Thinking Through Religions 3 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Thinking Through Religions 3 - Essay Example In â€Å"Nonsense† Watts also highlights a more theological meaning of life by indicating that according to a number of various theologies, we as humans are created for the pleasure of God and that the true meaning of life according to some theistic religions is God (Watts,66-70). Why is this Important? This is fundamentally important as Watts is seen to attempt to critically highlight some of the more predominant concerns pertaining towards the establishment of what is the true meaning of life. By providing several different answers to the question, Watts is seen to try and tackle the question from a number of different angle as he attempts each of us establish the meaning of life. An Understanding of how Joseph Campbell Explains the Role of Clowns in Religion According to Campbell, clown religions and clowns are especially. The use of clowns in numerous Celtic and Germanic myths essentially serves to show that although the outward appearance of some of the deities as represe nted by some clown figures might be marred and of a rather grotesque nature, we should always endeavor to look through the often very funny exterior forms and find the ultimate image. By adopting this approach, we can essentially learn to disregard the physical appearance of the individuals we meet and understand them better (Campbell and Moyers). Campbell’s view of the role played by clowns essentially fits in with my own views as I always try to obtain a somewhat deeper understanding of persons that I chance to encounter and interact with. By practicing this approach, I have generally managed to become a fundamentally better person having a deeper appreciation for...An example of this instance is seen in the story of the secret of the Lotus flower where Buddha was seen to make his point by holding a golden lotus in his palms while standing before his followers, most of his followers were however unable to understand what exactly Buddha was attempting to say to them and only Mahakasyapa managed to understand what exactly Buddha was attempting to express. Mahakasyapa’s only indication that he had understood the message was a slight smile. In communicating this information it is clearly seen that no words intervened but yet the entire message was clearly understood by Mahakasyapa. This caused Buddha to sufficiently determine that indeed Mahakasyapa was the best individual who could be selected and chosen to succeed him (Smith, 87). In some of the Buddhist sects, the message being given by the teacher is seen to have a somewhat two pronged approach and while most people only understand the surface meaning of the teaching, the more perceptive disciples are able to deeply understand the message and sufficiently decipher its symbolism so as to truly understand its meaning