FiRST BLOG ENTRY for 2nd QUARTER :] ♥

- My Perspective of the 5 pillars of Islam -

○♥○ The 5 pillars of Islam ○♥○

The 5 pillars of Islam are five basic concepts for accepting the religion for Shia Muslims, and five basic duties incumbent for Sunni Muslim.

According to Shia Islam, the five basic pillars are as follow:

  1. Monotheism, God is one and unique.
  2. Justice, the concept of moral rightness based on ethics, fairness, and equity, along with the punishment of the breach of said ethics.
  3. Last Judgment, God's final assessment of humanity.
  4. Prophethood, the institution by which God sends emissaries, or prophets, to guide mankind.
  5. Leadership, A divine institution which succeeded the institution of Prophet hood. Its appointees (Imams) are divinely appointed.

These five pillars are followed by ten subsidiary pillars;

  1. Prayer
  2. Fasting
  3. Pilgrimage
  4. Alms giving
  5. Struggle
  6. Directing others towards good
  7. Directing others away from evil
  8. One Fifth (20% tax on all earnings after deduction of house-hold and commercial expenses.)
  9. Love those who are in the God's path
  10. Disassociation with those who oppose the God

In Shahada, it is a statement professing monotheism and accepting Muhammad as God's messenger.They only believe in one prophet which is Muhammad. In Salat, it is their daily prayer of Islam. In Zakat, it is the practice of charitable giving by Muslims based on accumulated wealth, and is obligatory for all who are able to do so. In Sawm (Siyam) , There three types of fasting (Sawm) are recognized by the Qur'an: Ritual fasting, fasting as compensation for repentance , and ascetic fasting . The last one is the Hajj, it is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. It is currently the largest annual pilgrimage in the world, and is the fifth pillar of Islam, a religious duty that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by every able-bodied Muslim who can afford to do so. The Hajj is a demonstration of the solidarity of the Muslim people, and their submission to God .



○♥○ How does the teachings of Buddha
af
fect the followers of this philosophy ?
○♥○

Ofcourse, Buddha's teachings affect the belief of the other people.

During his enlightenment, the Buddha found the answer to these questions. He discovered three great truths. He explained these truths in a simple way so that everyone could understand them.

1. Nothing is lost in the universe

The first truth is that nothing is lost in the universe. Matter turns into energy, energy turns into matter. A dead leaf turns into soil. A seed sprouts and becomes a new plant. Old solar systems disintegrate and turn into cosmic rays. We are born of our parents, our children are born of us.

We are the same as plants, as trees, as other people, as the rain that falls. We consist of that which is around us, we are the same as everything. If we destroy something around us, we destroy ourselves. If we cheat another, we cheat ourselves. Understanding this truth, the Buddha and his disciples never killed any animal.

2. Everything Changes

The second universal truth of the Buddha is that everything is continuously changing. Life is like a river flowing on and on, ever-changing. Sometimes it flows slowly and sometimes swiftly. It is smooth and gentle in some places, but later on snags and rocks crop up out of nowhere. As soon as we think we are safe, something unexpected happens.

Once dinosaurs, mammoths, and saber-toothed tigers roamed this earth. They all died out, yet this was not the end of life. Other life forms like smaller mammals appeared, and eventually humans, too. Now we can even see the Earth from space and understand the changes that have taken place on this planet. Our ideas about life also change. People once believed that the world was flat, but now we know that it is round.

3. Law of Cause and Effect

The third universal truth explained by the Buddha is that there is continuous changes due to the law of cause and effect. This is the same law of cause and effect found in every modern science textbook. In this way, science and Buddhism are alike.

The law of cause and effect is known as karma. Nothing ever happens to us unless we deserves it. We receive exactly what we earn, whether it is good or bad. We are the way we are now due to the things we have done in the past. Our thoughts and actions determine the kind of life we can have. If we do good things, in the future good things will happen to us. If we do bad things, in the future bad things will happen to us. Every moment we create new karma by what we say, do, and think. If we understand this, we do not need to fear karma. It becomes our friend. It teaches us to create a bright future.


○♥○ Hinduism vs. Christianity ○♥○

Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian subcontinent. Hinduism is often referred to as Sanātana Dharma (a Sanskrit phrase meaning "the eternal law") by its adherents. Generic "types" of Hinduism that attempt to accommodate a variety of complex views span folk and Vedic Hinduism to bhakti tradition, as in Vaishnavism. Hinduism also includes yogic traditions and a wide spectrum of "daily morality" based on the notion of karma and societal norms such as Hindu marriage customs.

Hinduism is formed of diverse traditions and has no single founder. Among its roots is the historical Vedic religion of Iron Age India, and as such Hinduism is often called the "oldest living religion" or the "oldest living major tradition".

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented in the New Testament. Christianity comprises three major branches: Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy and Protestantism . Protestantism is further divided into smaller groups called denominations.

Most Christians believe Jesus is the Son of God, God having become human and the savior of humanity. Christians, therefore, commonly refer to Jesus as Christ or Messiah.

Adherents of the Christian faith, known as Christians, believe that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible. The foundation of Christian theology is expressed in the early Christian ecumenical creeds, which contain claims predominantly accepted by followers of the Christian faith. These professions state that Jesus suffered, died, was buried, and was resurrected from the dead to open heaven to those who believe in him and trust him for the remission of their sins (salvation). They further maintain that Jesus bodily ascended into heaven where he rules and reigns with God the Father. Most denominations teach that Jesus will return to judge all humans, living and dead, and grant eternal life to his followers. He is considered the model of a virtuous life, and both the revealer and physical incarnation of God.Christians call the message of Jesus Christ the Gospel and hence refer to the earliest written accounts of his ministry as gospels.

Christianity began as a Jewish sect and is classified as an Abrahamic religion.Originating in the eastern Mediterranean, it quickly grew in size and influence over a few decades, and by the 4th century had become the dominant religion within the Roman Empire.

During the Middle Ages, most of the remainder of Europe was Christianized, with Christians also being a (sometimes large) religious minority in the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of India. Following the Age of Discovery, through missionary work and colonization, Christianity spread to the Americas, Australasia, and the rest of the world. Christianity, therefore, is a major influence in the shaping of Western civilization.

As of the early 21st century, Christianity has around 2.2 billion adherents.Christianity represents about a quarter to a third of the world's population and is the world's largest religion.In addition, Christianity is the state religion of several countries.


FiFTH OFFiCiAL BLOG ENTRY ♥

For the last blog entry for the First Quarter Term, I will discuss about the " Comparison of Christianity with Chinese philosophies.
So. let's start !
Christianity means, the most widely distributed of the world religions. Most of the Filipinos are Christians. Christianity is the religion founded on the life and teachings of Jesus who has been acknowledged by all Christians as the Son of God.




Based on my observations ..
The Zhou dynasty marked the classical age of Chinese philosophies, with Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. As well as the Legalism.
Confucianism was founded by Kung Fu tze or also known as Confucious.


While the Taoism was founded by Lao Zi.


The Buddhism was founded by Sidharta Gautama.


And the last one is the Legalism.


Let's compare the Christianity with Chinese philosophies.
The Christianity is all about the love of God and it is all about believing that the Father of Jesus is the God. While the Chinese philosophies is all about the traditional beliefs.

THE KiNG AND I











I watched it last july 31 in Lhuzelle's house with Micah Morada, Micah Lyne Palencia, Abegail Tabile, Miggy Garcia, Athena Fafoutakis, Leze Mae Lumilay, John Raymond Mayo and specially the owner of the house :D Lhuzelle Bertulfo. The movie that we watched is " Anna and the King " but they said that the story of King and I and Anna and the King are just the same. The movie is so wonderful. When I watched the movie, I said to myself that it was an unlovely and boring movie. But after a few minutes that I'm watching it I realized that .. that movie so great ! So, lets start .. I will tell you the story .. :)

When a British school teacher,
Anna Leonowens arrives in the exotic land of Siam ( Thailand ) to teach the 67 royal children of King Mongkut. :)) I'm so shocked when i heard that ! haha. So, lets continue.
She is a strong-willed, intelligent woman and this pleases the King, who wants to modernize his country to keep it safe from the threat of colonialism, while protecting many of the ancient traditions that give Siam its unique identity. A
nna is enchanted by the royal children, particularly Princess Fa-ying
The little girl identifies with the spirit of the playful monkeys who live in the trees of the royal garden. When she suddenly takes ill of cholera, Anna is summoned to her chambers to say goodbye. She gets there just as Fa-ying dies in Mongkut's hands, and the two mourn together. Sometime later, when the King finds that one of the monkeys has "borrowed" his glasses, as his daughter used to do, he is comforted by his belief in reincarnation and the idea that Fa-ying may be reborn as one of her beloved animals.
Lady Tuptim , the King's new favorite concubine, was already engaged when brought to the court. The King is kind to her, but she's too unhappy and at last runs away, disguising herself as a young man and joining the monastery where her former fiancé, Khun Phra Balat, lives. She is tracked down and brought back to the palace, imprisoned, and initially caned along with her Balat. Tuptim and Balat are beheaded in front of the entire court, despite the well held belief that the sentence is monstrously unfair.
The tension build as Mongkut learns that outside forces are conspiring against his regime. With the political intrigue set to explode. Anna and the King must become allies in a daring fight to save Siam from dangerous enemies bent on destruction.The political aspects of the story are completely fictional: Siam is under siege from what appears to be a British-funded coup d'état against King Mongkut, usingBurmese soldiers. Mongkut sends out his brother Prince Chaofa and his military advisor General Alak to investigate.

However, it turns out that Alak is the man behind the coup and he turns on and kills Chaofa. He then flees Siam into Burma where he summons and readies his troops to invade Siam and kill the King and his children.

With Anna's help, the king manages to hide his children and his wives in a safe place. Then he goes with the few soldiers he has to face Alak. Siamese soldiers place high explosives on a wooden bridge high above a canyon floor, as Alak and his army approaches. The King orders his "army" to stay back and rides to the bridge with only two soldiers. Alak, in front of his army, confronts the King on the bridge.

Anna and Louis then orchestrate a brilliant deception from their hiding spot in the forest: Louis uses his horn to replicate the sound of a bugle charge, as Anna "attacks" the area with harmless fireworks. The ploy works as the Burmese, believing the King has brought British soldiers, retreat in a panic. Alak attempts to recall them, but his efforts prove to be futile. Alak stands alone, but the King refuses to kill him, saying that Alak should have to live with his shame. As the King turns to ride back to Siam, Alak picks up a gun and aims at the King, but the explosives are detonated, blowing the bridge to pieces, and Alak along with it.

At the end of the movie, the King has one last dance with Anna, and realizes that it is conceivable for one man to be pleased by only one woman. Anna returns to England with Louis. The King's son takes over, and abolishes slavery.




Look at us! You will notice that we are so shocked! Do you want to know why ??? haha. Because, the concubine of King Mongkut and her love were beheaded! :(( ouch !

So, here are the characters and the role thay portrayed ..

-- the Bristish school teacher


•King Moungkut
-- the king of Siam.

•Tuptim
-- the favorite concubine of king Mongkut.

• Louis Leonowens
-- the only son of Anna.

• Princess Fa-Ying
-- a royal child who died because of Cholera.

As General Alak, in "Anna and the King."
General Alak
-- one of the foe of Siam country.
• Prince Chowfa
-- king Moungkut's brother.
Prince Chulalongkorn
-- he was only a boy, but the image of his father holding the woman he loved for the last time has remained with him throughout the years.
• Moonshee
-- Leonowens' Indian Servant
• Beebe
-- Leonowens' Indian Servant
Lady Thiang - Anna & the King
Lady Thiang
-- head wife of King Mongkut

• Lord John Bradley

• Lady Bardley

• Mycroft Kincaid

The historical significance or the importace of the film .. They not only maintained Siam's independence, but also abolished slavery , instituted religious freedom and reformed the judicial system.

The social relevance of the film to our society .. The story of this film is very interesting story. You can understand that as a king, the future of their country is on his hand, the desicsion he made is also important if you compare it in our country, it is almost the same. The story of this film showed the king wants modernize his country to keep it safe from the threat of colonialism.