Buddhism And Its Impact On Western Asia - 1804 Words

Buddhism is one of the largest religions in the world with an estimated 500 million adherents located in all corners of the globe. Although Buddhism is practiced all around the world, the majority of Buddhists are centered in the Eastern, Southern and Central parts of Asia. It was founded in India in approximately 525 B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama. Although it was founded and first gained a foothold in India, Buddhism today is usually more associated with East Asian countries such as Korea and Japan. Given the diversity of the peoples of East Asia and their political systems, culture and language one might wonder what led to the expansion of Buddhism over such a large geographical area. Buddhism began spreading quickly to Eastern Asia as a†¦show more content†¦Release from this cycle is only achieved by attaining enlightenment, the ultimate goal for Buddhists. A Buddha is an all-knowing being who has reached that perfect state of transcendence in which the concepts of humanities greed, hate and delusion are exterminated. Another key aspect is that upon passing into nirvana, one is never subject to rebirth again. According to tradition, the founder of Buddhism was born in 563 B.C.E. Siddhartha left his palace, renouncing his wealth and status, to find the cause of suffering. After years of searching, he found his answer and went on to teach others. When he died, he attained nirvana, the release from earthly desires and suffering, and became the Buddha. The Buddha s teachi ngs were written down by his followers who spread his message. These texts are called sutras. A religion began to form and new branches of Buddhism were created. The introduction of Buddhism to Korea impacted the culture and politics of the region immensely. It fundamentally changed the way in which people interacted and how political actions was carried out. Buddhism was often used as a political tool by the ruling elites and the royal families. Before the spread and integration of Buddhism, a very important religion for the Korea people was Shamanism. Buddhism absorbed the myths,

Essay on Heroes of Celtic and Germanic Mythology - 3702 Words

Heroes of Celtic and Germanic Mythology Throughout the myths of the Celtic and Germanic peoples of northern Europe tales of epic heroes and their extraordinary deeds abound. These tales depict heroes performing a variety of incredible feats; many of which appear to be magical, superhuman, and, quite honestly, utterly impossible (e.g., wading across oceans, defeating armies virtually single-handedly, and other astounding exploits). Since the Celtic and Germanic tribes of antiquity inhabited neighboring lands and lived in close proximity to one another (as many of their modern descendants continue to do: i.e., in Great Britain), it is not surprising that they often established intimate relationships with each other via commerce,†¦show more content†¦Nonetheless, Beowulf displayed many characteristics, which are not unlike those exhibited by other legendary champions. Although Beowulf’s birth does not appear to have been divine or shrouded in mystery or magic, his lineage was noble since his mother was the daughter of the high Geatish king Hrethel. Furthermore, in his analysis of the Beowulf Legend Howell D. Chickering, Jr. suggests that Beowulf was a vessel, through which divine power operated. He claims that the appearance of the shining light as Beowulf decapitated Grendel’s mother was a manifestation of white magic and symbolized good triumphing over evil: The sword itself is destroyed in the process, its blade melting away in battle-icicles from the poisonous blood of the monster. Only the golden hilt remains, engraved with the legend of how God destroyed the race of giants in the Flood. This sequence suggests that Beowulf wins his underwater victory as an agent of Providence and in a manner that somehow resembles the cleansing of the earth by the Flood (274). Thus, in spite of his mortal birth and upbringing, albeit a noble and heroic upbringing, Beowulf may have eventually became an instrument of divinity. Beowulf unquestionably displayed the enhanced endurance that was so often a trait of the epic heroes of Celtic and Germanic lore. This endurance was evidenced byShow MoreRelatedSignificance And Significance Of Mythology1743 Words   |  7 PagesIn order to understand the importance and meaning of magic in mythology, it is helpful to try to understand why human cultures create myths. Mythology can refer to the collected myths of a group of people—their body of stories which they tell to explain nature, history, and customs—or to the study of such myths. As a collection of such stories, mythology is a vital feature of every culture. Various origins for myths have been proposed, ranging from personification of nature, personification of naturalRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book The Batman 1127 Words   |  5 PagesArthur Cotterell, author of The Illustrated A-Z Classic Mythology: The Legends of Ancient Greece, Rome, and the Norse and Celtic Worlds, described Loki by saying, â€Å"He was a mischief-maker, trickster, and shape-changer, and grew progressively more evil until the coming of Ragnarok, the end of the world.† Loki is only one of the many Norse gods and goddess, but he is the only one described as a trickster or evil god. In many cultures the mythologies often depict how actual people acted. Throughout history

Price and State Farm free essay sample

Defenders of Communist economic system may point out that consumers pay lower prices for certain good because the government imposes a limit on what producers may charge. Cite at least two other ways that consumers may be â€Å"paying† for these goods. * RENT CONTROL IN NEW YORK CITY: Rent control is a price ceiling on rent. When soldiers returned from World War II and started families (which increased demand for apartments), but stopped receiving military pay, many could not deal with the jumping rent. The government put in price controls, so soldiers and their families could pay the rent and keep their homes. However, this increased the quantity demanded for apartments and lowered the quantity supplied, meaning that available apartments were rapidly taken until none were left for late-comers. Price ceilings create shortages when producers are allowed to abdicate market share or go unsubsidized. * STATE FARM INSURANCE: A February  4, 2009 Wall Street Journal article stated, Last month State Farm pulled the plug on its 1. We will write a custom essay sample on Price and State Farm or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page 2  million homeowner policies in Florida, citing the states punishing price controls State Farms local subsidiary recently requested an increase of 47%, but state regulators refused. State Farm says that since 2000 it has paid $1. 21 in claims and expenses for every $1 of premium income received. 3. 1 Production opportunity cost: After reviewing the statement, company managers are concerned about the loss on version Z and are considering ceasing production of that version. Should they do so? Why or why not? In my opinion they should continue the production of Version Z, the corporate overhead is a fix cost fallacy, it means that even if they do not produce anymore Version Z cans, their overhead is not going to be lower than 180,000. On the other hand if they stop the production of version Z cans, they will be losing the opportunity to bring 22. 500 to their profit, they will break even (0. 00) just with the production of Version X and Y. 3. 5 Evaluating Performance in a Small Business: Calculate accounting profit. What are the opportunity costs for the manager of being in this business relative to returning to his old job? What is the economic profit of the business? 1. Accounting profit equals total revenue minus all explicit costs Total Sales $1,000,000. Labor Cost 900,000. Salary 40,000. Acc. Profit $60,000. 2. Economic profit equals Accounting profits minus implicit costs Acc. Profit 60. 000. Forgone wages 70. 000. Forgone earning 6. 000. Econo. Profit $-16. 000 3. Opportunity cost: By opening his own home building company, this manager is giving away $16. 000 annually. He had a salary of $70. 000 and he was receiving $6. 000 of interest from his investment account. With his business he only has and accounting profit of $60. 000.