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World History
Chapter Three
Section Two
Hinduism and Buddhism
• Hinduism – no single founder
• Came about from Aryans merging their
religion with the Indus Civilization
• Other peoples added their gods and
goddesses
• Hinduism became a complex mix of gods and
goddesses
Beliefs
• Everything is part of the all encompassing
force of Brahman – supernatural force
• Worship many gods
• Most important: Brahma – creator, Vishnu –
the Preserver, Shiva – the Destroyer
• Can take many forms, animals or humans
• Sacred texts – Vedas, Bhagavad-Gita
Moksha
• Atman – essential self – could be a form of
Brahman or the same as Brahman
• Goal of Hindus is to reach Moksha – union with
Brahman
• Must free themselves from selfish desires that
separate them from Brahman
• Cannot achieve it in one life time – must be
reincarnated
• Reincarnation – rebirth of the soul in another
bodily form – allows people to work towards
moksha through several lives
Hinduism
• Can achieve moksha through obeying karma
• Karma – all actions in a persons life that affect
their fate in the next life
• Humans are the closest to Brahman, then
animals, plants, rocks, waters
• Good and bad karma – earned in life
• People are reborn in a higher or lower level
• Dharma – religious and moral duties of a
person
• Ahimsa – nonviolence – everything is an
aspect of Brahman and deserve to be
respected
Jainism
• Mahavira – founded Jainism – grew out of
Hinduism and is still around today
• Emphasizes meditation, self denial, and
extreme forms of ahimsa
• To avoid killing living things, even an insect
they carry brooms to sweep the ground
Caste Systems
• Caste – social system in which people are born
into a group and rarely can move out
• Caste told people what they could do, where they
could go, what they could eat, how to dress
• Could not marry or eat with anyone outside of
your caste
• High-caste people had rules in place so they
would not have to be around lower class people
Untouchables
• Today called dalits – life was hard and
restrictive, feared they could get polluted
from them
• Had to use a wooden clapper to warn of their
approach
Social Orders
• Caste system ensured social stability
• If they fulfill their duties in present caste, they
will come back to a higher level
• Gave people identity and independence
• Each caste had its own leader
• Over time additional castes developed as new
people came to the subcontinent
• Thousands of castes and subcastes
Buddhism
• Siddharta Guatama – religious reformer
• Teachings spread across Asia and became
beliefs for Buddhism
• He was a prince, mother had a dream,
interpreted that he would become a
wandering holy man
• To prevent this, he was kept in a palace and
never let outside
Buddhism
• At age 29 his life changed
• Went beyond the palace walls and saw an old man, a sick
man, and a dead body – he became aware of human
suffering
• Was deeply disturbed and left family
• Wandered for years seeking truth from Hindu holy men
who could not satisfy him
• Sat next to tree and sat there until he understood the
meaning of life
• Throughout the night he was tempted by evil spirits to give
up meditating but he fended them off
• When he rose, he understood the cause and cure for
suffering and sorrow = became Buddha
Buddhism
• Four Noble Truths – Heart of Buddhism
• 1: All life is full of suffering, pain, sorrow
• 2: The cause of suffering is nonvirtue, or
negative deeds and mindsets such as hatred
and desire
• 3: The only cure for suffering is to overcome
nonvirtue
• 4: The way to overcome nonvirtue is to follow
the Eightfold Path
Buddhism
• Eightfold Path – right views, right aspirations,
right speech, right conduct, right livelihood,
right effort, right mindfulness, right
contemplation
• Final goal is Nirvana – union with the universe
and release from the cycle of rebirth
Comparing Buddhism and Hinduism
• Buddhism came from Hinduism
• Both stress non-violence and believed in Karma,
dharma, and cycle of rebirth
• Differences:
• Hinduism focused on priests, rituals and gods
• Buddhism focused on enlightenment through
meditation
• Also rejected the caste system – offering nirvana
to all
Spread of Buddhism
• Buddha gained many followers across India
while he preached
• Some who accepted Buddha’s teachings set
up monasteries and convents for meditation
and study
Collecting Buddha Teachings
• At age 80 Buddha ate spoiled food and died
• Before he did he said “Decay is inherent in all
things”
• Followers collected his teachings in the
Tripitaka “Three Baskets of Freedom”
• Overcome anger not by becoming angry.
• Overcome evil with good.
• Overcome the liar by the truth.
Buddhism Spreads
• Missionaries and traders spread Buddhism
• Split into two sects (subgroups):
• 1: Theravada Buddhism – followed Buddha's
original teachings. Required life devoted to
spiritual work. Only most dedicated, monks and
nuns, could hope to reach nirvana
• 2: Mahayana Buddhism: easier for ordinary
people, picture Buddha as a god even though he
said not to worship him. Believe in an afterlife
with many heavens and hells – spread to China,
Korea, Tibet and Japan
Buddhism Declines in India
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•
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Slowly declined in India
Hinduism absorbed some Buddhism teachings
Included Buddha as another Hindu god
Some Buddhist centers in India survived until
1100’s A.D. until they fell to invading Muslim
armies