Journal 2
Paul Merrill
2/25/06
 
1) One paragraph summary of the key idea summarizing the topic of the week.  
       This section we covered the major moral systems of today’s world.  They are: Judaism, Confucianism, Islam, Buddhism, and a few other smaller ones.  I learned that Judaism is very similar to Catholicism in that they have the Ten Statements which are very similar to our ten commandments.  In Judaism, they are very strict about their morals and instead of using the word God; they have to use “G-d” because of the sacredness they place on this word.  The next moral system I we covered was Confucianism which gave us the five foundational relationships that we must have.  They are: 1. father and son, ruler and subject, husband and wife, elder and younger brother, between friends. The next moral system we covered was Islam.  To me Islam is a very strange religion, but with the help of websites, I was able to better understand what is was all about.  In Islam they have the five pillars of Islam, which include: There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his prophet, Pray to Allah five times a day, always facing Mecca. Give alms to the poor, fast from sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan and, Make at least one pilgrimage, or Hajj, to Mecca during your lifetime.  The last major moral system that we covered was Buddhism.  In Buddhism, there are many moral teachings that apply. There are the four noble truths: 1) All worldly life is unsatisfactory, disjointed, containing suffering, 2) there is a cause of suffering, which is attachment or desire rooted in ignorance, 3) here is an end of suffering, which is Nirvana, and 4) there is a path that leads out of suffering, known as the Eightfold Path.  The Eightfold path:  1. Right Understanding - To see and understand things as they really are; to grasp the impermanence and imperfection of the natural world 2. Right Thought - Commitment to ethical and mental self improvement 3. Right Speech - To abstain from dishonest, slanderous, harmful or worthless speech; Buddha spoke strongly against speaking falsely. 4. Right Action - To abstain from harming any beings, stealing, or sexual misconduct. 5. Right Livelihood - The belief that wealth should be gained legally and peacefully. 6. Right Effort - Using the body and mind's energy to achieve moral and just actions. 7. Right Mindfulness - The ability to see things as they really are; clear perception of reality 8. Right Concentration - Concentration on wholesome thoughts and action.
Through these moral systems I now have a larger understanding of the many different ways of life as well as morals of other people. 
 
2) List and explain three of the most important ideas you want to remember from this week. In this section the ideas have to come from three different moral systems, or be an overriding idea you get from your study of these. Just take all your ideas from one religion or moral system.
       The most Important ideas that I want to remember from this week are: That Jihad is a very misunderstood term that really means personal-the most common type of jihad, which is an inner struggle to purify oneself or military-armed fighting against non-Muslims dedicated to Allah.  The next thing I want to remember is that Muslims believe that all people should try to unite from all over the world because we all came from Adam and Eve.  The last thing that I would like to remember from this week is how strict Islam is with the five pillars of Islam.  It seems to me that those would help them lead a strict and structured life, which is something that I have trouble doing myself. 

 
 
3) One image of that reminds you of the topic. Try to get a good, striking, meaningful image. Attribute, link, your source. 

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://hajj.al-islam.com/IMAGES/album/large/HARAM/Haram6.gif&imgrefurl=http://hajj.al-islam.com/display.asp%3Flang%3Deng%26sub%3D10%26fname%3Dalbum/album1&h=409&w=639&sz=212&tbnid=141z6ztwwTNdJM:&tbnh=86&tbnw=135&hl=en&start=4&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dislam%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DN

4) One good question you should keep with your to ponder. Why not take some time to answer your question? 
How can I know and study something without just plain memorization?

5) What should you try to do to make you a better person, a more moral person, from this study of other moral systems? Anything real and practical you can learn from other religions?  I think that I need to look at how strict and structured these religions are and sort of work on making my life more strict and structured.