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Hinduism

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Hinduism

– Most ancient religious tradition in Asia (world?)– Vedas – Hindu sacred texts– Polytheistic - May be viewed as monothestic– Castes

• Brahman, priestly• Kshatriya, warrior/ruler• Vaisya, tradesman and farmer• Sudra, servant and laborer

– Untouchables (de facto 5th caste)

• Central belief is in reincarnation

• Transmigration of the soul• Cycles of creation – birth to

death to birth• Role of dharma & karma• Effect on diet

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Characteristics of Hinduism

• No clergy or religious requirements – • No real splintering or sects

– Can be practiced in many ways & at many levels so there was no need to “split off.”

• No concept of a personal God• Each individual is seeking to comprehend

the ultimate reality while living out his/her dharma with the goal of union with Brahman once the cycle of reincarnation is ended.

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Monotheism?

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Hindu Landscape

Ganges River

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Buddhism

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Buddhism

• Siddhartha Gautama – Kshatriya Caste• Buddha – Enlightened One• Four Noble Truths

– Life involves suffering

– Cause of suffering is desire

– Elimination of desire ends suffering

– Right thinking and behavior eliminate desire

• Diffused from India

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Buddhism

• Nirvana–Buddhism is a way of living that achieves

release from reincarnation and suffering

• God is not knowable, so is, therefore, not a major concern in Buddhism

• Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) rejected the caste system

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Buddhism

• Scriptures: Vinaya (discipline) – expanded later

• Branches:– Theravada (south) – monk seeks own

deliverance

– Mahayana (north) – role of bodhisattvas & ritual

– Tibetan Lamaism – example of syncretism

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Branches of Buddhism

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The Eight-Fold Path

The Way (the 8-Fold Path)

The threefold scheme of morality

1. Right understanding

2. Right thoughtFaith(initially)

Wisdom: III(ultimately)

3. Right speech4. Right bodily action5. Right livelihood

Morality: I

6. Right moral effort7. Right mindfulness8. Right concentration

Meditation: II

Buddhist Stupas

ThailandCambodia

Tibet

Buddhist Landscapes

Buddhist Stupa, Chiang Mai, Thailand

Grand Palace, Bangkok, Thailand

Buddhist Temple, Louang pPhrabang, Laos

Tibetan Buddhist Prayer Wheels Tibetan Landscapes

Wat Chedi Luang, Chang Mai Thailand

Grand Palace, Bangkok Thailand

Borobodour, Indonesia

Golden Temple, Kyoto Japan

Buddhist Temple, Kharkorin, Mongolia

Angor Wat, Cambodia

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Other Religions

• Eastern Religions– Confucianism – China – Taoism – China – Shinto – Japan – Zoroastrianism – Iran– Baha'i – Iran

• Animism and Shamanism

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TaoismThe natural is the essence

of all that must be known,and the place

where all must return

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Confucianism

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Shintoism

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Animism and Shamanism

• Animism • Belief in influence of spirits or spiritual forces in all

creation

• Characteristic of many African & Native American religions

• Shamanism• the religion of certain peoples, esp. some

indigenous to N Asia, based on a belief in good and evil spirits who can be influenced only by the shamans