Design a Flowchart for a Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Design a Flowchart for a Process - Essay Example If such a thing happens, the wins come from the bucket. The machine is designed in such a way that is able to keep the payout bucket filled automatically in the course of a play. After the payout bucket becomes full, silver dollars are then deposited in the second bucket that handles the winnings. The winnings bucket is usually periodically emptied in order for the winnings to be claimed from the casino. The flow chart that I have drawn shows the internal movements of the coin and the activities that take place externally that are controlled by the player. The machine is usually programmed in a manner that in case the payout bucket empties, the lights on the top side of the machine flash and the machine stops and that notifies the personnel in the casino that there is a person who has worn by emptying the machine. Most casinos usually size their payout buckets so as to ensure that the occurrence of winning is rare. If we perceive the payout bucket to be a buffer for silver dollars th at usually helps in the automatic running of the machine (Kari, 1999). A payout bucket that is small will mean that a casino will require more personnel that are required to attend to the machine and that will also create more time that the machine will be idle as a result of lack of silver dollars. ... Buffers that are large usually help the process to be more independent which is contrary to buffers that are small that would require more attention (Hemp, 2002). Factors affecting process design The design of the slot machine is usually affected by a number of factors. The factors include the following; 1. Size of buckets- the buckets that are used in the slot machine usually affects the running of the process. The buckets should be sized in a manner that there will be no much flow of personnel and that will cut on the costs. The cost that will be cut will include the cost of hiring new personnel and the cost of transporting money to the bank. The other factors include the risk factor that is associated with the transportation of money from the casino to the bank. 2. The flow of people into the casino- the functioning of the slot machine will be largely affected by the number of people that flow into the casino. The flow of people will affect the level of operations that will happen in the casino. That means that the income or revenue that accrues from the slot machine is directly affected by the flow of people (Menor, 2000). 3. the management of the slot machine or casino is also a critical factor that affects the way people will view the casino r the business that is been run in the casino. Metric measure The metric used to measure the effectiveness of the process is observing the number of recipients and matching it with the amount that is collected from the income of the casino. That is used to measure the effectiveness of the process and that will ensure that incase there is a complication it will be noted. Flow Chart for the process Yes Loose No Win No Yes Key Task or operations Storage areas or queues

The Effects of Lead Contamination on Fetal Brain Development Essay

The Effects of Lead Contamination on Fetal Brain Development - Essay Example From the discussion it is clear that the most common source of lead poisoning in the United States is from paint. Leaded based paint was banned in 1978 many decades after European countries; however, there are many old buildings in need of renovation that still contain lead pipes and paint. Steingraber notes that the effects of lead on the fetus were first observed by women worked in the white lead factories in 1911. The female workers found that once pregnant the disease, plumbism, seemed to be cured. Plumbism refers to the erosion of the brain capillaries from lead and indeed the women would have felt relief once pregnant as then the lead crosses the placenta into the fetus. As the report stresses lead poisoning causes long term, serious defects as it disturbs an enzyme process that produces heme, which is essential for cellular metabolism. Children under three and fetuses are the most susceptible as the brain has not completed the blood-brain barrier. Lead causes hemorrhage and swelling as it destroys the capillaries. The half life of lead in the blood is 35 days, it remains in soft tissue for 40 days and is then stored in the bones for 20 or 30 years. The lead levels may not reflect an accurate count of the total lead in the system as lead is released when calcium declines and soldiers with shrapnel wounds may have resurfacing lead return to the bloodstream. Lead exposure can happen in some unusual ways such as having consumed homemade liquor or moonshine or from chewing on an imported toy.

Challenges to The Walt Disney Company

Challenges to The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company Strategic Issues First Strategic Issue Walt Disney has experienced various strategic issues, and their strategic approaches have led to success. Its strategic management has identified the fact that their competitors could take advantage of the strategic weaknesses and pull the company behind in terms of market position. Although the issues are limited in such a successful company, they deserve maximum attention, as it is possible for them to act as threats towards the future welfare of the entire business. From a quick SWOT analysis, Disneys strengths are diversity and the surplus cash it attains from its business operations. Its weaknesses include the two strategic issues it is recently facing, its opportunities are expansion possibilities, and its threats include stiff competition. One of these strategic issues that Walt Disney has been facing is the loss of a good number of subscribers in the ESPN. Recently, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network of Disney is holding fewer consumers as compared to the past years when the company began. The major reason leading to this shift of customers to other internet programs that offer similar services is the fact that watching sports with Disney has turned out to be more expensive as compared to watching the same sports in other internet platforms. Its historical market position, which was high at that time, had been attained through appealing to customers regarding prices. When it is specifically about sports, there are different ty pes of customers. Both adults and youths across the globe have high interests in sports. However, the youths appear to have more time to invest in the sports as compared to the time adults invest. Therefore, the larger portion of customers consists of young people, who in most cases are jobless or flexible in terms their jobs. It is a fact that with their flexibility regarding careers, the youth does not earn a lot of money, meaning they will always take advantage of companies that deliver services at the least cost possible. When Disney was affordable, it appealed to the two categories of customers successfully by ensuring that it is the most affordable platform in the world. However, when the internet-based competitors found a way of broadcasting sports at lower prices and others free, Disney did not pay attention to the matching of these standards. For this reason, it lost the youths mostly to other companies. Losing its portion of youths to the competitors is a great issue, whic h, were it not for other strengths that exist in the business, would have caused the downfall of Disney as an international company. Second Strategic Issue The second strategic challenge that Disney is facing in the presence of its competitors is vitality in the market. Disney is dealing with entertainment, which is all about the preferences and tastes of customers. This dealing is capable of easily leading to its downfall if the companys management does not focus on the strategic approaches of satisfying the customers thirst in terms of what they have a passion for but does not exist in the market. In case the product exists already, it is the duty of the company to modify it and make it more interesting to the customers without altering the likes but scraping the dislikes. With this sensitivity, Disney has faced criticism every time it has a new release in the market as much as it faces motivating response. Bearing in mind that the two types of responses are from customers that the company takes as a duty to please, making changes to attract a larger portion of motivating customers than critics has been an all-time operational goal th at may or may never be achieved. It becomes worse when during its evaluation, Disney realizes a loss of positive claims having turned to critics. This is always a clear message from the public that the company has made an unpleasant release and if they take it for a trend, their market position will be at stake. This is how hard it is for Disney to maintain a good market position having concentrated on the customers taste and preferences alone. Other factors such as the cost of services make the situation worse than it already is. These two strategic issues only need to be attended to with the right approach in order to make the companys future bright (Rukstad Collis, 2009). Alternative Causes of Action Reduced Quality To address the above strategic issues and realize the best course of action, it is important that attention is afforded to the nature of the issues. This can be achieved through a value chain analysis that helps to indicate the companys operational strategy and goals. The loss of Entertainment Sports Program Network subscribers must have been brought about by a faulty strategy in the organizations way of setting its standards. To solve this, the company can buy the cheaper systems adopted by competitors. When other internet service providers decided to engage in innovative ways of lowering their prices, the company did not embrace this idea, as it looked out for maintenance of quality. As a matter of fact, the internet services providers decided to adopt new and cheaper facilities that enhanced this reduction of prices to reach out to the customers whom in their opinion, watching sports had become expensive. While doing this, the first and most essential side effect they were likely to experience is the reduction of quality. Reduced Prices The company can as well alter their operations in a way to slightly reduce their prices and maintain quality at the same time. As much these services were to be availed to customers at a reduced cost, they were also to be displayed at lower qualities as compared to those displayed by Disney. In this case, the market of the ESPN was split into two. There is the lower quality of services available for those that prioritize the amount of money spent on entertainment, and the other sector of the market generates high quality of services for people who do not mind spending a fortune for the sake of quality. With this division, it means that Disney is not ready to compromise its quality of output in order to lower prices and accommodate more customers. This is how it ended up with a limited number of customers as compared to its competitors providing services through various internet platforms. Reducing prices with maintained quality will help to maintain the current customers and to bring back those that it lost to competitors. Stable Products Thirdly, the fact that Disney deals with mainly entertaining products is the main cause of the fact that it is faced with a strategic issue of dealing with customers tastes and preferences. In its market, Disney has a chance of securing its competitive advantage through dealing with motivational and educative films more than the entertaining movies. An educative product is easier to deal with in the sense that it will have nothing to do with the judgment of the customers, and the success will all depend on the effort of the company towards gathering as much knowledge in its products as possible. This way, it is possible to predict the responses of customers to its new releases. Additionally, these types of products will maintain the types of customers that the company is appealing to, bearing in mind that the youths would embrace guidance and the adults too will help respond positively to pieces of advice offered concerning their business and social lives. Just to make the point clea r, it is for a fact that Disney has invested partly in these sectors, but the entertainment has taken a better part of its products. This has not only subjected it to the risk of customers responses based on their personal tastes and interests but also on the parental force against time wastage. Their cartoon products, for instance, are found to be excessively attractive to the children to the extent that they fail to attend to other demands such as academic works. This creates a force between the cartoon products and parents as they push the children to balance all aspects of life. On the contrary, parents also utilize the products in making promises and rewarding children whenever they want them to engage in or maintain good conduct. An example is a case where the children are motivated to work harder and perform better in class in order to be allowed to watch cartoon during their holidays. All it needs to do is buy facilities that will accommodate this type of production. This wo uld make their output stable, predictable and more profiting. All the above alternatives can be implemented in Disney to stimulate its line of business (Rukstad Collis, 2009). Recommendations Evaluation The alternative of making strategic alterations to reduce the expenses of producing their products in order to lower the prices of their services is a possible approach for the ESPN issue. This will allow them to avail the same quality of services to customers at an affordable price. This means that they will be appealing to both the customers that value quality more than cost and those that are out there negotiating for lower prices. In this situation, they will have attained competition perfection in the sense that competitors that offer services at lower prices as Disney does will not be providing as high quality as that of Disney. On this note, Disney can be boosted by other secondary factors such as making sure that there is a constant flow of game displays throughout the season. This means that they will be displaying sports events even when the companies with the poor quality of facilities will be facing breakdowns for one reason or another. Disney will be the home for custome rs who are not ready for interrupted sessions while watching matches. However, if Disney decides to follow suit as its competitors and produce low-quality products, it will be faced with the con of losing customers who value quality. These qualities of attraction will not only help Disney to retain its current customers but also bring back the youth it has lost as potential customers. This way, the current position of the company in the market will be maintained, and the opportunity to expand will have been utilized to make Disneys future more promising. As its only con, Disney will experience an added cost of operating. This is why, on a personal level, I would recommend the alternative of making strategic alterations to reduce the expenses of producing their products in order to lower the prices of their services as an approach for the ESPN issue. If the cartoons and other entertainment films do not appear to be interesting to customers as the company expects it, there will be a d ecline of the income, as the customers will not purchase the product. The worst con of it is the fact that previews that are displayed before the release of the product may lead to customers shying away from the product early enough. The advantageous purpose of these previews is to help the company predict the performance of the product in the market before it is released. The response of customers may help to detect the problem awaiting the release of a new product, but it will not help in offering a solution for the problem. Therefore, although the company will avoid tampering with its good historic reputation, it will not have evaded losses as the product has already been produced, making this alternative not good enough. This is an indication that there is not short cut towards evading this instability other than engaging in more products that will promote positional security in the market. Hence, to curb the second strategic issue, I would recommend that Disney takes advantage of its stability in the market to seize the opportunity of expansion through dealing with the products that it has not dealt with before. Feasibility On the other hand, if Disney decides to embrace the cheap facilities like competitors have one to tamper with quality only for the sake of prices, they will end up losing customers that value quality, which is the major con of this alternative. Secondly, they will have performed below their operational standards of consistently maintaining the high quality of its products. The only advantage of this alternative is the fact that it will earn back its lost customers who value cheap products. The fact that the disadvantages exceed the advantages, in this case, makes this alternative not feasible. The alternative of displaying previews does not help to find solutions for the instability of products. This means that the act will not have delivered the major expectation, thus, making it not feasible. Implementation Disney should make plans to reduce the cost of running and lower the prices of their high-quality goods. This will help the company to reach out to the customers who do not watch Disney sports because of the high prices. Secondly, it should begin to take steps towards embracing other types of products in the market in order to attain stability. Since one of the strengths of Disney Company is that it always has a substantial flow of capital, this means it has the capability to indulge in the line of other products as heftily as it has done with entertainment. Therefore, all that Disneys management requires is to make decisions based on the expansion strategies that concentrate on this mission as an operational goal. Offering other genres of films and movies will allow the company to attain stability in terms of its market position. Attracting the entire market with motivational and educative products is easier than the entertainment form of attraction. References Rukstad, M. G. Collis, D. (2009). The Walt Disney Company: The Entertainment King. Brighton: Harvard Business School.

The Great Gatsby :: essays research papers

The Great Gatsby Written by F. Scott Fitzgerald with notes and preface by Matthew J. Bruccoli   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Throughout the book many major characters were introduced some of which include: Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Tom and Daisy Buchanan, Jordan Baker, along with George and Myrtle Wilson. Jay Gatsby is the main protagonist of the story. While being famous for his lavish parties he also portrays a sense of mystery and uncertainty regarding his wealth. Nick Carraway is neighbors with Jay Gatsby and has just moved from Minnesota in hopes to learn the business of bonds and advance even more in his education. Daisy Buchanan is the woman, which Gatsby desperately desires to have. Daisy had promised to wait for Gatsby but her love for luxury and wealth was too great. Daisy then goes on to marry Tom Buchanan. Jordan Baker is involved with Nick Carraway romantically; she portrays a new woman of the 1920s and cannot at times be trusted. Tom Buchanan at one point went to school with Nick Carraway. Tom has his suspicions of Daisy’s relationship with Gatsby and questions the possibility of Daisy having an affair. George and Myrtle Wilson are husband and wife but Myrtle has a lover who is Tom Buchanan. George is incredible upset with Myrtle’s death and continues to kill Gatsby who took the blame for Myrtle’s death.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The novel takes place in the summer time somewhere around 1922. The location where the story takes place occurs in Long Island and New York City, New York. The mood of the story has an elegant yet emotional feel almost throughout the whole book. The emotional side is perfectly demonstrated by the amount of drama that goes on with Gatsby and Daisy relationship. While the elegant side is clearly demonstrated by the lavish parties thrown by Gatsby himself and the coveted East Egg side.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the beginning of the book we learn that Gatsby and Nick Carraway are neighbors and that Nick has connections with some of the people in the East Egg side. Later on Nick attends a dinner with Tom and Daisy Buchanan where he learns details of Tom and Daisy’s marriage. While at the dinner Nick is introduced to a woman named Jordan Baker. Words are passed between the two concerning others relationships. Next Nick engages in a party thrown by Jay Gatsby. During the party Nick learns of Gatsby’s past then he goes on to learn his plans for the near future.

Going Abroad Essay

When I was a junior student in high school, I got a chance to travel to Canada for a month. This trip was so unforgettable and also interfered with my study later on. The city I went to is Vancouver. This place is an easy and comfortable place to live. The weather is as warm as spring. I left my parents and lived alone for the first time. I lived with a local homestay. They were very kind to me, and the hostess was so warm that we still have contact right now. Once I got there, they went to the airport to meet me, and they hold up a board. The board said welcome to Canada in Chinese! I was greatly touched. During that month, I took the class with other students who came from other high school in China. There were four teachers who came from Canada local high school, taught us about Canada’s history, government, custom and took care of us at school. During the class, we also discussed the difference and similar between China and Canada. I noticed that I should to come out of th e country and see the whole world. We also had a principle took care of the whole team. The team just liked a mini school. After class, the teachers and principle became the tourist guides. They led us to visit the whole city. I had been to downtown to do some shopping, went camping and surfing as well. The most interested thing was the three-day camping. I never tried that kind of outdoor activity before, so I was so excited the day before we leave the homestay. The hostess helped me prepared my equipment and exhorted everything that I need to pay attention. On that day, the party set out towards to the destination, the Greentree Park. After two hours driving, finally we got there. The area of camping was opening ground with plenty of pine trees. It should have a lot of oxygen around us. After rest for a while, I started to pitch a tent. Before I went out, the teacher already taught me how to put up, but I never did it before. When I got the materials and the direction, I began to build it, and of cause this was hard to finish by myself, so I ask my friend, Mary for help. We spent an immense amount of energy, and the tent was been built finally. At that night, I slept in the tent, and through scuttle, I could see the sky was studded with twinkling stars. The sky was so beautiful and peaceful. I also could hear someone singing outside and voice was so sweet. It should be the most perfect scene I have seem. Rest of the day, I spent times with friend, draw a picture of what I had seem, and barbecued a lot of chicken for dinner. It was so much fun in those days. After this trip, I always mention it in my experiment when I talked to people. I am so glad that I can have this chance that can open my outlook. I can know more about the other country and accept different cultures. That can make me more confident and more vivacious.

Why Are Experiences of Stillness and Reflection (Meditation) Important to Buddhism?

Why are experiences of stillness and reflection (meditation) important to Buddhism? Meditation is a mental and physical course of action that a person uses to separate themselves from their thoughts and feelings in order to become fully aware. It plays a part in virtually all religions although some don't use the word ‘meditation' to describe their particular meditative or reflective practice. Meditation does not always have a religious element. It is a natural part of the human experience and is increasingly used as a therapy for promoting good health and boosting the immune system. Anyone who has looked at a sunset or a beautiful painting and felt calm and inner joy, while their mind becomes clear and their perception sharpens, has had a taste of the realm of meditation. Successful meditation means simply being – not judging, not thinking, just being aware, at peace and living each moment as it unfolds. In Buddhism the person meditating is not trying to get into a hypnotic state or contact angels or any other supernatural entity. Meditation involves the body and the mind. For Buddhists this is particularly important as they want to avoid what they call ‘duality' and so their way of meditating must involve the body and the mind as a single entity. In the most general definition, meditation is a way of taking control of the mind so that it becomes peaceful and focused, and the meditator becomes more aware. The purpose of meditation is to stop the mind rushing about in an aimless (or even a purposeful) stream of thoughts. People often say that the aim of meditation is to still the mind. There are a number of methods of meditating – methods which have been used for a long time and have been shown to work. People can meditate on their own or in groups. Meditating in a group – perhaps at a retreat called a sesshin or in a meditation room or zendo – has the benefit of reminding a person that they are both part of a larger Buddhist community, and part of the larger community of beings of every species. Meditation in Buddhism is a form of Bhavana, or self-development. The origins of Bhavana go back to ancient Indian spiritual exercises called Yoga. Hindu Yoga consists of 8 stages: 1,2 Making a conscious effort not to harm others and to establish good relations with them. ,4 Sitting postures and control of the breath. 5 Withdrawing the mind from external things and looking inwards. 6 Fixing the mind on a single object or thought. 7,8 Meditation, allowing the mind to rise above ordinary though and be directly aware of reality. These were taken up and developed by the Buddha. What Buddhists do when they meditate or worship may look very similar to the Hindu religion, but Buddhis ts do it in order to deepen the particular Buddhist view of life. There are two kinds of meditation: Samatha and Vipassana meditation. Samatha meditation is translated as ‘calm meditation’ or ‘tranquility meditation’ etc. Samatha meditation helps to control the mind and to become calm, so that the mind is focused upon a simple object or idea. For example, if we have tendencies towards greed and selfishness we might take death as the idea to focus upon for meditation. We then begin to see that everyone must die whatever they may be or do in their life. We will realise that greed is futile in the face of death and knowing this will produce feelings of calm and dispassion in us. Samatha meditation is practised to attain deep concentration of the mind only. The purpose of Samatha meditation is to concentrate the mind on this touching sensation or respiration. Whenever the mind goes out, the meditator brings it back on to the object of meditation, that is, the respiration or the touching sensation, because he wants to deeply concentrate the mind on a single object of meditation. When the mind goes out in Samatha meditation it must be brought back to the primary object, focusing the mind on the respiration. The Samatha meditator must not observe the wandering thought or thinking mind. He need not realise any mentality or physicality. What he needs to do is attain deep concentration of mind on a single object, focusing the mind attentively, noting the in- and out-breathing. When the Samatha meditator attains to access concentration or to absorption concentration, when his mind is totally absorbed into the object of meditation, there is no mental defilement in that concentrated mind. At that time the concentrated mind is purified from hindrances. This is called purification of mind because there is no greed, hatred, ignorance, conceit, jealousy and so on. So the meditator feels peaceful and happy. That is the benefit of Samatha meditation but when the mind is disengaged from the object of meditation, the concentration is also broken and the mind goes to many different objects. Therefore many thoughts come into the mind. When the mind is defiled with greed, anger or ignorance the meditator does not feel happy or peaceful. He has suffering. The Samatha meditator enjoys peacefulness of mind while his mind is deeply concentrated on a single object of meditation. As long as the mind is absorbed in the object, he feels peaceful calm, tranquil and serene. One type of Samatha meditation that is suitable for everyone is where the subject of concentration is our own breath. The concentration of our own breathing includes feeling the air gently filling your lungs and then flowing out through the nostrils. As you concentrate on breathing you come to realise the value of it because we depend on it for life. Breathing becomes more delicate, and it may even happen that our breaths appear to stop; our thoughts become less and less, and peace and happiness arise within us. Therefore it will bring calmness and a greater awareness of yourself and your physical body. There are many different possibilities of the ways to sit during meditation. The important thing is to feel comfortable and relaxed, but also to be upright and alert. The classical meditation position is ‘the lotus position’. This involves sitting cross-legged with the left foot on top of the right thigh and the right foot on top of the left thigh. While it helps for the body to be alert, relaxed and stable, meditation is really about the mind and the inner experience. Posture is a support to that but most Buddhist traditions do not regard it as an end in itself. Brahma Vihara means ‘Sublime State’ and by meditating upon the Brahma Viharas a person develops feelings of love, compassion, joy and peace towards all living things. The four Sublime States are: 1. Metta – This is usually translated as ‘loving – kindness’. In meditating upon metta, a person first of all wishes himself or herself well, and then spreads the positive and friendly thoughts outwards towards all other beings. 2. Karuna – This means active compassion understanding the nature of suffering and sharing the suffering of others. 3. Mudita – This is sympathetic joy in which the meditator shares the happiness of all other beings. 4. Upekkha – This is a state of peace and serenity, in which, with a well-balanced mind, a person looks on all beings – whether friendly or not – with the same positive attitude of care and well-wishing. Meditating on the Brahma Viharas may take the form of a visualisation. In the case of Metta Bhavana, or Meditation on Love, you would visualise the spreading of love from yourself to friends and family, to the community, and further on to the rest of the world. For the Brahma Viharas thought is action; meditating on the spreading of love throughout the universe. The effect of meditating off the Brahma Viharas is like ripples on the surface of water – gradually spreading outwards. Vipassana meditation is ‘insight’ meditation, it is realisation, seeing or right understanding. Vipassana meditation refers to a system of mental development that consists of looking inwards, looking at your mind as if you were an outside observer. In this way the meditator can break through the predictable workings of the mind to see things as they really are. Vipassana meditation is practises to attain some amount of concentration and to realise these three characteristics, therefore removing all thoughts and to experience the ending of suffering. In Vipassana meditation, the purpose is to realise all mental states and physical processes in their true nature. In this concept, their true nature means the three characteristics which every mental state and physical process possesses. Any mental state or physical process may be the object of meditation. So the Vipassana meditator must not take only a single object but take many varieties of objects. The Vipassana meditation is an important step on the path to enlightenment. In fact, it follows from the seventh step of the Noble Eightfold Path, Right Mindfulness, whereas Samatha relates to the sixth step, Right Effort. The Vipassana meditator follows the mind and observes it by making mental notes of all the movements and senses they observe such as the rising and falling movement of the abdomen and the hearing of a voice or of a distinctive sound. Due to these movements and sense they make notes within their mind, for example, when the abdomen rises the meditatior observes it, making a mental note ‘rising’. When the abdomen falls, the mediator observes it, making a mental note ‘falling’. The meditator does this for every movement for the abdomen and makes mental notes – such as these – for everything he observes. The meditator observes and follows the mind because the purpose of insight meditation is to realise the characteristics of any mental state or physical process. Therefore to realise the three characteristics of a wandering mind, but the meditator has to observe it as it is, making a mental note as `wandering, wandering', `thinking, thinking' and so on until that thought has disappeared. Only after it has disappeared should he return to the primary object, noting as usual. However, the Vipassana meditator needs to realise impermanence, suffering and the impersonal nature of the wandering, thinking mind. He must observe the wandering thoughts, the thinking mind as it really occurs, noting `wandering, wandering', `thinking, thinking', `imagining, imagining'. When you note these thoughts, your noting mind should be more attentive, more energetic and somewhat quick, so that it becomes more and more powerful, more so than the thinking process or the wandering process. When the noting mind becomes sharper, quicker and more powerful, it overwhelms the thinking mind or the thought process, which then stops in a short time. When the noting mind is weak, then it is overwhelmed by the wandering mind. The noting mind is dragged along by the thinking process the thought process goes on and on and the meditator can`t concentrate well. So to make the noting mind stronger, sharper and more powerful, the meditator notes the wandering, thinking mind more attentively, energetically and quickly. Then the thinking process stops and at that time the meditator notices thought doesn't last long. It arises and passes away. So here the arising and passing away of the thought is vaguely realised as impermanent, though not clearly realised. When concentration becomes deeper and deeper, the meditator comes to realise that these individual thoughts arise and pass away, one after another. A series of thoughts arises and passes away. Unless concentration is deep enough, the meditator is not able to realise it. The purpose is to realise these thoughts and their three characteristics. So, whatever thought arises in sitting or walking, the meditator must note them attentively, energetically and more quickly. When thoughts are noted they become less and less, and concentration becomes deeper and deeper. If the thoughts are not noted, they increase and sometimes they persist a very long time. Then concentration is weak. In Vipassana meditation, the meditator concentrates the mind to a certain extent on many mental states or physical processes. Then he realises the true nature of mentality and physicality, their impermanent, suffering and impersonal nature. His mind is purified at that moment because he realises these three characteristics of mental states and physical processes. He realises it, not through theoretical knowledge, not through learning scriptures but through his own personal experience of mental and physical experience, and this experience of the three characteristics is very deep and profound. This experience remains in the mind all the time though this insight knowledge of the three characteristics is also impermanent, suffering and impersonal. It occurs and passes away. The force of this insight knowledge remains in the thought process, in the process of consciousness, which continues for life. Therefore even though the meditator leaves the meditation centre and goes home or back to work, he may sometimes recollect his meditative experiences of these three characteristics, and they appear in his mind as if he is realising them at that moment. Then the mind is purified and he feels peaceful and tranquil. The benefit of Vipassana meditation is not only in sitting but also in the whole life and the next life. Therefore it helps the mind to be purified at any time. That's why the Vipassana meditator lives for peace to a certain extent. If he has attained any stage of enlightenment, the first stage, the second stage, the third stage or the fourth stage of enlightenment, if he has attained in any of these four, his mind is purer because some of the mental corruption have been uprooted by the path knowledge. He has lost some of the mental corruptions which cause suffering and he can live in peace and happiness to a certain extent. However, if he is able to attain all the four kinds of enlightenment, his mind is completely purified all the time and liberated from all kinds of mental corruptions. He will then live peacefully and happily. Zen is about living in the present with complete awareness. The word Zen is the Japanese equivalent of the Chinese Ch’an, meaning meditation. However, we have seen that many different schools of Buddhism place great emphasis on meditation as a means to enlightenment. All schools believe that all people have the ability to be enlightened, just as all people have the ability to be angry or sad. Zen therefore says that enlightenment exists within all human beings all the time. The aim of Zen practice is to become aware of one’s own enlightenment. This is called Satori. One important aspect of meditation is that it enables us to sit still and do nothing. It is said that the aim of Zen is not to aim. The meditation practice of Zen is called Za-zen, or sitting Zen. Sitting in the lotus position is very important, for it allows the meditator to breathe easily and slowly. He will put his hands into the dhyana-mudra and keep his eyes open. This makes them become fully in touch with the true nature of reality. Different schools of Zen do Za-zen in different ways: Soto meditators face a wall, Rinzai meditators sit in a circle facing each other. Zen considers there to be five kinds of meditative practices which go deeper and deeper. 1. Bompu is a very superficial form of meditation. Bompu means ‘ordinary’. 2. Gedo refers especially to meditative practices of other religions. These practices may be useful, but do not lead to enlightenment. The word gedo means ‘outside way’. 3. Shojo refers to Theravada meditation. Mahayana Buddhists often call Theravada ‘Hinayana’ or ‘small vehicle’ because they do not consider it to be capable of leading all people to enlightenment. Shojo is used for the same reason. 4. Daijo is Japanese for Mahayana, or ‘great vehicle’, and refers to meditation which leads to enlightenment. 5. Saijojo is the purest form of daijo, the highest form of meditation. A Zen practitioner tries to experience each moment directly. They don't let thoughts, memories, fears or hopes get in the way. They practice being aware of everything they see, hear, feel, taste, and smell. For example: when they eat they focus totally on the food and on the act of eating and prevent any thoughts in their mind. In Zen Buddhism the purpose of meditation is to stop the mind rushing about in an aimless (or even a purposeful) stream of thoughts. People often say that the aim of meditation is â€Å"to still the mind†. Zen Buddhism offers a number of methods of meditation to people – methods which have been used for a long time, and which have been shown to work. Zen Buddhists can meditate on their own or in groups. Meditating in a group – perhaps at a retreat called a sesshin or in a meditation room or zendo – has the benefit of reminding a person that they are both part of a larger Buddhist community, and part of the larger community of beings of every species.