Essays on Zen Buddhism

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Proposal Peculiar historical, cultural and philosophical foundations of East Asian states have facilitated relative homogeneity in local artistic endeavors, though certain peculiar details of art in such countries as China, Korea and Japan might alter greatly. Also, in light of historical trends and events, China became an Sesshū Tōyō a source inspiration for many Japanese artists, as it is shown by the body of research. However, it is still interesting to take a closer look at influences Chinese culture and representational conventions produce on Japanese art in relation to a certain period of time and certain variety of ...

The first sketches of the landscape in the form of contours of the mountains, trees and rivers appeared in primitive cave drawings. At that time, people made the first attempts to portray themselves surrounded by wildlife. Landscape elements can also be found in the art of ancient Greece. Halls of the Knossos Palace on Crete have so far preserved the frescoes, wall painting with a realistic pictures of people against the sea, garden and mountain landscape. Before appearing in the west, landscape as an independent genre appeared in ancient China as a lyrical direction, celebrating the beauty and elegance ...

Introduction

This research aims at understanding the development of the Samurai culture as a worldview that it became through its a thousand years of existence. The culture of the samurai is interesting as it developed from the simple armed support to the landowners, into the feudal leadership of the country of Japan. The code of ethics and unity that brought the Samurai together is of a very unique status in the society as it developed in a people that would otherwise be expected to remain servants. In most civilizations, the guards and other security servants often retain their servant status ...

Question 1

The Analects for ideal women in Chinese society are expected to act in a discreet manner. They are expected to tell were they intent to go or say the people they talk. The traditional perception sees the essence of a good woman is the one who knows other women well. According to Book, three on "learning rites" a woman is expected to welcome a female guest by they herself and speaking humbly. Further, in book four on the need of raising early, a woman is perfected to be the first one to rise and prepare her, fetch firewood and ...

The Relationship of Beauty and Death in Yukio Mishima’s “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion”

Introduction The novel written by Yukio Mishima represents a true incident happened in Japan in 1950, when a boy set fire to one of the most beautiful and well-known Zen temples. This event caused shock among the public and raised serious and controversial questions regarding the cultural and social issues in the country. In the trial, the boy claimed: “I hate myself, my evil, ugly, and stammering self”. In the result, it was concluded that the boy has burnt down the temple due to self-hate and obsession with everything beautiful. He could not help to remain calm when he ...

In what ways does the Japanese tea ceremony reflect Japanese Culture?

Introduction The Japanese have an ancient tea practice in which they take tea in a ritualized manner. The tea in Japanese is called Chanoyu which simply stands for hot water for tea. There are a number of conditions to be met in order for the ceremony to achieve the name of Japanese tea ceremony. The room for holding the ceremony is specialized in that it is given a code and special procedures of arrangement. The room is made only for four people and it is given a touch of intimacy. The tea ceremony is organized in a hermit’s ...

Ideology and Religion in the Life of a Samurai

Research Question Overview Human life changes every thousand years, every century and every day. However, psychological aspects such as moral principles, ethics and relations between people remain more or less the same. In some social groups the values are so highly esteemed that they influence the culture of a whole nation for centuries. One such group in Japan is samurai warriors. The aim of this work is to provide the most complete and accurate discussion of the samurai ideology, to study its origins, specificity and role in the history and culture of Japan. The topic of my research remains ...

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Indian philosophy is unique for its valuable interpretation of life, soul and rebirth. Doctrines of Bhagavad Gita to a great extent reflect the spiritual insight of Indian philosophy. Gita is also known as Gitopanisad, which is one of the several books of Mahabharata, the great Indian epic. The setting of the Bhagavad Gita is that when Kurukshetra begins (the great battle between Pandavas and Kauravas), the great Pandava warrior Arjuna gets confused with the ethic of fighting against his cousins and relatives. Lord Krishna, his friend and charioteer, clarifies this point to him. Notable one among ...

Buddhism is one of the oldest religions and the concept of Zen as a part of it is interesting and significant. What is fascinating about it is the fact that it can be incorporated into everyday modern living. The crucial part of Zen is meditation and it has to be practiced on a daily basis. It involves deep concentration and the control of breath. Zen Buddhism is a philosophy which can be applied at any time in any place and if it is mastered it can bring great peace and joy into the life of the person who practices ...

The years between early 15th century and 16th century marks a significant historical event in Japan particularly due to the civil war that erupted between the provincial warlords and the ruling shoguns or the Ashikaga family also known to be under the Muromachi period. Before the arrival of first Europeans in early 1500s, Japan was ruled by the supreme warrior s under the shugunate rule who ruled the island had had the supreme powers of jurisdictions in the region. The Kyoto shoguns were the rulers during this time and controlled all the major activities such as painting, farming and pottery. ...

Introduction

The Japanese tea ceremony has been existent in Japan for many centuries and is regarded as a high form of art. Tea ceremony has many names such as ‘Sado’ and ‘Chanoyu’ both words still translates into one phrase which is the ‘Way of the Tea.’ In order to preserve the traditional art of Chanoyu, notable schools such as the Urasenke and the Omotesenke still continues its age-old legacy of educating the Japanese and foreign people alike to learn the art. Moreover, the delicate movements of both the host and his guests takes a very long time to practice as well as ...

Book Review: “Pointers to Insight” by Soko Morinaga Roshi

It was some time in 100 AD that Mahayana Buddhism of India began to enter China through the merchants that travelled the sea through the Silk Road towards the land of India (Andreasen 5). Three mainstreams began to take form (i.e., Ch’an Buddhism, Cheng-yen Buddhism, and Pure Land Buddhism), as it emphasized how human beings had had the ability to free themselves through meditation. By 500 AD, Ch’an Buddhism reached the shores of Japan, where it was called Zen Buddhism—using the word Zen to mean meditation (Andreasen 6). Thus, Buddhism in Japan became well developed by ...

Abstract

This paper presents an analysis of the book is dedicated to the values and identity of the Japanese samurai culture. The author talks about the bodily and spiritual Japanese culture, especially for nature and death, as it reveals the basic principles of Zen aesthetics. Modern cultural-historical process that operating in the framework of a democratic society is focused on the formation of a strong personality, a man - "warrior" in a variety of concepts. It demonstrates the interest to the eastern military tradition and military ethics. Even now, from the perspective of a foreigner, the current generation of Japanese, regardless of age, bears the ...

Zen Buddhism is a branch of Buddhism that focuses on the importance of mediation and oneness with other people and the universe. Alan Watts was partly responsible for introducing Zen Buddhism to the Western World. In this series of short talks, Watts begins by discussing how he is not a Buddhist, nor does he mean to “sell,” Buddhism to his audience. This itself is an aspect of Zen Buddhism. Unlike a few other Religions, such as Islam or Christianity, Zen Buddhism does not actively seek to gain followers.

In the segment titled, Appling, Watts expresses the idea that we call apple trees ...

In the video by Alan Watts, some concepts of Zen Buddhism was discussed and elaborated. He noted in the video that he is neither to sell nor to advocate the concepts and the beliefs of Zen Buddhism but he is to inform the viewers about the ideals it portrays. He introduced the concepts such as prickles and goo, the Appling, the concept of “I”, and the connection of life and music. In this video, it can be observed that there are western and modern interpretations that are conveyed in the beliefs of Zen Buddhism. In this video, the western ...

Abstract

The paper deals with Japanese samurai warriors and the cultural peculiarities of this highly decorated social and military elite. Customs, religious practices, different codes of conduct, material culture, such as clothing and weaponry, food, and drinks are among the main subjects highlighted in the paper. The project is based on the opinions and knowledge shared by prominent subject-field scientists and journalists. Keywords: culture, Japanese, samurai, code, weapon, elite, warrior All world societies, whether civilized or not, have always had a distinctive social group of nobility or a ruling caste in charge of administrative, cultural, economic and political affairs, with ...

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I. Introduction

A. Thesis

B. Background of Japan and its Culture II. Zen Art

A. Zen Buddhism

B. What is Zen Art? C. Influence of Zen of Japanese Arts and Culture III. Aesthetics of Japanese Art - Wabi Sabi and Shibui - Wabi Sabi in Contemporary Japanese Homes - Wabi Sabi with reference to an image IV. Conclusion

Introduction

Have you ever asked your self what is art? Why is it very important to cultures? Does it have a great impact on the societies? Does it say anything about the culture? ...

Zen Buddhism refers to a religious practice that largely incorporates meditation as the key pillar that supports its existence. It is further defined as a means that is used to obtain enlightenment through application of thoughts. Zen Buddhism is often considered as an offshoot of Pure land Buddhism. This paper seeks to explore the beliefs and practices of Zen Buddhism. Consequently, it seeks to explore the similarities and any differences between Zen Buddhism and Pure land Buddhism. In addition, it will also explore the difference between Zen Buddhism and other religions. The character and the nature of Buddhism are taught ...

Li Bai happens to be one of the most outstanding poets of all times in the Chinese history of poetry. He wrote poems that have been acclaimed this day and that are acknowledged and studied all over the world. He embraced different themes in the poems and thus employed many poetic devices as seen through all his poems. One poem in particular which stands out is Zazen on Ching-t’ing Mountain. This particular poem is very short with only two stanzas that contain two lines each, which makes a total of four lines. It is incredible that with only these ...