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Buddhism:1st Written Assignment. Qualities of a good Buddhist master.

Essay Instructions:

Based on your reading of the assigned texts(Eknath Easwaran, The Dhammapada), our in-class discussions, and your own reflection, please respond to all of the prompts below. Your essays should be thoughtful and well-written. The idea is for you to show me the depth of your understanding of Buddhist philosophy. You may quote passages from the texts, but not extensively. Do your best to present your ideas in your own words rather than simply repeating what you have heard in the lectures and class discussions. (Note: Font size #14, double-spaced, 1 inch margins. Do not include the prompt in the body of your response.)
1. You have decided to become Buddhist, and you are aware of the necessity to be guided by a qualified and respected Buddhist Master. Please list and fully describe the essential qualities you would be looking for in your Master, and fully explain why these qualities are necessary for your growth as a Buddhist. (Please write at least 2 full pages).
2. At our school, students, administrators, and faculty are aware of the sensitive issue of gender identity. Many in the community feel the need to identify themselves: he/him; she/her; they/them; zie/zim, etc. The Buddha taught that there is no self – there is no separate, individual person that exists independently from the whole of nature. If the Buddha would magically appear in the flesh, and come to our school to discuss the issue of gender identity, what wise and compassionate insights do you think he would share with us? (Note: Some things to think about: Would the Buddha see it wise for us to “define” ourselves in terms of the mind and body? Does pure awareness have a gender? Would the Buddha see an emphasis on these accentuated differences to be beneficial to human happiness and peace, or would he see it as unnecessarily divisive? (Please write at least one full page, and fully explain your reasoning.)

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Buddhism: 1st Written Assignment
Question #1
There are different qualities of a good Buddhist master. First, a good master must be able to eradicate all defilements a quality known as Araham. In layman language, this means that a good master must be able to eliminate all bad thoughts including but not limited to rage, ignorance, obstruction, hatred, pressure, jealousy, and presumption among others (Welwood, 69). The second quality of a good master is that of Samma-sambuddho. This means that a good master has discovered and fully comprehended the four noble truths.
The third quality of a good master is vijja-carana-sampano. This means theory and practice or conduct and knowledge. The actions of a good master are in line with what he says. Despite the fact that some people know the theory, they are not able to put it into practice. Fourth, a good master needs to be a great speaker (Sugato) (Saunders, 7). This implies that a good master should be skillful in terms of choosing the right words, communicating them at the right time and in a way that will be beneficial to the student. He should be able to walk the right path in order to reach his goal. This path leads to freedom and away from suffering. This means that one must be able to meditate to remove suffering and pain.
Another quality of a good master is that of Lokavidu which denotes a person who is conversant with the world. According to Buddhism, there are six worlds including the hearing, the seeing, the thinking, the smelling, the touching and the tasting worlds. A good teacher should know how this world arises and cease. He knows and understands how harmony and clashes occur in the world and why people tend to be trapped in them. In addition, a good master should be able to bring the unruly back to the right. This quality means that a good master can be able to explain something with just one sentence or with a chain of talks (Welwood, 72). Like the way Buddha gave his first talk to the five ascetics, a good Buddha master should be able to explain to his students and lead them to enlightenment either with a single sentence or with a set of talks.
A good master is a leader and a teacher of the heavenly and men. This implies that he should struggle to comprehend the teachings of Buddha and every tiny bit of what he said in his talks. This quality is known as Satta deva-manussanam meaning a teacher and a leader. Moreover, a good master should be a buddha implying that he should be conversant with the four noble truths. This quality is similar to that of samma sambuddho which stresses the fact that Buddha discovered these truths by himself. This implies that a good master is awakened. This also means that a good master is awakened and is free of ignorance and peculiarity. Finally, a good master is gifted with special powers. These include ethical morality, acts of sharing, diligence, renunciation, wisdom, patience, truthfulness, equanimity, determination, love and kindness (Sharapan & Mitra, 440). A good master is one who has perfected these powers to the most advanced and difficult level. Moreover, a good teacher is able to share these powers with his students and help them to perfect them...
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