Download Ch. 3-2 - Images

Ch. 3-2
Hinduism and Buddhism
The Belief in Hinduism
Develops
• No single founder
• One of the world’s most complex
religions
• Combination of gods, Aryan and
Indus’ native gods
• Shared certain beliefs
One Force Underlies
Everything
•
•
•
•
•
Brahman at the top of all
Brahma = Creator
Vishnu = Preserver
Shiva = Destroyer
All can take form as human or
animal
Achieving Moksha is the
Goal of Life
• Moksha - goal of life (union with
brahman)
– Free oneself from selfish desires
– Most people can not achieve this in one
lifetime
• Reincarnation - rebirth of the soul to
another body.
– Allows the work to continue for moksha
Moksha Continued
• By following laws of karma, one
could advance closer to moksha.
• Karma - actions that affect a
person’s life or fate in the next life
• Humans closest to brahman,
animals, plants, objects
Moksha Continued
• Dharma - the religious and moral
duties of an individual
– Based on class, occupation, gender, and
age
• Key moral principle of ahimsa
– Nonviolence
– Everything is part of brahman and
should be treated that way
Jainism Develops from
Hinduism
• 500 B.C. Jainism is born
• Teacher = Mahavira
• Grew out of Hindu traditions and is
still practiced today
• Do not have to rely on Brahmin
priests
– Self-meditation, extreme forms of
ahimsa (carry brooms to sweep floors as
they walk)