Taoism And Confucianism Essays - Taoism, Reincarnation, Shabda

Taoism And Confucianism Taoism It is always present in you. You can use it anyway you want. -- Lao-tzu Taoism is one of the two great philosophical and religious traditions that originated in China. The other philosophy native to China is Confucianism. Both Taoism and Confucianism began at about the same time, around the sixth century B.C. China's third great religion, Buddhism, came to China from India around the second century of the common era. Together, these three faiths have shaped Chinese life and thought for nearly twenty-five hundred years. One dominant concept in Taoism and Buddhism is the belief in some form of reincarnation. The idea that life does not end when one dies is an integral part of these religions and the culture of the Chinese people. Although not accepted by our beliefs, its understanding helps build strength in our own religion. Reincarnation, life after death, beliefs are not standardized between the religions. Each religion has a different way of applying this concept to its beliefs. Ignorance of these beliefs is a sign of weakness in the mind. To truly und erstand ones own religion, one must also understand those concepts of the other religions of the world. Hopefully this will be enlightenment on the reincarnation concepts as they apply to Taoism and Buddhism. The goal in Taoism is to achieve Tao, to find the way. Tao is the ultimate reality, a presence that existed before the universe was formed and which continues to guide the world and everything in it. Tao is sometimes identified as the Mother, or the source of all things. That source is not a god or a Supreme Being as with Christians, for Taoism is not monotheistic. The focus is not to worship one god, but instead on coming into harmony with Tao. Tao is the essence of everything that is right, and complications exist only because people choose to complicate their own lives. Desire, ambition, fame, and selfishness are seen as hindrances to a harmonious life. It is only when one rids himself of all desires can Tao be achieved. By shunning every earthly distraction, the Taoist is a ble to concentrate on life itself. The longer the one's life, the closer to Tao one is presumed to have become. Eventually the hope is to become immortal, to achieve Tao, to have reached the deeper life. This is the afterlife for a Taoist -- to be in harmony with the universe. To understand the relationship between life and the Taoism concept of life and death, the origin of the word Tao must be understood. The Chinese character for Tao is a combination of two characters that represent the words head and foot. The character for foot represents a person's direction or path. The character for head represents a conscious choice. The character for head also suggests a beginning, and foot, an ending. Thus the character for Tao also conveys the continuing course of the universe, the circle of heaven and earth. Finally, the character for Tao represents the Taoist notion that the eternal Tao is both moving and unmoving. The head in the character means the beginning, the source of all things , or Tao itself, which never moves or changes; the foot is the movement on the path. Taoism upholds the belief in the survival of the spirit after death. To have attained the human form must be always a source of joy for the Taoist. It is truly a reason to rejoice because despite whatever is lost, life always endures. Taoists believe birth is not a beginning and death is not an end. There is an existence without limit. There is continuity without a starting point. Applying reincarnation theory to Taoism is the belief that the soul never dies, a person's soul is eternal. It is possible to see death in contrast to life; both are unreal and changing. One's soul does not leave the world into the unknown, for it can never go away. Therefore there is no fear to come with death. In the writings of The Tao Te Ching, Tao is described as having existed before heaven and earth. Tao is formless; it stands alone without change and reaches everywhere without harm.

Essay The Grammar of Nebrijia

Essay The Grammar of Nebrijia Essay The Grammar of Nebrijia The Grammar of Nebrija was a book written Antonio de Nebrija and was published in the year of 1492. Antonio de Nebrija was a Spanish scholar, historian, teacher, and poet well known for writing this book which for the idea of learning Spanish and the breakdown of the language with thought being given to the breakdown of the language along the lines of phonetics, verb conjugation, etc. Spanish is known as Castilian because the language originated in Castile a region in Spain; Spanish also has basis in Latin with some the words and phrases of the language being similar to that of French and other languages based out of Latin. The Grammar of Nebrija is often credited as one of the first published grammars of a Romance language, and it set the standard for subsequent colonial grammars. It was the first book of their kind to written for European language and also for Spanish. The book also included rules for the Spanish language including grammar and also included verbal conjugation for readers of that present era to gain an understanding of the Spanish language. The book was divided further into books which included orthography which is the method of spelling and having to do with the Spanish alphabet; prosody which is the rhythm and the intonation of the speech which is intended to help the speaker pronounce and speak Spanish how it is intended. The book also included Etymology which is the study of the basis of the word or how the word came to be; diction which is how the words in Spanish are intended to pronounced and syntax which is the study of the rules for the formation of grammatical sentences in a language. Antonio de Nebrija wrote The Grammar of Nebrijia in 1492 which was around the time Columbus decided to sail to across the Indian Ocean to discover a shorter path to India; this book was mostly helpful for Columbus. Since he landed in what he thought was India, he discovered natives and Spanish was introduced; the de facto decision became to teach the natives Spanish and strip of their native tongue which would allow Spanish to be the primary language spoken. Antonio de Nebrija’s intention for writing and publishing The Grammar of Nebrija was so that people who didn’t and couldn’t understand Spanish would be able to learn and understand Spanish. His book set the groundwork for many of today’s books and language learning programs that assist people in learning a new language for example the Rosetta Stone which is a technology based computer program that assists people in learning a brand new language without the difficulty of tapes and books. Antonio de Nebrija believed that language and grammar should be embraced and not viewed upon as being hard and ugly. He felt that learning Spanish would have the Spanish Empire move ahead and conquer more territory than that of the English. This was very prophetic considering since The Grammar of Nebrijia was subsequently published the same year Columbus ventured out on the Santa Maria along with three other ships and his men on a quest to seek a new and better path to India than the long and arduous one that Columbus had been taking beforehand. "Language has always been the perfect instrument of empire." Antonio de Nebrija stated this in the Granidtica Castellana. The vision of Antonio de Nebrija, Bishop of Avila, as stated in the prologue of the Castilian Grammar he published in 1492, was one that was to prove prophetic in the following years, as the Spanish Empire extended its reign across the Atlantic. It was prophetic, in that throughout the conquest of the Americas, and the centuries of colonialism, language was used by the Spanish as a tool for conquest: to consolidate political power, to spread the Catholic faith, and to unify the empire. The language policies in the colonial period, however, were not always aimed at spreading the Spanish language. In some situations, Spanish was used as a medium for control, whereas in others, Spaniards employed the Native

Political Science - Foreign Affairs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Political Science - Foreign Affairs - Essay Example Some of the major reasons include commercial rivalries, religion, dynastic and territorial conflicts. The Thirty Years War began when the Roman emperor, Ferdinand II tried to impose the Roman Catholic absolutism on his empire. Consequently, the protestant nobles of Australia and Bohemia conflicted and rebelled against the decision of King Ferdinand for five years. In 1625, a dispute between Denmark and Germany arose where Denmark wanted to gain valuable territory in Germany. Sweden also conflicted with Poland where they fought for four years until 1929. After a struggle with Sweden, Poland attacked Russia, and the struggle lasted for five years. The wars were mainly fueled by political ambitions of some European countries to capture and exploit resources of others nations. In addition, religious conflicts accelerated the war since European countries were divided into three main religious groups. These included Calvinism, Roman Catholicism, and Lutheranism. Other participants in the war included France and Spain. According to the current situation in the Middle East, it is true that the region is experiencing a similar situation experienced in Europe during the Thirty Years War. Middle East is the home of many terrorist based groups such as Al-Qaida and Taliban. These sectarian and communal identities are eventually becoming more powerful and armed than national rules. In addition, conflicts in the Middle East are based on natural resource endowments, territorial rivalry, and religious affiliations. The outside actors such as the UN, NATO, and other peace organizations are unwilling and unable to stabilize the Middle East region completely. In his article â€Å"The Unraveling† Haass states clearly that the international order, especially the Post-Cold War order, is unraveling. Challenges facing the international laws are mainly global. Some of these challenges include cross-border terrorists flows, greenhouse gas emissions