Nov 20 read what is missing: 19, 20

These last two books kind of give a conclusion of all that we have read but what I think is the most important is the last one, 20.3 since it kind of resumes the whole in that phrase. I believe that that is a very important quote because it expresses what it is that a person needs in life, which are ritual, fate and words, because all that has been said in the previous books can be taught to a person but unless he has the three previous skills/values then it will be no good because he wont fully understand all that is being taught and it will be a waste of time. This book has a lot of deep information and one can choose to get as much as you want inside and understand and learn from as much as you want. As it has been previously said in the book, the love of knowledge is very important and a great way to learn is by enjoying it.

Nov 19: books 15, 17, 18

Even though many of the quotes and writings found in these book are very deep and easily understood by me, there are a few that I do not understand right away, I have to reads them over and over again until I finally get what it was that they were trying to state. Still, even after rereading them, there are a few of the teachings that I don’t understand no matter how hard I try. Maybe it is the fact that I’m still a kid and I have a lot to learn ahead of me, or maybe it’s just the fact that I’m slow but it really bothers me not to understand the message or get what it was meant for the reader to understand because throughout this books I have learned a lot and I have got to see other ways of seeing life. One of the states Confucius makes is the following “women and servants are particularly hard to manage: if you are too familiar with them they’ll grow insolent, but if you are too distant, they grow resentful.” (17.25) I personally find this comment both offensive but comical at the same time. I find it comical because it is a true statement and many times woman really react in the way said but it is also an insult because it refers to woman in a way that them as well, are servants and that they are it kind of shows like they have little rights and respect towards men like when its said that they grow insolent and because since the beginning they weren’t given equal importance to that of a man.

November 15

In these three chapters, the master first talks about his life and all the characteristics he finds in himself. He talks about what he does, what he would never do, what he likes, what he thinks and how he feels. It is in a way a reflection of his life and how he has lived it and even at one point it talks about what he would do to change and what he would change if he was given more time in life or another life but he also appreciates many of the things he had done. On the next chapter, though, he doesn’t reflect on himself but he instead suggests for the future. He expresses complex ideas through concise sayings that will help a person throughout the whole life. The master talks about his enjoyment of learning and he shares his knowledge with others and gives advice on how to live a good life and one that is really worthwhile. And in the eleventh book he now listens to his disciples. He gives them the opportunity to show him how much they have really learned and express their thoughts to him. Throughout this activity is when he discovers which disciples were really learning his philosophy and which were not. Then he is able to choose one student on which to focus and get their understandings together and comment about life. He also uses other people as examples to get his points through because he doesn’t only show what he believes, he actually proves himself correct with actual events that have occurred.

November 16: books 12, 13 14

These three books combine in a way that specifies how it is that gentlemen should act around other people and at the end it concludes by showing the way the master feels about his ideology and how it is that nobody else gets to understand the way he thinks. About his way of considering a man a gentleman I believe he is way too strict and he expects too much about a man and many times he expect two things that in a way that contradict themselves. Also about his beliefs I consider completely acceptable to have his own thoughts and ways to see life what I don’t get is why, even though he teaches them, does he decide that he alone thinks that way? Shouldn’t he give other people the opportunity to understand his ideas? Also every person has the right to have his own ideas and believes and Confucius doesn’t support this sometimes but then he also sometimes says he does. I don’t know, he gets to confuse me a lot sometimes about his ideas but I really do appreciate and believe a person can learn a lot from these thoughts about life.

November 13

After reading these three books, I decided I would comment on the quote I was mostly inspired by. From 4.17 I took, “When you see someone who is worthy, concentrate upon becoming their equal; when you see someone who is unworthy, use this as an opportunity to look within yourself.” This quote made me realize how we always criticize people without even knowing them and we are always focusing on the negative aspects of a person. I believe that it is important to look at the positive aspects of a person because it is always easier to learn and try to adapt the positive characteristics of a person. It is usually easier to tell which the negative aspects of a person are because they tend to be stronger or one notices the bad things, instead one is used to seeing good things and therefore doesn’t appreciate them as much as one should.

5.12 “What I do not wish others to do unto me, I also wish not to do unto others” This phrase reminds me of a quote I was taught in third grade, and from then always remembered. It is the following” treat others as you want to be treated”, both of these sayings are trying to express the same thing to the reader. It is trying to show that respect is very important in life and even though not everyone thinks alike or feels the same, the closest you’ll ever get to know about what a person feels is feeling it yourself. This is why I believe that t is true that one should treat the others as you would like to be treated because if you were happy when you were treated in a certain way, the other person will probably also feel happy when treated in that way. The same thing happens with the things that shouldn’t be done because if you didn’t liked it when it was done to you then the other person will probably dislike it when done to them.

6.28 “If I have done anything wrong, may heaven punish me.” 5.19 “I do not know about that- what makes you think he deserves to be called good?” These two quotes connect because they make you realize that one has been living their whole life with a certain image of good in their head but who decided what good was? Shouldn’t that be a subjective question instead of an objective one? Still, somehow, someone made some standardized points on what was good and what was bad, and from then on the whole world has followed those points. What decided that those points themselves were “good”? And the same thing occurs with wrong and right… who chose what was correct and what wasn’t and who chose how to punish the wrong doers? Here the master asks heaven to punish him but how can heaven measure a moderate punishment and how can each person know if they deserve it or if they deserve it more or less than another person? Life will continue to be a mystery to all of us and you can decide if you like the current rules which have been brainwashed onto your head or if you want to establish your own rules. But if you choose to make your own rules and follow these, you must accept the consequences.

Lessons

Everything we see, read, do, or experience we can use for personal gain. We decide how much we want to understand about something and how we want to interpret it. In this book I can already tell that there are many things that I will be learning and i will probaly even get some quotes out of itand everything. The topics that these men are discussing really atract my interest and they show opinions about life that i plan to take into consideration because these are very rich in emotional and logical meaning. I hope that when we finish reading this I have better perspective of life and how i should live it and i hope to get t be better person who lives a good life.

Throughout the little section we read, the question that was bothering me the whole time was "who are these people". I mean, it talks about a master, about Zingzong, about Zixia, about Duke Ding, and i just wonder who all these people are. Are they supposed to be people of our society? if they are what do they dedicate their lives to? what are there interests? is this a conversation that they like have when they are bored? or is it made any day because its just common? or do they like make an appointment and unite to talk about this? I dont know i just feel like the topic being expressed in th ebook is very good one but i would like to have a bit more of bckground information because i am currently lost at what it is that is going on.

Happy endings

Since we are born we are influenced from all around us to look for our "happy ending". We read fairy tales and we just hope to have alife as perfect as theirs. But life isnt always that way. We have parts in life in which we suffer a lot but there are others that we enjoy. the "happy ending" in books was just a new beggining and in life you cant just close the book and leave it there in one of your greatest times. you have to continue goin even if you want to or not. In this part of Job, Job is finally given his "happy ending". God and Satan stop fighting and torturing him and he is given his happiness, family and possesions back. Here the story also ends with a happy ending. Even though the bible does show a harder problem through which Job fought, the telling of Job end when he is happy. This proves that just like any other fary tale, the main purpose of the bible is to give hohpe. Even though it is sometimes contradictory and it makes you doubt, it will always indirectly affect you in a way in which stories end when they are happy to leave a positive image in mind. NO matter how bad the life of a man is, you will always remember was left at last to impress you, and this might make you believe he was happy even though it was longer the time through which he was unhappy. It also shows indirectly that if you are able to manage confusion, questions, anger, and pressure then you will be benefited by it and even if it wasnt meant to say that, the church will use it in mass in a way that expresses to the public what benefits the church and just the church.
So we will always look four our "happily ever after" and we like looking for it because its something to look forward to and we might end lucky as Job, we can have our happiness returned, our family and our friends there to support you, and your possesions to live comfortable life.