The Act Of Caring For Others

Buddhism is not about God or Gods, it doesn't supply a hypothesis about what may occur in after death, nor does it express perspectives about creation; it is situated in the realm of day by day living. Furthermore, Buddhism is largely associated with the condition of being awaken by the nature of humanity. As the fourth-largest religion in the world, Buddhism has proven to be both influential and significant. While most religions have profound theoretical foundations that they are built upon, and while most individuals within such religions have faith that the theory is true, Buddhism does not address theories; nor does it agree or disagree with any religion, but rather acknowledges religion as a means to live in a positive manner. This religion is about not only living a peaceful life but also about enlightening a person through the regaining of wisdom and grace from within. The purpose of this paper is to examine the depth of Buddhism through Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and karma.

This paper is a book report on “Living Buddha, Living Christ,” written by, Thich Nhat Hanh. In this paper I will discuss the four themes; Mindfulness, Understanding, Interbeing, and Wisdom. I will define the themes, and explain how each theme listed is a part of my life and whether this theme, can be co-related along with my faith.

Marc Rosenbush’s film, Zen Noir (2004), is at first glance a film thoroughly ensconced in the themes of Zen Buddhism. Set in a dark and brooding film noir atmosphere, the film depicts the story of a deeply troubled detective, at the end of his rope, who finds himself at a Zen monastery in order to solve a murder. But once there, he realizes that things are not quite what they seem to be. As the film unfolds, we find that the world Rosenbush has created for us is wildly symbolic, and it becomes clear that the monastery is a symbol of the detective’s psyche and that he was not investigating a murder, but his own fear of death and loss. If this introspective, psychological element of the film is recognized, the Buddhist themes of the film become conflated with allegories of navigating the Western psyche. It is the contention of this paper that when the psychological themes of this film are investigated, we will find that the alleged Buddhist theme of enlightenment in the film must compete with a symbolic depiction of Jungian individuation.

The term hope permeates all aspects of life. In 1978, Harvey Milk, an American gay activist, delivered a speech that still rings through today. His message not only challenges our willingness to embrace and celebrate our differences, but it offers a message of hope. The concept of hope has long been considered an important aspect of being human and has been discussed in various areas of literature (Morse, Mitcham, Hupsy, & Tason 2006). Hope has is an abstract idea that has an appeal intuitive across several disciplines, including healthcare (Davidson, Dracup, Phillips, Daly & Padilla, 2007). Many interpretations and conceptions of hope exist within this discipline . Hope focuses on the various ways in which human beings survive in life, despite the many traumatic events that lead to the disruptions of life that can occur.

Even when we are presented with answers or guides to the many questions we have about life and to how we should live, as inquisitive animals, we strive to enhance our understanding and so begin to learn that perhaps, ultimately, the answers don’t simply come from outside but also from within us. This is then perhaps the greatest implication of this paper, finding new ways in understanding what the true way of life is for human beings and what the true way of life is for ourselves. In the discussion of Zen Buddhism, William A. Young’s framework’s itself must first be explained and understood.

In The Heart of Understanding, Thich Nhat Hanh’s uses simple but powerful words and real world examples to illustrate the profound Buddhist philosophy from the Prajnaparamita Heart Sutra, an important representative of Mahayana Buddhist literature. The Mahayana school of Buddhist teachings emphasizes the doctrine of Sunyata- emptiness. The doctrine of emptiness, one of the most important Mahayana innovations, focuses on the relational aspect of existence. Thich Nhat Hanh coins and introduces a new word- interbeing to explain the state of emptiness. This idea of interbeing not only illustrates emptiness well but also provides understanding of other fundamental Buddhist ideas such as No-Self, impermanence and non-duality.

Robert Thurman, a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and Karen Ho share their ideas on different topics in each of their passages. In Thurman’s passage titled “Wisdom” he writes about one’s self and how acquiring his form of wisdom means that they are selfless, or willing to change themselves for the better or when the time comes. In “Biographies of Hegemony”, Ho writes about the type of society that Wall Street has created and how they continue to keep the same type of people in their elite group. However different the passages are, when thought about together they are applied to one another. The “wisdom” that Thurman describes would change people in a competitive consumption-oriented society that is Wall Street due to the reasoning that their

He furthers his description of their relationship when saying that her tender and loving nature fostered a different understanding that helped him realize that, “soft or hard, love was an act of heroism” (61). Like Coates I didn’t grow up with the classic mother and father loving duo. My mother worked hard for my brothers and I while my dad was merely a by stander. This anecdote is a major take away for me because I am able to emotionally relate to the pains he suffered and help me come to light that love is with all of us even in the darkest of times. And for me this was the most powerful message. To be able to be selfless and think about the well being of another creation rather than yourself is the most powerful thing you can do in order to better yourself as a more selfless being and others by helping them

“Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Suffering follows an evil thought as the wheels of a cart follow the oxen that draw it. Our life is shaped by our mind; we become what we think. Joy follows a pure thought like a shadow that never leaves.” (Siddhartha Guatamma) This is one of the many wise words spoken from the kindhearted Buddha. After my brief study of Buddhism I feel that these words, as well as my experience, have opened up my heart to a better understanding of the power within me. I think it is fascinating to really comprehend that it is us alone through our mindset and habit that essentially can control how we chose to live out our days on Earth. This teaching and the story of Buddha begins with the son of a king named Siddhartha Gautama which lays the basic foundation of Buddhism. While growing up and being raised to be the next king, Siddhartha, was never exposed to religion nor human suffering. He lived this sheltered life until he was 29 years old when he finally ventured passed his palace walls only to become exposed to the poverty and disease of the people living beyond the walls that shielded him for so long. After his experience he became fixated on escaping the world of suffering. Through the study of different religions, teachings, and passages he discovered meditation which he practiced for six

Concept analysis is a combination of seven steps that work together to clarify concepts in our nursing practice (McEwen & Wills, 2014). The term self-care is a concept from Orem’s self-care deficit theory. The purpose of this concept analysis is to clarify the concept and determine how it is used in the nursing practice, particularly with rehabilitation patients. We will further explore this concept with literature reviews, the possible uses of this concept, its attributes, model and alternative cases, antecedents and consequences, and finally empirical referents.

John was a very old but wise man. Ever since I was a little boy, I can always remember him being the person that everyone looked up to in the neighborhood. He was a factory worker and by appearance he did not seem as a very wealthy man. Although he was not looked at as part of the normal social class within my neighborhood, he was a man that I could look up to and my family could look up to. John was a guy that came to my mind when reading about Thurman’s love ethic based on the amount of care and love that he put into my neighborhood and family. John’s attitude was very transforming. His care and attitude wore off on other members in the neighborhood. Therefore, I will be telling a short story about a good friend of mine that clearly demonstrates Thurman’s love

In The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh provides a citation from the Buddha, which gives insight into the cure of our distress. “I teach only suffering and the transformation of suffering” (Thich Nhat

For my Personal Interest Project I have chosen to study extreme altruism, people who risk their for the good of another person. The reasoning that got my attention at choosing this topic was that of a personal family death which involved Altruism that occurred when I was younger.

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

Milarepa’s captivating life story depicts a man willing to commit sins on behalf of his mother’s command to one that decides to leave his family, in order to achieve enlightenment. This autobiography allows him to remain to be a beloved yogin because of his drastic and fulfilling spiritual transformation, thus encouraging Tibetans to seek a similar path to nirvana in their lifetime. However, Milarepa proves that one’s journey to liberation and enlightenment has to be earned and fought for spiritually and psychologically.