Ancient India

 

·                     Buddhism & Hinduism- Originated in India

·                     Jainism & Sikhism - Smaller religion also originated in India

·                     Primary symbols of Indian religion- Gurus,ascetics,and the nonviolent ideas of Mahatma Gandhi

·                     Gandhi-The reformer who played a mojor role in the twentieth-century struggle to free India from the British colonial rule.

·                     India Religion- like their politics and societyits religion is a blend of Aryan and Dravidian culture

 

Hinduism

 

·                     Hinduism- Hinduism places all living species on a vast scale of existence, including the four classes and the untouchables in human society

·                     Vedas- A set of four collections of hymns and religious ceremonies transmitted by memory through the centuries by Aryan priests

·                     Early Aryan beliefs- based on the common concept of the pantheon of gods and goddesses representing great forces of nature similar to the immortals of Greek mythology.

·                     Sacrifice-the concept of sacrifice was a key element in Aryan religious belief in Vedic times.The priestly class, or brahmins, played a key role in these ceremonies.

·                     Asceticism-The concept of self-sacrifice or even self-mutilation as a means of achieving an understanding of underlying reality was alluded to briefly in Vedic hymns.But it began to become increasingly common with the writing of the so-called Upanishads (a set of commentaries on the Vedas) in the sixth century B.C.E., when it replaced the concept of sacrifice as a means of placating or communicating with the gods

                        *the original motive for asceticism was to achieve magical powers, but later it was seen as a means of spiritual                         meditation that would enable the practitioner to reach beyond material reality to a world of truth and bliss beyond                         earthly joy and sorrow.

                        *  has been practiced in other reli­gions including Christianity and Islam

·                     from one of the Upanishads- "The Self who is free from evil, free from old age, free from death, free from grief, free from hunger, free from thirst, whose desire is the Real [satya, or truth], whose intention is the Real— he should be sought after, he should be desired to be comprehended."

·                     Aryan religious belief- was an adaptation of spirit worship into a form of naturalistic polytheism. The overall practical purpose was to protect the tribe from the multitude of threats to its survival.

                        *Eventually Indians began to move beyond such common elements of the Indo-European pastoral tradi­tion and                         engaged in speculation about the nature of the cosmic order. What emerged was a growing belief in the existence                      of a single monistic force in the universe, a form of ultimate reality called Brahman.

·                     Brahman-early form of Hinduism

                        *Brahman was described in more concrete terms as a creator god ,eventually known as Vishnu, but more often in                      terms of a shadowy ultimate reality.

                        *In the Upanishads, the concept began to emerge as an important element of Indian religious belief

 

Reincarnation

·                     Reincarnation-This is the idea that the individual soul is reborn in a different form after death and progresses through several existences on the wheel of life until it reaches its final destination in a union with the Great World Soul, known as Brahman.

                        *this new concept also probably began to appear around the time the Upanishads were written.

                        *A key element in this process is the idea of karma that one's rebirth in a next life is determined by ones karma  in                      this life.

                        *The current status of an individual soul, then, is not simply a cosmic accident, but the inevitable result of actions             that that soul has committed in a past existence.

·                     Karma(actions)-The concept of karma is governed by the dharma, or the Law. A law regulating human behavior, the dharma imposes different requirements on different individuals, depending on their status in society.

                        *it provided moral and political justification for the privileges of those on the higher end of the scale.

                        *At the same time, the concept of reincarnation pro­vided certain compensations for those lower on the lad­der of life.                   for example: it somewhat gave hope to the poor because if they behaved well in this life there was a chance that in                      their next life they would be in a higher position in the ladder of life.

                        * The ultimate goal of having "good" karma was so that you could escape the cycle of existence. If you had "good"               karma you wouldnt have to be reincarnated.

·                    Gods-Brahman the Creator, Vishnu the Pre­server, and Siva (originally the Vedic god Rudra) the De­stroyer. Although Brahman (sometimes in his concrete form called Brahma) is considered to be the highest god

                        * In addition to the trinity of gods, all of whom have wives with readily identifiable roles and personalities, there are                    countless minor deities, each again with its own specific function, such as bringing good fortune, arranging a good                 marriage, or guaranteeing a son in childbirth.

·                     Over the centuries Hinduism changed radically from its origins in Aryan tribal society and became a reli­gion of the vast majority of the Indian people.

The Mahabharata-

"What is swifter than the wind?" "The mind is swifter than the wind." "What is more numerous than the blades of grass in a meadow?"
"Our thoughts number more than that."
"What is the best of all things that are praised?"
"Skill."
"What is the most valuable possession?"
"Knowledge."
"What is not thought of until it departs?"
"Health."
"What is the best happiness?"
"Contentment."
"What covers all the world?"
"Darkness."
"What keeps a thing from discovering itself?"
"That is also darkness."
"What enemy cannot be overcome?"
"That is anger."
"What is honesty?"
"That is to look and to see every living creature as yourself, bearing your own will to live, and your own fear of death."
"How may peace be false?"
"When it is tyranny."

Buddhism: The Middle Path

·                     Historical founder of Buddhism-Siddhartha Gautama

·                     Siddhartha Gautama-a native of a small principality in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains in what is today southern Nepal.

                        *The son of a ruling kshatriya family

                        *According to tradition when Siddhartha was young he was raised in affluent surroundings and trained, like many                         other members of his class, in the martial arts.

                        *according to Buddhist tradition, at the age of 29 he suddenly discovered the pain of illness, the sorrow of death, and the degradation caused by old age in the lives of ordinary people and exclaimed: "Would that sickness, age, and death might be for ever bound!" From that time on, he decided to dedicate his life to determining the cause and seeking the cure for human suffering.

                        *First he tried to follow the model of the ascetics but he eventually decided that self-mortification did not lead to a                      greater understanding of like and he hen abandoned the practice.

Siddhartha-    Pleasure is brief as a flash of lightning
Or like an Autumn shower, only for a moment . . .
Why should I then covet the pleasures you speak of?
I see your bodies are full of all impurity:
Birth and death, sickness and age are yours.
I seek the highest prize, hard to attain by men—
                                                            The true and constant wisdom of the wise.

 

ASOKA, A BUDDHIST MONARCH

·                    Asoka- Greatest of the monarchs of the Mauryan dynasty.

                        *Converted to Buddhism sometime in the third century B.C.E. Chandragupta Maurya had ruled successfully for a                         quarter century and then, according to leg­end, he retired to a monastery and turned over his throne to his son                         Bindusara.

                        *generally considered to be the greatest ruler in the history of India

The Rule of the Fishes: India after the Mauryas

·                    Mauryan- After Asoka's death in 232 B.C.E. the Mauryan Empire began to decline.The last Mauryan ruler was overthrown by one of his military commanders, and India slipped back into disunity.

·                    Some historians suggest that a decline in regional trade during the first millennium C.E. may have contributed to the growth of small land-based kingdoms, which drew their primary income from agriculture

·                    The political behavior of the ruling class was characterized by what Indians call the "rule of the fishes," which glorified warfare as the natural activity of the king and the aristocracy

·                     The Arthasastra, which sets forth a model of a centralized Indian state, assumed that war was the "sport of kings"

·                    Whatever the reasons, the consequences for India were often unfortunate and sometimes tragic. Internal divisions not only undermined government efficiency and social stability, but also opened the door to foreign conquest.

The Sutrakrtanga-A celibate monk shouldn't fall in love, and though he hankers after pleasure he should hold himself in check, for these are the pleasures which some monks enjoy.If a monk breaks his vows, and falls for a woman, she upbraids him and raises her foot to him, and kicks him on the head.

The Hundred Schools of Ancient Philosophy

·                     Religious belief-The first hint of the nature of religious belief in ancient China comes from relics found in royal tombs in Neolithic times.

·                     Chinese-By then, the Chinese had already developed a religious sense beyond the primitive belief in the existence of spirits in nature.

                         *As time went on, the Chinese concept of religion began to evolve from the idea of a vaguely anthropomorphic god to               a somewhat more impersonal symbol of universal order known as Heaven (Tian, or Tien)

                        *The Chinese have traditionally believed that bad times will be followed by good times, and vice versa.

·                     Yin & Yang-One of the earliest ideas was that the universe was divided into two primary forces of good and evil, light and dark, male and female, called the yang and the yin, represented symbolically by the sun (yang) and the moon (yin).

·                    A carry­over from the Shang period when sorcerers used oracle bones to seek communication with the gods, undoubtedly encouraged the practice of divination and other attempts to predict the future.

CONFUCIANISM

·                     Confucius-political and social philosopher.

                        (the Latin form of his honorific title Kung Fuci, or Kung Fu-tzu, meaning Master Kung) was born in the state of Lu (in the modern province of Shandong) in 551 B.C.E.

                        Much of his concern was with human behavior. The key to proper behavior was to behave in accordance with the Dao.

·                     Dao(way)-The idea of the Dao is reminiscent of the concept of dharma in ancient India and played a similar role in governing the affairs of society. Two elements in the Confucian interpretation of the Dao are particularly worthy of mention.

                        *The first is the concept of duty. It was the responsibility of all individuals to subordinate their own interests and aspirations to the broader need of the family and the community.

                        *A second key element in the Confucian interpretation of Dao is the idea of humanity, sometimes translated as "human heartedness." This concept involves a sense of compassion and empathy for others.

·                     Analects-a collection of his sayings preserved by his disciples

                        *Confucius's ideas passed on to later generations through the Analects as well as through other writings allegedly written by Confucius

LEGALISM

·                     One school of thought that became quite popular during the "hundred flowers" era in ancient China was the philosophy of Legalism

·                     Legalists-argued that human beings were by nature evil and would follow the correct path only if coerced by harsh laws and stiff punishments.

                        *The legalists disagreed with the Confucian belief that the universe has a moral core.They therefore believed that only firm action by the state could bring about social order. Because human nature was essentially corrupt, officials could not be trusted to carry out their duties in a fair and evenhanded manner, and only a strong ruler could create an orderly society. All human actions should be subordinated to the effort to create a strong and pros­perous state subject to his will.

                        * Legalism bears a superficial resemblance to modern Western democratic society in its emphasis on the need for impartial laws to govern human behavior, but it is closer to modern totalitarian doctrines in its conviction that the ultimate objective of the political process is not the welfare of the individual, but the needs of the state.

DAOISM

·                     According to Chinese tradition, the Daoist school was founded by a contemporary of Confucius popularly known as Lao Zi or the Old Master.

·                     Dao DeJing-  an enigmatic book

·                    Daoism-it attempts to set forth proper forms of behavior for human beings here on earth.

                        *Daoism presents a view of life and its ultimate meaning that is almost diametrically opposed to the one adopted by Confucius and his followers.

                        *Daoists contend that the true way to interpret the will of Heaven is not action, but inaction

·                    The Dao De Jing (The Way of the Dao)is the great classic of philosophical Daoism.