Jesus According to St. Mark

After drifting off the Bible to read the Analects and the Tao Te Ching; we are back with the New Testament. Time for Jesus according to Mark. The Gospel According to Saint Mark doesn't start with Jesus' birth which actually surprised me. Maybe he couldn't find enough information, so he just skipped it. Jesus' birth is probably described by Mathew, Luke, or John. Mark focuses on Jesus' adult life. I already knew the general story, but I had never learned it with this much detail.

Jesus was actually a celebrity in his time! Everywhere he went the people welcomed him, like fans. His 12 disciples where his entourage. I'm not saying Jesus was like Mark Whalberg; he did more than an HBO series. Where Jesus went he performed miracles. People loved him, he had huge fans. One of the most remarkable miracles is feeding five thousand people:

"This is a desert place, and now the time is far passed: 36 Send them away, that they may go into the country round about, and into the villages, and buy themselves bread: for they have nothing to eat. 37 He answered and said unto them, Give ye them to eat. And they say unto him, Shall we go and buy two hundred pennyworth of bread, and give them to eat? 38 He saith unto them, How many loaves have ye? go and see. And when they knew, they say, Five, and two fishes. 39 And he commanded them to make all sit down by companies upon the green grass. 40 And they sat down in ranks, by hundreds, and by fifties. 41 And when he had taken the five loaves and the two fishes, he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and brake the loaves, and gave them to his disciples to set before them; and the two fishes divided he among them all. 42 And they did all eat, and were filled. 43 And they took up twelve baskets full of the fragments, and of the fishes. 44 And they that did eat of the loaves were about five thousand men." (Mark 6:36)

No wonder Jesus had so many fans. Jesus was worthy enough to have fans. Miley Cirus has millions of fans, and she only sings and acts. Jesus could cure leprosy, cure a deaf person (hence the first Wet Willy), and feed thousands of people. No wonder he was more influential than Miley Cirus.

Based on what Saint Mark said, Jesus was definitely the son of God. He was not only a miracle worker, he was also very wise. He used short stories for his teachings called parables. I read many parables in preparation for my first communion, but I didn't really understand the message. This is one parable Jesus used to convey his message:

"1 And he began to speak unto them by parables. A certain man planted a vineyard, and set an hedge about it, and digged a place forthe winefat, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country. 2 And at the season he sent to the husbandmen a servant, that he might receive from the husbandmen of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 And they caught him,and beat him, and sent himaway empty. 4 And again he sent unto them another servant; and at him they cast stones, and wounded himin the head, and sent him away shamefully handled. 5 And again he sent another; and him they killed, and many others; beating some, and killing some. 6 Having yet therefore one son, his wellbeloved, he sent him also last unto them, saying, They will reverence my son. 7 But those husbandmen said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and the inheritance shall be ours. 8 And they took him, and killed him,and cast himout of the vineyard. 9 What shall therefore the lord of the vineyard do? he will come and destroy the husbandmen, and will give the vineyard unto others. 10 And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner: 11 This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?" (Mark 12:1)

Jesus reminded me of Lao Tzu and Confucius because of his wise teachings, but I give Jesus more merit. Unlike Lao Tzu and Confucius, Jesus didn't write his teachings; he as a doer. Jesus went personally to the people to offer his knowledge. The gospels the saints wrote are the teachings of Jesus. That is the basic difference between the Analacets and the Tao Te Ching. The gospel isn't Saint Mark's teachings, it's what he knows about Jesus' teachings. I don't remember reading about St. Mark meeting Jesus, so I think he had to do research to write the gospel. That also makes me doubt the authenticity of what happens in Jesus' adult life.

Even though the gospel was written to teach about Jesus' life and his wisdom, there is an entertaining story. This differs from the Tao Te Ching, because I felt that the Tao Te Ching was a list of teachings while this gospel had a story along the teachings. When you read you have to focus on the little things that include the teachings, because someone might only see the big picture which is the story almost everyone knows about Jesus. Even though there is very few scientific proof of the story of Jesus that is told, it is a great work of literature that has influenced millions of people for hundreds of years.

Government and Paradox

The end of the Tao Te Ching seemed to focus a lot on government. Unlike most of the text, it was very clear and straightforward. The whole book was written with paradoxes. The paradoxes made the book a riddle, and made the text somewhat confusing at my first glance. For example:
"In the pursuit of learning, every day something is acquired.
In the pursuit of Tao, every day something is dropped." (Chapter 48)

At the end, Lao Tzu focused on the qualities a leader should have to rule in a successful type of government. I think he took special care in making this section very clear so that the next leader that read the Tao Te Ching could understand quickly what he needed to know.
"When the country is ruled with a light hand
The people are simple.
When the country is ruled with severity,
The people are cunning." (Chapter 58)

This was very clear for me. It didn't take me very much to decode the meaning of what Lao Tzu said. I also think that he wanted to prove that he could be an excellent leader. Like any other political candidate before the elections, he was showing his ideals to convince people. If he had been a political candidate, he would have my vote. His ideas are logical and wise. Because of the wisdom he uses with his ideas, I infer that Lao Tzu was a leader. To have such a clear idea of what an ideal leader would be, he must have experience. I doubt the Tao Te Ching was political propaganda. For me it was special feature, because he drifts a little away from the Tao.

In the end the Tao Te Ching was a guide to reach the Tao. The way Lao Tzu wrote left me with the impression that only people that really wanted to follow the Tao could understand it. If you really don't want to learn anything from this book, you could read it once and forget about it. If you really want the full meaning, you can spend time and actually learn something. You don't have to want to follow the Tao to learn something useful from the book. It also helped me to develop a skill in reading comprehension because there are hidden meanings behind every word. I actually enjoyed this reading better than the Bible and the Analects. This is a book that everyone should read.

Tao Te Ching

Tao Te Ching and the Analects are teachings that guide the way to live our lives. After just reading 1-12, I felt the emptiness of the Ten Commandments. Ten seems like a very small number to teach the way life should be lived. What amazes me even more is that the Tao Te Ching around the 6th century BC, and almost every sentence can apply to modern life. Not only what is said impresses me, but how it is said marked me even more.

Before reading a text as important as the Tao Te Ching, I did some background research to understand what I was reading. The Tao Te Ching just like the Analects; was written in China by a philosopher, this time Lao Tzu. There are many terms that have the same name as in the Analects, but the Tao Te Ching and the Analects differ. First of all, they have a different author, which means different ideas. Even though they have different ideas, their ideals are very similar. Both talk highly about working hard for nothing in return, and respect for elders and family.

Both the Analects and the small part of the Tao Te Ching are books that guide religion in Asia. For many people, the Ten Commandments would be their guide. After reading these books, ten seems like a very small number. Every sentence written in the Tao Te Ching is like a commandment for me. The philosophers go deeper with each "commandment." The Tao Te Ching and the Analects may be shorter than the Bible, but every sentence is about a page long. I had to reread the entire text many times to get the complete understanding of what was said. I also had my useful friend, the Merriam Webster Online Dictionary.

Another aspect of the Tao Te Ching that I would like to write about, is how it fits to modern life. The book is thousands of years old, but everything can apply to modern life.
"In dwelling, live close to the ground.
In thinking, keep to the simple.
In conflict, be fair and generous.
In governing, don't try to control.
In work, do what you enjoy.
In family life, be completely present."

Everything said by the Master is true. I think that the Tao Te Ching and the Analects should be read by many people. I'm not telling people to convert their religion, but people from all races and religions should read these books for knowledge.

Confucius' Teachings