Daoism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Daoism - Essay Example This may be because, since all other religious beliefs are exotic, Taoism is the only religion that the China inhabitants believe to be indigenous. Therefore, this document critically analyzes Daoism, its theoretical, practical, and social approach one of the world religions. Daoism (also called Taoism) is a religious belief whose origin comes from the Chinese traditions. Joachim Wach explained that there are three ways in which a belief qualifies to be named a religion (Kirkland 165). A religion must have its theoretical aspect. This means that it ought to have various verbal beliefs, to which the followers strongly adhere. Daoism accentuates veneration of the ancestral spirits and immortality of some beings in their religion. Taoism believes on the freedom of humanity from conformist limitations. Moreover, Taoism obtains its teaching from Lao-tze, an ancient philosopher who the followers deem to have established the first Taoism temple. However, the Taoism followers commonly consid er the history about Lao-tze as legendary; and they still keep up with his teachings from the earlier writings. Scholars believe Taoism to be mythological. In this sense, some critics claim their belief about immortality to be mythical. In addition, it highlights the story of a certain prince, who practiced Taoism in a deserted mountain until he became a supernatural and consequently an immortal being (Kirkland 166). The Taoists believe that a certain man, believed to be the true man, will come to the world in the end, and end chaos, bringing peace to the world. Additionally, the Taoists believe that Tao (the way) is the main guiding rule of their values and mannerisms (Ede 21). Moreover, Taoists believe in a hierarchy of gods and eternals. There is also the practical aspect of Daoism. Taoist believers practice various rituals. Taoists believe in achieving immortality through practicing the Tao values, both within and outside the bodily being. The Taos internal practices entail phys ical Tao exercises, which include breathing, intense meditation, and refinement of the inner elixir. Besides, the central objective of these activities is to improve oneself, spiritually and bodily. Tao also teaches external practices that involve being responsible in exemplary actions such as helping one another. Tao believers must strive to achieve these values by earnestly practicing both the internal and external activities, since they believe that the reward is to acquire the immortal nature. Additionally, the Tao followers practice martial arts, most commonly known as Kung fu (Ede 22). Besides, the Tao followers also have their own scriptures that they read and follow. This manuscript comes in diverse components. They refer these components as the Canon or the Daozang. They are arranged in the order of age, the earliest being the Tang Dynasty. The succeeding ones include versions compiled during the dynasties of Song, Jin, Yuan, and Ming. There are two distinct Tao sects. The two sects are the Zhengyi and the Quanzhen, with the Zhengyi being the most popular within the Chinese communities. However, these sects are similar in their fundamental Tao beliefs. They only have slight disparities in their norms and regulations. The Quanzhens are stricter in their regulations as opposed to their Zhengyi counterparts, since they practice a strict vegetarian diet and are celibate, spending their entire lives in the

Call to action Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Call to action - Essay Example ‘Fracking’ also known as hydraulic fracturing is a process of fracturing rock by injecting fluids into dikes or Cracks. Sands is mixed with water and various chemicals and injected at high pressure to create small fractures in a wellbore. This causes fluids containing petroleum, gas and other minerals to move to the well. The technique has been used in most countries with coal seam gas, tight oil, shale gas, and tight gas. Through hydraulic fracturing, countries with oil deposits have acquired maximum extractions from the wells leading to economic stability. The process can lead to extraction of rich hydrocarbons, which could be hard to extract in other ways. Due the internationals widespread success of fracking, most of the countries are adopting this method. This has led to the development of new rules and regulations. In the United States, the EPA ensures these laws are enforced. Additionally, the procedure has had its disadvantages. Most of these are environmental im pacts such as contamination of ground water. During the fracking process, chemical are mixed with water and injected into dikes. These dikes may be connected or have underground channels that lead the chemicals to the water table hence causing contamination. It leads to depletion of fresh ground water. There is also presence of poisonous gases which are being released into the atmosphere during the process. Noise pollutions also caused by pumps providing the hydraulic pressure needed to inject water into the cracks. Most of these impacts have harmful effects to human health. Due to the negative impacts, the process is under international scrutiny. Laws and regulations have been put in place to regulate the level of pollution to the environment. Some countries have employed total bans to prevent fracking while others have set up regulations to help standardize the process. Drilling licenses in the United States of America are being issued on a contract with set rules and regulations that have to be followed during hydraulic fracturing. Grants to improve technology Financial institutions and the Congress should provide grants to help improve technology used in most of the E.P.A laboratories. This will indirectly help in conserving the environment since the laboratories are used to carry out tests. Financial institutions include banks, microfinance organizations and other global organizations such as the World Bank and European Union. Additionally, grants should also be issued to other research institutions provide funds to set up laboratories and pay researches. Extreme research will help scientists and environmentalists to come up with better ways of oil drilling. They may also come up with new ideas on the type of chemicals used leading to the use of environment friendly chemicals. The type of technology used in fracking may be improved because of increased research. Research will help in brainstorming and attainment of new ideas and innovations. Petroleum eng ineers discovered the fracking process in the 1940s. They there is the need to come up with other processes that are environmental friendly. To achieve grants, oil-drilling investors will have to establish project proposals on the type of projects and processes used. Signing of contracts will lead to issuing of string-attached grants. There should also be nationwide campaigns to cause awareness of the impacts of hydraulic fractur