Why Buddhism, Why Now? AND WHY IN AMERICA
Taking into account the nature of the country is the fourth of the five guides of propagation according to Nichiren Shonin. This means that one must consider the culture and values of the country in which one is going to teach, and above all one must consider to what extent Buddhism has or has not already become a part of the country. The "Teaching, Capacity, Time and Country" states, "there are countries wholly devoted to Hinayana teachings, countries wholly devoted to Mahayana teachings, and countries in which both Hinayana and Mahayana are pursued." (P. 50) One must also consider what kind of Buddhism has appeared in the country and in what manner it has been taught. This involves the proper order of teaching the Dharma which is the fifth of the five guides. Regarding the importance of understanding how Buddhism has already been taught in any given country, "Teaching, Capacity, Time, and Country" says, "Therefore, one must first learn what kind of Buddhist doctrines have already spread in a particular country before attempting to propagate Buddhism there." (P. 50) In the case of the United States of America, these guidelines can not be applied easily because the U.S.A. is such a large country that there are different regions which must be taken into account. The population of the country is also extremely diverse and can be divided by race, ethnicity, religion, and
Determination of Human Behaviours and The Metamorphosis
Determination of Human Behaviours and The Metamorphosis Humanist psychologists believe that human behavior is not determined by psychological nor environmental forces, thus we have "free will" in making choices (Myers, p.437). Abraham Maslow combined the concept of actualizing tendency and free will to develop the theory of self-actualization (Myers, p.436). Self-actualization is one motivation to fulfill one's full potential (Mayers, p.436). "What a man can be, he must be" (Maslow, "The Need for Self Actualization") expresses Maslow's optimistic view about human growth. Herman Hesse's Siddhartha and Franz Kafka's Metamorphosis shares the story of struggle towards self-actualization. A young protagonist named Siddhartha is a Brahman who devotes his life in search for freedom from the endless life cycle of suffering. As he realizes that life in society is filled with suffering, he escapes from social life by renouncing social interactions and responsibilities. He progresses towards self-actualization by completing his quest for self-fulfillment. In Metamorphosis, the protagonist Gregor "woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin" (Kafka, 1). Gregor mainly struggles with alienation caused by his family's abandonment towards him. Gregor escapes from social order by renouncing social interaction and responsibilities.
Buddhism was started by Guatama Siddhartha,It started in the 5th century B.C,
Buddhism was started by Guatama Siddhartha, It started in the 5th century B.C, When he started Buddhism he was in no way holy, His life started off in a way that was easy. Guatama Siddhartha was born a prince, He then married a princess when he was sixteen, Together they had a son named Rahula, Life was good until he ended his normal routine. At the age of Twenty Nine Guatama left home, Not only his home but all his family, He left to find the meaning of life, He joined a group of convicts who took life very seriously. Guatama then saw four special visions, A holy man, a sick man, a dead man, and an old man, These visions didn't please him, Suffering then occurred and began. He then turned to Hinduism, Searching for knowledge and answers, He learnt suffering could lead to wisdom, He then decided to have his own kingdom. After a few years of being famous he gained the name of the Buddha, He had a great life but unfortunately in 380 BC he died, He had a great life and was looked up to, He also had very many followers worldwide. ,, Max Richards 9w Mr
We don't possess any genuine freedom to act ethically. Discuss.
"we don't possess any genuine freedom to act ethically?" When speaking in the subject of ethical freedom, several schools of thought must be considered that of Hard determinism, soft determinism and libertarianism. When talking of genuine freedom, it means that no external force influences our decisions and we are totally autonomous in our decisions. One argument that we don't possess any freedom in choosing ethically is that of hard determinism, hard determinism revolves around the theory that through environmental, social and genetic factors everything we do is already pre-determined by our nature. Hard determinists equate humans to highly complex clocks that preform as created, as in we are organic machines. Hard determinists reject free will. The key to this argument rests on the idea that holding a person morally responsible requires for them to make a choice between two, or more, truly possible alternatives. If choice is indeed impossible, then it would be incorrect to hold anyone morally responsible for his or her actions. If this argument holds, hard determinists are restricted to moral nihilism. Those who are also ethically naturalistic may also point out that there are good reasons to punish criminals: it is a chance to modify their behaviour, or their punishment can act as a deterrent for others who would otherwise act in the same manner. The hard determinist
Explain the Concepts of Anicca and Anatta
Explain the Concepts of Anicca and Anatta The concepts of anicca and anatta make up two thirds of the three marks of existence, which is the fundamental basis for the Buddhist world view, and essentially, it is that everything in our world is conditioned, impermanent, causes suffering and is dependent on everything else. Buddhists believe that people do not really understand and realise that the world is this way and so they believe this ignorance is the root cause of the suffering they endure. Buddhists believe that in order to achieve enlightenment, individuals must dismantle the ideas they have of the world and themselves so that they may understand how things really are. The Buddhist path relates to freeing yourself from a distorted view of reality and the suffering that it brings. Anicca is the concept that everything is impermanent and changing and implies that nothing is permanent or stays the same. In Buddhism, anicca is believed to be a fact of life; as soon as something comes into existence, its impermanence is guaranteed. Although we understand that things change, most of us still believe that there are at least one or two things which are permanent. The Buddha came to the conclusion that there is nothing which is not subject to change and explained that this change, or impermanence, operates on two levels; the gross and the subtle. The gross level of change is
Taoism beliefs and practice
In the beginning The founder of Taoism is believed by many to be Lao-Tse (604-531 BCE), a contemporary of Confucius. He was searching for a way that would avoid the constant feudal warfare and other conflicts that disrupted society during his lifetime. The result was his book: Tao-te-Ching. Others believe that he is a mythical character. Taoism started as a combination of psychology and philosophy but evolved into a religious faith in 440 CE when it was adopted as a state religion. At that time Lao-Tse became popularly venerated as a deity. Taoism, along with Buddhism and Confucianism, became one of the three great religions of China. Much of the Taoist heritage was destroyed during the next period of warlordism. After the Communist victory in 1949, religious freedom was severely restricted. "The new government put monks to manual labor, confiscated temples, and plundered treasures. Several million monks were reduced to fewer than 50,000" by 1960. 3 During the cultural revolution in China from 1966 to 1976, much of the remaining Taoist heritage was destroyed. Some religious tolerance has been restored under Deng Xiao-ping from 1982 to the present time. Where did Tao come from? Tao is the source of all nature. There are two forces that interact and cause change (creation) in nature. These forces are the Yin and the Yang. Yin, which is the Mandarin word for moon,
Buddhism - Select, describe and explain the events in the life of Siddhartha Gautama which illustrate his religious development.
Buddhism Coursework Select, describe and explain the events in the life of Siddhartha Gautama which illustrate his religious development. Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha or 'the enlightened one' was born about 560 BC and died at the age of eighty. He was the founder of the Buddhist religion. Siddhartha lived in north-eastern India, an area which followed the Hindu religious tradition, which was, in those days a great variety of Indian traditions and practices. Indian society was then divided up by the Hindu caste system. The highest caste were the Brahmins or priests, with the next caste down being the Kshatriyas, who were rulers or soldiers. Siddhartha was born in a place called Lumbini, into the Shakya clan. He was a prince, and was therefore in the Kshatriyas caste. The story of his birth to Queen Maya, wife of Raja Shuddhodana of the Kingdom of Kapilavastu, said that his mother had a dream that eight Brahmins or priests said was a good omen. They said the child would be holy and achieve perfect wisdom. Siddhartha's mother died seven days after his birth, and his aunt brought him up. There is a tradition that a seer predicted that Siddhartha would become a great religious leader. His father tried to stop this by keeping all ideas of suffering from his son. Siddhartha lived a royal life and married a princess called Yasodhara. They had a son called Rahula.
The middle way
The middle way A long time ago in Lumbini, a small town in Nepal, a prince was born; his name was Siddhartha. Siddhartha's father was very protective of him, because when he was young, an ascetic called Asita came to the king and said, "Siddhartha will never be king but he will be a great leader". The king made sure that Siddhartha never saw any suffering, so he never had reason to leave the palace. However one day after a parade Siddhartha saw two old men, he followed them and finally saw what his father had tried to hide from him; old age, disease, poverty and death. This upset Siddhartha and he decided to leave the palace. A fog descended on the palace allowing Siddhartha to leave and symbolising the beginning of his journey towards enlightenment. After leaving the palace Siddhartha spent many years as an Ascetic (a person who starve and punishes themselves to gain enlightenment). Siddhartha realised that neither his luxurious life as a prince nor his life as an ascetic was the way to gain enlightenment. Siddhartha began to meditate under a tree and was soon met by six temptations; desire, greed, lust, war, pride and sloth. Siddhartha overcame these temptations and achieved enlightenment. Siddhartha lived for another 45 years spreading the "middle way". The middle way is the path between luxury and poverty and the way to reach enlightenment. When Siddhartha died he reached
Emergence Of The Buddha
Emma Tingey Homework - 26th October 2007 A). Outline the social, political and religious background from which Buddhism emerged. (10) Buddhism is one of the major religious traditions of the human race today. Buddhism was influenced by many different cultures over the thousands of years. This essay will outline the social, political and religious issues surrounding the background and the emergence of Buddhism in Indian Society. "In the 1920's archaeological excavations of the ancient cities of Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa in North West India revealed the existence of an urban civilisation. This is called the Indus Valley Civilisation." (Buddhism Dominique Side) The background from which the Buddha emerged from stretched as far back as C2700 in a place called the Indus Valley. This was the first sign of civilisation to live on the Indian subcontinent. People were attracted to the Indus Valley because of the of the River Indus. The River provided a good source of vegetation; there was also flat land, stones and trees. The Indus Valley was an Egalitarian society, which meant that everybody living inside the society were all equal and they worshipped both Gods and Goddesses. They believed and worshiped in Brahman, who they believed was the most looked up to and modest God. Archaeologists found statues with engraved scriptures of Gods and Goddesses on; the finding of these pots
The Life and Teachings of Siddhartha Gautama
Annabel Weaver The Life and Teachings of Siddhartha Gautama Buddhism is a way of life for Buddhists, based on the teachings of a man who had lived more than two and a half thousand years ago in northern India. He was born in the foothills of Lumbini, in what is now Nepal, in about 563BCE, and was called Siddhartha. His family was called Gautama, and his father (Shuddhodana) was the rular of the Shakya clan at that time. Everyone who followed Siddhartha called him the Buddha, which means 'the enlightened one'. They believed that he had found the truth about life. Many stories about the life of the Buddha were passed on by word of mouth for about 600 years before anyone wrote them down. They were a constant reminder of the Buddha and all the things he did for other people. Siddhartha's father felt very strongly about him taking over as rular. He therefore gave Siddhartha everything he wanted and every luxury he could have. He didn't tell his son about suffering and death because he didn't want to upset him. He was afraid that these things would stop him from becoming interested in religion. Because Siddhartha was a prince, he was taught the skills of archery, horsemanship, swordplay and martial arts. He was given the staff of beautiful young women to care for him and to look after him. When he was only nineteen, he married a beautiful princess named