Thinking Through Religions 3 - Essay Example

? Thinking Through Religion III What Does Alan Watts Mean by “Perhaps the Significance then is the quality ofa State in Mind in Which we Notice that we are Overlooking the Significance of the World by our Constant Quest for It Later”?. In this statement Watts is seen to postulate that in our human nature, we often tend to overlook the significance presented by some things until we are forced either by an action or by someone else to critically examine the event a little more closely and hence perceive the significance that we had previously overlooked in the item after hastily judging it to not be of any significance. It is in light of this that Watts argues that perhaps significance should then be defined as being a quality of mind. An illustration of this occurrence is exemplified by the fact that it is often only after modern photographers have displayed genius by turning their cameras towards stones or sand on the road or even at paint that might happen to be peeling from a door, that we notice that if we happen to observe these things in a somewhat different way, we are then able to notice their significance. This example helps give more meaning by proving Watts’ postulation that it is often only in moments when our own inner turmoil has quieted that we are able to find relative significance in things that we would have normally not been able to find any form of significance. We are therefore encouraged to generally try and calm our inner turmoil so as to be able to observe the significance of what we might normally overlook (Watts, 66). One Definition of Human Beings is that Human Beings are Meaning Making Creatures. In What Ways Does “Non-Sense” make meaning? Nonsense is seen to make meaning by posing a number of significant questions and then proceeding to offer possible answers that can help make meaning to life. According to Watt’s writing in “nonsense” when humans talk about life having or lacking meaning, they often do not refer to “meaning” as it is ordinarily used as the attribute of a sign. Nonsense poses the critical question of what is the actual meaning behind this world. Watts goes on to provide several answers to this question. Some of the answers provided by Watts include life has meaning when one belongs to a group or enterprise, and when satisfying biological processes and urges. In “Nonsense” Watts also highlights a more theological meaning of life by indicating that according to a number of various theologies, we as humans are created for the pleasure of God and that the true meaning of life according to some theistic religions is God (Watts,66-70). Why is this Important? This is fundamentally important as Watts is seen to attempt to critically highlight some of the more predominant concerns pertaining towards the establishment of what is the true meaning of life. By providing several different answers to the question, Watts is seen to try and tackle the question from a number of different angle as he attempts each of us establish the meaning of life. An Understanding of how Joseph Campbell Explains the Role of Clowns in Religion According to Campbell, clown religions and clowns are especially. The use of clowns in numerous Celtic and Germanic myths essentially serves to show that although the outward appearance of some of the deities as represented by some clown figures might be marred and of a rather grotesque nature, we should always endeavor to look through the often very funny exterior forms and find the ultimate image. By adopting this approach, we can essentially learn to disregard the physical appearance of the individuals we meet and understand them better (Campbell and Moyers). Campbell’s view of the role played by clowns essentially fits in with my own views as I always try to obtain a somewhat deeper understanding of persons that I chance to encounter and interact with. By practicing this approach, I have generally managed to become a fundamentally better person having a deeper appreciation for individuals (Campbell and Moyers). The role that has been continually played by clowns in my life is that of an amusingly entertainment value. Since I was young, I have always found clowns to be particularly amazing as a result of their funny antics and the clothes that they often wear. The highlight of my visits to the circus was always the opportunity to see the clowns and laugh at their funny antics. Growing up, clowns have always been rather amusing and although I rarely laugh out loud at their funny faces, clothes and antics, they often manage to bring a smile to my face. Comparison of the Non-Sense Involved in the Parable of “The Gadarene Demoniacs” and “The White Queen Believes in Impossible Things” The town people in the Gadarene Demoniacs parable and Alice are both seen to have a problem with believing the impossible and Alice points out to the white queen that one cannot believe the impossible. However, due to their unbelief, the town people in the parable of the Gadarene Demoniacs ask Jesus to leave the town. A key differences seen to exist between the two stories of the Gandarene Demoniacs and The White Queen believes in the impossible is that while Alice attempted to close her eyes and try and believe the impossible in line with the White Queen’s instructions, The towns people in the parable of the Gandarene Demoniacs did not even attempt to try and believe the impossible and instead chose to ask Jesus to leave the town as they were afraid of believing in the impossible (Mathew 828-34). What do their Differences Suggest to Me in My Understanding of the Divine In some of the religions, the divine is treated with unbelief by the followers as illustrated in the parable of the Gandarene Demoniacs, although the divine is seen to display the ability to do the impossible, this is often seen to be met with a lot of unbelief, however, in some of the religions, the followers attempt to believe in the impossible divine as illustrated in the story of the White Queen believes in the impossible where although Alice was initially unable to believe in the impossible, she was continually encouraged by the White Queen until she was ultimately able to seen and believe in the impossible (Carrol). Why Do Human Beings Need Non-Linguistic Symbols? Human beings are seen to need non-linguistic symbols as these symbols greatly aid in passing on messages to the intended recipient without it being easily understood by any other individual who might happen to intercept the message. Symbols are often used to pass on messages that might have a somewhat deeper meaning than can be sufficiently expressed in words due to the limitations of language (Smith, 88). An example of this instance is seen in the story of the secret of the Lotus flower where Buddha was seen to make his point by holding a golden lotus in his palms while standing before his followers, most of his followers were however unable to understand what exactly Buddha was attempting to say to them and only Mahakasyapa managed to understand what exactly Buddha was attempting to express. Mahakasyapa’s only indication that he had understood the message was a slight smile. In communicating this information it is clearly seen that no words intervened but yet the entire message was clearly understood by Mahakasyapa. This caused Buddha to sufficiently determine that indeed Mahakasyapa was the best individual who could be selected and chosen to succeed him (Smith, 87). In some of the Buddhist sects, the message being given by the teacher is seen to have a somewhat two pronged approach and while most people only understand the surface meaning of the teaching, the more perceptive disciples are able to deeply understand the message and sufficiently decipher its symbolism so as to truly understand its meaning (Smith, . Description of A symbol that Particularly confuses me and Why? One of the symbols that I find often confuses me is a religious symbol among the Christian division of Catholics. Most catholic churches tend to frequently display the image of their Lord Jesus Christ while handing on the cross at most of their religious gatherings. It is this aspect of their worship that frequently confuses me as their religion teaches them that Christ rose from the dead. To my mind, it would be more logical to display pictures of their risen savior. Sense or Nonsense The experience of falling in love can effectively be seen to be making a lot of sense as it involves the fulfillment of an innate biological urge. According to Watts (66), human beings are born with a large variety of biological urges which are seen to include the urge to love and be loved. This is seen to make sense as by falling in love, one is seen to essentially be fulfilling this natural human urge a fact that helps provide meaning to life. Does this Make Sense? In the event that one happens to perceive that something is not making any sense at all, this does not necessarily mean that the thing or gesture is not true at all. Man is seen to be a meaning-making creature and as such, tends to not appreciate the truth behind anything which he is unable to understand and ascribe some meaning to. An example of this is shown by the different responses given by a number of Zen masters when asked what was the meaning of Zen. One of the masters lifted his index finger while another slapped the inquirer another master opted to kick a ball (Huston, 88). Although these answers seem to not make any sense at all, they cannot essentially be perceived as being untrue as they are all some form of answer and it is left to the inquirer to try and decipher the meanings. My Koan The more desire be found in us, the more only the outer fringe of deep mystery we will see, The less desire be found within us, the more deep mysteries we will understand, The more we desire, the more we achieve The more we achieve, the more we desire By desiring less, we are more satisfied By desiring more, we are less satisfied (Ching, 167) Believing Impossible Things In childhood, I happened to strongly believed in a number of things that I now deem to have been truly impossible. I used to strongly believe in superheroes who were stronger than ordinary men and could be able to fly. These superheroes were usually good people and were willing to endanger their own lives so as to save us. I would often wonder as to when I would be able to encounter one such hero and despite my older siblings laughing at me and opposing my belief in superheroes by telling me that they do not exist, my young mind could not believe this. I strongly believed that superheroes existed and that my unbelieving siblings were basically ignorant of this fact and did not believe in impossible things (Carroll, 38). This caused me to determine to one day prove the existence of these heroes to my siblings by becoming one of them when I grew up. Works cited Smith, Huston. The Illustrated World's Religions: A Guide to Our Wisdom Traditions. HarperCollins, 1995. Printed. Carroll, Lewis. Through the Looking-glass: And what Alice Found There. PDFreeBooks.org, 1962. Tzu, Laozi. Tao Te Ching. Penguin Books, Limited, 2009. Print. Watts Alan. The Sense of Nonsense & Coincidence of Opposites. Electronic University Publishing. 1995. Campbell, Joseph and Moyers, Bill. The Power of Myth. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group, 2011. Print. Read More