Buddhism and Islam - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 4 Words: 1304 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/06/16 Category Religion Essay Level High school Tags: Buddhism Essay Islam Essay Did you like this example? Buddhism and Islam seem on the surface world apart. Muslims believe in one god Allah. While, Buddhism is a religion with no gods. In this paper I will discuss the similarities of the teachings of Muhammad and Buddha but also the differences. I will also discuss similarities and differences in the belief systems, stereotypes and the treatment of women. First I will start with a brief introduction of the Muhammad and Buddha. There are and estimated 480 million Buddhists worldwide.(1) Siddhartha Gautama aka Buddha was the founder of Buddhism. Buddha was born in the 6th century BCE. He was born in what is now known as Nepal. He was heir to the throne of Shakya clan. When he was 29 he decided to leave home in search of a way to end human suffering. Buddha spent much time with a Hindu ascetics but he rejected their path. He did not believe following their path would give him the answer to end human suffering. He sat in a spot by the river to meditate, where he remained until he reached enlightenment and achieved Nirvana. Buddha then began teaching other how to reach enlightenment by understanding the 4 Noble Truths. The 4 Noble Truths is the basis of the Buddhist belief system. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Buddhism and Islam" essay for you Create order There are and estimated 1.6 billion Muslims in the world today.(2) Islam was brought into this world by the prophet Muhammad. Muhammad was born in 570 CE in Mecca, which is now Saudi Arabia. Muhammad was a business man who was married and had many children. When he was 40 years old, while reflecting in a cave on Mt. Hira, he received the first of many revelations from god. Muhammad received revelations from god for 22 years. These messages were recorded and became what we call the Quran. The Quran is the main religious test of Islam and is considered the best in classic Arabic literature. Beliefs Buddhists believe in no gods but like the Hindu religion, they do believe in Samsara (cycle of life, death and rebirth) and Karma ( law of cause and effect). The Buddhist belief system is centered on the 4 Noble Truths. 1st Truth is that life is characterized by Dukkha (suffering) and suffering is unavoidable. 2nd Truth is dukkha is the result of Tinha (desire) and desire can never bring true peace. 3rd Truth is suffering can be eliminated by abandoning desire. 4th Truth is abandoning desire can be done by following the Eightfold Path. Through the Eightfold Path humans can free themselves from karma. The Eightfold Path is eight necessary aspects of life that must be accomplished. These aspects are right views, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. The aspects are guidelines on how to act, speak, think, treat others even the right way to earn a living. By following the 4 Noble Truth and the Eightfold path you will attai n enlightenment, reach nirvana and free oneself from samsara. Islam is a monotheistic religion. Muslims believe in one true god Allah. They have on central belief and 4 Pillars, together they make the 5 Pillars. The 5 Pillars represent a total way of life rather than a private belief system. Muslims believe in the importance of respect for god, charity and neighbors. 1st Pillar is that there is one god Allah he is all powerful and one sin that god cannot forgive is not believing in him. One must pray daily to prove their devotion. 2nd Pillar is prayer both formal (certain words and certain actions required) and informal (can pour out heart, say anything). 3rd Pillar is Zakat or almsgiving, which all adult Muslims must give 2 percent of all their wealth to the poor. 4th Pillar is the pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj). This must be done on a specific time of year and only if you can afford it. Muslims believe doing these things bring them closer as a community and closer to god. Treatment of Women Before Buddhas teaching women did not lead happy lives. Women were considered burdens to their families. Buddha believed women were not inferior to men on the contrary women were equally useful to society. Husbands and wifes should do their duties with equal dedication. Wives were expected to manage their husbands affairs when they were away. Women have equal rights to education and religion. Women can become Buddhist nuns and are allowed into the order. Some Buddhist believe that women cannot attain enlightenment and must be reborn as men to reach nirvana. This belief differs depending on which sect one belongs to. Some female Buddhist nuns are given different rules then the monks but this also depends on the sect you belong to. Many nun orders are working towards better conditions and education for women. In Islam man and woman are moral equals and are required to fulfill the same duties. Islam improved the status of women compared to earlier Arab cultures. Islamic law gives the dowry to the woman not her family and guarantee inheritance. It also give women the right to own and manage property and stopped the killing of female babies at birth. Muhammad is said to consult woman ad seriously considered their opinions. Islamic law requires women to cover certain parts of the body it also requires men to cover body parts. Both men and women are required to practice modesty. Women also have the right to and education and to choose who they want to marry. While some Islamic countys oppress women most do not. Women today are active in improving treatment of women. Many Muslim women have been heads of state and active in their countrys politics. Stereotypes Buddhism is a philosophy not a religion. In fact Buddhism is a religion and people have been practicing this way of life even before Christianity. Miriam Webster online defines religion as a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices.(3) This definition thus proves that Buddhism is in fact a religion not a philosophy. Dalai Lama is like the pope. The title of pope has an exact line of succession, when the pope dies a new one is selected. With the Dali Lama he succeeds himself. When he dies he will be reborn as a baby and the cycle begins again. Buddhists are pacifists. Many Buddhists have fought in wars buddhas teachings say that one can fight for a just cause. All Buddhist are vegetarians. Buddha did not require his followers to be vegetarians. In the beginning Buddhist monks and nuns were fed by going around the city and received handouts from the towns people. They had to take what offered including meat. Arab and Muslims are the same people. Arabs speak Arabic and Muslims practice Islam. One can be one the other or both. Islam is very different from Christianity or Judaism. All 3 religions worship the same god in a different name. All are children of Abraham. All Muslims are fanatics. Some Muslims have a strict view on how to live but there is a great diversity among Muslims around the world. You cant be Muslim and be patriotic to the U.S.A. Many Muslims have fought and died defending the U.S. Muslims also currently serve in the armed forces. While Buddhism and Islam are very different the basic principles are the same. One should be kind and live right. One should treat their neighbor with respect and live righteously. Whether, the outcome is nirvana or Jannah (heaven). Islam and Buddhism both have had issues with stereotypes and misinformation. In regards to the treatment of women both the teaching of Muhammad and Buddha say woman should be respected and regarded as equals with men. Some countries and or sects have had issue with equal rights to women and women are fighting back. Both, Muhammad and Buddha wanted to make the world a better place and help people.

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe Essay - 1693 Words

The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe -Commentary- In The Tell-Tale Heart the action is filtered through the eyes of a delusional narrator. The narrator fixates upon the old mans eye and determines to commit a conscious act of murder. He prides himself on his careful planning and mastery at deceiving others. While he acts friendly towards the old man and the police, dark secrets are hidden deep inside of him. This leads to a false confidence. He insists on seating the policemen in the very room where he had slain the old man just a few hours before, the old mans body was revealed to be beneath the floorboards at the narrators own admission and admits his crime because of the loud beating of the heart. The narrators fate†¦show more content†¦The narrators malady is uncured, for he still hears the beating heart that he still refuses to recognize as his ow. The Tell-Tale Heart thus provides a unique lens into the soul of a man that is lost within himself and offers important insight into the thought processes of someone who has fallen completely out of touch with reality. This tale delves deeply into the narrators sickened mind, hidden beneath a friendly, external guise, and it boldly suggests that anyone can show a fake face in public, while still hiding much darker thoughts deep inside. The unnamed narrator defensively declares that he is not insane, I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily -- how calmly I can tell you the whole story. He insists that the story he tells is logical and not insane at all, although the very pattern of his language is a bit irrational, saying that he has heard heaven and hell, and the very pattern of his language is uncontrolled and rapid. The story then begins, describing how he had lived with an old man and eventually became obsessed with his eye, adding that he never wanted to steal the old mans gold; because of his strange eye, the narrator decided to kill the old man. Once again he becomes defensive towards the reader, You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But youShow MoreRelatedThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe1161 Words   |  5 PagesOut of a vast quantity of these English historians, one stood out to me, his name is Edgar Allan Poe. Poe’s writing had its own unique gothic and horror style. The story, The Tell-Tale Heart is one of his very popular pieces of literature, it not only tells a story, but uses Poe’s unique style of writing to silently incorporate different genres, themes, and symbolism to create a sub-story within the text itself. Poe was born in Boston Massachusetts on January 19, 1809. At the young age of just 2 yearsRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe1569 Words   |  7 PagesIn the short story â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart,† author Edgar Allan Poe employs several literary devices such as symbolism, allegory, and imagery. These devices enable us to see and better comprehend the story’s events through the eyes of the narrator. The narrator explains that he is extremely nervous but clarifies that he is not insane; he even goes so far as to share an event from his past to prove that he is not crazy. He believes that he loves the old man and has nothing against him except his horribleRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe Essay1477 Words   |  6 Pagesyourself and others that you weren’t in the wrong for doing something bad? Well, the narrator in the story The Tell-Tale Heart does. Edgar Allan Poe is known to write stories that are of Dark Romanticism. Dark romanticism is a literary genre that showcases gothic stories that portray torture, insanity, murder, and revenge. The story â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† is no different. Edgar Allan Poe does a great job with making the readers wonder throughout this short story. This allegory makes reader’s questionsRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe986 Words   |  4 Pagesbade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said, was my own in a dream.† The Tell Tale Heart is one of Edger Allan Poe’s most famous and creepiest stories. The premise of this gothic short story is that a man’s own insanity gives him away as a murderer. By usi ng the narrators own thoughts as the story Poe displays the mental instability and the unique way of creating a gothic fiction. While other stories written by Poe reflect this same gothic structure and questionable sanity, this story has aRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe1502 Words   |  7 PagesThe author Edgar Allan Poe created a beautiful writing piece called â€Å"Tell Tale Heart†, which included literal elements such as mood, tone, and point of view. The story included a tremulous mood for the reader to be able to feel the excitement of the story. According to the text â€Å"Tell Tale Heart†, it states â€Å"And now at the dead hour of the night, amid the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable terror.† This illustrates that the details of the storyRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe1030 Words   |  5 PagesA Guilty- Mad Heart â€Å"Burduck then goes on to ponder how Poe used cultural anxieties and psychological panic to advantage.† (Grim Phantasms, G.A. Cevasco). In The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, a nameless man narrates the story of how he murdered an elderly man because of his eyes. In his short story The Tell-Tale Heart, Poe shows the themes of guilt and the descent into madness through the narrator, in this gothic horror story. Edgar Allan Poe wrote many gothic tales throughout his lifeRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe1133 Words   |  5 Pages Written in 1843, The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe incorporates nearly all of the gothic elements. While this piece of art may not contain all of the gothic elements, it is the epitome of a gothic short story. In The Tell-Tale Heart, the setting seems to be inside an old house, which strengthens the atmosphere of mystery and suspense. The madness and overall insanity of the narrator illustrates the sense of high, overwrought emotion. The presence of creaking hinges and the darkness representRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe1644 Words   |  7 Pages Edgar Allan Poe was a prominent American writer whose writing reflected his tragic life. He began to sell short stories for profit after being forced to leave United States Military Academy for lack of financial support. Over the next decade, Poe published some of his best-known works, including The Fall of the House of Usher (1839), The Raven (1845), and The Cask of Amontillado (1846). It is in these stories that Po e established his unique dark writing style that often have the recurring themeRead MoreThe Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe879 Words   |  4 PagesIn between guilt, paranoia and obsession The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe uses several literary elements to support the themes of the story. The story is based on a gruesome murder of an old man. The author uses madness, obsession and guilt as themes to prove how the narrator is truly twisted and insane. Madness is the first theme of the story; in the beginning the narrator tries to convince the audience he is not mad (insane). â€Å"TRUE!... nervous very, very nervous I had been and am; but whyRead MoreA Tell Tale Heart By Edgar Allan Poe1156 Words   |  5 Pagescontain some level of madness. For example in the short stories â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† by Charlotte Perkins Gilman â€Å"The Tell-Tale Heart† by Edgar Allan Poe, both of the main character in these stories believe that they are perfectly wise, but their out of control behaviors proves that they’re mentally ill or to be more specific insane. In the short story â€Å"A tell-tale heart† the unknown narrator is telling us a story about his neighbor who is an old man but his of a vulture: blue pale eye is what

Banking and Its Influential Factors in the Economy Free Essays

Banking is one of the most influential factors on the economies of today†s society. As with everything these days, technology is changing where, when and most of all, how we do things, specifically banking and other related financial transactions and arrangements such as mortgages, etc. Recently, in Toronto, the very city we live in, we were in the midst of two possible bank mergers, which would have changed banking and on a larger scale the entire economy, in many ways. We will write a custom essay sample on Banking and Its Influential Factors in the Economy or any similar topic only for you Order Now In comparison to the larger banks of the world, Canada†s most major banks are not even close to the size and caliber of international banks like ING Direct, for example. This would not typically be a problem for Canadian banks, however when these international banks move into Canada, which has happened already, and is bound to happen even more as time passes and Canada becomes a more prosperous country, it quickly becomes a very large problem. Banks are an extremely affluent business. Regardless of where you are in the world banks are right at the top of the list when it comes to capital, equity and earnings. Canada fits right in, in comparison to the rest of Canada. But when we compare Canada†s banks to those of other countries, or even better, international banks, they are simply insignificant. For example, hypothetically speaking, if the entire world were opting whether or not to adopt a single currency, most deciding factors would be made by the banks of each individual country. Canada, although it is a major world leader in many other categories, would not be looked upon as a country that knew much about international stature, in terms of banking. In this essay I will try to prove how banking is one of the most influential factors on the economy by using factual cases from recent times. What does better customer relations† mean? Increasingly, customers are demanding more convenient ways to do their banking. An Ernst and Young study (Technology in Banking Report) concluded, â€Å"nothing changes in the banking world if customers cannot get financial services when and where they wish†¦this means anywhere, at any time. † Statistics show that ATM†s telephone banking, and home banking account for over fifty percent of all banking transactions today, and total non-branch activity is growing at fifteen percent a year. In one survey (Web-Tech, Inc., May 17, 1995), eighty-two percent of 18- to 34-year olds polled preferred banks with 24-hour service. Customers are also demanding a more sophisticated mix of products tailored specifically to their financial needs, and non-bank competitors are better fulfilling these needs. Banks today hold only 20% of household financial assets, versus 34% twenty years ago; they have 30% of business deposits, versus 42% only seven years ago. Non-bank credit card providers have gained inroads against banks, holding a 25% market share versus 5% in 1986 (WebTech, Inc., May 17, 1995). Internet banking offers an attractive solution to this redesigned products and services. Customers have 24-hour graphical-interface access to their accounts and appreciate that their bank is doing something to make banking easier for them. A country, like a business or a person, is constantly doing anything in its power to better itself. A business, like a society, is either growing or declining; the competitive world allows no other options. Human nature will allow no state of rest. Economics is the study of production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods and services (Ammer, pg. 186), all of which, if stopped, would cause a business or a country to grind to a halt. From these statements we realize that change is an integral part of the world of economics. Not necessarily a change in what we create, rather the way we do it. Technology, that is, the development of new materials, products, machinery, and processes can create new products and concepts as well as improve production and efficiency for existing products a few key factors that determine economic growth. As a result, new jobs are created, existing ones are made easier and more efficient, and the in the end there is a greater profit margin (Thurow, pg. 69, 304). To understand this topic I will look at the effects of technology on economic growth compared to those of the other four factors, There are five factors, which affect a country’s economic growth, Each factor has its own effect on economic growth, however together they produce a greater overall effect. Picture a bank without any branches. No tellers. No rows of desks. No racks of brochures, no automated teller machines outside. Picture, in fact, a virtual bank, one that for the customer exists only in his or her office or home, as images on a computer screen. US financial institutions are moving towards â€Å"virtual banking.† This strategy is about making bank products and services available to customers any time and any place they want them. As virtual banking becomes more popular, it is very likely that more customer service will be seen while the number of traditional teller-staffed branches will decline. Bank customers will move away from traditional banking and will become more dependent on electronic transactions using ATMs or PCs (Britt, SavingsCommunity Banker, February 1995, p.9). Thanks to this â€Å"technical revolution†, financial institutions are using software programs, online services, and even the Internet to allow customers to check balances, pay bills, and transfer funds among accounts. Bankers promise that, in the near future, we will also be able to more easily buy certificates of deposit, mutual funds, and other investments, and even apply for loans electronically. For most people, today’s best option may be plug into their bank through one of three leading home-budgeting software programs, these programs are: By charging $5 to $20 a month for such services, banks are sure to cash in on the high-tech superhighway. This would make everything much easier for customers. All that is required is a personal computer, software and a modem, all of which the majority of people in today†s society have. On-screen instructions, filled with colorful graphics and pictures, explain how to select and work on various tasks. The system automatically calculates and updates account balances and keeps records of bills. A handful of banks have already set up home pages on the Internet to provide information to their existing and potential customers about upcoming services. They started their transactions. Internet banking differs from the traditional PC banking model in several ways. In most home banking ventures, the bank sends an application software program to the customer which runs on the customer’s PC. The customer then dials into the bank with their modem, downloads data, and runs the programs that are resident on their computer, perhaps sending back a batch of requests such as transfers between accounts. It demands more and more space and speed from the customer’s computer. With Internet banking, on the other hand, there are potential customers who already have all the software they need to do their banking, since all they need is a browser. The actual banking software resides on the bank’s server in the form of their home page. This software can be updated at any moment with new information, such as new prices or products, without having to send anything to the customer; it can also continue to expand and become more sophisticated without becoming cumbersome for the customer to operate. Banking with a browser, on the other hand, involves a continuous, interactive session, initiated by a local telephone call to a local access provider or online service. By developing internal expertise today, banks can prepare themselves to react quickly and efficiently to competitive moves and consumer trends as the financial services industry changes. Employees at Bank of America, Chemical, Wells Fargo, and other large U.S. banks use them to buy lunch and snacks. Smart cards-plastic cards with computer chips-are starting to be used for prepayment, debit, and credit purchases all over the world. In the U.S., smart cards can be only used at a contained group of machines, or for one purpose. â€Å"They are part of the broader shift to electronic delivery, to making ATMs more functional, to using PCs and the Internet to do home banking.† says Edgar Brown, senior vice-president of alternative delivery products at First Union, Charlotte, N.C. One of the advantages of using chips on cards with or instead of magnetic stripes is better security. Microprocessor chips are very difficult to alter or forge. Chips can carry more information than magnetic stripes can. A microprocessor chip can store up to eight kilobytes of data. Smart cards make cheaper and faster payments possible. Money can be deducted from a chip without on-line authorization. This makes for a two-second transaction versus an up-to-two-minutes one, and telecommunications costs are saved (Lunt, P., ABA Banking Journal, September 1995, p.46). We can plainly see that there are many factors having great importance, when dealing with the economy. There are many things we must take into consideration in order to make any kind of an informed economic decision. How to cite Banking and Its Influential Factors in the Economy, Essay examples