Dwaraka Uncle,
Now can you tell me again what a good person is, in terms of the above terms? That is, for eg.. think of what does it mean to have 'a good mind'?What are 'good thoughts' and what are 'bad thoughts'? etc.
Well, I have few questions before I answer your questions. Is that alright??
You said that a good person has good thoughts, good opinions (no false opinions), sincerity, patience, keenness to learn, having no ego, self-respect, respect for others, ability to see and understand situations, honesty, feeling appropriately towards situations what he wants to achieve, why he wants to achieve that, is he selfish or not, etc.
What is ego?? I think I know what it is, doesn't it mean when a person thinks only about themselves like they are self-centered?? But that person has to be a Mahatma to not think about themselves. In my view, no normal person can do that. I hope you understand what I mean.
What is self- respect?? Doesn't everyone (normal,average people) have self-respect?? I mean, everybody has to think that they are "Awesome."
Ego and self-respect go hand in hand don't they? Like ego is the black zone and self-respect is the white zone??
Then what is over-confidence? I kind of think that self-confidence is close to over-confidence.
Let's say there is a very important test that some students have to take, in order for them to pass, they have to get a 100/100 score. If person (A) has to take this test, he thinks that he will do very good, but he would study to verify all of his facts. That, in my opinion is self-confidence. He knows he will do good but verifies so he will not make a simple mistake, and fail the test. There is another person (B) that takes the test. But his way of studying is watching T.V., playing a video game, and reading a book (novel). He has over-confidence that he will pass the test what so ever. He makes a simple mistake in a writing prompt and gets a 1/2 point taken off. So he failed the test because he had 99 and 1/2 points out of 100.
What is lack of confidence??
What is Self-Confidence??
What is the difference between self-respect and self-confidence and ego??
Dwaraka Uncle, I want to have some clarity on confidence. If I know what confidence is, I'll know what lack of confidence is, what over-confidence is, and what self-confidence is.
Feeling appropriately towards situations (that is, if a sad situation happens, and that person doesnt feel sad for others, then can he be a good human being?)
I don't get this. You said feeling
appropriately, so the person would feel sad because that is the appropriate feeling for a sad situation.
Is he selfish or not, etc.
Isn't selfishness part of ego and isn't over-confidence part of ego too??
Similarly, he should have a good body, a body that is well utilized.
Like instead of using his body for himself, for earning money and using it for himself and his family?? So he would earn money, but use some of it for the society??
is not too dependent
Not too dependent on what Dwaraka Uncle??
does not crave luxuries too much
Like traveling in car in a walk-able distance, traveling in a plane in a car ride distance. Reserving the First Class section seats in the plane, having a big mansion for only 4 people, eating out at restaurants everyday, etc. Uncle, you said "too much." So the good person can sometimes do some of these things?
who is not pulled by what 'his body likes' but can have control and only do 'what is good', alert, not lazy, etc.
So they have to do the opposite of what their body likes??
Similarly, how he speaks, how he acts, what he thinks about society, how responsible he is, etc.
What is responsibility?? I practically hear that word everyday at school. Like when someone doesn't do their homework because they were for ex. absent on Monday and Tuesday, but they were here on Wednesday. Today is Thursday, and all the work from Mon., Tues, And Wed are due. The person that was absent only has the work fron Wed. The teacher gets mad and says that it was their responsibility to get all of their work done and that they should of asked the teacher of what the assignments were from the days that they missed. Sheesh!! Uncle, does the way that a person speaks reflect their personality??
Now coming to your questions:
Now can you tell me again what a good person is, in terms of the above terms?
Uncle, I still need some clarity to answer that question......
That is, for eg.. think of what does it mean to have 'a good mind'?
What is a good mind?? There are 2 important words I need to learn first. What is mind? What is good?? You said a good mind has good thoughts and good opinions.
What are 'good thoughts' and what are 'bad thoughts'? etc.
I thought Thoughts weren't good for your mind. That's why people meditate. right? I was told that if you keep your mind with out thinking, a kind of energy is formed. If you master that energy, you can do countless things like NINA, she can lift a vessel full of water by just thinking so. That's what master garu wrote in Matam Enduku. In my opinion, all thoughts are bad. And I remember the quote, "The mind is like a monkey, that is always jumping around. You have to keep it from jumping."
And Opinions are kind of controversial. Lets say I want to cut down a tree because its blocking the tourist sign, in my opinion, that's a good opinion. But my friend may think that the tree shouldn't get cut down and that my so called "good" opinion is actually bad. Uncle, what in your opinion, are some good thoughts, bad thoughts, good opinions, and bad opinions?? Because it varies by person. In my opinion opinions, can't get rated good or bad, as they cant get rated right/wrong. I don't know if this opinion of mine is right/wrong, but an opinion is an opinion, right?
Then think of what kind of thoughts you get, and others get.
In my opinion, I have good thoughts. But I don't know what kinds of thoughts others get.
What kind of opinions are good to have? Do you have them? Do others have them?
The kind of opinions that are good to have are the kind that you don't have to argue with others about. Like in the example, my friend and I argued about whether to cut down the tree or not. I sometimes have those good kind of opinions. Others sometimes have those kind of opinions too.
How does a good person respond to today's world?
Today's world is facing many problems like corruption, pollution, poverty, global warming, unemployment, recession, crime, people not caring about the Earth; even if there are some people that know what is happening to our planet, the awareness still needs to spread. Scientists (Cosmologists) are looking for another planet, so we can go there, if needed.
How does he respond towards education/study?
Since they are learning all this interesting, new, and important things, they will use all my knowledge to help other people learn as best as they can.
How does he respond towards meditation?
Meditation means not thinking, so, it is makes your mind become peaceful and still. Good people will try to meditate for as long as they can everyday.
(When you told me to sit still and observe my thoughts,(in the Brain, Heart, and Mind thread) I did. I was thinking about school and wondering about what we were going to do the next day, then I suddenly remembered that didn't do my language homework. I then thought that I would get a missing assignment mark in my agenda. Then, I thought that my friend got 3 missing assignment marks in her agenda in these 9 weeks, so she can't go to our reward day trip. Then I was wondering what we're going to do on Reward Day, and if it is going to be fun. I did what you told me to do, and I kind of figured that the mind is a Thought Machine. Is that right?? Then again,what is thought and what is thinking??)
I have some questions about mind and brain:
When you are doing a math problem...which do you use??. The brain, Mind, or both?
When you are imagining some thing which do you use?? The brain, Mind or both?