In the Noh play Izutsu by Zeami (1363-1443) Buddhist concepts play a clear role in the poetic content of the text. In this poetry, the Buddhist philosophical concepts of material impermanence, human suffering (dukkha), and the unification of the spiritual self with the cosmos, appear throughout. These concepts also appear in the written words of Zen practitioners, whose poetry provides a window into the deeper Buddhist significance of the text. Buddhist doctrine begins with the diagnosis and cure of humanity's suffering via the Four Noble Truths. The First truth holds that life is suffering, or dukkha. The Second Truth indicates that the cause of that suffering is egoistic desire, or tanha. This being the case, then the Third and Fourth Noble…show more content… In like manner Izutsu pines: The divine vow to illuminate delusion / the divine vow to illuminate delusion / Revealed in the light of the dawn moon / headed toward the western hills / yet brightening the entire autumn sky; / the only sound, the voice of pines / swept by winds as stormy and uncertain / as this world of dream-deluded minds; / what sound will bring awakening? / what sound will bring awakening? (Brazell 147-48) This text brings to the forefront many of the same images as Royo's death poem, in particular those of the changeable natural environment. Even the image of pines nearly replicates itself in both texts. The text notes that the world is full of "dream deluded minds" that attach to the material environment, minds that are whipped by the same "uncertain winds" as the natural world. These correlations between the ever-changing material world and nature give the text a mood of wistful sadness that permeates nearly all of the poetic metaphors, and leads into pleading questions which utilize metaphor to beg for release from material care. The above quotation also represents a metaphorical exploration of enlightenment, a condition which brings the spirit to unification with…show more content… American History Research Paper: The Cold War For decades after the second World War, the American people believed that the United States was engaged with the Soviet Union in a "Cold War" that could escalate into a nuclear crisis at any moment. The media infiltrated the people with the terror of bombing, and the paranoia of being labeled "red," or Communist. The presence of this war without weapons was felt in the homes, in the schools and cities, and even in the entertainment industry; the entire country, from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s was in a state of constant anxiety. During and after World War II, the United States and some of her closer allies were suspicious of the Communist influence and intentions of the Soviets. When the victors of WWII met to decide what was to be done with Europe after the war, differing opinions from the Capitalists and the Communists led to extreme tensions. The media outlets began to take this tension and spread it to the American people, causing a climate of unrest. When the US began to take preventative measures against the Soviets, the measures were viewed