Siddartha Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Siddartha - Essay Example According to the four noble truths, suffering is an inherent part of existence, the source of suffering is ignorance, the main symptoms of ignorance are attached and craving and that this can ceased and lastly the noble eightfold path will cease the attachment and suffering. Wisdom cannot be achieved through following an enlightened one; this is evident from the book where Siddhartha and his friend part in search for enlightment, it cannot be achieved through words and teachings and the reason is because they may talk the truth but being concepts they trap you. To reach Nirvana one has to destroy the self in order to attain knowledge of the unknown innermost. When one reaches this state you experience peace and you lack desire and passion, this is illustrated in the book where the enlightened one is described as "Every finger of his hand spoke of peace, spoke of completeness, sought nothing, imitated nothing, reflected a continuous quiet, an unfading light, an invulnerable peace". To be wise you have to love the world and other people not because of their teaching but because of their deeds and their life, this is also in the book where Siddhartha explains to his friend that "It is only important to love the world, not to despise it, not for us to hate each other, but to be bale to regard the world and ourselves and all being with love, admiration and respect". (Hermann (1971) Siddhartha page 147) Above all you must learn to listen with a still heart, without passion, without desire and without judgment, you must listen with a waiting and an open soul, in the book Siddhartha learnt to listen from the river where he spent most of the time listening, this is also evident in the noble eightfold path where in order to achieve nirvana one has to have the right concentration. "Siddhartha learnt from the river how to listen, listen with a still heart, with a waiting, open soul, without passion, without desire, without judgment and without opinion". (Hermann (1971) Siddhartha page 106) To be wise you have to learn how to make sacrifices, Siddhartha learnt how to pray, fast and to think, this he got from the teachings of samana, and you must have self control and must not be destructed by earthly desires, for they will mislead you to what you are looking for. Siddhartha is a good example to illustrate this, he went to the city and forgot how to pray, think and fast. The world gave him much experience but did not give him the answer. Wisdom can be achieved only to those who sort it, it cannot be achieved through words and it needs action, Siddhartha left his home in search for knowledge, if he had not left home he wouldn't have reached nirvana. You must be ready to make sacrifices and not be led by desires, Siddhartha left his lover, wealth and the city to go live with the ferry man, this shows a lot of sacrifice and this is what one deserves to do in order to be wise. The decisions one makes must be right decisions, you should evaluate the options of anything that you do before

The Relations Between Islamic Fundementalism and Muslim Democracy Essay

The Relations Between Islamic Fundementalism and Muslim Democracy - Essay Example Since the beginning of 1990s, there have arisen Muslim oriented parties, but which are not fundamental or Islamist in their ideals, and which have successfully vied and won political seats in countries such as Bangladesh, Turkey, Indonesia, Malaysia and Pakistan. Unlike fundamentalists who advocate for the introduction of Sharia or Islamic law, the proponents of Muslim Democracy are seen to be more realistic in their view since they are found to be accommodative of religious and secular ideals in their approach to politics (Kepel, 2003). They are seen to disagree with the notion that a Muslim country must be governed by Sharia law, but are seen to lean towards the creation of electoral processes that are viable and accommodative of different shades of opinion so as to serve interests that are both Islamic and secular, thereby respecting the thus created democratic space whether they win in the elections or lose. They are not seen to have the motive of integrating Islam into politics but are only seen to exploit its potential through the teaching of Islamic values to help them win elections. All the same, democratization processes which are all inclusive seem to be more appealing than the path of religious and ideological change and Islamic democracy hence they are seen to be on the upper hand in shaping the political destinies of many countries in the Islamic world. Fundamentalists on the other hand do not view Democracy as an issue to be taken seriously or legitimately but only as a means to ascend to political power so as to acquire the platform through which to build an Islamic state (Roy 2006). The observers of the changes being experienced in the Muslim world have associated these changes with influence due to interaction locally and globally and the advent of internet technology. The success of Muslim democracy does not seem to have resulted from any theological or ideological process, but for being seen to address issues from a practical perspective that gives assurance to the electorate that its needs are all well taken care of. The two concepts of fundamentalism and Muslim democracy in their various ways have resulted in regime change in their respective countries, including change that was facilitated by fundamentalists in Iran and Morocco, the changes that have been occasioned by the Muslim Democracy proponents in the areas affected by the Arab spring namely Egypt, Tunisia and Libya (Kepel, 2003). The concepts are both at the forefront in struggling for political power in ruling governments even as each espouses its ideals to convince the masses, though Muslim democracy seems to be on the upper hand. There are various factors that have contributed to the rise of Islamic fundamentalism’s openness to democracy. After gauging the preference of masses, the trend has been that Islamist or secular parties are not currently as popular as those with Muslim values and moderate Islamic policies. This latter principle along which M uslim democratic parties are molded, is attracting a large section of voters since they are also more compatible with world politics. Putting a lot of rhetoric and theory aside, Muslim democracy party ideals have similarities with the Christian Democratic Party’s trend of Europe in the past and thus have had appeal as compared to the