HRT3M Assignments:
ACTIVITY 2
B) You will be given a quote, question, or a comment and you will be asked to formulate a response of at least a paragraph to each statement. (a paragraph will consist of 5 – 8 complete sentences) The theme is: In the year 2104.
1. There will be one universal religion for all people on earth.
2. 留学生宗教哲学类论文写作需求Killing and warfare will still be done in the name of religion. Religion will continue to divide people rather than unite them.
3. Canada will have ten different religious channels, covering major world religions and several different Christian denominations.
4. Religion will be considered a relic from the past. Only the elderly and children will attend public worship.
I personably agree with this comment. The world has gradually become a global village, we communicate more and more frequently in all aspects of life. And Internet, as a very useful tool, makes peoples from over the world get to know each other better. What’s more, we human-being will face more serious environmental problems in the future. Only we work together, we could figure out solutions and deal with the challenges. So I believe we will break all the barriers and form one religion: that is for the better life of all.
# Resource Activity 3 300字，double space, 12 font, Times New Roman
ACTIVITY 3
Approximate Time: 90 minutes
A) Your task is to name a religious founder, and explain how their life experiences are/became the foundation of a religion. ( Half a page, 12 font) See the “Resource” Folder if you are unsure how to reference online material.
B) If an intelligent life form from another planet came to earth and wanted to see some evidence of religion, what 5 things would you show them? Be sure to explain WHY you chose the things you done.
C) I want you to create a creed, describe a cultic form of worship and to create a short moral code for the following scenario.
The Forest People: The Forest People live on small villages in the tropical rainforest, full of animals and plant life and rivers. They are free to walk, swim and live where they choose. Plentiful food is gathered from the wild. Technology is minimal, so some everyday tasks are time consuming, but people have plenty of time for family and leisure. Nature dominates the culture.
A) Jesus of Nazareth is the central figure of the Christian religion, a savior believed to be both God incarnate and a human being. He is also known as Jesus Christ, the term "Christ" meaning anointed or chosen one. Most of the details of his life are unclear, and much of what is known about his life comes from the four Gospels of the Bible. The Gospels tell the story of Jesus’ auspicious birth in a stable in Bethlehem, and then of his life as an adult, a teacher with miraculous powers who foretold his own death to his closest followers, called apostles. Jesus, betrayed by the apostle Judas, was crucified by the Romans, and his resurrection three days after his death was taken as proof of his divinity. The date of Jesus’ birth to Mary is celebrated each December 25th as Christmas Day. The occasion was used as the base year for the modern Christian calendar, though researchers now believe that earlier estimates were inexact and that Jesus was actually born between 4 B.C. and 7 B.C. The date of the crucifixion is now marked as Good Friday, and the resurrection celebrated as Easter.
B) Cross： The Christian cross is the best-known religious symbol of Christianity. It is generally seen as a representation of the crucifixion of Jesus.
The Bible：The Bible is one of the most representative symbol of Christianity.
Buddhism beads：Buddhist prayer beads is used to recite by the players and it is widely used among the monks and ordinary people.
Koran ：Koran is the only fundamental classical for Islam.
Western Wall： Judaism takes the wall as the first Holy Land. The Jews will mourn when they come here. And it is a way to express their condolences to the ancient temple.
C) Creed: nature is the mother of every thing.
a cultic form of worship: when the storm comes, they will cut some big trees and burn them.
Moral code: nature created men.
# Resource Activity 4 400-500字，double space, 12 font, Times New Roman
ACTIVITY 4
Your Task is to choose an ancient religion for further study. Some examples include: Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek, Aztec, Mayan. If you would like to study another religion not listed, you must submit your religion for my approval. If you do not, your assignment will not be accepted. I want you to write a report in which you analyze the culture in terms of Creed, Cult, and Code. Your report should be 3 pages in length, 12 font, Times New Roman, double spaced and have 1 inch margins.
Mayan is polytheists. The gods they believe are countless. In the eyes of Mayas, everything, no matter it is visible or not, has its own god. Every status has god and everything needs god. In short, in the Mayan world, God is in everywhere. The image of God is usually personal Animals or half-human beast. Mayan use human blood, food, jade, living person and other precious items to honor their gods. In addition to offering worship ceremony, they also burn joss sticks and drink wine.
Religion plays a very important position in Mayan civilization. Mayan astronomical calendar and great success in building largely were resulted from the prosperity of their religious activities. Maya civilization was established under theocratic system. The Mayan royal family and the priest in charge of religion govern the country. The supreme god of Mayan called Serpent God, which was formed by Arquette Charles phoenix feathers and rattlesnakes. Serpent God is lord of wind as well as Venus. It was treated as a great organizer, city founder, father of mathematics, metallurgy and the astronomy. It was said that it brought civilization and enlightenment to people. It was also in charge of agriculture, the harvest and rainfall, which was quite significant in Yucatan area. In the centre of Qiqinyisa, it stands a pyramid covering an area of 3,000 square meters and it is the temple to worship serpent god.
Mayan sacrifice activity was frequent and brutal. There is sacrifice for war, holiday, pray for good harvests and so on. Mayan used treasure to sacrifice, and they even used the hearts of the living person for sun god. There were various wars among Mayan cities. Usually, a large number of prisoners were killed for sacrifice. Maya first learned to use rubber, which was derived from religious ceremonies. They used the rubber to resemble something like the football. Then they played cruel game in a special stadium. The two sides passed the ball with any part of body but hands. The ball can not fall to the ground and they should try to shoot the other side’s door. The party who lost the game would be killed for sacrifice.
Maya is quite mysterious. Although its religion played an important role in its culture. But I think its prophecy for 2012 can show its code and creed exactly. They believe that in a period of time, all life and all things that are corrupt must be updated. All on the earth must be purified, and then the human variant moral values must also be reformed.
# Resource Activity 7 400-500字，double space, 12 font, Times New Roman
ACTIVITY 7
Your task is to write a short research report on someone important from history and how their life’s works helped society to have a better worldview. Explain why their major contributions to society can not be ignored. I want you to tell me WHAT their contributions were and WHY they are important. This should not be a biography; you are attempting to PROVE that they made Major Contributions to society.
Charles Darwin
200 years ago, Charles Darwin，the father of modern biology, was born. He deciphered biological record of both the extinct biology and surviving biology. Then he clarified the origin of biological diversity, and thereby became the era's most prestigious scientists.
When he followed the "Beagle" to go on an adventure, Darwin began to suspect that all species were immutable. But he didn’t get the concept of natural selection. Darwin made intensive study of the extinct and living organisms and then explained the life evolution history to show the mystery of the origin of life's diversity.
Even today, Darwin's Natural Selection theory of evolution is still the core of life science research. Its methodology has affected all branches of life science, and it has penetrated into many other areas, such as quantum physics and computer science. And Darwin's methodology was taken as reference for other subjects. For example, psychologists try to explain which kind of human ancestors’ behavior could strengthen their viability. In physics, people even use Darwinian in the academic papers of thermodynamics, quantum objects science and the black hole theory. Darwin was highly praised by scientists in various fields. No doubted, Darwin himself had adopted many of these areas, because some basic reasoning are derived from his theory.
In addition to explain various kinds of strange forms of life, Darwin, in a sense, also successfully carried out some remarkable anticipation. One of them is the mechanism of genetic mutation. In the following years, Austrian geneticist Gregory J Mendel discovered genetic laws, and American biologist James Watson and British biophysicist Francis Clark found DNA double helix structure. All their discoveries are based on Darwin's theory of genetics. In the 200 years, Darwin's theory of evolution has been improved and developed a lot. Darwin would also be encouraged by his great influence. Today, evolutionists believe that evolution is not always gradual, that change is not always the result of natural selection, and that organisms are not the only unit of natural selection. Darwin had also predicted theses ideas. I think that he would welcome these theories.
What Darwin left to human is not only legacy of textbooks, but also injected vigor into many frontier areas of biological research to inspire people to make more deep research of life science and life itself.
# Resource Activity 2 400-500字，12 font, Times New Roman
ACTIVITY 2
Your task is to write a short research report on 2 of the key figures or events in Jewish History. I want you to tell me the important facts namely the WHO, WHAT, WHERE and WHY.
Abraham was a Semite and Hebrew. He was called by God to be the father of the nation who would bring forth the seed that was promised to Eve to save man. He obeys God, God made promises with him. He was known for his great faith. This is recorded in Genesis Chapter 23. It is recorded that Abraham's wife Sarah died elderly. Because Abraham has been eskenosen, he didn’t even have a piece of land to bury Sarah. Then he talked to Hittites and said, “I am an outsider among you, and I beg you to give me a piece of land to bury my wife”. Hittites answered, “My Lord, among us, you are like a mighty prince. You can choose the best graveyard here”. Ephron was there and he wanted to give a piece off land to Abraham as gift. But Abraham refused his kindness and bowed down to Ephron. Finally he gave Ephron enough money.
Here we could understand that Abraham was very prestigious among the local people and people respected him very much. However, Abraham was not proud of this. He was unwilling to take other people's things relying on his status. The people who see God will not covet other people's gifts.
# Resource Activity 3 300-400字
ACTIVITY 3
HOLOCAUST DENIAL: Holocaust Denial is unfortunately, very much a reality. In your opinion should individuals or groups have the right to publish material denying that the Holocaust ever happened? Write your opinion in a ½ page response. Be sure that you support your opinions.
In my view, no one has the right to publish material to deny holocaust. The fact of killing and sadness could never be ignored and it will be in the history forever. When we look back at all the holocausts in the history, they were almost all made by the government but not individuals. Unfortunately, some of them deny the holocaust. For instance, Japan denies its intrusion to China and other Asian countries. It is a sign of irresponsible. Such kind of nation will not win respect from the world. Then as the holocaust is government-behavior, individuals or groups don’t have the right to deny it.
NAZI WAR CRIMINALS: Should governments or private groups continue to attempt to bring Nazi war criminals to trial, even though most of them are in their late 80’s and 90’s? Write your opinion in a 1page response. Be sure that you support your opinions.
In NAZI war, thousands of innocent people were killed. The killing brings great pain and fear to the people who were in that war. Each family, whose relatives were killed or hurt in the NAZI war, will suffer a lot too. Everyone should take responsibility for their behavior. Now although some criminals in the war are in their old age, they will still be the criminal. In my opinion, however, it is not the rational way to bring them to the trial. If they have recognized their crime, they should be allowed to use other approached to atone for their crime. For example, they could write their experience in the war to show people the truth about war. And they could also take themselves as example to teach the youth that war or some extreme deeds is not the only way to solve problems.
# Resource Activity 4 500字，12 font, Times New Roman, double spaced
ACTIVITY 4
Your task is to write a short research report of any of the following topics or people. You should explain their major contributions to society or their faith. I want you to tell me WHAT their contributions were and WHY they are important. This should not be a biography; you are attempting to PROVE that they made Major Contributions to society or their faith.
Martin Buber (February 8, 1878 – June 13, 1965) was an Austrian-born Jewish philosopher best known for his philosophy of dialogue, a form of religious existentialism centered on the distinction between the I-Thou relationship and the I-It relationship. He takes relationship as the nature of the world. In psychotherapy, this view can help to understand the visitors’ knowledge base of life. There are a lot of maters affected by his idea. Founder of psychodrama Moreno, founder of the visitors’ center therapy Rogers, and founder of Gestalt therapy Pierce were all in practice of Martin Buber's philosophy. Buber’s activities of lifelong were concentrated into four areas: (1) religious philosophy. In I-Thou (1923) and its sequel Between People (1947), he systematically expounded his philosophy of relations. Some other major philosophical writings were Two Types of Faith (1950), and The Concept of Good and Evil" (1952). (2) The translation of The Bible and the treatise. In 1925, Buber and Rosenzweig translated the Bible from Hebrew into German. After Rosenzweig died, Buber completed the hard work independently (1962). (3) Of the Hasidic study. Hasidism was religious mysticism in Polish Jews in the eighteenth century. In the mid-nineteenth century, the followers have accounted for half of Eastern European Jews. They opposed to the Jewish orthodox law and accidental injury authority of rabbi, and they stressed to combine with God through prayer and devout fanaticism (in Hebrew, Hasid means devout). The doctrine of Hasidism has great influence on the formation of Buber’s ideas. His major works on Hasidism are Hasidic Kingdoms (1927), Hasidic Way with People (1958) and The Road Leading to Utopia (1947).（ (4) Participation in the Zionist movement. Under its Encounter philosophy, Buber brought a new spirit into Zionism. He passionately appealed to the Jews that Jews must not take the Arabs as enemies and the object of revenge and killings. The Jews should establish the relationship between the two peoples to form a state.
Bubber’s activities apparently unrelated but shared a common foundation of Encounter Philosophy based on I and You relationship. Buber's theory directly pointed to the two dominant values in the Western history of ideas. He aimed to explain the core concept of religious philosophy and the true meaning of beyond, and to clarify the fundamental spirit of Christianity - love.
Module 3: Christianity
# Resource Activity 2 300-400字
ACTIVITY 2
B) Should a political candidate's religion matter? Explain your thoughts on this issue in half a page.
In my opinion, a political candidate's religion doesn’t matter. People who have different perspectives and religions will not and can not act very different when they handle public affairs. The general character of managing people but not their religious behavior decides the behavior of politicians. The instinct pursuit of power and the love of country could inspire true statesman. Politicians’ religious spirit is not very important. What’s important is his disposition and tradition of subject to the people. All his characters make him to achieve its ambitions and to promote national prosperity and national prestige within the framework of their religion.
# Resource Activity 3 400-500字，12 font, Times New Roman, double spaced
ACTIVITY 3
A) Your task is to write a short research report of any of the following topics or people. I want you to explain how these topics or people helped in the growth of Christianity up to the time of the Reformation. I want you to tell me WHAT the contributions were and WHY they are important. This should not be a biography; you are attempting to PROVE that your topic helped in the growth of Christianity.
St. Augustine
Augustine (Aurelius Augustinus, 354-430) is the main representative of Patristic Philosophy, Christian thinker and educator in the late Roman Empire. Augustine major impact on future generations can be divided into two ways: he founded the Patristic Philosophy, and second, he laid Christian Education. The two have close ties. The so-called Patristic Philosophy is the Christian philosophy that is based on Plato's philosophy theory. Based on this thought, from Plato's objective idealism, Augustine believed that (1) material world ("the ground of the City") is from the concept world ("Sky City"), and the highest concept is God. (2) The concept of super-sense is real feeling and it is the wisdom of the kingdom. (3) Real knowledge comes from faith rather than reason. (4) City of God is the bridge leading from the ground of the City to Sky City. These basic ideas constitute the basic philosophy of Augustine’s Patristic Philosophy. Proceeding from the above philosophy, Augustine believed that education should serve for the theology and church. Augustine also thought that education should convert for the purpose of God to cultivate devout Christians and the church priest. Therefore, the content of education should take training of asceticism as the core of moral. He suggested that it should retain pagan culture as a supplementary form for Christian culture. Augustine also said that it allowed to select and absorbing useful part from pagan culture to compile a small encyclopedia for academic use. From the overall perspective, it is Augustine’s advocate to take the Bible as the major teaching material. Theological Seven Arts could be the course of moral education. Augustine attempted to apply Christianity philosophy, culture and education to save the dying Roman Empire, which is totally unrealistic. However, his efforts resulted in the birth of Western philosophy and the establishment of educational idea of Patristic Philosophy. Meanwhile, he completed the first stage of the combination of the Christian and secular culture of ancient Greece and Rome. It laid the foundation for further integration of Christian culture and secular culture of Ancient Greece and Rome, the birth of medieval scholasticism, and the stereotype of Christian Education.
ACTIVITY 4
A) Many Christian groups take political action to stop abortion. This may include such things as letter writing campaigns or demonstrations in front of abortion clinics. In your opinion, how involved should religious groups get in political issues? What guidelines do you think religious groups should follow when becoming politically active?
In modern society, the way of religion participating in political activity lies mainly in two aspects. One is the metaphysical level of participation. The other is a physical or the secular religion participation. The typical manifestation of religion participating in politics is the emerging and development of religious political parties and organizations. The participation of religion in politic has both positive and negative effects to political stability and development.
Religion is only a subsystem in public order of life, and it is not an absolute dominance. In response to the secularization and social change impact, various religious philosophies change their o behavior and begin to change with the development of society. On the specific behavior, they begin to pay attention on social problems. Its underlying purpose is to avoid to be completely marginalized in the new social and historical conditions. Then religion looks forward to continuing to maintain their status of the congregation without losing its authority.
Religion in politics may lead to the weakening of government authority, especially religious belief evolutes into religious fanaticism or religious bigotry. In this case, religion in politics will result in social unrest, and hence threaten the stable development of the political. So in the process of participating politics, religion must respect the state power and governance. It should not deal with extreme emotions into political activities. Meanwhile, religion should respect for the real requirements of law and orders to avoid bringing broken or bad impact to the society.
Religion and politics are two different areas, but they are interrelated and interacted. In modern society, religion participating in politics is an intrinsic requirement of religious self-development and it is the inevitable result of political democratization. In the process of participating in political activities, Religion should use rational means to deal with the relationship between politics and integrate religious views into politics in reasonable manner.
Module 4: Islam
# Resource Activity 2 100字
A) Your task is to write a few paragraphs each about the careers of Muhammad Ali and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Each athlete announced a name change to reflect his new religious identity. In a separate paragraph explain why they did this and would this type of an act be newsworthy in today’s secular society.
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is an American retired basketball player, coach, actor, and author. During his career with the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks and Los Angeles Lakers from 1969 to 1989, Abdul-Jabbar scored more points than any other player in league history, won six NBA championships and a record six regular season MVP Awards. In college at UCLA, he played on three championship teams, and his high school team won 71 consecutive games.
（Anonymous. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. URL: 25 July,2010）
Muhammad Ali (born Cassius Marcellus Clay, Jr.; January 17, 1942) is a former American boxer and three-time World Heavyweight Champion, who is widely considered one of the greatest heavyweight championship boxers of all time. As an amateur, he won a gold medal in the light heavyweight division at the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. After turning professional, he went on to become the first boxer to win the lineal heavyweight championship three times. （Anonymous. Muhammad Ali. URL: 25 July,2010）
Obviously, religious or ideological change differs from technological innovation. Yet there is usually more than the theology of salvation behind a person's decision to terminate his or her association with one religious group and associate instead with another. We can call this sort of change in association "social conversion" to distinguish it from a deep change in spiritual feeling, on the one hand, or an unwitting ritual occurrence, such as infant baptism, on the other.
In the secular world, we will face a lot of challenges and problems. Faith could make people come to inner peace and appease the mortal mind.
B) Movies like 1994’s True Lies have a tendency to reinforce stereotypes about Arabs. This was especially true during the 1991 Gulf War. In a few complete paragraphs (between 5-8 sentences) explain why prejudice is used in times of war, and is government propaganda ethical.
I think each nation must struggle against violence and for peace. We will never eradicate terrorism altogether, but we can certainly minimize its destructive impact. This is not a fight against a specific religion or a culture of people. This is a fight for the right to live in democracy, freely and in peace. This is a fight to the end that the whole world must win.
# Resource Activity 3 60字
ACTIVITY 3
Using Islam as a case study, answer each of these questions in complete paragraphs (between 5-8 sentences).
A) Religion and politics should separated
In 1962, Algeria broke away from the rule of French colonial, and it became one of the big independent powers in North Africa. After the founding, based on the national guidelines of Arab nationalism, Algeria carried out real separation of religion from politics under the leadership of the party. Algeria made reforms in the fields of political and economic and therefore, people’s living standards improved a lot and the society developed balanced. However, Algeria’s political was instable and Islamic power rise rapidly. In order to restore the national stability, the Algerian government made a long struggle with radical Islamic to maintain social stability.
B) Religion denies the rights of women
Women do not have the freedom of free clothing. Saudi Arabia implements Wahhabi teaching law of Islam strictly. According to Wahhabi teaching law, all women should be wearing a black veil, dressed in robes. Before getting marriage, women can not contact with men outside family members. Women have to wear black veil and robe to go out. If they don’t do this, the husband can divorce his wife.
D) Religion should accommodate the values of secular culture.
Some Muslim scholars of Islamic law believe that the Western cultural invasion and impact of colonialism has gradually disintegrated the basis of Islam, so it is a powerful weapon and an important symbol to let more women wear the veil and robe. With the social and economic development, some of the traditional Muslim countries are changing. Women could get higher education and their social status is improved.
# Resource Activity 4 350-450字，12 font, Times New Roman, double spaced
ACTIVITY 4
Approximate Time: 240 minutes
Your task is to write a short research report on one of the topics. You must write about the WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY of your topic.
Sufism
Sufism derived in Basra from the late 7th century to early 8th century. It was introduced by Islamic authority Ansari. After getting the official approval, it was regarded as a legitimate by successive rulers. Islam containing Sufism dominated Islamic world until the rise of Wahhabi religious movement in the 18th century.
In early Islam, some followers were dissatisfied with the tendency to secular and the pure formalism of the dogmatic, so they implemented abstinence penance. There were many Sufi believers living alone. Sufism, which was influenced by by the neo-Platonic doctrine and India of yoga, advocated that phenomenal world should take Allah as the main body. In Sufism, they believed that people could be close to Allah through silent prayer. Now Sufism is still very popular in some Muslim countries. Iranian philosopher Ansari's later philosophy can best represent the thinking of Sufism. Islam was primarily a dogmatic religion at the beginning, and it only presented some religious ceremony in front of a number of followers. They thought that as long as they were faithful in the religious ethics, it is sufficient to meet the needs of each individual's beliefs, and to ensure everyone to take his place in paradise. In the Umayyad dynasty, there was some mysterious movement in the field of Islam after the direct contact between Islam and Eastern Christian and other Eastern religions. From the perspective of motivation and theory, we could see that Sufism was affected by other religious beliefs. Sufism believed that they should pursue the understanding of the supreme Lord in an active way. To Sufism, Allah was the unique real life to support the phenomenon world. The purpose of man is to get rid of his independent awareness but try to focus on the knowledge of Allah until there were no differences in the awareness between Allah and himself. Through a series of stages (maqamat) and personal experience (ahwal), the process of focus could be developed a lot. The worshipers would became a perfect person (an al-insanul-kamil) until the individual was completely doomed (fana).
Module 5: Hinduism & Sikhism
# Resource Activity 2 400-500字， 12 font, Times New Roman
ACTIVITY 2
Hinduism identifies four stages to the human life cycle. Define and explain the cycle. Compare these to the typical pattern of Canadian life. Where are the similarities. and where are the differences?
According to Hindu religion, the life cycle in the world can be divided into four distinct eras. When human being is just born, he is completely innocent. But they will become corrupt as time goes on. The process of transformation can be divided into four stages:
First one is called the golden era. In Hindu, they called satyayug or krityug. And all the gods lived in this era.
Second one is called the silver era. In Hindu, they called tretayug. The incarnation of God came to earth in this era, and they tried to free the world from the hands of the wicked.
The third one is called the copper era. In Hindu, they called dvaparyug. The incarnation and religious leaders lived in this era.
The fourth period is the Iron Age, or the machine age. In Hindu, they called kalyug. In this era, people become corrupt very fast and all off this could be demonstrated in daily life.
In accordance with the Hindu doctrine, it is also possible also realize God's will, although there are many evil and depravity in this era. People can choose to remember God in any suitable manner they want. This is what ordinary people have to understand and follow. When it comes to the end of this era, the world comes to the end. Then in turn, there will be another cycle.
ACTIVITY 3
A. Gandhi had a great influence on Martin Luther King. Both believed in the principles of non-violence, and both died at the hands of assassins. Can lessons be learned from this? Your answer should be 1 page, 12 font, and in Times New Roman font.
Gandhi and Martin Luther King believe the civil disobedience and they adopted Non-Violence Movement on. But unfortunately, the two were able to escape the fate of the assassination. This phenomenon left us endless thought. Gandhi's non-violent ideology is very complex. The political philosophy is the combination of universal love of religion and humanitarian Truth of bourgeois concept. His political thinking is to win the Indian autonomy, independence, and then establish a village-based partition of the Commonwealth. His economic thinking is to establish autonomic economy under the rural economic thought of economic justice and economic equality. Gandhi stressed on carrying forward the national culture and on national education. He dedicated to Hindu and Muslim unity and opposed discrimination against "untouchables". He proposed a equal society in which small-scale production workers helped each other with patriotism. As Hindus Gandhi, Christian pastor Martin Luther King has put his political activities on a religious basis. Just as Gandhi said that all men, even enemies or oppressors, are divine with no one less valuable than or inferior to others. The two men had noble and esteemed ideas and deeds, they, however, were assassinated. Meanwhile, there were numerous people for democracy imprisoned or killed. The arrival of the democratic era was at the cost of their freedom or even life. Although, they faced long term prison, they overcame the dark days with tenacious willpower. I show my deep respect for them. Rousseau told people that they had the right to fight for democracy. But he probably didn’t realize that the cost of democratic rights was so great. When we look back the history, we unfortunately found that corpses and blood was everywhere in the struggle of defending democracy and freedom. However, the tide of democracy is irreversible. Regardless of any costs, the era of democracy will eventually come through the unremitting efforts of several generations.
# Resource Activity 4 500-600字，12 font, Times New Roman
Your task is to write a short research report on the different paths that Hinduism has for a union with the divine. Be sure that you also deal with these two questions:
1. Why would each path attract followers?
2. Identify each path and whether or not it favors religion as a social event or an individual concern?
Hindusim has different paths for a union with the divine. In my mind, the four Yogas are the best means to seek union with the divine:
Karma Yoga – the path of action through selfless service (releases built up karma without building up new karma). Karma yoga, also known as Buddhi Yoga or the discipline of action, is based on the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, a sacred Sanskrit scripture of Hinduism. Of the four paths to realization, Karma Yoga is the science of achieving perfection in action. Karma Yoga is an intrinsic part of many derivative types of yoga, such as Natya Yoga.
Jnana Yoga – the path of knowledge (understanding the true nature of reality and the self) Jnâna yoga or path of knowledge is one of the types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies. Jnâna in Sanskrit means "knowledge". ( ). Jnana yoga looks into who we are and what we are experiencing. The full realization of this truth brings enlightment. Of course, all yogas offer a direct road to enlightenment if followed fully.
Raja Yoga – the path of meditation. Rāja Yoga is concerned principally with the cultivation of the mind using meditation (dhyana) to further one's acquaintance with reality and finally achieve liberation.( ) Raja means royal or kingly. Raja yoga meditation is generally based on directing one’s life force to bring the mind and emotions so into balance that the attention may be easily focused on the object of meditation, or the Lord directly.
Bhakti Yoga – the path of devotion. Bhakti Yoga is a term within Hinduism which denotes the spiritual practice of fostering loving devotion ("bhakti") to a personal form of God. The Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Purana are two important scriptures which explain and develop the attitude of bhakti. Hindu a movement in which bhakti is the main practice is called bhakti movements—the major schools are Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism.
(Anonymous. Yoga. July 25, 2010)
The emergence and development of yoga, has been working with the Indian lifestyle and philosophy closely. However, in essence, it has been working with any religious faith or ethical separately, and it never requires any belief system to accept it. Yoga is not a religion; it is based on a number of psychological and behavioral philosophies of life. And its purpose is to maintain the perfect balance between physical and mental development to make full harmony between the individual and the universe. Yoga is an ultra-secular quest and it is a deep understanding for all phenomena of good faith and expectation of life. Then to some extend, it is the combination of a social event or an individual concern.
Yoga is a healthy system to cultivate the spirit of life and to meet the spiritual fulfillment. Through teaching practitioners how to tap its energy reserves of the body, the practitioner could have the yoga temperament of health and happiness.
Meanwhile, yoga could enhance the body consciousness. Yoga is a way to make you better understands your body. The combination of different yoga posture could make every system and organ benefit.
Nowadays, the pace of life becomes faster and faster, and the competition becomes more and more fierce, so people have to deal with the increasing pressure. The pressure we are facing is beyond our tolerance, yoga could help our body free from the pressure.
Buddhism
ACTIVITY 2
A) Create a timeline for Buddhism. Be sure to include as much information as possible.
1. Origin and Early Development of Buddhism(6th century BC-1st century BC)
About 565BC, Siddhattha Gotama was born in shakya royal family.
About 537BC, Siddhattha Gotama became mokn.
About 486BC, Siddhattha Gotama died
About 250 BC, Ashoka converted to buddhism
About 2nd century to 1st century, buddhism spreaded to kingdom of bactria
2. The establishment of Theravada and Mahayana traditions (1st century BC-3rd century)
65: Liu Ying's sponsorship of Buddhism is the first documented case of Buddhist practices in China.
67: Buddhism comes to China with the two monks Moton and Chufarlan.
68: Buddhism is officially established in China with the founding of the White Horse Temple.
78–101: According to Mahayana tradition, the Fourth Buddhist council takes place under Kushana king Kanishka's reign, near Jalandar, India.
116 CE: The Kushans, under Kanishka, establish a kingdom centered on Kashgar, also taking control of Khotan and Yarkand—previously Chinese dependencies in the Tarim Basin, modern Xinjiang.
178: The Kushan monk Lokaksema travels to the Chinese capital of Loyang and becomes the first known translator of Mahayana texts into Chinese.
300s: Two Chinese monks take scriptures to the Korean kingdom of Goguryeo and establish papermaking in Korea.
3. The golden age of Buddhism (4-6century)
400s: The kingdom of Funan (centered in modern Cambodia) begins to advocate Buddhism in a departure from Hinduism. Earliest evidence of Buddhism in Myanmar (Pali inscriptions). Earliest evidence of Buddhism in Indonesian (statues). Earliest reinterpretations of Pali texts. The stupa at Dambulla (Sri Lanka) is constructed.
485: Five monks from Gandhara travel to the country of Fusang (Japan, or possibly the American continent), where they introduce Buddhism.
Early 600s: Jingwan begins carving sutras onto stone at Fangshan, Yuzhou, 75 km southwest of modern-day Beijing.
4.the transfer of buddhism center(7-10 century)
700s: Under the reign of King Trisong Deutsen, Padmasambhava travels from Afghanistan to establish tantric Buddhism in Tibet (later known as the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism), replacing Bonpo as the kingdom's main religion. Buddhism quickly spreads to Sikkim and Bhutan.
804: Under the reign of Emperor Kammu of Japan, a fleet of four ships sets sail for mainland China. Of the two ships that arrive, one carries the monk Kūkai—recently ordained by the Japanese government as a Bhiksu—who absorbs Vajrayana teachings in Chang'an and returns to Japan to found the Japanese Shingon school. The other ship carries the monk Saichō, who returns to Japan to found the Japanese Tendai school, partly based upon the Chinese Tiantai tradition.
838–847: Ennin, a priest of the Tendai school, travels in China for nine years. He reaches both the famous Buddhist mountain of Wutaishan and the Chinese capital, Chang'an, keeping a detailed diary that is a primary source for this period of Chinese history, including the Buddhist persecution.
1000s: Marpa, Konchog Gyalpo, Atisha, and others introduce the Sarma lineages into Tibet.
5. revival of buddhism and its development to the overseas(11-18century)
1044–1077: In Burma, Pagan's first king Anoratha reigns. He converts the country to Theravada Buddhism with the aid of monks and books from Sri Lanka. He is said to have been converted to Theravada Buddhism by a Mon monk, though other beliefs persist.
1063: A copy of the Khitans' printed canon arrives in Korea from mainland China.
1133–1212: Hōnen establishes Pure Land Buddhism as an independent sect in Japan.
1164: Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka destroyed by foreign invasion. With the guidance of two forest monks - Ven. Mahakassapa and Ven. Sariputta, Parakramabahu I reunites all bhikkhus in Sri Lanka into the Mahavihara sect
1236: Bhikkhus from Kañcipuram, India, arrive in Sri Lanka to revive the Theravada ordination line
1295: Mongol leader Ghazan Khan is converted to Islam, ending a line of Tantric Buddhist leaders.
1305–1316: Buddhists in Persia attempt to convert Uldjaitu Khan.
1321: Sojiji Soto Zen Temple and Monastery established by Keizan Zenji.
1899: Gordon Douglas is ordained in Myanmar; he is the first Westerner to be ordained in the Theravada tradition.
1957: Caves near the summit of Pai-tai mountain, Fangshan district, 75 km southwest of Beijing, are reopened, revealing thousands of Buddhist sutras that had been carved onto stone since the 7th century. Seven sets of rubbings are made, and the stones are numbered, in work that continues until 1959.
1959: Together with some 100,000 Tibetans, the 14th Dalai Lama flees the Chinese occupation of Tibet and establishes an exile community in India. The Chinese invaders completely destroy all but a handful of monasteries and severely persecute Buddhist practitioners.
1975: Lao Communist rulers attempt to change attitudes to religion—in particular, calling on monks to work, not beg. This causes many to return to lay life, but Buddhism remains popular.
1975: 代写留学生论文The Insight Meditation Society is established in Barre, Massachusetts.
1978: In Burma, more monks and novices are arrested, disrobed, and imprisoned by the government. Monasteries are closed and property seized. The critical monk U Nayaka is arrested and dies, the government claiming it is suicide.
2001, May: Two of the world's tallest ancient Buddha statues, the Buddhas of Bamyan, are completely destroyed by the Taliban in Bamyan, Afghanistan.
2008 (March): Tibetan monks protest in Lhasa, and many Tibetans join in calling for the end of Chinese rule. Many Chinese businesses are attacked and burned. The Chinese respond by sending in troops and ordering a strict lockdown of the capital city of Lhasa. Many Tibetans are killed, with the death toll maybe over a hundred. Outraged, thousands of exiled Tibetans around the world protest.
2009, March 28 to April 1: Second World Buddhist Forum held in China.
B) In a paragraph explain how Buddhism may have affected / influenced individuals in Canadian society.
According to the 2004 Canadian census data, it showed that the number of people consider themselves Buddhists was 300,000, including the local white people. If we take the people to go to temple for pray in holiday, the number will be hundreds of millions. Every year, a lot of people go to the Tanzan Abode for pray.
C) Why is the Mahabodhi temple such a revered place for Buddhist around the globe? How do you think that Buddha would view the Mahabodhi site?
Mahabodhi Temple was built in the 5th century to 6th century. It is up to 50 meters and it is very magnificent. Meanwhile, it is the oldest existing temple sub-continent in the Indian and it has high value for historical research. Mahabodhi Temple provides a valuable historical record for the acts of the Buddha during his lifetime and fellow people's worship. Amont them, the most precious one is the first Mahabodhi Temple and column were hosted by the Ashoka. Bodh Gaya's Mahabodhi Temple had a direct and close contact with the life of Buddha. And this is the holy place where Buddha sit in meditation and attain enlightment.
# Resource Activity 3 400字
A) In a 1/2 page explain why most Canadians would have trouble with the Five Precepts?
The Five Precepts (Pali: pañca-sīlāni; Sanskrit: pañca-śīlāni)[1] constitute the basic Buddhist code of ethics, undertaken by lay followers (Upāsaka and Upāsikā) of the Buddha Gautama in the Theravada and Mahayana traditions. The Five Precepts are commitments to abstain from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication.
Killing means not to kill anything that has life. Most people dare say they would not kill people in the whole life. But they may kill some small animals. In Buddhism, it is to oppose five concepts. As to sexual misconduct, I think it is a quite serious problem. After the revolution of sex, people don’t treat it seriously, especially the youth. They are curious about sex and what’s worse, they may take sex as cool thing. As to lying, I personally believe that it is quite difficult for youth to keep honest in accordance with the concept of Buddhism. Drinking is part of culture in Canada. Some youth will drink without letting their parents know, or they even take drugs. So it is a kind of behavior to betray the laws of Buddhism. Above all, I believe that it is quite difficult for Canadians or even the people in the world to follow the Five Concept. We all have trouble with Five Percepts.
A) In a 1/2 page explain how is the morality of Buddhism similar to other religious world views? Do you think that young Canadians would benefit from spending some time in a Buddhist monastery?
Religion is man's response to the revelation of God. Religion believes that god has character, property and feelings and god cares for human soul. Buddhism and Islam are seeking God, but Christianity is God to seek man. However, all religion thinks that the light is good and the dark is evil. They all provide shelter for the spirit of people. In the shelter, people could access to peace and remove their sin. They believe that good deeds will be rewarded finally and encourage people to punish evil and promote good.
Learning Buddhism is a good thing and it is a sign that you are close to good heart. Buddhism can wash away the evil spirit, and it can make people come to real peace in the mind. Learning Buddhism could make you better focus on what you do. Buddhist is the psychological mechanism of maturity, but by no means superstitious. At the same time, Buddhism is the faith for awareness and wisdom, but not faith in idols. What’s more, believing in Buddhism doesn’t mean that you have to become purely vegetarian or monks, it is to amend their comprehensive behavioral and psychology. So, for a person's growth, it is good to have faith and faith could reduce the loss at the road of growth.
# Resource Activity 4 500-600字，12 font, Times New Roman
Several media figures have publicly declared their adherence to Buddhism-for example, Patrick Duffy, Richard Gere and Tina Turner. I want you to identify why celebrities might find Buddhism an attractive alternative, given the hectic pace of the entertainment world. Your report should be 3 pages in length, 12 font, Times New Roman.
The entertainment world changes constantly. It is quite noisy and cold. When stars exposure to it, they could become frustrated.
The importance of religion for life is clearly obvious. It is a very extremely important part for human spiritual life. Religion has immense power of encouraging and inspiring for life. Meanwhile, religion can make society be stable and purify the mind to fulfill people with confidence and hope. And people can live a more reasonable, noble life. Buddhism could make people have a correct outlook on life and it could analyze the problem of universe and life in detail. The aim of Buddhism is to get people to understand life correctly. The general view of life can be divided into two kinds: pessimistic and optimistic. A. The pessimistic view of life. Someone thinks that life is empty and short and that living is to waiting for death. So they are anxious and demoralized all day. B. The optimistic of life. This kind of people is not having real happy as their life has no purpose and meaning.
According to Buddhism, there is neither pessimistic nor optimistic view. We can call it not so pessimistic or optimistic. It means that we are not crying to lament or spend life in vain. Buddhism could use its wisdom to be no remove all doubts and fears of life, depression and misunderstanding. It could realize the truth of life and grasp the direction of life. Buddhism is not an irresponsible religion. It ask us to realize that our life is a troubled life, and then it analyzes that all of the troubles are resulted from ignorance and greed. So everyone could overcome the troubles by themselves. Finally, it points out the way of hapiness. It hopes people to control their desires and to serve for others. Buddhist believes that we can not take delight at the cost of other’s suffering. Only do everyone feel happy, the individuals could sense the true happiness. Buddhism believes that Cyril fame is quite superficial. So they persuade people not to be too lust. On the contrary, people have to donate and pray for a better life. The amount of wealth could not represent the enrichment of one’s spirit. People could have a peaceful mind when they have purified mind and cultivated moral.
Buddhism can make people be positive. After denying everything in life, Buddhism guides people not to be lust and greedy blindly. Then we could serve people actively and affirm the value and meaning of life again. Buddhism also believes that all living beings are one and the individual’s lives in the greater being.
So we have to sacrifice, and we can not be selfish. Everyone needs to have the compassion to help others. Buddhism opposes to be in control in the hands of others or to be controlled by god. So Buddhism believes that everyone should work hard. If you want to have a better future, you need to work diligently.
As to the above analysis, I think some celebrities find Buddhism an attractive alternative