Buddhism Essays (1164 words) - Indian Religions, Buddhism, Religion

Buddhism Buddhism has a very long drawn out origination starting in about 565 B.C. with the birth of Siddhartha Gautama. The religion has guide lines in two forms in which Buddhist followers must follow the "Four Noble Truths" and the "Eightfold Path" There are many aspects of this religion that can be explored but the one that is most interesting seems to be it origination and it's beliefs. In about 565 B.C. Siddhartha Gautama was born, a young Indian prince born to the ruler of a small kingdom that is now known as Nepal. Gautama's birth is described as a miraculous event, his birth being the result of his mother's impregnation by a sacred white elephant that touched her left side with a lotus flower. The scriptures claim that when Gautama was born ?"immeasurable light spread through ten thousand worlds; the blind recovering their sight, as if from desire to see his glory" After birth the future Buddha (Gautama) supposedly talked and walked while lotus leafs formed in his footprints. Gautama's father was said to have been told his son's destiny for greatness, either as an emperor or as a religious leader. Therefore Gautama's father decided to isolate his son from the outside world, where he might "see how the other half lived" and maybe even be tempted to belong to a different religion. ?pg 141 "What man Believes" Evans, Allan E., Moynes, Riley E., Martinello, Larry Since the complete seclusion as Gautama's father had wished was impossible and Gautama was a curious young man he did venture out and that is when he eventually say the four sights, which would, if experienced as it had been told to Gautama's father, lead the young prince to a religious life. These sights or as how Buddhist refer to them "The Four Signs" were in turn, a sick man covered with terrible sores, an old man, a corpse, and a wandering monk. The sightings of these men made Gautama think of the suffering and inevitable death which comes to all people great and small. This brought further questioning such as the meaning of life and the ultimate fate of man. As time passed these thoughts became great burdens upon Gautama and he increasingly became dissatisfied with the shallow dissolute life of the royal court in which he lived. Therefore at the age of 21, although married with a beautiful young son and also the heir to a very rich throne he forsook it all and became a travelling holy man. After a while of travelling as a holy man there was a great even that transformed Gautama into the Buddha (or the Enlightened One). It all began at dusk on Gautama's thirty-fifth birthday. While sitting under a tree it is said that he thought a break through was obvious and here again is where the legend takes over. It says that the evil one, Mara tempests him with beautiful Goddesses and attacked him with tempests, flaming rocks and other devices, all of which Gautama blocked himself from. Eventually at dawn Gautama finally realized the essential truth about life and about the path to salvation. Because of this Gautama then became the Buddha and remained this spot for many days while remaining in a trance-like state for many weeks. This experience made Gautama feel a desire to share his knowledge with others and he did so very well, as a preacher and a teacher until his death in about 483 B.C. Buddhism is a lot like other Indian religions based upon the beliefs. Such as the beliefs in reincarnation, dharma, karma and Nirvana. But mostly in Raja Yoga the profound meditation which holds the key to enlightment and therefore to the salvation of Nirvana. Buddha himself expressed the base of his beliefs when he said ?"I teach only 2 things, O disciples, the fact of suffering and the possibility of escape from suffering. These ideas are expanded upon in the "Four Noble Truths" and the "Eightfold Path". The "Four Noble Truths" can be summarized by saying, life is suffering (dukkha), the cause of suffering is desire (tanha) the way to end suffering is to overcome desire, and to overcome desire on must follow the "Eightfold Path" Buddha taught that man is a slave to his ego . That man wishes happiness, security, success, long life, and many other things for himself and his loved ones. However, pain, frustration, sickness and death are all inevitable and the only way to eliminate these evils is to overcome desire. The "Eight Fold Path" is a

Pension Plans in the United States After Retirement

Pension Plans in the United States After Retirement Pension plans are one of the key methods to successfully saving for retirement in the United States, and though the government does not require businesses to provide such plans to its employees, it does offer generous tax breaks to companies that establish and contribute to pensions for their employees. In recent years, defined contribution plans and Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) have become the norm in terms of small businesses, self-employed individuals, and freelance workers. These monthly set amounts, which may or may not be matched by the employer, are self-managed by the employees in their personal savings accounts. The primary method of regulating pension plans in the United States, though, comes from its Social Security program, which benefits anyone who retires after the age of 65, depending on how much one invests over the course of his or her life. Federal agencies ensure that these benefits are met by every employer in the U.S. Are Businesses Required to Offer Pension Plans? There are no laws that require businesses to offer their employees pension plans, however, pensions are regulated by several governing agencies in the United States, which largely helps define what benefits larger businesses must offer their employees - like health care coverage. The  Ã¢â‚¬â€¹Department of State  website details that the federal governments tax collection agency, the Internal Revenue Service, sets most rules governing pension plans, and a Labor Department agency regulates plans to prevent abuses. Another federal agency, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, ensures retiree benefits under traditional private pensions; a series of laws enacted in the 1980s and 1990s boosted premium payments for this insurance and stiffened requirements holding employers responsible for keeping their plans financially healthy. Still, the Social Security program is the greatest way in which the United States government requires businesses to offer their employees long-term pensions options - a just reward for working a full career before retirement. Federal Employee Benefits: Social Security Employees of the  federal government- including  members  of the military and civil service as well as disabled  war  veterans- are offered several types of pension plans, but the most important government-run program is Social Security, which is available after a person retires at or above the age of 65. Although run by the Social Security Administration, the funds for this program come from payroll taxes paid by both employees and employers. In recent years, however, it has come under scrutiny as the benefits received upon retirement  only cover a portion of the income needs of its recipient. Especially because of the retirement of many of the post-war  baby-boom generation early in the 21st century, politicians feared the government wouldnt be able to pay all its obligations without increasing taxes or decreasing benefits for retirees. Managing Defined Contribution Plans and IRAs In recent years, many companies have switched over to what is known as defined contribution plans wherein the employee is given a set amount as part of their salary and is thus tasked with managing their own personal retirement account. In this type of pension plan, the company is not required to contribute to the savings fund of its employee, but many choose to do so based on the result of the employees contract negotiation. In any case, the employee is responsible for managing his or her salary allotment intended for retirement savings. Although it is not difficult to set up a retirement fund with a bank in an Individual Retirement Account (IRA), it can be daunting for self-employed and freelance workers to actually manage their investments into a savings account. Unfortunately, the amount of money these individuals have available at retirement entirely depends on how they invest their own earnings.

Answer three essay questions from the text Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Answer three questions from the text - Essay Example of labor, and systems of distribution; in order to prove these theses, let us cite specific examples to illustrate the most relevant points of the paper. Thus, technology in the Euro-American world is a crucial concept, because it signifies a set of instruments for classifying things. Furthermore, division of labor could be applied properly in terms of technology, as a main factor of its developing, according to Marx (Lenkeit, p. 96). Moreover, systems of distribution differ from West to East, because in the West market goods are widely produced and distributed, whereas in the East only some religious and moral ideas and principle are reproduced predominantly. Unlikely, subsistence is the ground for both division of labor and systems of distribution in the scientific philosophy and cultural anthropology. Illustrating the most relevant points of the sub-chapter, it can be said that technology, subsistence, division of labor, and systems of distribution are extremely vital regarding compare and contrast foragers in two different parts of the world. In this sub-chapter we will critically discuss the problems associated with using Euro-American constructs about sexual orientation to describe the behaviors and attitudes of the other cultures; accordingly, we will point out areas where problems could arise, offering solutions towards understanding. Thus, there are some Euro-American constructs about sexual orientation, especially in psychoanalysis: drive; passion, and compensation (Lenkeit, p. 95). Initially, Freudian theory of sexual drives is extremely important in terms of sexual orientation, because it is relevant for describing why sexes are so significant for each other. Then, passion is a way of how drives realize each other. Moreover, compensation or sublimation is a most vital scientific method in psychoanalysis which suggests why sexual orientation occurred and why sometimes it is converted into creative activities (Lenkeit, p. 38). In this sub-chapter we