Download Chapter 6: Religion

Chapter 6: Religion
Buddhism
Distribution & Beliefs of
Buddhism
 About 400 million adherents (difficult to quantify)
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Significant clusters in China, Southeast Asia
 The Four Noble Truths:
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Must endure suffering
Suffering lead to reincarnation (a desire to live)
Goal = escape suffering/reincarnation into Nirvana
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Achieved through mental & moral self-purification
Eightfold Path: rightness of belief, resolve, speech, action, livelihood,
effort, thought, and meditation
 Three branches
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Mahayana (China, Japan, Korea) about 56%
Theravada (Southeast Asia) about 38%
Tantrayana (Tibet, Mongolia) about 6%
Other Universal Religions
 Sikhism (23 million followers predominantly in India)
 Nanak – first guru (religious teacher) in late 1400’s
 God is perfect & humans can continually improve and
move to perfection
 Amrit (Baptism) – declaration of faith
 Men wear turbans & don’t cut beards or hair
 Baha’I (7 million followers mostly in Africa & Asia)
 Meant to unite religions and establish a universal faith
 Get rid of racial, class, & religious prejudices
Origin of Buddhism
 Siddhartha Gautama
 Four trips leading to a meeting with a monk about
withdrawing from the world
 At 29, he left privileged life and meditated becoming the
“Buddha”
 Branches:
 Theravada – should become a monk to be a Buddhist
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Emphasizes self-help & introspection
Wisdom
 Mahayana – more accepting and less demanding
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Later life when Buddha taught
Compassion
 Tantrayana – combination of the previous two
Origins of Other Religions
 Sikhism
 500 years ago, Guru Nanak
 Guru Granth Sahib – holy book
 Baha’i
 Opposed by Shiite Muslims
 The Bab was executed in 1850 (with many followers)
 Baha’u’llah prophet of God
Diffusion of Buddhism &
Other Religions
 Diffusion of Buddhism
 Started in NE India
 Asoka, Emperor of Magadhan Empire adopted
Buddhism
 Sent out missionaries
 Spread through China
 China adopted widespread in the 4th Century (died out in
India around the same time)
 Then spread to Korea & Japan
Diffusion of Buddhism &
Other Religions
 Diffusion of Baha’I
 Bha’u’llah’s son spread religion
 Sikhism
 Relatively confined to Punjab region of
India
 British control pushed Sikhs more into
India
Holy Spaces
 Buddhists:
 Pagodas – house relics
 Not usually used for congregating to worship
 Baha’I
 Houses of Worship on different continents to show
universalization
 Sikhism:
 Golden Temple at Amristar – holy place
Buddhist Shrines – holy
locations of the Buddha
 Limbini – birthplace of Buddha
 Bodh Gaya – Buddha reached perfect wisdom
 Deer Park in Sarnath – Buddha’s first sermon
 Dhamek pagoda – likely oldest building in India
 Kusinagara – where Buddha died
 4 more: Sravasti, Samkasya, Rjagrha, & Vaisali
 Based on miracles performed by Buddha
Major Holidays
 Buddhist:
 Buddha’s birth, Enlightenment, & death
 Each branch celebrates in its own way
 Sikhism:
 Births & deaths of the 10 gurus
 Guru Granth Sahib – spiritual guide