Kevin Piechocinski
Dr. Benjamin Wood
Religion-2112-02
November 14, 2015
Summary and Reflection on Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams lecture
Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams is an ordained Zen priest and author. From her childhood, she found Christianity to be of irrelevance to her take on religion, leading to her discovery of Buddhism. As for her lecture on her life and perceptions, I can say that I agree with her views on religion and I think they should be taught to others all around. I believe that religion should not be based on rules, and the idea that what one religion is born into, is not one that has to be followed.
When Williams was twelve, and declared that Christianity did not match her, she found…
An interesting view she brought up was one that says that the nature of life is suffering. The second I heard this, I could not agree more; hardships, disasters, and consequences, are the ones that show us how to become stronger, as well as better individuals. This concept also made Williams bring up the idea that people are never comfortable with the way things are. This is where Buddhism comes into play; it teaches people to appreciate and be grateful for the present. This is a new take because nowadays people are constantly on a schedule that plans out the next week, or weeks, for them. A part of the lecture I highly agreed with was when Williams mentioned the idea that learning to be in what is is a paradox. Simply stating that people should stop trying to change the future and instead be part of the life they are living at a given…
A Buddhist teaching, such as this, shows how there are many minor parts in life that are general experiences, and that there are parts that will always remain in our thoughts and morals. Here, I was in strong agreement with Williams because life brings on many lessons, but as we all know, there are ones that stick out much more greatly than others. An example could be when Williams’s grandfather passed away. I would find this as the experience because it’s a major event. An event that could have been considered an experience was the passing of someone Williams…
