Buddhini Karunathilaka

Do you have the courage or strength to maintain a smile when you go through with difficult situations? If you have faith in yourself, then it would not be difficult for you to go through with all the difficulties. Actually, as human beings we are subjected to challenges and hard times. When things are extremely difficult, faith keeps us going. It gives us strength in time of weakness in times of our lives. Having faith can be defined as your constant belief of yourself. You believe that you can achieve success whatever it takes by continuing to do so. You should have to maintain an unbreakable belief in yourself. It is essential for a successful living.  You should have to maintain a reasonable confidence in your own powers. Otherwise, you cannot be successful. You are the only person who is responsible for the quality of your life. Your faith will not remove your pains; instead, your faith will help you to go through with the pain. If you know how to guard yourself, then no one ca...

It is commonly accepted that Destutt de Tracy, who was a French enlightenment thinker first coined the term ‘ideology’. The term does not have a specific definition because it uses in deferent types of ways. However, ‘ideology’ can be defined as the ‘science of ideas’ in general. The term ‘ideology’ has first coined during the French Revolution and it has taken different other meanings thereafter. In general, ideology can be defined as ‘a set of idea, beliefs, and attitudes, consciously or unconsciously held, which reflects or shapes understandings or misconceptions of the social and political world’ (Craig, 1998, p. 681).  Usually, the term ‘ideology’ is used to define the normative beliefs and values that are accepted by an individual or a group of people which can be affected to economic and political theories. These assumptions might and might not have a factual basis. The term ‘ideology’ is used in various fields. To illustrate, in political field it is used to refer political...

Buddhism has usually regarded as a teaching, which is based on non-violence and peace. The discussion of peace is much needed one in the contemporary world because people experience violence through wars. Conflicts and violence occur in a larger scale form due to political crisis and economic injustice would be more harmful. Even Sri Lanka faced this type of a situation for 30 years. This study focuses on the Buddhist response of peace and this examines the causes of violence along with solutions on the way to prevent from violence. The Kosambiya Sutta is used as the main material for this study. This study examines the fundamental principle of the Buddha, which can be used to peace-building and peace-keeping. Need for security is one of the fundamental psychological drives. The Buddhist doctrine of non-violence (ahimsā) is used in this study in order to highlight what the Buddha emphasized instead of violence. The Buddha denounced violence and asked his followers to cultivate and prac...

Niccolò Machiavelli was an Italian philosopher contributed for other fields like politics, history, and poets. He was a revolutionary philosopher who expressed his views without fear of boundaries. Thus, Machiavelli has tried to describe power politics through The Prince. It was written in 1513, as an answer to the political situation, which was there in Italy in the 15th century. He opposed with the connection, which was there contemporary to him. Mainly, in the medieval period, at that time Catholic Church was dominant, everything was under the control of church. Even Greek knowledge (Aristotelian logic) has used to prove the existence of God. No one had the ability to go against pope and church because they have considered as the representatives of the God. Even the ruler was under the control of God. As such, there was a connection between religion and politics. However, Machiavelli has done a great revolution in political thought by opposing to that. In the eastern philosophy, Art...

Plato was the person who first coined the term imitation. The main difference between Aristotle and Plato on imitation is that Plato defines imitation as an ‘imitation of imitation’. Plato first coined the term ‘imitation’ (mimesis). According to him, a work of art is an imitation of imitation. He has combined his views on art and aesthetics with his epistemology (with Forms). This can be described through the Socrates’ metaphor of the three beds. They can be summarized as follows.  -One bed exists in the idea which was made by the God (Form) -Second bed is made by the carpenter (carpenter has been an imitator as he imitates the God’s idea) -Third bed is made by the artist by using the carpenter’s imitation Here the truth has removed twice. That means Plato has defined art as ‘an imitation of imitation’. First, the craftsman imitates the Form. Then the artist imitates what the craftsperson has created by using raw materials.  The artistic work is therefore removed further from...

“A rejection is nothing more than a necessary step in the pursuit of success” -Bo Bennett- What is the most hurtful thing that ever happened to you? The answer would be ‘rejections.’ Obviously, rejections are the most painful things that happen to any person. You have probably been rejected by family, friends or at least you employment application was turned down. You cannot control the things that happen in the world. Things are in a flux, so everything changes. Nothing is in your control. First, we should have to accept that. Rejections may happen at any time of your life regardless of the age, gender, country etc. In addition, rejections are an unavoidable part of life. Therefore, you need motivation to deal with rejection.  There are times in your lives that you are rejected. However, that does not mean that your goals are unachievable or you do not have enough capability to achieve your goals. You should have to believe in yourself even when others do not beli...

Punishment : A Brief Introduction The term ‘punishment’ is a very complex one. Even in the ancient tribes there have been punishments for the wrong deeds that people perform. Bronislaw Malinowski who was a British social anthropologist, wrote ‘crime and custom in savage society’ in 1926 and there he has stated that there were no law for punishments in the primitive societies. Criminals do not think about the punishments that will be given for what they have done. That is why the crime rates in the contemporary world increases. In the contemporary society, there are several organizations that have created with the purpose of giving punishments. To illustrate, courts and police stations are there to execute law and to do investigations about crimes. There are prisons and rehabilitating centers in order to execute punishment. However, punishments have done by the customs of the society. Customs that were used for punishments have turned into laws with the evolution of hum...