Taoism and Yang Essay Example for Free

Taoism and Yang Essay The later dates of the Eastern Zhou time period marked a great change in the social and political statuses in ancient China. Literacy rates were increasing, upper class individuals and family members were powering over others, and schooling gave people a leading advantage. Both intellectual and moral thoughts were taking over and with this new idea, came a new philosophy. There existed many spiritual thinkers dating way back, however, to this day, the date that Taoism formed is still unknown, a similar case with many other ancient religions. â€Å"Tao† is a term in Chinese, meaning â€Å"way† or â€Å"path† and referring to the way to live one’s life (Hardy,2002). Originally, the main concern was guiding individuals with an appropriate behavior for leading and governing others, as well as the balance of harmony between nature and humanity. Although no main authoritative figure represents this religion, the headquarter is situated in the White Cloud Temple, in Beijing, where priests can learn and train (Hardy, 2002). Taoism, also currently known as Daoism, is the Chinese traditional religion and philosophy that believes in the balance of yin and yang. Ying and Yang are opposites, and the Ying Yang philosophy explains that nothing is purely one way. There is always good for every evil and evil for every good, yet even though they are so contrasting, one cannot thrive without the other, there needs to be a balance between both. This balance, a union of opposites, represents harmony and peace on earth. Ying and Yang goes by the definition â€Å"the nature of change, balanced as two halves of a whole†, a â€Å"duality forming a whole† (Littlejohn, 2009). This symbol hold a lot of meaning to Taoist as it signifies the unity of opposites, the unity of Tao. The black and white color in the Yin and Yang symbol represents the Yin-gi and Yang-gi, the female and male energies that work together to balance and manifest the world (Wang, 2012). The smaller circles in the symbol represents the change and the black and white opposite in the world, reminding the worshippers of how opposites must balance one another in order to achieve balance between the two. Yin and Yang also represent the unity of the 5 elements; fire (greater Yang), wood (lesser Yang), water (greater Yin), metal (lesser Yin) and earth (central) which together form the elements that comprise everything in our world (Wang, 2012). Completely polar opposites can be seen in everyday: night and day, male and female, beautiful and ugly, high and low; everything has its opposite, and without it, there would be an imbalance in the world. Nevertheless, there will always be a contrasting opinion as to what is right compared to what is wrong, as one belief cannot be shared universally (Hardy, 2002). Yin nor Yang is absolute, but both together can form a whole. There would be an imbalance in the world if death rates did not equal birth rates. Yin and Yang can also become each other even though they are opposites, as they need to support each other to create balance. Taoists believe that there must be an alignment of harmony between human nature and the rest of nature. They believe that one must experience a long and healthy life through practice and perfection of the practice so that self-cultivation is at its peak and everyone can thrive (Littlejohn, 2009). Taoist believe that everything in the world is in a constant cycle. If humans do not follow the natural path, â€Å"tao†, then unhealthy misfortune and destruction will cloud them and their families (Hardy, 2002). A strong opposition to punishment is believed, as it does not allow for the natural method of spontaneous behavior and rather a force of good behavior upon an individual. Ruling and governing others is a principal theme in Taoism as it encourages followers to model the appropriate behavior. Taoism focuses on ones flow with nature through activities such as meditation with themes such as detachment from desires, naturalness , and stress free activities such as tai chi. Taoism emphasizes the practice on living in harmony through daily life and ritual activities. Taoist is a polytheistic religion and their gods are not personified. They believe that no god can help solve problems in life but that peace can only be solved by personal meditation and observation (Littlejohn, 2009). People have to work in harmony and help each other to keep balance in the world and to increase the well being of humankind. Unlike other religions, there is no figure to look upon and worship but to solely rely on one another. Taoist people do not have a particular ritualized way to worship in their everyday life, but the main goal of the laypeople is to achieve harmony with the Tao in their day-to-day lives. They believe in doing this through physical practices, which are made to transform a person mentally and physically into a more harmonious state, a balance between Yin and Yang. One way the Taoist attempt to reach harmony is through alchemy (BBC, 2009). Merriam-Webster describes alchemy as, â€Å"a power or process of transforming something common into something special†. The Taoists sought to do this in two separate ways; the first is through Wai-Dan, external alchemy, which was used in an older period. At this time, the alchemists were looking for an elixir to turn cheap metal into gold. They then looked for a way to turn humans into immortals. This creation involved various combinations of ingredients by heating, grinding, and mixing together along with other rituals. This is called external alchemy because they add an external force to the body with the hopes of purification (BBC, 2009). The second type of alchemy is Nei-Dun, interior alchemy. This is a work of the self without the use of chemicals to transform the elements of the body into purer forms, promoting the energy of life. This is done through meditation and martial arts (BBC, 2009). Taoists attempted to use both of these forces to transform human beings into a more natural state and to rid their body of the bad within, producing only the good and allowing them to reach purification and through that, the Tao. Taoists also believe that sexual energy has the ability to enhance their lives. They have developed certain techniques to increase a person’s sexual energy and to retain it. It is said that the men should refrain from ejaculating during sexual activity, to conserver the energy (BBC, 2009). As for women, there are too different views. The first view suggests that women should also abstain from reaching orgasm to conserve energy, yet the second view states that female orgasm leads to a growth in both male and female sexual energy. This idea suggested that men should have multiple sexual partners in order to gain access to the female release of beneficial sexual energy (BBC, 2009). The Taoist people see sexuality as a form of attaining purification and positive energy, like that of alchemy, they believe it to help them reach a state of harmony between Yin and Yang. Taoist people also practice purity through meditation, breathing, energy flow and martial arts. The texts teach the worshipers the importance of a pure body to ensure spiritual health. To remain pure, the people have a special diet, which they abstain from alcohol, meat, beans, and grains, all of which can be toxic to the body. Taoists also avoid being greedy, lustful, prideful, and dishonest, which also causes conflict within the body (BBC, 2009). To avoid these impurities, Taoists practice meditation. This practice is a major custom for the people because it creates mental stillness and enhances mindfulness. This allows the mental space to focus on directly knowing the Tao (BBC, 2009). Another practice is breathing, which is the easiest professed form of Ch’i. There are many breathing exercises the Taoists use, which are called Qui Gong, as it is the easiest way to relax the body. Taoists also practice energy flow, which is the flow of life energy, Ch’i, in the body. It can be enhanced, harmonized, and regulated by various forms of exercise and meditation, like acupuncture and Tai Chi (BBC, 2009). All of these techniques are used on a daily basis to allow for spiritual growth and a long life. It is through this way of life that the Taoists attempt to develop their bodies to the primordial level of energy, which is the state of the body at the beginning of creation (Kohn, 2009). By creating bodies that mimic that of the bodies at first creation, the Taoist are reaching a raw level of purity, bringing them that much closer to harmony and balance. Taoists also practice recitation of passages from the Tao Te Ching, which is their guide to living a spiritual and ethical life. This is a vital expression of devotion and also a way to attain spiritual growth. They believe that the texts have healing powers along with the ability to banish evil spirits, and bring good luck to those who recite it. To the Celestial Masters Group, it is a source of philosophical wisdom. It is also said to have the ability to prolong life and bring human beings to complete unity with Tao (BBC, 2009). The Taoists use this recitation to create a balance within themselves bringing them closer to that of the natural realm. The Taoists conduct rituals that bring order and harmony to the cosmos – the world of nature, human society, and the inner world of human individuals. The details of rituals are highly complex and technical and they are left to the Taoshi, which are priests. These rituals mostly involve chanting, playing instruments, and dancing (BBC, 2009). Jiao, which means offering of sacrifice, is performed in communities to confirm the relationship between the community and its deity (Andersen, 2008). In this case, every household in the village brings an offering for the local deity, at that point, a Taoshi dedicates the offerings in the name of the families, they perform a ritual to restore order to the universe and then ask the gods to bring peace and prosperity to the village (BBC, 2009). The Taoists also use temple rituals to regulate Chi and balance the flow of Yin and Yang for individuals and also the wider community. In the temple they pray to the Taoists deities for strength, help and anything they think the deity would be able to aid them with. They meditate in the temple because it is a place of peace and there is a greater chance of harmony within the body in a place of balance. They also worship on talismans because they are objects of good luck. Talismans are strips of paper with words of power and religious symbols written on them by Taoshi. They are said to focus kind spiritual energies to purify, heal the sick, and to drive away demons. They also use the temple to recite and chant prayers and texts to also purify their minds and bodies (BBC, 2009). The Taoists use the temple to conduct these rituals, as it is a place of balance and harmony, filled with aspects of the Tao. Taoism is a religion based on healing methods that seek to re-establish the original wholeness of human nature (Girardot, 2009), whether through their rituals or their everyday activities, Taoist people attempt to balance out the Yin and Yang in their lives. They believe that a healthy human life could only be established with accordance to the Tao, by living naturally and peacefully. Their main goals in life are compassion, moderation and humility, which all-lead back to the Tao. To Taoists, the Yin and Yang are most important in everything they do. When both Yin and Yang are present and equally balanced, everything is calm. Because of this, Taoist people attempt to create harmony in their lives creating a closer gap to the Tao. The Taoist religion is a constant battle between balances of those that are opposing each other to produce a state of constant harmony and union between opposites. By achieving this balance the worshippers will begin to live their lives in accordance of the Tao and live in peaceful life.

Gangs in America Essay -- Social Issues

Gangs are very dangerous to everyone in society. â€Å"Gangs are groups of people (mostly young males) who band together for protection and a sense of belonging. The U.S. Department of Justice officially defines a youth gang as a group of young people involved in criminal activity† (Gangs 1). There are about one million gang members in more than 20,00 criminally active gangs in the United States. Also, that group of about one million people, are accountable for up to eighty percent of our nation’s crimes. Since 2005, gangs have nationally added about 200,000 members (Targeting Gangs 1). This is why more action from the community needs to be taken to help with the growing gang-related crimes here in America. To start off, origins of gangs are unclear, but some researchers say that gangs came to America in the early 1800s. These first gangs were in New York and Philadelphia and members of these adult gangs were from the Irish, German, and Italian ethnic groups. Youth gangs did not start to form until after World War II (Opposing Viewpoints Gangs 109-110). Additionally, what kind of people are in gangs? Well first off, there are Latinos, which make up forty-nine percent of gang members'; African Americans, thirty-four percent; White, ten percent; Asian, six percent; and the other one percent is just the other category (â€Å"Facts About Gangs† 109). Also in 1996, according to the National Youth Gang Survey, the members of gangs were fifty percent under eighteen years old and fifty percent were eighteen or older. In that survey during 2006, the number of juveniles dropped to only being thirty-six and a half percent of member, on the other hand, the percentage of adult gang members consisted of sixty-three and a half percent of the gang pop... ...members have, we need to make it possible for them to get these personal benefits without feeling that it is necessary to join a gang. Of course, it's not possible for us to make them be able to get fast money like some of them want (or need) but other things like a sense of belonging or companionship are possible. Knowing about these benefits will make it easier for everyone to be able help out in the stop of gangs. As one can see, it may never be possible that gangs and gang violence will be stopped, but with our help from the community in every city and town it is possible to stop and decrease the large number of gang members and gang-related crimes. Remembering that there are many possibilities for decreasing the population size of gangs in America; such as better alternatives to being in a gang, educational programs, and arrest some hard-core gang members.

Job Satisfaction of Teachers Essay

Leadership entails a number of different parts and can come from any position in the school. The administration is the main source of leadership in a school. Generally, we associate school leadership with superintendents and principals. People in these positions are in charge of making decisions, which run the school. However, teachers can also provide leadership in their classroom and through activities and other extracurricular activities. Katzenmeyer and Moller (1996) argue â€Å"†¦there is a sleeping giant of teacher leadership that can be a catalyst to push school reform†¦.† Even students can provide leadership in certain situations such as an athletic team’s captain, a point guard for a basketball team, or a class officer. With the many places leadership can occur, to have good school leadership, all people need to be willing to share responsibility and power. Lambert (1998) argues, â€Å"Leadership requires the redistribution of power and authority.† This distribution of power can lead to trust between staff and administration. This trust emerges when administrators and teachers work together to benefit the school. Trust comes about by principals trusting the judgment of teachers in the classroom and backing teachers on issues such as discipline. So that the teachers’ authority is not undermined, discipline must be consistent and not show favoritism toward any student. Teachers, in turn, must trust that the principal will follow through on all rules and not make exceptions for the school’s â€Å"star† athlete or â€Å"smartest† student. This trust is also part of a type of leadership theory called transformational leadership. Bass (1996) says that trust is a key component of idealized influence, which incorporates faith and respect, dedication, and trust into leadership. Trust is an important aspect of leadership. With the trust between leader and follower, good school leadership will also have excellent communication. Smith, who can be found in Bean (2000), argues that communicating and keeping people informed of changes and events is a key part of effective leadership. People must discuss problems and possible solutions with each other. By not doing this, the problems will continue and the organization will fall into disarray. For example, let us look at a basketball team. If the opposing team is playing man-to-man defense, it will do the offense little good to run plays designed to attack a zone defense. Here is where the coach or offensive players must talk to each other and run the correct plays. Furthermore, we see the importance of communication from Yukl (1998). He states â€Å"Leadership is about creating teamwork, collaboration, communication, and the emphasis on a total group effort.† By communicating concerns, teachers can make administrators aware of potentially school harming actions and can put a stop to these before they go too far. One example of this would be the last month of school in my school district. Due to the hot weather, students begin use squirt guns and balloons to spray each other with water. With graduation and other senior activities to organize, the principal is not in the hallways as much as previous months. Therefore, the teachers need to let the principal know this is beginning so penalties can be determined and readily enforced. This can cut down on water damage of the school and the students can continue to stay focused on school. One aspect of effective leadership that needs to be communicated to all associated with the school district is the vision of where the school is and where it needs to go. Goleman (1995) argues that â€Å"†¦leader can be expected to communicate a vision well†¦generate energy and enthusiasm regarding this vision, epitomize its meaning through the example of personal behavior, and generally inspire others to reach this vision†¦.† People need to be motivated to do a job, whether in school or in the work force. Vision gives people a goal and direction; giving them something to work for. Making people aware of the vision for the school will help parents, students, teachers, and administrators to be on the same page and working to achieve the vision together as a team. Daft (1999) states there are many pieces that visionary leadership can accomplish. These pieces include the linking of the present and future, encouraging commitment, providing meaning to work, encouraging imagination, and defining the destination. For example, if the vision of a sports team is to win, through strong dedication by players and coaches, winning will happen. If coaches can help athletes see the importance of practice and teamwork, there will be chemistry and success. With the vision of moving into the future, there comes problems and opposition. Another part of good school leadership is facing these problems and solving them. An effective way to work to solve problems is to form a group of people to suggest solutions for whatever problems occur. An excellent model to follow is suggested by Bean (2000) and is called POLCA: that is Planning, Organizing, Leading, Controlling, and Assessing. One problem a school district might face is incorporating the new Pennsylvania standards for education into the curriculum. My school district is in this process and work on this is set to begin in August 2000. Our superintendent started this process by carefully planning when to work on these changes. The mathematics and English departments were contacted to help work on these standards. These teachers were organized into groups by their subject area. Outside help was brought in. These parties had knowledge writing the standards for the state and helping other schools work the standards into the curriculum. These men lead the English and mathematics groups in the writing of our curriculum to include state mandates. After drafting standards and curriculum for the district, the work was checked for quality and improvements were made. Finally, the work was assessed and determined to be useful to the district. We can see that effective leadership is not easy. It takes hard work and tolerance from many different parities. Teachers, administrators, parents, and students all play a part in good school leadership. The administrators plan for the entire district, the teachers for the classroom. Parents and students help with support and may act in limited leadership roles. Effective leaders need to be able to distribute leadership to worthy parties and possibly divide it up to many individuals or groups. Effective leaders need to communicate and problem-solve. Having good social skills and having a good plan can make leadership easier and solving problems smoother. Lambert (1998) says â€Å"It [leadership] needs to be embedded in the school community as a whole.† It takes a team effort to have effective leadership in the school. We all need to work together and share the responsibility of being a leader. 1) A sense of purpose: The values of an organization must be clear, members of the organization should know them, and they should exemplify and uphold them in their own actions. 2) Justice: Everyone in an organization should be held to common standards, with rules and procedures that are clear, firm, fair, and consistent. 3) Temperance: A leader must strive to maintain a proper balance of emotions; Shriver did not mean that leaders should be dispassionate. Quite the contrary- but there are time for passionate advocacy and times for quiet reflection and reconsideration. Balance is the key. 4) Respect: The dignity of each individual is the concern of any leader, and this is preserved by treating all members of the organization with respect and ensuring they treat one-another similarly, regardless of differences. 5) Empowerment: Leaders are just that- leaders. Most of what happens in organizations is carried out by individuals other than those in formal leadership positions. Therefore, the more skilled they are, the more they feel confident in their abilities and competent to make decisions, raise questions, see new possibilities, and disagree respectfully with others at all levels of the organizational hierarchy, the stronger and more successful the organization will be. 6) Courage: Leaders are paid to set direction, not wait for direction to emerge. They have to be willing to follow their convictions and bring their organization to new places. In education, this is most sorely needed in response to the test-based regimen that has taken over our schools at the expense of true education and social-emotional and character development. 7) Deep Commitment: Leaders must not be polishing their resumes, but rather should have deep commitment to their organizations, the advancement of the organizations’ missions, and the wellbeing of everyone in them. It is this deep commitment that makes leadership in schools so challenging, because it requires a commitment to every employee, student, and parent. The performance of a leader must be judged by his or her skills and the character of his or her performance in the many and complex roles that leadership demands. Using the seven cornerstones of leading with character, derived from the life and work of Sargent Shriver, educators and those concerned with education have a tool for both evaluating and improving leadership competencies along both moral and performance dimensions.

The Movie Mulan - 883 Words

Mulan is an animated film that was released in 1998 from Disney during third wave feminism, which features an Asian woman protagonist. She is a Disney princess, but at first glance you wouldn’t think so. Mulan is introduced as a clumsy tomboy who did not think she would ever bring honor to her family. In order to accomplish said honor, she would have to by being the perfect bride, in accordance with the matchmaker. The film has a great amount of feminist ideals, however, it doesn’t leave out stereotypical gender roles and several examples of overdetermined ideologies. Patriarchy is very prevalent in this film, from the woman characters positions, down to the songs they sing throughout the film, patriarchy is a theme that cannot be missed. This paper will discuss how feminine and masculine stereotypes are conveyed in the film, how gender stereotypes are portrayed, and of the patriarchal themes included in the film. In the beginning, Mulan is being prepared to be sent off to an establishment to uphold the family honor where she will be put through a series of test to make sure she is good enough to be a bride by the matchmaker. While she is being prepped, the seamstress and hair dresser (along with her mother and grandmother) start singing the song â€Å"Bring Honor To Us All†. The upbeat tune supports the idea that the only way she could possibly bring honor to her family is by becoming a quiet, rule following servant with â€Å"good breeding, and a tiny waist†. Also, â€Å"To make a goodShow MoreRelatedThe Movie Mulan 1471 Words   |  6 PagesMulan is a feature-length, animated film, released for distribution by Walt Disney Studios in 1998. Mulan was the ninth film released during the renaissance period of Disney film-making. 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