"Siddartha 2/20"

Qoute: "Siddhartha learned a lot when he was with the Samanas, many ways leading away from the self he learned to go. He went the way of self-denial by means of pain, through voluntarily suffering and overcoming pain, hunger, thirst, tiredness. He went the way of self-denial by means of meditation, through imagining the mind to be void of all conceptions. These and other ways he learned to go, a thousand times he left his self, for hours and days he remained in the non-self. But though the ways led away from the self, their end nevertheless always led back to the self. Though Siddhartha fled from the self a thousand times, stayed in nothingness, stayed in the animal, in the stone, the return was inevitable, inescapable was the hour, when he found himself back in the sunshine or in the moonlight, in the shade or in the rain, and was once again his self and Siddhartha, and again felt the agony of the cycle which had been forced upon him."


   Displeased with all previous teachings, Siddhartha learned the ways of the Samanas, diving into deep meditation.  He sought to liberate the "self"  and become an empty vessel, which would recieve enlightenment and ultimately set him free from the meaninglessness of the world. In deep meditation, he learned to empty his mind of what was, is and would be. As the seasons passed and time kept going, he realized that there was no elightenment, that mediation was just a form of escape, that would inevitably lead him back to the cruel reality that he lived in. 

    I chose this passage because I disagree with Siddhartha on the effectiveness of mediation.  I believe that meditation is not a form of escape, but, rather, a tool used to achieve the "oneness" that Siddhartha always desired. I believe that deep meditation can help calm the senses to allow a freeflow of consciouness. It also allows the practitioner to be aware of the present moment and to feel a deeper sense of unity with the universe. I have practice meditation and yoga for two years now and it has completely changed my life around. At first, I found it almost impossible to close my eyes and think of nothing, because your mind flows constantly with ideas, thoughts and memories. Then I learned to focus on my breathing, to imagine the circulation of airflow within my body. It was in that cycle, in that darkness, that I understood, that time did not exist, that the present and future were just thoughts. That nothing mattered except what I was experiencing at that moment. I felt no pain, fear or discomfort, all that was felt was peace and spiritual fufillness. Like Siddhartha, I, too came back to my reality but the "I" does not come back the same, it has changed. Perhaps, even transcended in its way of thinking. 

Monkey See Monkey Do

Quote:

Blind pupils. -- As long as a man knows very well the strength and weaknesses of his teaching, his art, his religion, its power is still slight. The pupil and apostle who, blinded by the authority of the master and by the piety he feels toward him, pays no attention to the weaknesses of a teaching, a religion, and soon usually has for that reason more power than the master. The influence of a man has never yet grown great without his blind pupils. To help a perception to achieve victory often means merely to unite it with stupidity so intimately that the weight of the latter also enforce the victory of the former.

                                               from Nietzsche's Human, all too Human, s.122, R.J. Hollingdale transl.
                            

     I definitely agree. People in power can definitely become very influential to the extent of imposing their own beliefs unto others without questioning. Whether this is due to the gullibity of people, to the influence of the "teacher" or a combination of both, seems to bring about the notion of "monkey see monkey do."  To believe in something without prior valid research, is to jump into an unknown with many vairables. Perhaps, Nietzsche highlighted the fact that religious dogmas had been too easily accepted by the multitude and that this act hindered the possibility of achieving scientific enlightenment.

    In todays world, all the technological and scientific advancements that have occurred were brought about by the age of Enlightenement, the age of reasoning, and questioning.  It is because of the curiosity of inquisitive minds and the adaptability for them to change that has sprout this increase in scientific advancement. Had it not been for these curious minds, maybe we'd still be stuck in the middle ages.

German Economy

      Given the fact that Germany has the fourth largest nominal GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in the world and is the biggest contributer to the EU budget, one can surmise that Germany has grown into a world power becasue of it's economy. Thanks to it's highly skilled labor force and it's low unemployment rate, Germany has managed to become a leading exporter of goods including prestigious companies such as: BMW, Mercedez Benz, Addidas, Audi etc...

      On January 1, 2002 Germany introduced the famous euro currency. This intergration of the Euro allowed Germany to form part of the European Union, which in turn developed a single market that abided by a standarized system of law that applied to all member states. The euro notes and currency has since replaced all national currencies. Unfortunately, the EU market is destablizing due to the budget deficits that have plagued countries such as: Greece, Spain, Portugal,and Italy.  Although the introduction of the euro has allowed Germany to maintain a steadily surplus, the financial crises suffered by neighboring member states, can undermine this growth. In retalitaion to such crises, Germany has said that it will not carry the burden of another country's woes and is willing to withdraw itself from the European Union

      Furthermore, in the upcoming years Germany seeks to close down all its nuclear power plants, and in turn seeks to become more energy effiecient. This is because Germany is the sixth largest consumer of Energy with 60% of it being imported. The government has also sought to lower its levels of emissions.  Overall, Germany has rebounded from the post-war era, and now enjoys a stable econmic state.