Field project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Field project - Essay Example Most of the Buddhists describe Buddha as a true teacher who awakened them from their ignorance. By this, Buddha ensured that they attained the highest form of happiness that humans can ever achieve. After all these years, Buddhists still believe and practice their culture. I interviewed Ashoka, a strong Buddhist, on some aspects of their religion and I was surprised at some of their practices. Beliefs One of the strongest beliefs of Buddhists is that there is no supernatural being, unlike other religions such as Christianity and Islam. Their god was human and so they believe that all people are equal and should respect each other. Buddhists also believe that whatever they hear or read has to be tested. This is unlike most religions that discourage testing of anything that has been said by their gods. Buddhists, however, believe that if something is written in their holy books, then they have the right to test it to be assured that it is true. This, therefore, creates a faith that is transparent and where followers are not subjected to impossible temptations that they cannot overcome and question. Buddhists have the right to question their holy books as well as their god if they have evidence to do so (Patrick, 1982). Buddhists also have many gods. Unlike most religions which followers only believe in one god, Buddhists have a varying number of gods. Some have as many as thousands of gods while others have no god at all. For this, Buddhists believe that one should never argue about the existence of god and they have a saying that they would rather die than argue on god’s existence. The other major belief of Buddhists is the karma belief. This is the belief given especially to children. They are told that if they do wrong, they will get karma which in most cases is considered to be the exact equivalent of what wrong the child has done. Due to this, most of the Buddhist children are upright and in most cases would avoid wrong things. One of the most practic ed beliefs about Buddhists which Ashoka gave me a quick review of is the importance of listening to teachers. Buddhists believe that it is very important for people to listen to their teacher’s advice. They believe that teachers are chosen by Buddha and if one wants to prosper and avoid bad ways, they have to listen to their teachers. It is for this reason that most of the Buddhist teachers are always elderly due to the experience that is needed to attain that position. Teachers are, therefore, much respected people in the society and a Buddhist will never disobey their teacher’s advice. Festivals According to Ashoka, festivals are like the only factor that unites Buddhists all over the world. She informed me that during those early days, it was a tradition for all Buddhists to come together and celebrate the full moon. During this time, they would all gather under the full moon and listen to various teachings and try as much as they could to meditate with their specif ic chants. Even though this festival is losing its taste due to the movement of Buddhists all over the world, it is still a common practice. Apart from this festival, there is the main Buddhist festival that creates a strong sense of belonging to all Buddhists. Their main ritual is known as the Puja and it is always performed by the teacher. The teacher is at the center while the other members of the group are outside and answer to the calls made by the teacher. This practice, according to Ashoka, is practiced to encourage their meditation and normal practices. Ashoka

Compliance of Businesses with the Principles of United Nations Global Essay - 1

Compliance of Businesses with the Principles of United Nations Global Compact - Essay Example Alcoa Inc., being an international organization with 31 headquarters all over the world and working in all the major aspects of its industry (developing technology, performing mining, refining, smelting, fabricating, and recycling of aluminum), believes it has enough expertise and experience for making recommendations to the Australasian Local Network. Furthermore, these particular principles are a basis of our Vision & Values statement, which makes us responsible for protecting and promoting â€Å"the health and well-being of the individual and the environment† (Vision & Values 2011). Alcoa Foundation, one of the largest corporate foundations in the U.S., is an outstanding project of our company, the activities of which are aimed at supporting our host communities worldwide (Alcoa Foundation 2011). The organization works as an independent foundation for addressing both global and local challenges of the communities. These activities are consistent with the vision and mission of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in terms of supporting â€Å"economic and social well-being of people around the world† (OECD 2011), and of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in regards to â€Å"promoting social justice and internationally recognized human and labour rights† (ILO 2011). Therefore, on the basis of our experience working towards the outlined above principles, we would like to propose the following recommendations: 1. Design, implement and control the fulfillment of a statement of protecting human rights in all the communities the company operates in (Global Compact Principle One 2011). Benefits & Implications: The company’s vision regarding human rights protection is clearly outlined and, thus, it is easier to develop corresponding structures and policies Communities differ and, therefore, some general and universal principles should be outlined in the statement instead of those to which a particular l ocal community is accustomed. A unified statement, being fulfilled, will not only promote human rights protection within the community but will also help to educated communities on what they should claim from organizations in terms of respecting and supporting people’s rights. Lessons Learnt The statement of protecting human rights of Alcoa Inc. now includes only the points regarding paying employees guaranteed minimum wages and prohibiting slavery (Health 2011), and we are working on improving this aspect. This shortcoming of ours has caused many problems in the past – we have even been blamed for putting corporate interests above the interests of people, governments or the planet. There, however, already exist good examples: the Human Rights Policy Statement of Continental Airlines, for instance, deals with such issues as ethical business conduct, as well as protection of the rights of co-workers and children (Continental Airlines, Inc. 2011).