Self-discovery and Understanding of World in Against Meat and Praise Essay

Self-discovery and Understanding of World in Against Meat and Praise of Self-deception - Essay Example Even with the improved capacity to conceive build and design sophisticated equipment, tame some of the wildest beasts the earth has ever known and even travel thousands of miles to the moon, a man seems not to understand his own functionalities. He seems increasingly confused in understanding the most complex machine evolution has provided; the brain. Although scientists at least have clues on how the brain process information, it has always been a dilemma on how the physical and the tangible aspects of the brain easily connect to aspects such as emotions and how the brain affects our decision-making processes. Perhaps the state of chaos and confusion that in most instance human beings conceal behind the mask of ambition, philanthropy, humanity or even religion is better explained by the artistic impressions of artists. The question is whether man has the capacity to find answers on his real self but opts not to, due to fear of what he might discover. Maybe the man is just not able t o self-discover and will in most instances carefully construct theories in an attempt to hide his ineptness in these matters. Using the â€Å"Broken Column† (Self-portrait) by Fridah Kahlo as the yardstick, the paper will conduct an analysis on two texts; â€Å"against meat† and â€Å"praise of self-deception.† The Self. ... The article â€Å"Against Meat† by Jonathan Safran is a narration about his battle with the commitment of being a vegetarian. Safran begins by outlining the initial concept that was nurtured in him concerning meat and how he experienced difficulties in converting to vegetarianism even after realizing the ills associated with meat. Safran learned at an early age from his grandmother that there was no kind of food that was bad and that most parts of food were to be eaten. Safran writes that: No foods are bad for you. Sugars are great. Fats are tremendous. The fatter a child is, the fitter it is — especially if it’s a boy. Safran also mentions that his grandmother had endured the 2nd World War surviving barely enough to eat and was even sometimes forced to scavenge for food remnants in dustbins. As a result, his grandmother’s obsession with food was particularly due to her past experiences with hunger. Then after that Safran learnt from his father that kickin g animals was not good, only for the father to flush a golden fish Safran received as a gift in the toilet. These instances together with the conversation he had with the baby sitter only served to disillusion Safran concerning the ills of eating meat. The disillusionment Safran felt was due to the fact that most people around him ate meat despite believing that eating meat is causing undue distress to animals. Safran admits that the disillusionment had profound impact on his life, that he found himself constantly making excuses to eat meat despite being a vegetarian. Safran proceeds to narrate a life where he hypocritically consoled himself that he had not caused any distress because he had not actually killed but was just consuming what had been killed by another.  

World Religions Report Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

World Religions Report - Assignment Example When looking at individual practices as well as the background of Buddhism, one is able to see specific doctrines and teachings that are applied to one’s life. This is furthered with comparisons of other religions, such as Christianity, the secondary religion investigated, to define the various roles and concepts that are formed with religious beliefs. Background of Buddhism Buddhism is an older religion with origins began in India, Burma and China, where it is still widely practiced. The main principle of Buddhism is to find the Middle Path which consists of the Four Noble Truths. The objective is to see how one can move through this lifetime and reach enlightenment of the spirit. This is followed by the Eightfold Path, which is eight different mechanics which one needs to reach the same enlightenment, or nirvana. Wisdom, morality, right views, resolve, speech, action, effort and mindfulness are the Eightfold Path to obtain enlightenment. The result is that one is able to go through a self – transformation on the intellectual, emotional and moral levels, which is what the Buddhists believe to help one move into enlightenment (Keown, 2009). The spread of Buddhism to the West has not only led to the different components of the main mechanics and teachings. This includes two sectors of Buddhism, including Theravada or Mahayana. The Theravada belief is the ancient belief, stating that the teachings are based on the original teachings for enlightenment. The Mahayana practice also has the main techniques and foundation from the ancient practices. However, this has moved into alternative perspectives and techniques based on practice, such as transformative beliefs, practical solutions for today’s needs and an expansion in the meditation techniques (Fowler, 1999). Interview Summary The interview that was conducted occurred after visiting a Buddhist temple at KSA. The outer area of the temple seems like a regular structure building that was used la ter as a temple. The landscaping has a large amount of greenery and is kept to create a sense of invitation in the building. The internal area of the building has the wheel of Buddhism in various areas, the statue of the laughing Buddha and various paintings and icons that are representative of the religion from the East. An assembly hall is located in the internal area as well as several rooms to the side for worship, meeting and to look into the Buddhist literature. These are each well decorated with the Buddhist symbols and signs, the Buddhist statue and other figurines from the East. A program was being held with the doctrines and beliefs that were associated with the temple, combined with several who were visiting. A Buddhist, by the name of Aaron, was found after the program that agreed to taking the interview and which had time to answer the questions that I required (see Appendix A). Aaron was in his mid – 40s and was a frequent member at the Buddhist temple outside o f his main job as a computer programmer. The information was recorded on an iPhone then transferred to paper later. The individual interviewed had been practicing Buddhism for over 15 years with the basis being in Christianity. The pull toward Buddhism began with the individual not feeling a strong enough basis toward the Christian beliefs while wanting more with the foundation of belief. The individual then decided to visit a Buddhist temple in the area to create a different understanding of religion. The origins of the practice are not practiced by family or relatives while creating an individual approach to the idea of reaching enlightenment. However, the individual also noted that practicing Buddhi