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Hinduism
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Hinduism
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Most ancient religious tradition in Asia (world?)
Vedas – Hindu sacred texts
Polytheistic - May be viewed as monothestic
Castes
• Brahman, priestly
• Kshatriya, warrior/ruler
• Vaisya, tradesman and farmer
• Sudra, servant and laborer
– Untouchables (de facto 5th caste)
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• Central belief is in
reincarnation
• Transmigration of the soul
• Cycles of creation – birth to
death to birth
• Role of dharma & karma
• Effect on diet
Characteristics of Hinduism
• No clergy or religious requirements –
• No real splintering or sects
– Can be practiced in many ways & at many levels
so there was no need to “split off.”
• No concept of a personal God
• Each individual is seeking to comprehend
the ultimate reality while living out his/her
dharma with the goal of union with Brahman
once the cycle of reincarnation is ended.
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Monotheism?
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Hindu Landscape
Ganges River
Buddhism
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Buddhism
• Siddhartha Gautama – Kshatriya Caste
• Buddha – Enlightened One
• Four Noble Truths
– Life involves suffering
– Cause of suffering is desire
– Elimination of desire ends suffering
– Right thinking and behavior eliminate desire
• Diffused from India
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Buddhism
• Nirvana
– Buddhism is a way of living that achieves
release from reincarnation and suffering
• God is not knowable, so is, therefore,
not a major concern in Buddhism
• Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) rejected
the caste system
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Buddhism
• Scriptures: Vinaya (discipline) – expanded
later
• Branches:
– Theravada (south) – monk seeks own
deliverance
– Mahayana (north) – role of bodhisattvas &
ritual
– Tibetan Lamaism – example of syncretism
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Branches of Buddhism
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The Eight-Fold Path
The Way (the 8Fold Path)
The threefold scheme of
morality
1. Right
understanding
2. Right thought
Faith
(initially)
3. Right speech
Morality: I
6. Right moral effort
Meditation: II
4. Right bodily action
5. Right livelihood
7. Right mindfulness
8. Right concentration
Wisdom: III
(ultimately)
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Buddhist Landscapes
Thailand
Cambodia
Tibet
Buddhist Stupas
Buddhist Stupa,
Chiang Mai, Thailand
Grand Palace,
Bangkok, Thailand
Buddhist Temple, Louang pPhrabang, Laos
Tibetan Buddhist Prayer Wheels
Tibetan Landscapes
Grand Palace,
Bangkok Thailand
Wat Chedi
Luang, Chang
Mai Thailand
Borobodour, Indonesia
Golden Temple,
Kyoto Japan
Buddhist Temple,
Kharkorin, Mongolia
Angor Wat, Cambodia
Other Religions
• Eastern Religions
– Confucianism – China
– Taoism – China
– Shinto – Japan
– Zoroastrianism – Iran
– Baha'i – Iran
• Animism and Shamanism
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The natural is the essence
Taoism
of all that must be known,
and the place
where all must return
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Confucianism
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Shintoism
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Animism and
Shamanism
• Animism
• Belief in influence of spirits or spiritual forces in all
creation
• Characteristic of many African & Native American
religions
• Shamanism
• the religion of certain peoples, esp. some
indigenous to N Asia, based on a belief in good
and evil spirits who can be influenced only by the
shamans
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