Download Eastern Religions Reading (1)

Name ___________________________________
The Eastern
The 5 Major World Religions
Religions
Hinduism
Hour _______
Hinduism is one of or possibly the oldest living religion in the world. It began about 4,000
years ago in the villages and cities of India. It took some of its ideas from the religious writings
of the ancient Aryans called the Vedas. Since ancient times, the people of India have believed
that rivers – especially the sacred Ganges River – were gifts from the gods. The Ganges River is
a powerful religious symbol for most Hindus.
In Hinduism, the river is a symbol for the soul. Just like a river, the soul is always the same, it’s
endless, yet it’s constantly being reborn or reincarnated, from lifetime to lifetime just as a river
starts in the same place, high in the mountains and is continually “reborn” as winter snow melts.
Hindus believe in the idea of reincarnation of the soul. This means that after a person dies, their
soul is reborn into another, new living thing. As part of this idea of reincarnation, they believe
that our actions in this life determine the human or animal form our soul takes in its next life.
This is called karma. An evil soul or a bad person, for example, might be reborn as a lowly
insect. A good soul or someone who lived a good life, might be reborn as a prince, a priest, or
a cow – an animal that is considered sacred to the Hindus. Hindus look at the cow as the most
giving of all animals. The cow provides milk and nourishment for the people of India. They
don’t however think of the cow as food (beef) like we might, because most Hindus are
vegetarians.
Hindus have also long accepted and used the Aryan and Indian idea of a castes system which is
a rigid system of ranking people’s class or place in society. At first, people from all walks of life
belonged to one of just four castes: priest, warrior, working people, or servant. Hindus
believed that people who followed their caste’s rules and lived a good life could rise to higher
castes in future lives after reincarnation. Those who did not, risked reincarnation as an
untouchable which is a person with no caste who is ignored by society and mistreated. Today,
India has officially outlawed the caste system, but Hindus still believe in the idea of being
reincarnated to a better station or place in life or a worse one if you do not live a good life.
In any case, the ultimate Hindu goal is not simply to earn a better caste, but to win release
completely from the endless rounds of rebirth, life, and death. Hindus seek to achieve spiritual
perfection and to be free from the pain and suffering of this world. They believe that when
you have perfected yourself and lived the perfect life, the cycle of reincarnation is broken for
you and you are freed from the cycle of reincarnation to become part of the spirit and energy
of the earth.
Hindus, are polytheistic which means that they worship many different gods. The most
important Hindu gods are Vishnu – the preserver of the world, Shiva – the destroyer and also
the creative force in the world, and Shiva’s wife, called Durga the goddess of destruction who
sometimes appears in different form such as Parvati or Uma, the goddess of motherhood. In
Hinduism, all of the gods and goddesses together make up one universal spirit, called the
Brahma or Brahman. Hindus also worship some gods that are only part human, like Ganesha
who is the god of success and destroyer of evils and obstacles. He is also worshipped as the god
of education, knowledge, wisdom and wealth.
While most Hindus worship by themselves or individually either outdoors, in temples, or in
their home, many Hindus do look to Sannyasis (holymen) and Gurus (teachers) to help guide
them. Many Hindu homes have small shrines dedicated to a god chosen by the family right
inside the home so that people may worship while they are at home.
Today, more than 700 million people follow the religion of Hinduism which makes up about
14% of the world’s people. Most Hindus live in India, but Hinduism has a strong following in
other Asian nations as well.
Buddhism
Like Hindus, Buddhists believe that existence is a cycle of death and rebirth. Unlike other major
religions, Buddhism does not stress a belief in a supreme-being or in powerful gods. Instead,
Buddhist focus on the idea of spiritual enlightenment, which must come from within each
person.
Buddhism began about 2,500 years ago in northern India, with the teachings of one man. This
man was a prince named Siddhartha Guatama. Siddhartha felt something was missing in his
comfortable palace life. He was saddened by the death, the disease, and the suffering he saw in
the world. He left his luxurious palace and gave away most of his belongings. At first, he
denied himself all comforts and pleasures to try to find perfect spirituality. But in the end, he
decided that suffering and denial were no better than luxury and laziness. So, he began to
meditate, which means to think deep thoughts. According to legend, Siddhartha finally attained
spiritual enlightenment while meditating under a bodhi tree, which is a type of fig tree. He then
became the Buddha, which means “the enlightened one.” Today, millions of people in Asia
follow the teachings of Buddha. They have built hundreds of temples in honor of Buddha – but
they do not worship him as a god. They just honor him as a teacher who helped show them
the true meaning of life. The Buddha’s teachings try to show others how to find perfect
spiritual enlightenment.
All Buddhists follow what they call the “Middle Way” which is a path of moderation, neither
giving in to your desires and wants, nor struggling to deny them. Instead, they seek a balance
and control over their inner lives. Buddhists believe by controlling the mind and spirit they will
achieve “nirvana”, which is a perfect state of peace and happiness. Buddhists believe that those
who achieve nirvana can escape the weary rounds of death and rebirth or in other words,
escape from reincarnation. Buddhists, like Hindus believe in reincarnation. By reaching
nirvana, Buddhists believe that they can achieve a profound and indescribable joy in life itself.
Though Buddhism began in India, it did not remain strong there after the death of Buddha.
Instead, several forms of it spread throughout other parts of Asia – to China, Tibet, Korea, and
Japan. Today, there are more than 300 million Buddhists which is about 6% of the world’s
population.
For Buddhists and Hindus, history and nature move in endless cycles. Life is a circle, a constant
repetition of birth and rebirth. Peace and happiness have to come from within a person, not
from the outside world.