Hinduism &Buddhism

HinduismHinduism is a religion that began

in India.The religion dates back to 1500

B.C., making it the worlds oldest religion.

There are 750 million Hindus in the world today.

Most Hindus still live in India.

Hindu BeliefsHindus believe in a single Divinity or

supreme God that is present in everything called Brahman.

Hindus also believe in other gods who are aspects of that supreme God such as the Trinity: Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu.

A Hindu believes that the individual soul (atman)

Karma and ReincarnationReincarnation is the belief that the soul

repeatedly goes through a cycle of being born into a body, dying, and being reborn again in a new body.

Karma, a force that determines the quality of each life, depending on how well one behaved in a past life.

Hinduism says we create karma by our actions on earth. If you live a good life, you create good karma. If

you live a bad life, you create bad karma.

ReincarnationSamsara is the wheel of rebirth which means the soul is reborn from one life form to another.

Continuous cycle of birth, death and rebirth

People may be reincarnated at a higher or lower level of existence depending on their karma from their present life.

People may be reborn as plants or animals or they may be elevated to a higher caste as a human.

Death is not final for Hindus as they expect to be reborn many times.

MokshaEach time a Hindu soul is born into a better

life, it has the opportunity to improve itself further, and get closer to ultimate liberation.

This liberation is called Moksha.One attains Moksha when one has "overcome

ignorance", and no longer desires anything at all.

The ones who reach this state no longer struggle with the cycle of life and death.

The way to get to Moksha is to not create any karma.

Three paths to achieve Moksha The path of duty, the path of knowledge, and the

path of devotion (unconditional surrender to God).

BrahmaThe Creator

Brahma is the first member of the Hindu Trinity and is “the Creator”

He periodically creates everything in the universe. (The word periodically here refers to the Hindu belief that time is cyclical; everything in the universe — except for Brahman and certain Hindu scriptures — is created, maintained for a certain amount of time, and then destroyed in order to be renewed in ideal form again.)

VishnuThe Maintainer or Preserver

Second member of the Hindu Trinity.

He maintains the order and harmony of the universe, which is periodically created by Brahma and periodically destroyed by Shiva to prepare for the next creation.

Vishnu is worshipped in many forms and in several avatars (incarnations).

Vishnu is an important, somewhat mysterious god. Less visible than nature gods that preside over elements (such as fire and rain),

Vishnu is the pervader — the divine essence that pervades the universe. He is usually worshipped in the form of an avatar VISHNU

ShivaThe destroyer

Third member of the Hindu Trinity,

Tasked with destroying the universe in order to prepare for its renewal at the end of each cycle of time.

Shiva’s destructive power is regenerative: It’s the necessary step that makes renewal possible.

Hindus customarily invoke Shiva before the beginning of any religious or spiritual endeavor; they believe that any bad vibrations in the immediate vicinity of worship are eliminated by the mere utterance of his praise or name.

SHIVA

DharmaDharma: ethical duty based on the divine order of reality.

The word is the closest equivalent to “religion.”

Belief that a person has an obligation or a duty

Varna-Social Class Brahmans or Brahmins - the intellectuals and

the priestly class who perform religious rituals Kshatriya (nobles or warriors) - who

traditionally had power Vaishya (commoners or merchants) - ordinary

people who produce, farm, trade and earn a living

Shudras (workers) - who traditionally served the higher classes, including laborers, artists, musicians, and clerks

Sacred Writings The Vedas collections of Sanskrit hymns

(written down 1200-900BCE, but based on older oral versions).

The oral traditions that had been handed down were recorded in sacred books called Vedas, or “Books of Knowledge.”

The Upanishads which means the inner or mystic teaching that were passed down from guru (teacher) to disciple (student).

Festival: DiwaliDiwali: “Row of lights

Takes place in Oct. or Nov.

It is a series of five festivals

Lights are floated on small rafts

If the candle remains lit, good luck

will follow.

India’s biggest and most important holiday of the year

The Ganges RiverFalling fromIts source of Vishnu’s feetonto Shiva’shead and outfrom his hair, the water ofthe Ganges issacred enoughto purify all sins.

Banaras - Hindu’s Holy CityPilgrims come from all over to bathe in the Ganges.

Countless Hindus come to Banaras to die.

It has 1500 temples, most of them devoted to Shiva.

It is a gathering place for the religiously learned and their disciples.

Jainism

Jainism is an ancient religion from India that teaches that the way to liberation and bliss is to live a life of harmlessness and renunciation. The aim of Jain life is to achieve liberation of the soul.

BUDDHISM The philosophy of Buddhism is based on the

teachings of Lord Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama (563 and 483 BC), a royal prince of Kapilvastu, India.

At the age of twenty nine he left the comforts of his home to seek answer to the cause of human sufferings.

Gautama became the enlightened one, the Buddha, after wandering and meditation for six years.

BuddhismBuddhism teaches its followers to

perform good and wholesome actions and to purify and train the mind.

Final goal is to achieve Nirvana

Spread of Buddhism The Buddha spent 45 years traveling throughout

India teaching the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.

Through his efforts, he was able to gain a large following of several thousand disciples.

After his death, the Buddha’s followers continued to travel, preaching the new religion throughout the Asian continent, into China, Japan, Korea, and eventually throughout the World.

Four Noble Truths Of Buddhism

Life is suffering; Suffering is due to attachment; Attachment can be overcome There is a path for accomplishing this.

Eight Fold Path Of Buddhism Right view is the true understanding of the four

noble truths. Right aspiration is the true desire to free oneself

from attachment, ignorance, and hatefulness. Right speech involves abstaining from lying,

gossiping, or hurtful talk. Right action involves abstaining from hurtful

behaviors, such as killing, stealing,

Eight Fold Path of Buddhism

Right livelihood means making your living in such a way as to avoid dishonesty and hurting others, including animals.

Right effort is a matter of exerting oneself in regards to the content of one's mind: Bad qualities should be abandoned and prevented from arising again; Good qualities should be enacted and nurtured.

Right mindfulness is the focusing of one's attention on one's body, feelings, thoughts, and consciousness in such a way as to overcome craving, hatred, and ignorance.

Right concentration is meditating in such a way as to progressively realize a true understanding of imperfection, impermanence, and non-separateness.