Kwan Win: Buddhist Bodhisattva Essays

Buddhism originated in India in fifth century BCE. In Buddha’s first sermon, he states that sorrow arises from craving and in order to stop the craving, one must follow the “Noble Truth of the Way” (Document 1). Later around 350 CE, China was invaded by central Asian steppe nomads. During this time, Zhi Dun, a Chinese scholar and author and friend of Chinese governmental officials, wrote that anyone who follows Buddha teachings and the path of Buddhism, he or she will be “enlightened in his spirit, and then he [or she] will reach Nirvana.” In Zhi Dun’s perspective, he believes that Buddhism will calm down China through its peaceful method of meditation. Due to invasions, disunity was present in the society (Document 2). As a result, many Chinese scholars saw Buddhism established order and control and found it as a way of reviving China. An anonymous Chinese scholar, who published the Disposition of Error in 500 CE, stated that he who follows the Way will gain “goodness and wisdom” in place of “worldly pleasures” (Document 3). While Confucianism was based on the idea of creating a better world, Buddhism focused more on acquiring more knowledge and being good to oneself. The monks who reach enlightenment give up their worldly views because they want peace in the world over their own desire of a wife and

Our lives are closely connected with an art. People easily regard an artwork as something that is far from our lives, but it is always around us. Now, I would like to introduce one of Buddhist artworks of Korea. The title is Pensive Bodhisattva. The artist is unknown. However, it was made in mid-7th century during the Three Kingdom Period. The dimension of this artwork is 8 7/8-inch and the medium is gilt bronze. It is located in Gallery 233 among other Korean artworks at the Metropolitan Museum of Art now.

Buddha once said, “In separateness lies the world’s great misery; in compassion lies the world’s true strength.” By this he meant that when we are separated by the things we classify people by in society, we are not truly happy. Only if we unite can we be all be satisfied with our successes. Buddha is the founder of the religion Buddhism, one that focuses on suffering in life. He tries to better the world and its people, much like Jones, Chavez, and Tubman. They were all great defenders of human rights, but the most impactful of all was Harriet Tubman.

The Buddhist path requires courage, patience, flexibility and intelligence. Compassion includes qualities of sharing, readiness to give comport, sympathy, concern, caring. In Buddhism, we can really understand others, when we can really understand ourselves, through wisdom. Buddhist teachings can be understood and tested by anyone. Buddhism teaches that they solutions to our problems are within us not outside. The Buddha asked all his followers not to take his word as true, but rather to test the teachings for themselves. (Brian White)

In the eyes of the Buddhist, Ma Yuan’s painting could be considered beautiful because of its representation of the Buddhist goal of achieving enlightenment. In Buddhist philosophy, the ultimate objective is to leave samsara, or the earthly existence, and reach nirvana, which is the escape from samsara. While the path to nirvana varies depending on the branch of Buddhism, a key aspect of achieving enlightenment is relieving oneself from suffering. The Four Noble Truths explain that all life is suffering, which caused by desire, and in

Wu Zhao, the first female emperor of China, rose to power during the Tang Dynasty and her active role with Buddhism fabricated a perpetual impact in the Chinese society as a whole. There is no doubt that Buddhism and the Tang administration, under Wu’s reign, formed a symbiotic relationship with one another. She is considered to be one of the most prominent advocators of the religion during the era. Her efforts to spread of Buddhism and the monetary support help Buddhism to expand throughout the people significantly, which provide the religion another source of financial income to spread even further. Regardless of Empress Wu’s intention, she has furnished the religion in numerous ways, but what did she receive in return? This proposes

Kuan Yin, Quan'Am (in Vietnam), Kannon (in Japan), and Kanin (in Bali), she is the embodiment of loving kindness. As the Bodhisattva (a being able to reach nirvana but delays to save suffering beings) of Compassion, she can hear the cries of all beings. Quan Yin enjoys a strong connection with the Christian Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and the Tibetan goddess Tara.

Through his status as a Bodhisattva His Holiness has also shown that the helping of others to achieve enlightenment is an essential aspect of Buddhism. He has reinterpreted traditional scripture to make it easier for contemporary Buddhist followers to gain enlightenment. He has also published books to enable adherents to gain a deeper and more rounded knowledge of Buddhism and the

Nguyen Xuan Bao was born in central Vietnam in 1926. He is better known as Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist monk, highly respected Zen master, writer, and activist. Entering the monastery at age 16, Nhat Hanh was trained in the traditions of Mahayana Buddhism. With over one hundred books published, he has easily been able to spread his message of love, peace, as well as his belief in finding nonviolent solutions to all conflicts. During his time as a monk, Nhat Hanh has established quite a few terms and movements, some being “Engaged Buddhism” and the “Order of Interbeing”.

In I-Tsing’s, A Record of Buddhist Practices, the Chinese monk describes his long journey from boyhood to becoming a buddhist monk, and his opportunity to teach people around the world about Buddhism. I-Tsing not only describes his personal journey and thoughts, but he also describes the ways of his masters, or teachers, throughout his journey. He almost exclusively chooses to write about his teacher in reading, Shan-yii , and his teacher in meditation, Hui-Hsi. Although this text is filled with interesting stories and memoirs, this essay will focus on the seventh virtue of Shan-yii on page 322.

These 2 statues depict the Buddhist deity whose name is Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara. The other names for this deity is Guanyin Bodhisattva, and the goddess of mercy. This deity is worshipped by all schools of Buddhism, but is mostly associated with Mahayana Buddhism, which is a school of Buddhism which states that anyone can become a Buddha with practice. The purpose of Bodhisattvas is to guide those seeking to

Koan, literally meaning “public cases” is one of the most familiar and distinctive elements of Zen Buddhism. It refers to mysterious and often shocking spiritual expressions, most cases in forms of riddles, based on encounters between masters and disciples of the tradition used as “pedagogical tools for religious training in the Zen (Ch’an) Buddhist tradition” (Wright 3). Most classic koans are derived from the T’ang dynasty China. Kung-an, the Chinese pronunciation of koan, is a case which establishes a

The journey “home” that Buddhists refer to as the privilege of enlightenment, the ultimate truth, is called the paramattha. The Paramattha is not the same journey as other faiths profess, because other faiths, like the science known as psychology, emphasize outside influence, in one way or another, in the ancient long search for understanding. Understanding life, afterlife, existence, thought, personality, behavior, and the unknown. These latter truth-seekers have overlapping roads of distinction on their charted course that is not an essential part of the

The Buddhist Tzu chi foundation was established in 1996 at Taiwan, Hualien. The purpose is helping hardship by the vision of mercy. What is the vision of mercy? The definition of vision of mercy from Mater Cheng-Yen is the nature of humanity, and it is also the goal for Master Cheng-Yen to founded the Tzu Chi. Nowadays, Tzu Chi is already one of a famous charitable organization in the world. People can see its participants when the place needs help, aid, and tutor (Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation,

Prayer flags carry great meaning to Buddhists; “the wind is said to carry the benefits beseeched by the prayer imprinted on the fluttering flag, both to the person who flies the flag and to all brings in the region” (Lopez 583). This backs up the central idea that was discussed during the group presentations about Buddhist organizations. Buddhism today focuses on the well-being of everyone, not only Buddhists. In this story, Lopez explains that Tara “first vowed to achieve Buddhahood in order to free all brings from samara” (Lopez 584). She is an icon today that has twenty-one different forms. Tara is a Buddha that helps people in their time of need. Her prayer is known by many and can be “recited especially by travelers to protect them in their long journeys on foot and horseback across mountains and plains” (Lopez 584). She is someone that all people can pray to if they believe. She is someone who can overall be trusted and counted on; “If one wants a child one will have one; indeed all desires will be granted, no hindrances will stand in the way, and buddhahood will be achieved” (Lopez 584). This notion makes it seem like attaining Buddhahood is simple. In class we discussed that Buddhahood is universal as far as the Mahayana Buddhism. Within the concepts of Mahayana dharma, Buddhas have and will always exist and everyone possess the Buddha nature. When