Road To The Achievement Of Buddhist Salvation example essay topic

Cacophonous Interpretations of the Temptation of Saint PigsyEmil Fischer 10th Grade (No Pigs, Monkeys or Chinese Prima-Donnas were harmed in the writing of this paper) Buddhism is one of the prominent and influential religions and philosophies of the world. A basic tenet of Buddhism is that worldly desires and possessions cause all suffering. To absolve one's self of necessities beyond basic human survival is one of the many plateaus that Buddhists strive to achieve. Furthermore, Buddhists free themselves from temptation via seclusion from society and attempt to allow nature to support them. They believe that Nirvana, the ascension to heaven, can be achieved by freeing oneself of earthly desires.

A young prince named Siddartha, who grew up rich and happy, founded the religion. One day during his travels, he saw three things that immensely impressed him, to the point of changing his whole life: a cadaver, a baby being born and a beggar. Through this experience he concluded that human suffering is caused by the desire to possess; that the sacredness of human life was tarnished by material wants, and by possessions that could so easily be taken away from their owner. The beggar was poor because the rich did not provide him with the basic necessities or because he spent his time doing things that prevented him from supporting himself. The cadaver's death could have been prevented depending on the cause of death in many different ways, and the infant, being brought into the world, was to have a life of poverty due to the fact that his mother and father gave in to the natural, worldly desire of sexual intercourse. Throughout history, many works of literature have been written about these notions.

Saint Pigsey, the main character in Wu Ch " eng-en's "The Temptation of Saint Pigsy", is a demonstration of the difficulties encountered on the road to the achievement of Buddhist Salvation. Pigsy is a disciple of the Buddhist master Tripitaka. Tripitaka, Pigsy and two other disciples, Monkey and Sandy, were on their way to the West. Pigsy still has worldly desires: he is carrying a large baggage which contains possessions which he deems necessary for his comfort, but bitterly complaining because of its weight, and seeks to stop at a comfortable estate to sleep. Any person who is new to a religion experiences temptations to break its rules. This was one of those times for Pigsy and he insisted that the group stop there.

Monkey and the others come along but proclaim that nature is their home and that the house is a symbol of human desire. This is a Buddhist notion: Prince Siddartha, the first Buddha, spent long periods of time outdoors meditating. Pigsy seemed to be at the beginning of the long and difficult road to Nirvana: he could not resist the temptation, and wound up breaking under the pressure of desire, yet saw the reasons not to. Much symbolism in this story is used but none more than the notion of the heavy burden being carried. Pigsy carries the baggage of his troupe and of course complains about it day and night. This seems to be a roadblock on his path to enlightenment because if he would simply have himself to carry he could reflect.

The owner of the house, a charming, graceful, rich and beautiful widow, offers the men herself and her daughters for marriage. A spouse is a sort of possession whom death or adultery can take away, so the master and the other disciples were compelled to reject the tempting offer. Pigsey on the other hand sees this as his perfect opportunity to get on the road to riches and marital bliss. After the refusal of marriage by his travel companions, he is greedy and horny enough to offer himself to all three, or even four, of the ladies. He winds up in a humiliating trap for the amusement of the daughters. The humiliation on one hand, and the support of his travel companion on the other, turns Pigsy back to the true path of enlightenment.

Pigsey is on the very beginning of the path to enlightenment in this delightful Buddhist tale. Religions require discipline and a considerable amount of practice in the traditions of them. His fellow travelers are rude to him, push him down to see himself for what he is: a mere speck in the universe. This is a tale that depicts the path to enlightenment that all Buddhists must take. There are scenes in which the Bodhisattva is mentioned, which is a theme in Buddhist mythology.

The Temptation of Saint Pigsey is a depiction of the bumpy path towards Nirvana. It is about the difficulties of relieving one's self from the necessities of the world, giving up possessions and rosy plans for the future. The Buddhists strive to achieve an infant-like state, claiming no personal possessions, only the bare necessities for the maintenance of life. When an infant is hungry it eats, when thirsty it drinks and when tired it sleeps. As people age, they become increasingly worried about money and other possessions, choice of a spouse, carrier, and position in society, which cause them to suffer. Pigsey embarks on the road to Nirvana, the Buddhist Salvation, and therefore must go through the trials and tribulations of his own transformation from a person who needs worldly possessions to a person who only needs his own heart, mind, and soul..