Friday, January 14, 2011

Chinese Inventions and Discoveries

Chinese were great in terms of discoveries and inventions. They discovered many important things that still exists and used by the people. In the fifteen hundred years (they are already civilized), their developments in navigation,spiritual balance, mathematics, and natural prevention and diagnosis. They were the first to developed porcelain, paper, fishing reels, church bells, rudders, solar wind, the circulation of the blood in the human body, the suspension bridge, the techniques for drilling natural gas, the iron plough, the seed drill, the mechanical clock, the seismograph, planting and hoeing, techniques and compass.

One of their important invention was the compass. It is used to know the direction. The first compass was made of metal spoon, and the second was made of square bronze plate. It contains symbol that has meaning. The two components were opposite. The spoon represent the Heaven, and the plate represents the earth. It contains eight directions. It is still used today. But there are fully developed compass. The popular compass now is circle, like a clock.
Another thing that they developed was the kite. Nowadays, we Filipinos fly a kite especially when it's windy, to just have fun. But for the Chinese, kites have meanings. They just don't fly a kite for fun, but for a cause. It is their military communication. When they fly a kite, it sometimes mean a threat to the other cities. Next is the seismograph. It is used to detect any seismic activity. In their times, a seismic activity is detected by the vessel would prompt the balls to fall into the corresponding mouths of the nine frogs sitting beside below the dragons, which would point to the direction of the earth tremor. And then practical umbrella. The Chinese were the ones who invented the umbrella.So we must thank them because we have something to used when it is raining or even when it is so sunny outside. The first umbrella that they created was made from oil paper produced by the bark of the mulberry tree. They also have more symbolic meaning for an umbrella, especially when it used in ceremony.

Chinese invented very great things that we need in our lives. So we must thank them for those.


Saturday, October 16, 2010

Hinduism vs Christianity




Christianity Vs. Hinduism





Christianity is a monotheistic faith. It is a belief in one God. Major branches of Christianity includes Roman Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism. Christians believe that Jesus is the son of God and He is their Savior.They believe that Jesus died for their sins and did it as His sacrifice for human to have a chance to be with His Father (God) in Heaven. However, Christians, live according to what the Bible says (Bible is the word of God). They follow what Jesus taught in the new testament. Accepting Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior makes them a real Christian.



Hinduism is a belief in many gods. Follower of this religion must memorize 330 gods. So when they pray, they have to know to whom they will pray. Hinduism has no savior, and it is said that it has no founder. It is a devotion to or worship of the gods Vishnu (the sustainer), Shiva (the destroyer), and Brahman (the creator). The word Hindu is derived from the river Sindhu or Indus.



For me, Christianity is a better religion than Hinduism.
Because it is a belief in God, which I also believe. One God is enough than to memorize 330 gods. And Christianity has a Savior, while Hinduism does not. No one dies for their sin, and they don't know where they will go when they die. Christianity is the reality. So I hope, followers of Buddhism, Hinduism, and other more religions that are against God will see the truth, and be converted into Christian religion.





Friday, October 8, 2010

How does the techings of Buddha affect the followers of this philosophy?



Buddhism is not a religion It is a philosophy. I think, this is against God. The four noble truths that Buddha can be summarized as:
1. All existence is suffering.
2. Suffering arises from desire or craving.
3. Cessation of desire means the end of suffering.
4. Cessation of desire is achieved following the eight fold path, controlling one's conduct, thinking, and belief.


The followers of Buddha are affected so much in the eyes of God. But for them, they are doing the right thing and they will be save by their personal effort. Because Buddha told them: "Seek salvation alone in the truth; look not for assistance from anyone besides yourself" So that's very bad. They also believe in karma that is similar to reincarnation. So they can't kill cockroach, ant, or even mosquito, because thy believe that, maybe it is one of their family that already died and have been reincarnated into a such thing, or they believe that if they die, they will be also a cockroach. Law of karma states that "Do not do unto others what you don't want them to do unto you". For example, I hurt my cousin, someone in the future will do the same thing to me. And they also want to achieve Nirvana, the state of the perfect peace and happiness. It is the ultimate goal of the Buddhist. There is no perfect peace unless Jesus came. It is also said that it promised liberation to everyone who was willing to follow Buddha's way. Liberty means freedom, so they are free from having a master. So for me, it is not true. I think, they are being pulled by Satan from being save and from knowing God. So it is a sin to follow Buddha's way, because it is against God.

My perspective of the 5 pillars of Islam




Islam is one of the major world religions. It is a monotheistic faith, which means that they believe in one God. Followers of Islam are called Muslims. Muslim ,means "one who surrenders to God. "


Islam has five pillars. They are:


~~ Shahada.

They believe that there is no other God than Allah & his messenger is Muhammad.They believe that Allah is the only God, and Muhammad is the greatest prophet, the seventh prophet next to Jesus.

~~ Salat (prayer).

It is thier faith that they need to pray five times a day. So the Muslims are praying five times a day.

~~ Zakat (charity).

It is giving a percentage from their money to the charity, or sometimes to the Islamic leaders to add to their royal treasuries. So it is very nice because they also give some to the charity.


~~ Saum (fasting).

Fasting is done by not eating. During Ramadan, they are not eating for one month. It is their sacrifice. Fasting has three kinds, the partial fasting, which means they will not eat breakfast only, but they are going to eat lunch, & supper. Another is the water fasting, instead of eating, you'll just drink. And the full fasting, that means you will not eat at all.




~~ Hajj (pilgrimage).

It is require for all Muslims. All healthy ones, need to perform this at least once in their lifetime. But for the lesser ones, they must perform this during the first half of the month, and during the last month of the lunar year.



My own perspective



Well, for me, the five pillars of Muslims are good. Actually, it is a healthy living, not just physically but also spiritually and mentally. It is good that they believe in one God, and they also help to the charity, and having their fasting which can make their bodies healthy, because they are eliminating toxins. I try to practice fasting before, because I learned that it eliminates toxins that we get from different foods that we eat. But I can't! That's why I am amazed that they are used of fasting.

Friday, August 13, 2010

My fifth blog

The comparison of Christianity to the Chinese philosophies

Christianity is believing in God, the Creator of this universe. Example of Christian religion is Catholic. Chinese philosophies that I know is the Buddhism & the Confucianism. The Buddhism is the belief in Buddha which is founded by Sidharta Gautama & the Confucianism is founded by Confucius. Somehow, those Chinese philosophies are a reflection of life for me. The anecdotes of Confucius are not easily understand when you just read it but you need to analyze it so you will understand it and the message of those anecdotes are beautiful. Teachings of Buddha has something to do in our daily life. Especially his 8 fold paths & his 4 noble truths. But, Confucianism & Buddhism is not that good. Because, people serve & praise Buddha, and they much more believe in Confucius. They forgot God. Some Filipinos are converted into Buddhism, after being a member of a Christian religion. Instead of loving & believing God, they much more believe to those people who are already dead! Did they ever think 'bout that?. They will never be save unless they realize that they are on the wrong path. In fact, teachings of Buddha & Confucius can be use in our Christian lives. But don't forget God, and don't praise & serve them.

My fourth blog

There are broad trends in our time that are the direct result of past history. Among of them is the "Opium War" fought in China that happened a centuries ago. How are events are related into our time?

(Not yet finish)

Friday, August 6, 2010

The King And I








Summary


The story happened in Siam, Bangkok (Thailand) in 1862. The King of Siam request Anna Leonowens to teach his many children. Her son Louis was afraid of the Prime Minister of the King which are called “Kralahome” that’s why she taught her son how to “Whistle a Happy Tune” whenever he is afraid. The Kralahome accompany them to the palace. Then the King let his children to meet Anna. They bowed to Anna & kissed her hands. Then the teacher start teaching the children. For the several weeks, she taight the children songs, proverbs, and poems. Anna confront the King about his broken promise that he would give a house for Anna & her son. They watch a stage play, and as the King is watching, he received a gift from the King of Burma, a lovely girl named Tuptim. Lun tha fall in love with that girl. The girl was to be punish but Anna told the king not to do it. Anna tried to go home, but she was pleaded to stay by the children she was teaching. And then the boat came, but she did not ride, she decided to stay. Then the King got sick. He told one of his son to be the king next to him, & when his child are telling something to his sisters & brothers, the King passed away.


Characters of the story

Main characters of the King & I are:
Anna Leonowens played by Deborah Kerr
King Mongkut of Siam played by Yul Brynner
Tuptim played by Rita Moreno
Kralahome played by Martin Benson
Lady Thiang played by Terry Saunders
Rex Thompson played by Louis Leonowens
Lun Tha paled by Calos Rivas
Prince Chulalongkorn played by Patrick Adiarete
Sir John Hay played by Alan Mowbray
Sir Edward Ramsay played by Geoffrey Toone

Historical values of the film

Because of Anna, the children learned about many things about other country.

Social Relevance of the film to our society

We learned many things from other country & to be influenced by them made our country more civilized and they gave us many ideas.