Dukkha

In Chapter Three of Tao te Ching, Lao-Tzu expresses his wariness for change. He believes that interfering with the present status of the nature can be detrimental to the total well-being of this universe. According to Tzu, this world is operating in a state of balance upon which any action, if not carefully considered, can lead to serious repercussions. An action that can cause a tilt in the normal status of the earth can result into an avalanche of tribulations beyond control. He argues that…

achieve salvation. After that, he was Buddha, meaning “the enlightened one”, and spent the rest of his life teaching throughout India. THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS The Four Noble Truths form the core of Buddha’s teaching. They are The Truth of Suffering (dukkha), the Truth of the Cause of Suffering (samudaya), the Truth of the End of Suffering (nirhodha), the Truth of the Path that Frees Us from Suffering (magga). 1. Truth of Suffering – In one form or another, suffering exists for everyone. There is…

In the nineteenth century many scholars and great thinkers started to support the belief that as the twenty-first century approached religion would slowly fade and cease to matter. They believed secularism and science would bring new found logic which would ultimately over come and transcend religion. Contrary to their belief, post modern reality is that religion has a huge impact both globally and individually on our lives. Religions like Hinduism Buddhism and Christianity have profound impacts…

There are many ethical issues throughout the human race which are approached differently by each religion. With the ethical issue of abortion and euthanasia, Hinduism, Theravada Buddhism, and Christianity all have different and similar views about this huge debate in society today. Hinduism, being the root of many religions, is the world’s oldest major religion till this day. With most ancient religions, outsiders were the ones who appointed a name for a discovered group of beliefs. The name…

Answer any two out of the four questions provided. Each question should be at least 3 pages and not exceeding 6 pages of a double spaced type written paper. 1. A young adult was entangled emotionally with a Muslim girl. He came to you asking for an explanation between Christianity and Islam. He understands that there are many similarities between Islam and Christianity, like the similarities of historical roots, monotheistic idea of God, understanding of prophets, angels, and even the acceptance…

The news article “The Singer Solution to World Poverty,” and the Buddhist jataka “The Perfect Generosity of Prince Vessantara,” both extrapolate on giving and how to give well. This concept is extremely hard to explain especially in light of Buddhist tradition. Both authors try their best to elaborate on the concept of giving, Singer talks about the moral obligation to give and the story about Vessantara talks about giving everything you have. However, these stories do not necessarily teach…

Christianity: Christianity originated in Jerusalem, which is in the present day country of Israel. The creator of Christianity was born in Bethlehem, just outside Jerusalem. Christianity was spread by hierarchical diffusion. This is because many kings of Empires were converted to christianity and thus forced their people to believe in the beliefs of christianity. Christianity could also have been spread by contagious diffusion. The religion was spread and taken in by neighboring countries and…

The idea of nature is of huge importance and the concept of harmony with nature and oneself is the defining characteristic of the ancient Chinese belief system. There is an emphasis placed on the welfare and well being of the individual in the present life as opposed to a future one. What separates Confucianism, Taoism and Chinese Buddhism is the meaning which is associated with nature. Confucianism places emphasis on the nature of the human. Taoism focuses on harmony with the universe and…