Eastern Religions

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Eastern Religions

• Hinduism and Buddhism

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Hinduism

• Ancient Aryan beliefs blended with Harappan
  customs to form Hinduism
• Evidence of its origins come from the Vedas

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Hinduism

• Belief system
• Single force in the Universe known as Brahman
• It is the duty of the individual (Atman) to seek
  to know its ultimate reality
• One can achieve oneness with God by training
  through Yoga

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• Had a number of human-like Gods
• Brahma the Creator
• Vishnu the Preserver
• Shiva the Destroyer
• Many Hindus regard these three as extensions of
  the Great World Soul (Brahman)

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Reincarnation

• Around 600 b.c. the concept of Reincarnation
  emerged
• Karma the actions in your life determine your
  rebirth in the next
• Dharma the divine law that rules Karma

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Implications of Reincarnation

• A persons current status is not simply an
  accident. It is a product of the persons
  actions
• More is expected of those at a higher level in
  the scale
• Duties must be performed regardless of earthly
  consequences
• A religious basis for the rigid caste system

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Buddhism

• Emerged in the 6th century b.c.
• Siddhartha Gautama was born around 563 b.c.
• He was a young, handsome prince from a small
  kingdom in the foothills of the Himalaya
  Mountains
• At age 16 he married and lived a life of luxury

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Buddhism

• When in his late 20s, Siddhartha became aware of
  pain and suffering in the world
• He devoted his life to finding a way to end human
  suffering
• He used meditation to try to find the meaning of
  life
• One night, under the bodhi (wisdom) tree he
  reached enlightenment

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Buddhism

• The four noble truths
• Ordinary life is full of suffering
• This suffering is caused by our desire to satisfy
  ourselves
• The way to end suffering is to end desire for
  selfish goals and to see others as extensions of
  ourselves
• The way to end desire is to follow the middle Path

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Buddhism

• The Middle Path (The 8-fold path)
• Right view
• We need to know the four noble truths
• Right intention
• We need to decide what we really want
• Right speech
• We must seek to speak truth and to speak well of
  others
• Right action
• Do not kill do not steal do not lie do not be
  unchaste don not take drugs or drink alcohol

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Buddhism

• The Middle Path (The 8-fold path) cont.
• Right livelihood
• We must do work that uplifts our being
• Right effort
• Follow the example of the ox in the mud
• Right mindfulness
• We must keep our minds in control of our senses
• Right concentration
• We must meditate to see the world in a new way

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Buddhism

• Believed the Hindu concept of reincarnation
• Rejected the Hindu division of human beings into
  castes
• All people could achieve enlightenment
• Popular with the lower classes
• Believed that women were unfit for the priesthood
• Rejected the worshiping of his image or of gods

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• Differed from Hinduism in its simplicity
• Philosophy or Religion?