P2+Zen,+Monks+and+Nuns

=P2 Zen, Monks and Nuns=

Zen Buddhism is a very unique religion. It originated in India in the 6th century CE. It is followed in many places all over Asia and Japan. Zen Buddhism came originally from India at about the 6th century CE. It quickly spread throughout Asia and made it to Japan. At about the 13th century CE, it had already become one of Japans religions. There are some rules to Zen Buddhism which must be followed. They are to refrain from taking life, meaning not to kill, not taking what is not given, meaning don’t steal. There is also to refrain from sexual misconduct. Refrain from false speech meaning that you can’t lie. And the last is to refrain from intoxicating things that cloud the mind. That means don’t drink alcoholic beverages, do drugs, or smoke. Zazen is a form of meditation. In Buddhist monasteries they have meditating sessions. When the meditation time begins and ends the head monk regulates this with a clapper of small bell. Time is measured by an incense stick that burns for 45 minutes. A monk can sit like this for hours. However, meditating can be so relaxing that the monks fall asleep. When the head monk finds a monk sleeping he is woken up with an “encouraging stick”. The typical Zazen Position is to sit in lotus position with your feet facing upwards. You usually meditate facing a wall. To meditate correctly you must sit with your chin tucked in and be sitting up completely straight. As well as having your eyes closed, you must sit perfectly still in order to be doing it right. Nuns were discriminated against during the Tokagawa period of Japanese history. They couldn’t live inside the temples with the monks, and they always had to wear the black robes of a novice monk or nun. A novice is a first year monk or nun. However, it would be wrong to say that women had no or little effect on Japanese history. Zen Buddhists believe that people are born over and over again. They also believe that all of their actions in this life have an effect on their next one. That means that if you live a good live you will be rewarded in the next one with a better life. But if you live a bad life you will get another bad life in the next one. They have Buddhist funerals when people die and believe in ancestor worship. Overall Zen Buddhism is a very strict religion for the monks that follow it.

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"Buddha figure".[] [Feb. 22 2011].image.

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Here's a link to what Alex Qiao wrote about this project: http://discovery.caryacademy.org/alexq841/2011/02/daily-life-in-the-age-of-the-samurai/ Please check!