Perfection Through Prayer

15^th wave, 101146 최정운, Jeongwoon Choi

Anthropology of perfection Research Paper

Table of Contents

I.                   Intro

II.                Religions of the Middle East

A.      Common Characteristics

B.      Prayer in Christianity

C.      Prayer in Islam

D.      Prayer in Judaism

III.             Dependence on Religion

A.      Prayer, and why people pray

B.      Positivity of Prayer

C.      Religious meaning of Prayer

IV.             Conclusion: The Role of Religion in Society Today

I.                   Intro

Many people in Korea seem to ‘rely’ upon religion. Many people pray, or give offerings(제사), or throw a gut(굿), a rite of devotion based on Shamanist tradition. In occasions such as the KSATs, many parents can be seen in Buddhist temples and Christian churches in mass prayer – in fact these religious institutions advertize that they are holding these prayers. What makes people so dependent upon religion was my first question.

My second question was what these religions have in common. I was more interested in comparing and contrasting the 3 religions of the Middle East: Christianity, Islam and Judaism.

The final aim of this paper is to search for the proper role in of religion in society today.

I have centered this research on the act of praying. This research aims to look at religion through the religious act of praying. Derived from the knowledge I have gained from the 2 questions above, I will conclude upon the role that religion may have in society today.

II.                Religions of the Middle East

A.      Common Characteristics

The biggest characteristics of these religions are that they are monotheistic. This results in the elitism of some Jews, and the disputes among Christians and Muslims today. To them, their God is the only God, and His people the chosen people.

Another characteristic they share in common is the importance of prayer. This is a characteristic of religion which is central in this research paper, and therefore something which I will handle with more importance.

B.      Prayer in Christianity

Prayer in Christianity is seemingly very free. Special rites, or techniques of prayer is not required – love and trust for God is all that is needed. This is much like bhakti-yoga, the way of reaching God through work (which is unlike raja-yoga, which requires special training). However, tradition and rites do exist. One is of asking saints for intercession, that is bridging their prayers to God. This is more common among Catholics than Protestants in Korea.

Another type of prayer worth noting is intercessory prayer. This is prayer done for the good of other people – for the sick, for the dead, etc. In fact, it is common for Catholics in Korea to give intercessory prayer for the dead at funerals. This function of prayer is one function which has drawn my attention.

C.      Prayer in Islam

The prayer in Islam is much more rigid. It is considered as one of the “five pillars,” acts which are obligatory to believers. Prayers must be performed according to rituals five times a day. It is common for mosques in Islamic countries to announce the time for this through loudspeakers. Although there is some flexibility, there are some specific rules to be kept. Prayers are recited in Arabic, from verses in the Qu’ran.

The meaning of prayer is similar to that of Christians. Prayer, even these ritual prayers are meant to be personal communication with God, of expressing gratitude and faith – expressing love, in essence.

D.      Prayer in Judaism

Jewish prayers are done three times a day traditionally. Also, Many Jews recite prayers when performing other daily actions, such as before meals, etc.

The prayers may be recited from various books, but the meaning of prayer is similar to the other religions. Prayer is a declaration of faith, gratefulness and love for their God.

One difference is that Jewish prayer, mainly Jewish prayer done in services, emphasizes communal prayer. Although prayer may be recited alone, communal prayer is preferred. Communal prayer requires a group of ten adult Jews.

III.             Dependence on Religion

A.      Prayer, and why people pray.

Dependence on religion in Korea can be most easily seen through praying. Many forms of prayer can be seen in Korea; whether it be the mass prayers that I mentioned above, or Shamanist rites, or just personal praying.

In my survey, I have interviewed several people on the reasons why they rely on religion, mainly by praying. In short, their answers on why they rely on religion could be summarized as:

First, the positive effect of the act of praying itself on one’s mind,

Second, the reliance on a Supreme Being in occasions where one’s own capability might not be enough,

Third is the belief that prayers can have a positive effect on one’s surroundings.

10 out of the 15 people I have interviewed said that the act of praying itself had a positive effect, or that they believed so. Regardless of their faith, whether they were Christian or Buddhist, they agreed that the very act of praying was positive, although some were skeptic about the existence of god.

12 out of 15 said that they were relying on prayer, because there were some things in life that they thought were out of their league. That is, there were things that could not be done by them alone. Therefore through prayer, they tried to rely on, or get the help of a Supreme Being.

3 out of 15 people answered that their prayers can have a positive effect not only on oneself, but also on one’s surroundings. The 3 people with this belief were all Christian, which is a fact to be given attention.

B.      Positivity of Prayer

Prayer is a key concept in religion. Most religions have a kind of prayer, or a similar rite of putting out one’s devotions, or hopes to a Supreme Being.

Prayer is something one cannot prevent.

“Nothing can prevent me from having faith and seeking forgiveness of their Lord now that guidance has been revealed to them.”

-The Qu’ran

             It seems only natural that people with faith pray when they are having hard times. Many of the people I have interviewed have answered so, and the Koran does, too. Praying something people naturally do, and it does seem to have a positive effect. Whether or not the prayers are answered, people still pray. The act of praying itself seems to have a positive effect, at least as a placebo.

             Also, praying is one of the easiest ways for a religious person, or even a non-religious person can devote oneself to or sincerely hope for something. Praying does not require much practice. Even in Islam, where prayer is most ritualized, it is not something which requires much effort or practice, unlike practices like the Ramadan or ceremonies done by Shamans. These could be reasons to explain why people seem to depend upon religion and prayer.

C.      Religious Meaning of Prayer

Prayer, seen from the research on religion, is basically a way of being thankful. It is a way of expressing love and faith, of pleading to God.. How each person prays will depend on which faith they have, but the essentials are the same.

This is probably what everyone has in mind when they are praying – thankfulness, devotion. The religions have emphasized prayer for this reason. To the faithful, praying is a positive act which brings them close to God. To the less enthusiastic, it still gives them a positive mind, whether or not they have strong faith.

In this sense, prayer is a way of purifying oneself. It is the act of cleaning one’s mind out and filling it with more good thoughts. It is a way of growing.

            

IV.             Conclusion: The Role of Religion in Society Today

Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being full absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, man, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me- they all attained transcendental knowledge of Me.

-the Bhagavad-Gita

Prayer, at the highest level is a way of reaching perfection. It is the act of “being full absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me.” Through this, man can be purified, and earn transcendental knowledge of Me- the God-Head in the Bhagavad-Gita, or God, or Allah.

The emphasis on prayer in all three of the religions I have researched is probably also on the same belief. They aim to make their believers perfect, and prayer is an easy and effective method. The different rites they hold are all different ways of praying, their method of guidance. Christians emphasize the mentality of the prayer, saying that the rites and ceremonies is unimportant compared to one’s devotion to God when praying. Islam makes prayer mandatory, so that all believers may devote themselves to god and be purified. Communal prayer is emphasized among the Jewish, maybe because they acknowledge that salvation is not for one person alone, but a path people must walk together.

The role of religion today should be to aid people in their way to perfection – and helping people how to pray is one method. Prayer is relatively easy compared to other methods applied by religions (ex. Raja-yoga, Taoist meditation practices, etc.) which require specific teachings and rituals. By helping people to concentrate themselves, or express their gratitude more fully in prayers, they may help people grow, become purified, become perfect.

Quotes

“Nothing can prevent me from having faith and seeking forgiveness of their Lord now that guidance has been revealed to them.”

-The Qu’ran

Being freed from attachment, fear and anger, being full absorbed in Me and taking refuge in Me, man, many persons in the past became purified by knowledge of Me- they all attained transcendental knowledge of Me.

-the Bhagavad-Gita

Taoism

1. Question: The Taoist way of a healthy life, the exercises which are similar to yoga, for instance, doesn't seem to be a valid way of growing or reaching perfection. It may be because I am only reading this book, not experiencing this first-hand, but the exercises many people do today seem to be merely another form of well-being.

2. Suggestion: The Taoist yoga is what I think is the best way to apply the objectives of Taoism into real life: it is easy for everyone to do. Yet for this to be of any help, the yoga must be reconstructed and directed properly, because I believe much of the old lore has been lost.

3. Comment: The philosophical ideals of Taoism seem to be too abstract. Christians, for instance, learn to love everyone; Confucianists memorize analects; yet the philosophical part of Taoism doesn't seem simple enough for many people to understand.

Confucianism

Question: Why was Mo Tzu's call for universal love rejected? After all, it is very similar to the Christian idea agape; in fact the whole idea seems very similar to Christian ideas. Why was it rejected there and then, when it is so influential today?

Suggestion: Confucianist thought is pretty much still the roots of Korea... even more so than China, since China abolished Confucianism completely during their communist rule. Yet this school of thought, which is the roots of our culture, seems to fade away as time goes. Maybe it is the reason of the anomic state of Korean society. Revival of some of these values may be a way of changing Korea for the good.

Comment: Tradition nowadays is much weaker. Society is becoming more and more diverse, and as it does, tradition becomes diluted. This is quite like the age of Confucious, where warring states and the social status quo made society collapse. Confucianism, or part of it, can be an answer to the troubles we face today.

Survey Plan 1

Question 3: What is the characteristic of religion that makes people not grow to be perfect, but like a child dependant on his mother dependant on religion? What makes people fanatic about religion? I have seen many people with almost a superstitious, a blind belief in their religions- people going to churches, even someone who a support of traditional Korean Shamanist beliefs.

Survey Population: KMLA students(surveyed via e-mail/KMLA Online), some middle school Korean students(through my cousin who teaches in a middle school), other high school students(through friends), their families(if possible), random people through Facebook.

Survey Questions:

1.    When I am having a hard time I usually

a) consult my friends/family

b) pray/donate to a religious institution(ex. In forms of lanterns in Buddhist temples. Paying for무당 also included)

c) talk to my teacher/tutor

d) talk to my religious tutor

e) other

(check as many as you wish)

è this question aims to see whether people rely on religion in times of stress.

For those who answered b) à Why?

a)   I believe God(not necessarily the Christian term) will help me

b)   I do not like to talk about my stress to other people

c)   other

For those who answered d) à Why?

a)   I am closest to my religious tutor

b)   I believe that they are most capable to help me solve my problems

c)   other

è These questions aim to see why people rely on religion.

2. I believe that it is the right thing to preach my religion to people of other religions.

a) very yes  b) yes  c) so-so  d) no  e) very no

For those who answered a) or b) à Why?

a)   My religion is better than others

b)   My religious teacher tells me to preach to others

c)   other

è This question aims to see how enthusiastic people are about their religion

So basically this is a survey for my third question which I brought to class. This is my survey plan, my first survey plan, which I probably will have to correct as I actually do my survey, but there it is anyway.

Buddhism

Question: The Big and Little Rafts in the end have the same goal: reaching Nirvana, by themselves or with others. Their methods seem at least tangible for ordinary people. What about Zen Buddhism, where they say no words can explain the meaning of things? What is their relationship with the ordinary people, who I believe won't be able to understand any of their thoughts?

Suggestion: I think that although in its beginnings, Buddhism was close to the public, it is a little far away nowadays. The difficult parts of its ideas (especially the parts which Buddha refused to put into words) is one reason, but the most important reason nowadays I think is because the temples are too far away (at least, in Korea). Many temples are located in the mountains, whereas churches are in the middle of urban areas. By coming geographically closer to the people, I think Buddhism would better help the people.

Comment: The Diamond Raft seemed that it was influenced by the Shamanist thoughts which was common in the nearby areas like Mongol. Much like Chinese and Japanese Buddhism evolved because of Taoism and Confucianist thoughts, I thought that Tibetan Buddhism had to do with Shamanist thoughts (the ritual part especially, which in their point of view helps one concentrate, become better)

The Three BASIC Questions I want to ask

1. Do people need religion at all? If yes, why?
- I have not found any particular reason at all to  participate in religious activities on my own will. Do people need religion? Why do people need religion?

2. What are the characteristics that religions share, especially Judaism, Christianity & Islam?
- I believe that religion is a spiritual teaching of how men should become. Although their methods may be different, I believe that their goal is the same: to make a man perfect. What then is the characteristic that  religions share in common? Especially the three mentioned above, as they were developed in the same geographical area.

3. What is the characteristic of religion that makes people not grow to be perfect, but like a child dependant on his mother dependant on religion? I have seen many people with almost a superstitious belief in their religions- people going to churches, even someone who a support of traditional Korean Shamanist beliefs.

Hinduism

1. Question: Not restricting any sensual pleasures seemed an attractive part of Hindu tradition; however, are they just neglecting the people who don't get past the 1 or 2nd stages? What do they do to those people for them to raise up to a higher level, other than to wait for them to bore out?

2. Comment: The Four Yogas reminded me of a concept in Korean Traditional medicine. Yoga is a way of training oneself, and therefore I thought it had to do also with one's health. Each Yoga is suitable for each different type of person. In Korean medicine, there is a practice of dividing people into 4 categories, with treatments different for each category.

3. Suggestion: We should learn from Hindu its variety. The beliefs that there are numerous paths leading to the same end will solve many problems. There are numerous disputes in this world because people believe that there is only one path.

My 3 Books

1. It's Bigger Than Hip-Hop: The Rise of the Post Hip-Hop Generation

2. The Bhagavad-Gita

3. The Meaning of the Glorious Qu'ran

Descriptive Essay on a room

I couldn't remember when I’d last visited his room. Ever since I graduated and got a ‘proper’ job, I’d got myself a new place close to my workplace. He-well, his room, at least- hadn’t changed a bit.

The room was small and shabby, like I remembered, and quite messy. He still hadn’t changed his bohemian lifestyle, I guess. The assortment of mismatched socks on the floor and the laundry basket, which had been filled with dirty laundry and eventually erupted, was enough to prove that. Nothing much had changed; the black office chair he had salvaged from a professor who was throwing it away; the posters and the notice board on the wall; the bed and the small table beside it; a stereo and 2 speakers, and a wine crate filled with CDs;

He was a person, who dedicated himself to music and the arts, and was indifferent about anything else with just as much zeal. What little money he had on himself he spent on buying music; concert tickets, CDs and the likes. His notice board was dedicated entirely to concert tickets. A dark notice board, with old and new concert tickets stuck to it.

What other wall he had left was covered by 3 huge posters. It was the only major change in his room, I noticed, since the last time that I’d came here. Before, it was covered by the posters of the Beatles(his all-time favorite), Oasis, Nirvana and Led Zeppelin. It looked like his taste had changed a bit. The Beatles poster remained, of course, but the others had been replaced by posters of 2pac and Nas(as long as I had remembered, he had never even tried listening to hip-hop). The contents of his wine crate had increased as well. Before, it was half filled with rock albums mostly; now, almost three quarters full, I could see 2pac, Nas and the likes of which I didn’t recall him listening to.

I turned on the play button on his stereo. The CD in it was 2pac’s All Eyez On Me. He was late, although this was one of the rare cases in which he had actually excused himself before showing up, and had given me the keys to his room and told me to make myself comfortable. I sat, waiting, thinking that he’d come before the CD finished playing.

Writing a "Good Paragraph"- Every student can benefit.....

Every student can benefit from engaging in some extracurricular activity. In extracurricular activities, students get to do what they usually cannot do in class. For example, they can learn to play sports, or join a photography club. Through extracurricular activities, students can experience many valuable things that schoolteachers cannot teach us. While playing sports, we can learn teamwork and make our bodies fit. In a photography club, we can learn how to take good photos, and while we search for things to take a picture of, we can see many things we normally do not take notice of. One way or the other, we can experience many different things when doing extracurricular activities, experiences which can be valuable to us.

Debatable Topic: conscientious objectors of military service

All Korean men are obliged to serve in the Army once in their lives. However, there are people who reject their military service because of their "conscience", or religious beliefs.
One example of this is the religious group "여호와의 증인", or roughly translated, "The Witnesses of Jehovah". This group is a Christian religious group, and many of their members have rejected military service because of their religious beliefs.
Currently, this is illegal in Korea. People of this group who have rejected military service have been taken to court and sentenced to prison. Exemption or alternatives for the military service is allowed for those mentally/physically unable. However, this is not allowed to those who are mentally/physically capable, just because their beliefs say so.
The Supreme Court of Korea has stated that "The Christian's decision not to serve in the army because of their beliefs is subject to punishment according to military service law. Their decision based on their conscience, in this instance, is not protected by the Constitution's Right to Conscience."

5 rhetoric devices, alliteration etc.

Alliteration: Repetition of a particular sound at the first syllables of several words or phrases. An example from the speech “I have a dream” is; ‘symbolic shadow we stand today, signed ….’ The sound ‘s’ is repeated throughout the sentence at the first syllables of words. By using alliteration, the author probably meant to catch the listener’s attention.

Allusion: To put it in a overly simple way, allusion is ‘reference.’ When writing, if one refers to other stories, texts, events directly or indirectly, one is using allusion. Several examples can be found in King Jr’s speech. He refers to documents such as the Constitution, the Declaration of Independence, and the Bible. By using allusion, he probably meant to call upon famous texts to back up his reasoning. He used texts from the Declaration of Independence to emphasize that all men were guaranteed ‘unalienable rights of Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness’.

Anaphora: If one repeats the same words at the beginnings of a number of sentences, one is using anaphora. In his speech, King Jr keeps saying phrases such as “I have a dream,” “Let freedom ring,” at the beginnings of a series of sentences. By using this, he creates a emphasis on the sentences where the anaphora is used. Since the same phrases are repeated, it catches one’s ears quite easily. In this particular speech, King Jr speaks so that the repeated phrases seem to be at the beginning and at the end of sentences, not just at the beginning, so the emphasis is stronger.

Ethos: Ethos is persuasiveness which comes from the speaker’s character itself. In this case, King Jr is a preacher. This characteristic makes Martin Luther King Jr seem more morally mature than your average black American. Regardless of the speech, this is one characteristic which in itself makes King Jr more persuasive, and is making up a large part of his ethos. The thousands of people gathered to listen to his speech prove that he is a respected person, with lots of ethos.

Pathos: Pathos is a method of persuading. When using pathos, one tries to persuade one’s audience by emotionally appealing to them. King tries to stir the audience’s emotions by speaking of discriminations done to the black people, for example signs saying “Whites Only.” The rhetoric devices mentioned above, alliteration, allegory, and anaphora also have the effect of making the pathos more effective. The repeated phrase “I have a dream,” is an example of an anaphora which is effectively enhancing the pathos of Martin Luther King Jr.

Does more information mean we know less? ESSAY

           “The two driving forces of modern history- politics and technology.” The author of this article says that we believe that our lives are constantly changing, and we must be ready to access the information about these changes.

           Thanks to the advances in technology, he says, we can easily access information, vast amounts of it. Yet, despite the vast amounts and accessibility of information, what we gain from them has not increased at all. “We are reluctant to admit that we are simply swamped with information and have lost the ability to make sense of it.”

           However, there seems to be several flaws in this piece of writing. First, the author is being much exaggerated. “We are made to feel … something may occur … something that if we failed to learn about instantaneously, could leave us wholly unable to comprehend ourselves or our fellow human beings”, he says. The pronoun “we” is in constant use. By this means, the author is trying to generalize many statements which may not apply for many people. For example, not many of us  “leave the theatre vowing to reconsider our entire lives in light of the values shown on screen” after going to the cinema. These exaggerations can be seen a few times throughout this article.

           Another flaw is that there are too many assumptions throughout the article. Many phrases are missing logical links, and some sentences seem to be irrelevant to what the author is trying to say. The author downgrades the value of our overflowing information, and says that information was more valuable in the old days. However, the reason for this is that in old days, books were harder to make. This explanation makes no sense at all, since it is the values of the books which were more valuable, not necessarily the information inside the books.

           This article was written in a very persuasive manner. “Our minds, no less than our bodies, require periods of fasting.” We can see that the author is trying to influence us through this piece of work. However, there are too many flaws in this writing for it to be persuasive. The author keeps exaggerating and generalizing his ideas. Many of them do not make sense; there are not enough explanations and some words are unrelated to the main idea of this article.

Essay on Learning

Question: It has been said that not all learning takes place in the classroom. Compare and contrast knowledge gained from personal experience with knowledge gained from classroom instruction.

We might be sitting in a classroom, listening to the teacher droning about algebra. We might be scrambling ourselves some eggs, realizing that it tastes better made with butter than with oil. Different these two events may seem, nevertheless we are learning something. When we think of learning, we usually think of learning things at school. However, not everything that we learn is from school. In life, through our experience, we also learn many things.

           These two methods of learning are in some ways similar, and in some ways different. The biggest difference is how we are taught, and what we gain by learning from these methods.

           Unlike learning from school, when we learn from experience we are not taught by teachers. In school, teachers plan out our education; what subject we learn, whether we will have to write essays or not, etc. In life, there are no teachers to guide us. What we learn will usually come from pure coincidence; for example, you might try scrambling eggs with butter because you ran out of cooking oil, and find that it tastes better.

           At school, we gain the ability to think more intellectually, and we gain academic knowledge. By learning algebra and geometry, we learn how to think more mathematically and logically. In history class we learn about past wars, mistakes of the human race. Through experience we gain common sense. We learn how to cook better scrambled eggs, how to survive when people around you are feeling upset.

           Although these differences exist, there is a fundamental similarity to both methods of learning; we learn, we gain something from it, and it is useful for our lives.

           Common sense that we learn from experience is very important, since it teaches us how to live life more easily. It teaches us how to deal with trouble with other people, like in the example with the angry parents. It teaches us how to enjoy life with tastier scrambled eggs, and lots more. At school we gain things that common sense cannot give us. We earn some valuable thinking skills and knowledge, with which we can solve problems which cannot usually be solved just by common sense. For example, if we learn engineering at college, we can probably repair cars better than people who have never been to engineering school.

           In school or through life, we learn many things. What we learn and what we gain, and how we learn those things are very different. However the most important thing to know is that what we learn from both eventually makes our lives easier.

Ode to my Closet Door

A wooden giant standing tall

Gracious, grand, against the wall

Two strong doors standing guard

Opens, reveals a screen bright and hard

A mirror, a gift for my comb and hair

And my hairdryer; I always use it there

I look, and smile, and sometimes wrinkle

My nose; I have seen my pimples

Yet I thank you, for you show me

I am what I see in you before me

But how strange, you reveal and shine

At the same time, you hide and confine

You open wide, and I lie on my bunk

Relaxed; No “Wake up, you punk!”

Coming from anybody, no one sees me

So I smile in my dream, sleeping sweetly