Class#3 Buddhism

1, How is your daily life affected by Buddhism? What do you do and why do you do it?

I think most Japanese have a lot of things related with Buddhism in our house even if we do not care about this religion so much. For example, on the Bon Festival or a few times a year, we usually visit a grave to clean it. In my house, there are the place sacred to Buddha as most Japanese have it. my grandmather prays and we give them new hot rice and tea that anyone in my family doesn't have yet. Still I do not know why we have to do this exactly. However, I was taught if I do not do this, I will have the misfortune by my family when I was younger. even now I hear this from some Japanese people in TV. Moreover, the guest talked about Buddhism in last class let me understand this answer a little and his talk was really attracted me. Our usual life and behave that Japanese people do and have are always related with Buddhism and they all have important meaning and history, However, recently,Japanese people are doing this without knowing them. so when He told us about Buddhism and meaning, I understand why we are doing it everyday and about Buddhism. and I think we have to have more interest in history and meaning of Buddhism.Moreover I learned this religion is really more free to believe than others. It does not tell what is best at all and just tell people the way to think or spend a life.so I think this is one of the reason why Japanese people are not strict about our religion. This is a big difference between other religions and Buddhism.

2. The next class will be about Islam. Check the newspapers for the next 2 weeks and find articles about Islam. How are they talked about? Do you feel negative or positive about Islam because of these articles? Summarize one article in English and post it on your blog. Try to keep a list of adjectives used to describe Islam. Remember to put the name of the newspaper, date and page of the article you summarized.


The article "The 'freedom' to disrespect" by Hugh Cortazzi is started about One of the prophet and cartoons published in a Danish paper last September implied that Islam was a terrorist organization.Protests by Muslims in London against the Danish Embassy and starts the big demonstration. on one hand, Danish Embassy insisted "the right to freedom of speech and of the press should be curtailed in the interest of fairness and respect for the beliefs of others" and protest could not accuse it because of the law. the writer talk there are still many problem with prejudice of Islam and it is easy for them to be target.

Words Cited <http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20060220hc.html>

I do not feel negative about Islam by this article because I do not think all people having religion, Islam think the same way all the time. Even if some people did the act of terrorism, they are Islam accidentally and all Islam do not agree with them and their act. Every people have different idea and ways of thinking. this article writes just what happened to them, but I think they takes sides to Islam because it tells me how poor the law is and I can see Islam are struggling by Danish Embassy's cartoons and prophet. they used the right to freedom of speech by the wrong way. the reaon they have negative feeling of some relision is because of media like cartoons and prophets. If some media tells people the relison is terrible, many readers think it only that way by media. so publisher should make sure they have huge responsibities and the article affect many readers in the wrold. Moreover,I think readers have also have it. We should not trust and believe medias all the time. We have to have more board view of thinking to others and try to understand them though many methods.

(A list to describe Islam)

strong believe

peacefull

strict

huge

respective