Wisdom

Understanding the Heart Sutra is one of the more difficult readings to grasp because the ideas behind the words are not so easy to understand as is. The extrapolation Thich Nhat Hanh presents about this sutra breaks down each idea and expands every thought. Questions contemplating emptiness, oneness, being, and life are explained into depth to help non-Buddhists understanding of the being one with all that surrounds us. It is a prevalent theme throughout the commentary (and Buddhism) that…

City of pigs would display these virtues more. There is a lot more wisdom put out in how they would handle things. They do not automatically think of war or even stealing other people’s land because of their greediness to have everything be over the top and “perfect”. Stealing, in most people’s eyes, is not a trait of justice. You would look to something far more important if you were looking for justice. Nor is stealing a part of wisdom or courage. Personally, those things make individuals…

Having the Right Ideas. Sometimes people need to get out of their comfort zone in order to learn something new. They are influenced by their experiences. This influence can lead to growth. In the article, “American Scholar”, by Ralph Waldo Emerson, Emerson explains that his intent is to explore the scholar as one function of the whole human being; the scholar is "Man Thinking." The remainder of the article is organized into four sections: the first three discussing the influence of nature, the…

Symposium, love is attached to the youthful stages. Agathon notes that god of love avoids the sight of senility and clings to the youth. Love championships should mainly be seen among the young people. With love, justice, moderation, courage and wisdom are created. So love has a role in the creation of virtues. Socrates questions Agathon and they come to a conclusion that love comprises of being conscious of an item for a good that is not yet in possession of the one who needs it. Through…

oughout the course of this class, I often found myself questioning why we must shape our lives and formulate our thoughts according to the conceptions of others. I believe as a society, we follow in the footsteps of others because stepping back and questioning who we are, how we have changed, and what notions of human flourishing guide our decisions are terrifying thoughts. However, I will now use this space to reflect upon my own understanding of human flourishing and of my moral agent in order…

In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, Equality renounce his relationships, reputation, and citizenship in order to achieve wisdom, freedom, and individuality. His determination illustrated that immense sacrifice is necessary to stand up for individual beliefs and to attain happiness. When he left his community, Equality gave up his friendly relations. Left behind were those that he worked with such as International, one of Equality’s best friends, and Union, who was familiar to Equality even though…

to connect to the mind. To initially describe Aristotle’s basic theory of virtue, he questions how human beings produce a good result. Our goal is to find happiness and eventually find a good life. Aristotle introduces the term Practical Wisdom. Practical Wisdom explains that human beings know what the goal is, but the question is the mean or ways to approach to the end. We have to find the right plan or path to obtain the goal. In other words, we see the options and pick the better option to…

philosophy in Paris and was deeply embedded in the teachings of St. Thomas Aquinas. He was known for his works concerning on how does one achieves intellectuality through spirituality and solitude. One of his books regarding acquiring a mind of wisdom was The Intellectual life. The book was first printed in the United States of America in 1948, the second was in 1952 and the third was in 1956. It was printed with some corrections in year 1959 and was finalized in 1960. The book is about on how…

In Plato’s The Republic, Socrates endeavors to prove to Glaucon and Adeimantus that the life of a just man is superior to that of an unjust man, even if being just provides no reward and one is just simply for the sake of being just. By the end of The Republic, Socrates has sufficiently proved that being just does provide a better life than being unjust, however, he has done this by using the rewards that originate from being just, rather than explaining why being just is better solely for the…

nature and the deeper aspects of life. These ultimately lead him to finding the treasure at the end but the real treasure was the life lessons learned. The author uses symbolism, character development and allegories to develop the theme that true wisdom is all about purifying the soul, community with the universe, and finding the hidden treasures of life. The authors use of symbolism throughout the book was amazing, lumping alchemy in with a universal language and world religion to make it…