Belief Systems and
Cultural Traditions
in ancient Rome and Han
China
There are five main beliefs systems and cultural
philosophies that
emerged between 600 BCE and
600 CE. These systems were Buddhism, Confucianism,
Daoism, Christianity, and Greco-Roman philosophies.
Buddhism: Teachings of Enlightenment
Buddhism is a nontheistic religion founded by Siddhartha Gautama in Northeastern India. This belief has about 300 million
followers. The basic beliefs of Buddhism include karma, Four Noble Truths, the Cycle of Rebirth, and the Noble Eightfold Path.
Four Noble Truths:
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Life is suffering
Suffering comes from desire
Solution to suffering lies in restraining desire
Following the Eightfold Path can curb desire
Noble Eightfold Path:
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right views
right aspirations
right speech
right conduct
right livelihood
right effort
right mindfulness
right meditation
http://www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm
Types of Buddhism:
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Theravada
Mahayana
Both encompass the same teachings
and practices, but have different
purposes. Theravada wants to
achieve nirvana for relief of suffering,
and Mahayana want to achieve
nirvana for happiness.
Confucianism: Promoting Social Harmony
Confucianism is an ethical belief system that stems from the teachings of Confucius. His teachings were started
during the Zhou Dynasty, but were not fully adopted and popular until later when the Qin and Han dynasties prevail. The
philosophy’s basis is benevolence, avoidance of violence, justice, rationalism, loyalty, and dignity.
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ritual and etiquette
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love within the family- parents love their children and children love their parents
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righteousness
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honesty and trustworthiness
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benevolence and humanity towards other
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loyalty to state
http://philosophy.lander.edu/oriental/main.html
Greco-Roman Philosophy & Science
Greco-Roman Philosophy comes from the idea of Greek influences on the Romans. The main ideas around greco-roman
philosophies/science were logic, empirical observation and the nature of political power and hierarchy.
Platonism: Any theory that is based off of Plato’s original philosophies. Plato developed a philosophy regarding “forms”. Forms were
Plato’s theory of realities that were eternal and never changed. His beliefs centered around the quality of life including religion ,
politics and ethics.
Aristotelianism: Any theory based off Aristotle’s (Greek) original philosophies. Aristotle derived his beliefs from an influence of
Socrates’ and Plato although altered some of the teachings from his mentors.
Cynicism: The theory of believing humans are selfish, dictated by emotions, and are barbaric by nature.
Epicureanism: Developed by Epicurus in Athens. The theory that although gods do exist, the highest meaning of life is to seek
pleasure before we die, not abide by the gods. They believed politics were pointless. From the outside Epicureanism seemed to
be looked at as selfish.
Stoicism: Developed in Athens, the stoics believed that a person of perfect intellectual and morals would not suffer destructive
emotions. Through a focus on human knowledge, and logic they believed everyone was equal even slaves.
Skepticism: Skepticism derived from the word skepsis which meant to examination, inquiry and consideration. Skeptics always
had opinions even if not aware of the knowledge of the subject. There were two types of skepticism academic and pyrrhonian.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/464215/Platonism http://philosophyforlife.org/philosophies-for-life/epicureans/
http://www.philosophybasics.com/movements_aristotelianism.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cynicism_(contemporary)
http://www.iep.utm.edu/skepanci/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stoicism
Christianity’s Expansion and Origins
Christianity is the religious base of life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. Christianity is the worlds largest religion with over 2.2 billion
followers and 21,000 denominations.
Rise
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Christianity originated with the Messianic Prophecies in the old testament that were written in the Law of Moses , the Prophet and
the Psalms stating that Jesus, the Messiah and the savior, was coming
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Christianity originated in the city of Jerusalem in present day Israel
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The founder of christianity is Jesus Christ, who was born in Bethlehem
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The Messianic Prophecy was fulfilled by Jesus Christ
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The Jews who accepted Jesus as their savior became know as Christians
Spread
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Christianity spread initially from Jerusalem to places such as Mesopotamia, Assyria,Syria, and Egypt.
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Christianity mainly spread through missionaries in the early days(St. Paul was the first missionary and was the first to spread
Christianity), a missionary someone who does religious work in foreign land
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Many people converted to christianity to have a equal afterlife and many people gravitated to have new new hope
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Jesus and his disciples went from village to village teaching Jews how to Repent to Restore faith and forgiveness to ensure everlasting
life in spirit for those who believed in him, and God the Father.
http://www.evidenceforchristianity.org/where-did-christianity-originater/
http://www.waupun.k12.wi.us/Policy/other/dkhut/religions/22%20Spread%20of%20Christianity.html
Daoism: The balance between human and nature & Medical Theories/Practices
Daoism is a philosophy, similar to that of Confucianism. Daoism surfaced during the Warring States period and its originator, Laozi,
sought for peace. He urged people to follow the “path” or dao. This philosophy focuses on acceptance of any events that occur, by
avoiding unnecessary struggles, violence, and allowing the “path” to guide you. The Daoist belief is that the world has no meaning, which
evokes the philosophy’s main purpose- simply following the path. It also focuses on the balance of a persons’ physical and spiritual
nature (Yin&Yang).
Daoism Influence on Medical Theories:
Some early Daoist philosophy was associated with magic and mysticism. From this stemmed alchemist Daoism. This included the
search for an idea to live longer through diet, exercise, meditation, and herbs. One strong medical theory that came from Daoist teachings
was the idea of conducting oneself by the seasons. In the winter, where Yin was strongest, go to bed early and wake up late. In
summertime, where Yang was strongest, go to bed late and wake up early. This was keeping one’s self balanced. In the winter you were
conserving your energy and weighing on your physical nature. In the summer time you were weighing on your spiritual nature and
experiencing outdoors.
http://www.arcworld.org/faiths.asp?pageID=35
http://www.fofweb.com.gatekeeper.chipublib.org/NuHistory/default.asp?ItemID=WE49