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Transcript
Power concedes nothing without a demand. Name: Date: Mr. Carey/Mr. Clarke Buddhism v. Christianity Buddhism v. Christianity I. Overview Despite having originated in two different areas of the globe and at different times (Jesus Christ lived about 500 years after Siddhartha Gautama, or the Buddha), the religions of Buddhism and Christianity share a number of similarities. Because both Jesus Christ and the Buddha are considered to have had a dramatic impact on world history—today, Christianity has nearly 2.1 billion followers worldwide, while Buddhism claims nearly 376 million—we must analyze the central values and development of each of these religions in order to understand why they are seen as so important. Directions: Actively read and annotate the provided texts on Buddhism and Christianity. While you read, focus on the questions below. When you have finished reading, respond to this question in the “Homework” section of your AP World History notebook. 1. 2. 3. In your own words, explain the ways in which Buddhism challenged the established social structures of India during the classical period (600BCE-600CE). Support your response with evidence from the “Ways of Buddhism” text. In your own words, explain why people were attracted to Jesus’ teachings. Support your respect with evidence from the “Origin of Christianity” text. Compare the lives of the Buddha and Jesus of Nazareth. Your response should include two textually-based similarities, as well as two textually-based differences. II. The Ways of Buddhism About the same time as Hinduism was emerging, another movement took shape in India that soon became a distinct and separate religious tradition—Buddhism. Unlike Hinduism, this new faith had a founder, Siddhartha Gautama (566-486BCE), a prince from a small north Indian state. According to Buddhist tradition, Gautama had enjoyed a sheltered and delightful youth but was shocked to his core upon encountering old age, sickness, and death in Indian society. Leaving family and fortune behind, he then set out on a six-year spiritual question, finally achieving complete wisdom, or “enlightenment,” at the age of 35. For the rest of his life, he taught what he had learned and gathered a small but growing group of followers who referred to him as the Buddha, or one who had awakened. (1) To the Buddha, suffering was the one thing that all human beings shared. This suffering, the Buddha believed, came from human beings’ attachment to things that were ultimately empty— things like money, sex, and physical beauty that never leave us satisfied. The cure for this suffering could be found in living a simple and moral life, combined with meditation practice. Those who followed the Buddha’s way most fully could expect to achieve enlightenment, or nirvana—a state of total peace and happiness in which one’s suffering finally ends. (2) Although much of the Buddha’s teachings reflected Hindu traditions (e.g., Hindus struggled to free themselves from the endless cycle of reincarnation to achieve unity with Brahman, just as Buddhists struggled to free themselves from suffering to achieve nirvana), other elements of Buddhist teaching sharply challenging Hindu thinking within Indian society. Rejecting the religious authority of the Hindu Brahmins, or priests, the Buddha mocked their rituals and sacrifices as irrelevant (unnecessary). Nor was the Buddha interested in questions about the existence of God or gods, as he emphasized that individuals had to take responsibility for their own progress and should not rely upon gods for assistance. Most importantly, the Buddha challenged Power concedes nothing without a demand. the inequalities of the Hindu-based caste system, arguing that neither caste position nor gender should be a barrier to enlightenment—the possibility of enlightenment was available to all. (3) Buddhism’s egalitarian message appealed especially to lower-caste groups and to women. Although Buddhism, like many religions of the time, maintained a patriarchal attitude toward women, thousands of women flocked to join the Buddhist order of nuns, where they found freedom and independence that was unavailable elsewhere in society. State support for Buddhism during the reign of Ashoka, in turn, helped the enw religion gain a foothold in India as a distinct tradition separate from Hinduism. (4) Over time, both within and beyond India, differences in understanding about Buddhist teaching emerged, and Buddhism split into two forms. The early form, Theravada Buddhism, portrayed Buddhism as an immensely wise teacher but not as a god and placed a lot of responsibility for achieving nirvana on the individual Buddhist. The later form, Mahayana Buddhism, portrayed the Buddha almost as a god and introduced the idea of bodhissatvas, or saint-like individuals who helped Buddhists along the path to nirvana. (5) III. Origin of Christianity Christianity came into existence with Jesus of Nazareth, a charismatic (attractive) Jewish teacher who claimed to be the Messiah, a religious figure for whom Jews had long waited, because they believed that the Messiah would save all of humanity. During Jesus’ lifetime, Nazareth was a small town in the Middle East under the control of the Roman Empire. Many people were attracted to Jesus’ teachings of devotion to God and love for all human beings. Roman and Jewish leaders considered Jesus to be a threat to their power, so in approximately 30 CE, Jesus was crucified. His followers believed that he rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, and Christianity was born as a religion separate from Judaism. (1) Christianity is based on both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. Christians believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that forgiveness of sins, and ultimately everlasting life, is achievable only through belief in the divinity (godliness), death, and resurrection of Christ. The Christian view is that the world was made by a loving God, but that the world has fallen away from what God wants for humanity. As the Son of God, Christ was the link between God and human beings. Christians are expected to seek to know their God, to worship him, and to practice love and service to other human beings. Many early Christians also believed that it was their duty to share this message with non-believers, and so Christianity became a strong missionary religion, in which Christians tried to convert non-Christians to Christianity. (2) IV. The Lives of the Founders The family background of the Buddha and Jesus could not have been more different. Gautama was born to royalty and luxury, whereas Jesus was a small-town worker from a distinctly lower-class family. But both became spiritual leaders who claimed to have personally experienced a higher level of reality. Those powerful experiences provided the motivation for their life’s work and the personal charisma (charm) that attracted their growing band of followers. (1) Both were “wisdom teachers,” challenging the conventional values of their time, urging the rejection of wealth, and emphasizing the supreme importance of love and compassion as the basis for a good life. The Buddha had instructed his followers in the practice of metta, or lovingkindness, toward others. In a similar vein, during his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his followers: “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Both Jesus and the Buddha called for the personal transformation of their followers, as seen in the Buddha encouraging his followers to let go of the attachments that caused them suffering, and in Jesus encouraging his followers to love others isn order to save themselves. (2) Power concedes nothing without a demand. Despite these similarities, there were also some differences in their teachings and their life stories. Jesus inherited from his Jewish faith an intense devotion to a personal, single God. According to the New Testament, the miracles Jesus performed reflected the power of God that was made available to him because of his relationship with God, who Jesus saw as his father. The Buddha’s original message, on the other hand, ignored the idea of a God and instead taught a path of intense self-effort and mindfulness to end suffering. (3) Furthermore, Jesus’ teachings had a sharper social and political edge than did those of the Buddha. Jesus spoke more clearly on behalf of the poor and the oppressed, directly criticized the injustice of the powerful, and intentionally spent time with the diseased, unfaithful women, and tax collectors, all of whom were seen as dirty or impure. These actions reflected his lower-class background, the Jewish tradition of social criticism, and the reality of Roman rule over his people, none of which matched the Buddha’s experience. (4) Finally, Jesus’ public life was very brief, less than three years, compared to more than 40 years for the Buddha. His teachings had so antagonized both Jewish and Roman authorities that he was crucified as a political rebel. The Buddha’s message was apparently less threatening to the powerful, and he died a natural death at age 80. (5)