Lesson 1 Philosophy

Philosophy is - the mother of all disciplines because all fields of study began as
philosophical discourses

What is Philosophy? Is the study of acquiring knowledge through rational and

inquiries that involves in answering questions regarding the nature and existence of
man and the world we live in.

What is self? A unified being, essentially connected to consciousness, awareness

and agency.

Philosophers:
A. Socrates
- martyr of education, knowledge, and philosophy
- knowing oneself
- acceptance of ignorance is the beginning of acquisition of knowledge
- possession of knowledge is a virtue; ignorance is a depravity (evil)
-through internal questioning or introspection, we understand ourselves
(weakness and strengths, like vs. dislike)
- Socratic Method (asking and answering questions to stimulate critical
thinking and draw out ideas and presumption)
- charged with corruption of minors and died as martyr that fought against
ignorance and narrow-mindedness.
- men’s goal in life is to obtain happiness
- motivate us to act towards or avoid things that could have a negative
effect on our lives
- fully knowing oneself will able a person to achieve happiness

B. Plato
- student of Socrates
- followed Socrates idea of knowing thyself
- Father of Academy
- wrote several literature that tackles politics, human nature and established
idea of virtue and intelligence
-person that is follower of truth and wisdom will not be tempted by vices and
will always be correct moral and ethical
- division of body and soul
-soul (divided by 3 parts, has different views, different behaviors)
1. Appetitive soul- driven by desire and need to satisfy oneself. Satisfaction involves
physical needs, pleasures and desires, objects, and situations
2. Spirited soul - courageous part. Do something or right wrongdoings that they
observe. Competitive and very active. Competitiveness drives one to expect positive
results and winning.
3. Rational soul- drive of our lives. Thinks and plan for the future (Conscious mind).
decides what to do, when to do it and possible results one could have depending on
their actions.

C. St. Augustine
- saint and philosopher. Follows the idea that god encompasses us all,
everything will be better if we are with god. God and his teachings affects
various aspects in life
- his idea of a man and how to understand who we are as a person is related
to our understanding of who we are and how we question ourselves
- relates our existence to God, modeled in his likeness, but being alive means
that we are still far from god and has yet to be truly with him
 - Rejected the doubtfulness of the academy in which one cannot or should not
accept ideas from others
-We may not be able to give our agreement to everything other people tell us,
but we can still agree to those who we are from our own perception.
- believes that teaching the church and establishing our sense of self with god
identifies the essence of our existence and role in the world (our bodies are
limited)

D. Rene Descartes
-French philosopher
-Father of modern philosophy (his radical use of systematic and early
scientific method to aid his ideas and assumptions)
-modern dualism (existence of body and mind and its importance to one’s
existence were presented to the evidence from experiments as well as
philosophical reasoning
-methodical doubt (continuous process of questioning)
-”cogito ergo sum” I think therefore I am.
- aperson comprise of mind (thinks and questioned what the body
experiences) and body (perceives from the different senses)
- body and perception cannot be fully trusted or easily deceived
-focus on the mind in order to perceive as who we are or the essence of our
existence, we cannot always trust our senses
-Doubting and questioning what our senses perceived and the answer from
thinking leads to a better understanding of ourselves
-being in constant doubt regarding one’s existence is proof that a person
exists.

E. John Locke
- English philosopher and physician
- Father of Classical Liberation
-works paved way to several revolution to fight absolute powers of monarchs
and rulers
-lead to development of governance, politics, and economic system
today
- self is most presented by the concept “tabula rasa” or black slate
- experiences and perceptions of a person is important in the establishment of
who that person can become
-a person born with knowing nothing and that is susceptible to simulation and
accumulation of learning from the experiences, failures, references, and
observations of the person

F. David Hume
-Scottish philosopher
-field of empiricism, skepticism, and naturalism
Slef is the accumulation of different impressions and does not excess the
physical realm
-no permanent self because impressions of things are based from our
experiences where we can create our ideas and knowledge, may improve or
totally replaced

G. Immanuel Kant
- German philosopher
-empiricism and rationalism
- collection of impressions and different contents is what it only takes to define
a person.
 - awareness of different emotions that we have, impressions and behavior is
only part of ourselves.
- a person who fully understand the self has a certain level of consciousness
or sense that uses our intuition which synthesize all the experiences,
impressions and perceptions of ourselves will pave the way to define and
know who we are.
-transcendental apperception
- essence of our consciousness, provides basis for understanding and
establishing the notion of self by synthesizing one’s accumulation of
experiences, intuition, and imagination

H. Sigmund Freud
-Austrian psychologist and physician.
-Father of Psychoanalysis
-known for human nature and unconscious
-different constructs of personality
-different levels of consciousness that provides an idea how a person
develops a sense of self:
1. Id - child aspect, satisfaction of one’s needs and self gratification, driven by
pleasure principle
2. Super Ego - conscience, uphold justice and do what is morally right and socially
acceptable acts. Notion of right and wrong imparted to us by parents or people that
took care of us during childhood
3. Ego - police, mediator between id and super ego, operates withing boundaries of
reality, maintain impulses of the id to an acceptable degree.
- Levels of consciousness:
1. Conscious - minority of memories being stores, easier to tapped or accessed
2. Pre-conscious- middle part of consciousness, still accessed but with a little
difficulty
3. Unconcious - majority of memories since childhood deeply stores. Very difficult to
access memories, need trained professionals and techniques to makes some
memories resurfaced.
-byproduct of our experiences in the past and actions are driven by the idea
of resisting or avoiding pain, and are molded from our need for pleasure or
being happy.

I. Gilbert Ryle
- used behavioristic approach to self
-self is the behavior presented by the person
- behavior, emotion, actions we show reflection of our mind and as such is the
manifestation of who we are
- does not believe that the mind and body are 2 separate entities
-they co-exist
- self is exemplified in his “ghost in the machine” view (man is a complex
machine with different functioning parts, and the intelligence and other
characteristics or behavior of man is represented by the ghost in the machine)
- actions behavior and reaction and all other components like the way we talk,
walk, and look is generally who we are as a person.

J. Paul Churchland
-Canadian philosopher
- focus is on the idea that people should improve our association and use of
worth in identifying the self
-self is defined by the movement of our brain
 - constant movement of the brain can be the basis of who the person is (the
brain as the self)
- “eliminative materialism” and understanding different neural pathways, how
they work, implication are those movements to people is a measurable
classification on one’s behavior

K. Maurice Jean Jacques Merleau-Ponty

-French philosopher
-existentialism and phenomenology
-coined the idea of phenomenology of perception, divided into 3 division
- unity of the function of the mind and the body
-body and mind are not separate entities but rather they are one and the
same
-follows the idea of Gestalt psychology
- gives importance on the whole rather than the sum of its parts
-perception guides our action based from our experiences
-body perceives, consciousness provides meaning, the self could be
established by the perceptions we have in the world
-actions, behavior and language used could be the reflection of our united
perception of the world

L. Thomas Aquinas
- most eminent 13th century scholar
- stalwart of the medieval philosophy
- Christian view
- man is composed of 2 part:
- Matter or Hyle in greek, common stuff that makes up everything in
the universe
- Form or Morphe in greek, essence of a substance or thing
- the body of the human person is something that he shares even with
animals
- cells of man’s body are akin to the cells of any living organic being
-what makes the person a human person and not a dog is his soul, his
essence
- soul is what animates the body and makes us human
Lesson 5 The self in western and oriental/eastern thought
One of the most effective ways to learn about oneself is by taking seriously the
culture of others. It forces you to pay attention to those details of life which
differentiate them from you - Edward T. Hall

Concept of Self
- sources to analyze perspective of each culture and country about the
concept of the self:
1. Literature - ex. how one depicts a hero or villain in their stories in
different countries (USA, china, korea)
2. Socialization - how they see their boss or their subordinate
3. Artworks, Dances, Clothing - may show us clues about self
4. Cultural Diversity
-put themselves first
-dedicated to independent thinking and self-reliance
- distant to the feeling of others
- preserving, and success of the group is more important
- paying attention and attending needs of each member of the
group
-sensitive with the feelings of the members of the group to
each other

Western Thoughts
-give higher value with personal rights
- western society is trying to find and prove the truth

Eastern Thoughts
- give more value to social responsibility and accepting reality of life (fact)
-maintaining the balance of life

Western
Values
-emphasize value of equality even if they
see that the individual can rise above
everything else
-promote ideals that create fair
competition and protect the individual
Eastern
-collectivistic culture
-emphasizes on hierarchy as the culture
wants to keep things in harmony and
order

Ex. Call their bosses, parents, other Ex. Respectful terms for seniors.
seniors by first name. Approached their Workers do not dare to go against high-
bosses head-on when conflicts or ranking officials.
problems about him arises
Self-descriptions
-talk about personal attributes when-talk about social roles or the social
describing themselves situations that invoked certain traits that
they deem positive for their selves
Individualistic Collectivist
Focus on the person Group and social relations is given more
importance than individual needs
Talk more about personal attributes Talk about social roles or the social
when describing themselves situations that invoked certain traits that
they deem positive for their selves
Highlight personal achievements Keep low profile
-promoting the self seen as
boastful, disrupts social

-Look at world in dualities
-Distinct from others
-Creator is separate from the object he
created
relationship
-sees other person as part of yourself
-what you create is part of yourself
-everyone interconnected with their roles

Confucianism
-Ruism
-tradition, a philosophy, humanistic or rationalistic religion which was
developed from the teachings of CONFUCIUS (1551-479 BCE)
-a re-codifier and re-transmitter of the theology and values inherited
from the Shang and Zhou dynasty.
-focused on having harmonious social life
- identity and self-concept of the individual are interwoven with the identity
and status of his/her community or culture, sharing its price as well as its
failures

Subdued Self
- personal need are repressed for the good of many

- Confucian society also hierarchical for the purpose of maintaining order and
balance in society.
- 3 essential core values of confucianism
1. Filial piety - respect for elders
2. Humaneness - goodness
3. Ritual - proper conduct
-5 basic virtues
1. Ren - benevolance, humaneness
2. Yi- righteous, justice
3. Li - proper, rite
4. Zhi - knowledge
5. Xin - integrity

Taoism
- Daoism
- chinese pholosophy
-based on writings of Lao-tzu (6th century BC)
- humility and religious piety
-living in the way of tao/universe
-simple lifestyle and its teaching
-aims to describe how to attain life
-self is part of the universe
- living a balanced life with society and nature
-being open and accepting to change, forgetting about prejudices and
egocentric ideas
-think about equality as well as complementary among humans and other
beings
- self is in harmony with everything

3 treasure or jewels (essential energies sustaining human life

1. Jing - essence
2. Qi - energy
3. Shen - spirit

Concept of Harmony
 -central feature of taoism is harmony between people and their
environment/tao
- Tao Chi (yin-yang) an example of value of harmony with the
environment, applied to the concept of health for energy (qi/chi),
balance for disease prevention, healing, and the development of
human potential

Buddhism
- 4th largest religion, 520 million followers, 7% of the global population
- Indian religion
-share the goal of overcoming suffering and the cycle of death and rebirth,
thru attainment of Nirvana or path of Buddhahood

3 marks of Existence:
1. Impermanence (anicca) - all things are in constant state of flux;
nothing last and everything decays
2. Suffering (dukka) - all things are not experiences; everything is
conditioned and conditioning
3. Non-self (anatta) - denies that there is anything called a self

- our quest to forget about the self, cravings of the self

- break the attachment you have with the world and to renounce the self
which is the cause of all suffering and in doing, attain the state of Nirvana
-Gautama Buddha
- all things conditioned by causes (sankhara) are impertinent (anicca)
and suffering (dukka), and that non-self (anatta) characterizes all
dhamas
- there is no “I”, “me” or “mine” in either the conditioned or the
unconditioned, ex. nibbana
-unsatisfactoriness and suffering exist and are universally experiences
-desire and attachment are the causes of unsatisfactoriness and suffering
Lesson 6 Physical self

Physical Self
- body which we interface with our environment and fellow being
- tangible of the person that can be directly observed examined

- Arthur Marwick
- defends the view that physical beauty is no more that what it is: only
skin deep.
-Physical Beauty
- defined as a feature of a person’s body
-can be valued, independent of others that make a person
valuable, such as intellect, character, or humor
- physical beauty was also considered suspect and dangerous, link to
sexuality and its “merely carnal”, power and seductive side.
- modern view that acknowledges the autonomous status of physical beauty
is still contested by both feminists and religious conservatives
-feminists > beauty as a suspect concept, as a male construct of
feminine looks
- religious conservatives > only inner beauty counts

Physical Beauty in its own right

- culture which we are surrounded by has significant impact on how feel about
ourselves and manner we think about our body

-attractiveness depends on many features, can value a person at different

levels with respect to his or her:
A. Physical looks - body, face, figure
B. Artistic looks - clothes, make-up, perfume, hair
C. Personal looks - appearance, impressions, aura
D. Performance - voice, attitude, behavior
E. Personality - charisma, charm, appeal, allure
F. Relational capacities - contractual skills, communication
competence
G. Friendship abilities - reliable, nice, offbeat, lovable, companionable
- judgments can be made at each level
-evaluations clearly appreciate the levels as independent dimensions
-evaluating someone’s beauty is difficult because we need to see the person
as a whole and not just criticizing him/her because the way of his/her dress or
because of his/her skin color. Beauty is beauty
- if we accept the conclusion that physical beauty can be valued, important
implication follows:
- intervention in the body is often the only way out for those who want
to be physically beautiful, and cosmetic or aesthetic surgery can be, at
least for some people and to some extent, the option par excellence
-consider the levels of artistic beauty and personal looks
-refers to the broader context than narrow one, reflecting views on the
importance of make-up, clothes, fashion and individual self-expression.

Beauty is Culture Bound

-cultures around the world have different ideas of what is beautiful

Africa - country of Mauritania is known as one that idolizes overweight

women, often seen as sign of wealth and fertility
 Brazil - women appear to be fit and toned, waxing, sculpting massages and
manicures are everyday treatment, not only reserved for the spa

Asia and Africa - skin lightening is popular

- to understand inherent beauty norms, we should study today’s trends and

tastes, their functions and meanings in our lives.
- ‘a beautiful appearance’ refers to a beauty that is man-made and is artistic in
two aspects:
1. Achieved by cultural means and reflects our present culture
2. It expresses someone’s personal choice and intentions
-results is an intentional structuring from an artistic pov: artistic beauty

Physical beauty in which one has an interest

-Immanuel Kant’s aesthetic
- beauty can be attached to living things as well as to artificial things
(works of art)
-character of the judgement of beauty is the same in both cases
- beauty gives the observer a feeling of disinterested pleasure or liking
-disinterested means to him that the object does not fulfill an
aim or satisfy a need
- for instance, no “wish to possess”, regardless of whether it is a work
of art or a natural object being observed
- beauty judgments are not objective, but nevertheless universal

Physical Beauty and Personal Identity

- more or less integrate our appearance-related experiences in our lives, and
thereby make these experiences part of our personal identity
- notion must be grasped in order to dully understand the concept of physical
beauty
-physical beauty
- understood as experienced beauty in primarily a relational
perspective
- not just ugly things about our body concern us but the story of the person
tells about them, as experienced by him and others
- characterization of a person therefore includes experiences, values and
beliefs, desire and psychological qualities, together constitute someone as a
person
-changing someones physical looks, by aesthetic surgery does not
necessarily make someone a different person, no matter how drastic the
change

- new sense of identity has to fit the reconstructed image and leave the old
self behind: Altering appearance also changes the way we see ourselves and
this is a crucial consequence of cosmetic surgery
- there is deep connection between physical (biological) and psychological
(existential) realm of life but represents a different perspective: Bodies
constraint but do not determine
- bodily changes may change a person, but these changes do not necessarily
imply a denial or loss of his identity

-physical self dictates how we act in front of other and how we will manage
our self-esteem
 - self-esteem is vital on how we form positive and healthy relationships with
people around us
-different kinds of self-esteem

Self-esteem
- used to describe a person’s overall sense of self-worth or personal value
-how much you appreciate and like yourself
-involves a variety of belief about yourself, such as appraisal of your own
appearance, beliefs, emotions, and behaviors

Inflates Self-esteem - people holds high regards of themselves, better than

the other to the point of understanding them

High Self-esteem - this is the positive esteem, make the person be satisfied of
themselves

Low Self-esteem - person does not value themselves and do not trust their
possibilities
Why Self-Esteem is Important?
- can play a significant role in your motivation and success throughout your
life
-low self-esteem hold you from succeeding at school/work, because you don’t
believe to be capable of success
- healthy self-esteem can help you achieve because you navigate life with a
positive, assertive attitude and believe you can accomplish your goals

Sign of Healthy Self-Esteem Signs of Low Self-Esteem

More likely to: Common problems caused by self-
- avoid dwelling on past, negative esteem:
experiences - believe that others are better than you
-express your needs -find it difficult expressing your need
-feel confident -focus on your weaknesses
-positive outlook on life -frequently experience feelings such as
-say no when you want to shame, depressions, or anxiety
-see overall strengths and weaknesses - intense fear of failure
and accept them - have trouble accepting positive
feedback
-trouble saying no
-put other people’s needs before your
own
-strugglee with confidence
Lesson 7 Sexual Self

Karl Pribram
- neuropsychologist
- described sex as one of four basic human derive states
- drive states motivate us to accomplish goals, linked to our survival, closely
associated with our psychological and physical health
-feeding, fighting, fleeing, and sex are the four drives behind every thought,
feeling, and behavior

Development of the sexual organs in the embryo and fetus

-Females
-considered as the “fundamental” sex
-without much chemical prompting, all fertilized eggs would develop
into females
- to become male
- must be exposed to the cascade of factors initiated by a single gene
on the male Y chromosomes
-SRY (Sex-determining Region of the Y chromosome)
-females do not have Y chromosome so the also do not have SRY gene
-without functional SRYgene, individual will be a female

- both male and females embyrong, the same group of cells has the potential
to develop into either the male or female gonads; the tissue is bipotential
-SRY gene actively recruits other genes that begin to develop the testes and
suppresses genes that are important in female development
- SRY-prompted cascade, germ cells in the bipotential gonads differentiate
into spermatogonia
- without SRY, different genes are expressed, oogonia form, and primordial
follicles develop in the primitive ovary

- after formation of the testis, Leydig cells begin to secrete testosterone

-testosterone influence tissues that are bipotential to become male
reproductive structures
- with exposure to testosterone, cells that could become either the glans penis
or the glans clitoris form the glans penis
-without testosterone, these same cells differentiate into the clitoris

-baby’s gender is determine at conception, and the different genitalia of male

and female fetuses develop from the same tissues in the embryo

Further Sexual Development occurs at Purberty

- Puberty
-stage of development at which individuals become sexually mature
- outcomes of puberty for boys and girls are very different, hormonal control of
the process is very similar
-
Lesson 8 Material Self

Product advertisement
- suggestive of making us feel better or look good
-part of us wants to have that product
- what makes us want to have those products are connected with who we are
What we have and already possess is related to our self

Belk (1988)
- we regard our possession as parts of ourselves, we are what we have and
what we possess
-direct link between self-identity with what we have and possess
- our wanting to have and possess has a connection with another aspect of
the self, material self

William James
- Harvard psychologist late 19th century
- The principles of Psychology book (1890)
-understanding the self can be examined through its different
components
-described components as:
1. Its constituents
2. The feeling and emotions they arouse - self feelings
3. Actions to which they prompt - self-seeking and self-prevention

Constituents of the self composed of:

1. Material self
2. Social self
3. Spiritual self
4. Pure ego

Material self
-according to James, primarily about our bodies, clothes, immediate family
and home
-deeply affected by these things because we have put too much investment of
our self to them

Innermost part of material self is…..

-our body

-directly attached to this commodity that we cannot live without

- we strive to make sure this body functions well and good
-ailment or disorder affect us
-we have certain preferential attachment or intimate closeness to
certain body parts because of its value to us
- there were people (ex. celebrities like Mariah Carey, placed huge
amount for the insurance of her vocal cords and legs

Next to body…
- clothes we use

Clothes
- influenced by “Philosophy dress” by Herman, James believed that clothing is
an essential part of the material self
 Lotze
- Microcosmus stipulates that any time we bring an object into the surface of
our body, we invest that object into the consciousness of our personal
existence taking its contours to be our own and making it part of the self
- fabric and style of clothes we wear bring sensations to the body to which
directly affect our attitudes and behavior
-clothes placed 2nd in the hierarchy of material self
-form of self-expression
-we choose and wear clothes that reflect our self

3rd in hierarchy
Immediate family
-parents and siblings hold another great important part of our self.
-they affect us
- when they dire, part of self die too
-when they are successful we feel their victories as if we are the one
holding the trophy
- when in failures we are put to shame or guilt
-when in disadvantage position we have the urge to help them, a
voluntary instinct of savings one’s self from danger
-We place huge investment in them when we see them as the nearest
replica of our self

4th component
Home
- where our heart is
- earliest nest of our selfhood
-experiences inside the home were recorded and marked on particular
parts and things in our home
-old cliche about rooms: “if only walls can speak.”
- extension of self, because we can directly connect our self

- investment of self to things made us attached to those things

- more investment of self-given to the particular thing, the more we identify ourselves
to it
- tend to collect and possess properties
-collections in different degree of investment of self becomes part of the self
- James
- described self: “a man’s self is the sum of all what he can call his”
-possessions then become part or an extension of the self

We are what we have

Russel Bell (1988)
- we regard our possessions as part of ourselves, we are what we
have and what we possess
-identification of the self to things started with infancy stage, we make
distinction among self and environment and others who may desire our
possessions

-as we grow older we put less importance to material possession

- material possession gains higher value in our lifetime if we use material
possession to find happiness, associate these things with significant events,
accomplishment and people in our lives
-when material possession of a person that is closely identified to the person,
gains acknowledgement with high regard even if the person already passed
away
- ex. Chairs in dining room on which a person is always seated, constant
reminder of the person; well love and keep vehicle, bereaved family have
difficulty in selling or letting go because it reminds it of the person who died;
pet or book that the owner placed high value
-these are symbols of the owner
Lesson 9 Spiritual Self
William James, The Principles of Psychology (1890)
- Spiritual self is one of the four constituents of the "self"

Spiritual Self
- most intimate, inner subjective part
- It is the most intimate version of the self because of satisfaction experienced
when thinking of one's ability to argue and discriminate,
-of one's moral sensibility and conscience,
- and of our unconquerable will is purer than all other sentiments of
satisfaction.

Through the expressions of religion, its beliefs and practices, the ability to use moral
sensibility and conscience may be seen .
- cultural rituals and ceremonies some manifestations what people believe in
- seeking the meaning of life is a journey that the spiritual self is on.

Difference between soul and spirit are they the same? No.

1 Thessalonians 5:23
- “And the God of peace Himself sanctify you wholly, and may your
spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame, at
the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
-human beings are made up of three parts—the spirit, soul,
and body.
- indicates the three are different from one another.
-as the body is separate and distinct from the soul, the soul is
also separate and distinct from the spirit

Hebrews 4:12
-“For the word of God is living and operative and sharper than any
two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit
and of joints and marrow, and able to discern the thoughts and
intentions of the heart.”
-the soul and the spirit are so close to one another, require the
word of God to divide them, separate them from each other

- our soul and our spirit are not the same thing

- it is not only important for us to see that they are distinct components, but also to
discern one from the other

Religion
- Rebecca Stein
- "as set of cultural beliefs and practices that usually includes some or
all of basic characteristics”
- characteristics:
1. Belief in anthropomorphic supernatural being, such as spirits and
gods
2. Focus on sacred supernatural, sacred refers to a feeling of
reverence and awe
3. Supernatural power/energy found on supernatural beings as well as
physical beings & object
 4. Performance of ritual acts involves manipulation of sacred object to
communicate to supernatural beings, influence or control events
5. Articulation of worldview and moral codes though narratives and
other means
6. Provide creation and maintenance of social bonds and mechanism
of social control within a community; provide explanation for unknown
and a sense of control for individuals

-individual lives in a society where there are many practices of religion. The
choice of religious belief lies within the spiritual self. Although the choice
maybe influenced by the society and its culture.

Ritual
- performance of ceremonial acts prescribes by a tradition or sacred law
-specific, observable mode of behavior exhibited by all known societies
-a way of defining or describing humans
- 3 fundamental characteristics of ritual (Penner)
1. Feeling or emotion of respect, awe, fascination, or dread in relation
to the sacred
2. Dependence on a belief system usually expressed in language of
myth
3. Symbolic in relation to its reference
-self can be described as ritual being who exhibits a striking parallel between
ritual and verbal behavior
-may be viewed as system of symbolic acts that is based upon arbitrary rules
-participation is expression of religious beliefs
World Religious Beliefs and Respects:

Buddhism
Beliefs:
-life is not bed of roses, but of suffering, pain and frustrations
-when people suffer, they want to experience the goodness of life and
avoid disappointments
-become habit known as reactive cycle of wanting and hating, like and
dislike, and craving and aversion
-can be broken through the practice of mediation, acquiring
more wisdom and deeper understanding, and acceptance of
things as they are
Customs and Practices:
-two types of practices:
-samatha - mindfulness of breathing and development of
loving-kindness (Metta Bhavana)
- vipassana - aim at developing into reality
-acquiring wisdom by studying Buddha teaching, dharma
-through reflection of dharma, buddhists can achieve
deeper understanding of life
Buddhists believe in non-violence principle
- major Buddhist celebration:
-Parinirvana Day, February
-Buddha Day (Wesak), May
-Dharma Day, July
-Padmasambhava Day, October
-Sangha Day, November
Christianity
Beliefs
- trinitarian God
-1 god in 3 personas:
God the father (creator)
God the son (Savior)
God the holy-spirit
- eternal life after death will be achieved through faith in Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ
- God the son, who came into flesh, to spread the good news
of salvation
-died on the cross for the sin of the humanity but resurrected
from the death so that anyone who believes in him will be
saved and have eternal life
Holy Bible
- selection of books, divided into two, Old Testament and New
Testament
Customs and Practices
-sacrament of baptism and sacrament of communion practiced by
christian churches
Sacrament of baptism
- symbolizes the birth in Christian