Wednesday, January 29, 2020

Notes on History of Dhammapada Essay Example for Free

Notes on History of Dhammapada Essay According to Wikipedia, Dhammapada is the most famous book of the Tipitakas. It is also the book that has been translated into English and other languages more times than any other book in Buddhist literature. According to Ven. K Sri Dhammananda (1988), the founder of Sudharma Buddhist Institute, Dhammapada (literally meaning The Words of Truth or The Path of Noble Truth) consists of 423 verses in Pali uttered by the Buddha on some 305 occasions for the benefit of a wide range of human beings. These sayings were selected and compiled into one book as being worthy of special note on account of their beauty and relevance for molding the lives of future generations of Buddhists. It is also surprising that according to Britannica Encyclopedia, Dhammapada is accepted both in Theravada Buddhism and in Mahayana Buddhism although there is a difference in the number of verses in the two versions. However, according to Encarta Encyclopedia, the most translated version is that of Theravada. The history of Dhammapada is also not so different in both branches of Buddhism. The Lord Buddha historically had to go round the northern India and Nepal preaching his Dhamma, meeting many people. According to the prescribed text book (Module no. A -Ya 2004) of the second year university students specializing Oriental Studies in Myanmar ), the Lord Buddha preached his Dhamma ( guides and sermons for the cessation of all the sufferings) both in the form of speech called cunniya and occasionally in poetically versed form called gatha. According to Ohn Myint , Daw (2004), the verses uttered by the Lord Buddha had been compiled by 500 Buddhist Senior Arahants in Rajaghyo, India, in the First Dhamma Council (Pathama Sangayana) in 483 BC. Venerable Buddhagosa, the most famous commentary author in Theravada Buddhism, wrote the commentary of Dhammapada named Dhammapada Atthakatha in Sri Lanka. In his commentary book, Ven. Buddha Gosa, studying thoroughly from the elderly monks and old canons, noted the historical backgrounds of the verses in Pali Language. In this book, he told the story of each verses including whom theses verses were uttered by Buddha for, where, how, when and why these verses were uttered by Lord Buddha and so on. According to Subhodha Lankara, a famous Buddhist Literary Guide throughout the history of Buddhism, the verses in Dhammapada and Buddhist Literature are composed and uttered by systematic rules of rhythm, rhyme and meter. Moreover, Thanissaro Bhikkhu (1997) writes as follows: As the Buddha himself is quoted as saying, Meter is the structural framework of verses. According to Goinka S. N, the founder of Vissapana Research Institute in India, verses in Dhammapada were just orally handed down at first before the fourth Dhamma Council held in Tambapai [Sri Lanka] in 29 B. C in which all of the Buddhist Scriptures were recorded on written forms on palm leaves. According to the Commentary of Dhammapada by Ven Buddhagosa, these verses are intentionally uttered in accordance with the listeners background knowledge, their social backgrounds, and the situations in order to enlighten their mind. As soon as the Lord uttered the verses, Ananda, the chosen attendant and constant companion of the Buddha during the last twenty-five years of his life. memorized it and handed down again to the other monks and people. According to Mahaparinibana Sutta in the first book of Suttanna Pitaka named Mahavagga, after the Lord passed into the nirvana ( His death), the senior Buddhist monks met together and held the First Buddhist Council in order to preserve the holy teachings of the Lord Buddha. In the council, all of the Buddhas teachings were divided into three parts. According to Goenka, S,N (1999), the founder of Vipassana Research Institute in India , the first part is known as the Vinaya Pitaka and it contains all the rules which Buddha laid down for monks and nuns.. The second part is called the Suttanna Pitaka and it contains the Discourses. The third part is known as the Abhidhamma Pitaka and comprises the psycho-ethical teachings of the Buddha. The first pitaka is Suttanna pitaka and it is divided into five parts according to the length and form of the discourses. The poetical verses that the Lord uttered were compiled into a book named Dhammapada. Dhammapada is included in the first part of Suttanna Pitaka named Khuddhakanikaya ( Short Discourses). According to Daw Ohn Myint, Professor of the Department of Oriental Studies, Yangon University of Distance Education ( 2004), throughout the history of Buddhism, Dhammapada has been studied and memorized by Buddhist monks. Even nowadays in Sri Lanka, the novices who want to be transformed into monkhood have to memorize all the verses in Dhammapada as a compulsory skill.

Tuesday, January 21, 2020

Digestive System Essay -- essays research papers

Purpose The digestive system prepares food for use by hundreds of millions of body cells. Food when eaten cannot reach cells (because it cannot pass through the intestinal walls to the bloodstream and, if it could would not be in a useful chemical state. The gut modifies food physically and chemically and disposes of unusable waste. Physical and chemical modification (digestion) depends on exocrine and endocrine secretions and controlled movement of food through the digestive tract. Mouth Mouth Food enters the digestive system via the mouth or oral cavity, mucous membrane lined. The lips (labia) protect its outer opening, cheeks form lateral walls, hard palate and soft palate form anterior/posterior roof. Communication with nasal cavity behind soft palate. Floor is muscular tongue. Tongue has bony attachments (styloid process, hyoid bone) attached to floor of mouth by frenulum. Posterior exit from mouth guarded by a ring of palatine/lingual tonsils. Enlargement sore throat, tonsillitis. Food is first processed (bitten off) by teeth, especially the anterior incisors. Suitably sized portions then retained in closed mouth and chewed or masticated (especially by cheek teeth, premolars, molars) aided by saliva Ducted salivary glands open at various points into mouth. This process involves teeth (muscles of mastication move jaws) and tongue (extrinsic and intrinsic muscles). Mechanical breakdown, plus some chemical (ptyalin, enzyme in saliva). Taste buds allow appreciation, also sample potential hazards (chemicals, toxins) Swallowing In leaving the mouth a bolus of food must cross the respiratory tract (trachea is anterior to oesophagus) by a complicated mechanism known as swallowing or deglutination which empties the mouth and ensures that food does not enter the windpipe. Swallowing involves co-ordinated activity of tongue, soft palate pharynx and oesophagus. The first (buccal) phase is voluntary, food being forced into the pharynx by the tongue. After this the process is reflex. The tongue blocks the mouth, soft palate closes off the nose and the larynx rises so that the epiglottis closes off the trachea. Food thus moves into the pharynx and onwards by peristalsis aided by gravity. If we try to talk whilst swallowing food may enter the respiratory passages and a cough reflex expels the bolus. Oesophagus The oesophagus (about 10") is the first part of the... ...a mixture of mucus and serous fluids, each produced to various extent in various glands. Also contains salivary amylase, (starts to break down starch) (antibacterial) and antibodies. In some mammals (and snakes!) saliva may be poisonous, quieting down living prey. Pancreas Endocrine and exocrine gland. Exocrine part produces many enzymes which enter the duodenum via the pancreatic duct. Endocrine part produces insulin, blood sugar regulator. Liver and gallbladder Bile, a watery greenish fluid is produced by the liver and secreted via the hepatic duct and cystic duct to the gall bladder for storage, and thence on demand via the common bile duct to an opening near the pancreatic duct in the duodenum. It contains bile salts, bile pigments (mainly bilerubin, essentially the non-iron part of hemoglobin) cholesterol and phospholipids. Bile salts and phosholipds emulsify fats, the rest are just being excreted. Gallstones are usually cholesterol based, may block the hepatic or common bile ducts causing pain, jaundice. Liver Multi functional: important in this context since the capillaries of the small intestine drain fat and other nutrient rich lymph into it via the hepatic portal system.

Monday, January 13, 2020

Humanities Is

Webster s Dictionary defines humanities as the branches of learning concerned with human thought and relations. Products of human invention and genius that express human emotions are shown through literature, visual arts, and performing arts. Studying humanities has a value, it is a necessity of life, and it serves mankind. Literature has allowed writers to achieve realism in which they would reflect on day-to-day events of real life rather than describing the imaginary world. Writer s discovered that they could do justice to the problems society was facing by using a more naturalistic style and using realistic terms. There were a number of themes that were touched by writers during the age in which they belonged to. Novelist Charles Dickens used his books to explore the social injustices and its effects that they have incurred on individuals. In A Tale of Two Cities, Dickens has the readers experience the reconstruction of the French Revolution and in Oliver Twist he discussed the treatment of the poor in workhouses. On the other side of society, poet William Wordsworth explored the theme of relationships between human beings and the world of nature. In Wordsworth poem, Tintern and Abbey, he writes about how important nature is to him and how it has allowed him to have other relationships with other human beings. Art is all around us, but we still seem to fail by recognizing how much society is constructed from it. Art can be used to make a statement about who we are and what we value without even saying a word. Art can be quite difficult to interpret because it is complex, can be viewed by different cultures, and/or within a different age. The history of art is shown by how artists used their minds and imaginations. Leonardo da Vinci constantly searched his mind looking for answers about the world and its crucial parts. He became concerned with mathematics, a deep respect for the natural world, and a love for beauty all intertwined with the feeling of emotional power, which was found in his painting The Last Supper. The skepticism of da Vinci was also found in the mind of Michelangelo. The sculpture David, by Michelangelo, is photographically realistic and has a clear statement of idealized beauty. David was a symbolic emblem with civic power to the city outside the Palazzo Vecchio.

Sunday, January 5, 2020

The Day My Grandfather Richard - 1590 Words

The moment I was informed about this oral history report, only one person came to my mind when deciding who to compose this project about. This person was my grandfather. He was an inspiration in my life. This project has given me the opportunity to reflect back onto my grandfather’s stories and historical accomplishments for on March 19, 2012 was the day my grandfather Richard â€Å"Joel† Pettingell left this earth. There was no such thing as a dull moment in my grandfather’s life. The time I got to spend with my grandfather filled my head with only a faction of the life he lived. To help elaborate on the high lights of my grandfather’s historical moments, I interviewed my uncle James Pettingell. During the interview we chronologically†¦show more content†¦This allowed him to focus on studies while still being able to live out one of his dreams of being a cowboy on his own ranch. He graduated from Colorado State University with three bachelor deg rees in engineering, physics, and mathematics. This lead him back into the class rooms where he tried to become a mathematics professor. Although is knowledge surpassed the requirements of being an excellent professor, this career was not meant for his life. He could not be trapped in a class room for he needed to apply his skills out in the world to pursue his true passions. In his time out in Colorado, he started his own small Western theme park. One of the highlights of the park was an original stream train that ran down a one-mile train track which he hand-laid himself. Complaining was not associated with my grandfather’s life, unless the thought about him laying the one mile of train tracks surfaced in a conversation. The reason being; it was the most excruciating project he had ever accomplished. â€Å"After living out west, how did my grandfather continue his life when he moved east?† As the years passed he eventually sold the amusement park only to move east in 1967 where he became the curator of the Resnick Motor Museum in Ellenville New York. The Motor Museum held over $1,000,000 worth of auto collectables. SummerShow MoreRelatedRichard Earl Gaither s Life And Life Essay1467 Words   |  6 Pages Richard Earl Gaither is a family oriented man that lived a fulfilled life from February second, 1934 to September sixteenth, 2014. He had seven children, many grandchildren, quite a few great grandchildren (that’s me), and even some children he raised as his own. My mother, Brandi, is his grandchild yet he took her in when she was born up until she was 8 and continued to be the main parental figure in her life up until the day he died. 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