Exam



Table of Contents

Question 11

Introduction1

Argument1

Personal Connection3

Conclusion5

Question 25

Introduction5

Argument6

Personal Connection8

Conclusion9

Question 49

Introduction9

Argument10

Personal Connection11

Conclusion12

Bibliography13

Exam

Question 1

Introduction

A monk, a hermit, a poet, a noble man, Han Shan is an earnest, who resided in seclusion but persuaded the world with his poems. The above mentioned attributes of his personality combine to form Cold Mountain.

Argument

The literary masterpiece by Han Shan, Cold Mountain, a collection of poems, has a far-reaching impact on both of the world, east and the west alike. The literary work presents an extraordinary sphere of influence, combining Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism.

The extract of the poem presented by the inspirational life behavior of Han Shan provides readers with a pure point of view of life and how life is more reasonable in nature. In order to understand the Buddhist teachings embodied by Han Shan's poem, it is imperative to understand the nature of his life.

As we see that the emphasis of the poem is on egotism, which is the source of human woe and it is found to be in the Jesus Sutras. In addition, the same idea is presented by The Secret Sayings that has basic emphasis as follows:

“To the multitude I speak only in parables, for the world is drunk with its own importance, addicted to its own pride. Drunken understanding is worse than drunken ignorance.”

Therefore, as long as the egotism is concerned in the poem, it expresses itself in the context of craving and prevail the message to be misinterpreted. In addition, the gospel interpreted egotistically also constitutes a severe danger.

The important aspect to be considered here is the meditation component of Buddhism. Meditation constitutes a vital link in the path toward Awakening to the Supreme Truth and Liberation from the suffering of the cycle of rebirths. There is no shortage of traditional taxonomies and terminology related to meditation. Meditation is an extremely complex process, and more than one function is responsible for its success. A certain dose of abstraction and schematization, therefore, is unavoidable. It is worth remembering that all types of meditative techniques imply a minimum degree of unbroken concentration. This, together with the basic premise that the effort is directly or indirectly conducive to Awakening, is what defines Buddhist meditation in general. The way concentration is employed as well as the function upon which it fixes itself differs from one category to another.

What emerges from the meditative aspect of Buddhism is the importance of self-reflection and achieving spiritual consciousness. The reflection-centered form of meditation, probably the most widely practiced Buddhist meditation today, does not aim at altered states of consciousness or elimination of ideation. In contemporary sources, the approach is also referred to as "awareness meditation" or "mindfulness." Its cultivation is typically described as conducive to a full understanding of the three essential characteristics of all conditioned phenomena: impermanence, suffering, and self denial.

The meditation in Buddhism is not to satisfy God but to get self discipline. There are various disciplines in the culture of Buddhism where killing any living creature is forbidden and much emphasis is provided ...