Branch of Buddishm Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Branch of Buddishm - Essay Example Through the meditation a person becomes one with himself, with his body and with the subconscious. Zen developed in China in 6th century and became a main Buddhism school during the reign of Song dynasty, with many monks travelling from Japan to China to study. Then, these monks established Zen in Japan, where it had a great impact on Japanese culture. It is believed that Zen is originated from the disciples of Buddha, the patriarchs, with Indian monk Bodhidharma, the â€Å"wall-gazing Brahmin† and Huineng, an illiterate peasant from China being responsible for establishing founding principles of Zen. The Indian monk is a legendary personality; there are not so many historic accounts of him documented. A century after his death his biography was written where it was stated that he was original follower of Mahayana Buddhism, who traveled to China to get converts. However, he did not have much success, but instead received much persecution. Finally, he got two disciples, one of which furthered Zen Buddhism. Bodhidharma became knows in Japan as Daruma. Legends tell us about Daruma’s long hours of meditation, sometime having his back to the rest of the world and facing the wall. He was training his disciples in the art of meditation as well. There is a very popular toy in Japan – the Daruma doll. It is believed to bring good luck, safety and wealth. The doll has no legs and its base is round, which helps it to always maintain upright position, after being tipped. Unlike other branches of Buddhism, Zen does not promote reincarnation, rather, when meditating, it suggests basing the meditation on individual life’s experience. In Zen anyone can reach Nirvana, the state of enlightment: those who adhere to Buddhism wholeheartedly as well as common people. What needed is to practice meditation, and follow personal spiritual experience and intuition; one should also be calm and not to be affected by such strong emotions as hatred, passion or van ity. It is believed that enlightment can be passed on directly from one person to another. Nature is considered divine. Holy Sutras are put in the back burner in this branch, with the main writings being the story of Huineng, an illiterate young man who became a disciple of Bodhidharma (Daruma), and the later – the 6th patriarch of Zen. One of the central terms of Buddhism is atman. This is the name for â€Å"ego†, â€Å"self†, â€Å"soul†. Atman is a philosophical term, meaning a Higher Self. In Buddhism it is similar to Buddha-nature, of which everyone has a part. There are several aspects of it. Atman is infinite, eternal, non-born and timeless. We are only witnesses to the existence. Everything that is happening in the world around us is happening in the Atman as well. There is completeness, nothing is lacking. Atman means becoming one with the Divine. In Zen, Atman means merging with the nature, the world that surrounds us. Zen Buddhism has its centr al element in awareness and mindfulness. Being mindful and aware of one’s actions and feelings adds meaning to all the activities, helps to concentrate better and to find insight. Zen’s philosophy gives freedom, which comes from connection between personal experience of uniting with the universe, as well as seeing connections with the world around. It teaches its followers to experience all things in life anew each time, to rid one’s mind of the stereotypes about oneself, to make one’s mind â€Å"empty†. It suggest to live â€Å"

Field Trip Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Field Trip - Essay Example The centre featured a large screen used for presentation and educative film of space exploration. The Sketch Foundation Gallery captivated our attention and it occurred to me that it would best serve as a point of reference to our field trip. At the gallery, several space satellites were on display and among the ones that would capture attention of any visitor was the communication satellite. The scientist tour guide made us to understand that these space satellites vary in sizes depending on the main purpose of the use. The enormous size of the satellites was triggering many questions amongst us. The approximate weight of these satellites is six to eight tones of metal like the size of a small school bus. Apart from the size and physical appearances, the various parts of the space satellite were intriguing. The major parts included massive rocket propulsion system and its fuel tanks to move the satellite into space, antennas, and large transceivers for radio communication (Miller, 55). In addition, the large solar panels for converting solar energy in space to electricity together with the batteries to store the energy was also an amazing combination of energy sustaining system in space. The most important system of communication was the on-board computer processor that served as the â€Å"brain† of the satellite. The computer also served as a storage device for information and reception of instruction (Miller, 56). All these parts proved just how amazing the scientific ventures and explorat ion may go in the space exploration. Despite the size of these satellites’ and all their parts, the question on my mind was how these satellites managed to stay in space and move around the earth without falling back to earth. Our visitors tour guide who was also a scientist at the center gave us a comprehensive presentation of how the space satellite orbits the earth. The presentation began with an explanation of how