* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
Download Religions of India
Buddhist cosmology of the Theravada school wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism and sexual orientation wikipedia , lookup
Nirvana (Buddhism) wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism and psychology wikipedia , lookup
Noble Eightfold Path wikipedia , lookup
Buddhist ethics wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism and Western philosophy wikipedia , lookup
History of Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Greco-Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Four Noble Truths wikipedia , lookup
Gautama Buddha wikipedia , lookup
Buddhist philosophy wikipedia , lookup
Silk Road transmission of Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
History of Buddhism in India wikipedia , lookup
Sanghyang Adi Buddha wikipedia , lookup
Buddhism in Myanmar wikipedia , lookup
Decline of Buddhism in the Indian subcontinent wikipedia , lookup
Dhyāna in Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Buddhist meditation wikipedia , lookup
Women in Buddhism wikipedia , lookup
Religions of India Hinduism is the oldest religion in the world and its beginnings can be traced to India. Hindus believe in many gods, but they do recognize one supreme God. Hindus consider the other gods to be part of the one universal God, so their religious beliefs are a different form of polytheism. The three most important deities are Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the protector and Shiva, the destroyer. Hindus also believe in reincarnation. Reincarnation is a repeating cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth. This means that people have many lives. What a person does in each lifetime determines what he or she will be in the next life according to a belief called karma. Karma is the belief that the consequences of a person’s action in this life determine his or her position in the next life. The cycle only ends when the person reaches a mystical union with God by following his/her own individual paths. Hindus also practice meditation and yoga to bring them closer to God. Another major world religion that began in ancient India is called Buddhism. Buddhism was started by a young prince named Siddhartha Gautama. When Siddhartha was young, he discovered the world was full of suffering and this troubled him greatly. He left all his princely goods and set out on a journey of self-discovery to end world suffering. After six years of fasting, meditating and searching for true happiness, Gautama became Buddha. Buddha means “Enlighted One”. He believed the only way to find nirvana, true happiness, was to live a life in moderation, not too much or too little. He called his teachings the Middle Way. He developed The Four Noble Truths to explain suffering and greed. 1. Human life is full of suffering and sorrow 2. Suffering is caused by the desire to want more than you have. 3. Suffering will end when people overcome their greed. 4. People can overcome their greed and find happiness by following the 8-fold path. This path gives eight steps to living a correct life. Buddha believed by following the 8fold path, one would reach a level of enlightenment and end the cycle of reincarnation. The following principles are the foundations for how a true Buddhist should live and make up the basis of the eight fold path.: Know and accept the truth about life, resist evil, say nothing hurtful, respect all life, work in the service of others, think deeply and practice meditation. Buddhism originated in India, but eventually found its way to the eastern part of Asia where it became a very popular religion that is still practiced today.