1. Kaitlin Keegan
Final Exam
April 28, 2011
For the first and probably most significant learning to me that I experienced in this class
I’d like to talk about the idea of Brahman. Even if I learned absolutely nothing else in this
course, I’m glad I was exposed to the idea of Brahman. This is so important to me because this
the idea that I have been wrestling with personally, put into the most articulate way possible. I
never have believed that a personal God that sits up on a cloud and judges our deeds could exist.
But a God that is more a fact of existence, a God that is just a creator of life, but is still life itself,
that is me, you and nature around us, for some reason that makes sense to me. Everything in
nature is circular, and as a hunter and a nature lover, I’ve always noticed this and thought that
this idea was more applicable than the idea of the traditional Christian God. I’ve never thought
of it in Hindu terms, and while I could never call myself a real Hindu believer, I feel that their
whole system is the closest thing to what might be right, and as far as organized religions go,
they are the closest.
Another teaching that was important to me personally that I soaked up from this class is
the idea of Surveying from Sun Tzu. The whole point of Sun Tzu was one of my favorites, and
after talking with you I learned one of the most Western style beliefs of the ones we covered (to
my amusement and lack of surprise). Being the intellectual, logical, methodical person that I am,
I really thought that surveying could be one of the most important tools that I could gain from
this class. While I seem to follow this idea on my own to a degree, Sun Tzu showed me that this

2. idea of surveying is appropriate in almost all contexts, and can really help me to avoid harm and
harbor successes. I feel that if everyone just took the time to think about things, and to really
analyze and observe, we would have less problems in the world today.
The idea of tolerance in this class also had a huge impact on me. I felt like of all the tools
in Buddhism we talked about (patience, genuine humility, compassion, and tolerance) that
tolerance took the most inner strength, which is a personal goal that I am working on. And while
tolerance may take a different kind of inner strength than the type that I am working on, I
thought that it was so applicable to regular life. Accepting a negative situation or a different
belief than our own can be one of the hardest things we can try to do, but I think it can be one of
the most rewarding. Having tolerance for others can save so much heart ache for the human
race, that I wish that everyone could have the inner strength to want to try to practice it.
Right Thinking was another important teaching that I had never really thought about
before that we covered in class this semester. While I feel like the 8 fold path in general is a
wonderful idea, I think the only thing absolutely necessary to try to master from it is Right
Thinking. If we practice Right Thinking, the rest of the path falls into place without trying. This
was such an interesting concept to me, because our society is always worried about people’s
actions, whether they are good or bad. But if we tried to solve problems at the root, which is the
thinking and mentality of a person, chances are we would be much more successful, and could
prevent a lot of suffering. When I think of Right Thinking, I always think of the analogy that we
talk about in class: People don’t just wake up one day to shoot someone, they think about it, and
harbor negative thoughts and emotions for a long time before they snap. If we as a society could
target these people, and try to solve their thinking, plenty of terrible things could be prevented.

3. The very last thing I learned about in this class is probably the learning that I would do
well to try to never lose sight of, and that is the value of intuition. At first I thought that Zen
thinking was the most confusing, but that is as you’ve said, because it is the most simple.
Intuition is something that I never really think about, but when I do, I can recall times where I
have discredited it, and have regretted it. I think that people are supposed to be more connected
to the natural world and order of things than we normally allow ourselves to be, and I think that
intuition is one of the proofs that would should be. As a firm believer in science, I could never
normally give credence to intuition. But this whole thing taught me that not everything can be
defined by science, and that we probably shouldn’t even try. We should let both of them flow
together, the scientific explanations, and those that can’t be explained, and just accept that this is
the best possible grasp that we can have on life, and appreciate the beauty that is both science
and what is called “Satori” by the Zen Buddhists.
Eastern and Western philosophy both identify the same problem, and both come up with
the same final answer to the problem, but they go about it using very different solutions. Both
philosophies agree that we as humans are naturally ignorant, and that we should overcome this
by becoming enlightened, but the east and west have established two different approaches. The
West, the philosophy common to our thought process, uses reason and logic to become
enlightened. The West sees feelings as secondary and rationalism as the first and best tool for
truth. The West distinctly separates these tools, creating many dualisms that we are familiar
with, such as mind/body/spirit and physical/metaphysical worlds. The West always uses
intermediary teachings as well, abstracting things from reality. They do this by categorizing and
defining things, instead of just allowing things to “be”. The focus is on explaining,
demonstrating, and describing.

4. Eastern thought however, takes an opposite approach. While Eastern thought does not
exactly reject rationalism, it just goes beyond the limits of reason. It focuses on observing,
seeing, and “pointing” to something, and indicating; it does not attempt to try to quantify what it
observes. There are no separations or dualisms in Eastern thought. There is only one world, and
the soul and body are not different. The east does not discredit emotions, but puts faith in them,
and gives credence to what we call intuition, or “Satori”.
Satori is an intuitive way to perceive the nature/essence of things. It is a deeper, fresher
way to perceive things than straight reason. It is not logical or analytical; it is beyond explaining
or discussing truth. A Satori moment can happen at any time, and it will change your
perspective on life. The west has been trained to discredit Satori. But when looks at the chief
characteristics of Satori, we realize that the west only does this because it is not possible to
clearly “quantify”.
The first characteristic of Satori is that is irrational. Satori will not make sense from a
rational standpoint, it goes beyond the intellectual, and it is inexplicable and uncommunicatable.
If we experience Satori, it will change us in a deep, remarkable way. Satori is essentially
intuitive insight; it is as William James, a Westerner, coined an “Aha!” experience. Satori is
perceiving things differently than conventional knowledge. Satori is a unique personal
experience, in which a person experiences the universal knowledge in a special way.
Satori is also authoritativeness in essence. Satori is final, there is no amount of logic that
can refute it, and once experienced, there is no going back. Once you’ve experienced it, there is
no way to prove it to others, while there is no way you can deny it for yourself. Satori is also

5. affirmative in the sense that it proves life. It is not a negative thing, but negative things can
trigger it. Satori is the critical acceptance of how things are.
With Satori, there is a sense of “beyond” that goes with the experience. While a Satori
moment is personal, it is rooted in the foundation of the universe. We lose our ego and unite
with and realize the hugeness of something greater. It leaves us with a sense of relief, peace, and
homecoming. This is not a confirmation of God; it is simply uniting with the universe.
Satori is also impersonal and highly intellectual; it is not romantic or extraordinary, it just
sounds as if it would be in the terms in which it is described. Satori is connecting with
something ordinary; it is just larger than ourselves, and hard to define. And while Satori is
impersonal, it does leave us with feeling of exultation. This is the doing away with the dualisms,
and the unification. We feel well, and have self contentment and a feeling of “wholeness”.
And lastly, Satori is momentary in its essence. It happens in such a random, momentary
experience that is abrupt and almost fleeting. Satori is like finally opening that window that has
been locked shut, and you are exposed to a whole new beautiful vista, and a new way to perceive
life.
Life is seeing something. It is perceiving, it is a swirl of different emotions, it is a never
ending, intangible circle. Life is being completely and utterly lucky to be alive, and to not even
realize it.