Report on Religious Field Research Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Report on Religious Field Research - Essay Example Boundless light is both love and the element of love past the individual or human beings. This activity is not designed by any individual or for any individual. Boundless light is all inclusive. It argues that actual nature entails displaying everything and every individual as absolute love, and one of the forms of love involves the soul (Hagen, 1998). The soul also acknowledges that it is the expression of the love of real nature. In addition, meditation has been identified as a core part of the Buddhist religion. It is not clear the number of Christians who pray, but a large number of Buddhists all through history have not engaged in meditation. Until recent times, mediation has been perceived as a basic activity and is solely practiced by specified monks. Moreover, the Buddha largely laid emphasis on meditation, but a number of traditions, for example, the pure land engage in minimal or no meditation in their activities (Brodd, 2003). This paper will be a report on religious field research. The paper will discuss personal misconceptions on Buddhism, analyze how my previous understanding about Buddhism was changed through my encounter, discuss whether misconceptions about the religion of other people are widespread and an explanation on why or why not, and recommend a minimum of one action that could help lessen misconceptions individuals have about other people’s religion. Question 1 There are a number of misconceptions that I have had about Buddhism. One, that chanting is useless and meaningless. In contrast, Buddhist recitation or chanting contains explicit meanings with specified uses. There are also numerous forms of recitations. The recitation involving loving-kindness helps in passing loving-kindness to other human. Chanting also helps during meditation. It helps the mind in developing concentration (Hagen, 1998). Two, that Buddha is a god. Conversely, Buddhism does not follow the notion of God that is widespread to the monotheistic beliefs. Bud dhists hold the belief that all individuals have the power to become a Buddha. Three, that it is difficult to understand nibbana. In simple terms, nibbana refers to independence from the fundamental reasons of all suffering; the incorrect notion that people exists autonomously as a non-changing and intrinsic self. Nibbana illustrates the dousing of all delusion, hatred, and greed, causing extraordinary peace and clarity (Hagen, 1998). Three, that everything should be blamed on kamma. Conversely, kamma does not involve fatalism. Kamma refers to people’s choice expressed as actions of speech, body, or mind. What individuals presently go through, both pleasant and awful, are determined by the actions and thoughts of the individual in the past. Identically, what individuals will go through in the future is determined by their actions and thoughts in the present. A person’s kamma constantly changes based on how the individual act and think in the present times (Hagen, 1998) . Four, women are mediocre and is punishment to be born a woman. In contrast, Buddhism does not perceive women to be inferior to their male counterparts. Buddha was clear about treating both men and women in the same way. Buddha included females in the Sangha in spite of severe oppositions. Question 2 My previous understanding of Buddhism was changed through the encounter. First, I developed listening techniques so that I could hear what

Principal Institutions of the European Union Essay

Principal Institutions of the European Union - Essay Example The EU basis its foundation on the rule of law (Adams 2006, p.234) where it complies with treaties, voluntarily, and democratically agreed by all member countries (European Union 2014, p. 1). Indeed, the EU seeks to promote human rights both internally and around the world which leads to peace, stability, prosperity, and improved living standards in the member states (European Union 2014, p. 1). Notably, the EU operates through different institutions that include the European Council, Council of Ministers, European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Communities, European Court of Auditors, European Ombudsman, European Central Bank, and European Parliament. The principal institutions of the European Union include the European Commission, the European Parliament, the Council of Ministers, Court of Auditors, and the Court of Justice. Notably, the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council of Ministers concentrate on EU legislation (European Union 2014, p. 1). The European Parliament represents the EU’s citizens, the Council of Ministers represents the governments of the individual member countries, and the European Commission represents the interests of the entire union (European Union 2014, p. 1). Most specifically, the European Parliament is the principal democratic institution of the EU system with a membership of 732 members. Europeans elect the members to the European Parliament for a 5-year term (Souper 2008, p. 1). The European Parliament exercises democratic control over all the EU institutions where it represents the political views of the member states and integrates the views and priorities of members into the system (European Parliament 2009, p. 1). The European Parliament shares legislative power with the Council and the Commission where it examines, amends, and passes EU legislation (European Parliament 2009, p. 1). It also sets the EU's annual budget and ensures that the Commission implements the EU policy (Souper 2008, p. 1).