Buddha and Confucius Essay - 830 Words

1. The founder of Buddhism was a man called Siddhartha Gautama, born to a wealthy family and destined for greatness; Siddhartha, however, left his family and the palace in search for religious truth and an end to suffering. Siddhartha tried many ways of reaching an enlightened stage; wandering the forest, joining the beggars, fasting, debating with religious leaders, but when none of these methods brought him a greater understanding of the world, Siddhartha sat himself down under a fig tree, and meditated. After forty-nine days of meditation Siddhartha was said to have achieved an understanding of the cause of suffering, he then became known as the Buddha, enlightened one. In the Buddha’s first sermon, he laid out the four†¦show more content†¦In my opinion, Buddha was greatly flawed in the belief that the four noble truths would lead to Nirvana because the third noble truth states that, â€Å"the way to end all suffering is to end all desires,† meaning that Nirvana can be gained by having no desires. The Noble Truth itself is an oxymoron because the desire to achieve Nirvana would prevent one from achieving it! The desire to have no desires, in order to gain enlightenment and understanding foils the purpose. Meaning that by following Buddha’s rules, no one could achieve Nirvana. 2. Confucius led an erudite life in the times of the warring lords in the Zhou Dynasty. Confucius believed that if society was organized around five basic relationships; social order, harmony, and good government could be restored in China. The five relationships were between: 1. Ruler and subject 2. Father and son 3. Husband and wife 4. Older brother and younger brother 5. Friend and friend The Duke of Lu was impressed by Confucius’s wisdom and appointed him as the Minister of Justice. The people were beleaguered by his kindness and courtesy, and crime nearly vanished overnight. However; when the Duke strayed from the path, Confucius resigned and spent the rest of his life teaching. The only record of Confucius’s ideas is The Analects, which was written by his students. ConfuciusShow MoreRelatedEmerson, Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus: Where Does the Self Stand? Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ideas from600 Words   |  3 PagesEmerson, Buddha, Confucius, and Jesus: Where Does the Self Stand? Ralph Waldo Emerson’s ideas from his essay Self-Reliance may sound absurd to some, though this also helps to ensure that his ideas on self-reliance are some of the most well known on the subject. Many people these days seem to be more inclined towards focusing almost entirely on the self, rather than going and pleasing other people. There are also other teachings from the past that are contradicted by the ideas in Emerson’s essayRead MoreEssay on Confucianism vs. Buddhism1607 Words   |  7 Pagesthoughts that Confucius came across throughout his life. Buddhism speaks about how to acquire great knowledge throughout life. Confucianism was founded by a Chinese man, but Buddhism was founded by an Indian man. These quick comparisons show how the religions differ, but more detailed comparisons will be seen throughout the essay. The origins and founders of these two religions are quite similar, which will be explained in this paragraph. Confucianism was founded by a man named Confucius; which isRead MoreThe Importance Of A Good Society?1596 Words   |  7 PagesConfucius would describe a person as someone who respects his elders, have lots of love, be truthful, earnest, and a studious worker. A person might become like this by not offending his superiors, keep attention on business, and is led by the laws not the heart. 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Confucius, the Founder of ConfucianismRead MoreBuddhism : Life And Teachings Of Buddhism Essay1476 Words   |  6 PagesBuddhism is based on the life and teachings of Sakyamuni Buddha, who was a spiritual master who lived in the fifth century B.C.E. in what it is today Nepal and northeastern India. Even though the roots of Buddhism are in the Indian subcontinent, so that is shares many of the concerns of the complex of religions known collectively as Hinduism, it seeks to rise above all cultures and traditions and to lead all being (humans, deities, animals) up to perfect enlightenment and complete liberation fromRead More Comparing Buddhims, Taoism, and Confucianism Essay1469 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Orient. Buddhism accepts some Hindu ideas and rejects others. It retained the ideas of Karma and re-incarnation of souls. The Buddhist movement began d uring the sixth century B.C. with Siddhartha Gautama, as its founder. He is known as the Buddha. Buddhism has its emphasis on seeing Truth, on knowing it and on understanding it. The emphasis does not depend on blind faith. Buddhism allows each member to study and observe the Truth internally and it requires no blind faith before acceptanceRead MoreThe Response to the Spread of Buddhism in China Differed According to Ones Social Position594 Words   |  3 Pagesone’s social position. Confucian scholars and the emperor attacked Buddhism as an outlandish, barbaric belief. â€Å"The Memorial of Buddhism† written by Han Yu, a Confucian scholar, opposes Buddhism when the emperor decides to bring â€Å"the finger bone of Buddha† into the Chinese palace. He shows the unjust actions of the emperor by referring back to Confucian teachings such as keeping â€Å"[ghosts and spirits] at a distance†. The scholar also describes how Buddhism is barbaric because it does not conform toRead MoreEssay about Comparing Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism1019 Words   |  5 PagesCompare and contrast Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. How are they similar? How are they different? -Question 4. Buddhism Has over 300 million members, and was founded around 2, 500 years ago in India. The founder is Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha, or referred to as the Enlightened One. Their major scripture are The Triptaka, Anguttara-Nikaya, Dhammapada, Sutta-Nipata, Samyutta-Nikaya and many others. Buddhism today is divided into three main sects: Theravada, or Hinayana (Sri Lanka, ThailandRead More The Lives Of Confucius And Guatama Siddhartha Essay3090 Words   |  13 Pages The Lives of Confucius and Guatama Siddhartha The Life Of Confucius nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Throughout the time span that man has lived on earth, there have been many religions in existence. Two very important and influencing religions that have been around for over two thousand years are Confucianism and Buddhism. The founders of these two religions, Confucius and Buddha, respectively, lived different lives and had different thoughts. Although this made two totally differentRead MoreChin The Four Noble Truths1353 Words   |  6 Pages220 and 570 C.E., China experienced a political instability and disunity, which opened the way to the spread of Buddhism. Before this new way of life could take hold, however, the Chinese people had to learn the teachings of Buddha, such as the first sermon preached by Buddha in the fifth century B.C.E., known as â€Å"The Four Noble Truths.† Although Buddhism eventually became popular throughout China, there was opposition to the new beliefs and Chinese people struggled with replacing their old beliefs

Wfnx Best Music Poll Concert free essay sample

So there we were, within a mass of leather jackets, heavy black eyeliner, and psychedelic tent dresses, in line to be searched before the WFNX Best Music Poll Concert, on April 17. The bill contained Jesus Jones, Happy Mondays, SoHo, and Iggy Pop. We had fled from our boarding school to spend a single evening somewhere where the most popular dance song wasnt by Vanilla Ice or New Kids on the Block. In our hands were two blue and white tickets ominously labelled Obstructed View. You can imagine our surprise when, instead of seats in the back, behind a pillar, we were led to the front row absolute corner, and seated. What obstructed our views, you ask? The colossal stack of super power speakers, I tell you! We could almost see half the stage when we leaned, but boy we could hear EVERYTHING! SoHo went on first, after much too much ado from Troy or Ti, or one of the T deejays from FNX. We will write a custom essay sample on Wfnx Best Music Poll Concert or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page I can honestly say that I was impressed by the band. Though I recognized only Hippy Chick, their melodies stuck in my head, and their vocals were admirable. By the way, they too wore psychedelic tent dresses, the attire of the evening. One downfall of the concert was that, in the ever-too-long gaps between performers, the nameless T deejay conducted a really de-pressing awards ceremony. Al-though some of the acceptance speeches were entertaining, I am glad to say that my obstructed view seat saved me from the horror of watching the whole ordeal. Even the T deejay knew who would steal the show that night. Before he introduced Jesus Jones, he called them THE band that will ROCK this house tonight. Jesus Jones blew me away. Their sound was good, their songs unforgettable, their stage manner really encouraging to the audience. At one point, the singer asked that the house lights be turned on so everyone could see each other, saying Were not the only performers here. The highlight of their set for me was Welcome Back Victoria. Im glad they had the guts to turn all the guitars way down, and let their singer make everyone listen. Another great thing were the two strobe lights perched on both sides of the stage during Jesus Jones performance. I prefer this system to any of the fancy light shows other bands put on. I loved watching the bands various bodies and long hair convulse between the pulsing lights. After another long break, Iggy Pop performed. He did a short set, but the gist of his performance was taking his clothes off. When he got down to his gray jockeys, I was almost embarrassed for the poor man. What a skinny, wrinkled body! I was not impressed by his performance, but his guitarist shows promise for a real heavy metal axemaster. The final act of the night were the Happy Mondays. They had a fancy psychedelic light system, but in all its splendor I still liked Jesus Jones for their strobe lights. Happy Mondays made good music, just like their album, but one would have been just as well off to sit home and listen to the album, because the singer sat on the drum podium, back to the audience, and the rest of the band did basically the same. Also, they dressed their overweight backup singer like an S M goddess, complete with whip, which I thought was repulsive and sexist. Such is the world of music, I suppose. So thats it. Overview: Jesus Jones incredible; SoHo pretty darn good; Happy Mondays good music, kinda boring; Iggy Pop please keep your clothes on. Thanks for reading, happy concert-going to you, too. n