1960's approximately 200,000 people in the United States claimed to be of the Buddhists sect (Nattlier). Some of these began to think of themselves as Buddhist after a personal experience such as visiting Asia, reading in depth about the religion or Continue Reading...
Beauty & Sadness in Japanese Literature A modernization of the story "An Account of a Ten Foot Square Hut" Many, many years ago, it is said that the Buddha went out into the world, seeking to free himself from his cloistered palace -- and saw s Continue Reading...
This demand has been articulated not only Jewish individuals, but all families as well. The voluntary simplicity movement, asking families to return to traditional ways of living, eating, and organizing their life around community and faith is embl Continue Reading...
Buddhism -- the Heart Attack Sutra The Craziness of the Heart Sutra Before specifically referring to Chapter 1, one should note that the difficulty of a Western mind readily understanding the tenets and nuances of Buddhist thought are made abundant Continue Reading...
How the Noble Truths can be achieved through the Confucian virtues. Of course, please note especially the last ingredient, a lifetime of spiritual enlightenment, and the cooking instructions, which required all these ingredients to be mixed by a "s Continue Reading...
Mind and Body A review of the required literature, Robert Thurman's "Wisdom" (Thurman), Karen Armstrong's "Homo Religiousus" (Armstrong), and Oliver Sacks' "The Mind's Eye: What the Blind See" (Sacks), gives significant insights into how the mind an Continue Reading...
Siddhartha meets Vasudeva the ferryman. He sees in Vasudeva a quality of peace that he associates with enlightenment. Vasudeva embodies that which Siddhartha has been looking for since he was a boy. His materialistic existence momentarily comes bac Continue Reading...
They both emphasize on the teaching of doing good and following rules to live right and happily. They both have vigorous missionary programs, in which they convert people to their religion. In the two religions, the people can worship in groups or i Continue Reading...
According to utilitarian ethical theory, a lie would be very moral indeed if it increased someone's happiness without creating detriment to anyone -- telling a child that their unintelligible crayon markings is a great picture of a house, for instan Continue Reading...
Bronze Buddha in 12th century art, in philosophy and in image: Nagapattinam The image of the bronze, standing Buddha Nagapattinam from the Buddhist tradition of the 12th century belies some of the common popular assumptions about Buddhist iconograp Continue Reading...
Jesus' Teachings, Prayer, & Christian Life "He (Jesus) Took the Bread. Giving Thanks Broke it. And gave it to his Disciples, saying, 'This is my Body, which is given to you.'" At Elevation time, during Catholic Mass, the pr Continue Reading...
Buddhism directly evolved from the Vedic Aryan religions. The Gautama Buddha was born into a Brahmin caste family that practiced Vedic ritual and tradition. Siddhartha Gautama's teachings strongly reflect Vedic teachings regarding cosmology, morality Continue Reading...
Essay Topic Examples 1. The Evolution of Gandhara Art: An Intersection of Cultures: Examine how Gandhara art represents a fusion of Greco-Roman, Persian, and Indian influences, producing a distinctive style that flourished in Continue Reading...
Through a period of persecution and assimilation, however, much of the Buddhist traditions and writings were translated into Taoist terminology -- incorporating such elements as vegetarianism, banning alcohol, meditation, and the path toward enlight Continue Reading...
Tibetan Buddhism's doctrine that human consciousness has a primordial oneness with the universe and is eternal is perhaps best understood through a comparison with Western thought on the subject. The study of human consciousness by Western civilizati Continue Reading...
Meditation centers became popular during this time, and so did extensive study into eastern religions, such as Buddhism. There is another aspect of Buddhism that has had a remarkable effect on American society in just about every area, and that is Continue Reading...
Eastern Religions Thich Nhat Hanh wrote "The Heart Of Understanding" as a commentary and evaluation of the Heart Sutra in Buddhist philosophy. The book "Heart of Understanding" is a synopsis of Hanh's interpretation of what has been described as the Continue Reading...
Expository The central concept of Buddhism is the Four Noble Truths. The Four Noble Truths inform both Buddhist theory and Buddhist practice. Even though there are many different branches of Buddhist philosophy, they all share in common an appreciat Continue Reading...
Columbus reveled in making distinctions between his own culture and 'the other,' in a way that prioritized his own culture, even though ironically he went in search of a non-Western civilization's Indian bounty of spices. Columbus' eradication of a Continue Reading...
Many early haiku poets recognized this, writing purely from the heart and without too much subjective interpretation, perhaps reflecting their adoption of Zen philosophy. Basho is but one early haiku poet that took Zen moralisms and philosophies t Continue Reading...
Buddhism and Martial Arts The principles of Buddhism and its application in Martial Arts East Asian religions are known for their focus on the 'inward self philosophy' -- that is, the belief that individuals can momentarily achieve a peaceful state Continue Reading...
forgive? The Holocaust museum in Skokie, Illinois carries the motto "Remember the past, transform the future." It does not talk about forgiveness. It talks about using the past to transfer the future into a more constructive and positive experience Continue Reading...
Sex Workers in Thailand Thailand ("Land of the Free") is the only Southeast Asian country that has avoided being colonized by a Western power. It is known for its rich culture and hospitable inhabitants. Unfortunately it also has the dubious distinc Continue Reading...
2002, 108)." By 1996 the teaching of English in Thailand was compulsory for all primary children from the first grade. Teaching English as a Second Language in Thailand Although the teaching of English as a second language has been present in Thai Continue Reading...
4. One of the main issues with GDP is that it reflects economic activity rather than economic progress. Thus, Japan's efforts at rebuilding after the tsunami will appear as a boom in construction, when in fact the country has recorded a significant Continue Reading...
Longfellow's poem "A Psalm of Life," which was originally published anonymously, John Greenleaf Whittier stated, "It is very seldom that we find an article of poetry so full of excellent philosophy and common sense," (cited by Carpenter, 1903, p. 16 Continue Reading...
His Holiness the Dalai Lama has three main commitments, which guide his actions in the world. The first commitment is to exemplifying and encouraging humanistic, secular ethics—simply being a good human being. The second commitment is to interf Continue Reading...
sight, Through the Children's Gate by Adam Gopnik, seems a collection of blurred essays. As I read further the more these essays seemed to me to revolve around a certain theme. Existentialism. The fact that we are all unique, each having our own vie Continue Reading...
Somehow this is an explanation of what love is, paradoxical. This paradox between the sublime relationship of sex to love and to procreation is all one in this small poem and is the true meaning the poet is conveying. Fergus is at once the symbol a Continue Reading...
Stresses associated with migration itself, discrimination against racial minorities in this country, poverty, unemployment, and crowded living conditions heighten the chance that a husband will become abusive" (p. 1402). From the Vietnamese-American Continue Reading...
Socrates and Virtue Comparing and Contrasting Virtue in Taoism and Socrates' Philosophy The idea of virtue in Taoism may be compared and contrasted to the idea of virtue in the teachings of Socrates. For Socrates, virtue is related to the pursuit o Continue Reading...
178). Jung espoused the belief that the 'ego' of man was brought together through the experiences, both consciously and unconsciously that the individual experienced. Ultimately these experiences would lead the individual to an enhanced and complete Continue Reading...
Nietzsche and Affirmation of Self Nietzsche stands out on the subject of life and self as he aggressively argues in favor of affirmation of self than denial of the same. He actively speaks against self-denial as was proposed by some other philosophe Continue Reading...
Identify the following ten terms or philosophers: (Be sure your answers contain details and sufficient information for college level work.) 1) Buddha 2) Freud 3) Plato 4) Relativism 5) Camus 6) Kierkegaard 7) What is your definition or morality? 8) Continue Reading...
mythos and logos? The most direct linguistic renderings of 'mythos' and 'logos' into English would be that of 'myth' and 'logic.' In our current conceptualization of faith, there is often a distinction between these different ways of knowing. It is Continue Reading...
(Ng, 1994, p. 93) The philosophy of Confucius was based essentially on that of human relationships expanded to the sphere of the state, and even beyond into the cosmos. Right conduct and proper action among individuals and groups would result in an Continue Reading...
Socrates Buddhism and Confucianism can be regarded largely as religious systems -- although Confucianism is a remarkably secular set of beliefs, it nonetheless regards ritual activities -- but Socrates is not prized as a religious figure as Confuciu Continue Reading...
Self-Reflection and the Philosophical Mirror In Plato's Socratic dialogue in Apology, Socrates makes the bold declaration that "the unexamined life is not worth living" (Apology 38a). Since I am a great believer in the value of self-examination, thi Continue Reading...
