Buddhism Essays - Nondualism, Nstika, Buddhism, Gautama Buddha

Buddhism Essays - Nondualism, Nstika, Buddhism, Gautama Buddha Buddhism Buddhism is one of the major religions of the world it was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha, who lived in northern India from c.560 to c.480 BC. The time of the Buddha was a time of social and religious change, the development of trade and cities, the breakdown of old tribal traditions, and the rise of many new religious movements that answered the demands of the times. These movements came from the Brahmanic tradition of Hinduism but were also reactions against it. Of the new sects, Buddhism was the most successful and eventually spread throughout India and most of Asia. Today Buddhism is divided into two main branches. The Theravada, or "Way of the Elders," the more conservative of the two, it is mainly found in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand. The Mahayana, or "Great Vehicle," is more liberal, it is found mainly in Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, and among Tibetan peoples, where it is known by its emphasis on the Buddhist Tantras. In recent times, both branches, as well as Tibetan Buddhism, have gained followers in the West. It is almost impossible to tell the size of the Buddhist population today. Statistics are difficult to obtain because some individuals may have Buddhist beliefs and engage in Buddhist rites while maintaining folk or other religions; these people may or may not call themselves Buddhists. Nevertheless, the number of Buddhists worldwide is estimated at more than 300 million. The matter of what Buddha's original teachings were cause of major controversy. Even so, it is said to have centered on certain basic doctrines. The first of the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha held, is suffering. By this, he meant not only that human existence is occasionally painful but that all beingshumans, animals, ghosts, hell-beings, even the godsare caught up in samsara, a cycle of rebirth, a maze of suffering in which their actions keep them wandering. Samsara and karma are not doctrines specific to Buddhism. The Buddha, however, specified that samsara is characterized by three marks: suffering, impermanence and no self. Individuals not only suffer in a constantly changing world, but what appears to be the "self," the "soul," has no independent reality apart from its many separable elements. The second Noble Truth is that suffering itself has a cause. At the simplest level, this may be said to be desire; but the theory was fully worked out in the complex doctrine of "dependent origination," which explains the interrelationship of all reality in terms of an unbroken chain of causation. The third Noble Truth is that this chain can be brokenthat suffering can cease. The Buddhists called this end of suffering nirvana and thought of it as a rebirth, an escape from samsara. Finally, the fourth Noble Truth is that a way exists through which this reversal can be brought about, the practice of the noble Eightfold Path. This combines ethical and disciplinary practices and training in concentration and meditation with initial faith, which is finally transformed into wisdom. With the death of the Buddha, his followers immediately faced a crisis, what were they to do in the with their master gone? The followers who had remained householders proceeded to honor his bodily relics, which were monuments called stupas. This was the beginning of a cult of devotion to the person of the Buddha that was to focus not only on stupas but also on many holy sites, which became centers of pilgrimage, and eventually on Buddha images too. On the other hand, those Buddhists who had become monks and nuns took on the gathering and preservation of their departed master's teachings. According to tradition, a great council of 500 monks was held at Rajagriha, immediately after the Buddha's death, and all the Buddha's sermons and the rules of the discipline were remembered and recited. In the years that followed, the monks gradually unified their communal life. Like many other wandering mendicants of their time, they were always on the move, coming together only once a year for the three months of the monsoon. Gradually, these rain-retreats grew into more structured year-round settlements. As new communities developed, it was inevitable that some differences in their understanding of both the Buddha is teaching and of the rules of the order should arise. Within

Great Circlesâ€Definition and Examples in Geography

Great Circless in Geography A great circle is defined as any circle drawn on a globe (or another sphere) with a center that includes the center of the globe. Thus, a great circle divides the globe into two equal halves. Since they must follow the circumference of the Earth to divide it, great circles are about 40,000 kilometers (24,854 miles) in length along meridians. At the equator, though, a great circle is a little bit longer as the Earth is not a perfect sphere. In addition, great circles represent the shortest distance between two points anywhere on the Earths surface. Because of this, great circles have been important in navigation for hundreds of years but their presence was discovered by ancient mathematicians. Global Locations of Great Circles Great circles are easilye based on the lines of latitude and longitude. Each line of longitude, or meridian, is the same length and represents half of a great circle. This is because each meridian has a corresponding line on the opposite side of the Earth. When combined, they cut the globe into equal halves, representing a great circle. For example, the Prime Meridian at 0Â ° is half of a great circle. On the opposite side of the globe is the International Date Line at 180Â °. It too represents half of a great circle. When the two are combined, they create a full great circle which cuts the Earth into equal halves. The only line of latitude, or parallel, characterized as a great circle is the equator because it passes through the exact center of the Earth and divides it in half. Lines of latitude north and south of the equator are not great circles because their length decreases as they move toward the poles and they do not pass through Earths center. As such, these parallels are considered small circles. Navigating with Great Circles The most famous use of great circles in geography is for navigation because they represent the shortest distance between two points on a sphere. Due to the earths rotation, sailors and pilots using great circle routes must constantly adjust their route as the heading changes over long distances. The only places on Earth where the heading does not change is on the equator or when traveling due north or south. Because of these adjustments, great circle routes are broken up into shorter lines called Rhumb lines which show the constant compass direction needed for the route being traveled. The Rhumb lines also cross all meridians at the same angle, making them useful for breaking up great circles in navigation. Appearance on Maps To determine great circle routes for navigation or other knowledge, the gnomic map projection is often used. This is the projection of choice because on these maps the arc of a great circle is depicted as a straight line. These straight lines are then often plotted on a map with the Mercator projection for use in navigation because it follows true compass directions and is, therefore, useful in such a setting. It is important to note though that when long distance routes following great circles are drawn on Mercator maps, they look curved and longer than straight lines along the same routes. In reality, though, the longer looking, the curved line is actually shorter because it is on the great circle route. Common Uses of Great Circles Today Today, great circle routes are still used for long distance travel because they are the most efficient way to move across the globe. They are most commonly used by ships and aircraft where wind and water currents are not a significant factor though because currents like the jet stream are often more efficient for long distance travel than following the great circle. For example in the northern hemisphere, planes traveling west normally follow a great circle route that moves into the Arctic to avoid having to travel in the jet stream when going the opposite direction as its flow. When traveling east, however, it is more efficient for these planes to use the jet stream as opposed to the great circle route. Whatever their use, though, great circle routes have been an important part of navigation and geography for hundreds of years and knowledge of them is essential for long distance travel across the globe.