Transcript Theravada Buddhism

Hinduism
Founding
• No single founder
• No single sacred text
– Vedas – primary text containing hymns, incantations, and recitations
– Upanishads – collection of philosophical texts
– Bhagavad Gita – one of the Upanishads; considered the best
summary of Vedic thought
• Grew out of a combination of various groups:
– Ancient religion of the Indus River Valley
civilization + Brahmanism of the Aryan invaders
Brahman
• God is one, but is known by many names
• Everything in the universe is part of the
unchanging, all-powerful force called Brahman
• Brahman is too complex for most people to
understand
• People worship gods that give a concrete form
to Brahman
Gods
• One “god” (Brahman) represented by millions
of deities
• Monotheistic or Polytheistic?
• Guru – spiritual guide
Brahma the
Creator
Vishnu the
Preserver
Shiva the
Destroyer
Life
• The ultimate goal of a
Hindu is to attain
moksha, or union with
Brahman
• Since this usually takes
more than one lifetime,
Hindus believe in
reincarnation
(“transmigration of the
soul”)
• Reincarnation: rebirth of
the soul in another
bodily form
Other Beliefs
• Karma: Your good or bad deeds affect your
future, and the future of those around you
• Dharma: religious duties that help one acquire
merit for the next life
• Ahimsa: nonviolence – another key principle
of Hinduism
Diwali
• Festival of Lights
– Four days of celebration in late Fall/early Winter
– Largest holiday for Hindus
Holi
• Celebration of Light
– Welcoming the Spring
(March)
Caste System
• All existence is ranked:
– Brahman
– Humans
– Animals
– Plants
– Things
• This leads to the creation of a social Caste
System in India
Buddhism
Siddhartha Gautama
• Hindu from the
foothills of the
Himalayas
• Born around 566
BCE into a royal
Kshatryia family
• Raised in a lavish,
protected
environment
The Buddha
• When he saw for the first
time a sick person, an old
person, and a dead person
he left a happy married
life to discover the realm
of life “where there is
neither suffering nor
death”
• Meditated for 48 days in
one place and he believed
he understood the cure
for suffering and sorrow
The Four Noble Truths
• The heart of Buddhism
1. All life is full of suffering, pain and sorrow.
2. The cause of suffering is the desire for things
that are really illusions, such as riches, power,
and long life.
3. The only cure for suffering is to overcome
desire.
4. The way to overcome desire is to follow the
Eightfold Path.
The Eightfold Path
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Right views
Right aspirations
Right speech
Right conduct
Right livelihood
Right effort
Right mindfulness
Right contemplation
Dharma Wheel
• The goal of Buddhists is to reach enlightenment, or
nirvana, which means union with the universes and
release from the cycle of rebirth
Branches
• The Buddha’s teaching spread from northern
India and was gathered into the Tripitaka
• Two schools of thought:
– Theravada Buddhism: closely follow Buddha’s
original teaching
– Mahayana Buddhism: made following Buddhism
easier for ordinary people
Holidays
• Vesakha – The Buddha’s birthday (first full moon in
May)
– Public holiday
– People attend temple to hear sermons, practice meditation
and honor the Buddha with various ceremonies
Buddhism in India
• Hindus incorporated the Buddha into their
religion, making the Buddha another Hindu
god (an “avatar” of Brahman)
• Because of this, Buddhism declined in India
but is popular in many other Asian countries
Percentage of cultural/nominal adherents of combined
Buddhism with its related religions (according to the highest
estimates)
Hinduism vs. Buddhism
• Similar:
–
–
–
–
Karma
Dharma
Moksha
Reincarnation
• Different:
– Buddhism rejects the priests of Hinduism, the formal
rituals, and the caste system
– Buddha urged people to seek enlightenment through
meditation
Jainism
• Origins traced to the Indus River Valley civilization
of 3000 BCE
• Stress spiritual independence and equality of all
life – strict vegetarianism and respect for all living
things
• Ahimsa (nonviolence) and self-control are vital
for attaining moksha (realization of the soul’s true
nature)
• Like Buddhism, it arose as a protest against the
ritualism of Hinduism
Sikhism
• Founded in 1469 CE at a time when India was
being torn apart by castes and religious
factions
• Grew out of a combination of Hinduism &
Islam
• Respect all religions; one God and many paths
• God = Truth (“SatNam”)
• Located primarily in the Punjab region