Ancient Asian Civilizations I. Ancient Asian Religions

1. Hinduism a. Vedas: a. Vedas: -Holy books -Holy books -“Veda” = “knowledge” -“Veda” = “knowledge” b. Upanishads: b. Upanishads: -Philosophical Books -Philosophical Books In Hindusim, this is the "great point" - the perfect balance of all and the point from which all of creation is projected and the point to which all returns. The central point - the bindu, is surrounded by a holon - a series of concentric rings of repeated patterns, representing the different layers of perception and reality. "The Vedic literatures are divided into two parts: the srutis and the smrtis. The srutis are the four Vedas: Rg, Sama, Atharva and Yajur, and the Upanisads, and the smrtis are the Puranas like the Mahabharata, which includes Bhagavad-gita. The conclusion of all these is that one should know Sri Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead."

"What is that by knowing which all things are known?" "What makes my mind think, my eyes see, my tongue speak, my body live?" What happens when this body dies?" With such questions begin the Upanishads, the wellspring of India's loftiest philosophies and faith. Some thousand years old, they do not explain or develop a line of argument in the modern sense. They are darshana, "something seen", and the reader is expected not only to listen to the words but to realize them: that is, to make their truths an integral part of character, conduct, and consciousness. For the last thousand years, ten Upanishads offered in this book in modern English have been considered as "principal Upanishads" on the authority of Shankara, an eighth-century mystic who reawakened India to its spiritual heritage. Included in the book is the Shvetashvatara Upanishad for its great beauty and four Yoga Upanishads to represent later traditions.

1. Hinduism continued… c. Religious Practice: c. Religious Practice: -Brahma: -Brahma: -Creator -Creator -living soul -living soul -Karma: -Karma: -reincarnation -reincarnation -promotion or demotion -promotion or demotion through “Caste System” through “Caste System” -based on personal conduct -based on personal conduct GOAL: Union with Brahma GOAL: Union with Brahma The caste system is like a religious social standing system wich means that the population is divided in higher and lower groups. The expression "caste" comes from the portugese word "casto" (="pure"). The four main castes (Brahmin, Kshatriya, Vashaya and Shudra) are called "Varnas", the Indian word for "colour". The Varnas are split up in "Jati". The Jati are subgroups of the castes, and depend on the profession of the people. There is no social mobility in the caste system, because people mustn´t marry people of other castes. Hinduism believes in an eternal circle of rebirth which ends in the "Nirvana", like our heaven or paradise. That means a Hindu has many lives and is reborn after death. The "Dharma" (Karma) is his "account" of good and bad things he has done in this life. The more bad things he has done in this life the longer it will take to get to the Nirvana. His Dharma decides in which caste he will be born into in the next life. So the caste system is justified.

2. Buddhism a. Siddhartha Gautama b. “Buddha” -“Enlightened One” -“Enlightened One” Siddharta Gautama is known as the Buddha. He was born around the year 580 BCE in the village of Lumbini in Nepal. He was born into a royal family and for many years lived with in the palace walls away from the sufferings of life; sufferings such as sickness, age, and death. He did not know what they were. One day, after growing-up, marrying and having a child, Siddhartha went outside the royal palace and saw, each for the first time, an old man, a sick man, and a corpse. He was worried by what he saw. He learned that sickness, age, and death were the inevitable fate of human beings — a fate no-one could avoid.

2. Buddhism continued… c. Buddhist Practice -live a simple life -live a simple life -avoid earthly pleasures -avoid earthly pleasures -practice good conduct -practice good conduct GOAL: GOAL: Avoid Reincarnation Avoid Reincarnation & enter Nirvana & enter Nirvana -“Perfect Peace” -“Perfect Peace” - White transforms the delusion of ignorance into the wisdom of reality - Yellow transforms pride into wisdom of sameness - Blue transforms anger into mirror like wisdom - Red transforms the delusion of attachment into the wisdom of discernment - Green transforms jealousy into the wisdom of accomplishment