Essay on Buddhism and Law Journal

Submitted By joseph1956
Words: 2974
Pages: 12
Open Document
BUDDHISM

HUMANS AND BLIEFS.

Human nature is illustrated by the Buddhist teaching of dependent origination, or arising, which shows how poisonous mental states give rise to suffering.
Dependent origination, or dependent arising, is a formulation that is central to Buddhist philosophy. It is depicted as a wheel in the Bhavacakra, or Wheel of Life and Death, a popular subject for Buddhist paintings. According to the Divyavadana (Divine Stories), the original illustration was created by the Buddha while teaching the second noble truth to King Rudrayana.
In illustrations of dependent origination, the wheel is held in the grasp of Mara (or Yama), the lord of death. In the center of the wheel the three poisons are depicted — a pig, a snake, and a cock, representing delusion, anger, and greed. The next ring of the wheel shows the realms of existence: heavens, hells, and realms of humans and animals. On the outer edge of the wheel, the cycle of dependent origination is illustrated.
The Wheel of Life and Death is a depiction of the universe where all beings reside, but it is also the universe of each individual as he or she faces samsara. It is a map of the way that rebirth arises, of how human realities arise out of mental states. The cycle of dependent origination represents a human life cycle, but it can also represent cycles within a lifetime, such as the life cycle of an addiction, a relationship, a job, and so forth. The cycle of dependent origination can be brought to an end at any point in the cycle, although ignorance is typically the place to begin.
Rebirth begins with ignorance, and is sparked by one of the three poisons. Ignorance gives rise to volition, which gives rise to consciousness. Consciousness gives rise to a body (name and form), which gives rise to the six senses. The six senses lead to contact, which leads to sensations, which lead to desire. Desire gives rise to clinging, which leads to becoming. Becoming leads to birth, which gives rise to old age and death. Birth in this case is the creation of a set of predispositions that will structure one's volition in the next cycle.
For the western reader who cannot identify with the idea of samsara, dependent origination may be difficult to understand. An example might be helpful. Imagine that in a previous life you were an alcoholic. You've passed away, but the desire for alcohol is still strong within the part of yourself that survives. That part thinks, "If only I were alive again, I could drink." Eventually, from this desire a new life is created, and so the cycle of dependent origination begins again, with ignorance.
The cycle continues. You are unaware that drinking is not going to bring you the happiness you seek. You have been born with the volition to drink, as a result of the karma you have carried from your previous life. When you reach a certain age, you become conscious, and you become aware that you have a body, that you have been reborn. Chances are you have been born into a family of drinkers, since it is the motivating factor in your rebirth. You are around alcohol all the time; you can smell it, you can see it, you can experience it with your senses. As soon as you get the chance, you grab a drink and you drink it (contact). You have the sensation of a having a little buzz. This only makes you desire more drinks. You cling to the idea that drinking will bring you happiness. So you keep drinking, every chance you get. You are on your way to becoming an alcoholic. After awhile, your identity as an alcoholic is solidified — it is (re)born. Being a drinker is now an essential part of who you are. You live the rest of your life as an alcoholic, and then you die. After death, the desire for alcohol remains, and so the cycle begins yet again.
Just as suffering arises from the cycle of dependent origination, salvation can arise from understanding the causes of suffering, or, to put it another way, from eliminating the ignorance that has prevented
Show More

Related Documents: Essay on Buddhism and Law Journal

Essay about Research Proposal

scholarly readings, journals and videos, I plan to study how the widespread religions of Buddhism and Christianity view the afterlife for individuals who take their own lives. Within each religion studied, I plan to carefully investigate the way the higher deities treat people who take their own lives, how the worshipers view those individuals as well as if and how they are treated differently throughout their time after earthly deaths. In regard to Buddhism, I plan to read Buddhism and Suicide: The…

Words 499 - Pages 2

Annotated Bibliography on the Role of Feminism and Women in Buddhism Essay

ignored and their contributions are devalued. It is easy to believe that this is isolated to one religion that we might feel particularly uncharitable towards, however my research has shown that this happens in almost all religions around the world. Buddhism is complicated with regard to women, as some countries’ version of it holds women in higher esteem than others. The whole religion has been debating on whether or not women can legitimately participate in enlightenment since…

Words 5067 - Pages 21

Essay on Gloria Boamah S Faith And Diversity Final

manner as Christian faith is. Many Christian philosophers and theologians have neglected this lesson and thereby missed out on the wisdom and power distinctive of Christian faith. Keywords: Spirituality, Faith, Healing, Christianity, Buddhism. Christianity For Christians, the prime reality is God who is holy (Kern, 2011). God expect us human being to be holy and love one another as he loved us. Christians are to be holy and obey the words of God so as to be blessed and saved. God blesses…

Words 1720 - Pages 7

Essay about Compering Theories of Ethics

people than it harms, the action is right. In fact that ethical decision should not be made in one’s own self-interest; rather in the interest of greater environment. Accordingly, utilitarian’s principles are included in major world religions such as Buddhism and Christianity. Deontology, in contrast to virtue theory is approach which emphasizes duties or rules. Our book material states that deontology is “nonconsequential” ethical theory and deontological approach is to “Deon”, the Greek word for “duty”…

Words 486 - Pages 2

Global Business Cultural Analysis

(2014). Performing terror, mediating religion: Indian cinema and the politics of national belonging. International journal of communication (Online). http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/viewFile/2361/1070 Unknown. (2015). Extremism and exporting terrorism India is at war with itself. http://go.galegroup.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/ps/i.do?p=ITOF&u=vic_liberty&id=GALE|A434901099&v=2…

Words 7075 - Pages 29

Essay about Assignment 2: Comparing Sculptures of Ancient India and Greece

Assignment 2: Comparing Sculptures of Ancient India and Greece Assignment 2: Comparing Sculptures of Ancient India and Greece Andelle Gregoire World Cultures I Abstract Overall, Greek and Indian art had many similarities and differences. Even though they lived far away and had different beliefs, their depicted the same topics: Gods and goddesses, animals, royalty, myths, everyday life, and sports. Jewelry wise, they both used a lot of gold, although Indians used more beads and gems. In sculpture…

Words 1487 - Pages 6

Why We Should Abortion Be Illegal

innocent human life is inhumane. It can cause psychological damage and even physical harm to the mother involved, not only this but it defies the word and work of God. Firstly, the killing of an innocent being is inhumane and immoral. There are actual laws that state that intentionally killing or attempting to kill an unborn child should result in the person being punished. Not only this but it states that the unborn child is a member of the species homo sapiens. If this pure child should be killed then…

Words 695 - Pages 3

Essay on Aum Shinrikyo s lesson to Japan

Security Preservation Law of 1941, the state could (and did) destroy any religious group preaching anything that varied from emperor worship (Sumimoto). Following WWII, the Allied powers help sever the ties between the church and state; displacing Shinto as the state religion and assuring religious freedom to all. From this time on, Japan became extremely lenient or blind to religious groups; and often gave them tax breaks and defacto immunity. Under the umbrella of Japanese law, Aum was able to exploit…

Words 5231 - Pages 21

Happiness Research Paper

Happiness is a mental or emotional state of well-being characterized by positive or pleasant emotions ranging from contentment to intense joy. A variety of biological, psychological, religious, and philosophical approaches have striven to define happiness and identify its sources. Various research groups, including positive psychology, endeavor to apply the scientific method to answer questions about what "happiness" is, and how it might be attained. It is of such fundamental importance to the human…

Words 2749 - Pages 11

World History 01 Essay

known as Muslims, are concentrated in North Africa, Western and Central Asia, and Indonesia. Hinduism ● Hinduism has approximately 901,000,000 followers worldwide. This is 13 percent of the world. Hindus are concentrated in South Asia. Buddhism ● Buddhism has approximately 484,000,000 followers worldwide. This is 7 percent of the world. Buddhists are concentrated in China, Mongolia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Korea, and Japan. Judaism ● Judaism has approximately 15,000,000 followers worldwide…

Words 4311 - Pages 18