Eastern Religions – Key Points

Founded $2000$ + years ago in China by Lao-Tzu (author of Tao Te Ching)
Core idea: live simply & selflessly in harmony with the $Tao$ (universal order)
Beliefs: everything cycles $\text{non-being} \rightarrow \text{being} \rightarrow \text{non-being}$ ; whole contained in parts
Letting the Tao flow unchallenged brings tranquility
Key texts: Tao Te Ching (for rulers), Chuang Tzu (for individuals)

Confucius: renowned teacher with $1000\,+$ students & $72$ close disciples
Human perfectibility via mind cultivation
Emphases: filial piety, ritual, learning, self-control, just social action
Became imperial ideology; influenced Taoism & Buddhism
Five Classics (c. $2000$ yrs old) outline ideals for law, society, gov’t, education

Principal faith of India; centered on $Brahman$ – eternal, infinite source of all
Core concepts: transmigration & reincarnation (soul’s cycle), karma (actions ⇒ next life)
Goal: moksha(perfect knowledge) – release from cycle of death & rebirth
Trimurti: Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver; avatar Krishna), Shiva (destroyer)
Key scriptures: four Vedas (Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva), Bhagavad-Gita, later Sutras & Smritis

Originated from Siddhartha Gautama; offshoot of Hinduism; dominant in central & East Asia
World = suffering & illusion; attachment causes suffering
Aim: enlightenment (nirvana) by ending desire & self
Karma: sum of deeds ⇒ progress or regress in rebirth cycle
Enlightened beings: bodhisattvas(Hinduism)/lamas(Buddhism) guide others
Tripitaka canon: Vinaya Pitaka (monastic rules), Sutta Pitaka (discourses), Abhidhamma Pitaka (doctrine)
$8$ Auspicious Symbols: Conch, Lotus, Dharma Wheel, Parasol, Endless Knot, Golden Fish, Victory Banner, Treasure Vase

Indigenous Japanese faith; polytheistic & animistic worship of $kami$ (spirits in all things)
Virtue: living with “true heart” (sincerity, uprightness) via awareness of the divine
Closest texts: Kojiki & Nihon Shoki (myth-history records); no formal scripture