The Five Powers of Buddhism

The spiritual path can seem a frustrating slog much of the time. The Buddha knew this, and he taught that there are five spiritual qualities that, when developed together, become the panca bala -- in Sanskrit and Pali, five powers -- that overcome hindrances. The five are faith, effort, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. Faith The word faith is a red flag for many of us. The word often is used to mean blind acceptance of doctrines without evidence. And the Buddha clearly taught us to not accept any doctrine or teaching blindly, as found in the Kalama Sutta. But in Buddhism, faith -- shraddha (Sanskrit) or saddha (Pali) -- means something closer to trust or confidence. This includes trust and confidence in yourself, knowing that you can overcome obstacles through the power of practice. This trust does not mean accepting Buddhist doctrines as true. Rather, it means that you trust the practice to develop your own insight into what the doctrines teach. In the Saddha Sutta of the Pali Canon, the Buddha compared trust in the dharma to the way birds trust a tree in which they build their nests. Often we experience to practice as a balancing act between faith and bewilderment. This is good; be willing to look deeply at what bewilders you. Looking deeply does not mean concocting an intellectual explanation to cover your ignorance. It means practicing wholeheartedly with your uncertainties and being open to insight when it comes. Energy The Sanskrit word for energy is virya. Virya evolved from an ancient Indo-Iranian word that meant hero, and in the Buddhas day virya had come to refer to the strength of a great warrior to overcome his enemies. This strength can be mental as well as physical. If you are struggling with inertia, torpor, laziness, or whatever you want to call it, how do you develop virya? Id say a first step is to take inventory of your daily life to see whats draining you and address that. It could be a job, a relationship, an unbalanced diet. Please be clear, however, that addressing your energy drains does not necessarily mean walking away from them. The late Robert Aitken Roshi said, The first lesson is that distraction or obstruction are just negative terms for your context. Circumstances are like your arms and legs. They appear in your life to serve your practice. As you become more and more settled in your purpose, your circumstances begin to synchronize with your concerns. Chance words by friends, books, and poems, even the wind in the trees brings precious insight. [From the book, The Practice of Perfection] Read More: Virya Paramita: The Perfection of Energy Mindfulness Mindfulness -- sati (Pali) or smriti (Sanskrit) -- is a whole-body-and-mind awareness of the present moment. To be mindful is to be fully present, not lost in daydreams or worry. Why is this important? Mindfulness helps us break the habits of mind that separate us from everything else. Through mindfulness, we stop filtering our experiences through judgments and biases. We learn to see things directly, as they are. Right, Mindfulness is part of the Eightfold Path. Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh said, When Right Mindfulness is present, the Four Noble Truths and the other seven elements of the Eightfold Path are also present. (The Heart of the Buddhas Teaching, p. 59) Concentration Concentration in Buddhism means to become so absorbed that all distinctions between self and others are forgotten. The deepest absorption is samadhi, which means to bring together. Samadhi prepares the mind for enlightenment. Samadhi is associated with meditation, and also with the dhyanas, or four stages of absorption. Wisdom In Buddhism, wisdom (Sanskrit prajna; Pali panna) does not exactly fit the dictionary definition. What do we mean by wisdom? The Buddha said, Wisdom penetrates into dharmas as they are in themselves. It disperses the darkness of delusion, which covers up the own-being of dharmas. Dharma, in this case, refers to the truth of what is; the true nature of everything. The Buddha taught that this kind of wisdom comes only from direct, and intimately experienced, insight. It does not come from crafting intellectual explanations. Developing the Powers The Buddha compared these powers to a team of five horses. Mindfulness is the lead horse. After that, faith is paired with wisdom and energy is paired with concentration. Working together, these powers dispel illusion and open doors of insight.

Accidental Death of an Anarchist - 1225 Words

Q) Critically analyze the Figure of Madman in Dario Fo’s play The Accidental Death of an anarchist. A) Dario Fo’s play The Accidental Death of an Anarchist (1970) lies in the category of revolutionary theatre that challenges the fascist regime of Italy. The play is a farce based on events involving a real person, Giuseppe Pinelli, who fell - or was thrown - from the fourth floor window of a Milan police station in 1969. He was accused of bombing a bank. The accusation is widely seen as part of the Italian Far Rights strategy of tension. Just like Fo’s other play, this play is also funny and subversive and shows a strong preference for the culture and traditions of the ordinary people and a commitment to the left wing politics. The play†¦show more content†¦He provides most of the humor content of the play. The madman is whimsical and he constantly contradicts other characters as well as himself. His series of logical/illogical arguments becomes impossible to tackle and it frustrates the Police Department. Even though being termed as psychologically unfit, the madman appears to be the most intelligent character in the play. He ridicules the police officials for missing out on the basic concepts of English grammar and the use of the most important â€Å"COMMA† that changes the meaning of a sentence. He dictates the terms of law and judiciary to police officials. He is extremely sarcastic. He ridicules the superintendent for assuming the railway man planted the bomb in railway station without any substantiate evidence and sarcastically rebukes the â€Å"kindergarten logic†. The people in power appear to be inhuman and brute in their actions, and the â€Å"sacred† governmental place, the police station appears to be a madhouse or a slaughterhouse. The madman, even though he is mad appears to be the sanest character in the play. In fact, he appears to be directing the play according to his wishes. Suffering from a diseaseShow MoreRelatedAccidental Death of an Anarchist1579 Words   |  7 PagesIn the play Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Dario Fo expresses his political concerns, using humour as a way of educating his audience. He incorporates stock characters such as the Maniac and the superintendent to address issues like abuse of power, while using farce and satire to emphasize his point. All of these combined help to leave the responder thinking about the issues in contemporary society. The Maniac has the main and most important role in ADOA. He can be likened to the Commedia Dell’arteRead MoreThe Dynamics of Identity and Insanity in The Accidental Death of an Anarchist and The Government Inspector1392 Words   |  6 PagesIn the plays The Accidental Death of an Anarchist written by Dario Fo, and The Government Inspector, written by Nikolai Gogol, ‘identity and ‘insanity play vital roles. 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Adults free essay sample

Childhood is a first moment of experience that people encounters after the birth. I saw many people especially my friends who said they want to go back to their childhood. Childhood can be the best moment of life because you don’t have to worry about many things. However, in my opinion, childhood is not the best moment of a person’s life. First, childhood is not the best moment of a person’s life because it is limited. Since childhood refer that we are still kids, adults prohibit us for many things. For example, in amusement park, I saw a staff restricted some people who are below in age 7 to ride some rides which is kind a unfair to me. Another reason why childhood is not the best moment of the person’s life is because you are physically weaker than adults. It is obvious that children are much weaker than adult’s body because their bodies are not yet developed than adults. We will write a custom essay sample on Adults or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page We need stronger and developed bodies enable to protect ourselves and do works fast. Lastly, childhood is not the best moment of the person’s life because they are not free. I saw many children appealing to their parents to let them spend one night in their friend’s house. Most of the parents refuse them to go there because they consider their child’s security. However, adults are free to sleep in anywhere. In conclusion, childhood is not the best moment of the person’s life because many children are restricted and not free for many things and their bodies are not fully developed. If people ask me when could be the best moment of my life, I would choose adulthood because you can enjoy youth.

Workshop Developing Bipartite Business Agenda for Policy Advocacy

Executive summary A workshop was convened in Botswana to address the issue of developing Bipartite Business Agenda for policy advocacy. The workshop was convened as pat of the ongoing efforts to make Botswana a model country with a successful business and work environment.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Workshop Developing Bipartite Business Agenda for Policy Advocacy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Matters of particular interest were the really challenging issues of employment creation and the need to strengthen existing structures of tripatism and social dialogue. The main objectives were: employment creation, tripartism and social dialogue, DWCP, and the creation of a good business agenda. Several issues were highlighted during the workshop. Some of the most outstanding include: the plight of workers in regard to health, safety, lack of proper skills and commitment policy issues; dispute resolution mechanis ms; productivity; social welfare of workers with different needs. Other areas included the need to mobilize resources; the influence of policy and its localisation; and other challenges such as negative contribution of government requirements, environment and climate change. The solutions to the above issues were broadly discussed and suggested for implementation. Introduction As part of the ongoing efforts to make Botswana a model country in the implementation of up o date employment policies, a workshop was dubbed developing bipartite business agenda for policy advocacy was convened to address the issues faced by workers in Botswana. Of particular interest were the really challenging issues of employment creation and the need to strengthen existing structures of tripatism and social dialogue. The workshop was mainly focused on improving the business environment of Botswana and included a tutorial on how a successful business agenda can be developed, implemented and sustained. Obje ctives of the Workshop The following were the main issues that were discussed at the workshop. This represented both the BFTU key issues and issues of common interest.Advertising Looking for report on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Employment creation – to identify ways through which partial implementation of training localisation program and monitoring can be achieved. Tripatism and social dialogue- To identify how existing structures such as LAB can be strengthened to make decisions that are binding. For instance, through legislation. DWCP: This should be agreed upon by government labour and BOCCIM so that it can result into the overall improvement of Botswana’s economy. Imparting of business skills to the public through tutorials on basic concepts of business creation and sustenance. Discussion BFTU issues the following issues were highlighted. The plight of workers in Botswana was the f irst stop. The outstanding concerns in regard to this included: issues of occupational health of workers and their safety; commitment at places of work; and inadequacy of the policy and legislative framework. The issue of freedom of association was also highlighted, particularly in regard to the need for a one third threshold of all the workers and the relaxation of organizational rights. Dispute resolution was also addressed at the meting. Areas of interest included focus on the existing dispute act, establishment of independent bodies such as the CCMA, CMAC and the DDPR. The overall productivity of the workforce was addressed. The main concerns were: the issue of poorly trained workforce; and mismatch of skills and jobs. To address the above identified issues, specific areas were pinpointed and improvements and other solutions discussed. In regard to the tripartite structure, the effectiveness of the LAB was questioned. It was agreed that may be a higher level structure should be put in place to deal with labour and economic issues. The structure should be modelled on the NEDLAC structure. It was agreed that strategies should be formulated to ensure a highly efficient tripartite structure is in place, PITSOs should be spearheaded by business and trade unions. Structures should be in place to ensure that workers and business share the gains of productivity to ensure a motivated workforce. OSH was discussed by BOCCIM in regard to the education and training of workers, the need for employers and employees to work together, enforcement of policies by unions. Issues of capacity building with theAdvertising We will write a custom report sample on Workshop Developing Bipartite Business Agenda for Policy Advocacy specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Labour ministry to ensure that employees are informed of the rights and the compliance of both businesses and workers were discussed. The initial session of the workshop ended with a discussion on social security, ie, ensuring that there is sustainable pension on retirement and agreeing on retirement age. Issues of common interest The issues of common interest discussed, included the unending problem of HIV/AIDS. It was agreed that bipartite should be able to monitor and implement the HIV/AIDS policy at the workplace. An ideal tripartite structure was thus to be agreed upon. The productivity of the workers was seen as a major issue, particularly in regard to the lack of skills and poor attitude of the local workers. The need for a proper productivity agenda in Botswana was raised, on which the productivity visions should be benchmarked. It was suggested that the Government should strengthen the BNPC, s mandate as driver for productivity. The current procedures that are advanced in dispute resolution were also put to question. They were found to be time consuming and too costly for businesses. Thus it was agreed that an independent structure should b e put in place to handle issues, with well resourced personnel to focus on the matters. The need for research was also emphasized due to the fact that research forms the main cornerstones of issue resolution. Other areas of common interest included the matter of resource mobilization, policy influence and localisation and the negative contribution of levies on industry. It was established that the government had introduced taxes and levies that could be seen as unfavourable. Among other areas of action, it was agreed that the government should stop processing the annual licences and offer the long-term ones. Other trade challenges were discussed: the dumping of substandard goods was highlighted and it was agreed that the government should extend BOBS to imported goods. The threats post by environment and climate change were discussed and some mitigation measures agreed. For instance the government was to spearhead the creation of jobs that are environmentally friendly. The session o n issue of common interest ended by highlighting the corruption problem and it was agreed that bipartite should address the corruption problem.Advertising Looking for report on political sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More A tentative procedure for creating a successful business agenda in Botswana was also availed to those in attendance. The process mainly dwelt on the seven steps of assessment of the policies; setting the priorities; making proposals; involving members with mandate; strategising for production; selling of products; and monitoring the performance. Conclusion Recommendations of employment creation, and tripatism and social dialogue The workshop was very successful in the sense that it facilitated the highlighting of a wide scope of challenges facing employees, organisations and regulatory mechanisms in Botswana. It gave the overall situation of the basic components of the countries economy. The identification of the issues was accompanied by discussions on how best the issue could be resolved. Issues such as weak legislation, unskilled labour and working conditions were broadly discussed. It’s thus important that those who are privileged to be in positions where these matters ca n be taken up and implemented, should formulate proper working models that will oversee the transition of Botswana’s economy through effective identification of solutions to the problems discussed in the workshop. This report on Workshop Developing Bipartite Business Agenda for Policy Advocacy was written and submitted by user Annika Garcia to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.