Download Ch6/Sec2 cont.: Holy Places What is considered holy? 1

Ch6/Sec2 cont.: Holy Places
What is considered holy?
1) Universalizing religions:
- Cities & places associated w/ the lives of the founders
- Do not have to be near each other
- Do not have to be related to the physical environment
2) Ethnic religions:
- Associated w/ the characteristics of the physical environment
Pilgrimage: a journey for religious purposes to a place considered
sacred
Holy places in universalizing religions:
Islam:
 Cities associated w/ the life of Muhammad:
a) Makkah: shrine of al-Ka'ba (cube encased in black silk) in the Great
Mosque (Masjid al-Haram) that contains a black stone given to
Abraham by Gabriel as a sign of God's covenant w/ Ishamel
Pilgrimage to Makkah: hajj – by all able-bodied Muslims w/ adeqaute
financial resources at least once in a lifetime
b) Madinah: Muhammad's tomb in the 2nd largest moque of Islam, 220
miles north of Makkah
Buddhism:
 Locations associated w/ the life of Buddha:
a) Lumbini: the birthplace of Buddha in southern Nepal
b) Bodh Gaya: the site of his enlightenment, including the bo tree (Nepal)
c) Deer Park in Sarnath (the Dhamek pagoda in India): the site of his 1st
sermon
d) Kusinagara: the site of his death & passing into nirvana
1. Locations in India associated w/ miracles performed by Buddha:
a) Sravasti: created multiple images of himself & visited heaven;
monastery
b) Samkasya: went to heaven, preached to his mother, & returned to earth
c) Rajaghra:tamed a wild elephant; site of the 1st Buddhist Council
d) Vaisali: announced his impending death; 2nd Buddhist Council
Sikhism:
2.The holiest Sikh book, the Guru Granth Sahib, is kept at the Darbar Sahib
(the Golden Temple) at Amritsar in the Punjab by Arjan, the 5th guru
Holy places in ethnic religions:
Hinduism:
 Physical features of nature, such as mountains, riverbanks, coastlines
 Pilgrimage is called tirtha, an act of purification to reach redemption
 Hindu holy places are organized into a hierarchy by tradition
 Examples:
a) Mt. Kailas: Siva lives there (local mountains, too, if Siva visited them)
b) Ganges River: sprung forth from the hair of Siva (Hardwar location)
Cosmogony: a set of religious beliefs concerning the origin of the universe,
i.e. how people think of God(s)
Cosmogony in universalizing religions:
- God created the universe, including nature & human beings
- Religious people can serve God by modifying the environment & using
its natural resources, e.g. by cultivating land, draining wetlands, etc.
- God is more powerful than the laws of nature → God can overcome them
Examples:
Christianity:
 Earth was given by God to humanity to finish the task of creation
 independence from the tyranny of natural forces, frequently also the
mastery of natural forces (failure to make full & complete use of Earth's
natural forces is considered a violation of biblical teachings)
Islam: humans are representatives of God on Earth, capable of reflecting
the attributes of God in their deeds, e.g. by growing food
Cosmogony in ethnic religions:
 Ethnic religions are more likely to incorporate events in the physical
environment
- preserve the physical environment
- accept that only a few people can harness God's power, e.g. shamans
- accept environmental hazards, e.g. floods & droughts, as normal &
unavoidable; God can be placated, however, through prayer & sacrifice
 Examples:
Confucianism & Daoism: ying & yang, the 2 forces of the universe
- Ying: earth, darkness, female, cold, depth, passivity, death
- Yang: heaven, light, male, heat, height, activity, life
- They are in constant change; the goal is to achieve balance; w/o balance:
disorder & chaos; applies to the creation & transformation of all natural
features