Download Buddhism/Hinduism Notes - Troup County School System

Name: ___________________________________________________________________Period: __________ Date: __________
Religions of India
Standard: Identify the major achievements of Chinese and Indian societies from 1100 BCE to 500 CE.
Essential Question: What were the major achievements of Chinese and Indian societies from 1100 BCE to
500 CE?
Explain the development and impact of Hinduism and Buddhism on India and subsequent diffusion of
Buddhism.
Hinduism
Founder:
Sacred Writings:
Key Beliefs:
Homeland:
God:
Ceremonies:
Essential Question: What were the major achievements of Chinese and Indian societies from 1100 BCE to
500 CE?
Buddhism
Description:
Founder:
Sacred Writings:
Key Beliefs:
Diffusion
Homeland:
God:
Ceremonies:
Religions of India
Standard: Identify the major achievements of Chinese and Indian societies from 1100 BCE to 500 CE.
Essential Question: What were the major achievements of Chinese and Indian societies from 1100 BCE to
500 CE?
Explain the development and impact of Hinduism and Buddhism on India and subsequent diffusion of
Buddhism.
Hinduism
Founder:
 based on Aryan
religious beliefs
 no single founder,
added to over time
Homeland:
 India
 vast majority of Indian
people are Hindus
God:
 Brahman = ultimate reality (God)
 Hindu gods and goddesses
o gave ordinary Hindus a way to express
their religious feelings
o three chief deities
 Brahma the Creator
 Vishnu the Preserver
 Siva the Destroyer
Ceremonies:
Sacred Writings:
 Vedas = collections of hymns and ceremonies
passed down orally by Aryan priests and later
written down
 knowledge comes from the Vedas
Key Beliefs:
 Henotheistic – recognize existence of many gods but believe in only one supreme god
 Atman
o the duty of the individual self
o to seek to know this ultimate reality
 Fulfilling its duty would allow the soul to merge with Brahman after death
 Reincarnation
o 500s B.C.
o the idea that the individual soul is reborn in a different form after death
o after many existences, the soul may fulfill its final goal and unite with Brahman
 Karma
o an important part in reincarnation
o the idea that people’s actions determine:
 their form of rebirth
 the class into which they are reborn, if they are reborn as a person
 caste system
o religious basis created by the system of reincarnation
o higher caste members worthy of privileges because of good karma
o lower classes hoped to improve their social status in future lives if they behaved well in the
present
 Yoga (“union”)
o developed as a practice to achieve oneness with God
o seen as a kind of dreamless sleep
Essential Question: What were the major achievements of Chinese and Indian societies from 1100 BCE to
500 CE?
Buddhism
Description:
 sixth century B.C.
 new doctrine appeared in northern India
 rivaled Hinduism
Founder:
Homeland:
God:
 Siddhartha Gautama
 Northern India
 rejects the idea of a deity
o known as the
Buddha
o “Enlightened
One”
Sacred Writings:
Ceremonies:
 Mahayana Sutras
 Buddha Day
 The Tripitaka
Key Beliefs:
 taught:
o the physical realm is an illusion
o attachment to worldly things causes suffering
o giving up attachments stops suffering
o leads to Bodhi (wisdom)
 Nirvana
o ultimate reality
o reunion with the Great World Soul
o achieving wisdom is a key step
 the Four Noble Truths
 Eightfold Path
o also known as taking the Middle Path
o the way to achieve the Four Noble truths
 accepted reincarnation
 rejected the Hindu caste system
o taught that all individuals could reach nirvana as a result of their behavior in their current life
Diffusion