Anger is one of the seven deadly sins. Anger is also a fact of life, something viewed by most as negative and some as inescapable. The good news though is that more and more people are realizing that anger is something that can actually be overcome. It is inescapable as a spontaneous emotion but not inescapable as a lasting one.

Robert Thurman, a leading author in Buddhism and Eastern Philosophy, delves deeper into the issue of anger approaching it using ancient Buddhism wisdom. The book “Anger” explains how anger, if guided by wisdom, can actually not just be tempered but actually wielded to bring positive results such as the easing of human suffering. This is actually something that the great Aristotle will agree with, after all he believes that anger is not necessarily evil but actually necessary for fighting evil. In fact Aristotle teaches that anger can be a virtue if one is angered by those that are wicked and so strive to not become like the wicked and even fight their evil deeds.

In every day life though what I believe we should start learning is simply letting go of toxic anger so as to be able to leave in peace. As Buddha and Marcus Aurelius teaches us, holding on to anger can hurt us more than its cause can.

Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned. ~ Buddha

How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it. ~ Marcus Aurelius

There are no strangers to loneliness, after all we have all experienced how to be lonely at some point in our lives. Thomas Dumm recognizes this fact and delves on what it really means lonely in his book “Loneliness as a Way of Life”.

According to the Harvard University Press, Dumm “takes us beyond social circumstances and into the deeper forces that shape our very existence as modern individuals. The modern individual, Dumm suggests, is fundamentally a lonely self. This book challenges us, not to overcome our loneliness, but to learn how to re-inhabit it in a better way.”

This takes me back to one of my favorite poet’s work – Letters to a Young Poet (Letter Number Six). There Rainer Maria Rilke tells us to embrace solitude and why. Here’s a snippet from letter # 6:

But when you notice that it [solitude] is vast, you should be happy; for what (you should ask yourself) would a solitude be that was not vast; there is only one solitude and it is vast, heavy, difficult to bear…be attentive to what is arising within you…What is happening in your most innermost self is worthy of your entire love; somehow you must find a way to work at it…

And letter #8:

So you mustn’t be frightened, dear Mr. Kappus, if a sadness rises in front of you, larger than any you have ever seen; if an anxiety, like light and cloud-shadows, moves over your hands and over everything you do. You must realize that something is happening to you, that life has not forgotten you, that it holds you in its hand and will not let you fall.

Now if ever there was an expert in loneliness I would say that would be Rainer Maria Rilke.

In my last post I asked the question: WHY DO YOU GIVE?

As I mulled about the issue it became clearer that no one who gives does it purely for unselfish reasons. Now, I hope I am not being jaded about this but coming across Tovia Smith’s article “Selfish Giving: Does it count if you get in return?”, I found myself agreeing with most of her observations.

Tovia points out how nowadays businesses give to charity because they “have to”. It’s an image thing. But so what? They’re businesses after all and we do expect them to think about their bottom line. However, Tovia also points out that its pretty much the same with “high school kids signing up for their community service trip — the summer before their college applications are due. It’s simply what they have to do to be competitive.”

It sounds awful but if you really think about it these people are not the only “selfish” givers. Even those who do it because of their belief, as I pointed out in my last post, give for future rewards: in Buddhism and Hinduism its for good karma, for Christians it’s for God’s Blessing and whatever their reward awaits them in heaven, for Muslims the “Zakat” purifies their wealth and is done in obedience it Allah. While it is true that their primary reason for giving may not primarily be material rewards, and may not even be in this lifetime, they still do it for a reason other than giving.

So does anyone really give for the pure joy of giving? Maybe. Maybe not.

In my opinion this is not the point though. The point is that giving is “good” and as Rory Morton, dean of students at Buckingham Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge said, “…once they go do it [give/do community service], they get into it. And that’s good enough for me.”

The answers to WHYs are important but sometimes we have to stop asking and just be thankful that we can do something noble and good as giving and in top of that get something in return, whether that be material, spiritual, or emotional.

Giving is a concept that can be found in most religions – if not all.

It is espoused by both the Bible and the Qur’an. In fact if you look at the following verses you’ll be struck by the similarity of what the two religions tell their believers to do.

Giving shows the believers’ love for their God:

“And they feed, for the love of Allah, the poor, the orphan, and the captive.” (Qur’an 76:8)

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3: 17-18)

Giving in secret:

“If you give alms openly, it is well, and if you hide it and give it to the poor, it is better for you” (Qur’an 2:271)

“But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:3-43)

There are other similarities such as the concept of “tithing” wherein a portion of a person’s earning should be given back to the church.

Generosity is also encouraged in Buddhism and Hinduism. In Buddhism they have what they call dāna, which when translated means generosity. However, it means more than just the word but actually refers to the practice of cultivating generosity. To Buddhists the more they give selflessly in this life the better off they will be in the next life. A belief that even Christians whose “treasures are stored up in heaven” and Muslims also believe.

The question now though is this: With all the teachings of different religions telling us to give are you practicing what you say you believe in? Do you give? In what way? How much? And more importantly, WHY?

You can find more info on giving to HAITI at Google’s Haiti Crisis Response Page.

What’s your new year’s resolution for this year? Or are you among those who vow not make resolutions since no one seems to be able to keep them anyway?

I for one do make mental “resolutions” but since I find myself making these resolutions periodically just to see how my “self-improvement projects” are going I don’t really count them to be just my resolution for the new year. I have to admit though that the end and/or start of each year is a time when I am more prone to reflect. The same goes for birthdays, anniversaries, death of a loved one (or even just an acquaintance), and other major life events.

So what is it about such events that triggers our need to think back and evaluate how we live our life? Is it the (re)realization of our mortality? Our frailties? Our shortcomings? Or maybe our hopes?

Whatever it may be the important thing is to keep on striving to improve oneself and one’s life. In the process, hopefully we can also add something positive to those around us and inspire others to change for the better. Let us just not fall into thinking that things can be wiped out like a clean slate but be optimistic that despite shortcomings and negativity in the past we can still make real changes for the better.

Happy New Year everyone and may you find the strategy and motivation that will see your resolutions come true this year!

Year’s end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. ~Hal Borland

I just read one of the most interesting takes on “Avatar”. The movie itself is interesting and entertaining from the CG to the storyline. Ok so interesting and entertaining is actually an understatement, at least compared to my initial reaction – and my second and third. Yes I’ve watched it that many times already and will watch it again if someone asks me to go out to the movies with them!

Anyway what I really wanted to write about is not how cool the movie is but how interesting the philosophy of Randy David, a journalist from the Philippines is. Mr. David mentions briefly the different issues the movie touches on.

In such manner do many of us project our disaffection with our own world (and often with our own selves), and the sense of guilt we feel over its current state. James Cameron’s script is, in many ways, the story of Western colonialism’s plunder and destruction of indigenous societies. It is also a parable on human greed and technological violence.

As he said though that “is only the most obvious level at which the movie may be understood.” He then discusses the concept of the avatar and then somehow twists it around to relate it to Jesus, Nietzsche, Marxism, and of course the concept of faith and belief – a topic that will surely make good fodder for conversation anytime.

For a good philosophical read on “Avatar” you can read the full article “In a World of Avatars” here.

Just the other day I mentioned how I ended up celebrating World Philosophy Day with my family. It got me thinking about family and how things have changed over the years.

When I was younger my family for me was simply my dad, my mom, and my siblings. Things were much simpler then. I didn’t even question the role of the family, never though about. A family just was and no one can make it any different. Then I started growing up. I had my first classmate in 4th grade whose parents were divorced. I heard from my older sister how one of her friends was the 2nd family of their dad. My concept of family was shaken and a philosophical debate raged in my head, the process of which I wasn’t aware of. I realized then some families just wasn’t – JUST WAS. I didn’t know what to make of that.

Then I went to high school and things got even crazier. I met a friend who shared to me one time during a quiet night how her own uncle used to rape her when they visited his house. Now this totally flipped my world around. I got really mad and kept on pushing my mom asking her how bad things like these can’t happen. I never told her what the real case was though. I learned then that not family members fulfill their roles and some family you can end up hating. I also learned that even when you are the child sometimes you have to be the one to shield your parents from the truth. That was when I started growing up.

Now, I have my own family and each day I am re-learning the beauty of family. Things don’t always go the way they should but we just have to sort things out in our mind. I sometimes wish things would be black and white and the horrible side of some families can be wiped clean but then again my definition of family has changed. It’s not family is just is, it’s not just the family you are born in, it’s who we choose to bring in our lives and chooses to bring ours in theirs. It’s the good with the bad and hopefully more good than bad.

Till now there are days when I keep turning the concept of family over and over in my head but what I have learned is that more important than the concept is simply being there with and for our family. And THAT is my family philosophy.

World Philosophy Day has come and gone and I’m left wondering how most people ended up celebrating it.

I ended up celebrating it with my family albeit the most philosophical question we ended up discussing that day was “Where should we eat?” and a spirited defense from each one on why we should eat at each person’s preferred place (By the way I didn’t win. The kids as always won and we got fried chicken.). It was a day well spent though because though they didn’t know it I decided to practice my philosophy of FAMILY FIRST on World Philosophy Day.

Of course there are other bigger events that went on around the world in celebration of the event from September 16-20, 2009, the biggest of which is of course the international component of World Philosophy Day in Moscow and Saint Petersburg hosted by the Russian Federation that I wrote about last month.

UNESCO’s Director-General, Irina Bokova, also issued a statement about the need for an international cultural dialogue. In Director-General Bokova’s statement she said:

“In the run up to 2010, declared by the United Nations General Assembly the International Year for the Rapprochement of Cultures, it is more important than ever before to examine the current foundations for the free flow of discourse and practice, out of which world cultural diversity is woven.

Philosophy, along with the other social and human sciences, can help us renew the debate on how to engage in this dialogue, which could be defined as a dynamic chorus of social and cultural relationships and interactions open to the plurality of the world. As societies increasingly learn how to live in multicultural environments, we need to shed light on our joint capacity to bring together individual and collective imaginations.”

Now you may not have engaged in a cultural dialogue but everyday if you choose to appreciate and celebrate the diversity of cultures, whether by learning a bit more about another culture or your own, you will have done a real important thing.

As for those who didn’t get to celebrate the World Philosophy Day, why not declare your own day and do something to share and discussion your philosophies and/or practice your own views.

In my last post I talked about the “World Philosophy Day” and gave some suggestions on how you can join the celebration. I also listed some topics you and your friends can debate on or you can just muse over. The more I thought about it though, the more fun/interesting topic I came up with. Here’s a longer list of philosophical topics/questions I got from all over the net:

What makes something funny? – Here’s a discussion on the topic from PhilosophyForums.
Is there a God? – If you want a real debate it would be better to get two close-minded but intelligent people who are firm on their beliefs on this topic – a fundamental God believer (doesn’t matter what the religion is) and an atheist. Sit down and enjoy hearing them debate about the topic ALL day long.
Healthcare – This is an especially relevant debate if you are in the US right now. Of course, this won’t make for a light fun day.
What is music? – People enjoy and can’t bear different types of music. So how do we define music? How do we differentiate it from mere sound or even noise? Better yet, ask “What is good music?”
Whose side are you on – Jon or Kate? – I know the answer should be the kids but if you really had to choose between the two who would you side with? Makes for a totally useless but entertaining debate.

For more debate topics go to Conservapedia.

This year’s “World Philosophy Day” will be held on November 19. However the official international celebration of the Day will be held from November 16-19 in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, Russia. The theme, “Philosophy in the Dialogue of Cultures”, was selected by the host in order to “foster the dissemination of philosophy in all its traditions.” Specific topics to be discussed in parallel round tables during the celebration are as follows:

* Liberating from the stereotypes concerning history of philosophy;
* Dialogue of rationalities;
* Cultural self-consciousness in the era of globalization;
* Philosophical images of human being;
* XXI century’s technological challenges;
* Values and the dialogue of cultures;
* Philosophy for children;
* Common cultural grounds of the national self-consciousness of the nations of CIS and Baltic states;
* Teaching philosophy in multicultural context.

The first World Philosophy Day was held last November 24, 2005 in Chile. It was instituted by UNESCO with the primary purpose of “making philosophy accessible to all.” With this in mind everyone is encouraged to participate in the celebration, wherever you may be.

Some ideas to celebrate World Philosophy Day:

*Invite a speaker to expound on any relevant topic.
*Read a philosophy book.
*Have a costume party where people are required to dress up as philosophers or a concept.
*Get together with a bunch of your philosophical (or just plain argumentative) friends and have a healthy debate on the following pesky topics (courtesy of David Bain’s article in BBC):
1.Should we kill healthy people for their organs?
2. Are you the same person who started reading this article?
3. Is that really a computer screen (person – since you’ll be in front of your friend) in front of you?
4. Did you really choose to do what you are doing right now?

Enjoy!