Critique Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Critique - Essay Example In essence, justified theft can be committed in Buddhist tradition, in a specified circumstance. Justified theft in Buddhist tradition is committed with the objective of countering dishonesty. For example, I have witnessed Sakka commit a justified theft by stealing a stolen relic from Brahmin Dona, which would have resulted to a dishonor of Buddha’s relic. Additionally, the article depicts that, in Sri Lanka, there is a belief that a relic would disappear if it were not properly venerated. Essentially, the article demonstrates that a relic has the power to consent its own theft, and this is better understood as a theft not being a theft (Trainor, 1992: p7). 2. What did you find difficult to understand from the article? I found difficulty in understanding why conflict would arise among the eight territorial clans because they all want to own part of the relic. I also do not understand the reason why the clans, would not settle on establishing a single location in which the whol e of the relic would have been put for to ensure easier veneration. Instead, they settled on dividing the relics among themselves, which resulted in some individuals stealing the relic while other clans became unsatisfied. Moreover, I come short of understanding why the followers of Buddhist tradition would resolve to violate the traditions principles just to own the relic of the traditions founder (Trainor, 1992: p12). 3. What did the author do well, either in her argument or in presentation? The author did well, in the article, by providing a presentation that had an introduction of how the Buddhist tradition came to have a number of venerated relics. He also depicted how the concept of â€Å"theft not a theft† is established by providing various examples in Buddhist tradition and texts. Furthermore, his arguments are based on authoritative scriptural warrants, and thus, his article has arguments that are factual in nature. The presentation is chronological in the sense tha t it entails events that preceded the immediate death of Buddha. The article also enjoys a deep understanding of the Buddhist tradition and relics. Evidently, the author satisfactorily discussed how, in Buddhist tradition, a theft that is not a theft is committed. He shows this by discussing that a relic is powerful in that it can only be stolen from a place where it is not properly venerated. Lastly, the author did well by pointing out problematic areas in Buddhist tradition; firstly, the act of stealing is forbidden in Buddhist tradition, but acts of stealing relics exist. Secondly, the act of being attached to a relic is against the Buddhist teaching of being attached to objects, which can be put under human possession and manipulation (Trainor, 1992: p20). 4. What do you think the author could have done better? The author could have done better by giving the discussion on relics a different approach apart from the concept of â€Å"theft not a theft†. The concept could hav e entailed something like â€Å"honoring a dishonored cause†. This would eliminate the negativity that has been associated with a tradition whose founder had attained a high degree of enlightenment. Additionally, the author would have justified the above premise by providing scriptural warrants from Buddhist tradition and text. This would have resulted in a positive depiction of Buddhist tradition and the idea of veneration (Trainor, 1992: p3). 5. What personal reflections came to mind while reading the