Of the many religions that originated in the Indian peninsula, Buddhism is the one that, during the last decade, has known the biggest enthusiasm and the greatest increase in interest in the West (Baumann & Prebish, p. 85). In fact, this increase in interest is reflected by the numerous stories rela...
The world is a place where thousands of people live and interact with each other every day. Without a doubt, every person is an individual, with different feelings and beliefs over situations that they come across. Everyday in our life we are able to talk and relate with different people, we certainly realize that some people have a way of thinking similar to us. Now, if we have the opportunity to get closer to these people, we may see that we share some of their deepest beliefs about live and the reason of being. However, a long time ago, people used to get together out of necessity and fear....
The weekly Observance Day rituals at the Theravada monastery are opportunities for both laity and monks to quicken faith, discipline, and understanding, and make and share merit. On these days, twice each month, the monks change and reaffirm the code of discipline. ...
There are 750 million+ Hindus in the world, most concentrated in India (pearls.org). Before elaborating on what beliefs and practices Hinduism has, perhaps it is helpful to first consider the "familiar to a Westerner" features that it doesn't have. There is no "founder" of Hinduism and no specific time it "began" (i.e. Jesus or Buddha's birth). There is not a set of scriptures that has authority over all other texts of its religion (i.e. ...
Adam Ruppel Professor Stover Religion and the Modern World 4 December 2014 The After Life The afterlife and how one gets there is as diverse as the different religions explored in this research. In some form or fashion, on average, the religions explored for the purposes of this assignment, believe that something occurs after death. This is represented by the text, sacred text and word of mouth passed down from generation to generation. In Western, Eastern and Pagan religions, the concept of how to achieve a good or a bad existence after death have remained static for centuries. For examp...
Siddharta Gautama abandoned his family at the age of twenty-nine to search for a way to bring to an end suffering in the world. He studied meditation with many teachers. At the age of thirty-five, Siddharta Gautama sat down beneath the shade of a tree to meditate, and stayed under it until he received enlightenment seven weeks later. He received the Great Enlightenment: the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Path. From this day on he was known as the Buddha. ...
Parallels between Eastern and Western Philosophy Historically, philosophical ideas have been essentially divided between the east and west. Despite the geographic separation, eastern and western thought pertaining to the human condition and the nature of the cosmos share a common thread. Certain as...
Confucianism in Japan and China The Japanese people had little civilization of their own until, during the fourth century AD, they began to have contact with the Chinese. From them, they borrowed a great deal of their culture, including their ideas of philosophy and their form of government. Although the Japanese government owed much to the ideas of the Chinese, the two cultures would go in very different directions over the next two centuries. The Chinese adherence to Confucianism eventually led them to stagnation and collapse, while the Japanese moved on to a new, more warlike mode of...
