Eastern Religions

1
Eastern Religions Culture
2
Religion in South Asia (India)

• Hinduism is the major religion in India.
• 80 of Indias population is Hindu.
• Muslims live mainly in Pakistan, Bangladesh, and
  North India
• Religion influences language daily rituals in
  South Asia.

3
Hindu Beliefs

• Hinduism teaches that there is a great spirit who
  can take the form of many gods.
• Because of this, Hindus consider themselves
  monotheistic even though our curriculum calls
  them polytheistic.
• To Hindus, all life is holy and all living things
  have souls.
• Depending on the way a person lived, rebirth may
  return the person into a higher or lower caste or
  an animal.
• This belief is referred to as reincarnation.
• Note Cows are sacred in Hinduism and many devout
  Hindus are completely vegetarian

4

• Hinduism
• Grew out the Aryan culture, the Vedas, and the
  work of Brahman priests
• Everyone has a moral duty dharma
• Good actions are rewarded and bad ones punished
  karma
• People are reincarnated and either move up or
  down on the caste system based on their karma
• Ultimate goal is to be reunited with the
  universal spirit after living as Brahman priest

5
The Caste Pyramid
6
The Caste System

• Castes - social groups traditionally divided into
  different levels in India
• Below the caste system were the untouchables.
  They did the jobs that caste members did not want
  to do and were considered unclean. They were
  forced to live separately from others.
• People tended to accept their caste and work hard
  wherever they were because they believed that
  they could move up to a higher caste in their
  next life (according to Hindu beliefsreincarnatio
  n)

7
Hinduism
8
Population Patterns

• 22 of the worlds population live here
• A rich, complex mix of cultures
• Six major religions and hundreds of languages

9
Human Characteristics

• India
• Many higher caste/class members speak English
  (its one of the official languagesIndia was
  formerly a British colony). Hindi is another
  official language spoken by millions.
• Hindu majority
• Also Muslim, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, and Christian
• People belong to one of hundreds of jati
• Social groups/ classes
• Pakistan and Bangladesh
• Mainly Muslims
• Used to be East and West Pakistan (split away
  from India after the British left b/c of
  religious tension)

10
Urbanization

• Urban populations on the rise throughout South
  Asia
• Rapid Urban Growth
• People migrate for better jobs and higher wages
• Cities are overcrowded

11
Arts and Recreation

• Arts and Recreation in South Asia are strongly
  influenced by religious traditions
• Art incorporates worship of Hindu gods and
  goddesses
• Cricket and other British sports are popular
• Favorite Indian pastimes include yoga, chess,
  badminton, and polo

12
Families

• In most cases, South Asian marriages are
  arranged.
• The woman leaves her family to live with her new
  husbands extended family (including his mother,
  father, living grandparents, brothers, and
  unmarried sisters).

13
Important Leaders from South Asias past and
present (details to follow in our next unit)

• Mohandas Gandhi
• Mohammed Ali Jinnah
• Indira Gandhi
• Jawaharlal Nehru
• Benazir Bhutto

14
Moving EastChinas role in East Asia

• China has a long and impressive history of
  influencing surrounding nations throughout
  Southeast Asia.
• It is the largest country in East Asia and the
  most highly populated on Earth.
• It is the third largest country in the world and
  is credited with many inventions still used today.

15
Chinas People

• Communism has changed the way of life in China.
  Family structure has changed drastically (One
  Child Policy)
• Chinese language is written in characters unlike
  our alphabet.
• Major beliefs include
• Confucianism (system of behaviornot a true
  religion)
• Daoism
• Buddhism (most popular in China)

16
Lifestyle/Celebrations

• Celebrations
• Diwali for Hindus
• Ramadan for Muslims
• Buddhists celebrate the birth of Buddha
• Chinese New Year (secular holiday) is considered
  The Largest Human Migration on the planet yearly

17
Buddhism

• Buddhism is the majority religion in China. It
  was brought to the region by an Indian prince
  named Siddhartha Gautama and it teaches that
  human suffering is caused by selfishness or the
  desire for things. Buddhism teaches followers to
  rid themselves of selfish desires and live in
  harmony. Instead of seeking worldly gains,
  Siddhartha said that people should form good
  thoughts and good behavior. Siddhartha came to
  be called the Buddha, which means the
  enlightened one. Buddhists also believe in
  reincarnation.

18
Buddhism

• -Four Noble Truths
• The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence
  of Buddha's teachings, though they leave much
  left unexplained. They are the truth of
  suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering,
  the truth of the end of suffering, and
  the truth of the path that leads to the end of
  suffering.
• -Noble Eight-fold Path
• -seeking enlightenment

19
Buddhism
20
Confucianism

• Confucianism is a set of rules for behavior
  established by the great Chinese philosopher
  Confucius. He taught that family members have
  responsibilities to one another and emphasized a
  respect for learning because learning brings us
  closer to perfection. Confucianism is NOT a
  religionit is a belief in how one should behave
  and how society should function.

21
Daoism

• Daoism is a religion founded by Laozi who lived
  during the same time as Confucius. Dao
  literally means the way and teaches to accept
  calmly whatever fate brings. It also teaches
  that you should leave things alone and try not to
  change them.

22
Arts and Recreation in China

• Landscape painting and use of ink and watercolor
  are popular.
• Socialist realism is a type of art that serves
  the masses and supports communism.
• Popular East Asian recreations include swimming,
  table tennis, and martial arts.

23
The Traditional and the Modern

• Family loyalty
• Large families with many generations
• Agrarian society
• Foot-binding era of women
• Written language in characters
• Religion/beliefs
• Confucianism
• Daoism
• Buddhism

• State loyalty
• One child policy
• Rise of Industry
• Changing role of women
• Pinyin
• There is limited to no religion

24
Communism and Mao

• The Chinese Communist Party was founded in 1921.
• People wanted social reform
• They wanted to fight western imperialism
• Mao became Chairman after the Long March.
• The Long March served as a symbol of the
  dedication of the revolutionaries to the CCP.
• 1949, established Peoples Republic of China after
  overthrowing the nationalist party in a civil war
• China was hopeful and wanted to change its world
  image.
• Maos Hundred Flowers Movement, Great Leap
  Forward,
• and Cultural Revolution proved unsuccessful.

25
Japans People and Their Beliefs

• Japanese consider themselves to be a homogeneous
  (all of the same or similar kind or nature)
  group.
• Almost all Japanese belong to the SAME ethnic
  group, speak the SAME language, share the SAME
  history and have SIMILAR values.
• They take great pride in being the same.
  Individuality is not emphasized in their culture
  like it is here in the USA.

26
Feudal Japan
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Religion in Japan

• Most people in Japan are (all at once) -
• Shinto - belief in kami, or spirits
• Buddhist - believe that suffering is caused by
  selfishness
• Confucian - belief system that emphasizes the
  importance of honoring ones parents, of being
  honest, respecting others, working hard and
  acquiring learning

28
Shinto

• Shinto ("the way of the gods") is the indigenous
  faith of the Japanese people and as old as Japan
  herself. It is only found in Japan.
• Shinto is based on belief in, and worship of,
  kami
• sacred spirits which take the form of things and
  concepts important to life, such as wind, rain,
  mountains, trees, and rivers
• Humans become kami after they die and are
  revered by their families as ancestral kami.
• So to review, Japanese believe that there are
  spirits (kami) in nature and ancestral spirits
  (kami)

29
Characteristic features of Shinto

• Shinto regards the world as fundamentally a good
  place and human beings as fundamentally good.
• Shinto has no founder
• Shinto has no all seeing, all knowing, eternal,
  creator God
• Shinto does not require adherents to follow it as
  their only religion
• Many Japanese follow Buddhism as well as Shinto
  and for much of history Shinto and Buddhism were
  effectively combined in Japan.
• Shinto has no tradition of missionary work or
  making converts. It is part of Japanese culture
  uniquely and is only found in Japan.

30
Values

• Many Japanese believe society is more important
  than any one person.
• At an early age children in Japan are taught
  loyalty and respect for the common good (the
  group is more important than the individual)

31
Duty and Loyalty

• Responsibility is an important concept in
  Japanese culture.
• It is believed that everyone has a certain
  position in society and certain responsibilities.
• People are taught they have special
  responsibilities or duties to their families and
  their leaders.
• Failure to do ones duty causes a person to lose
  face. This brings shame and disgrace to the
  entire family.

32
Origin of tradition of respect

• Japanese values of RESPECT and LOYALTY evolved
  from the traditions associated with samurai
  warriors.

33
Samurai

• Samurai (or bushi) were members of the military
  class, they were Japanese warriors.
• They used a variety of weapons such as bows and
  arrows, spears and guns their most famous weapon
  and symbol was the sword.

34
Bushido

• Samurai were to live their lives according to the
  ethic code of bushido (the way of the warrior)
• Bushido stressed concepts such as loyalty to
  ones master, self-discipline and respectful,
  ethical behavior.
• The samurai's loyalty to the emperor and his
  overlord, or daimyo, was unsurpassed.
• They were trustworthy and honest.
• They lived frugal lives with no interest in
  riches and material things, but rather they were
  interested in honor and pride.
• They were men of true valor.
• Samurai had no fear of death.
• They would enter any battle no matter the odds.
• To die in battle would only bring honor to one's
  family and one's lord.

35
Death and Dishonor

• Samurai would commit suicide for a variety of
  reasons including
• avoiding capture in battle
• to mourn the loss of their daimyo
• to regain honor after committing a misdeed or
  unworthy act
• Seppuku--or disembowelment or hara-kiri (belly
  slicing)--is when a samurai stabs a knife into
  his abdomen and literally disembowels himself by
  cutting out his guts.
• After the samurai disembowels himself another
  samurai, usually a kinsman or friend, slices his
  head off.
• A samurai would rather kill himself than bring
  shame and disgrace to his family name and his
  lord. This was considered an act of true honor.