknesses it will make the world a better and more interesting place.

Fallacies

1. Obama: Because in a bipartisan way, everyone agrees, that's a big ticking time bomb that will eat us up maybe even more than the mortgage crisis."

2. 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.

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. 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.

Stop Searching

It is important to realize that problems can always get worse and that we are the ones who make the problem worse. Job is a person who simplifies things and doesn’t use blame in his judgments. His friends instead made the problem worse by saying Job must have sinned and it is important to learn from the way Job stopped them. He explained why he had done nothing wrong “And if it be not so now, who will make me a liar, and make my speech nothing worth? (Job, chapter 24).” Good is contagious but so is evil and that teaches us that we must choose good friends who will support our actions even if it goes against their ideals. Choosing good friends won’t make you happy you also have to learn how to stop people from taking away the good in your life and filling your head with bad ideas “I also could speak as ye do: if your soul were in my soul's stead, I could heap up words against you, and shake mine head at you (Job, chapter 16).” For me Job has been one of the best examples of the bible and by learning not to search for things “When I looked for good, then evil came unto me: and when I waited for light, there came darkness (Job, chapter 30).” I have made my life a much happier one.

Complete Trust

By reading Job I quickly realized something that I have always known but have always ignored. I realized that people only believe in god when he is being good to them. For example when people have health and they are wealthy they say god exists but when something starts going wrong they say god doesn’t exist. We have to avoid contradicting ourselves like that and learn from Job. When god took everything from Job I was expecting Job to say something like “The earth is given into the hand of the wicked: he covereth the faces of the judges thereof; if not, where, and who is he? Now my days are swifter than a post: they flee away, they see no good (Job, chapter 9).” We must accept that many people only use things for the good it brings them but once it brings them something bad they ignore all the good things that had come to them and focus on the bad ones. It is necessary if you want to live a happy life to start focusing on the good things and ignoring the bad things. As Job did throught his harsh times “In all this Job sinned not, nor charged God foolishly (Job, chapter 3).” We must do through our hard times in order to get through them. In the end people often start reflecting on what they did in their lives and what they would change “Are not my days few? Cease then, and let me alone, that I may take comfort a little, before I go whence I shall not return, even to the land of darkness and the shadow of death (Job, chapter 10).” If as a human race we are able to do this before our lives are coming to an end then we will make the world a better place. Learning from the bible will lead us towards the path of a happier life.