Creativity and Play Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Creativity and Play - Essay Example Creativity likewise has many denotations and connotations in the English language. Creativity is hallmarked by intrinsic motivation, intention, adaptiveness and originality. It is what the person does, either the creative act or something aesthetically brand new and purposeful to the individual child. Original means it is not habitual and shies from routine. Creative has the implication of unconventional and intrinsically motivated. Intentional actions are not governed by conventions or extrinsic rewards (Sternberg, 1999). This essay will reflect on the importance of play in developing creativity. It seeks to analyze the different theories that are posited to reference childhood play and offer an evaluation of creativity across the early childhood curriculum’s in the United Kingdom (UK) namely; the Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS) and the National Curriculum (NC). Reference will be made to personal experience underpinned by relevant theory. It will begin with theoretical descriptions of creativity and play while exploring each construct separately and in relation to each other. The discussion will then follow early childhood education theories. Furthermore, the roles of teachers and parents in relation to creativity and play will be identified. Creativity is defined as a process involving the production of remote associations through thinking outside the box while possessing divergent or unusual, if not, original ideas. In creative play children develop their practical skills through imagining, designing and creating. Educational experts have developed standards defining what children should know and be able to do by certain grade levels. The content children learn in the creative curriculum is guided by these standards. The creative curriculum explains how to teach content in ways that respect the developmental stages of children. (James C. Kaufman, 2006) Teachers

Research paper on nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research paper on nursing - Essay Example Nursing profession contributes in promotion of well being of a person by prevention of illness, helping doctors in treatment procedures, and taking patients care of ill, disabled and dying people. According to International College of Nursing (ICN), nursing also aids in various other aspects of health care setting including promotion of a safe environment, research and development, participation in shaping health policy and in patient and health systems management, and preparation of educational materials. This profession is regarded as the backbone of our healthcare system. As the global environment is changing at fast pace, the types of disorders, and the paths of disease transmission are also varying and therefore, offering more diverse challenges. The nurses ensure promising future to all the people who are victims of bad health. Cohesive efforts and collaborative knowledge of nurse and physician brings clinical success in terms of patient’s positive outcome. The nursing profession has undergone many transformations over human history with different stages of development. Nursing in ancient times was restricted to mother caring for their off springs and relatives. It was believed that sickness and disorders arise due to evil spirits and only magical treatments were given. Nursing activities were taken care of by females in the early Christian era in the Churches and homes without formal education. Over the time these nurses learnt the skills with the use of herbal medicines and drugs. Some nurses even got treatment like physicians. However, this was followed by dark period of nursing where illiterate and ignorant women were delivering crude and unsatisfactory nursing services to sick and needy people. In this period, St. Vincent de Paul, religious leader motivated ladies for nurse training without actual clinical education. Then the developmental era in nursing began from 1846 with Florence

Socialism in Russia Essay Example for Free

Socialism in Russia Essay Socialism has its origins in the French Revolution of 1789 and the changes brought about by the Industrial Revolution, although it has precedents in earlier movements and ideas. The Communist Manifesto was written by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels in 1848 just before the Revolutions of 1848 swept Europe, expressing what they termed scientific socialism. In the last third of the 19th century in Europe social democratic parties arose in Europe drawing mainly from Marxism. The Australian Labor Party was the worlds first elected socialist party. In 1903, the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party began to split on ideological and organizational questions into Bolshevik (Majority) and Menshevik (Minority) factions, with Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin leading the more radical Bolsheviks. Both wings accepted that Russia was an economically backward country unripe for socialism. The Mensheviks awaited the capitalist revolution in Russia. But Lenin argued that a revolution of the workers and peasants would achieve this task. After the Russian revolution of 1905, Leon Trotsky argued that unlike the French revolution of 1789 and the European Revolutions of 1848 against absolutism, the capitalist class would never organize a revolution in Russia to overthrow absolutism, and that this task fell to the working class who, liberating the peasantry from their feudal yoke, would then immediately pass on to the socialist tasks and seek a permanent revolution to achieve international socialism. Nationalist tried to create regional self-government for the Assyrian people with the socialist ideology. He even wrote the Uremia Manifesto of the United Free Assyria. However, his attempt was put to an end

The History Of Capital Punishment Criminology Essay

The History Of Capital Punishment Criminology Essay Throughout the ages capital punishment has been an extremely controversial issue. Some may stress it is needed in order to serve as an example to other criminals, as well as to obtain retribution on behalf of the victims involved (Henderson). It may be suggested that it helps to bring peace and order into societies; however, does one really understand the moral injustice that theyre supporting? Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is defined as the legally authorized killing of a person as punishment for a crime (Mifflin). Though there are some citizens throughout the world that support this punishment, others believe that punishment should not have to come down to such drastic and cruel measures. The authorized killing of a person is morally wrong and using execution as a form of punishment leaves no room for errors (Hennigfeld). Capital punishment does not diminish the murder or crime rate and encourages both the taking of a human beings life, as well as juvenile cr ime (Stewart). In many cases, capital punishment is extremely discriminatory (Szumski). There is a question stuck in ones mind; should capital punishment be reinstated? When taking all factors into consideration, the answer is inevitably no. When people hear that a murderer is being executed for their actions, many will applaud and say good riddance, they got what they deserved! An eye for an eye (Berns). This is ruthless and morally wrong. The death penalty is a cruel and inhumane form of punishment. It is execution, and is very similar to torture; involving the deliberate assault of a prisoner (Henningfeld). In many aspects of life people are taught that it is not right to kill, even if the person is a murderer. Many religions share very strong and opened opinions on this topic; almost all are against the death penalty (Weksesser). The Catholic Church is one of the major religions that oppose the intentional killing of a person, no matter who it may be. The church aims to abolish the death penalty, stating: Abolition sends a message that we can break the cycle of violence that we need not take a life for a life (Overberg). The Catholic Church, along with many other religions, is pro-life. Other religions like Buddhism strongly emphasize on non-violence and compassion for all life. Buddhists believe in abstaining from killing any living creature, no matter what they have done or how bad the crime is (Wang). Religion is not the only area that stresses the wrongfulness of the death penalty-even the Charter of Rights and Freedoms opposes it. The Eighth amendment states Excessive bails shall not be requiredà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted (Duhaime) this shows how the killing of any human being is not to be tolerated. Criminals should be able to change their ways and take responsibility for their actions; but, if they are killed the law is showing that when you make a mistake it defines who you are and that you cannot be forgiven (Williams). Capital punishment leads citizens to be so focused on serving justice to criminals for what they deserve that they forget to realize how appalling and immoral it is to take a humans life. When a person is convicted of a crime, they are punished on the basis that there is no doubt that this is the person who committed the unlawful act. The accused can only be convicted if the court is one hundred percent certain that this person has committed the crime they are accused of, or so it should be that way (Baird). The problem that arises when the death penalty is legal is that there is utterly no room for errors. If the jury happened to make the wrong decision in the verdict and sentenced an innocent person to death, how is that any better than a cold blooded murder? There have been many cases where the person has been wrongfully convicted to death and evidence arises later proving the state of that persons innocence (Dee). In the case of Carlos DeLuna, an innocent man was executed merely because of circumstantial evidence and what one witness thought they saw. In 1983 he was convicted for fatally stabbing and killing a woman in a parking lot and without much direct evidenc e he was put to death in 1989 (Dee). Later, reporters discovered that DeLuna was in fact innocent and a man named Carlos Hernandez was the real criminal. This was the fourth documented investigation of the execution of an innocent man in Texas (Dee). This notion is also evident in the case of Steven Truscott; a 14 year old boy was sentenced to death after a very short and circumstantial case. Police dismissed all evidence that made Steven Truscott innocent and focused all their power on how to make him look guilty. The death penalty was abolished and Steven was not executed, but he spent more than half of his life in jail, only to have his case reopened and show that he was completely innocent (Hendley). If the death penalty hadnt been abolished in time a poor innocent boy would have been murdered for the errors of the courts judgement. Capital punishment has way too many errors to be an effective way of insuring that the victims get vengeance on their criminals. Illinois has halted executions after finding that 52 percent of their death row inmates were innocent (Spagnoli). This is more than half of the inmates that are sentenced to death! All these factors show the extreme errors that the courts have made pertaining to capital punishment cases, causing innocent people to be brutally murdered for crimes they did not commit. A countless number of people believe that capital punishment is an efficient way to frighten criminals and lower crime rates throughout the world. One might think that it was that simple, but in reality that is not how it works. Statistics prove that having capital punishment does not deter crime at all; in actuality studies have shown that it seems to increase crime rate (Espejo). Studies in the United States of America show that states which support the death penalty have a higher crime rate than in states without it. In 2008 the crime rate in states with the death penalty was 5.72 (per 100,000 people) and states without the death penalty was 4.05(per 100,000 people); a 41 percent difference (Dieter). In 2009 a study was conducted and showed that states with the death penalty had a crime rate of 5.26 (per 100,000 people), whereas the states without the death penalty had a crime rate of 3.90 (per 100,000 people); a 35 percent difference (Dieter). Could this be a two year fluke? Not likely, since statistics show that in 2010 the crime rates for states with the death penalty was 5.00 and without the death penalty were 4.01; a 25 percent difference (Dieter). The crime rate in states without capital punishment is significantly lower than those states that have capital punishment. In Canada capital punishment is illegal, whereas in the United States of America some states still, to this day, allow it (Henderson). Studies show that the United States of Americas crime rate was four times higher than Canadas, causing them to rank first in crime rates throughout the world (Spagnoli). These statistics show that regardless of the death penalty, criminals are not learning their lesson with such violent tortures. Therefore, the death penalty is neither a sufficient nor effective deterrent. Laws are put into place to encourage youths not to commit crimes and show citizens that committing a crime is wrong. Capital punishment is therefore counterproductive in promoting the taking of peoples lives and encouraging juvenile violence. Since capital punishment is not preventing crime, there is now the issue that it is encouraging taking a human beings life (Winters). Everyone is taught not to kill, and that taking a persons life is an immoral offence to commit, therefore how can people turn around and say that murdering a prisoner is right? Murder is wrong, no matter the race, gender, background, or character of the offender. Committing the act of murder is still wrong and capital punishment promotes, even encourages, that taking someones life is fine on certain grounds (Williams). Capital punishment promotes vengeance, even if the family of the victims, or anyone who is heavily connected to the case, is not directly killing the accused. The law is showing that people can obta in vengeance legally by watching a person being executed (Hennigfeld). Many argue that there is a deterrent effect and so it does not encourage crime but stops it: this is inevitably false. Even if there is a deterrent effect, it is overshadowed by the destructive effects of brutalization (Winters); No matter if there is the slimmest percent that crime is being prevented, it is being made up for, by brutally killing a human being for a mistake that they have made (Williams). People tend to hide behind the deterrence theory and use it as an excuse to the real reasons behind why they want a person to be put to death. Not justice and retribution, but rage and revenge (Baird). Not only does capital punishment encourage taking a persons life, but it promotes juvenile violence. Younger siblings look up to their older siblings, parents, the media, or even stories told around them and to live by the example that is set for them (Wekesser). By allowing capital punishment to be legal, the law is setting an example to youths that killing and any act of violence is acceptable in this day and age. A study done compared the United States of Americas juvenile crime rates to Canadas; the United States being a country that allows the death penalty in some states and Canada being a country that does not allow it at all (Spagnoli). In the United States the juvenile crime rate was 2.0 (per 100,000 people) in 2008, and in Canada the crime rate was only 1.0 (per 100,000 people) (Spagnoli). Comparing states with the death penalty and states without it, studies show that in 2008 states without the death penalty, had only minimal youth crimes while states with the death penalty, had a higher number of youth crimes (Spagnoli). For example, in Minnesota there were only 208 youth crimes, whereas Illinois has 1066 youth crimes (Spagnoli). Though some citizens believe that capital punishment deters crime and shows youths what not to do, in actuality it encourages the taking of a persons li fe and causes youths to follow the example given to them by the country they live in. The law states that every single human being- no matter what race, gender, or economic status- is entitled to a fair trial. All courts have to abide by this rule, but many tend to forget this important point (Allen). Discrimination is an issue that arises when discussing capital punishment. The death penalty is economically discriminatory, since in order to have a fair trail there has to be some form of equality among the plaintiff and the defendant (Allen). The upper class has a huge advantage because most courts see the upper class citizens as the better, more honorable people in society, due to their income. The lower class may not have the money to afford a lawyer and may be given a lawyer (called a pro bono lawyer) from the court. In most of cases these lawyers are not as experienced or as dedicated to the case as the prosecutors are (Szumski). The economic bias that is created can cause unfair judgement and wrongful conviction that can potentially end the life of an innocent pe rson. The death penalty does not only discriminate against a persons economic status; but it also does not work in favour of a persons race. In the United States of America there is a serve problem when it comes to capital punishment and racial discrimination (Demuth). African American citizens make up only 12 or 13% of the population, but they represent 34% of executions (Spagnoli). Is there a stigma towards the African American citizens? The evidence shows that yes, there is. The death penalty does not only look at the race of the accused but also the race of the victims. When a Caucasian person is murdered the probability of a person getting the death penalty is a lot greater (Spagnoli). A study was done in 2009 that showed 77% of executions were done on criminals that were accused of having a Caucasian victim (Spagnoli). When a person commits a crime it should not matter what race they are, or what race their victims are; they should be treated fairly and justly in a court of la w. Therefore, capital punishment fails to demonstrate the equality that is needed to protect peoples lives. Capital punishment has a number of discriminatory flaws including discrimination against the gender of the accused. It has been proven in a study, done by Elizabeth Rapaport, that many women who are convicted of murder do not get sentenced to be executed (Rapaport). One percent of men convicted of murder are sentenced to death, while only one tenth of one percent of women convicted of murders are sentenced to death (Rapaport). Her research clearly shows the endless discrimination that the courts have towards the male gender and that the death penalty is strongly biased. A study shows that there has only been one woman out of 143 people who were executed since 1977 in the United States of America (Dicks). Even though the legal system says that everyone is entitled to a fair, just trial, capital punishment brings out discrimination in many forms and tragically sentences innocent people to execution. In conclusion, the debate about capital punishment has been going on for years. It is a very controversial and talked about issue, but in truth, the death penalty is wrong and should not be reinstated. Capital punishment is morally wrong; it goes against almost every religion and their teachings. It also denies people very important freedoms that they have a right to. One of the most pressing issues with capital punishment is that there is no room for error; many innocent people have had their lives taken away because of flaws within the legal system. It does not diminish the crime rate, and in most cases the states that still allow capital punishment have a higher crime rate than those without it. Capital punishment does not only promote taking someones life but it encourages youths to commit violent acts. It shows how hypocritical citizens can be by telling people that the act of killing is morally wrong yet then doing the same act to a human who has committed a crime. Not to menti on, juvenile crime rates are a lot higher in states with the death penalty than states without it. The death penalty also discriminates based on gender, race, and economical class; allowing certain races, genders and classes to have more privileges than others. Many people may feel that capital punishment is the right thing to do and that it helps keep order in our world. However, in reality capital punishment makes murderers of us all.

volleyball college essay :: essays research papers

Have you ever struggled mightily for something and succeeded? What made you successful?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I looked in their faces and knew mine mirrored theirs. I didn’t want it to, but it did. Just ten minutes ago, we all were so jubilant. We were so sure we were going to win. We had all wanted it for so long, but we finally felt is as our destiny just a few moments ago. But as our opponent threw the ball in the air, I knew she was just about to serve another ace. However, when the ball landed three feet in front of our best passer, something snapped inside of me.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  We were going to win the game. That was the end of it. I knew it. We were the winners of that game. I stood up and yelled in a voice that even frightened me. I didn’t scream about moving our feet, or calling the ball, I screamed about how big of winners we were. I was done with moping. For seven minutes of my life, I had forgotten that I could do anything I set my mind to, and I had given up. The worst seven minutes of my volleyball career were those seven minutes in the third game of the final match at Brighton Volleyball Tournament. I had put my determination down to wallow in my disappointment. Disappointment needs to build determination. I had decided a long time ago that there were certain things in life that I could do better than other people. Those were my gifts. I use my gifts to my full potential.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The server on the other team once again threw the ball into the air. This time, my teammate sprawled for the ball, and made a perfect pass to me, allowing me to set the ball and have my co-captain smash it to the ground. I looked once again at the faces of my teammates. Things were different now. I knew at once that they knew what I knew. We were the winners of that game. We remembered that at that point, and were assured of it when the referee blew the final whistle after I served an ace on game point.

Contrast of Irony and Style in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour Essay

Contrast of Irony and Style in Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kate Chopin's use of irony in her short story, "The Story of an Hour," stands in direct contrast to the subtle manner in which she tells the story. Strong use of irony in a short story yields more honesty in a character. She achieves this quality by immediately setting the premise, that Mrs. Mallard's fragile health would ultimately lead to her demise, upon receiving the news of her husband's death. Before an immediate assumption can be made about Mrs. Mallard, Chopin begins to start another path. This divergence is apparent at the point of the story where Mrs. Mallard's reaction is anticipated, yet, "She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance" (170). Mrs. Mallard does indeed grieve the loss of her husband, but, "When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone" (170). Chopin discharges the inner feelings of her character simultaneously with those that are expected of her. For many people, an event of such significance as the death of a loved one, would be considered their darkest day. An individual's loss may lead to a bitter and pessimistic view of their world, finding fault with anything within even the most glorious of days. Paragraph five is vivid with pleasant imagery, as "new spring life," and "delicious breath of rain," become symbolic of Mrs. Mallard's release of her inner feelings. Hardly the reaction one might have expected. There are new hopes and aspirations ahead of her, not the direct opposite as one would assume. Yet, Mrs. Mallard is fearful of the feelings overcoming her, as if repressing a dirty thought. As if hearing the voice of society... ... the entire story, as Chopin writes: And yet she loved him ---sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being! (171) This paragraph could not be anymore honest than it already is. It is plain to see how this short story challenged the thinking at the time. Great writers are the ones that have the foresight, and chutzpah to challenge the establishment. To break down the harmful norms dictated by a select few. Maybe the great irony lies in how many people felt the same way as Mrs. Mallard, but did not seize the opportunity. It is perhaps more shocking to see how far society has come, only to see how far it has left to go. Works Cited: Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. (1894). 31 Apr. 2003. Contrast of Irony and Style in Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour Essay Contrast of Irony and Style in Kate Chopin's The Story of an Hour  Ã‚  Ã‚   Kate Chopin's use of irony in her short story, "The Story of an Hour," stands in direct contrast to the subtle manner in which she tells the story. Strong use of irony in a short story yields more honesty in a character. She achieves this quality by immediately setting the premise, that Mrs. Mallard's fragile health would ultimately lead to her demise, upon receiving the news of her husband's death. Before an immediate assumption can be made about Mrs. Mallard, Chopin begins to start another path. This divergence is apparent at the point of the story where Mrs. Mallard's reaction is anticipated, yet, "She did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance" (170). Mrs. Mallard does indeed grieve the loss of her husband, but, "When the storm of grief had spent itself she went away to her room alone" (170). Chopin discharges the inner feelings of her character simultaneously with those that are expected of her. For many people, an event of such significance as the death of a loved one, would be considered their darkest day. An individual's loss may lead to a bitter and pessimistic view of their world, finding fault with anything within even the most glorious of days. Paragraph five is vivid with pleasant imagery, as "new spring life," and "delicious breath of rain," become symbolic of Mrs. Mallard's release of her inner feelings. Hardly the reaction one might have expected. There are new hopes and aspirations ahead of her, not the direct opposite as one would assume. Yet, Mrs. Mallard is fearful of the feelings overcoming her, as if repressing a dirty thought. As if hearing the voice of society... ... the entire story, as Chopin writes: And yet she loved him ---sometimes. Often she had not. What did it matter! What could love, the unsolved mystery, count for in face of this possession of self-assertion which she suddenly recognized as the strongest impulse of her being! (171) This paragraph could not be anymore honest than it already is. It is plain to see how this short story challenged the thinking at the time. Great writers are the ones that have the foresight, and chutzpah to challenge the establishment. To break down the harmful norms dictated by a select few. Maybe the great irony lies in how many people felt the same way as Mrs. Mallard, but did not seize the opportunity. It is perhaps more shocking to see how far society has come, only to see how far it has left to go. Works Cited: Chopin, Kate. The Story of an Hour. (1894). 31 Apr. 2003.

Buddhism in America

Buddhism is above all the religion of illumination. It seeks to aid those who study and practice at its feet to break throughout all that can fetter or delude in the monarchy of conditioned reality, and become free in Nirvana, Unconditioned Reality. Buddhism does this by leading one to identify the Four Noble Truths the Buddha himself discovered some twenty-five hundred years ago on the eve of his enlightenment. Beneath the numerous sectarian forms and rich accruals the faith of the Enlightened One has acquired in its journeys through numerous cultures and many centuries, Buddhism eventually depends on these principles.First, life as it is typically lived is unsatisfactory, shot through with anxiety, suffering, and insignificance. Second, this state is the result of attachments or desires, for in a universe of frequent flux and change, seeking to cling to anything from the grossest passion to the subtlest idol of the mind to the idea of being a permanent separate self can never bring anything but sorrow in the end. Third, the condition of suffering and desire can be struck at its point of origin ; there can be an end to desire. Fourth, that can be attained by following the Eightfold Path, which culminates in Right Concentration or Meditation.For meditation is the condition of mind that reverses the mind's ordinary outflow toward entangling objects of sensory or mental attachment. Zen has been the best-known form of Buddhism in America. This is first of all since it has been fortunate in producing a remarkable series of advocates on these shores: Soyen Shaku, Nyogen Senzaki, above all D. T. Suzuki. That in turn owes to Zen's relative tolerance and emphasis on humanistic culture and education in its homelands, and its relation to China and Japan's great custom of arts and letters.But it is also no doubt true that no other account of Buddhism would have communicated itself quite so well to the American mind. Zen's boast of breaking through words and philosophies i n favor of â€Å"direct pointing† and â€Å"immediate experience,† its artistic minimalism and rapport with nature, all appealed to major strands of American consciousness. â€Å"Senzaki, certainly, considered Zen none other than the American practicality of William James or John Dewey in another guise† Rick Fields, 1992, p14.Yet that other guise was not without significance, for while Zen could hark to the American images of ease and self-reliance, it also offered entree into another world of spiritual and cultural wonders, from the inscrutable Zen â€Å"riddles† or koans to the Zen-related martial arts. Zen's draw for Americans has lain first in its spiritual efficiency, second in its combination of otherness and homeliness. Its greatest spokesman in the West, D. T. Suzuki, like his disciple Alan Watts, subjugated the mix with a sure hand, offering the reader now a whiff of the exotic, now a supportive correlation with a motif of the West.Different aspe cts of Zen have appealed to diverse segments or generations of Americans. The age of Soyen Shaku and Senzaki Nyogen was, to judge from their own words, eager to hear of the sensibleness of Buddhism as well as its pointing to that beyond all reason. In the 1950s, the image of the â€Å"Zen lunatic† came to the fore in the work of such â€Å"Beat† writers as Jack Kerouac, who summed it all up in The Dharma Bums. The 1960s and 1970s, the era of the great Zen centers and the counterculture, was involved in Zen as a spiritual discipline and total, often communalistic, way of life.All through, still others, from poets like Gary Snyder to composers like John Cage, have been mostly interested in the relation of the Zen vision to artistic creativity. The tensions of these varying Zens are well spoken, and perhaps resolved, in the essay by Alan Watts here reproduced, Beat Zen, Square Zen, and Zen. Whether in tragic conflict or massively lucrative trade, seldom have two nations o f such diverse cultural heritage been as intensely involved in one another's lives as have Japan and the United States in the twentieth century.The diffusion of Zen to America, though but a tiny fragment of that exchange, helps divulge the spiritual dimensions, too seldom yet appreciated, of this significant meeting. From a historical perspective, American Buddhism is also an era making undertaking. One of the great spiritual traditions of Asia is moving west. For about four hundred years, western missionaries, explorers, scholars, and seekers explored Asia, wondered about Buddhism, and studied it. A few even practiced it.The foundation for the transmission of the dharma to the West was ready by many people over many years, but the appearance of the dharma as a significant element in American religion is a development that by comparison occurred only very lately. During the eighties and nineties, many Americans were debating amongst themselves what Buddhism was in this country and w hat they required it to be. They came up with many diverse ideas about how to form American forms of the dharma, so there is not a single answer to that question, nor is there likely ever to be.There is not one American Buddhism, any longer than there is one American Judaism, Islam, or Christianity. Zen meditation is valuable among Americans, Western associate with Zen has now reached a point where an understanding of the larger historical framework within which Zen articulated itself is also necessary. Such an understanding is significant not only for a more balanced academic view, but also for a more staid appraisal of the meaning of Zen practice for modern American life. The fundamental character of Zen emerged as part of a complex dialectic within Buddhism, and we cannot understand Zen until we realize what it is critiquing.If we take its statements out of their Buddhist context and construe them instead within our own cultural context, they are apt to mean something quite diver se, particularly in the realm of ethics. Zen's iconoclasm had a different meaning within a cultural context where Buddhist moral teachings were extensively affirmed than it does today to contemporary Americans who lack any such background and who are perhaps already suffering from an excess of moral relativism (Rick Fields, 1992, 194). Buddhist meditation developed and practiced in East Asia.It thus seeks to balance our acquaintance with Zen meditation which, as it is the only East Asian practice with which many Westerners are familiar, is often held up as the archetypal form of East Asian Buddhist meditation by placing it alongside other, evenly representative and vital forms of meditation: the invocation of the Buddha's name (nien-fo) in Pure Land; visualization (as exemplified by Hsuan-tsang's visualization of Maitreya); and Chih-i's monumental T'ien-t'ai synthesis of Buddhist ritual, cultic, and meditation practices.Meditation has been a notoriously vague and multivalent ideaâ⠂¬â€a circumstance that stems, no doubt, from its comparative lack of elaboration and systematization in the Western religious traditions, particularly in their post-Enlightenment forms. That the concept lacks any clearly defined and usually accepted referent in our own general cultural experience does not restrict its attractiveness indeed, it in fact enhances it. Meditation is a very useful category in particular as it can be understood in so many ways.In America it is believed that we should employ â€Å"meditation† in the broadest possible sense in the same sense that we find Buddhists using the term â€Å"dhyana† to include both samatha-bhavana and vipasyana-bhavana (Kapleau, Philip, 1980). There are two reasons for doing this both significant, and both inextricably consistent. First, we must recognize that such an inclusive conception of meditation is required if we are not to obscure what is most distinctive and characteristic about the Buddhist viewpoint on re ligious practice.Second, only by coming to terms with what is distinguishing and characteristic in Buddhist culture can we gain a better understanding of ourselves. The understanding we seek must not only inform our perception of the alien culture; it should also change our own experience, the understanding of our own culture. The true value of any cross-cultural exploration, after all, lies not in how successful we are in reducing the alien culture to the terms of our own experience.True understanding, rather, is born only when we should expand our own perspective to hold what initially appears to be alien. Yoga is also very significant type of meditation that is very popular among Americans. In yoga, lengthy meditations lead first to the telepathic powers such as those the Buddha attained and eventually to the realization of the illusoriness of all material appearances. In the Yogacara view, there is a sense in which any experience is just as real as any other, whether actually in ternal and hallucinatory or ostensibly external and objective.All that is eventually real and continuous of the individual is the pure subject, the mind store (alaya-vijnana), although it, too, changes. â€Å"It is this mind store, or alaya-vijnana, that experiences, judges, contemplates, and remembers, thus comprising a locus of identity and continuity through many obvious bodies, or lifetimes†. Ellwood, Robert, 1986. It might well be argued that the alaya-vijnana concept is just a rehabilitation of the old Hindu notion of atman, without the persistence on its ontological permanence and immutability.The early Buddhist perspective says that phenomenon are all that exist and that the apparent self is dogged by the phenomena that it encounters. The Yogacara philosophy, by contrast, says that mind is all that exists, and all obvious phenomena are merely its own projections. Coupled with the belief in medium teachings, the concept that all is only mind has tremendous implications for Vajrayana Buddhism. If all is only mind, the procedure of death and rebirth is no longer an inevitable feature of an external reality to which all must submit.It then becomes unnecessary to actually undergo a long succession of lifetimes, for by changing one's conscious thoughts, the whole succession can be broken or abridged. Even the law of karma is elevated to a completely different level. No longer are physical actions seen as having expected physical effects. Rather, mental acts are the only acts that have any effects at all, either in actually external happenings or in apparently internal feelings and visions.Karmic determination of an individual's future good or ill can thus also be evaded or aborted by mental purification and concentration. Mantras, mudras, and samadhi are requisite to affect this change of consciousness necessary to attain nirvana. Here, too, the Vajrayana departs from conventional Samkhya Yoga, in allowing the consumption of meat and wine, and even in tercourse with women, encouraging at each step the understanding that none of these phenomena are ultimately real.Under the tutelage of a Vajrayana Lama (guru), the student expects to develop psychic powers, to leave his body, and to experience the Absolute in reverie. Thus, he will prepare himself for the moment of death when he will direct his consciousness out of his body and into final union with Truth (dharmakaya), rather than permitting any further cycles of rebirth. Though, many Americans think that Zen is a Buddhist tradition without formal ritual, which is not actually the case.Zen was first introduced into this country in books that led lots of Americans to think of it as a philosophy rather than a spiritual tradition along with concepts of meditations especially yoga. People also be apt not to think of Zen sitting meditation, while a practitioner might face a wall or sit with downcast eyes for hours, as ritual activity. But every day or even twice-daily stints of yoga, du ring which a practitioner notes the movement of his or her mind, help to structure the lives of numerous American Buddhists, one of the primary functions of rite.In America, Zen calls up particular genus of art and verse, ink wash, tea ceremonies, haiku poetry, whose special genius is to portray nature just as it is, without theory or theology, yet so vividly as to leave one deeply moved without being quite sure why. Work Cited Ellwood, Robert, ed. Zen in American Life and Letters. Los Angeles : Undena Press, 1986. Kapleau, Philip. The Three Pillars of Zen. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1965, rev. ed. 1980. Rick Fields, How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America, 3rd rev. ed. ( Boston: Shambhala, 1992), 194.