Unit 2 World Religion Exam Study Guide

What is Brahman? How does this compare to Atman?

What is Brahman? How does this compare to Atman?

Brahman is the eternal essence of reality and the source of the universe, beyond the reach of human perception and thought. Atman is identified with Brahman but is typically for the external self. Brahman may be lowercase if it refers to the external self or the soul of an individual that was reincarnated from one body to the next and is identified with Atman. They are both understood through contemplation; Brahman through contemplation of the Universe and Atman through contemplation of the self and inner being.

How does Hinduism approach the concept of reincarnation or samsara?

Hindus generally accept the doctrine of rebirth and the complementary belief in karma. The whole process of rebirth, called samsara, is cyclic, with no clear beginning or end.

What is the ultimate goal for Hindus?

Moksha is the ultimate aim in life for Hindus. It means to be saved (salvation). For Hindus, it is often shown that reincarnation is similar to just changing clothes.

What is dharma?

Dharma is the ethical duty where someone puts others before themselves. Commonly based upon the caste system and who you are.

What are the four stages of life?

The first stage of life is being a student. Being a student is to study the Vedas and other sacred literature until marriage. The second stage of life is being a householder, which is when someone gets married and then begins to provide for his family. The third stage is marked by the birth of one’s first grandchild. In this phase, one begins to engage in a spiritual quest outside of their home, typically in the forest. Then the fourth stage, which is the sannyasin, is when people are ready to come back to society, but they are detached from the normal distractions of social life. These stages of life are typically made for men, but sometimes women are allowed to follow them.

Who are the major Hindu deities? What does each represent?

The major Hindu deities are Vishu, the preserver, Shiva, the destroyer, and Brahma, the creator. This shows the cyclical life cycle in Hinduism.

What are avatars? What are some of the most well-known avatars?

Avatars are the incarnation of a deity in human or animal form to counteract evil in the world. Krishna and Rama are the most well-known avatars.

How do Hindus worship?

Hindus typically worship every day in temples and shrines. Hindu worship also includes numerous household and community rituals, pilgrimages to holy places, and the veneration of cows. Household worship usually is a fire, ritual bathing, and daily devotional rites. Holy places are important for worship because they are marked as sacred, mainly rivers. Lastly, cow veneration occurs because Hindus view cows as similar to Hindus because they provide for the people and they suffer, showing human similarities.

What are the four goals of Hindu life?

It is a key concept in Hinduism, and refers to the four proper goals or aims of a human life. The four goals of Hindu life are Dharma (righteousness, moral values), Artha (prosperity, economic values), Kama (pleasure, love, psychological values), and Moksha (liberation, spiritual values, self-actualization).

What are the four paths to liberation?

In Hinduism, there are four main paths by which a follower can reach moksha, or liberation. These paths are bhakti, the path of devotion; gnana, the path of knowledge; karma, the path of selfless service; and raja, the royal path of meditation.

What is the caste system?

It is a social hierarchy passed down through families, and it can dictate the professions a person can work in as well as aspects of their social lives, including whom they can marry. The caste system consists of four groups, the Brahmin, priests, the Kshatriya, warriors and administrators, the Vaishya, producers: artisans, farmers, merchants, etc., and the Shudra, laborers, and servants.

How does a woman’s dharma compare to the dharma of men within Hinduism?

The woman’s dharma is to be obedient to men, although the norms are changing and some women are following the same stages of life as men. The four stages of life are typical for men to follow.

Who was Buddha? How did he come to reach enlightenment?

At a place now known as Bodh Gaya (“enlightenment place”), he sat and meditated all night beneath a pipal tree. After defeating the forces of the demon Mara, who sent his three daughters, thirst, desire, and delight, Siddhartha reached enlightenment and became a Buddha (“enlightened one”).

What aspects of Hinduism did Buddha reject?

Buddhism rejects the priests of Hinduism, the formal rituals, and the caste system.

What is arhat?

Arhat is someone who has attained the goal of the religious life. The arhat has experienced through the transcendence state of enlightenment, and will then go to Nirvana. They do this by following the Noble Eightfold Path.

What are the Three Jewels of Buddhism?

The Three Jewels of Buddhism are Buddha, the Dharma (Buddha’s teachings), and the Sangha (the Buddhist monastic community).

How was salvation reached within Buddhism?

In Buddhism, anyone who understood the teachings of the Buddha could achieve salvation. For Buddhists, salvation is gained through the understanding of the ways things really are according to the Buddha's Dharma. Once an individual has become enlightened they can then reach a state of nirvana. The term nirvana means “blowing out,” as a candle is blown out, thus ending all attachment and desire to achieve a state of pure enlightenment.

What are the Three Marks of Existence?

The Buddha taught that all phenomena, including thoughts, emotions, and experiences, are marked by three characteristics, or “three marks of existence”: impermanence (anicca), suffering or dissatisfaction (dukkha), and not-self (anatta).

What is the Noble Eightfold Path?

The Noble Eightfold Path has 3 main groups that each right falls in. The first group, wisdom, contains the right views and right intentions. The second group, morality, contains right speech, right conduct, and right livelihood. Lastly, the third group, concentration, has the right effort, right mindfulness, and right meditation.

What are the Four Noble Truths?

The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of Buddha's teachings, though they leave much left unexplained. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.

What are the main branches of Buddhism and how do they compare?

All three main branches of Buddhism, Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana, center on the idea of finding nirvana. Reaching nirvana is the ultimate goal for all Buddhists. However, these three branches of Buddhism believe in different paths on the way to reaching nirvana. Mahayana Buddhism focuses on celebrating the Buddha himself and they believe that salvation comes through compassion. They also have bodhisattvas who are Buddha’s in the making, and people look to them for compassion. Theravada Buddhism focuses on the earliest texts and follows the teachings rather than the Buddha. They also have monks and nuns who work together. Vajrayana Buddhism focuses on the Buddha and his having a diamond scepter. They also have the Dalai Lama who leads the group.

What is the Middle Way?

The Middle Way is a common Buddhist term used to refer to a major aspect of Dharma, that is, the teaching of the Buddha. The doctrine of the middle way rejects sensual pleasure and the self-denial of asceticism, it focuses on a practical approach to spiritual attainment.

How does anatta compare to the concept of Atman?

Buddhists believe that there is no permanent underlying substance called self or soul, Atman in human beings. They believe that Anatta, non-self, impermanence and dukkha, suffering, are the three characteristics of all existence, and understanding of these three constitutes right understanding.

What aspects of Hinduism and Buddhism are similar? What is different?

Buddhism and Hinduism agree on karma, dharma, moksha and reincarnation. They are different in that Buddhism rejects the priests of Hinduism, the formal rituals, and the caste system.

What are the Five Precepts?

The precepts are commitments to abstain from killing living beings, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying and intoxication. Within the Buddhist doctrine, they are meant to develop mind and character to make progress on the path to enlightenment.

Ascetic

One who renounces physical pleasures and worldly attachments for the sake of spiritual advancement; common in Hinduism and many other religious traditions, most notably Jainism.

Atman

The eternal self, which the Upanishads identify with Brahman; is often lowercase to refer to the eternal self or soul of an individual that is reincarnated from one body to the next and is ultimately identified with Atman.

Avatar

An incarnation, or living embodiment of a deity, usually of Visnu, who is sent to earth to accomplish a divine purpose; Krishna and Rama are the most popular avatars.

Bhagavad-Gita

A short section of the epic poem Mahabharata in which the god Krishna teaches the great warrior Arjuna about Bhakti marga and other ways to God; is Hinduism’s most sacred popular text.

Brahmin

The highest of the four classes of the caste system, is traditionally made up of priests.

Brahman

The eternal essence of reality and the source of the universe, beyond the reach of human perception and thought.

Dharma

Hinduism: Ethical duty based on the divine of reality; one of the four goals of life

Buddhism: The teachings of the Buddha, and one of The Three Jewels of Buddhism

Monism

The doctrine that reality is ultimately made up of only one essence.

Karma

The moral law of cause-and-effect of actions; determines the nature of one’s reincarnation.

Samadhi

A trancelike state in which self-consciousness is lost, and the mind is absorbed into the ultimate reality; the culmination of the eight steps of yoga.

Samsara

The wheel of rebirth of reincarnation; the this-worldly realm in which rebirth occurs.

Moksha

Liberation or release of the individual self, Atman, from the bondage of samsara; salvation; one of the four goals of life.

Upanishads

A collection of over two hundred texts composed between 900 and 200 BC that provides philosophical commentary on the Vedas.

Bodhisattvas

Future Buddhas; as the ideal types for Mahayana Buddhism, beings who have experienced enlightenment but, are motivated by compassion, and stop short of entering nirvana, so as to help others achieve it. Bodhisattvas choose to be reborn time and time again to help the people around them.

Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama and all others who have by their own insight attained perfect enlightenment.

Dukkha

The first of the four noble truths is the basic Buddhist insight that suffering is part of the human condition.

Tanha

The second of the Four Noble Truths; defines the basic practices of Buddhism that lead to Nirvana.

Theravada

The predominant form of Buddhism in Cambodia, Burma (the union of Myanmar), Sri Lanka, and Thailand; focuses on the earliest texts and emphasizes a monastic lifestyle.

Mahayana

The largest of Buddhism’s three divisions, prevalent in China, Japan, and Korea; encompasses a variety of forms, including those that emphasize devotion and prayer to the Buddha and bodhisattvas.

Vajrayana

Named for the vajra, the Buddhist diamond scepter; a prevalent form of Buddhism in Tibet; emphasizes the harnessing of sensual energies to attain Nirvana.

Middle Way

A basic Buddhist teaching that rejects both the pleasures of sensual indulgence and the self-denial of asceticism, focusing instead on a practical approach to spiritual attainment.

Nirvana

The ultimate goal of all Buddhists, is the extinction of desire and any sense of individual selfhood, resulting in liberation from samsara and its limiting conditions. Nirvana also means blowing out, which helps explain the state of Nirvana because when a person reaches Nirvana, it is like their energy is dying out.

Sangha

The Buddhist community of monks and nuns; one of the three Jewels of Buddhism

Dalai Lama

The spiritual leader of Vajrayana (Tibetan) Buddhism, is believed to be an incarnation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara.

Meditation

To think deeply or focus one's mind for a period of time, in silence or with the aid of chanting, for religious or spiritual purposes or as a method of relaxation.