Chinese+Religion

Having a bad day? Need to relax? You might want to curl up on your couch and watch a fun movie, or maybe eat a tasty desert. However, The Buddhists in China have a different approach. They practice meditation to find peace within themselves. Wondering what meditation is? Look into the religion of Buddhism, why meditation is practied, and how it is practiced.
 * Meditation! __ By Joanna __**

Meditation originally comes from the religion of Buddhism. The Buddhist world revolves around the teachings of Siddhartha Guatama, who is more commonly known as the Buddha. The Buddha not only taught his followers to practice meditation, but he also encouraged many other beliefs still shared by Buddhists today. He was a strong believer in Karma, the idea that you do everything on purpose, and that your actions will come back to you later in life. For example, if you are nice to your classmates, your classmates will be nice to you. They also believe in Rebirth, the idea that after you die, you will return to life in another form, perhaps in another species. Lastly, the Buddhists believe in Nirvana. Nirvana is the perfect state of mind, without anger or stress. They believe that you can get to Nirvana by meditating. In addition to Nirvana, Buddhists also flnd other benefits in meditating. It helps them develop mindfulness, concentration, and insight. In addition to the psycological benefits, there are also many physical benefits of meditating. Meditation has been proven to reduce stress levels, decrease muscle tension, and even build self confidence (Health Benefits of Mediation, Para 2). However, in order for one to fully take advantage of the benefits that come along with meditation, they must be meditating correctly.

Basic Buddhist meditation is a process that can be achieved by any positive human being. When meditating, you must deeply focus on your breathing. When you focus on the breaths you takes, it will distract you from any intruding thoughts that may enter your mind. Your back must be upright, and your hands can be placed comfortably on your lap. Your legs may be placed in The Lotus Position, which is commonly known for helping meditators not fall asleep during meditation. It consists of your feet being placed on your opposite thigh. However, you may also be successful in meditation by simply crossing your legs. In order to achieve the state of peacfullness, you must relax your mind, and repeat a series of long, deep breaths.

Congratulations! You have now learned how about the Buddhist Religion! You have also learned about why meditating is important to the Buddhists, and how to meditate. Next time you're having a bad day, think back to the Buddhists and meditation!

Taoism By Daniel

Ever thought about religion in different countries besides in the U.S? In China, Daoism (also known as Taoism) is one of the common religions that have lasted for centuries. Daoism has oriented thousands of years ago. It is practiced differently compared to Christianity and it is still practiced today. The Chinese people depend on Daoism of their way of life. Daoism was created around the Han Dynasty  by  Zhuangzi   Laozi. All across China the people have been adopting Daoism as their religion and their way of life, around the mid second century A.D. “Strictly speaking, Daoism wasn't consciously "founded" by these two individuals.”(Daoism pgh 1). Which was created by Zhuangzi and Daoism was later turned into text and published. Daoism became a guide to how they lived. Daoism was later influenced by their neighboring countries such as Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. Daoism was practiced differently compared to other religion. Daoism guided the Chinese people how they lived. On certain dates they would have to practice of sacrificing a pig, duck or fruits. “Another form of sacrifice involves the burning of Joss paper or Hell Bank Notes, on the assumption that images thus consumed by the fire will reappear.”(Taoism pgh 16) Joss paper is a gold paper used to burn during ceremonies or festivals (also known as Ghost Paper). Another significance of Daoism is fasting or dieting. They would have to last a certain amount of days without consuming meat, way of living longer. Daoism is still practiced in China today. Daoism is still a symbolic way of living. Today Daoism is still practiced mostly in China and Vietnam. “Taoism, a major religion in the world, currently has about 20 million followers, and is primarily centered in Taiwan. About 30,000 Taoists live in North America; 1,720 in Canada .”( Groups Discussing major religions | Yahoo! Groups pgh 3)  This shows how Taoism is still around and many people live their lives following Taoism. There are only 6% of Daoism followers around the world. Their way of practice has changed over the course of the years. They don’t sacrifice a living creature but offer fruits. Daoism is still significant in the 20th century. Now you the importance of Daoism how that is one of China’s significant religions. Daoism has a history that has been around for 4,000 years. Daoism is practiced all around China and the world today. //Works Cited// "Buddhist Meditation." __Access to Insight: Readings in Theravada Buddhism__. 09 Mar. 2009 <[|http://www.accesstoinsight. org/lib/authors/story/bl015. html]>. "Meditation - Benefits of Meditation." __Yoga & health .. naturally__. 09 Mar. 2009 <[|http://www.healthandyoga.com/ HTML/meditation/objectives. html]>. "Meditation / Buddhism." 09 Mar. 2009 <[|http://www.libertynet.org/ meditate/meditation.html]>. "Nirvana." Thinkquest.org.9 Mar. 2009 <[|http://library.thinkquest. org/28505/buddhism/nirva.htm]>. "The religion of Buddhism." __ReligiousTolerance.org by the Ontario Consultants__ __on Religious Tolerance__. 09 Mar. 2009 <[|http://www. religioustolerance.org/ buddhism.htm]>. "Daoism." __ Yahoo! GeoCities: Get a free web site with easy-to-use site building tools __. 16 Mar. 2009 . "Groups Discussing major religions | Yahoo! Groups." 16 Mar. 2009 . "Taoism -." __ Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia __. 16 Mar. 2009 . "DAOISM." 16 Mar. 2009 . "Daoism in Brief: Lao Zi and the Dao De Jing." __ HIS.com __. 16 Mar. 2009 . The Buddha. (Online Image) Available http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://home.swipnet.se/gostaratna/Buddha18.jpg&imgrefurl=http://spirituality-meditation-yoga-pictures.blogspot.com/2008/08/free- wallpapers-gautam-buddha-best.html&usg=__totSrpv-U_188oVW5VZ4MvwNvwI=&h=877&w=638&sz=108&hl=en&start=2&um=1&tbnid=HulR-jR6IpJY-M:&tbnh=146&tbnw=106&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dbuddha%26hl%3Den%26client%3Dsafari%26rls%3Den%26sa%3DG%26um%3D1 A Buddhist Meditating. (Online Images) Available http://www.bangor.ac.uk/healthcaresciences/mental_health/jan/meditation.jpg The Lotus Position. (Online Image) Available http://www.minddisorders.com/images/gemd_02_img0068.jpg