Self Immolation

A Turning point signifies a change in the past that has a great impact on the lives of people or an individual. The 1963, Buddha Riot is considered as a turning point in Vietnam history, it impacted the lives of Vietnamese people forever. It also captures the attention of millions of people globally and locally. There are many minor events that occurred in history that did not significantly affect individual’s lives like how the Buddha’s Riot printed the hearts of the Vietnamese people. However, the turning point that is chosen to be discussed in this research paper is the event that took place many years ago on June 11th, 1963 in Vietnam. The Buddhist Riot was not just an event that occurred out of pleasure; it was a dramatic event that

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.

It gives relevant conduct of behaviour for the buddhists, for example, to abstain from taking life. Buddhist sacred texts also explains how this teaching arose by relating back to the belief of the ‘middle way’. As seen through the example of the Pali canon, sacred texts demonstrate how it is important in making a religion transcend time and

Euthanasia (assisted suicide) is another issue that conflicts with Buddhism’s first precept of not killing. Buddhist literature, particularly the Tibetan Book of

This piece represents the very tenets of Buddhism at its most extreme. Those that wish to evade the suffering of the human existence should remove themselves from the materialism of it to the fullest extent possible. This is one of the

In Stephan Prothero’s novel, God is Not One, he explores the unique beliefs and practices of Buddhism. In this chapter, Prothero highlights Buddhism's central themes, including the acknowledgment of suffering (Dukkha), impermanence (Anicca), no-self (Anatta), and the pursuit of Nirvana. The fundamental aspect of Buddhism is that the cycle of rebirth is undesirable because life is suffering. Their goal therefore is to extinguish suffering and achieve Nirvana. Nirvana is achieved through moral conduct, meditation, and wisdom.

Buddhist teachings and tradition strongly emphasize the ideas of virtue, kindness and compassion. These ideals are at the core of Buddhist tradition and they exemplify ‘right’ ways of living in relation to building a better future and after life. Buddhist teachings can also offer us a lot of insight into the current Refugee Crisis, and provide us with salient understandings and conceptions of how to directly deal with the influx of refugees from a moral and virtuous center. In regards to the responses that both Canada and the USA have taken, Buddhist teachings can shed light onto how these approaches are both good and bad, in their own respects.

Keown speaks to the construction of violence and pacifism within Buddhism assumes a dichotomous understanding of pre-modern and modern times. For Keown to claim that pacifism seems not align with living in modern society, he must first assume that pacifism is uniquely passive (2005, 83). Yet, as the writings and lived experiences of Sister Chan Kong display, pacifism, or a turning away from violence, is anything but passive. Sister Chan Kong and Thich Nhat Hanh choose to step out the dichotomous understanding of passive pacifism versus violence.

People make decisions every single day of their lives. Although, people with a terminal diagnosis still have the capability to make decisions, they are not given the legal right to a physician assisted suicide. A choice some may desire in their final days. Once the person with the terminal diagnosis has met the specific criteria he or she should decide what would be optimal decision for both themselves and their families. Palliative care will always be available to terminal patients; however, not all patients will wish to wait and wonder. Nevertheless, some terminal patients will wish to take death into their own hands. People should be allowed to choose how they will die this would reduce the overall healthcare cost, decrease the emotional toll of the patients and their families, and allow there to be dignity within death.

INTRODUCTION: “Soon, we all will die…” begins the documentary The Tibetan Book of the Dead-The Great Liberation which seeks to explain the Buddhist’s journey between the states of death and rebirth. Narrated by Leonard Cohen, singer/songwriter, this documentary explores Tibetan Buddhism by filming a lama and his young disciple as they administer the Bardo Thodol, known in the West as The Book of the Dead, to a deceased young man and in so doing investigates the uniqueness of Tibetan Buddhism. While interesting, this documentary was too complex for those seeking an introduction into the subject matter yet too simplistic for scholarly study and significant doctrines remained unexplored. This documentary is best suited to the casual exploration of Tibetan Buddhism.

The Dalai Lama’s captivating life story is about his journey as the political leader of Tibet, as well as an equally important religious leader. He goal in this autobiography is to “counter Chinese claims and misinformation”, which includes describing the horrific brutalities the Tibetan people suffered because of Communist China’s invasion. His exile to India is explored along with the freedom that it provided to the Dalai Lama. His belief that respecting humanity along with having compassion can make the world become a better place since it can encourage equality and peace.

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.

Buddhism also has strong connections with self-immolation. The Lotus Sutra, an infamous piece of Buddhist literature well known throughout the Middle East mentions a man who coated himself in fragrant oils, and set himself aflame in order to seek insight towards freedom

Throughout history western and eastern philosophies have developed a vast segregation from one another. The geographical and cultural distance between eastern and western civilization determined massive differences between the two. On the other hand, the works of ancient Greek philosophers like Socrates, and some eastern philosophies like Taoism have many of the same or common ideas and concepts. Both eastern and western philosophies regardless of having similarities have distinctive differences when examining the view of the conception of the good. In this rgard, each philosophy is noticed to have beliefs that strive for followers to improve their lives and to be on a path of self-purification. This essay will primarily focus on

The Daoism literature on human life and the end of it, suggest that Daoists are interested in, and have been on a continuous quest for immortality. Daoism, like other ancient Asian traditions, such as Hinduism and Buddhism, offer a way out of cyclical human existence in a practice known as asceticism. However, the motivations and the methodology behind asceticism vary greatly in each of these Asian traditions in the East. The main focus of this paper