Indigenous Traditions, Hinduism, and Buddhism

Answer

Indigenous Traditions, Hinduism, and Buddhism

                The biocentric worldview provides an insight into how to bring up a socially responsible community where all living things are provided with an equal opportunity and rights just as humans. Karma is one of the fundamental pillars of Hinduism. The principle of Hinduism suggests that karma is a mandatory process for all living organisms. However, through the dharma, people understand how they should behave to avoid drastic consequences.

The Biocentric Worldview of the Lakota

                Biocentrism refers to an ethical perspective suggesting that life should be provided with equal moral standing. The Lakota adopt the presented worldview by giving all living things an equal right and standing similar to humans. Lanza and Berman (2010) suggest that the biocentrism concept emphasizes that all living things should be provided with equal consideration. The Lakota associate biocentrism practices with traditional practices which offer all living creature with the same right. This stems from the notion that the members of the community consider animals to share the same features as humans in that they can feel pain in the same way as a human being. Therefore, their interest should be safeguarded. The Yoruba also adopt a similar view to the Lakota. The community has several myths and taboos which are animal related. Similar to humans, the Yoruba believe that animals can feel pleasure, joy and pain among others. As a result, the actions of the Yoruba hunters are regulated in that the violation of the taboos can result in similar experiences to the person's family. The illustration depicts that the Yoruba consider animals divine creatures on the same scale as human and should, therefore, be honored. Additionally, the members of the community also regard some animals sacred. Based on this depiction, they are expected to refrain from killing or eating them (Ratnakar, 2005). Examples of sacred animals to the Yoruba community include the parrot and the vultures. Moreover, several traditions have also been established among the Yoruba community depicting that animals and humans are equals. The members of the community provide animal and human sacrifice. The fact that both can be utilized as objects of sacrifice within the community suggests equality. Moreover, the fact that human beings provide their children with meaningful names guided the people from the community to provide essential names to animals as well. The names are a representation of the community’s worldview.

Karma and the Four Noble Truths

                According to the Karma doctrine, the actions of every individual determine the outcome that they experience in their lives. The results may be experienced immediately or may also be noted in the afterlife. Members of the Hindu community believe that incarnation is a process whereby the soul of an individual continually undergoes through a journey of suffering and repercussions arising from Karma until when it obtains spiritual righteousness. The Four Noble Truths is an integral part of Buddha's teachings. They are considered as the truth, cause, end and the path that leads to suffering. Karma is related to the outlined four folds since it suggests that one's actions will always determine if he/she will suffer in life or even in the afterlife. The repercussions of suffering are experienced by an individual until their soul is cleansed to obtain spiritual righteousness.

                Ratnakar (2005) reveals that the Four Noble Truths outlines a contingency plan which establishes the suffering that humanity goes through as well as its mental nature. Through the first truth, the presence of pain is described. Suffering is a consequence of pain as evident in the first truth. The second truth outlines the reason why one experiences suffering. Karma suggests that when one violates the set laws or behaves unethically towards the peers, they are likely to suffer in the process. Among the Buddhists, ignorance and desire are some of the significant factors which result in suffering experienced by an individual. The third truth suggests the end of suffering. Buddhists believe that achieving Nirvana puts one’s suffering to an end (Ratnakar, 2005). Karma holds that when one's spirit is cleansed, the process of suffering comes to an end. Through this, an assumption that pain is a cyclic process is derived. The fourth truth indicates that the end of suffering can be attained through the eightfold path which depicts the actions which one should consider to put the pain at rest. Mediation is one of them. In the case of Karma, repentance is provided with much weight when it comes to ending the noted suffering. 

Karma and Dharma

                The teachings of dharma suggest that the consequences of karma can be mitigated. Lanza and Berman (2010) outline that dharma unveils the spiritual practices and duties which are required of all Hindus. The members of the Hindu community who believe in the dharma doctrines and the karma principles have a vital role to play in promoting awareness on the biocentric worldviews. Having this in mind, a significant portion of the Hindu denomination has embraced the use of vegetarian diets. Hindus are motivated by incarnation beliefs and karma, which guides them to believe that their actions can result in their suffering. Therefore, they are guided to refrain from engaging in activities which could result in the violation of a taboo which further causes suffering.

 Considering Arjuna's moral dilemma, Arjuna has no option but to go into a war which he had put in a considerable amount of effort to avoid. The moral dilemma evident in this case is whether Arjuna should go into a war which would result in massive destruction of families and friends or refrain from engaging in the war. When faced with such instances, it is advisable that one should view outcomes from different points of view to understand the impact of his action if he opts to go into war. Drawing from the presented illustration, it is evident that the dharma comes in handy in providing a guide for people to make effective decisions based on the impact of their actions to the others. The fact that Arjuna's actions could destroy the cosmos means that karma could further result in drastic consequences if he opts to go into war. The outlined functionality also reveals that the Karma principle is associated with several ethical effects which arise from the choices and actions that one makes when faced by a stressful or noble situation. Through the fear of being incarnated within the Hindu community, the dharma has come in handy in promoting an understanding of proper means of avoiding challenging situations to avoid drastic consequences in the future.