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HINDUISM, TAOISM, and
BUDDHISM
Kindred religions
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Common elements
Emphasis on:
Acceptance of things the way they are
Overcoming desire
HumilityRecognizing that a human life is alwaysextremely short and personalachievements are strictly limited
Belief in a particular way of life: dharma
Belief in a universal principle of merit:karma
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Common elements
View of good and bad is more likelearning to ride a bicycle than learningspelling
Rather than a personal god whometes out punishment for breakingrules, these religions are based onuniversal forces or principles whichlead to pain and discomfort if they areignored (like someone who rides abicycle recklessly can get hurt)
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Hinduism
An ethnic religion of the
Indian subcontinent
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HINDUISM
A label that includes a wide range of:
Religious practices
Customs
BeliefsSacred places
Deities
Hinduism is tolerant of this variety anddoes not condemn certain religiouspractices or beliefs as evil
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Origins of Hinduism
Indo-Europeans were polytheistic andworshipped cattle
Brought their beliefs to the Indus Valley byrelocation diffusion from 1,400 BC
Rig Veda (oldest Indo-European document,written ca. 1,200 BC) is the foundation ofHinduism
The diversity of religious practice in India
suggests a process of syncretism(combination of cultures) during a phase ofexpansion diffusion
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Fundamental beliefs of Hinduism
Reincarnation
Karma
Caste system (4 main castes orvarnas, many sub-castes orjatis)
Brahmin
Kshatriya
VaisyaShudra
Sanctity of the cow
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Five Major Doctrines
Truth is one, Sages call it by different names
Rig Veda, 1.164.46
All Mankind is One Family
Hitopadesha, Subhashita Ratna Bhandagare
Law of Karma - As you sow, so shall you reapMahabharata, Shantiparva 299.42; BG 18.60
That mode of living which is founded upon total harmlessnesstowards all creatures or [in case of genuine necessity] upon aminimum of such harm, is the highest morality
Mahabharata, Shantiparva 262.5-6
Whenever there is a decline of virtue, God incarnates Himself onearth to uphold righteousness
Bhagavad Gita 4.7, 4.8
www.hindunet.org
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Brahman/Paramatman
Brahman is the supreme reality
Brahman has two aspects, transcendent(impersonal and unknowable) and immanent(personal and knowable)
In the impersonal aspect, Brahman lies outside therealm of human description and can only besensed as a presence within oneself and the restof the universe
God is immanent, the universe is the manifestationrather than the creation of God
In the personal aspect, Brahman can be known invarious formsthe many Hindu deities and therest of creation
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Deities(gods/goddesses)
Brahma: creativeforce
Vishnu: sustainingforce (incarnated as
Krishna and others)Shiva: force ofrenunciation, release,self-mastery
Hanuman (incarnation of
Shiva who has Rama inhis heart) : epitome ofdevotion
Ganesha (son of Shiva &Parvati): remover ofobstacles
Saraswati(Brahmasconsort): humancreative force, arts &sciences
Lakshmi(Vishnusconsort): prosperity,love, beauty, delight
Kali/Parvati/Durga(Shivas consort):
power, transformation,destroyer of evil
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Representations of Deities
Hanuman
service,
devotion,
intelligence,strength
Saraswati
arts andsciences,
knowledge,
purity
Krishna (an
incarnation
of Vishnu)
divine love
Shiva
Renunciation,
self-mastery
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Ganesh
Remover ofobstacles
Source of
knowledge (legendattributes theMahabharata toGanesh)
One of the mostcommonly-seenicons
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Hindu iconography
Images are meant torecall the various
aspects or powers of
a god, not to be literal
representations of aphysical form.
For example, four
arms on a god are
not meant literally torepresent a four-
armed god.
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He has four hands, elephant'shead and a big belly. His
vehicle is a tiny mouse. In hishands he carries a rope (tocarry devotees to the truth), anaxe (to cut devotees'attachments), and a sweetdessert ball -laddoo- (to rewarddevotees for spiritual activity).His fourth hand's palm isalways extended to blesspeople.
A unique combination of hiselephant-like head and a quickmoving tiny mouse vehiclerepresents tremendous
wisdom, intellegence, andpresence of mind.
www.hindunet.org
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Ganesh
Son of Shiva and Parvati
Was protecting his
mother while she
bathed. His father
returned and cut off
Ganeshs head, not
knowing the person who
kept him from his wife
was his own son.
Shiva solved the
problem by replacing his
sons head with the head
of a passing elephant
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Taoism
A spiritual philosophy
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TAOISM
A philosophy about how to live life well
Derived mainly from the writings of Chuang Tzu(ca. 250 BC) and Lao Tzu (6thc. BC)
Teaches a way or path that is beneficial to one
who follows itEliminates unhappiness & conflictFacilitates achievement of goals by abandoning striving
Aligns oneself with universal forces
Teaches that one who lives life well lacks nothing,because he or she desires nothing that is difficult to
obtainEncourages people to accept that things need to run theircourse, and not to resist the tendency of things to workout in a certain natural way
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Lao Tzu isconventionally
shown riding
an ox
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Quietism
Love of colors bewilders the eye and it fails to see right.
Love of harmonies bewitches the ear, and it loses its true hearing.
Love of perfumes fills the head with dizziness.
Love of flavors ruins the taste.
Desires unsettle the heart until the original nature runs amok.
These five are enemies of true life.
Yet these are what status seekers claim to live for.
They are not what I live for.
If this is life, then pigeons in a cage have found happiness!
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Chuang Tzu on humility
If a man is crossing a river and an empty boat collides with his
own skiff,
even though he be a bad-tempered man he will not become very
angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat, he will shout at him to steer clear.If the shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and
begin cursing.
And all because there is somebody in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty, he would not be shouting, and not
angry.
If you can empty your own boat crossing the river of the world,no one will oppose you, no one will seek to harm you....
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Tao
To name Tao is to name no-thing.
Tao is a name that indicates without defining.
Tao is beyond words and beyond things.
It is not expressed either in word or in silence.
Where there is no longer word or silence
Tao is apprehended.
(25:11, p. 226)
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Link between Taoism & Hinduism?
Buddhism combines elements of these two(although in the case of Taoism thediffusion path and direction is not known)
The transcendent (impersonal and
unknowable) aspect of Hindu religionDescends from early Hinduism as a kind of spiritualrevival
The quietist aspect of TaoismBelief that contentment arises when one calmsdesires
For sensory stimuli For wealth and achievement
For power
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