Dukkha

Many people in the ancient world followed religions that are still important today. People were searching for answers and it seems that polytheism was not working for everyone. People began shaping their own beliefs and spreading them. Civilizations began to fall into discord and needed philosophical ideas to help reform. A great amount of thinkers pondered ideas, but only a few became well known. Although, some of the ancient religions did not last, Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism affected…

Sei Shonagon draws her court life and sophisticated culture with warm atmosphere in The Pillow Book. Sei Shonagon was a lady-in-waiting to the Empress Teishi and lived most flourished time of the Heian Period that aristocrats established and introduced the new cultures to the court. The Heian culture emphasized appearance. In fact, Sei Shonagon vividly deserves how people set a high value looks. For example, She mentions how a person wears or piles up the colored clothing again and again, such…

Buddhism goes beyond religion and is more of a philosophy or a way of life. The Buddhist way of life of peace, love, kindness and wisdom is relevant today, just as much as it was in ancient India. All of our problematic sufferings arise from the confusion that causes a negative state of mind, and all of our good fortune arises from a peaceful state of mind. Buddha taught methods so that negative states of mind, such as jealousy, anger, and ignorance, could be gradually overcome. Having done this…

In about 1500 BCE, the Aryans came to Northern India and created a religion based on traditions and ritual purity. They called this religion Hinduism. Hinduism has four major jatis or caste; the Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, and the Shudras with the untouchables being an unsaid fifth caste. A member of the Kshatriyas, Siddhartha Gautama, started traveling between 600 BCE and 500 BCE within Nepal and Northern India preaching kindness and how to end suffering. By the time Buddha, formerly…

The artwork I decided to do for this essay as you can see by the title is called “China Monument: Temple of Heaven” by Wenda Gu and was created in 1998. The artworks medium is known as mixed media, which is known as, “the integrated use of different forms of media, esp within the art.”(in-text). In this artwork the media shows projects of texts and represents the spiritual aspect of it (in-text). The artwork has a mix of hair intertwined with different texts from all over the world. Gu is trying…

Throughout the ages, Buddhist’s practices have flourished and extended to a multitude of regions throughout the world. Although, these practices never reached the western culture until close to the end of the 19th century, Buddhism is the fifth most populated religion with approximately three hundred seventy-six million followers. Furthermore, it is also one of the oldest religions, originating about 2,500 years ago in the 6th century BCE. From this widespread expansion, there has been a…

Siddhartha has made many travels in the pursuit of reaching Nirvana, to have many questions answered, and to rid himself of his ego. He started out with being a member of the Brahmins as a child for he was the son of a Brahmin. He learned many hymns and verses and knew the ways of the Brahmins better than most others his age. However, he felt that “the wise Brahmins had already imparted to him the bulk and the best of their knowledge” (Hesse 5). Thus, it can be supported that teachings have a…

The Buddha, also referred to throughout Revealing World Religions and The Life of The Buddha as “enlightened one” is Siddhartha Gautama. Gautama was born in Nepal as a prince, but realized very early in his existence that his status and experiences would be unable to protect him from suffering or provide him with lasting happiness. He is often pictured or depicted as being in a contemplative state as illustrated by 12:05 in The Life of The Buddha during which he is shown watching a farmer…

According to the text book, the six major world religions are as follow: Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, and Jainism. Christianity is known to be the largest single faith. Islam is the second largest and Hinduism is the third. Although Buddhism, Judaism and Jainism have a small number of followers as compared to the three largest religions, they also enlighten people, guide them to do good deeds, and help them find the purposes of their lives Schaefer.) Why does Buddhism found…

This week I am writing about Kim Minjung (p 86). Kim Minjung was a Korean who was raised by his mother after his father committed suicide. He did well on the exams and became a public official. He had troubles because he criticized the Choson court for not “fulfilling the properties of Confucian Orthodoxy.” Ultimately, Kim Minjung would be remembered for his long narratives. The interesting thing about Kim Minjung is that in one of his two surviving narratives, Nine Cloud Dream, he uses deeply…