Zen Buddhist

Project description
Only use the book “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind” by Shunryu Suzuki

The text suggests that we can enhance our ethical development by engaging worldviews completely different from our own and/or by adopting role models for our ethical behavior. For the term paper, you are asked to engage the worldview and ethics of the Zen Buddhist teacher, Shunryu Suzuki as presented in the text, Zen Mind, Beginners Mind.

Please address three questions in your paper:

1. According to what you have read, what does it mean to be a good person in this text? Can you sum it up in one favorite sentence or two (with page references) before expanding upon and developing your answer?. Hint: You must distinguish between big mind and small mind with your answer not only the relation of big mind to small mind, but when something arises in the mind, how we can tell if it is in big mind or small mind. Use several references to the text in your answer! Where or when is it most difficult to be a good person?

2. Exactly when were you a little disturbed, or surprised, astonished or offended by his comments? Mention at least three specific instances and cite the page references. These moments are evidence that you are encountering something new and your worldview is being disturbed, at least a little (cognitive dissonance!). What have your learned about yourself and your worldview by engaging the worldview of this figure? Where have you been stretched or expanded?

3. Application: Imagine you were to become a diligent and enthusiastic student of Shunryu Suzuki and join one of his centers for a year of practice and training. After being away for a full year you return to visit your family and friends for the first time since you left to join the center. What might your family or friends notice as having changed in your behavior? That is, how exactly would you behave differently? Give specific examples.

-I ask that you write a classic five-part paper: introduction, three part body of the paper, and conclusion. (Please see guidelines on the reverse of this page.) Your paper must be 6 to 8 pages in length, double-spaced, 12 point font with one inch margins.

-You must have a title page. This page does not count as part of the 6 to 8 pages.

– As a rough guide, plan on using at least 8 to 10 citations to the text in your paper. Always cite the page number of the reference. Before handing your paper in, please review it with reference to the snow/water scale: 10 inches of snow melts down to only one inch of water. Is your paper mostly snow?