| Papers [1-15] of 38 :: [Page 1 of 3] | | Go to page : 1 2 3 —> | Search results on "KNITTING SUTRA": |
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"The Knitting Sutra", 2006.
This paper reviews Susan Gordon Lydon's novel "The Knitting Sutra - Craft as a Spiritual Practice" and also delves into the private life of the author.
1,005 words (approx. 4.0 pages), 0 sources, $ 35.95
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Abstract
This paper examines the novel "The Knitting Sutra - Craft as a Spiritual Practice," written by Susan Gordon Lydon. The writer of this paper also discusses personal details of the author's background and describes how the art of knitting wove its way through Lydon's life and helped her get off drugs and stay sober. For Lydon, the craft is an obsession, a meditation, a challenge, a chance for peace of mind and a way to quiet the mind. This paper explores the novel's vivid imagery and spirituality. This paper discusses the author's firm refusal to just blindly follow anything, even the patterns for her knitting projects, which makes her a thinking person's rebel. The book is peppered with quotes from an astonishing range of sources including Sitting Bull, singer Boz Scaggs, author Clarissa Pinkola Estes and Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart.
From the Paper
"The Knitting Sutra is a story of a woman, as women are rarely seen, one who owns herself. Her humor and passion shine throughout. If you would like to spark your mind and get it swirling with ideas, no matter if you read this through the eyes of a knitter or not, give this thought-provoking, richly written book a try. Susan's insatiable need for enlightenment and spiritual truth may wear you out at times, but it may also challenge your perspective on many, many things. You may even find yourself revisiting that unfinished sweater in your closet or that unfinished story in your desk drawer. The lesson - you never stop learning and you must never stop living...the two are inevitably intertwined."
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The Heart Sutra, 2002.
This paper reviews and analyzes Thich Nhat Hanh's ?The Heart Of Understanding? which introduces the Heart Sutra in Buddhist philosophy.
1,290 words (approx. 5.2 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 43.95
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Abstract
Thich Nhat Hanh wrote ?The Heart Of Understanding? as a commentary and evaluation of the Heart Sutra in Buddhist philosophy. The paper introduces the book as a synopsis of Hanh?s interpretation of what has been described as the central sutra or philosophical teaching of Zen Buddhism. There has over the centuries been much discussion on the relevance of Buddhist teaching and the meanings held within each of the sutras. The paper discusses how a great deal of emphasis has been placed on the heart sutra, or ?Prajnaparamita? sutra, as described in great detail in Hanh?s work. According to Hanh and other religious scholars, this sutra is ?the essence? of Buddhist teaching. The paper analyzes the book and reviews it from a westerner's perspective, showing that many of the ideas in the book are difficult to grasp and understand.
From the Paper
"Hanh encourages the reader to meditate and argues that focusing on a mantra every day will assist the reader in eventually attaining enlightenment, which is likely to happen after several years of dedicated practice and conviction. Hahn finally leaves the reader with the following recommendation: ?At the beginning of each meal, look at your plate and recite, My plate is empty now, but I know that it is going to be filled with delicious food in just a moment. Then think, at this very moment, many, many people around the world are also holding a plate, but their plate is going to be empty for a long time.? (Hanh, 54). In this last section of the book, Hanh is encouraging the reader to gain a broader perspective of the world, realizing that not everyone has the same luxuries such as eating a full meal, encouraging the reader to understand that everyone?s perspective of a mealtime is different. He claims ultimately, that ?Understanding is the fruit of meditation, the basis of everything.?"
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The "Lotus Sutra", 2008.
An analysis of the importance of the "Lotus Sutra" in Chinese Buddhism, particularly its relationship to emptiness.
1,602 words (approx. 6.4 pages), 5 sources, MLA, $ 52.95
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Abstract
This paper explains and accounts the popularity of the "Lotus Sutra" in Chinese culture in its prescription of three paths of the hearer, the solitary Buddha. It specifically focuses on the relationship between the "Lotus Sutra" and emptiness in Chinese culture and Buddhism, in particular. The paper provides examples to explain the "Lotus Sutra"'s power in Chinese Buddhism.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
What Emptiness Is
Concluding Remarks
From the Paper
"The Lotus Sutra's power in Chinese Buddhism and culture may lie in its entirely popular appeal, its message plain, not a scholarly text but a text for people, reassurance of what one's efforts can bring and clarification of Buddhism as an ethical system to improve everyone's lives and of which the divine, in one sense or another is aware. Amid so much to say denounce the self and the world, restrain and expect nothing more than order, this exuberant text tells people to straighten up, live their virtues as are meant to have creative ends. In a sense, the Lotus Sutra points to a kind of messianic Buddhism that happened to combine well with other philosophies and religion not the least of which were Daoism and Christianity."
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Diamond Sutra for Dummies, 2002.
This paper gives a synopsis of the main points of the Diamond Sutra - a component of Buddhist philosophy.
950 words (approx. 3.8 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 33.95
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Abstract
This paper highlights the four main philosophies of the Diamond Sutra:
1) Liberation
2) Newton's Third Law
3) Perception of Attributes
4) "Swwshowing the Way"
The paper is built around various quotes from the sutra. An explanation for each quote is given, and the quotes are studies for what light they shed on Buddhist teachings.
From the Paper
"This passage is meant to expand the reader?s understanding of the multitude of creatures that must be liberated in Buddhist culture. By including all of these categories, the reader can easily understand that humans are not the only creatures that this text must be applied to. Instead, it can be applied to all creatures that are born. This group includes, but is not limited to: bugs, fish, elephants, mice, as well as humans. It also includes creatures that can think and ones that do not have the ability to think at all. No matter how many beings there are, they must all be liberated."
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"The Lotus Sutra", 2004.
An analysis of Burton Watson's translation of Buddhism's "The Lotus Sutra".
618 words (approx. 2.5 pages), 1 source, MLA, $ 22.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses how, from "The Lotus Sutra", Buddha passed on teachings that became known as the ?Expedients? and how within these teachings is the wisdom of the Buddha. It looks at how the Expedients exist through basic understandings and how Buddhism fundamentally revolves around simple virtues and teachings that require of its practitioners merely simple things, like peace, understanding, and honor of oneself and others. It also discusses how, although such solutions in a corrupt and vice-filled world may seem like lofty goals, it is with teachings like the Lotus Sutra and the practice of the Dharma that it is possible to have guidelines on a path that follows through the thickest and darkest of forests.
From the Paper
"For this reason, Buddha appeared in the world: to develop this Truth through teachings and practicing Bodhisattvas, while applying wisdom through sutras like the Lotus Sutra. The final basic understanding for the Expedients is that people initially were not aware of the way of the Truth and therefore could not apply it naturally to their lives. It was for the Buddha to apply different teachings to the different classes of people, for example, different doctrines would enable different castes and intellects to grasp the Buddha?s teachings and allow them to apply them to their unique lifestyles. These different doctrines were all expedient teachings that had one purpose ? to teach the Truth; the Lotus Sutra."
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?Sunflower Sutra?, 2002.
An analysis of Allan Ginsberg's poem, "Sunflower Sutra".
1,155 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 39.95
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Abstract
A descriptive analysis of Allan Ginsberg's poem, "Sunflower Sutra". The paper analyzes the poem's commentry on society, technology and conformity, through looking at the language and imagery contained within the poem. The poem speaks of a bleak, miserable world and Ginsberg's attitudes toward society are analyzed in detail.
From the Paper
"The car and the tin cans emanate sickness. Their weakness alludes to system failure, to an existence so frenetic and unnatural that the only available conclusion could be ?burn out?. The personification of such objects, alongside ?the cunts of wheelbarrows? and ?the milky breasts of cars?, makes reference to a world in which roles have been reversed so that modernity is the new ?man?, its precedence over all blocking our right to an otherwise natural existence. Man?s absence in the scene, coupled with the pervading sense of darkness, both suggest that the sacrifices made in order to establish a landscape as ?modern? can be only detrimental and exhaustive. The ?rubber dollar bills? illustrate the falsity and meaninglessness of the scene facing Ginsberg."
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The "Heart Sutra", 2007.
A description of the "Heart Sutra," a 2001 Korean work of art by the artist Yoon Kwang-cho.
1,075 words (approx. 4.3 pages), 0 sources, $ 37.95
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Abstract
The paper describes how to the naked eye of the casual observer in a museum, the work looks like a rough, oblong stone with an unfinished granite-like texture. The paper portrays the overall effect upon the viewer as one of curiosity, rather than awe or power, given that the observer cannot gain full access to the meaning or even the placing of the work. The paper shows how the slab with the sutra ultimately poses more questions than answers, due to its incomplete nature. The paper suggests that this sense of unfinished texture of the stone and the word's meaning is perhaps the most powerful effect of the work.
From the Paper
"To a Western eye, this slab looks almost like a Rosetta Stone, or an ancient artifact from long past that is supposed to encompass the words from another time or place and memorialize these words in a kind of sculpture. The stone appears ripped or extracted from something larger than the displayed artifact, as if it is an ancient bit torn from a ruin, rather than a complete and holistic work or vision of an artist. The form of the sculpture, a recreation of an archeological work, suggests that the artist wished to suggest that the work was, in some sense, ripped from the past, either figuratively or literally."
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Early Mahayana Buddhist Sutras, 2004.
This paper discusses the early Buddhist sutras, which contained the framework upon which later Mahayana Buddhism developed its doctrinal emphasis and formulated the relationship between the lay and monastic communities.
2,190 words (approx. 8.8 pages), 14 sources, MLA, $ 68.95
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Abstract
This paper explains that the early Mahayana Buddhist sutras showed the close intermingling of lay and monastic lives guided by the Mahayana scripture, which later matured into the patriarchal Chan lineage of the 8th century. The author relates that the Mahayana concepts influenced the roles of monks as renunciants and advocates of the Bodhisattva path: the idea of emptiness and salvation as a means of encouraging withdrawal from the household life and embracing the way of the renunciant. The paper points out that the scriptural translators were incorporating beliefs in filial piety coming from India with the indigenous beliefs of China.
From the Paper
"The emphasis on renunciate life lay in its virtue as a means of overcoming attachment and the importance of emphasizing Mahayana doctrine. Historically this emerges from the early debates between the Hinayana and Mahayana practitioners and it is reflected in the organization of the texts. The Ugra Sutra begins as a text extolling the virtues of the Bodhisattva path and renunciate life and then moves into more philosophical statements in which we find some early references to the actions of Bodhisattvas, Independent Origination and the ideas of the hells and references to karma. This suggests that sutras were compiled with diverse authors, and use of different translations, but the organization retained in the versions entering the cannon indicates recognition of a relationship between the two concepts. The prevailing idea is that as a renunciant the monk will be able to devote himself to contemplation of doctrines essential to the Bodhisattva path."
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Samadhi and Vairagya in the Yoga Sutras, 2006.
An overview of the Yoga concepts of Samadhi and Vairagya.
1,145 words (approx. 4.6 pages), 4 sources, MLA, $ 39.95
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Abstract
This paper offers a brief descriptions of the important Yoga concepts of Purusha, Kaivalya and Samadhi in order to provide a better understanding of the Vairagya state of consciousness.
From the Paper
"Hindu religion is rich and diverse in its philosophical outlook and has followers of both dwaita (duality between god and man) and advaita (monism, "you are god"). A central concept in the Hindu religion is the fundamental differentiation between the body and the soul. The body, which is governed by sensual impulses, is subject to decay and destruction. Death, the inevitable phenomenon is proof enough for the impermanence of material existence. In the Bhagavad Gita, Lord Krishna explains the difference between the Prakriti and the Purusha. Prakriti is the creation, (nature, represents the physical body) while Purusha, the indweller, is the soul or the atmic principle. Prakriti represents all the multifarious forms and names that exist in the world. It is defined as ASAT or untrue, that which is subject to change and destruction. While there may be wide variations in the names and forms (variations in prakriti or nature), the intelligent principle or the Purusha is the same in all of creation. Purusha is the consciousness or the eternal witness that resides in the physical body and is not affected by the changes that happen. Purusha is defined as 'SAT' or that which is not subject to destruction, eternal, soul, self, etc. (Ramananda Prasad)"
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"A River Sutra" by Gita Mehta, 1994.
A discussion of the symbolizm of the river in the novel's examination of human sorrow, death and spirituality.
1,575 words (approx. 6.3 pages), 1 source, $ 55.95
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From the Paper
"Certain elements in the novel A River Sutra by Gita Mehta constitute motifs or themes which run through the novel as threads holding together the different stories told and adding meaning to the whole. Two such themes would be the river and sorrow. The river as an object is ever-present, with the various characters and their stories occurring along the river, because of the river, or in proximity to the river, while a sense of underlying sorrow helps define the society and characterize the consequences of many of the tales told. The connection between sorrow and the river is seen as the narrator recalls one of the people he has met and experiences a sense of sorrow:
For some time the memory of the monk disturbs me. When I sit on the terrace before sunrise with my face turned toward the source of the river, I find I cannot..."
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Naguib Mahfouz's "Fountain and Tomb" and Gita Mehta's "A River Sutra", 2002.
A discussion on the concepts of physical and spiritual in relation to these two books.
1,420 words (approx. 5.7 pages), 2 sources, MLA, $ 47.95
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Abstract
The paper uses the aforementioned books to illustrate the conflict between the physical and the spiritual. It looks at the significance that the two authors attribute to the spiritual world and at the relation of the supernatural sphere to the material world. Examples are taken from the two texts to support the writer?s points. The paper concludes with a comparison of the similarities and differences between the two texts.
From the Paper
"In the two books ?Fountain and Tomb? and ?A River Sutra?, what strikes us the most is the persistent prevalence of something more sublime and spiritual in nature than the pleasures of this material world. But it is not exactly correct to associate the existence of this particular element to religion or religious beliefs alone, as most of us would be tempted to do in order to simplify the real purpose of the two texts. It is therefore important to bear in mind that while the two books do contain the ?extraordinary? elements of mysticism and differences , they are not exactly connected with one religion or faith. The reason it is critical to understand that the supernatural or spiritual world in both texts is not associated with any particular faith is because even slight misunderstanding can hamstring the real purpose behind the deliberate inclusion of these elements in the texts. The authors in both the cases have tried to separate the physical world from its spiritual counterpart with the latter occupying a more significant place."
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Music: A Connection to the Divine, 2007.
This paper discusses music as a connection to the Divine, by looking at "Paradise" by Aligheri Dante and "The River Sutra" by Gita Mehta.
2,120 words (approx. 8.5 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 66.95
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Abstract
In this article, the writer maintains that one could say that the written and spoken word describe the foreseen and that music describes the unforeseen. This relationship between music and spirituality is explored using two famous works. The first, Dante's "Paradise", is from Western culture and the other, "The River Sutra" by Gita Mehta, is from Eastern culture. The writer explains that both of these works describe a spiritual journey into the unknown. The writer notes that music is used to reference that which cannot be truly described using words alone. The essay supports the thesis that music is used as a means to connect the reader to the spiritual world in these two works. The writer concludes that one can learn much about the spiritual worlds of the East and West by examining the use of music in their works.
Outline:
Dante and Signaling the Eternal
The Boy Singer and the Path to Enlightenment
The Musician's Story
Transcendence
Works Cited
From the Paper
"Dante uses music to announce a holy event of great importance. The appearance of the divine is often signaled by music. One might notice that it is never Dante himself who is singing or making music, although in the opening Canto he does refer to his work as his song. Song and music are used to signal the appearance of the divine. Dante uses the imagery of music sparingly. Only a few of the heavenly beings that he encounters are heralded by song."
"Structurally, the appearance of music is carefully placed in such a way to give it an even greater meaning of importance. Paradise, like hell, is comprised of layers. Just as the layers in Hell become increasingly more evil, the three layers of heaven become more divine. One might notice that music is hardly mentioned in the first two Cantos, except when referring to his work as his song. When we examine the use of music in the remainder of the piece, this two may have been purposeful and an attempt to attach importance to the work itself."
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Buddhahood, 2002.
The concept of goals in the Lotus Sutra.
900 words (approx. 3.6 pages), 3 sources, $ 35.95
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Abstract
This paper concentrates on the concepts of goals in the Lotus Sutra, mainly the goal of attaining Buddhahood. The problem is between the goal and the opposite concepts of detachment and renunciation.
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"Daddy Frank", 2002.
This paper is an analysis of Merle Haggard's chart-topping song, "Daddy Frank (The Guitar Man)," and the close-knit family it portrays.
1,339 words (approx. 5.4 pages), 3 sources, MLA, $ 44.95
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Abstract
This paper discusses the family portrayed in Maggard's song and the dynamics at work in a four-person household headed by a blind musician and his hearing-impaired wife. It discusses how the family travels the country, performing wherever they can find an audience. Despite the handicaps of both parents and the family's struggle to make a living, their relationships are strong and positive, buoyed by faith and mutual trust. It examines how, although Haggard's lyrics are fictional, they are based on his wife's experiences, and they ring true. Daddy Frank's family could have been extremely dysfunctional, yet they managed to turn their problems into strengths, demonstrating one of the most important ways in which families can be positive, healthy factors in the lives of their members.
From the Paper
"The title character in Haggard's "Daddy Frank," is a guitar player who was born blind. His wife lost her hearing to a fever. The narrator, their son, "don't remember how they got acquainted" (Haggard, 1971), but sees how "their one and only weakness made them strong" (Haggard, 1971). He and his sister, who accompanies the group on tambourine, sing with Daddy Frank; sometimes their father also plays "French harp" (harmonica). The narrator explains, "That little band was all a part of living/And our only means of living at the time" (Haggard, 1971). Daddy Frank's little combo has learned to make beautiful music together, and that music supports them."
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Buddhism, 1999.
An examination of nonduality, schools (Zen, Shin, Mahayana), the history of Japanese religion, Vimalakirti Sutra, role of language, enlightenment, meditation and Shinto.
2,025 words (approx. 8.1 pages), 7 sources, $ 71.95
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From the Paper
" The four books discussed here deal with various aspects of Buddhism, primarily the offshoots of Mahayana Buddhism. The Holy Teaching of Vimalakirti is a Mahayana sutra in which, among other topics, Vimalakirti debates and clarifies the concept of nonduality. The Tannisho is an important record of the sayings of Shinran, the founder of Shin Buddhism--a Japanese form of Pure Land Buddhism. The third book, Zen: Tradition and Transition, is a collection of essays on various aspects of the history and practice of Zen Buddhism. The fourth work, Kitagawa's On Understanding Japanese Religion, consists of four extended essays on the history of Japanese religion, two of which deal with Shinto and Buddhist traditions and offer a great deal of insight into the way Buddhist thought and practice entered Japan and interacted with existing strains of religion. The subjects of,,,"
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