04-Jul-2017 - I Suck
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Asian +Culture in Religion
+Joseph +J. Green
+Northern +Arizona University
++ Asian cultures are lush with +traditions that have been canonized or reinforced by their various +philosophies and religions. Traditions such as group welfare, +importance of the past, importance of agriculture, societal +hierarchy, subjugation of women, and the importance of extended +family. Three of the major Asian religions, Confucianism, Hinduism, +and Shinto contain many of these cultural tendencies.
+Mainly +in China, while it is debatable whether it is more of a philosophy or +a religion, Confucianism took hold early on, and it has helped govern +Chinese life ever sense. The Chinese have always maintained a strict +hierarchical order, and Confucius and Mencius, a major contributor to +Confucianism, canonized the common practice as the right and moral +thing to do. Confucianism also encourages people to organize and +rebel against the unjust for the good all, though in practice, people +rarely rebelled against unjust fathers. Confucius also stressed that, +while people are born moral, they must also study the histories and +educate themselves if they have any chance of remaining moral +throughout life. The general positive outlook on life that the +Chinese maintained was also embraced in Confucianism by encouraging +people to follow the traditions of a good long life and to die only +when surrounded by descendants. Indeed, Mencius said that the +greatest filial sin is to have no descendants, which, of course, +meant specifically male descendants as women were married off to +become part of someone else’s household which is one way +Confucianism supported, somewhat, the subjugated role of women in +Chinese society (Murphey, Rhodes and Stapleton, 2014). Along with +educating and culturing one’s self, Confucius also promoted the +cultivation of the land (Tucker, n.d.), which is the base importance +of an agrarian society as the Chinese were and largely still are.
+While +Confucianism incorporated much of Chinese culture and has had such +profound influence on them, no religion is as closely tied with its +people as Hinduism is with the people of the Indian subcontinent. +Hinduism defines the caste system that the Indian people follow. In +an effort to maintain a hierarchical order, leadership, and +economics, Hinduism defines what group of people are responsible for +what tasks which greatly protects both group welfare, and the +hierarchical order. The caste system consists of four primary +societal ranks to maintain society and a pseud fifth class which is +for people without a caste. The first two castes define the order of +leadership, first the priestly class and then the ruling class. The +third class is reserved for the farmers and merchants of society to +keep the people fed and the economy strong, this also shows that +farmers are regarded as the highest rank under the leadership which +shows just how important agriculture is to the faith. The last true +rank is that of their laborers who provide labor and service for the +top three rungs of society. Hinduism also professes a love of all +living things, and recommends against taking life. This is embodied +for their reverence of past living things and the concept of +reincarnation. No one knows if the animal (s)he kills was an honored +ancestor, so it is best to avoid it. Unfortunately for women, they do +not fit very highly in the Hindu culture. It is declared that women +must never be independent, that they must first be subjects of their +fathers, then husbands, and then, if her husband is dead, her sons +(Murphey, Rhodes and Stapleton, 2014; Nigosian, 2000). Hindus also +typically place importance on the extended family which can be seen +by the fact that multiple generations of families have a tendency to +live together (Iskconeducationalservices.org, n.d.).
+Japan, +which is the primary basin of Shinto, holds a special place in Asian +culture by being a largely isolated island throughout much of the +development of Asia. Unlike other Asian cultures, Japanese women +actually had the ability to hold some amount of power instead of +being largely subjugated. For much of its history, Shinto actually +required women to take an active part in the religion in order for it +to work. Though there was a short period of Shinto history where +women were no longer required in the practice of Shinto, throughout +history women have enjoyed the ability to take on high roles in +Japanese culture which is reflected in Shinto (Haruko, n.d.). Unlike +other religions, Shinto is much more localized and therefore only +shares a few common Kami across the country. This also means that, +unlike the other religions discussed, Shinto doesn’t look for group +welfare in quite the same all-encompassing way, but has a focus on +the welfare of the local communities that build the shrines. Shinto +also professes an attachment to the past in the form of ancestor +worship. Shinto practitioners often worship ancestors of particular +clans or lineages as Kami for good fortune. Being an animistic +religion, it shouldn’t be surprising that Shinto puts a great +influence on agriculture as agriculture is the source of life which +makes it only natural to ascribe Kami to it for good tidings. Also +unlike other Asian religions, Shinto does little to promote a +hierarchical structuring of society, but it was used for some time to +give legitimacy to the ruling clan of Japan (Littleton, 1999).
+As +we can see, tradition and religion are highly mingled in Asian +society. Indeed, in some cases such as Hindi, it can be hard to +separate the religion from the culture. However, three of the major +religions of the area, Hindi, Confucianism, and Shinto, all in +someway embody the cultural traditions of the local people and +reinforce them. In Asia, it would appear that religion is more of a +philosophical view on how to live life based on cultural tradition, +than some grand aspirations to a bountiful afterlife.
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RESOURCES
++Haruko, O. +(n.d.). Women and Sexism in Shinto. [online] +Nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp. Available at: +https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/3517 [Accessed 22 Apr. 2018].
++Iskconeducationalservices.org. +(n.d.). Heart of Hinduism: Family Life. [online] +Available at: +http://iskconeducationalservices.org/HoH/lifestyle/904.htm [Accessed +22 Apr. 2018].
++Littleton, S. +(1999). Shinto. pp.144-161.
++Murphey, Rhodes +and Stapleton, K. (2014). Asian Religions and Their Cultures. +In A History of Asia. 7th ed. New York: NY: Taylor & Francis +Group, pp.28-46.
++Nigosian, S. +(2000). World Religions: A Historical Approach. 3rd ed. +Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, pp.20-57.
++Tucker, M. +(n.d.). Confucianism | Religion | Yale Forum on Religion and +Ecology. [online] Fore.yale.edu. Available at: +http://fore.yale.edu/religion/confucianism/ [Accessed 22 Apr. 2018].
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TITLE
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Title +of Paper
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+Joseph +J. Green
+Northern +Arizona University
+Note +to the professor: +
+The +promptsh choosen were:
+Group + welfare over individual interest
+ +Awareness + of and importance attached to the past
+ +Importance + and nobility of agriculture
+ +Hirearchle + structuring of society
+ +Subjigation + and submission of women
+ +Importance + of extended family
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Mention +how these have been incorporated into various religious tradition.
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intro
+1 +Confusianism
+Group +welfare over individual interest
+Encourage +rebellion against the unjust
+Awareness +of and importance attached to the past
+Reccomends +that people must self-cultivate to remain moral (ASIAN RELIGIONS AND +THEIR CULTURES)
+Importance +and nobility of agriculture
+Encouraged +cultivation of the land (YALE)
+Hierarchical +order
+Confucius +and Mencius provided doctrinal support for such systems. (Asian +religions and their cultures)
+Subjigation +and submission of women
+Greatest +fillial sin is to have no desendants.
+Women +don’t count
+Importance +of extended family
+Reflects +joy of life, encourages reproduction.
+Eldest +son will perform household rituals to keep memories of ancestors +alive
+2 +Hindu
+Group +welfare over individual interest
+The +caste system. The four meaningful ranks of caste provide religious +and military leadership as well as economic sustainability.
+Awareness +of and importance attached to the past
+Any +creature could be a reincarnation of a past person, past karma, and +previous life karma (HINDUISM)
+Importance +and nobility of agriculture
+Farmers +are in the third rank of the caste society along with Merchants but +below the Religous leaders and the rulers. (HINDUISM)
++Hirearchle structuring of society
+The +caste system (ASIAN RELIGIONS AND THEIR CULTURES)
+Subjigation +and submission of women
+Female +goddess took on the grimmer aspects of Shiva (ASIAN RELIGIONA AT +CULT)
+In +Hindu culture, the women must never be independent. Subject of their +fathers, husbands, or sons. (HINDUISM)
+* +Importance of extended family
+Basic +building block of society, multiple generations living together (ISK)
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3 +Shinto
+Group +welfare over individual interest
+Shrines +are local. Kami are worshiped to bring good tidings to the local +area.
+Awareness +of and importance attached to the past
+Spirtual +focus on divine ansestors of particular clans or lineages
+Importance +and nobility of agriculture
+Kanti +are worshiped to bring good harvest
+Hirearchle +structuring of society
+Shinto +gave legitamicy to the emperor
+Subjigation +and submission of women
+Unlike +other Asian cultures, Japan, which Shinto is nearly exclusive to, did +not share the same desire for the complete subjigation and submission +of women. Thoughout history, women were permitted to hold high office +in Japan. Though, there had been some regressions for women within +Shinto’s history, women have enjoyed a high role in Shinto culture. +(NANZAN)
+outro
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https://nirc.nanzan-u.ac.jp/nfile/3517
+http://iskconeducationalservices.org/HoH/lifestyle/904.htm
+http://fore.yale.edu/religion/confucianism/
+Asian +religions and their cultures
+Shinto
+Hinduism
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KUMBH
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Kumbh +Mela
+Importance
+Joseph +J. Green
+Northern +Arizona University
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+ The Kumbh Mela festival is an +important ancient festival, religious pilgrimage, and temporary city +from Hindu tradition. The festival’s history is linked with ancient +Hindu tradition, and has much spiritual significance. However, as a +subject of study and testing, the festival also has great +significance outside of religious contexts.
+In +the Hindu tradition, there was a mythical war between the Devas and +the Asuras over the Nectar of Immortality. This resulted in drops of +nectar spilled over four spots on earth which now contain the cities +of Haridwar, Prayag, Ujjain, and Nashik. It is within one of these +four cities that the Kumbh Mela springs up. The festival happens +every 12 years during the cycle when the sun, moon, and Jupiter are +all within the Leo constellation (Cameraculture.media.mit.edu, 2015). +The festival has been said to have started in the early first +millennium, and has been going on ever since (Gsd.harvard.edu, n.d.). +What’s most interesting about this festival is that all the +infrastructure relating to the festival only exists once every 12 +years, for a period of 40 days, before it is torn down +(Depts.ttu.edu, 2017), and the land is used for various agricultural +needs between festivals (Gsd.harvard.edu, n.d.).
+The +Kumbh Mela is exceptionally significant in terms of religion and +human gatherings. This festival is the largest pilgrimage in the +world with over 100 million attendees (Depts.ttu.edu, 2017). Many +consider this festival to be a sort of pop-up mega city which also +makes it the largest city in the world, even if it only exists for a +short period of time every 12 years. This is reminiscent of a more +recent American event in which more than 70,000 people gather every +year to create Black Rock City that exists only for one week +(Scallan, 2018). During this festival, pilgrims use this time to +express individual as well as collective expressions of faith. What +makes this pilgrimage especially significant to Hindus’, indeed the +primary purpose of the journey, is the prospect of potentially +breaking the cycle of reincarnation and hopefully ascend to heaven +after death. The people gather to bathe themselves in the “three +sacred rivers in India, the Ganges, the Yamuna and the mythical +Saraswati, to touch the divine and wash away their sins” +(Depts.ttu.edu, 2017). What greater significance could a Hindu seek +than to achieve paradise?
+Outside +of the obvious religious importance of the event, the Kumbh Mela +provides an opportunity to encourage the adoption and spread +non-religious ideas. One such idea that has been implemented is the +idea of mass vaccinations. When the infrastructure to support the +festival is created, that brings with it the full infrastructure of +any city from basic sanitation to medical facilities. With this +infrastructure, and its incredible amount of visitors, it provides an +ideal place to provide vaccinations to the public (Gsd.harvard.edu, +n.d.). It’s also a great time to encourage technological +advancements in the medical field. For example, a Harvard project +from the South Asia Institute, the Jane Swasthya Project, looks to +surveil health during the festival to prevent disease outbreak. This +surveillance has already proven beneficial when a mobile health +surveillance system detected an outbreak of diarrhea which quickly +prompted the government to respond by testing the waters. Another +success from the project introduced the idea of using tablets by the +medical professionals. The tablets were used to input patient data +from the various attendees, and the software would try to track +illness patterns. The team was initially told that medical +professionals wouldn’t see value in the system, but after having +training and using the tablets in the field, the medical +professionals began to see the value. The local government, after +seeing the benefits, decided to sponsor the systems, and it is hoped +that mass adoption to daily practice will occur (Feldscher, 2015).
+There +is one more important general idea that can be gained simply by +studying the festival. The idea of successful temporary cities. This +is a gathering of over 100 million people where physically and metal +safety is exceptionally important. The more success this festivals +sees, the more relevant it is to study it for other purposes. For +example, there could be a situation where a large group of people +leave a country for various political reasons such as when the United +State invaded Iraq and many people fled the country to escape the +violence (Humanitieswritlarge.duke.edu, 2016). For other countries to +accept these refugees, they need a way to house and care for them in +a humane fashion. Observing how the Kumbh Mela manages its temporary +city could help countries accepting refuges create an adequate place +to keep them. Similarly, these studies could help care for people +temporarily displaced by disasters such as those who were displaced +by the damages caused by hurricane Katrina (Locke, n.d.).
+Not +only is the Kumbh Mela historically an important Hindu event, it is +also a significant contribution to human ingenuity. The Hindu people +are cleansed of their sins and obtain a shot at paradise. Every 12 +years, an impressive infrastructure is built to include all the +necessities to care for more than 100 million period for about a +month and a half before it is torn down. The Kumbh Mela is truly a +marvel of humanity. All thanks to a mythical war over the Nectar of +Immortality.
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RESOURCES
++Cameraculture.media.mit.edu. +(2015). Kumbh Mela – The World’s Largest Moving City | +Camera Culture. [online] Available at: +http://cameraculture.media.mit.edu/kumbh-mela-the-worlds-largest-moving-city/ +[Accessed 21 Apr. 2018].
++Depts.ttu.edu. +(2017). India’s Kumbh Mela (Festival of the Pot) | OIA +Events | International Affairs | TTU. [online] Available at: +https://www.depts.ttu.edu/international/events/2017/kumbhmela.php +[Accessed 21 Apr. 2018].
++Feldscher, K. +(2015). Tracking disease at the world’s largest religious +festival • Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute. [online] +Lakshmi Mittal South Asia Institute. Available at: +https://southasiainstitute.harvard.edu/kumbh-mela/post/tracking-disease-at-the-worlds-largest-religious-festival/ +[Accessed 21 Apr. 2018].
++Gsd.harvard.edu. +(n.d.). Kumbh Mela - Harvard Graduate School of Design. +[online] Available at: http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/project/kumbh-mela/ +[Accessed 21 Apr. 2018].
++Humanitieswritlarge.duke.edu. +(2016). Arab Refugee Oral History | Humanities Writ Large. +[online] Available at: +https://humanitieswritlarge.duke.edu/projects/arab-refugee-oral-history +[Accessed 21 Apr. 2018].
++Locke, W. +(n.d.). Understanding Katrina. [online] Hurricane +Katrina. Available at: +https://serc.carleton.edu/research_education/katrina/understanding.html +[Accessed 21 Apr. 2018].
++Scallan, +M. (2018). Once +each year, a city pops up in a desert. See the art of Burning Man +without the dust. +[online] Smithsonian Insider. Available at: +https://insider.si.edu/2018/04/once-each-year-a-city-pops-up-in-a-desert-see-the-art-of-burning-man-without-the-dust/ +[Accessed 21 Apr. 2018].
+ + \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/school_essays/essays/KumbhMelaImportance.odt b/school_essays/essays/KumbhMelaImportance.odt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..c5972c0 Binary files /dev/null and b/school_essays/essays/KumbhMelaImportance.odt differ diff --git a/school_essays/essays/KumbhMelaImportance_notes.html b/school_essays/essays/KumbhMelaImportance_notes.html new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8b71d2e --- /dev/null +++ b/school_essays/essays/KumbhMelaImportance_notes.html @@ -0,0 +1,152 @@ + + + + +TITLE
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+Joseph +J. Green
+Northern +Arizona University
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Research +the Kumbh Mela festival, including its history and significance. +Think about why is the Kumbh Mela so important to Hindus. In a +750-1000 word essay, examine the relationship between the Kumbh Mela +festival and Hinduism
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intro
+1 +history
+The +story goes, in the Hindu tradition, that during a mythical war +between the Devas and the Asuras over the Amrita, or Nectar of +Immortality, four drops of nectar spilled over four spots on Earth +(MIT)
+Began +in the early first milinium (HARVARD)
+Pop +up mega city… doesn’t exist except for 40 days every 12 years +(TTU)
+2 +significance
+The +idea of the temporary city and making it work.
+Can +be used for things like refugess from diasters or war (harvard)
+Can +be the idea for non-religous festivles like burning man
+Worlds +biggest religious pilgrimage. Over 100 million (TTU)
+Wash +away sins (TTU)
+Individual +and collective expressions of faith (Harvard)
+3 +importance
+mass +vaccinations (HARVARD)
+Bathing +in the rivers to break reincarnation (TTU)
+Great +way to introduce new ideas and track health (SOUTH ASIA HARVARD)
+outro
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http://www.gsd.harvard.edu/project/kumbh-mela/
+https://www.depts.ttu.edu/international/events/2017/kumbhmela.php
+ +http://cameraculture.media.mit.edu/kumbh-mela-the-worlds-largest-moving-city/
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