Do Now… In your opinion what is the purpose of religion? What the benefits to belonging to a religion? What are some aspects that all religions share and have in common?

The Life of Buddha Much of what is known about life of the Buddha from accounts in Buddhist literature Gautama born 500s BC Prince of small kingdom in what is now Nepal Led sheltered life Unaware of hardship Life changed when learned people got old, sick, died

Buddha’s Enlightenment Gautama resolved to find way to overcome age, sickness, keep people from suffering Gave up possessions, left palace Sought enlightenment, spiritual understanding for six years Studied with gurus, monks but decided they could not teach way to enlightenment Sat under tree, no teachers, no companions, determined not to arise until he found way Stories say he meditated all night Resolve tested by violent storms, earthly temptations At daybreak, had been transformed, found enlightenment, became the Buddha, Enlightened One Temple built where he meditated, Bodh Gaya, one of Buddhism’s most sacred places

The Four Noble Truths There is suffering in the world The cause of self suffering is self centered desire The solution is to eliminate desire and attachments To reach nirvana you must follow the Eightfold Path

Beliefs of Buddhism A major change in Gautama’s thinking was when he decided to stop looking outwardly to understand the cause of suffering. Instead, he decided to look within his own mind. Instead of worshipping gods or a god, Buddha taught his followers that the answer to human suffering was in right thinking and self-denial. A big difference between Buddhism and other major religions is that in Buddhism you do not worship many gods or even one god.

Giving up desires According to Buddha, human suffering happens because of our selfish desires for things like power, wealth, and pleasure. The way to be happy was to give up those selfish desires. He called this path to happiness the Middle Way = MODERATION In Buddhism, people are to act unselfishly, treat people fairly, tell the truth all the time, avoid violence and the killing of any living thing When people learned to follow this Buddhist Middle Path, they would find lasting peace, called nirvana. Once a person reached this point, that person would no longer need to go through reincarnation

The Eightfold Path

Origins of Hinduism Aryans brought their religious beliefs with them. Their early religious books- the Vedas- tell about their many nature gods As they conquered different people, they included conquered religious beliefs with their old beliefs.

This is why Hinduism is so different from the other major world religions. Hinduism is the only major world religion that does not have a starting point. It just developed out of ancient polytheism, combining many belief systems as time went on. With this background, Hindus have many different beliefs and many different religious practices. (There is not one way to “be Hindu.”

“God in Hinduism” Hindus worship many gods and goddesses, but they believe all the gods and goddesses are part of the single all-powerful force (God) called Brahman. Brahman is a spirit and is too complicated for humans to understand. The many gods and goddesses help us understand things about Brahman (God).

Main Gods/Goddesses Brahma Vishnu Shiva

Brahma- the Creator BRAHMA Brahma created the world and it is destined to last for 2,160, 000, 000 years before it falls to ruin at which time Brahma will recreate it. The passage of this cycle represents a single day in Brahma’s life.

Vishnu- Preserver- a kind god who cares about people Vishnu- Preserver- a kind god who cares about people. He sometimes visits Earth in different forms to help humans.

SHIVA Shiva- Destroyer doesn’t care about people. Sometimes destroys, but creates again.

Reincarnation Samsara is the wheel of rebirth which means the soul is reborn from one life form to another. People may be reincarnated at a higher or lower level of existence depending on their karma from their present life. People may be reborn as plants or animals or they may be elevated to a higher caste as a human. Death is not final for Hindus as they expect to be reborn many times

Karma & Dharma Karma: “action” or “deeds” Every action produces a Justified effect based on its moral worthiness. Karma determines all the particular circumstances and Situations of one’s life. Dharma: ethical duty based on the divine order of reality. The word is the closest equivalent to “religion.”

Four Stages of Life Stage One: Student stage Stage Two: Householder Stage Three: Forest-dweller --after the birth of first grandchild Stage Four: Sannyasin - wondering ascetic

What do the Mouth, Arms, Thighs, and Feet Represent?

Herders, Farmers, Artisans, Merchants Brahmins Priests Kshatriyas Warriors Vaishyas Herders, Farmers, Artisans, Merchants Sudras (Non-Aryan) Farm Workers, Servants, Laborers Dalits (Outside the Caste System) Did work others did not want