Japanese religion and influence on culture

Japanese religion and influence on culture Japanese Religion and the Influence on Culture Throughout the world, religion is perceived as a governing idea within many different cultures. Religion has a way of representing a certain way of life, providing a basis for faith to live by, and brings a sense of belonging to many cultures in our world. For different cultures and within many countries religion varies according to demographics. The key concepts of religion within the Japanese culture are natural and superstitious based. The leading religion in Japan remains Shinto, while other religions have come and go, interweaving themselves among the Japanese society. For any Japanese person who may practice Shinto, another religion that may dually be practiced is Buddhism. Are these religions common to one another in theory? Do they serve the same purposes? And what other religions claim a popular following in Japan? While Buddhism was brought over to Japan via China and Korea in the 6th century, Shinto seems to have always resided in Japan (Japan-Guide.com, 2007). The religion of Shinto is still today very mysterious because in some areas there is still no certain knowledge in the course of the centuries many Japanese have written extensively on Shinto but these are largely expressions of their individual points of view. Except for the relatively short three-quarters of a century of regimentation after the Meiji Restoration when there was an artificial, government-created authoritative interpretation of Shinto, there has not been any large body of interpretation that is generally accepted (Ono, Sokyo ix). Buddhism was founded by the teachings of Guatama Siddhartha who was born around 6th century B.C. in Nepal. The spread of Buddhism took many centuries, and didnt reach Japan until 6th century A.C. (Buddhanet). Although there are many sects of Buddhism, the main teachings are universal in The Four Noble Truths. These teachings from Siddhartha himself lay the foundation of Buddhism itself. The first Nobel truth; Life means suffering. To live means to suffer, because the human nature is not perfect and neither is the world we live in. During our lifetime, we inevitably have to endure physical suffering such as pain, sickness, injury, tiredness, old age, and eventually death. (The Big View). The second Noble Truth;the origin of suffering is attachment to worldly desires. The origin of suffering is attachment to transient things and the ignorance thereof The reasons for suffering are desire, passion, ardour, pursue of wealth, prestige, striving for fame and popularity (The Big View). The third Nobel Truth is the cessation of suffering is attainable. Extinguishing all forms of clinging and attachment Suffering can be overcome through human activity simply by removing the cause of suffering (The Big View). The Fourth Noble Truth is to follow the Eightfold Path. A gradual self-improvement by following the way between the two extremes of excessive self-indulgence and excessive self-mortification(The Big View). Although the Four Nobel Truths are great concepts of Buddhism there are many other aspects that make up Buddhism. Daily practice of meditation helps develop ones sense of awareness, to grow, and develops compassion and loving kindness (Buddhanet). Following the laws of Karma and following right speech are also integral to Buddhism. In the religion of Shinto, which was founded as Japans state religion in the Meiji Period, there is no absolute right or wrong and humans are seen as fundamentally good (buddhanet). The purpose of rituals in the Shinto religion are to cast away evil spirits by means of purification, prayers and offerings. The Way of the Gods or Kami is the literal translation of Shinto. Unlike Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam, Shinto has neither a founder, such as Guatama the Enlightened One, Jesus the Messiah or Mohammed the Prophet; nor does it have sacred scriptures, such as the sutras of Buddhism, the Bible or the Koran (Ono Sokyo 3). Shinto appears very little in history, as there is no significant teachings or information surrounding the ideas. Shinto is more than just a religious faith; it is a collection of ideas, attitudes on ways of doing things and through history has become an integral part of the way of the Japanese people (Ono, Sokyo, 3). The kami-concept today includes the idea of justice, order, and divine favor (blessing), and implies the basic principle that the kami function harmoniously in cooperation with one another and rejoice in the evidence of harmony and cooperation in this world (Ono Sokyo, 7). This concept is basically the same as it was in ancient Japan, only few things have changed in regards to theory on Shinto. The kami of the Shinto religion serve different purposes for the Japanese. Their culture revolves around kami who protect different things such as places, processes and natural orders. The Shinto gods can take many different forms, such as mountains, trees, rocks, wind, and rain. When a human dies they become ancestral kami and are worshipped as such (Japan-Guide). This idea of kami is very different in contrast to Buddhism , where they do not believe in kami, but in a force that which is made up of all living things and holds the universe together (leaderu). This difference between Buddhism and Shinto may be the key to why they are so easily practiced together. There is no fundamental conflict between each religions kami, and there is no need to favor one over the other. The practice of Buddhism is earthly compassion while the practice of Shinto is otherworldly compassion. There are different types of Shinto, just as in Buddhism, that the Japanese follow. There is popular Shinto practice in everyday life of kami-worship, and Domestic Shinto referring to home practice, and shrine Shinto is the oldest and most prevalent type (Ono, Sokyo, 12). Shinto does no appear to have branches or sects of difference among its worshippers, and the ideas across Japan are fundamentally the same. In Buddhism each branch may have many different sects of practice. Theravada Buddhism, which teaches the psychological understanding of human nature and emphasis a meditative approach on transformation of consciousness (Buddhanet). The Mahayana, another sect of Buddhism, teaches a variety of practices such as yoga. This sect of Buddhism branches out into many different lineages such as Pure Land, Avatamska and Tien Tai. Elements of Worpship for Shinto are performed at srhines, and involve four different elements. It is a distinctive feature of Shinto that kami-worship is expressed not only from the depth of ones heat but in a concrete act of religious ritual (Ono, Sokyo, 51). The four elements of Shinto worship include purification, offerings, prayer and a symbolic feast. Purification is very essential to Shinto and the idea of pollution is vitally important. Removing pollution from oneself helps rid evil and unrighteousness, which could thwart ones communication with kami. Rinsing the mouth and fingers with clear water will purify a worshiper. Offerings are necessary to keep the kami happy daily. In shrines of great importance offerings may be very elaborate, while simple ones may be of salt, rice or water (Ono Sokyo, 53). Prayers are typically read or recited at shrines in classical Japanese. These prayers are opened with words of praise for kami, making reference to the kami in which they are praying to. These prayers are ended with final words of respect and awe to the kami (Ono, sokyo, 54). The sacred feast is held at the end of any Shinto ceremony in which you eat together with the kami. While Shinto and Buddhism seem blatantly different in their day-to-day functions, operating together they appear to make perfect sense. Japans idea of dually practiced religion is called syncretism. While Shinto is the main religion practiced for any wedding ceremony, Buddhist rituals are practiced at funerals because death in Shitno religion is considered pollution. These two dominant religions in Japan are clearly the oldest forms of religion, however there are new religions that are also claiming a popular following. These new religions often cited as Folk Religion have never faced the kind of dilemma of secularization which has been experienced by Buddhism or Christianity. Folk Religion always preserves the strong enduring power which perseveres in he lower structure of society and religious institutions ( Hori, Ichiro, 18) Folk religion therefore has a strong social significance. The idea and concept of religion rose out of the cyclical concept of agriculture, in which everything has a natural order of germination, growth and maturity (Hori, Ichiro, 20). Farm and agricultural work is regarded as sacred in itself to the Japanese people and rituals are often observed before seeding and after harvesting. These among other rituals done for protection and security make folk religion a part of Japanese culture. There are two distinct types of folk religion in Japan. The first is considered as the guardian shrine systems, known as the uji-gami. This was based on a particular family or clan system in which each family has its own shrine as a central symbol of harmony, devoted to ancestral spirit who was enshrined and worshiped. The main function of uji-gami is to assimilate all the family members into a patriarchal hierarchy in which the familys respectable name is preserved for generations to come. The second type of system in folk religion is known as the man-god system, also called hito-gami. This system is based on a close relationship of an individual god with a shaman. Older Japanese cultures or villages were once ruled by an individual shaman or medicine man (Hori, Ichiro, 31) This type of system gave the leader the power to transmit ideas to their kami thus making the leader a utility of divine power. Beliefs and superstitions are present at the core of each folk religion. There are five types of superstitious groups; beliefs and magic concerning omens, beliefs in divination, fragmentary customs concerning taboo, black magic, and prayers with magical elements. Although these topics may be viewed as superstitious, it is not from an objective point of view as many religions around the world practice what one might call superstitions. These rituals or acts of superstition do enter the daily life of the Japanese and may even regulate the conduct of a great number of persons (Hori, Ichiro, 46). Although the religions of Shinto, Buddhism and new religions seem different in many aspects, there are common themes and theories among them. This being said, it is also observed that many different religions around the world share a number of commonalities. Shinto and Buddhism define a lot of cultural morals and values that the Japanese use in conduct everyday. New Religions also are seen to permeate into the daily lives of Japanese. These religions practiced together make Japan the diverse but unified country that it is today. Bibliography Buddhism. 2007. japan-Guide.com. 09 Apr. 2007 . Buddhanet. Buddhanet. 2007. 09 Apr. 2007 . Hori, Ichiro. Folk Religion in Japan. Chicago: University of Chicago P, 1968. Ono, Sokyo. Shinto: the Kami Way. Ruthland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Co., Inc, 1969. The Four Noble Truths. The Big View. 13 Dec. 2006. 09 Mar. 2007 www.thebigview.com

Critical Appraisal of Life Cycle Assessment

Having an understanding of environmental sustainability of the complete life cycle of products and services Is becoming Imperative for organizations so they can comply with environmental standards and to meet the growing public expectation regarding the organization's role in managing their environmental impacts.But this is a complex matter and this essay critically appraises Life Cycle Assessment (LLC) as a tool to provide decision-making support in improving production processes in order to minimizes their environmental Impacts. The definition of LLC, a review of its application In Industry and advantages will be discussed first to form a basis for Its critical evaluation. The usefulness of this tool and Its potential Limitations and weaknesses in terms of applicability, standardization, cost, complexity and requirements of expertise will be considered.As an example, the role of LLC in improving the environmental impact of milk production system will be used. In literature LLC Is d efined as a systematic approach to analyses the environmental burden through the whole life cycle of a specific product or service that In turn helps o reduce that environmental burden by triggering areas of Improvement so that better technologies, product materials and process options can then be adopted (Roy et al. 2009; ISO 1997, AAA; The Finnish Environment Institute, 2010).To critically appraise LLC it is imperative to see its application in a specific sector so milk production Is considered. Milk production Involves live stock, agriculture, dairy farming, dairy packaging and distribution (Household et al. , 2003). These systems are highly inter-related and their combined effect is very complex for the LLC first phase of boundary allocation. Milk is not produced in isolation but production of cheese, court and butter is also uses the similar inventory and production system that make it difficult to identify the system boundaries (Hospice et al. 2003). Multi-product system and d ifficulty of LLC in allocation of system boundaries Is also discussed by Warden et al. (2012) that relates the outcomes of LLC with allocation. In studies, contribute to transportation, packaging waste and CA emissions respectively (Thomas et al. , 2008). Roy et al. (2009) declare LLC as useful tool for various food industries that helps to reduce environmental load by suggesting alternate reduction, processing, packaging, and distribution and consumption patterns.LLC also provides quantitative information that ultimately helps to provide stakeholders with information about company steps that have been practically taken to minimizes the environmental impacts of their production activities (Roy et al. , 2009). However there are various issues like generalization of LLC results, its cost and time intensiveness, the required expertise, difficulties in allocation of system boundaries and lack of standardization in its methodology that are imperative to resolve before adopting this metho dology (Reap et al, 2008).The complex interacting nature of the environment and highly different environmental scenarios in different industries and countries also affect the usefulness of LLC. For example, in a review by Rossi (2004) of the LLC of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic across its lifestyle found that LLC quantitative methodology is highly subjective to data collection which can mislead the outcomes and in toxic chemical determination LLC is cannot provide accurate measurement. This implies that pesticides, antibiotics and detergents should be carefully analyses as part of the farm impacts and should be considered as a ‘hot spot' in milk production (HogwashAide, 2002). Defining functional units is very important and errors can arise due to assigning functional units to multiple functions and when handling non-quantifiable functions (Cooper, 2003). However in milk production functional units are quantifiable but not standardized across various studies so that it is d ifficult to compare different results (Gao, 2012; Hogwash Aide, 2002). Similarly, boundary selection is subjective that could lead to less confidence in comparative studies of LLC (Such et al. , 2004).For example, in milk production if the packaging waste and the production of feed at the arm is ignored, that can generate highly different findings regarding environmental impacts. Omitting social and economic considerations in defining the goal and scope of LLC has also brought criticism that technical improvements cannot remove the need to make socially influenced decisions (Reap et al. , 2008). Therefore the lack of environmental and economic integration in LLC methodology can miss opportunities or limit the influence of LLC in decision making, especially in private sector (Norris, 2001).To conclude, despite the limitations and inability of LLC to incorporate social and economic factors in relation to product life cycle assessment, it is still a useful and highly established and ad opted methodology for the analysis of environmental impacts. However it is difficult to implement LLC in small scale firms due to its cost, time intensive nature and required expertise in executing LLC. Standardization of methodologies and generalization of results is also a natural flaw in this approach due to highly different environmental condition and technological use by organizations.However in milk production, LLC as been very successfully applied in any countries as it allows boundaries to be set and also the selection of functional widely used in the whole dairy industry and results are being used to minimizes the environmental impacts especially when selecting chemicals, packaging, transport and feeding. Finally, it is concluded that there are no other alternative highly established methods of finding a product or services environmental impacts than LLC but economic and social considerations should be involved in this process to make it more useful in improving environment al impacts.

Using Rant Essay Topics

Using Rant Essay Topics What Rant Essay Topics Is - and What it Is Not Choosing topics for argumentative essays is essential for your general success. Informative essays are somewhat more descriptive. In general, you can observe that writing a persuasive essay isn't a brain surgery. If you haven't been extended a prompt to write about, you should produce your own interesting creative essays. Writing about nuclear weapons is always a superb idea. Education scholars are continuously evolving the way that they think about how we learn and what's taught. Attempt to consider what age is great for students to date with one another. Individuals also believe that homework helps parents to realize that the school holds high goals for students. Ruthless Rant Essay Topics Strategies Exploited When it has to do with writing an argumentative essay, the most significant issue to do is to select a topic and an argument you could really get behind. The primary aim of topic choice for a proposal essay is to show the idea can be put into place in practice. Still, figuring out the very best topic for your essay isn't your only concern for a student. The issue is that everybody's interpretation of what makes a great society differs. Recent argumentative essay topics that are related to society is going to do. The intent of writing a satirical essay is just to entertain readers and thus, topic selection is indeed critical. In this kind of situation, it's more convenient to locate ready-made essays and use them as an example. An argumentative essay requires you to choose a topic and have a position on it. To choose which subject you're likely to discuss, it's vital to see the complete collection of good persuasive speech topics from the specific area of study. It's important to select debatable argumentative essay topics as you need opposing points you may counter to your own points. Utilize your own personal experience to explain your viewpoint. Thanks to the correct selection of presentation style and a thorough understanding of the goals you need to attain in your essay, there are many categories essay themes may be broken into. Otherwise, you must have a look at a number of the easy compare and contrast essay topics on the many scientific innovations. Not all research paper topics are made equal, and you would like to make certain you opt for a terrific topic before you commence writing. Moral argumentative essay topics are a few of the simplest to get carried away with. The Little-Known Secrets to Rant Essay Topics How people will act if there is not going to be any rules in any way. There are not any undesirable genres, and there's not any way for anybody to possibly know if they don't enjoy the entirety of a single genre. There are many steps that you should take so as to write an exemplary essay. So without further ado, below are some effective writing tips to produce your common app essay stick out! The War Against Rant Essay Topics Argumentative essays are a few of the best that you can write as a student. Categories, essay topics might be divided into. It's therefore important to thoroughly consider different college essay topics. Colleges can tell whenever your essay is merely a form essay. The Ultimate Rant Essay Topics Trick The success of a research paper mostly is dependent upon the topic, which is why many of time is spent searching for the best research paper topics for college students. At exactly the same time, detecting cause and effect relationships isn't that easy in regards to the selection of a superior cause and effect essay topic. It will also aid you not to use the outdated topics or the ones which were re-written thousands of times So in the event that you lack creativity or time, do not merely sill copy the information present on the internet, the topics which were funny for someone many years ago but will be trying that you reveal. Yearly driving tests o ught to be mandatory over a particular age. The college essay is among the main characteristics of your college application. If you're looking for college essay examples, here's a great one below. A college essay topic may or might not be freely dependent on the student based on the course and the professor. College application essay topics are a vital portion of an entertaining and compelling bit of writing.

Standardized Testing And The School Entrance Examination...

Standardized testing had only been added to America’s public education curriculum when â€Å"the common school movement began in earnest in the 1830s in New England as reformers†¦ began to argue successfully for a greater government role in the schooling of all children† (â€Å"Common School†). â€Å"By 1845 in the United States, public education advocate Horace Mann was calling for standardized essay testing† (Mathews), because he believed that â€Å"political stability and social harmony depended on universal education† (â€Å"Common School†), and that these tests would help teachers â€Å"find and replicate the best teaching methods so that all children could have equal opportunities† (Gershon). There weren’t any other well known attempts at standardized testing until â€Å"the College Entrance Examination Board—†¦ or SAT—began in the 1920s† (Gershon). Later â€Å"in the 1960s, the federal gove rnment started pushing new achievement tests designed to evaluate instructional methods and schools† (Gershon), because the Cold War â€Å"fueled a space race and increased pressure on U.S. schools to show improvement† (Mathews). However, it wasn’t â€Å"until the mid-1970s, when the College Board revealed that average SAT scores had been falling since 1963† (Mathews), that the country realized â€Å"public school standards were too low† (Mathews). This is the reason why â€Å"Congress created the National Assessment Governing Board† (Mathews), an organization which †established new standards for the National Assessment of EducationalShow MoreRelatedQuality Education Is The Single Most Important Factors With Developing Countries Alike1800 Words   |  8 Pagescountries that are on the other end of the spectrum. 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