Brian's reading and music blog

 One literary author I really look back in interest with is the celebrated French novelist Albert Camus. I remember reading his novel l’Étranger in my French literature class in high school and not being sure what the hell to make of it. Its philosophy of the absurdity of the human condition struck a nerve with me,  but I couldn't relate to its generally pessimistic philosophy of life. However a year later I picked up a copy of his second novel, La Peste , and since then I have become a fan of Camus and deeply interested in his work. I guess I have found the philosophical and literary qualities much deeper in the Plague then the Stranger.  For me Camus seems to be addressing a key problem in philosophy and in the ordinary life of humanity, namely the understanding of suffering. One question in particular is how to explain the existence and goodness of God in the face of seemingly meaningless suffering. This in philosophy is called the problems of theodicy. In the Plague...

 As a  young adult, around a similar time as discovering Albert Camus,  I became influenced by Zen Buddhism. I came across a book by the gentle Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh,  called Peace is Every Step: the Path of Mindfulness In Everyday Life. Although Thich had already published other books,  his works such as,  the Miracle of Mindfulness ,  and Peace Is Every Step ,  were significant in further disseminating the practice of  mindfulness,  and Buddhism in general,  into the mainstream of western culture. Mindfulness,  effort, and concentration are part of the Buddhas eight fold path to liberation. He discusses concentration, effort, and mindfulness as part of what is called Samadhi or meditative absorption. Mindfulness is a simple practice that's not easy, at least for me.  It consists of the awareness of what is simply given here and now in the present moment, in mental awareness without judgment without graspi...