Overcoming desires was also at the heart of the Buddha’s teachings. Indeed, the Buddha offered his eightfold path to overcome desire and achieve nirvana or spiritual liberation as a loss of one’s sense of the self. Discuss the Buddha’s idea of nirvana or spiritual liberation/ freedom in the light of his ‘four noble principles’ and the ‘eightfold path’. Why and how did nirvana come to be seen as compassion in Mahayana?
(1) Write a good introduction and a conclusion in which you try to draw the attention of your readers to the significance of the topic under discussion. ‘Significance’ is what makes the topic relevant for our present. Ask the question, ‘So what.’ Why should one be interested in this topic today?
(2) Have an analytical approach to your paper. Do not merely state facts; try to analyze and explain them in the light of more fundamental issues at stake, for example, contrasting understandings of freedom in Buddhism and in modern politics/ democracy.
(3) Your paper should be well-organized and flow smoothly. There should be a logic in how one paragraph/ topic/ argument follows another.
(4) Write short and precise paragraphs. In long paragraphs you lose the sharpness and precision of your arguments.
(5) For citations, use Chicago Style. A document on Chicago Style will be uploaded on Canvas shortly.
(6) Wherever useful, use your lecture notes and the lecture handout.
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