Assignment # 7 – Chapter 11 (10)
Title: Theodicy – Encountering Evil
Instructions: Suffering and evil, as fundamental experiences of human life, have been a central concern in many religious traditions. In the following exercises, you will find a variety of different approaches to the phenomena of evil and suffering.
Example 1 – Taoism:
The first text is attributed to the Chuang Tzu (a.k.a. Zhuangzi), a fourth century BC Chinese poet and philosopher, representing the Taoist (a.k.a. Daoist) tradition. Central to his thought is the problem of suffering: how is it possible for human beings to live in a world that is absurd, chaotic, and the cause of intense anguish? Read the following two passages from his work:
Read: Chuang Tzu, Basic Writings (Links to an external site.)
Visit: Chuang Tzu: The Next Voice (Links to an external site.)
Question:
7.1. (a) What is the origin of suffering according to Chuang Tzu, and (b) how, according to him, does a person experience liberation from suffering?
Example 2- Buddhism:
A very different concept for the ultimate cause of suffering and evil can be found in the Buddhist tradition of The Four Noble Truths.
Read: Buddha Gautama’s first sermon: Sermon at Benares (Links to an external site.)
Visit the BBC religion page: The Four Noble Truths (and the Eightfold Path) (Links to an external site.)
Read about the: Four Noble Truths (Links to an external site.)
Read about the: Eightfold Path (Links to an external site.)
Question:
7.2. What is the Buddhist view of the cause of suffering?
7.3. What is the Buddhist “remedy” for suffering?
Example 3 – American Indian Religion:
In Native American myths, animals take an important role communicating fundamental experiences in human life. The coyote portrays a versatile god-like trickster figure. In the following myth, Coyote and Eagle Visit the Land of the Dead by the Yakima, coyote deals with the universal experience of death.
Read: Coyote and Eagle Visit the Land of the Dead (Yakima) (Links to an external site.)
Question:
7.4. (a) Describe the Native American Coyote and Eagle myth. (b) How does this myth help people cope with the suffering of death?
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