Lesson 3: The Human Person as an Embodied

Spirit

Transcendence
(n) conveys the basic ground concept from the world's literal meaning
(from Latin), of climbing or going beyond, with varying connotations in
its different historical and cultural stages.

Hinduism
Hinduism is one of the oldest Eastern traditions practiced by hundreds of millions of people
for about 5,000 years

Human beings possess dual nature:

 The spiritual and immortal essence (soul)
 Empirical life and character

Karma (कर्म)
It refers to intentional actions that affect one's fortunes in this life and the next.

Humanity's basic goal in life is the  liberation  (moksha)  of  spirit  (jiva).

Transmigration/Metempsychosis
Hindus believe the atman repeatedly takes on a body until moksha.

If a person has led a good life, the soul goes upward the scale. The soul of an evil person,
on the other hand, may pass into the body of an animal.

Moksha
It is the transcendent state attained as a result of being released from the cycle of rebirth.

Brahman
Places a lot of emphasis on the attainment of self-knowledge.

Hinduism's Primary Values

 1. Wealth
2. Pleasure
3. Duty
4. Enlightment

Brahma
Most Hindus believe that Brahman is present in every person as the eternal spirit or soul,
called the atman.

Brahman contains everything: creation and destruction, male and female, good and evil,
movement and stillness.

These are expressed in the trimurti and are:

 Brahma, the creator

 Vishnu, the preserver
 Shiva, the destroyer

Vishnu
Vishnu is considered as the most important god in Hinduism.Vishnu has come to earth as
Rama and Krishna to save the world. Vishnu is married to Lakshmi. Vishnu has four arms,
which together hold a conch, a lotus flower, a discus and a club.  Vishnu has come down
to earth many times, sometimes as an animal, sometimes as human beings.

Dharma
Dharma  is an important term in Indian religions. In Hinduism it means 'duty', 'virtue',
'morality', even 'religion' and it refers to the power which upholds the universe and society.

The  Upanishads are a collection of texts that contain some of the central philosophical
concepts of Hinduism; and is also considered by Hindus to contain utterances concerning
the nature of ultimate reality and describing the character of and path to human salvation

Buddhism
Like stars fading and vanishing at dawn,
Like bubbles on a fast moving stream,
Like morning dewdrops evaporating on blades of grass,
like a candle flickering in a stormy wind,
echoes, mirages, and phantoms hallucinations and like a dream.

- The Buddha, Eight Smiles of Illusion

Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha)

He turned away from Hinduism to seek for answers to the riddle of life's sufferings,
disease, old age, and death.

Four Noble Truths

1. Life is full of suffering;
2. Suffering is caused by passionate desires, lusts, cravings;
3. Only as these are obliterated, will suffering cease;
4. Such eradication of desire may be accomplished only by following the Eightfold
Path of earnest endeavor.

Eightfold Path
1. Right belief in and acceptance of the "Fourfold Truth";
2. Right aspiration for one's self and for others;
3. Right speech that harms no one;
4. Right conduct, motivated by goodwill toward all human beings;
5. Right means of livelihood, or earning one's living by honorable means;
6. Right endeavor, or effort to direct one's energies toward wise ends;
7. Right mindfulness in choosing topics for thought; and
8. Right meditation, or concentration to the point of complete absorption in mystic
ecstacy.

Sangha
the Buddhist community of monks, nuns, novices, and laity.

Dharma
the teaching or religion of the Buddha.

Dharma
the principle of cosmic order.

Axioms
 Cease to do evil
 Learn to do good
 Purify your own mind

Nirvana
The highest state that someone can attain, a state of enlightenment, meaning a person's
individual desires and suffering go away.

In the state of Nirvana, the effects of Karma can be

overcame; the Cycle of Rebirth is broken; and one may
rest in the calm assurance of having attained a heavenly
bliss that will stretch into all eternity.

Samsara
It is the beginning-less cycle of repeated birth, mundane existence and dying again that
all beings pass through. Samsara is considered to be dukkha, unsatisfactory and painful,
perpetuated by desire and avidya (ignorance), and the resulting karma.

States of Sublime Condition

 Love 
 Sorrow of others 
 Joy in the joy of others
 Equanimity as regards one's own joy and sorrows.

Christianity
Proving the existence of God is as pointless as probing the existence of air.

The problem addressed in the Old Testament isn't atheism, but polytheism: not the denial
of God but the worship of more than one God.

The reality of God is unquestioned in the New Testament due to the conviction that in Jesus
of Nazareth the eternal God became flesh and dwelt among human beings.

"Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this

faith is to see what you believe"
- Saint Augustine

Saint Augustine of Hippo

Also known as the Doctor of Grace, was an early Christian theologian and philosopher
whose writings influenced the development of Western Christianity and Western
philosophy.

Saint Thomas Aquinas

He was an immensely influential philosopher, theologian, and jurist in the tradition of
scholasticism, within which he is also known as the Doctor Angelicus and the Doctor
Communis.
For Augustine, wisdom is not just an abstract logical construction; it is substantially existent
as the Devine Logos. Hence, philosophy is the love of God.

Philosophie
J'ai tout lu.                                     I have everything.
J'ai tout vu.                                    I have seen all.
J'ai tout connu.                             I knew all.
J'ai tout entendu.                         I have heard all.
J'ai tout eu.                                   I had it all.    
Et je suis... un peu perdu.           I had lost... I am a bit lost.

John 15:5
"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain
in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart
from me, you can do nothing."

Evaluate Own Limitations and Possibilities for their

Transcendence
A. Forgiveness
When we forgive, we are freed from our anger and bitterness because of the actions
and/or words of another. On the other hand, the hardness of our heart is reinforced by
the whole series of rational arguments.

B. The Beauty of Nature

There is perfection in every single flower; this is what the three philosophies believed.
These kinds of experiences can be truly moments of grace. They touch us deeply and the
human heart is spontaneously lifted.

C. Vulnerability
The experience that we are contingent, that we are dependent for our existence on
another is frightening. 

We need to acknowledge the help of other people in our lives. 

D. Failure
Our failures force us to confront our weaknesses and limitations. 

Such acceptance of our failures make us hope and trust that all can be brought into
good. Even if we have sinned, as Augustine had, there is hope and forgiveness.
E. Loneliness
Our loneliness can be rooted from our sense of vulnerability and fear of death. This
experience is common. However, it is our choice to live in an impossible world where we
are always "happy" or to accept a life where solitude and companionship have a part.
With our loneliness, we can realize that our dependence on other people or gadgets is a
possessiveness that we can be free from.

F. Love
To love is to experience richness, positivity, and transcendence. Whether in times of
ecstatic moments or struggles, the love for a friend, between family members or a
significant person, can open in us something in the other which takes us beyond
ourselves. Life is full of risks, fears and commitment, pain and sacrificing and giving up
things we want for the sake of the one we love. In Buddhist view, the more we love, the
more risks and fears there are in life.

Recognize the Human Body Imposes Limits and

Possibilities for Transcendence
A. Hinduism: Reincarnation and Karma
Essential Hinduism is based on the belief in karma and has its first literary expression in
Upanishads. Everything in this life, say the Hindus, is a consequence of actions performed
in previous existence. Only by building up a fine record, or "karma", can final salvation be
attained.

B. Buddhism: Nirvana
Nirvana means the state in which one is absolutely free from all forms of bondage and
attachment. It means to overcome and remove the cause of suffering. It is also the state
or perfect insight into the nature of existence. The Buddhists see one who has attained
nirvana as one who is unencumbered from all the fetters that bind a human being to
existence.

C. St. Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas: Will and Love

For St. Augustine, physically we are free, yet morally bound to obey the law. The Eternal
law is God Himself. According to this law, humanity must do well and avoid evil, hence,
the existence of moral obligation in every human being.

Through prayer, modesty, fasting, and other sound measures that the Church
recommends, or God provides, can purify heart, mind, and body be maintained and daily
lived.