World Religions Study (From Increase’s set)

Buddhism: Experiential

Third Watch of the Night = Enlightenment

Buddhism: Mythic

Jataka Tales = Buddha's 1000 lives and Prince Sumeda's life

Buddhism: Doctrinal

The Eightfold Path = the fourth noble truth that is a type of meditation that can lead to nirvana

Buddhism: Ethical

The Middle Way = Living between extreme

Buddhism: Ritual

"Light trance meditation" = focusing on the self and the way to alleviate suffering

Buddhism: Social

Sangha = monastic communities formed by arhats who learned from Buddha

Buddhism: Material

Bodhi Tree = where Siddhartha meditated and learned the Four Noble Truths

Confucianism: Experiential

Chun-tzu = becoming the ideal man

Confucianism: Mythic

Confucius wandering the world for 13 years

Confucianism: Doctrinal

5 virtues = character traits that ensure the growth of family, country, and self

Confucianism: Ethical

shu = silver rule

Confucianism: Ritual

Middle sacrifice = done by court officials in autumn and spring

Confucianism: Social

5 relationships (rulership, parenthood, marriage, siblingness, friendness)

Confucianism: Material

The Analects = sayings of confucius; confucian temple; spirit tablets

Taoism: Experiential

We-wei = go with the flow

Taoism: Mythic

Lao Tzu conceived by a shooting star at 82

Taoism: Doctrinal

Tao = world’s natural order

Taoism: Ethical

Non-aggression and non-violence

Taoism: Ritual

Taoist contemplation = questions asked of one's self to be sure you're in line with the Tao

Taoism: Social

Figure of the Sage = expert on Taoist way of life

Taoism: Material

yin yang = the harmony and balance people must seek

Analects

The collected sayings of Confucius. [Confucianism]

Chun-tzu

The mature person, an ideal human being with perfect moral character. [Confucianism]

Dukkha

The first of the Four Noble Truths, the basic Buddhist insight that suffering is part of the human condition. [Buddhism]

Jataka Tales

A large collection of Buddhist morality stories in which the Buddha recounts some of his past lives on his long road to enlightenment. [Buddhism]

Jen

“Goodness,” “love”, and “benevolence:” treating others kindly. [Confucianism]

Li

“Rite,” “propriety:” proper behavior in any circumstance. [Confucianism]

Middle Way

A basic Buddhist teaching that rejects both pleasure and self-denial, instead focusing on a practical approach to spiritual attainment. [Buddhism]

Nirvana

The ultimate goal of all Buddhists: the extinction of desire and selfhood that liberates one from samsara. [Buddhism]

Paradoxes

Sentences with contradicting ideas that reveal deeper truths; found in the Tao Te Ching. [Taoism]

Sangha

The Buddhist community of monks and nuns; started by the Arhats after Buddha’s death. [Buddhism]

Shu

The Silver Rule: “Do not do unto others what you would not want them to do to you.” [Confucianism]

Tao

The moral order that permeates the universe; ethics. [Confucianism]

The ultimate source and the principle of order in the universe; nature. [Taoism]

Tao Te Ching

Taoism’s foundational text authored by Lao Tzu, which contains many paradoxes and the general teachings of Lao Tzu. [Taoism]

Wu Wei

The supreme Taoist virtue of “actionless activity,” becoming perfectly in harmony with nature and the universe.

Yin and Yang

Yin: positive, active, masculine, and heavenly

Yang: negative, passive feminine, and earthly

Not opposites, but different aspects of reality that complement each other.

[Taoism]