Service Project Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Service Project - Case Study Example The primary contact for the conference was Maurice Hoover. As far as planning of the conference most of it was already completed when we arrived, after we were informed as to where the various sessions would take place, all that was required was to help direct people and attend the lectures, which was quite interesting and very helpful. We also assisted in setting up chairs and other minor logistical issues. At the end we did help clean up and we left at around 5:30. The name of the conference where our service project took place was called "Equanimity: Maintaining Balance." The conference itself gave me much insight into the nature of Buddhism at least as it is practiced in the United States. Our classroom preparation on Buddhism gave me some familiarity with some of the terms they used, such as the sangha and the types of meditation. I was also aware, through my previous classroom experience, the deference paid to the leaders of the conference. In this reflection paper I will try to explain what I learned during this service project not only about Buddhism as a religion, but the way in which religion is understood and practiced and I hope to explain what I learned about myself as well. One thing I immediately learned is how different religions adjust to the culture in which they are practiced. For example one of the speakers the Venerable Bhante Kassapa Bhikkhu engages in a number of practices such as Sunday Services, and youth ministry. He is also the Chaplain to Buddhist inmates at a federal corrections facility in Texas. Furthermore, in the description of Kassapa they refer at one point to his close collaboration with an abbot. All of these practices and institutions are primarily Western in character, the abbot is a position within a Christian church and many of the other elements are also Christian in nature. This blending of religious practices is a common feature of religions, and in fact most religions undergo some level of syncretism. What is interesting in this case, is how seamlessly the blending of various practices seemed to be. One might expect that certain religions, especially ones that derive from a completely different tradition to be resistant t o these kinds of formal structures from other religious traditions. However, they have managed to do so and still recognize the authenticity of their traditions. The central concept during the panel discussion was about Equanimity. The Pali term for this is called Upekkha. Upekkha or Equanimity is very important concept in Buddhism for both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions. It is one of the Four Enlightened States and serves as a stepping stone to reach nirvana or sati. It is a part of the spiritual development process and is often considered the last-identified. In English equanimity refers to one's ability to be undisturbed mentally during periods of stress or trouble. This is not unrelated to the way upekkha is understood in Buddhism. It is important to note and as was emphasized during the panel

Review to the book Capitalism, Socialism and democracy Essay

Review to the book Capitalism, Socialism and democracy - Essay Example The criticism of Schumpeter is reasoned and well-informed. His views in sociology are similar to Weber's. In "Marx the Economist" Schumpeter provides critique of the labor theory of value from the point of modern economic theory. His critics boils down to that the "labor theory does not account for values in exchange except on special and unrealistic assumptions; if those assumptions are made, then the propositions of the labor theory follow from the modern theory, which can thus explain all the labor theory can explain; and the modern theory can explain things the labor theory cannot explain" (Schumpeter: 24). Also Schumpeter discusses a number of other aspects of Marx's theory and composes a list of advantages and disadvantages. However, while he criticizes Marx's position that capitalism will eventually self-destroy, the reader may notice that his own views in this regard do not differ much from those of Marx's: Schumpeter believes that capitalism bears the seed of its own destruc tion. In the second part titled "Can Capitalism Survive" Schumpeter continues to argue that Marx is right in a way. He believes that Capitalism transform into socialism but the process of transformation will not occur in the way envisaged by Marx. There will be no economic crises and instead of it will be a growing crisis of legitimacy that caused by the progress of rationalization - the view that reflects the essence of Weber's teaching. He insists on that capitalist societies will become socialistic because intellectuals will persistently protect change in a socialistic direction. Simultaneously, Schumpeter underlines the great strength of capitalism which he believes lies in a very simple and powerful schema of motivators. The promises of wealth, coupled with the threats of poverty are powerful enough to attract the majority of normal people and leave those whom reject them in the minority. They are addressed to ability, energy and capacity for work; but if there were a way of measuring either that ability in general or the personal achievement that goes into any particular success, the premiums actually paid out would probably not be found proportional to either. Impressive rewards are thrown to a small minority of winners, thus " propelling much more efficaciously than a more equal distribution would, the activity of that large majority of businessmen who receive in return a very modest compensation or nothing or less than nothing, and yet do their utmost because they have the big prizes before their eyes and overrate their chances of doing equally well... both business success and business failure are ideally precise. Neither can be talked away. (Schumpeter: 73). Also Schumpeter maintains certain modern developments that have reduced the competitiveness of the capitalist economy. The neo-classical economists' analyses of the capable distribution of resources in an equilibrium state are not of much practical interest, since conditions change so rapidly that the system will never come into equilibrium. The capitalist economy will disappear because of gale of innovation. "A system - any system, economic or other - that at every given point of time fully utilizes its possibilities to the best advantage may yet in the long run be inferior to a system that does so at no given point of