The Dalai Lama and East Asian Suicide. | Argumentation #1
From a young age, kids are taught to appreciate everything that they have and receive. This idea stems from the Eastern Buddhist practice of contentment. The Dalai Lama states that, "when you practice contentment, you can say to yourself, 'Oh yes, I already have everything that I really need'". As children grow in the United States, however, they grow out of this mindset of contentment, and grow needy and materialistic. There should be a balance between wanting things and contentment, and bringing back the principles that we have been taught from the start. As people, the feeling of needing more, and the hunger for material items or titles can and has ultimately led to depression. In Eastern Asia, the stress for academic excellence is extremely high, making students from China, South Korea, and Japan some of the highest ranking students in the world. With that pressure come the high chance of teenage suicide as a result of heavy exam...