Auguson Smith Religion

Huston Smith describes the many different aspects of Hinduism in this chapter. He writes about what people want, which he later describes as what people take pleasure in doing or gain pleasure from. He then shifts gears and writes about what people really want once all pleasure is gained, leaving readers with the question “Is this all [the world can offer]?” Smith then mentions that Hinduism believes the purpose of life is to pass far beyond imperfection. He speaks of the four paths to the goal and the stages of life. However, his main focus in this chapter is the different way to God through knowledge, love, work, and psychophysical exercises.

Vietnam war veteran and novelist Tim O’Brien, in his piece titled, “The Things They Carried,” portrays personal war stories of a group of soldiers during the Vietnam War to convey how stories and memories can aid in coping with death. The novel was extremely emotional and thought provoking, causing me to question what was real or not, and how these stories were more than just stories. As the novel progressed, it became increasingly clear how, for O’Brien and some of the other soldiers, these stories were not just stories for the them to reminisce on, they were a form of therapy, helping them to live on, even when faced with death and morbid experiences. Through these various stories ranging from the distant past and the present, O’Brien successfully

Before I read Stephen Prothero’s God Is Not One, I did not know much about Hinduism. For me, Hinduism conjured the images of bright colors, richly adorned statues, and jovial worship and dance. When we visited the Ganesh Temple in Flushing, that is exactly what I saw. Yet, now I know the reason for all these things. Although Hinduism is a largely varying tradition, it is namely about love and celebration. Given the evidence from Prothero’s book and my observations at the Ganesh Temple, Hinduism is a tradition that aims to gives purpose to human’s wandering souls through devote worship to deities and rituals.

(117) By following these ideals, one could hope to ‘break the cycle’ and escape the “never-ending cycle of rebirth and find nirvana”. (117)

Jainism and Buddhism acknowledge extremely similar aspects in their respective religions. They both have a grounded belief of karma, samsara, and one of liberation. Although these basic principle are the same, they have differences within them. In this essay, it will discuss the similarities and differences between the basic beliefs and traditions regarding karma, samsara, recognition of the self, and final liberation in regards to Jain and Buddhist religions.

Robin Goharchin Professor Hamma English 102 1 October 2014 The Devastated Angel Siddhartha Gautama or Buddha said, “Just as a candle cannot burn without fire, men cannot live without a spiritual life.” This analogy demonstrates the power of religion to bring light where there is none. To believe in a higher power is an essential part life to many people. Although spiritual life may not mean anything to some, most of the world considers it to be the necessary guideline to life.

Topics of importance and emphasis that I will go over in this paper will include transcendence, the ability to show thanks for what one has, the ability to transform individually, cultural beliefs, as well as the

There is a time in all religious experiences that people look for spiritual growth by reflecting on the basics of life. An estimated 376 million people are considered to believe and follow Buddhist practices, the question of the four elements (sight’s), aging people, the sick, funerals processions and religion. These elements that Siddhartha Gautama saw, that led to him to seek religious enlightenment, and to give up his privileged life. These four elements come up in every religious walk at some point. Reflection on these elements can have astonishing effects in someone’s life. By looking at these elements, and by showing the effect they had on Siddhartha Gautama’s life, will show that anyone could grow in their spiritual belief by reflecting

Pluralism is found in many ancient Indian traditions including Jainism, Buddhism, and the Advaitic interpretation of the Upaniṣads and the Bhagavad Gītā. Each tradition’s core values internally ground non-violence. In all of these traditions there is a multiplicity of world views and individual needs, overcome by a common goal of breaking free from bondage to reach enlightenment. At face value, these traditions appear to have opposing metaphysics. While the conceptions of what is achieved by freedom from bondage differ in form, these traditions all recognize a pluralism of paths to a common goal. This not only promotes tolerance, but transcends this to reach a fuller form of respect. It should be clarified that this respect does not, however, mean that these views are entirely tolerant or relativistic. These conceptions of pluralism simply require that each view must considered as one of the many sights which potentially have some truth to

There is one thing that is certain in this lifetime that eventually we all must die. A belief in the cyclical reincarnation of the soul is one of the foundations of the Hindu religion. Death is viewed as a natural aspect of life, and there are numerous epic tales, sacred scriptures, and vedic guidance that describe the reason for death 's existence, the rituals that should be performed surrounding it, and the many possible destinations of the soul after departure from its earthly existence (Retrieved from http://mailerindia.com/hindu/veda/index.php?death on 18th January, 2012).this essay will discuss the rituals performed for the soul of the dead body so it reaches heaven peacefully.

The Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Kofi Annan, once said, “We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we only belong to one human race”. When someone is given advantages or disadvantages because of their skin color, that is racial inequality. African Americans have a disadvantage when it comes to police, jobs, and even education. It is not right for people to be treated different just because of their skin color. America has not yet received racial equality, even after hundreds of years.

Throughout history, the art of religious beliefs have evolved into what we now know today as our separate views of how our lives function. For instance, a couple of religions that have developed are Judaism and Hinduism. These two religions are a couple of completely complex and authentic set of undermining laws and regulations. Furthermore, in this essay, I will examine each religious belief and dig deeper in an act to pursue the mutual understandings of these beliefs.

In order to fully understand how religion and spirituality are different, as well as how religion is exploited, one must first have an effective definition of the two terms. Religion is a certain mode of orientation towards reality (Howerth, 1983). This definition encompasses many things, and therefore personal beliefs cannot make up the whole of religion. Oftentimes, religion is seen as a moral standard for humans to evaluate their lives against. However, if one looks deeper into the reasons behind moral values, one finds that values that are virtuous are those that contribute to the development of society, and values that are dishonorable are those that impair the development of society. Religion consists of organized bodies that congregate with the purpose of creating social order (Bharati, 1971). When one looks at any religion, one can see this, but a blatant example is the religion of Hinduism. An integral part of this religion is the caste system. From an outside perspective, the caste system seems very cold and uninviting – the exact opposite of what the general public takes religion to be. However, the caste system served the purpose of organizing a society for many years (Mathur, 1974). According to the working definition of religion, the caste system of Hinduism is

Free societies benefit from a separation of church and state, while others are greatly governed by a combination of the two. The problem arises when religious beliefs overpower human rights, and oppression takes over. At the center of its core, Buddhism emphasizes on meditation as the path towards liberation of the wheel of samsara. To further my understanding, I chose to focus on a Tibetan meditation practice known as Vajrayana, which is the most important practice from the Theravada schools as a means to the liberation of all sentient beings, hence, eliminating oppression and suffering (Lewis, 69). To gain a greater understanding and appreciation for this practice, I participated in a meditation service and lecture given by Buddhist monk

Throughout the long history of pornography there has been an ongoing debate as to whether pornography is something that should be accepted in society or condemned as immoral. The way pornography is often viewed by individuals is either from an anti or pro-porn perspective. This essay will discuss why pornography is seen in such a black and white manner and also aims to present reasons why it should not be. It will discuss how the ‘grey’ areas around the porn industry, freedom of speech and consumerism in today’s society have together made the way porn is viewed and created, and how this has affected certain parts of society. Five topics surrounding pornography– ‘pornification’, production and consumption, discourses of