The Gospel of Thomas

I am not particularly keen on the Gospel of Thomas. Most of what is in "his" sayings are just the reiterations from the Jesus of Nazareth passage, and just in general. With this in mind, I read as if talking was not Thomas but only Jesus. However, what I found important were the passages where the disciples ask Jesus a question and he answers them. While I didn't find the Gospel of Thomas very profound, I do think that it opens up what Jesus has said to the greater world by allowing a connection through friendship and love. Although I didn't prefer the Gospel of Thomas I did like this passage, "When you see one who was not born of a woman, bow down and worship him. That one is your father." I thought it was a clever passage that even felt "godly" in and of itself due to it's short but striking message because in order for someone to not be born from a woman implies a God, or in this case, thee God.

John the Evangelist

I liked what John had to say. I liked it because of the conjectures since Christianity as a whole tends to use a lot of it. My favorite was "those who don't love, don't know God." It's one of those in-your-face things that basically says if you don't love you will never be happy. I also liked how he views the spirit as being an important aspect of the religion because most people tend to forget that about Christianity, afterall there is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Overall his teachings come down and tell you to be truthful, loving, and bestowing; which are all profound things, even in modern life.

Tzu-Ssu

This reading has a very light-hearted approach to it, or I at least get that vibe. Like with most religious literature, this passage also has morals contained within it, sincerity is the main moral taught here. One of the observations I made was that I learned where a rather ubiquitous but necessary saying came from. I am talking about this famous line, "Don't do to others what you wouldn't want done to you." Even with it's ubiquity, I cannot recall anyone every telling me that this line came from a Confucius' grandson about 2500 years ago. I do not know much about Chinese proverbs, literature, or religion but I can now make the assumption that Chinese teachings, along with teachings from other cultures, are pervasive in our culture.
Aside from that, I like what is said about sincerity. I never thought about sincerity as this all-important aspect of living. Though, now that I think about it, I understand how it is essential to achieving perfect enlightenment.

Pai-Chang

Even though this passage was really short, the message it conveys is one that wants to show wholeness of being. I am going to be blunt, I enjoyed this reading because it was short. However, on a more serious note, I liked it because of the bluntness. This passage suggests that after gaining perfect enlightenment, one should retain it. The one thing I must question is this: If a person is to attain perfect enlightenment how is it even possible to lose it? In my opinion, the author wanted to finish on a facetious tone in order to encapsulate the symbolic message of this passage. With that said, this is relatively profound teaching that I agree with because of the fact that this teaching, along with many others, wants us to achieve a wholesome quality about ourselves.

The Buddha

This reading was also interesting because its thoughts appeared to be proper. What I found to be incredibly insightful was the last thought because of how it explains that believing in oneself is very important and I agree since it is essential to be your own person in life. Another thought out this reading that was intriguing was the third thought about the unborn, uncreated, and unconditioned. If you are capable of seeing those things you are liberated from the born, created, and conditioned. This implies that a person would have to be a rather grandeur spiritual being to see them so I think this teaching is trying to express the absurdness of claiming to be able to. The other passage that I liked was the one where a man built a boat, used it properly, and then used it improperly. To me this teaching shows how to become understanding of certain situations and apply the proper tool. I agree with this view on reality because if anyone applies the appropriate tool to a situation whether it may be a hammer, scale, or therapy there should be a successful outcome.

The Diamond Sutra

I enjoyed this reading because of the conjecture and deep thought that this reading provokes. The number one thing I got out of this reading is that bringing or having peace for our mind is all important so that it can be independent from thoughts. This teaching broadcasts the message of selflessness or the sake of just loving to live which is evident by the clever last thought, "When I attained Absolute Perfect Enlightenment, I attained absolutely nothing. That is why it is called Absolute Perfect Enlightenment." I especially agree with the author because of the clear philosophical argument against avarice and lust so that life can be lived without expectations, material possessions, and other desires. This is a very moving idea because it is implying to live wholely.

Dov Baer of Mezritch

I'm going to be honest; I really didn't get this one. However, after reading it several times it seems to me that this reading is also expounding respect. As a whole, I didn't particularly enjoy this reading because it tried to condense the same (or very similar) moral into three different but essentially the same mini passages. From my point of view, when I want to beat a moral into someone else's head, I would do so with a longer story, than that story cut-up and construed into three of the *same*.
Though I agree with the author's moral, I just didn't like the method it was delivered in; or maybe i should say methods. I think the author was just trying to be clever but in the end delivered with a paltry product.

Shmelke of Nikolsburg

I enjoyed Shmelke of Nikolsberg because it teaches respect. It teaches that you must show respect or care for something even if it makes a mistake because everything is interrelated hence the passage "Don't you know that the original soul came out of the essence of God, and that every human soul is a part of God?" I agree with the moral lesson being taught and has relevance in modern society especially when regarding the death penalty; should we teach that murdering is wrong by in turn murdering the murderer? The argument was profound especially with the example regarding your hand making a mistake. All the logic seems to be bullet proof in this writing.