Hi Prayer Chaplains, Henrietta would like to share some pictures of Greg being sworn in as President-elect of the Grosse Pt. and Harper Woods NAACP. Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garret administered the oath. Henrietta shares that it was a wonderful ceremony and we continue to lift Greg in prayer and affirm blessings over him in his serving. Blessings, Shirley
This new American State will be called Monkaushka derived from the Native American term: trembling earth or earthquake. The people that live in this state are incredibly friendly people who have a tendency to be outspoken with their beliefs and warm in their hearts. They are homely folk who tend not to leave their close knit areas for too long. There is an folk tale that crawls around the towns that no one has ever left this state; only those who weren’t born here can come and go. You would think that is ridiculous, but the landscape that this state resides on is unlike any other state and can verify the legend for many people.
Buddhism in China DBQ A little before the Tang dynasty there was the Han dynasty where Confucianism was a staple of daily life and government. When the Han dynasty dissolved and the Tang dynasty took authority. Buddhism began to spread widely all over China. Buddhism was met with all types of responses: some saw buddhism as a threat to Confucian family values, while some saw Buddhism as a way to disregard worldly pleasures and luxuries that would only bring them harm, and lastly some mixed on the concept of Buddhism had an issue with the ascetic lifestyle led by its followers. One of the responses to Buddhism in China was that it was thought that Buddhism was a threat to Confucian family values.
During the period of time before 350 CE, some Chinese people had begun to like Buddhism. They favored it believing it established order. It was brought to China after the collapse of the Han Dynasty in 220 CE. The collapse made China unstable. Some people thought Buddhism was toxic, while others thought it was good for China.
This gives archaeologists who found this, an exceptional insight into a piece of history. To begin with, this ancient art is decorated with multiple figural reliefs on the front surface of the stone. There is some damage near the top point of the artifact, along with two
The introduction of Buddhism to China started off well, most openly accepted the foreign religion and it continued to thrive for centuries. Until the lack of an empire and laws plagued individuals minds. Other religions with a strong imperial structure, such as Confucianism, rose to support the growing number of negative minds. Buddhism was spread by Buddhist missionaries from India into China during the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). It was, at first, confined to only the higher status individuals, like aristocrats and Chinese royalty.
With religious context, this idea ties into the definition of the bodhisattva, who is defined as one who has reached the point to achieve Nirvana, but chooses to remain in this world in order to help others attain enlightenment. Through this, the sculptor mirrors the idea of the bodhisattva, where the statue echoes the concept of life in order to help relay the meaning behind
Siddhartha was born into a sheltered world as Prince of the Sakya kingdom. He lived his life with sexual fantasies, wealth, and liberation which were accredited with the successes that all men should aspire to achieve. One curious night he snuck out of the palace to discover the palace for himself and talked to an old beggar who told him of life’s conclusion; the unspeakable realization that all men get sick, acquire old age, and ultimately die. This was the inception to his quest that compelled him to discover how to defeat sickness, old age, and cheat death. He vowed not to return until he could understand this enigma.
Siddhartha Gautama, later known to be referenced with nicknames such as the Buddha, enlightened one, and the awakened, was born in Nepal in 6 B.C. into a large clan called the Shakyas. Gautama’s mother died shortly after his birth. Days after Gautama’s birth, a prophet saw the young prince becoming a great military leader or a great spiritual teacher. His Father Suddhodana, king of Kapilavastu and leader of the Shakya clan, felt that in order to keep Gautama from witnessing the sorrow, violence, and pain outside the palace, he must live a life in isolation. Gautama lived in a palace made just for him, where he lived a luxuries life and was confined from learning about anything outside of the palace walls.
Buddhism: Plain and Simple by Steve Hagan was a very intellectual, and enlightening read. The book is the strongest, and clearest description of Buddhism you will ever find. All the facets of Buddhism are discussed in the book: the main four truths of the buddha-dharma, the eightfold path, the arising and ceasing of duhkha the false belief in a personal self and plentiful more. As clear as the descriptions were, I, personally, found the book to be a bit frustrating although my understanding of the religion was fulfilled. Throughout the book, I found myself asking my wife, some thoughtful questions and picking her brain for insight.
Siddhartha has changed a lot and achieved the enlightenment after he decided to be one of the Sananas, his determination means he has to go through fasting to cleanse his soul. Then I know I am supposed to do something to acquire the mystery of life just like Siddhartha. Therefore I chose to give up speaking mandarin, which is an instinctive action in my daily life. It is interesting that I would like to think for a while when I open my mouth, and I do not know why I feel a little bit guilty when I am speaking mandarin at present, perhaps this is the “sequelae” after my own fast. However, it becomes easier to understand Samanas’s tough time and the reason why they are persisting in ascetic practices and I learned that suffering really is a
Based on the lines around his hands to his legs as well as feet indicate that he is wearing a robe that lightly covers the body, it seems as if it’s transparent because you are able to see the Buddha’s belly button. The Buddha has a big circular object behind him with two angels like figures. According to the Art History book fifth edition, behind the Buddha’s head is a large halo which is carved with circles of pearls and foliage (Stokstad & Cothren, 2014, pg. 311). Also, as mentioned in the Art History book fifth edition, is how the statue was carved from fine grained sandstone and the Buddha sits in a yogic posture making the teaching gesture indicative of the first sermon (Stokstad & Cothren, 2014, pg. 310). The Buddha seem to be seated on a pedestal with people like figures carved underneath.
In the Bodhisattva Path, the first step of the practice is the Ten Faiths. In this period, there is absolute faith in the Buddha Nature, the Buddhas, the Bodhisattvas, Kwan Yin Bodhisattva, or Earth Store Bodhisattva. There is no need for practicing deep meditative concentration or supreme wisdom; we only need to awaken the inherent absolute faith in all of us. As the line from the Avatamsaka Sutra indicates: “Faith is the source, the mother of all merit.”
For my final paper, I decide to work on the Life of the Buddha. There are so many reasons why I choose this topic. From what I have learned so far in this quarter, I feel so confident in the Life of the Buddha and I can start to work on this topic right away because as right know I really understand and have a lot of knowledge about this topic. Also, I’m an Asian and a Vietnamese, so this topic is more related to my culture than China or Japan topic, and I can take advantages to explore more for my final paper. Based on my topic, I would like to work on the eight major events in the life of the Buddha, because these events are the most important and affected the life of the Buddha.
After reading this article, “Attitudes toward Women and the Feminine in Early Buddhism” by Alan Sponberg, I understand that the attitude toward women in the early Buddhism was deeply ambivalent. The Buddha himself belief that women are able to attain enlightenment, become an arhats, and liberated from the suffering. However, the Buddha was worried that bringing women in to the monastic order and ordaining them as a nun could hasten the decline of his teaching. This due to the fact that all of the monks are male and the female just a follower, who are not allow to ordain and stay with the monk. According to Sponberg, he said that there were four attitudes toward women in the early Buddhism.
