Siddhartha Gautama The Buddha And His Journey, The Epoch...

The story of Siddhartha Gautama is one of renunciation from a life of privilege and wealth to that of monastic asceticism, driven by an innate desire to â€Å"reach enlightenment through the banishment of suffering and spiritual emptiness† (Wattananarong). Gautama left behind wealth and nobility in order to cease his own suffering and upon achieving his own enlightenment, provided a path for others to follow. Following his enlightenment, Gautama came to be known as the Buddha and his journey, the epoch of Buddhism. Unaccepting of some social and cultural practices of the time, the Buddha was openly critical of the Hindu Brahman’s possessiveness and almost secretive knowledge of the Veda texts; sharing this knowledge only with their son’s, assuring their family’s position socially and spiritually(Wattananarong). Accordingly, he proposed the solution to the cessation of one’s suffering should be available to and for everyone, â€Å"rather than to an exclusive few based on if one becomes a Brahma or Outcaste by birth, one becomes either by living well or living badly† (Wattananarong). For this reason, he rejected the caste system predicated on the belief that all people are equal and have a right to choose how to live their lives, thereby making decisions about their future and potentially reduce or eliminate their own suffering. Hence, based on Buddha’s rejection of predetermined privilege and entitlement of enlightenment for some, while denying others, it appears implausible

The Advantages and Disadvantage of Multi-Cultured Societies free essay sample

Multi-cultured societies are mixtures of many ethnic groups. Some people think the advantages of multi-cultured societies outweigh the disadvantages. Do you agree or disagree? I definitely agree with the statement that cosmopolitan societies are better for the overall progress of a country. That is perhaps why nations such as the U. S. A. , Canada and Australia, which are primarily multi-cultural societies, enjoy great prosperity, stability and harmony. In the following paragraphs I shall provide arguments to support my views. Apparently, a multi-cultural society can bring a wide variety of benefits to a nation in terms of economic, cultural and social development. To begin with, the majority of immigrants from different cultural backgrounds are high achievers, including experts, scholars, engineers, business people and other well-trained people. Their arrival means an inflow of expertise, experience, investments as well as a dynamic labour force, which are all key factors to the increase of competitiveness, efficiency and productivity of a nation’s economy. We will write a custom essay sample on The Advantages and Disadvantage of Multi-Cultured Societies or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What is more, the new arrivals know very well the importance of respecting the local traditions and customs. Therefore, they co-operate and collaborate well with the natives. They work very harmoniously side by side in offices, factories and schools. In addition, with a rich blend of peoples, cultures and lifestyles, people in multi-cultural societies tend to be more open-minded and tolerant of other people’s customs and religions. However, multi-societies also have some problems. Sometimes, people from overseas will try to maintain their unique ethnic cultures with their own distinctive characteristics. These differences many seem trivial, but they can cause some conflicts that make it difficult for immigrants to become assimilated into the mainstream of the local social life. But multi-cultural societies are usually based on equality and diversity, so these problems can eventually be dealt with successfully. To sum up, after what I have discussed, the advantages of multi-cultural societies far outweigh the disadvantages. That is the reason so many countries make great efforts to attract more immigrants from abroad.