- P H I L O S O P H Y -
As philosophy will always be my first love in academics, I have devoted much time and energy to researching, dialoging with other "philosophers" and meditating on the subjects that I encounter.
My father recieved a B.A. in Philosophy from the University of Dallas and used to torture my developing mind with questions like, "How do you know you know?" or "If you walk into a room and see a chair, how do you know that it is really a chair if you've never seen that chair before? What is chairness?" and the classic: "What is Good. Have you ever seen 'Good'? Then how do you know what Good is?" You get the idea. I was forever damaged, and decided to attempt the classics of Plato and Aristotle. I truly enjoyed the challenge that those readings presented. Here was something above the mindless fictional drivel that I had previously been limiting myself to. As I grew older into my adolescence, I began to question my Catholic upbringing and branched out into the study of Taoism and later, an in depth look into Buddhism in China, Vietnam, India and Japan. I have most recently become very interested in traditional Indian religions other than Buddhism. I'm trying to get through the Baghvad Gita. I recently finished the Yoga Sutra of Patanjali which was of particular interest to me as a student of Iyengar Yoga.
The study of religious texts from many different cultures has brought me to a better understanding of anthropology, traditions and myths. I feel that comparitive religion and philosophy is a pursuit that will never end for me. However, I feel that an understanding of Spirituality is more important than understanding a man-made religion.
There is a concept familiar to many who have studied Buddhism which maintains that at the highest levels, all major religions of the world teach the same basic teaching: Compassion toward all living things. This is without a doubt, a challenge in any society and seemingly insurmountable in American society. We live in a violent world which teaches us to look out only for ourselves. Making the switch from walking through life unaware of consequences to being aware of how we impact everyone and everything on Earth through our actions and inactions might seem a forgein concept. But it is my belief that without practicing awareness, we will never be prepared as a people and as individuals to deal positively with lifes many many challenges. For that reason I pray for all of us. That we can show each other how to be awake and aware of the implications of our actions to each and every living being is my hope for humanity. I hope that someday awareness will bring about an end to all suffering on Earth. Until then, we practice mindful living.
Below is a links section for some of my favorite sites dealing with phiolosophy and religions:
B U D D H I S M
Parallax PressThis link is to Vietnamese Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh's publisher. He is my FAVORITE Buddhist teacher.
The Dharma RingHere is a listing of member sites...too much to list here!
The Library of Buddhist TextsIf you want to delve into some traditional Buddhist readings, save your yourself some money (acquiring philosophical texts can get very expensive) and visit this extensive archive.
H I N D U I S M / V E D A N T A
Advaita Vedanta Following this link will take you to a course of study assembled by a very intelligent person who has studied many paths and found much in the Vedanta. Following the links in succession will take you to some truly awesome materials on Vedanta. This is really quality content, folks.
Namaste Here is a another quality page which happens to also feature some breathtaking artwork.
Y O G A
YogAhhhhAlthough this page is not philosophical, it's a great resource for yoga practitioners who would like good depictions of poses with reccomendations for asana sequences.
Sivinanda YogaThis page is a wealth of Yoga teachings, especially the Five Points of Yoga Wisdom.
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