Buddhist concept of the nature of things, people, the world, and Essay

Buddhist concept of the nature of things, people, the world, and nirvana - Essay Example During Samsara, living beings continuously face pain and suffering because of the wrong doings of the previous life. As long as a living being continues to commit sins and do bad, it creates reasons for rebirth and thus the cycle continues till self-recognition which ultimately leads to enlightenment and nirvana. In Buddhism rebirth is considered as a continuous process and each subsequent rebirth takes place within one of the five realsms based on the karmas performed by the living being. Naraka being is the worst of all and people who are born as Naraka beings are bound to live in hell during that particular life. Another form of birth is Preta or the ghost-form. Being a human being is considered as the only type of life in which the attainment of final enlightenment and thus Nirvana is possible. Being an animal or a Deva (spirit or angel) are also forms of life which can be achieved after rebirth. Mahayana teachings have presented a sixth form of life after rebirth in which a pers on can be reborn as a demon or titan, this form is called Asura. A formless realm, ‘arupa dhatu’ can only be achieved by the people who can meditate with intense depth (Smith and Novak). The whole concept of Samsara, the cycle of suffering and rebirth is based on Karma is the Sanskrit word for the actions and deeds performed by a person in this world. The future life of the person after rebirth is based on the Karma performed by him during the present life. Buddhism gives a lot of importance to the impact of actions of a person on the surrounding people and environment and thus Karma is referred to those deeds and actions which are intentionally committed and have certain consequences on the individual and the surroundings. A person is supposed to receive a ‘Phala’ or fruit for his Karmas. There is a difference of opinion about Karma in the Mahayana and Theravada Buddhism with the later presenting the strict version of the two (Conze). According to Theravad a Buddhism, a person is responsible for his Karma and will receive reward or punishment for his bad or good Karmas but a Karma once committed is attributed to a person and there is no way in which the punishment can be avoided. However Mahayana presents a softer ideology and according to Mahayana texts, the negativity of bad Karmas can be obliterated by reciting the specific Mantras (McGovern). The reality of life is explained by the Four Noble Truths which were the first teachings of Gautama Buddha. The life of a person always leads to sufferings in one way or the other because of the cravings of living beings which never end. Ending the cravings is the only way in which a living being can put an end to the sufferings and achieve liberation from the circle of life. Ending the carvings and achieving liberation is possible by following the Noble Eightfold Path as guided by Gautama Buddha. The Eightfold Path is based on finding out the actual reality of things which is in most cases d ifferent from the apparent form. A person who wishes to achieve Nirvana should be pure in his intensions, truthful in his dealings and harmless in his actions. By virtue of his existence, a person is bound to commit sins and bad Karma because he cannot control his mind (Keown). Meditation is the only way in which complete mind control can be exercised by making a sincere effort to improve the mindset and thinking. Samadhi is the correct way of meditating with clear consciousness and awareness about the reality of life

Marketing Strategy-Product, Place, Price and Promotion Case Study

Marketing Strategy-Product, Place, Price and Promotion - Case Study Example Where appropriate, research material will be cited to clarify the discussion. With this in mind, let's begin our discussion of business marketing. In order to make this research relevant to a wide range of consumers, and to inject a bit of fun into the discussion, we will take a look at McDonald's, the fast food chain that people have grown up with for decades. In fact, the reason that people have grown up with McDonald's for decades is because of skillful marketing. Through precise blending of product, place, price and promotion, we have viewed McDonald's as a restaurant that has always been there, and can be found anywhere with consistent quality, price and selection. With these statements in mind, the first area we will consider within the scope of McDonald's is product. When Ray Kroc developed the ideas in the 1950s that eventually led to the birth of the McDonald's restaurant chain, one of the cornerstones of his fast food process was the ability to rapidly serve food to large numbers of people efficiently (Manila Bulletin, 2005). This was accomplished in large part by offering a very limited menu and turning out those products faster and better than anyone had up to that time. Within a narrow product line, the eventual McDonald's restaurants attracted a huge following of loyal customers, who knew that there would always be a certain product available at the restaurant and that it would be just as delicious on the tenth visit as it was on the first visit. Although over the years, McDonald's has introduced additional products, they still keep the products within the line somewhat closely related to each other. This allows for the formation of a uniform marketing strategy that stresses quality food, served in a fast, clean and courteous manner. The tactic incorporates all of the positive things that people want in dining, without a hefty price tag. The limitation of McDonald's product line is a stroke of genius. Place, in Relation to Marketing Marketing experts know that the best product in the world will never make an impact in the business world if no one can locate and obtain it (Delaney, 1994). Keeping this simple, yet vital brick in the house of marketing, McDonald's gives careful consideration to the placement of its restaurants. Within their marketing research, they take into consideration the population of a given area, major roadways in the vicinity of the proposed restaurant site, traffic that passes by the restaurant site, and the demographics of the area, as they know a great deal about their customers (more about this in the "People" section of this paper). The construction of a McDonald's restaurant costs millions of dollars, and in order for the operation to be profitable, placement must be in an area that maximizes the customer exposure, therefore increasing the chance of generating business. As mentioned previously, however, please keep in mind that McDonald's leaves nothing to chance. They do their marke ting homework, and it shows. The fact that McDonald's always seems to be "right around the corner" is due to a great deal of extensive marketing research, planning and execution. If you really give this idea a great deal of thought, take into conside