religion in asia

what is another name for religious studies

comparative religions or history of religions

theology

The field of inquiry dealing with the nature of the divine

what two issues do religious studies hope to address

origin and status

name 3 misconceptions about religions

1. religious beliefs and practices are uniform

2. they do not change

3. religion is seperate from politics and culture

ultimate reality

The truth about how the world is, what exists, and what religion is correct

Theistic

Religion believes there are gods

Nontheistic

Religion believes in divine happenings but no gods

Transtheistic

Religion believes in gods, but they are not central to the religion or are not vital to the most crucial religious issues

Polytheism

Many gods

Monotheism

One god

Henotheism

There are many gods, but one of them is more important than the others

Pantheism

The divine is identical to nature or the material world

Atheism

No belief in God

Monism

All reality is ultimately one

Revelation

How the reality of religion was revealed to people (Component of all religions)

Scriptures

Sacred texts

Cosmology

Religious understanding of the world

Tempocentrism

The tendency to think that the present moment is the peak of all human history

Emile Durkheim

french philosopher, father of sociology, church = moral community, people must follow the rules of a united system of beliefs

William James

Feelings, acts, and experiences of individual men, and how they see themselves in relation to a higher power

Paul Tillich

german philosopher/theologian, religion is the biggest concern in anyone’s life (ultimate, infinite, unconditional)

Karl Marx

German political philosopher, atheist, Religion is what you find within yourself when you are lost, people make religion, opium of the people

Sigmund Freud

religion came from the oedipus complex

Absolute Monism 

All of reality is one (can say “I am god and god is me”)

Absolute Dualism

Divine and material worlds are seperate (can say “I am god and god is me”)

(myths about hinduism) what is the perjorative putdown?

eastern religions have been subject to scruinty and ridicule by the western world, labelled hedonistic and savage

(myths about hinduism) what is romanticism?

Romanticizing the caste system, holding it up as the gold standard, Hinduism is not meant to be better than other religions, glorification of the past

(myths about hinduism) what is the noble savage?

Infantilizing Indian people, Good Indian people vs bad Indian people according to a Western standard, religionism (religious prejudice) like racism or sexism

(myths about hinduism) what is interpretation by imposition?

Looking at Indian culture post-colonialization or looking at it through a colonial filter, assuming things about it that you don’t know

(myths about hinduism) what is benign neglect?

The idea that other people can live in their world, and I can live in mine, no study of culture outside one’s own, ignoring people who are not like you

the word hindu comes from

a term used to describe people who lived in the indus river valley

what is brahman

one ultimate reality, many different manifestation, he is god but he is also everything and everyone else

a manifestation of brahman is called a

deva

samsara

the cycle of life, death, and rebirth

moksha

freedom from samsara

what is the oldest hindu religious text

the vedas

brahmin

priest, ruling caste

karma

the universal system of good and bad energy, continues until you are released from samsara

dharma

the customs and spiritual duty one must perform

adharma

The opposite of what is dutiful and right following dharmic rules

phala

the consequences of an action

Dristha Phala

the immediate result of an action

Adristha Phala

the future or unseen result of an action

what are the 4 states of consciousness within AUM

A – Waking, 

U – Dreaming, 

M – dreamless sleep, 

AUM – oneness with Brahman

AUM

the sound of the universe, produced by brahman

Avatar

god coming down to earth

what 3 gods make up the cosmic triad?

brahma, vishnu, and shiva

brahma _____ the universe, vishnu _____ it, and shiva _____ it.

created, preserves, destroys

all living things are _____ to hindus.

sacred

what are the 4 castes?

brahmin, kshatria, vaisha, and shudra

jati

your birth group (not exactly caste)

varna

your color or ethnicity

t/f: hindus practice idol worship

t

which hindu sacred text outlines the phases of devotion and life as a hindu?

the asramas

what are the 5 phases outlined in the asramas?

1. student phase

2. householder phase

3. forest-dweller phase

4. renouncer phase

what two volumes make up the first vedas?

sruti and smriti

which hindu sacred text is written in sanskrit and is the source of dharma, revelation, and the wisdom of the ancient sages (rishi)?

sruti

which hindu sacred text was written by a person and contains the epics?

smriti

what are the 3 epics contained within the smriti?

puranas, darshanas, and tantras

which hindu sacred text contains precise rules for the performance of rituals?

brahmanas

which hindu sacred text is the culmination of the wisdom of all the vedas and contains philosophy about self-knowledge and brahman?

upanishads

which hindu sacred text is part of the mahabharata, contains a story about krishna and arjuna, and outlines the margas?

bhavagad gita

what are the 3 margas outlined in the bhavagad gita?

Karma-marga, jhana-marga, and bhakti-marga

which hindu sacred text is speculative and concerned with ritual sacrifice?

aranyakas

what is karma yoga?

proper action with the proper attitude, ultimate goal of self-realization and union with the divine

what are the 3 jewels of buddism?

the buddha, the dharma, and the sangha

sangha

community of believers

buddha

enlightened person named siddhartha

mara

demon that the buddha had to face while he was under the tree

what 3 groups are the attributes of the noble 8-fold path sorted into?

wisdom, virtue, and concentration

what are the 3 yanas?

theravana, mahayana, vajrayana

what language are many buddhist scriptures written int?

pali

what area of the world produced the theravada?

thailand, vietnam, burma, laos

what area of the world produced the mahayana?

china

what area of the world produced the vajrayana?

tibet, china, japan

what buddist text contains the discourses and sermons of the buddha?

sutra pitaka

what buddhist text contains 7 scholastic treatises about reality?

abhidharma pitaka

what buddhist text means “that by which one is led out from suffering”?

vinaya pitaka

sallekhana is

a jain nun tradition of fasting to death

for centuries, jains have been very successful in

business

what are the jain religious texts called?

jinas

jains believe that the __________ life offers the spiritual path that best replicates the lives and follows the teachings of the jinas

ascetic

what is the goal of being a jain

to attain kevala

kevala

omniscience, complete understanding, or supreme wisdom

which type of jain nuns allow women to attain kevala?

 shvetambaras

t/f: attaining kevala is the jain precursor to moksha

t

what are the two types of jain nuns?

shvetambara and digambara

who founded sikhism?

guru nanak

jiva

the soul/spiritual being that gets tarnished by karma across several rebirths

who is the founder of jainism

mahavira

tirthankara

a savior and supreme teacher of the jain dharma

jains follow a primarily ____ diet

vegetarian

business-wise, jains are more invested in _____ than agriculture

trade

how many jains live on earth rn?

6-7 million worldwide, mostly in india, 105,000 in north america

relationship between jains and muslim rulers

mixed, ranging from persecution to mutual acceptance

jains’ relationship to ghandi

ghandi became a devout jian bc of his mother, liked core jain principles like nonviolence, was good friends with jain poet Shrimad Rajacandra

t/f: jains have kept detailed accounts of their religion’s history

f

laity

an ordinary jain worshipper

historians tend to agree with the traditional view that Mahavira 

already practiced some established form of jainism