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Unit 3 - Classical Asia

Unit 3 Classical Asia/Era


  • Circa 700/500 BCE

  • To AD 500 as a distinct traditional period from Ancient Medieval historical eras

______________________________________________________________________________

Classics adds in the study of art, literature, and traditions of civilizations, while ancient history mainly covers just GRAPES (geography, religion/culture, advancements, politics, economy, and society)


-Politics is government and 

-Economic is money

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

How Indus declined and went to the Classical Era/Asia


  • Review

☆Indus Valley civilization additional notes


-immigrants inhabited indus then spread over 100 miles 

-made each brick the same size for the durability of the buildings

-great sanitization systems

-well drained cities, remained dry and clean

-agriculture was the main occupation

-great public bathhouse (pool) assumed to be for ritualistic bathing

-equal society with the same resources for all

-defensive towers and strong defensive system

______________________________________________________________________________


The Aryan Debate 


-around 1500 BCE

-when Indus culture was winding down


-people crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains and migrated into India


-controversial topic

-Did the Sanskrit-speaking Aryans enter India from the northwest around 1500 BCE, or were they peoples indigenous to India and identical with the people of the Indus Valley region


  • Theory 1

-immigrant Aryans: Aryans came to India from the outside world in around 1500 BCE across the Hindu Kush Mountains


  • Theory 2

-Indigenous Aryans: aryans were the original makers of the Indus civilization


______________________________________________________________________________


Mixed Indians

-compared DNA samples and found three broad population in Asia


South Asian hunter gather 

-original inhabitants, indigenous people


Iranian agriculture

 - influenced farming


Steppe pastoralists

 - the people we known as the Aryans 


-all 3 of these mixed


-indians are truly mixed people 

-some kind of aryan migration that influenced indus 

______________________________________________________________________________


Origins of Indo-Aryans


-originated in Central asia and invaded the subcontinent of India starting around 1500 BCE


-related to the Indo-european language group of nations and share similarities to modern europeans and iranians among other groups


-the sanskrit language that they introduced to india is closely related to modern english, spanish and german


-they were nomadic people who valued their oral traditions and maintained warrior culture

-part of a mass migration

______________________________________________________________________________


Outline 1

Chapter 6 - 1.3-1.4


Aryan Migrations

-migrated from the north and led to the establishment of another great Indian civilization


Main idea: after the Harappan civilization declined, Aryan immigrants forged a new Indian civilization 


End of Harappa 

-probably caused by natural forces

-first agriculture declined when there was less rainfall

-earthquakes caused flooding and changed courses of rivers

-river “Sarasvati” stopped flowing near Harappan cities 

-food supplies declined, people abandoned 


Aryans

-people began crossing the Hindu Kush

-collection of tribes meaning “the noble ones”

-belonged to Indo-European people who populated central Asia

-believed not to be foreign invaders

-semi-nomadic herders of horses and cattle

-powerful warriors and rode chariots 

-(1000 BCE) began to spread east and south

-farmed, cleared forests

-villages grouped together creating kingdoms with mixed native people

-big impact on culture, religion, class, language



Impact on Indian society

-worshiped many gods

-performed complicated rituals in Sanskrit (Aryan language)

-religion got called Brahmanism 


Rituals and hymns were recorded ub sacred texts called the Vedas


Vedas

-1500 - 1200 BCE

-four sacred texts 

-people passed them down orally 


Caste system

-hereditary classes of hindu society

-aryan hierarchy

-hereditary, never changed

-castes controlled what people worked, who they would marry, and what they would eat

-these rules applied to people’s children too


  • Hindu Beliefs & Practices

Page 150-151 


  • Main idea: over 5,000 years, hinduism absorbed and integrated many beliefs found throughout South Asia


Hinduism

-world’s third largest religion

-gods combine to form Brahman (universal spirit)

-most important gods: Brahman, Vishnu, and Shiva

-Lakshmi - goddess of wealth and prosperity 


Epic Poems

-long narrative poems

-Mahabharata teachers the importance of living and activating righteously 

-Ramayana: Rama, the perfect king, who fought evil forces in the world 

Beliefs & Practices

-worship in temples

-home is central of religious activity

-reincarnation: soul is eternal and is reborn in different bodies over different life cycles 


Karma

-determines the kind of life into which someone will be reborn 

-someone who leads a good and moral life will rebirth into a better life

-a life filled with misdeeds creates bad karma


Yoga

-series of exercises intended to help people achieve spiritual insight 

-to seek and know the truth 

-path to the perfect life 



  • Siddhartha and Buddhism

Pages 154-155

Main idea: Buddhism emerged in India around 500 BCE


Buddhism

-based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama 

-became known as Buddha or “Enlightened one” after meditating and became free from suffering 


Nirvana

-state of bliss or the end of suffering caused by the cycle of rebirth


Dharma (divine law)

-totality of the Buddha’s teaching

-taught that a person of any caste could attain nirvana (promoted non-violence)


Buddhism spread throughout Asia and beyond 

(they believed in gods, but Buddha is important and a spiritual leader)


-buddha died and was buried under eight mound-like structures (stupas)


  • Maurya Empire

-main idea: Mauryan empire united much of India under a single ruler


A united india

-Kingdom called Magadha in northeast india grew powerful


Chandragupta Murya 

-became king of Magadha around 325 BCE

-his Maurya Empire united most of northern India

-1st greatest Indian Empire

-set up a strong central government

-used taxes to pay for a group of spies and a large army to crush troublemakers

-chose to give his power and became a monk, committed to nonviolence


-buddhist king 

-Asoka

-269 BCE

-Chandragupta’s grandson became king

-earned a reputation for cruelty  at first

-caused the death of thousands of people

-asoka then went through a dramatic change

-converted to buddhism and began to rule with buddhist principles about peace 

-made a pilgrimage to all the buddhist holy places in northern india 

-encouraged the spread of buddhism

-buddhism reached sri lanka and china, thailand 

-asoka built more than 1,000 stupas in honor of the buddha 

-he also built roads for trade and provided plenty of shade and water for his people

-after his death, the Mauryan empire collapsed

-may have been India’s greatest king


Pages 158-159 


  • The Gupta Empire

Main idea: brought 200 years of peace and prosperity to India


A wise ruler 

-Chandra Gupta I

-a new unifying power arose after 500 years of fighting in india due to the Maurya empire collapsing 

-began gaining land and establishing empire 

-a dynasty of strong Gupta kings continued  to expand the empire until it covered most of northern india 

-guptas allowed the defeated kings to continue to rule

-brought 200 years of political stability, peace, and prosperity 


-Golden Age

-Chandra Gupta II

-grandson of Chandra Gupta 1, ruled during  this time period of great culture development 


Kalidasa

=greatest poet in Chandra Gupta II’s court

-india’s greatest writers, composed poems and plays in sanskrit

-scribes wrote down these spoken stories including the Mahabharata and Ramayana 


Indian artists painted and sculpted statues of hindu deities 


Ayurveda 

-traditional guide to medicine, diet, exercise and disease

-developed and remains an alternative form of healing 

-medical understanding increased

-ancient Indian knowledge and culture reached far around the world







______________________________________________________________________________



Slides Hinduism: Unit 3 11/6 +11/7


Aryan Invasion routes 

-the indian subcontinent is accessible through major passes in the Hindu Kush

Range

-the aryans  most likely made their way from the steppes (grasslands) of Central Asia into the region through the Khyber Pass and, from there, across the rest of India


-Connects modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan (land that is now Pakistan used to be part of Indus). 




-language plays a  key role in the spread of culture, ideas, and beliefs called cultural diffusion: spread of cultural ideas, beliefs, and practices from one person/group to another

______________________________________________________________________________

The Vedas

-the indo-aryan culture  survived through oral traditions for hundreds of years until they were ultimately written down


-four collections of hymns, prayers, stories, and  instructions for rituals


-the Rig Veda is the most important of these works and provides some of the earliest evidence of the Aryan polytheistic belief system, which will eventually become the religion Hinduism


Aryan gods tended to be heroic figures associated with sometimes destructive forces of nature, such as the fire god, Agni. They also were gods of morals.


-polytheism (belief in many gods)

______________________________________________________________________________

The Caste System

-the social structure in which classes are determined by heredity 

-this influenced the daily lives of indians


-they were born into a class and could not get out of it, nor marry out of it

-it determined what jobs indians would have for life, who they would marry, and who they could socialize with


Top

 -Brahmins (priests)

-Kshatriyas (kings, rulers, warriors)

-Vaisyas (merchants, craftsman, landowners, skilled workers)

-Sudra (farm workers, unskilled workers, servants)

-Dalits, Untouchables (street sweeper, human/animal waste removers, dead body handlers, outcastes)

bottom




-the caste system did not fully emerge until later in indian history

-its roots are in the varnas and jati systems


  • Varnas were identified in the vedas to organize society equally by skill (what did people like to do to earn a living)

  • Jati were used to describe divisions in society by occupation when they developed in ancient india with more specialization 


 Both varnas and jatis merged to become known today as a top-down, birth-based caste system


In India today, the caste system is no longer in legal existence.

______________________________________________________________________________

Hinduism - Intro


-one of the oldest religions in the world 

-starting in 1500 BCE when the indo-aryans migrated to india


-originated in india and nepal

-still dominant in that region as a dominant religion


-The Hindus refer to their religion as the “Eternal Law,” and believe that the god Brahma is an unchanging and ultimate being that lives in the souls of the people

-this helps strength them in the ever-changing world


Kathenotheism: “worship of one god at a time,” neither monotheistic nor polytheistic.

-there are many gods that are worshiped by hindus, but are different aspects of the ultimate god, Brahma 


-there is no beginning and no end



-Currently, over 760  million people in the world are hindu



Three trinities, most  important gods

Brahma - creator

Vishnu - preserver of the universe 

Shiva - destroyer 



Beliefs 


Life and death are a never ending cycle called reincarnation 


Rebirth of the individual soul (atman) into a new body over many cycles is referred to as samsara 


You can fled from this cycle by achieving moksha, which is wisdom

-the state of perfect understanding of things

-when you align your realities with Braham (the universal soul), which is the aspect of brahma (the god)

-hindus are apart of the god brahman 


Dharma is an individual’s duty to observe custom and law determined by one’s caste called varnas


Karma affects life cycles, the good deeds you do the better life you will have next


Texts of hinduism 


The vedas

Four sacred texts of hymn and prayers, passed down throughout history

Rig veda is the most significant

Led to the development of Upanishads which is hindu teacher’s writings that tried to explain and interpret hidden meaning in the vedic hymns 


Upanishads 

Teachers comments, written as dialogue on how to teach moksha 

Explores questions such as “What is the nature of reality”, “What is mortality”, Is there eternal life, what is the soul


Epic poems

Mahabharata 

-over 100,000 verses providing guidance on how to live your life

Ramayana 

-demonstrates accounts of exemplary human behavior 


Hindu society 

-may have been influenced by original people of the indus valley 

Founders: indo-aryans 

-cannot be traced back to one founder like many religions like Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam


-society is based on varnas (social groups)
-their job is to work in harmony called dharma or historically called castes


Varnas identified in the vedas to organize society equally by skill

Jati used to describe divisions by jobs 


References:


They’re all different 


Brahma:

 - the name of the Hindu deity who is believed to have created all things

-is one of the three gods in the Hindu Trimurti along with Vishnu and Shiva


Brahman:

-an abstract concept that represents the ultimate reality and cosmic power that underpins all physical things 

-is a gender-neutral concept that implies greater impersonality than masculine or feminine conceptions of the deity 


Brahmin:

-a social class to which priests, spiritual guides, and teachers belong 



______________________________________________________________________________


Buddhism 

Slides: Buddhism 11/8 +11/12

The Buddha and Buddhism 



-associated with peace and tranquility


-one of the oldest and largest  - 7% of humanity 


-2500 years in the past: Buddha

-Siddharta Gautama

-prince 

-his dad was a powerful ruler

-hid his suffering 

-he felt dissatisfaction and was kept inside the palace 

-came across a corpse while traveling outside on his own for the first time,  the corpse put him into a  existential crisis

-decided to become a monk 

-6 years and looked for  an answer to suffering: the starvation had clouded his thinking  

-he was further away of an answer

-he started to eat again and meditated in a deep state

-he accepted ages and was free from desires

-Nirvana: became enlightenment


How to find enlightenment

Life will always be dissatisfying because humans are changing: dukkha  

Life can be disappointing, and humans desires possessions, people, power

Everything is changing, which makes things disappointing 


To reach enlightenment, stop being attached to things

The eightfold path: eight  ways to end desire and an addicted brain

Don’t let negative thoughts fill your brain


Buddha’s teaching 

Eightfold path:

Right concentration, view, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, and mindfulness:

Ends of suffering and involves meditation 


Buddha thought the eightfold path for people people to clear their mind of desire and fill it with compassion and love


Following this path are about realizing that you won't find happiness from clinging on to something, and you accept what happens, and enjoy the moment


Meditation: concentrating on the present moment 


Karma

-natural gravity

-system of cause and effect

-karma affects your current life

-everyone can make their lives better by doing good things

-your intentions give you good or bad karma

-keeps people in a cycle of life and death


Nirvana

-state of mind that reaches peace and understanding, love and compassion - positivity 

-escape of the samsara cycle

-”blow out”

-you stop being reborn 



Branches of Buddhism

Theravada

-old surviving branch of buddhism

-series of text suttas - ancient pali language

-less religious rituals

-see buddha as a human figure

-buddha left behind his dharma and taught others


Mahayana 

-has loads more texts and teaching

-englightning beings have decided to stay and help others achieve in this world

-people pray to these beings

-practiced in japan and korean and in india 



Where did Buddhism in India come from?

-was founded by Siddharta Gautama in what is now known as Nepal in the 6th century BCE 

-he was born as the son of a prince in Nepal in 563 BCE and died 483 BCE (5th century BCE)

-after reaching enlightenment, Siddhartha would become the Buddha, giving buddhism its name (He is not a god, he is a spiritual leader - do not compare to the hindu gods!)


The Three Jewels of Buddhism:


Buddha. “The Enlightened one”


Sangha “The community of believers”


Dharma “the teachings of the faith”





Beliefs to breakdown

-does not support the caste system, not separated by levels

-still believe in karma 

-believe in the four noble truths and follow the eightfold path to reach nirvana 



Four noble truths


This set of guidelines laid out by the Buddha is considered the truths or realities for the “spiritually worthy ones.”


  1. The truth of suffering is 

Suffering exists

  1. The truth of the cause of suffering is 

Suffering is caused by desire

  1. The truth of the end of suffering is 

Suffering can end by eliminating desire

4. He truth of the path that frees if from suffering is 

To end suffering you must follow the eightfold path



Eightfold Path

-the middle way

-promotes a  balance in life between happiness and self-denial

-series of practices for ideals of ethical conduct, mental discipline, karma, and achieving wisdom

-leading to nirvana, which is the elimination of earthly desires and suffering 



Nirvana

-goal of buddhists to reach

-state of enlightenment 


______________________________________________________________________________





SP

Unit 3 - Classical Asia

Unit 3 Classical Asia/Era


  • Circa 700/500 BCE

  • To AD 500 as a distinct traditional period from Ancient Medieval historical eras

______________________________________________________________________________

Classics adds in the study of art, literature, and traditions of civilizations, while ancient history mainly covers just GRAPES (geography, religion/culture, advancements, politics, economy, and society)


-Politics is government and 

-Economic is money

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

How Indus declined and went to the Classical Era/Asia


  • Review

☆Indus Valley civilization additional notes


-immigrants inhabited indus then spread over 100 miles 

-made each brick the same size for the durability of the buildings

-great sanitization systems

-well drained cities, remained dry and clean

-agriculture was the main occupation

-great public bathhouse (pool) assumed to be for ritualistic bathing

-equal society with the same resources for all

-defensive towers and strong defensive system

______________________________________________________________________________


The Aryan Debate 


-around 1500 BCE

-when Indus culture was winding down


-people crossed the Hindu Kush Mountains and migrated into India


-controversial topic

-Did the Sanskrit-speaking Aryans enter India from the northwest around 1500 BCE, or were they peoples indigenous to India and identical with the people of the Indus Valley region


  • Theory 1

-immigrant Aryans: Aryans came to India from the outside world in around 1500 BCE across the Hindu Kush Mountains


  • Theory 2

-Indigenous Aryans: aryans were the original makers of the Indus civilization


______________________________________________________________________________


Mixed Indians

-compared DNA samples and found three broad population in Asia


South Asian hunter gather 

-original inhabitants, indigenous people


Iranian agriculture

 - influenced farming


Steppe pastoralists

 - the people we known as the Aryans 


-all 3 of these mixed


-indians are truly mixed people 

-some kind of aryan migration that influenced indus 

______________________________________________________________________________


Origins of Indo-Aryans


-originated in Central asia and invaded the subcontinent of India starting around 1500 BCE


-related to the Indo-european language group of nations and share similarities to modern europeans and iranians among other groups


-the sanskrit language that they introduced to india is closely related to modern english, spanish and german


-they were nomadic people who valued their oral traditions and maintained warrior culture

-part of a mass migration

______________________________________________________________________________


Outline 1

Chapter 6 - 1.3-1.4


Aryan Migrations

-migrated from the north and led to the establishment of another great Indian civilization


Main idea: after the Harappan civilization declined, Aryan immigrants forged a new Indian civilization 


End of Harappa 

-probably caused by natural forces

-first agriculture declined when there was less rainfall

-earthquakes caused flooding and changed courses of rivers

-river “Sarasvati” stopped flowing near Harappan cities 

-food supplies declined, people abandoned 


Aryans

-people began crossing the Hindu Kush

-collection of tribes meaning “the noble ones”

-belonged to Indo-European people who populated central Asia

-believed not to be foreign invaders

-semi-nomadic herders of horses and cattle

-powerful warriors and rode chariots 

-(1000 BCE) began to spread east and south

-farmed, cleared forests

-villages grouped together creating kingdoms with mixed native people

-big impact on culture, religion, class, language



Impact on Indian society

-worshiped many gods

-performed complicated rituals in Sanskrit (Aryan language)

-religion got called Brahmanism 


Rituals and hymns were recorded ub sacred texts called the Vedas


Vedas

-1500 - 1200 BCE

-four sacred texts 

-people passed them down orally 


Caste system

-hereditary classes of hindu society

-aryan hierarchy

-hereditary, never changed

-castes controlled what people worked, who they would marry, and what they would eat

-these rules applied to people’s children too


  • Hindu Beliefs & Practices

Page 150-151 


  • Main idea: over 5,000 years, hinduism absorbed and integrated many beliefs found throughout South Asia


Hinduism

-world’s third largest religion

-gods combine to form Brahman (universal spirit)

-most important gods: Brahman, Vishnu, and Shiva

-Lakshmi - goddess of wealth and prosperity 


Epic Poems

-long narrative poems

-Mahabharata teachers the importance of living and activating righteously 

-Ramayana: Rama, the perfect king, who fought evil forces in the world 

Beliefs & Practices

-worship in temples

-home is central of religious activity

-reincarnation: soul is eternal and is reborn in different bodies over different life cycles 


Karma

-determines the kind of life into which someone will be reborn 

-someone who leads a good and moral life will rebirth into a better life

-a life filled with misdeeds creates bad karma


Yoga

-series of exercises intended to help people achieve spiritual insight 

-to seek and know the truth 

-path to the perfect life 



  • Siddhartha and Buddhism

Pages 154-155

Main idea: Buddhism emerged in India around 500 BCE


Buddhism

-based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama 

-became known as Buddha or “Enlightened one” after meditating and became free from suffering 


Nirvana

-state of bliss or the end of suffering caused by the cycle of rebirth


Dharma (divine law)

-totality of the Buddha’s teaching

-taught that a person of any caste could attain nirvana (promoted non-violence)


Buddhism spread throughout Asia and beyond 

(they believed in gods, but Buddha is important and a spiritual leader)


-buddha died and was buried under eight mound-like structures (stupas)


  • Maurya Empire

-main idea: Mauryan empire united much of India under a single ruler


A united india

-Kingdom called Magadha in northeast india grew powerful


Chandragupta Murya 

-became king of Magadha around 325 BCE

-his Maurya Empire united most of northern India

-1st greatest Indian Empire

-set up a strong central government

-used taxes to pay for a group of spies and a large army to crush troublemakers

-chose to give his power and became a monk, committed to nonviolence


-buddhist king 

-Asoka

-269 BCE

-Chandragupta’s grandson became king

-earned a reputation for cruelty  at first

-caused the death of thousands of people

-asoka then went through a dramatic change

-converted to buddhism and began to rule with buddhist principles about peace 

-made a pilgrimage to all the buddhist holy places in northern india 

-encouraged the spread of buddhism

-buddhism reached sri lanka and china, thailand 

-asoka built more than 1,000 stupas in honor of the buddha 

-he also built roads for trade and provided plenty of shade and water for his people

-after his death, the Mauryan empire collapsed

-may have been India’s greatest king


Pages 158-159 


  • The Gupta Empire

Main idea: brought 200 years of peace and prosperity to India


A wise ruler 

-Chandra Gupta I

-a new unifying power arose after 500 years of fighting in india due to the Maurya empire collapsing 

-began gaining land and establishing empire 

-a dynasty of strong Gupta kings continued  to expand the empire until it covered most of northern india 

-guptas allowed the defeated kings to continue to rule

-brought 200 years of political stability, peace, and prosperity 


-Golden Age

-Chandra Gupta II

-grandson of Chandra Gupta 1, ruled during  this time period of great culture development 


Kalidasa

=greatest poet in Chandra Gupta II’s court

-india’s greatest writers, composed poems and plays in sanskrit

-scribes wrote down these spoken stories including the Mahabharata and Ramayana 


Indian artists painted and sculpted statues of hindu deities 


Ayurveda 

-traditional guide to medicine, diet, exercise and disease

-developed and remains an alternative form of healing 

-medical understanding increased

-ancient Indian knowledge and culture reached far around the world







______________________________________________________________________________



Slides Hinduism: Unit 3 11/6 +11/7


Aryan Invasion routes 

-the indian subcontinent is accessible through major passes in the Hindu Kush

Range

-the aryans  most likely made their way from the steppes (grasslands) of Central Asia into the region through the Khyber Pass and, from there, across the rest of India


-Connects modern-day Afghanistan and Pakistan (land that is now Pakistan used to be part of Indus). 




-language plays a  key role in the spread of culture, ideas, and beliefs called cultural diffusion: spread of cultural ideas, beliefs, and practices from one person/group to another

______________________________________________________________________________

The Vedas

-the indo-aryan culture  survived through oral traditions for hundreds of years until they were ultimately written down


-four collections of hymns, prayers, stories, and  instructions for rituals


-the Rig Veda is the most important of these works and provides some of the earliest evidence of the Aryan polytheistic belief system, which will eventually become the religion Hinduism


Aryan gods tended to be heroic figures associated with sometimes destructive forces of nature, such as the fire god, Agni. They also were gods of morals.


-polytheism (belief in many gods)

______________________________________________________________________________

The Caste System

-the social structure in which classes are determined by heredity 

-this influenced the daily lives of indians


-they were born into a class and could not get out of it, nor marry out of it

-it determined what jobs indians would have for life, who they would marry, and who they could socialize with


Top

 -Brahmins (priests)

-Kshatriyas (kings, rulers, warriors)

-Vaisyas (merchants, craftsman, landowners, skilled workers)

-Sudra (farm workers, unskilled workers, servants)

-Dalits, Untouchables (street sweeper, human/animal waste removers, dead body handlers, outcastes)

bottom




-the caste system did not fully emerge until later in indian history

-its roots are in the varnas and jati systems


  • Varnas were identified in the vedas to organize society equally by skill (what did people like to do to earn a living)

  • Jati were used to describe divisions in society by occupation when they developed in ancient india with more specialization 


 Both varnas and jatis merged to become known today as a top-down, birth-based caste system


In India today, the caste system is no longer in legal existence.

______________________________________________________________________________

Hinduism - Intro


-one of the oldest religions in the world 

-starting in 1500 BCE when the indo-aryans migrated to india


-originated in india and nepal

-still dominant in that region as a dominant religion


-The Hindus refer to their religion as the “Eternal Law,” and believe that the god Brahma is an unchanging and ultimate being that lives in the souls of the people

-this helps strength them in the ever-changing world


Kathenotheism: “worship of one god at a time,” neither monotheistic nor polytheistic.

-there are many gods that are worshiped by hindus, but are different aspects of the ultimate god, Brahma 


-there is no beginning and no end



-Currently, over 760  million people in the world are hindu



Three trinities, most  important gods

Brahma - creator

Vishnu - preserver of the universe 

Shiva - destroyer 



Beliefs 


Life and death are a never ending cycle called reincarnation 


Rebirth of the individual soul (atman) into a new body over many cycles is referred to as samsara 


You can fled from this cycle by achieving moksha, which is wisdom

-the state of perfect understanding of things

-when you align your realities with Braham (the universal soul), which is the aspect of brahma (the god)

-hindus are apart of the god brahman 


Dharma is an individual’s duty to observe custom and law determined by one’s caste called varnas


Karma affects life cycles, the good deeds you do the better life you will have next


Texts of hinduism 


The vedas

Four sacred texts of hymn and prayers, passed down throughout history

Rig veda is the most significant

Led to the development of Upanishads which is hindu teacher’s writings that tried to explain and interpret hidden meaning in the vedic hymns 


Upanishads 

Teachers comments, written as dialogue on how to teach moksha 

Explores questions such as “What is the nature of reality”, “What is mortality”, Is there eternal life, what is the soul


Epic poems

Mahabharata 

-over 100,000 verses providing guidance on how to live your life

Ramayana 

-demonstrates accounts of exemplary human behavior 


Hindu society 

-may have been influenced by original people of the indus valley 

Founders: indo-aryans 

-cannot be traced back to one founder like many religions like Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam


-society is based on varnas (social groups)
-their job is to work in harmony called dharma or historically called castes


Varnas identified in the vedas to organize society equally by skill

Jati used to describe divisions by jobs 


References:


They’re all different 


Brahma:

 - the name of the Hindu deity who is believed to have created all things

-is one of the three gods in the Hindu Trimurti along with Vishnu and Shiva


Brahman:

-an abstract concept that represents the ultimate reality and cosmic power that underpins all physical things 

-is a gender-neutral concept that implies greater impersonality than masculine or feminine conceptions of the deity 


Brahmin:

-a social class to which priests, spiritual guides, and teachers belong 



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Buddhism 

Slides: Buddhism 11/8 +11/12

The Buddha and Buddhism 



-associated with peace and tranquility


-one of the oldest and largest  - 7% of humanity 


-2500 years in the past: Buddha

-Siddharta Gautama

-prince 

-his dad was a powerful ruler

-hid his suffering 

-he felt dissatisfaction and was kept inside the palace 

-came across a corpse while traveling outside on his own for the first time,  the corpse put him into a  existential crisis

-decided to become a monk 

-6 years and looked for  an answer to suffering: the starvation had clouded his thinking  

-he was further away of an answer

-he started to eat again and meditated in a deep state

-he accepted ages and was free from desires

-Nirvana: became enlightenment


How to find enlightenment

Life will always be dissatisfying because humans are changing: dukkha  

Life can be disappointing, and humans desires possessions, people, power

Everything is changing, which makes things disappointing 


To reach enlightenment, stop being attached to things

The eightfold path: eight  ways to end desire and an addicted brain

Don’t let negative thoughts fill your brain


Buddha’s teaching 

Eightfold path:

Right concentration, view, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, and mindfulness:

Ends of suffering and involves meditation 


Buddha thought the eightfold path for people people to clear their mind of desire and fill it with compassion and love


Following this path are about realizing that you won't find happiness from clinging on to something, and you accept what happens, and enjoy the moment


Meditation: concentrating on the present moment 


Karma

-natural gravity

-system of cause and effect

-karma affects your current life

-everyone can make their lives better by doing good things

-your intentions give you good or bad karma

-keeps people in a cycle of life and death


Nirvana

-state of mind that reaches peace and understanding, love and compassion - positivity 

-escape of the samsara cycle

-”blow out”

-you stop being reborn 



Branches of Buddhism

Theravada

-old surviving branch of buddhism

-series of text suttas - ancient pali language

-less religious rituals

-see buddha as a human figure

-buddha left behind his dharma and taught others


Mahayana 

-has loads more texts and teaching

-englightning beings have decided to stay and help others achieve in this world

-people pray to these beings

-practiced in japan and korean and in india 



Where did Buddhism in India come from?

-was founded by Siddharta Gautama in what is now known as Nepal in the 6th century BCE 

-he was born as the son of a prince in Nepal in 563 BCE and died 483 BCE (5th century BCE)

-after reaching enlightenment, Siddhartha would become the Buddha, giving buddhism its name (He is not a god, he is a spiritual leader - do not compare to the hindu gods!)


The Three Jewels of Buddhism:


Buddha. “The Enlightened one”


Sangha “The community of believers”


Dharma “the teachings of the faith”





Beliefs to breakdown

-does not support the caste system, not separated by levels

-still believe in karma 

-believe in the four noble truths and follow the eightfold path to reach nirvana 



Four noble truths


This set of guidelines laid out by the Buddha is considered the truths or realities for the “spiritually worthy ones.”


  1. The truth of suffering is 

Suffering exists

  1. The truth of the cause of suffering is 

Suffering is caused by desire

  1. The truth of the end of suffering is 

Suffering can end by eliminating desire

4. He truth of the path that frees if from suffering is 

To end suffering you must follow the eightfold path



Eightfold Path

-the middle way

-promotes a  balance in life between happiness and self-denial

-series of practices for ideals of ethical conduct, mental discipline, karma, and achieving wisdom

-leading to nirvana, which is the elimination of earthly desires and suffering 



Nirvana

-goal of buddhists to reach

-state of enlightenment 


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