Critical Thinking Journal 1

This was the first critical thinking journal that I had to do for Humanities. It was written about The Dhammapada which is a Buddhist religious writing.

1.) Who is the author or artist or musician of the original work and what influenced them to write what they did?

The author is Buddha. He was influenced to write this to benefir large groups of people by making them happier.

2.) What is the full title of the piece? What is the meaning of this title?

The full title of this is The Dhammapada. The title most likely means "The Path of Dhamma." Dhamma is a word similar to Dharma, whish is a form of law; while Pada is used (in this context) as a path but can also mean foot or walk.

3.) What was the historical context within which the work was produced? How does the context affect the meaning and interpretation of the piece?

It's said that the Dhammapada was written by the Buddha himself, much like the Bible was written by Jesus. The Dhammapada is only one part out of a whole book called the Pali Canon, which has teachings from many teachers of Theravada Buddhism. The Dhammpada is the compromised of verses that Buddha had said approximately 305 times. The oldest manuscript for the Dhammapa is dated to about the first century CE. Pali, the language the Dhammapada was originall written in, is a language mainly found in India and has been around as a sacred language in Buddhism. Buddha himself lived in Nepal under his real name Siddhartha Gautama, he was born into the Sakya tribe at the foot of the Himalayan Mountains north of the Ganges Valley in a small city called Kapilavastu which is now Southern Nepal. It is believed that he saw his city overrun and the people butchered. His tribe was then under the control of the Aryans. Siddhartha, though, is thought to have been a prince, who was sheltered from all the terrible parts of humanity. But at the age of 29, Siddhartha became a wanderer to learn about human nature and seek spiritual satisfaction. He hardly ate and failed his tasks. He later sat under a banyan tree and became enlightened. He believed that human misery was indeed caused by humanity itself but refused to become a philosopher. He believed that humans can only rely on themselves to bring them salvation and not the gods, but he did not ask his followers to give up their gods. He allowed all people to join his movement, including lower castes and women, and everyone was released from the caste restriction in his movement. Siddhartha was very much into unique thinking. After he died at the age of 80, splits in the religion started rising. Thinking about the history, it makes me respect Buddha a bit more due to how he treated everyone equally and allowed everyone to be their own person instead of forcing something down everyone's throats. And after seeing evil and unhappiness, he just wanted everyone to be happy.

4.) Who do you think the intended audiences might have been at the time the work was created? How does the audience affect the meaning and the interpretation of the piece?

I believe the intended audience at the time was people who believed in his teachings and people who were willing to believe in what he said. Being as the Dhammapada is, in fact, a translation, the language opened up the range of people to anyone who doesn't speak Pali. Buddha really had a wide range in mind, I think; because women and men are both addressed, lower and higher classes are addressed. He just didn't really care.

5.) What do you think the work's main argument, point, or conclusion might be? How would you analyze the "argument?" How would you compare this specifically to other artistic works you have seen both in class and outside of class? What is your personal response to the work?

I think the work's main point is that basically you shouldn't live with evils in your life, because then you'll be unhappy your whole life. He wanted everyone to just be happy. I believe that the question Buddha used was, "How can people be happy in an unhappy world?" His evidence is basically to just slow down, think about things, and don't let hatred cloud your mind, becuase once you do that there's no going back. Based on what I've read for this class, it seems like a lot of the Greke philosophers might have received their ideas from Buddha or similar teachings, because a lot of them were focused on happiness and how happiness is something you have personally and not something everyone else chooses for you. Honestly, I really enjoyed reading the Dhammapada. After I had read it, I started writing this and the next day, I realized something. Buddha was the original hippy. Ha ha, I know I'm lame :P . Seriously though, I lvoed how he addressed men and women; most poeple of his time and later wouldn't address women, because they usually aren't important, but he did! And I just... I love when important figures like him address women because no one ever does. I also love how he encouraged uniqueness! Most people running a religion want everyone to think in the same exact way, but Buddha doesn't! I feel like Buddhism is a religion I can get behind.

Bibliography

http://www.hyperhistory.com/online_n2/History_n2/a.html

The Dhammapada by Buddha, pages 906-910

Reflection

So, I decided I probably don't want to be a Buddhist; too many "do not's." But I do admit the ideas behind Buddhism are very well-thought out. If I cared about religion, I might actually look into joining Buddhism, but I just don't care about relgion. But aside from that, The Dhammapada was really interesting and I was actually willing to read it.

#humanities #Fall2015