Upaya, meaning “skillful means”, is an activity that helps individuals reach enlightenment. From Mahayana Buddhism, Zen and Tibetan traditions, telling the truth is no more than utilizing Upaya for the sake of enlightenment, says wei-hsun, an expert on Neo-Confucianism. Each individual is different when it comes to Upaya, as well as their situations. The same use of Upaya in one situation may not be substantial in another situation. Previously, skillful means was mainly used by scholars and Buddhists, and still is, in order to follow in the Buddha’s footsteps and adapt his teachings to the level of which an individual will understand. However, to this day it is used anywhere from schools to gyms in order to help an individual gain insight on …show more content…
When a teacher knows their student learns best through a reward based system they provide goals. When a teacher knows their student is ‘lacking’ cognitive faculties they speak in a way they can understand; without talking down to them. When a teacher knows their student is well endowed in the mind, rather than start off with the mundane the teacher moves on to the more advanced from the start. The show Monkey, which is considered to be based off of a Chinese novel published in the 16th century during the Ming dynasty called Journey to the West. The concept of Upaya is used in Monkey more than a few times, but if he is already rumored to have reached enlightenment, why is Upaya utilized? Monkey has a huge desire to act impulsively to get what he wants, so when it comes to Upaya the act must be done with some insight to this in order to teach him …show more content…
Had Monkey not been there, Tripitaka may have been harmed on the way to India. That is not the point being made here, Tripitaka witnessed Monkey kill the bandits which is against the rules, this means Monkey was meant to be punished and what is expected after punishment is obedience. His lack of obedience was eventually fixed. Tripitaka puts a ‘leash’ on Monkey, the golden headband, to control Monkey more easily. Every time Monkey protests one of Tripitaka commands, he gets a headache until he decides to follow the rules. It could be Monkey did not gain insight on the mission with Tripitaka, but he knows the only way of getting the headband off is if he follows the rules and does well by him. Assuming Tripitaka is a Bodhisattva monk, a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so out of compassion in order to save suffering beings, he is able to use upaya to help the perplexed gain insight. Monkey now had someone on his side, even if he didn't see it that way so he could follow the right path. I am sure Tripitaka and Monkey will have many adventures throughout the series in which he learns many new and morally correct ways to live. At the end the narrator ends the episode in the most teachable way, summarizing everything, "Monkey was trapped by desire and released by a boy
Buddhism’s approach to ethics and practices are centred upon the principal beliefs of; the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path and the Five Precepts. By adhering to these guidelines, Buddhists are ensured that they are taking a step closer to escaping Samsara, and attaining the revered state of Nirvana,
Fortunately, there are creatures on the Earth still willing to teach Man about his roots, and at the same time save Man from his selfdestructive impulses. Enter Ishmael, a gorilla with a conscience. Yes, a gorilla. Caged and controlled by man, Ishmael developed a self-awareness of his situation and of man's. Realizing that his destiny is intertwined with man's, he decides to save man from himself. Placing an ad in the papers, Ishmael finds a willing if disillusioned student, and presents a course of education guaranteed to save the world. Makes one wonder if the sign in Ishmael's office reads true, "With gorilla gone, will man survive?"
Piggy is known for being the most intellectual and reasonable out of the boys. While the other boys are off fooling around and dreaming about their next adventure, Piggy is using reason to plan an organized method of survival on the island where everyone is satisfied. For example, while the other boys were exploring the island, Simon came up with an idea and said, “‘I’ve been thinking,” he said, “about a clock. We could make a sundial. We could put a stick in the sand, and then—’” (Golding 90). Although the boys can rule using any form of government on the island, Piggy attempts to create a civilized and orderly environment by advising Ralph to implement a democratic state. Despite his weak appearance, Piggy has a very strong moral compass and sense of self assurance, meaning, he’s very confident in the moral choices he makes. Since he bases his actions and way of thinking on reason and justice, he has a tendency to believe everyone should follow and share his methods because “rules are rules.” As seen when electing a leader, Piggy believed that because the conch and name system were his ideas, he should have been voted as leader, resulting in “Every hand outside the choir except Piggy’s was raised immediately. Then Piggy, too, raised his hand grudgingly into the air.” (Golding 29). Due to his strong confidence, Piggy is not afraid to act upon his beliefs and what is right, even if it may not be a popular
monkey's paw and made his third and final wish. Just as he made his wish the
Buddhism is currently the fourth most popular religion in our society today, following Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. Its major ideologies are based on the philosophies of Siddhartha Guatama, also known as “Buddha”, who began his teachings in 598 BCE at the age of 35, according to Buddhist texts. A Buddhist’s foremost aspiration is the obtainment of Bodhi, or enlightenment through meditation and Anapana-sati (awareness of the breath). Buddhism shares many ideologies with India’s Hinduism and Yoga such as non-harming, non-violence, and self-awareness. In many instances, people regard Buddhism as a way of life rather than a religion, for it has no clear belief in the idea of a God or Gods. Its structure is built upon a hierarchy much like Christianity where superior orders such as Lamas or the Dalai Lama are said to be chosen by nature through the process of reincarnation rather than by a council like Christianity’s Pope. Though these “higher level” Buddhists are rare (not everyone is a reincarnation of an ancient Buddhist “priest”), all are permitted to follow “The Middle Way” either as a Buddhist monk or the simple attendance of a weekly teaching session from time to time. Throughout the last few hundred years the Buddhist population has blossomed into a healthy 381,611,000 and over fifteen different sects including Zen, Mahayana, and Theravada.
Additionally, Sergeant Major Morris knew the consequences of wishing upon the monkey's paw, saying on page 377, "I don't know what the first two [wishes] were, but the third was for death." This implied that the previous owner of the paw had suffered such severe consequences that he wished away his own life. Although Sergeant Major Morris refrained from giving the
I will just take it home and see what this fake thing can do.” The man went back to his house and sat down on the chair in the dining room staring at the monkey’s paw. He told his wife and daughter about how the old fakir gave him the monkey’s paw and how it granted wishes. The man said to the monkey’s paw “I wish for a million dollars.”
Piggy has always been an outcast. He always has trouble being accepted by others, but throughout the book he persistently attempts to fit it and be appreciated. To keep order, the boys on the island have a conch shell and whoever has this conch is the individual that has the right to speak. Whenever Piggy has the conch, the boys cease to listen and talk over him. This doesn't stop Piggy from speaking his mind as he continuously says in an authoritative voice "I got the conch, you let me speak!" (42). Piggy has to work extra hard compared to the others to be acknowledged, but this never stops him. He relentlessly stands up for himself, even when no one has his back. His hope for acceptance never fades. In addition, Piggy is also a very intelligent individual and he is able to come up with some rather clever tactics in hope to be appreciated, such as excessively flattering someone with compliments. Piggy tells Ralph "you're the chief Ralph, you remember everything" (173). Piggy acknowledges that Ralph is the chief and that he holds power over everyone, and he also compliments Ralph on his memory. In using these tributes, Piggy hopes that Ralph will like and accept him. Piggy uses clever tactics like this one multiple times throughout the book, which reveals that his hope for acceptance is ceaseless even when it seems that he should give up. In conclusion, Piggy's hope for acceptance reveals that human nature is always
After killing all the demons and saving his master's life, he decided to follow his master on a journey to serve him: "On this journey, we have no need for shoes" (Yang 159). Yang made us understand that he threw away his shoes, which symbolize acceptance. The Monkey King has come to realized that he is just a Monkey that does not need to be a god or anyone else, and he does not need shoes: “The Monkey King accompanied Wong Lai-Tsao on his journey to the West and served him faithfully until the very end” (Yang 160).
Being the only boy that wasn't violent shows how diverse Piggy was from the other boys on the island. "I got the conch I tell you" Piggy screamed in attempt to gain the boys' lost attention, "I tell you I got the conch." Good finally prevailed and Piggy gained the boys' attention. Never once did Piggy resort to violence, even when his glasses were stolen, he proved he was above violence. Unlike Jack, Piggy never killed. Piggy never hunted or killed a pig, let alone hurt another human being, he used his mind not his size to get attention. Being the biggest boy on the island, he had the upper hand in any fight that would have gone his way. Piggy talked out his conflict; in his opinion violence was not an option. "I just take the conch to say this. I can't see no more and I got to get my glasses back. Awful things have been done on this island. I voted for you (Ralph) for chief. He is the only one who ever got things done.
The gorilla, named Ishmael, can communicate telepathically. Communicating with him in this fashion, the narrator learns Ishmael’s background - in which the gorilla was stolen from the wild and displayed in a menagerie, then rescued by a Holocaust survivor who taught him his name and how to learn. Impressed, the narrator decides to accept his teachings, returning to Ishmael's office throughout the story.
In the novel, Piggy represents intelligence and rationality because of how he thoroughly thinks through all situations that he faces and due to his exceptional ability to create simple solutions to any problem. At very beginning of the novel, shortly after emerging from the wreckage of the crashed plane, Piggy and Ralph first meet each other. As the pair walk along the beach, Ralph finds a conch, which gives Piggy the idea of using the conch to “‘call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us’” (Golding 16). Even after the initial shock of crash-landing on a presumably deserted island, Piggy is able to gather his wits and realize that their best chance of survival to gather all the boys and get some kind of organization established. Although Ralph found the conch initially, he was only attracted to it because it looked like “a worthy plaything” (16). Piggy however, unlike Ralph, immediately thought up a novel idea of how to use the conch to better their situation, by using it to gather everyone else, and to assess the overall predicament they found themselves in. Piggy was focused on long-term survival and sustainability rather than the short-term entertainment that the conch presented. People who have high levels of intelligence often possess extremely rational thinking methods. The Beast had begun to terrorize the mountain, particularly in the vicinity ...
The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism capture ethos of the spirituality and its teachings. By just these four lessons, Buddha preaches the principles of tranquility within meditation of mere concentration. From these truths he developed a guidance referred to as the Eightfold Path, a series of principles that lead to awakening when practiced and understood. He preaches that inevitable suffering comes from desire, however he concludes with a solution to a life lived in nirvana. The first two of the Four Noble Truths are Dukha and Avidya, focusing on the primitive presence of suffering within day to day life. The other two are Nirodha and Magga, contributions to having faith that solvents for all suffering do exist and how it is accomplished. The combination of each understanding is a simple recipe to ultimate salvation, hence the contribution to development of self awareness and happiness within cultures across the map.
...h he had given up. But then, seeing that both sticks could be put together to make one long stick (insightful experience), the Chimpanzee placed the small stick a little way inside of the larger one and was able to reach the banana and pull it toward himself.
Dream on Monkey Mountain by Derek Walcott is a play that Walcott says in his "Note on Production" in the beginning of the play "'The play is a dream, one that exists as much in the given minds of its principal characters as in that of its writer, and as such, it is illogical, derivative, contradictory. Its source is metaphor and it is best treated as a physical poem with all the subconscious and deliberate borrowings of poetry" (Walcott, 208). By using this method of a dreamscape, mixed with reality Walcott helps portray the mental disorder of Caribbean people that has come about because of colonization. It also allows Walcott to find a way to overcome this affliction through the process of a journey of self-discovery.