WHAPUnit 2: Classical Era, 500 BCE to 500 CE
Chapter 5, Eurasian Cultural Traditions
Cultural Traditions of India
Hinduism & Birth of Buddhism
Crash Course WH: Buddha & Ashoka
Hinduism
One of the MOST ancient religions. Dates back
to the times of the Indus Valley.
No 'founder' - developed over many years and
many groups of people very slowly.
Problem with life is samsara - wandering
through multiple lives
Moksha = how you end samsara, pops one out
of the cycle of life/death/rebirth.
"Big Tent Religion"
★ Most diverse and accommodating of the
major religions.
★ Best example is welcoming Buddha has a
Hindu incarnation of Vishnu. (Same with
Jesus)
Religious Texts:
Scriptures of the Vedas & Upanishads
move to ...
The Bhagavad Gita
Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva seated on lotuses with
their consorts, Saraswati, Lakshmi and Paravati
respectively.
"The three greatest Hindu deities are shown here
together with their consorts. They are sometimes
regarded as a trinity, who together represent aspects
of the supreme godhead."
Caste & Hinduism seem to be
intricately connected.
Very colorful gods.
Many who study Hinduism say there
is only truly 1 god = like the trinity
(Trimurti—the three aspects of the universal supreme
God)
Brahma - creator
Vishnu - sustained
Shivas - destroyer
*also women find attractive that there
are female gods.
Indian Cultural Tradition = Hinduism/Caste System
Diversity of gods, spirits, beliefs, practices,
rituals, and philosophies.
Brahman – “World Soul” the final and
ultimate reality (similar to Chinese Dao)
Only Brahman was real, not what humans perceive with their
senses = illusion.
Final goal is to have the atman union with
Brahman, called moksha = liberation.
Left: Shvetaketu learns about death (from
the Chhandogya Upanishad)
Bottom & Right: Like water changing form,
one can attain moksha or liberation.
World Religions: Interview with Stephen Prothero, NY Times Best Selling author.
Vedas: Poems, hymns, prayers, & rituals.
Compiled by Brahmins.
Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the
oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest
scriptures of Hinduism.
They are supposed to have been directly revealed and
created by Brahma.
The Vedic texts are organized around 4 canonical
collections of metrical material, of which the first 3
are related to the performance of yajna (sacrifice) in
historical Vedic religion:
★ Rigveda: hymns to be recited by the presiding
priest;
★ Yajurveda: containing formulas to be recited by
the officiating priest;
★ Samaveda: containing formulas to be sung by the
priest that chants;
★ Atharvaveda: collection of spells & incantations,
apotropaic charms & speculative hymns.
Bhagavad Gita
“O Krishna, when I see my own people . . .
eager for battle, my limbs shudder, my mouth
is dry, my body shivers, and my hair stands
on end. I can see no good in killing my
own kinsmen.”
Krishna replied, “Do not despair of your
duty. If you do not fight this just battle
you will fail in your own law and in your
honor.” -From Barbara Keller, ed., The Bhagavad-Gita, 1986.
Who is Krishna?
How does Krishna respond?
Upanishads: Sacred Texts that probed inner
meaning of sacrifice described in the Vedas.
From the Katha Upanishad:
“Higher than the senses are the objects of sense.
Higher than the objects of sense is the mind;
And higher than the mind is the intellect (buddhi).
Higher than the intellect is the Great Self (tman).
Higher than the Great is the Unmanifest (avyakta).
Higher than the Unmanifest is the Person.
Higher than the Person there is nothing at all.
That is the goal. That is the highest course.”
From Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and Charles A. Moore, eds.,
A Source Book in Indian Philosophy,
Princeton University Press, 1957.
What is the goal?
What is the lowest level mentioned?
According to the Venn diagram above,
which religion claims that a single
force governs the universe?
1. Ordinary life is full of suffering.
2. This suffering is caused by our desire to
satisfy ourselves.
3. The way to end suffering is to end desire for
selfish goals and to see others as extensions
of ourselves.
4. The way to end desire is to follow the Middle
Path.
What causes suffering?
How can we end suffering?
How does Buddhism compare to Hinduism?
Theravada = Teaching of the Elders
Was a simplified and more accessible version of Hinduism
Buddha as a teacher & model, but not divine.
Buddhism more of a philosophy than a
religion.
How does Buddhism compare to Hinduism?
Mahayana = “Great Vehicle”
Retained a view of karma through
Mahayana version of Buddhism.
Bodhisattvas = spiritually advanced and
developed people that prolonged their own
entry into nirvana to assist others through
their suffering.
Buddha himself became something of a god.
Key Difference Between Mahayana Buddhism
& Theravada Buddhism
Mahayana Buddhism turned Buddha
into a divine figure to whom one offer
devotion.
Borobudur stupas overlooking a mountain.
For centuries, it was deserted
Adopting a sophisticated form of
Mahayana ("great vehicle") Buddhism
from monastic centers in northern and
northeastern India, Javanese
Buddhists created images of the
Buddha as well as of members of the
Buddhist pantheon.
Tara (pic above left) helps extend
the powers of the Buddha-to-be
Avalokiteshvara, but she is frequently
worshiped as an independent deity- a
savior who helps convey the rays of
Avalokiteshvara's compassion to the
suffering beings of this world.
Indian Brahman
(concept of the "world soul“)
most similar to the Buddhist
Nirvana
Not THAT Nirvana!