Thursday, January 30, 2020

Buddhism in East Asia Essay Example for Free

Buddhism in East Asia Essay Many people will choose Confucianism as the most important factor in understating East Asian culture. Confucianism, indeed, is crucial in understanding the culture. However, one should not overlook the influence of Buddhism on Confucianism and many areas of East Asian culture. Buddhism, one of the world’s oldest religions and a philosophy, is shared by East Asian countries, thus in order to fully appreciate the East Asian culture, one should learn about Buddhism and its significant influence on the culture. This paper will discuss Buddhism shared by East Asian culture and how the religion played an enormous role in shaping the mindset of people affecting their culture. Buddhism started approximately in the 6th century BCE, starting with the birth of the Buddha in India. The religion then spread through Central Asia, East Asia, and Southeast Asia (Keown). Among many branches of Buddhism, Mahayana has been diffused from first west, north, and east throughout East Asia (Skilton). The fundamental principles of Mahayana are liberation from suffering and the belief in the existence of Bodhisattva. Bodhisattva is someone who achieved Nirvana, the state of being free from both suffering and the cycle of rebirth (Keown). One can find a carved wood elongated figure of Bodhisattva Guanyin (1999. 13. 0003) from Spurlok Museum, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, IL . In this wooden figure, Guanyin is barefoot with hair wrapped in knot, wears ornate robes and holds a basket with flowers (Spurlock Museum). One can also find a photo of Bronze Seated Buddha in National Museum at Kyongbok-Kung, Seoul, South Korea (1986. 27. 0017) in Spurlock Museum . These are an important artifact and a photo because one can easily find very similar artifacts of Guanyin or Buddha in China, Korea, and Japan. It shows one how Buddhism was shared by East Asian countries (Yu). Upon first encountering Buddhism, many Chinese scholars regarded it as merely a foreign religion. This caused Buddhism to transform itself into a system that could co-exist within the Chinese way of life. Thus, filial devotion, one of the most valued by Confucianists, in Buddhist teachings became the core texts in China. It further strengthened the Confucian value by claiming that the salvation of an individual was a benefit to the society and family. Therefore, Buddhism could spread well in the Chinese population (Chen). From this point, Buddhism spread to Korea and Japan, and Buddhist ideology began to merge with Confucianism. This caused many Confucian scholars to redefine Confucianism as Neo-Confucianism (Chen). While Neo-Confucianism adapted Buddhist ideas, many Neo-Confucianists strongly opposed Buddhism. Nonetheless, Buddhism offered Confucianism important ideas such as the nature of the soul and the relation of the individual to the cosmos, ideas not explored by Confucianism (Chen). Again, Neo-Confucianism was spread through Korea and Japan, and they were all deeply influenced for more than half a millennium (Chen). Moreover, many other indigenous religions and philosophical systems in East Asia integrated the ideas and teachings of Buddhism, so it came to be a natural part of living. In conclusion, the teachings of Buddhism not only influenced in shaping the mindset of East Asian people, but also affected their philosophy of life.

Wednesday, January 22, 2020

Fame made me lonely :: Creative Writing Essays

Fame made me lonely "Julie, there's a new number one!" shouted Kayleigh to her sister. "Who is it?" questioned Julie. "It's Chris Riley and it's called First Time" rushed Kayleigh, eager to hear the song. Chris Riley was in his luxury palace, watching the top ten chart on his 78 inch plasma screen television. His agent, Mark Priestman, informed him that his single went straight to number one in just two days. Chris was pleased. He didn't look thrilled or excited. I didn't understand why he wasn't chuffed. Chris Riley lived in a luxurious mansion in a desolate place in the depths of Yorkshire. His mansion had four floors each containing at least seven rooms. The long, lavish corridors were beautifully decorated with a light blue carpet and portraits of him posing. There was an indoor extensive swimming pool that had gold railings. On the fourth floor there was a small private cinema that had twenty comfortable seats with large beverage holders. The cinema had several small spotlights and the stairs were luminous green. The mansion had everything a person could ever want, including a huge disco, which must have been used for parties. There was a large stage with a bar next to it but there was no one inside it. I had looked around most of the house and it was all empty. I eventually figured out which room was Chris's bedroom. It was very spacious with little inside it. Chris had a double sized bed with basic furniture. To the left of the room was a large photograph that showed Chris with a women and a young girl, about four or five years old. They all looked very happy and free from the popularity he had back in England. It looked to me as if they were on holiday because they were on a seaside when the sun was setting to give a magnificent effect on the photo. I looked round the corner and spotted Chris walking towards his room. He silently sat down on the bed and stared at the photograph. He looked deeply into the woman's eyes and wondered, "Why did you leave me? Why?" He questioned with rage. "You separated me from my own daughter!" His eyes had turned red and tears were escaping from his eyes and landed onto his black silk shirt. Suddenly, it had all made sense to me why his mansion was so empty of life and happiness. He laid down gripping his hair with devastation of his separation from the ones he loved. When they had left she had taken half of his money with her.

Tuesday, January 14, 2020

Core Ideas Of Liberalism and Conservatism

Struggle between liberal and conservative tendencies is, perhaps, the key element for understanding the political life of the west in the last three centuries. So, in order to understand this struggle one needs to understand what are the core ideas of liberalism and conservatism. This paper aims to investigate some of the most prominent example of liberal and conservative political thought. The first basic ideas of liberalism have been explained by John Locke, who explained that â€Å"Adam had not, either by natural right of fatherhood, or by positive donation from God, any such authority over his children, or dominion over the world, as is pretended† (1. 84). Later the state of natural freedom has been replaced by different forms of unjust oppression, and freedom can be restored only by agreement of free individuals making a civil society.   In the world of monarchism this idea sounded revolutionary, but was still far from practical application. Liberal concepts gained much popularity between the Founding Fathers of the United States, as well as later American publicists. Among others they have been explained and practically developed in the Federalist Papers. For example in Paper 51 James Madison investigated the system of checks and balances as a foundation for independent and responsible state power and a guarantee of reservation of liberty and against usurpation. The source of power for Madison is not God or king, for â€Å"the supreme executive, legislative, and judiciary magistracies should be drawn from the same fountain of authority, the people, through channels having no communication whatever with one another† (1. 118). However, liberalism concerns not only the formation of political power, but relations inside the society as well. British philosopher Thomas Hill Green in 1861 wrote about â€Å"the liberation of the powers of all men equally for contributions to a common good† (1.132). And so paradoxically liberalism restricts some forms of civil transaction such as trade of slaves or, for example, those, which jeopardize public health. Liberalism is understood as general state of freedom in the society, which is limited only by freedom of the others and the function of the state in such society is only to protect freedom and never exercise more power, than needed for the interests of liberal society. In contrast to liberalism, conservative ideas gained more popularity in the XIX century and were a sort of reaction to the spread of revolutionary ideas, especially after American and French revolutions, therefore, they have been aimed to limitation of liberalism. As explained by Michael Oakeshott, â€Å"adults who do not consider themselves under any obligation to justify their preferences for making their own choices; and that it is beyond human experience to suppose that those who rule are endowed with a superior wisdom† (1.193). Humans are week, and too much freedom is likely to corrupt the power and ruin the society. Oakeshott’s example is brutal but very persuasive: â€Å"we tolerate monomaniacs, it is our habit to do so; but why should we be ruled by them?† (1.194) Conservatism can be helpful at unstable times and conservative methods of rule like cutting tax rates in order to stimulate steady economic growth or taking control of the media may sometimes serve the public good. Liberalism and conservatism are therefore the two opposite political foundations, neither of which can be obviously preferred of disfavored. The application of liberal and conservative ideas is not a matter of principle, but a matter of current situation. Works Cited: 1. Nancy S. Love. And Dreams: A Reader In Modern Political Ideologies. (CQ Press; 3 edition, 2005)

Monday, January 6, 2020

Macbeth Essays Macbeth - 1064 Words

Macbeth Analytical Essay In life, there are two types of people: those who do the right thing and those who don’t. In the play Macbeth, by Shakespeare, the main character Macbeth is given a prophecy by three witches that says he will become king; however, there is no descending line of kings of his own blood. With the knowledge of the Witches’ prophecy, Macbeth’s ambition, and manipulation from his wife, Lady Macbeth, Macbeth is quickly dragged into a never-ending, bloody murder rampage to obtain the crown and get rid of those who stand in the way of obtaining it as well. Macbeth constantly battles with his moral dilemmas; however, he easily falls victim to influences that go against his morals. Influences on major characters emphasize how easily one’s decision making can be negatively affected, resulting in one going against his or her morals/integrity. The influence of the Witches’ prophecy used by Shakespeare, change Lady Macbeth’s and Banquo’s decision making which goes against their integrity. After Lady Macbeth receives a letter from Macbeth describing his experience with the three witches’ and their prophecy, she speaks about Duncan’s fatal death. She says to herself, â€Å"Fill me from the crown to the toe top-full of direst cruelty. Make thick my blood. Stop up th’ access and passage to remorse, that no compunctious visitings of nature `shake my fell purpose† (1.5.49-54). Because of the witches’ prophecy, Lady Macbeth obsesses over acquiring inhuman traits to be ableShow MoreRelatedMacbeth Essay819 Words   |  4 PagesMacbeth Essay In Shakespeare’s play Macbeth, Macbeth undergoes many psychological tribulations. There is no doubt that he is insane, but the specifics of his conditions help explain the peculiarities of the play. Macbeth’s character was perhaps the culmination of all the psychological disorders known at Shakespeare’s day. He experienced disorders such as split personality, schizophrenia, and post traumatic stress. These disorders could be caused by stress on the battlefield and a poor spousalRead MoreComparing Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Essay1845 Words   |  8 PagesA Comparison of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth  Ã‚   To understand Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth it is necessary to fully comprehend the characters of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. The differences between Lady Macbeth and Macbeth are profound. Over the course of the play, Shakespeare skillfully changes the role of the two characters. Macbeth is frightened at the beginning then confident at the end while Lady Macbeth confident at the beginning and frightened at the end. At the beginning of theRead MoreMacbeth Essay1706 Words   |  7 PagesCorradi ENG 3UE-01 Tuesday, May 19th, 2015 The Demise of Noble Macbeth Credited as one of William Shakespeare’s bloodiest and darkest works, The Tragedy of Macbeth is an emotionally tense, gripping play about loyalty, betrayal and ambition. Blinded by his vaulting ambition and encouraged by his wife, Macbeth attempted to remove the obstacles preventing him from being king; these obstacles happened to be other characters in the play. Macbeth accepted the prophecies of witches as a guide for what wouldRead MoreMacbeth Essay856 Words   |  4 Pages2012 MacBeth 5 Paragraph Essay A Tragic Tale of Ambition A Play By: William Shakespeare ENG-3UR As Shakespeare s tale of tragic ambition Macbeth progresses, Lady Macbeth undergoes a metamorphosis moving from a stable, loving wife, into a power hungry woman driven to madness by her own obsession for complete control. Although when the question who is ultimately responsible for Duncan s death is asked, many will point the finger at Lady Macbeth. While she played a role in manipulatingRead More The Guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Essay1709 Words   |  7 Pages     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Characters in the Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth scarcely feel guilt - with two exceptions: Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. In this essay lets consider their guilt-problem. In his book, On the Design of Shakespearean Tragedy, H. S. Wilson comments regarding the guilt of the protagonist: It is a subtler thing which constitutes the chief fascination that the play exercises upon us - this fear Macbeth feels, a fear not fully defined, for him or for us, a terrible anxiety that is a sense ofRead More The Guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Essay814 Words   |  4 PagesThe Guilt of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth Guilt is a very strong and uncomfortable feeling that often results from one’s own actions. This strong emotion is one of the theme ideas in William Shakespeare, â€Å"Macbeth†. Both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth feel guilt, but they react in different ways. Guilt hardens Macbeth, but cause Lady Macbeth to commit suicide. As Macbeth shrives to success guilt overcome’s Macbeth where he can no longer think straight. Initially Macbeth planned was to kill Duncan but itRead MoreEssay on The Character of Macbeth from Macbeth1960 Words   |  8 PagesMacbeth from Macbeth      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In William Shakespeares tragedy Macbeth we find a guilt and fear-ridden usurper of the throne of Scotland. Let us study this character in this essay.    A.C. Bradley in Shakespearean Tragedy paints a portrait of Macbeth:    Macbeth, the cousin of a King mild, just, and beloved, but now too old to lead his army, is introduced to us as a general of extraordinary prowess, who has covered himself with glory in putting down a rebellion and repelling theRead More Macbeth Essay3374 Words   |  14 Pages Macbeth is an epic tragedy inspiring pity and remorse because the hero, though flawed, is also shown to be human. The play portrays a journey of self-discovery and awareness as both Macbeth and Lady Macbeth pass from happiness to misery. Their punishment is well deserved but the retributive price is enormous. Evil, both internal and external corrupts their minds, distorting their positive traits and exaggerating their worst. Both fall victim to ‘vaulting ambition’, pride and greed, tempting themRead More Macbeth and Lady Macbeth in Theory and Practice Essay2862 Words   |  12 PagesMacbeth and Lady Macbeth in Theory and Practice    Shakespeares Macbeth has been the subject of scholarly research in terms of ambition, politics, and sexuality. The most predominant analysis is that of the relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth. This relationship in theory is full of sexual innuendo, maternal power, gender transgression, and violence. In reading multiple essays on the psychological nature of the relationship one question came to mind: to what extent are the charactersRead More Essay on the Dynamic Relationship of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth2017 Words   |  9 PagesDynamic Relationship of Macbeth and Lady Macbeth  Ã‚   An important factor in Shakespeare’s tragic play, Macbeth is the changing relationship between Macbeth and Lady Macbeth throughout the play. At the beginning of the play, Lady Macbeth is the dominant character in the relationship. As the play progresses the roles seem to reverse and Macbeth becomes the more dominant of the two. We can gain insight into the changing relationship by looking at the interaction of the couple. The first time