Chapter 4
Jainism
Overview
•Tirthankaras & ascetic orders
•Freeing the soul: ethic pillars
•Spiritual practices
•World Jainism
Key terms
ahimsa
anekantwad
aparigraha
Digambara
jiva
muni
samsara
Svetambara
Tirthankaras
“Once when he [sat in meditation], his body
unmoving, they cut his flesh, tore his hair, and
covered him with dirt. They picked him up and
then dropped him, disturbing his meditational
postures. Abandoning concern for his body, free
from desire, the Venerable One humbled himself
and bore the pain.”
Akaranga Sutra
“All breathing, existing, living, sentient creatures should not
be slain, nor treated with violence, nor abused, nor
tormented, nor driven away. This is the pure, unchangeable,
eternal law....Correctly understanding the law, one should
arrive at indifference for the impressions of the senses, and
not act on the motives of the world.
Akangara Sutra
Timeline
before c. 777 BCE Series of 23 Tirthankaras
599-527 BCE Life of Mahavira
from 3rd century BCE Digambaras and Svetambaras
diverge
1914-1997 CE Acharya Tulsi
1970s-1980s CE Jain monks establish Jain centers
outside India
The Tirthankaras and
Ascetic Orders
• Mahavira, “The Great Hero,” is Jainism’s major teacher, a
contemporary of the Buddha
• Mahavira is the twenty-fourth of the Tirthankaras, or
“fordmakers,” considered by Jains to be great teachers
• An ascetic path, Jainism is practiced in its fullest by
monks and nuns
• Some adherents will carry the principle of nonviolence to
wearing a gauze mask to avoid inhaling insects
The Tirthankaras and
Ascetic Orders (continued)
• Jain nuns and monks are celibate; they fast, do penance,
and learn to endure hardships with indifference
– Digambaras
– Svetambaras
• Jainism, an ancient religion of India, holds a modern
relevance in its gentle warnings of the importance of
caring for all life
Mahavira (“great hero”), whose
given name was Vardhamana,
and who was born a kshatriya,
founded Jainism in the 6th
century BCE.
Jain nuns venerate small and colossal statues of Bahubali.
Freeing the Soul:
the ethical pillars
• Karma
– Considered to be subtle matter that accumulates and
clings to us as we think and act
– Distinguish between destructive and nondestructive
types
– Must be eliminated to attain kevala; three principles
• Ahimsa: nonviolence
• Aparigraha: nonattachment
• Anekantwad: nonabsolutism
Spiritual Practices
•Jainism is practiced in its fullest by
monks and nuns
•Laypeople seek to lead simple lives
– Their homes are scrupulously clean
– They are strict vegetarians
– Medicines are prepared without cruel testing on
animals
Spiritual Practices (continued)
•12 “limited” vows Jain laypeople are
to undertake
•The first 5 are most important
–
–
–
–
–
Nonviolence
Truthfulness
Not taking anything that has not been given
Renouncing sexual activity outside of marriage
Limiting one’s possessions
This 15th-century illustrated text of Mahavira shows a monk
resisting the attractions of women.
Festivals and Pilgrimages
• Holy days are celebrated with meditation, renunciation,
fasting, scriptural study, and hymns
• Celebrate Divali but with a 3-day fast and an entire
night of reciting hymns and meditating on Mahavir
• Most important festival is Paryushan Mahaparva, an
annual festival of atonement
• Individuals, families, and groups may also go on
pilgrimages to sacred sites
Ideally Jains worship without expecting personal response or help.
World Jainism
•Has survived as a minority religion
in India for most of its history
•Has been carried out of India by
several teachers
•Acharya Tulsi initiated new orders
of semi-monks and nuns
– Also started the Anuvrat (small vow)
Movement
Mahavira – last of 24
Mahavira is regarded
as the man who gave
Jainism its present-day
form; although this is
true only in the widest
sense. He is sometimes
wrongly called "the
founder of Jainism".
Jain Caves
Considerations…
The virtuous have no
need for religion.
Their Ethical Pillars
•Karma – minute particles
accumulated due to actions
•Ahimsa – all things deserve to live
and evolve
•Aparigraha – possessions possess us;
therefore, non-attachment important
Considerations…
If we live simply we will protect the
environment. Because we will not need
much, we will not need big industries to
produce unnecessary things.
Truth has many facets…
Spiritual Practices
•Celibacy, penance, fasting
•Non-violence to all life
•Usually no clothing
•Purification for liberation
•No external god
Small vows include…
“…avoid willful killing of any innocent
creature, to refrain from attacks and
aggression and to work instead for world
peace and disarmament, to avoid
discrimination on the basis of cast or race,
to eschew religions intolerance, to avoid
false business and political practices….”
“We believe that Lord
Jesus Christ did come to
India at a place called
Pallipana…where there
is a big Jain temple, and
he came into contact
with Jain monks whose
main precepts are nonviolence, peace and
love.”
His Holiness
Muni Shshil Kimarji
“Jesus attained Christ
consciousness at the
age of twenty-five
while in India.
Thereafter, he
returned to Palestine
through Tibet,
Afghanistan, Persia
and areas we now
know as Russia.”
Sai Baba
Rites/Rituals/Ceremonies
•Communion with the
Gods/Holy Ones
•Birth
•Rites of Passage/Puberty
Rights
•Baptism
•Marriage Rites
•Death Rites
Communion with the Gods &
Holy Ones
• The Jains commune with their
deities by worshiping in temples,
meditating, and reciting mantras.
• The Jains worship idols of Jinas, or
“Spiritual Victors”. The most
important of these Jinas are the
Tirthankaras, or “Ford-Makers”, the
24 founders of Jainism.
Worship of the Jinas
The Jains worship publicly in stone temples. They
worship by meditating, chanting mantras, and by
gazing at and anointing the 24 images of the
Tirthankaras, the “Ford Makers”. They also pay
homage to all Jinas, or “spiritual victors”.
Meditations & Mantras
• Meditation (samayika) is
an integral part of Jainism.
During meditation and
worship, Jains often recite
mantras or prayers.
• The most fundamental of
the Jain mantras is the
Navkar Mantra.
The Navkar Mantra
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Namo Arihantanum: I bow down to Arihanta
Namo Siddhanam: I bow down to Siddha
Namo Ayariyanam: I bow down to Acharya
Namo Uvajjhayanam: I bow down to Upadhyaya
Namo Loe Savva-sahunam: I bow down to Sadhu & Sadhvi.
Eso Panch Namokaro: These five bowing downs,
Savva-pavappanasano: Destroy all the sins,
Manglanach Savvesim: Amongst all that is auspicious,
Padhamam Havei Mangalam: This Navkar Mantra is the
foremost.
Ahisma
•Ahisma is the practice of total nonviolence.
•A major principle of Jainism is communion
with one’s environment, or oneness with
one’s surroundings; this is achieved through
Ahisma.
•Ahisma is usually symbolized by a hand
with the palm facing out, which means
“stop”.
Vegetarians
• Because of Ahisma, Jains do not believe in harming living beings,
which all have souls. This means that they do not eat meat, and
many of them do not eat vegetables either.
• The strictest of the Jains eat only fruits, nuts, and milk, which are
acceptable because they are the byproducts of livings beings, not
the actual beings themselves.
Karma
• Karma is the natural moral law of the universe, in which
every good or bad action has a corresponding effect on
the person doing that action.
• According to Jainism there are 2 types of Karma . Ghati
(destructive) and Aghati (non-destructive), each
containing several sub-categories.
• The goal of Jainism is to liberate one’s soul, to become a
Jina (spiritual victor). To become a Jina, one must
escape Karma by leading an ascetic and intrinsically pure
life.
Birth
• There are a few simple ritual that are performed
after the birth of a child
• Priyodhbhav Sanskar: ten days of cleansing, during
which no rituals are performed, but mantras may be
chanted by the priests and offerings received for the
child at a temple.
• Namkaranan Sanskar: the ritual of naming the child,
performed on the 11th, 13th, or 29th after birth. The
name for a boy is selected from the 1008
Jinasahasranam, and for girls chosen from the names
of the woman in the Puranas.
Rites of Passage/Puberty Rites
• The rites of passage/puberty rites
(concerning the laity) that Jains
practice are not strictly practices
of Jainism. Rather they are often
the local Hindu customs. These
customs are acceptable as long as
the do not violate the ethics of
Jainism.
Monks and Nuns
• Monks and nuns must
base their lives on
mahavrats, or the
“great vows”. These
include:
• Not injuring any life
forms, Ahisma
• Truthfulness, Satya
• Not stealing, Asteya
• Celibacy,
Brahmachanga
• Not accepting personal
possessions,
Aparigraha
Water Rituals
• The Jains do not practice baptism.
However, they do have rules that
must be followed when using
water.
• Water should be filtered before use
to prevent harm to living creatures
that may be in the water
• Some stricter (more spiritual) Jains
do not bathe and only use water as
necessary
Marriage Rituals
• Marriage is considered a
social contract, not a
religious practice. The
wedding ceremony may be
simple or very elaborate.
• The rituals performed
around the time of
marriage vary from one
community to another, but
are numerous and may
include some of the
following:
Marriage Rituals
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
– Pre-Wedding Vagdana: Parents declare intended marriage
Laghana Lekhan: marriage negotiation finalized
Sagai and Lagna Patrika Vachan: engagement
ceremonies/rituals
Matruka and Kulkar Sthapan: gods and goddesses are invoked
to bless the couple
– Wedding Ceremony –
Ghudhchadi: groom’s ritual on the day before the wedding
Vara Ghoda: the groom’s procession to the wedding
Torana Vidhi: welcoming ceremony at the wedding
Paraspara Mukh Avalokana: bride and groom look at each other
Marriage Rituals
• Hasta Melap: joining ceremony, priest’s words to the
couple
• Toran Pratishtha: the goddess Lakshmi is honored
• Vedi Pratishtha: the gods of Kshetras are honored
• Agni Sthapan: sacred fire ritual; offerings to the fire god
• Abisheka: couple’s heads are anointed with water
• Gotrachar: lineages of the couple are pronounced
• Granthi Bandhan: ceremonial tying of the couple
together
• Agni Pradakshina: the couple circles the sacred fire four
times while reciting a different mantra each time
around
• Kanyadaan: before the last stage of Agni Pradakshina,
the father presents the bride to the groom
Marriage Rituals
• Vakshepa: “Lord Adinath was married with this ceremony…”
• Second Abisheka: priest wishes the couple well
• Kar-mochan: couple are released, ceremony is ended
– Post Wedding –
• Ashirvada: the elders bless the couple
• Reception: wedding feast
• Sva Graha Aagamana: bride goes to her new home.
• Jina Grahe Dhan Arpana: alms are given at a Jain temple in
thankfulness to the gods
Death Rites
• When a person dies, he or she is cremated as soon as
possible.
• The body is placed on a bier and taken to a place where it
can be burned without harming any living beings.
• The body is taken from the bier and covered with wood.
The body is covered with ghee, camphor, and sandalwood
powder. The last rites are performed by the son of the
deceased.
• The son circles the pyre 3 times while sprinkling water on
the body. While chanting the Namokar Mantra, he lights
the pyre.
• After a while, milk is poured over the scorched area and
the remains are collected in bags.
• The remains are placed in hole and sprinkled with salt.
The hole is covered and the rituals are over.
Reincarnation
• As soon as a person (or any living being) dies, his or
her soul is immediately reborn in another life form.
• If one’s spirituality is such that it should require
punishment, a person may be required to spend time
in one of seven hells. Unlike most views of hell, each
stage of hell becomes increasingly colder. One’s stay
in hell is not eternal; once the punishment is
sufficient, a person’s soul will be reborn into another
life form.
• If people can escape all karma (good and bad), they
will be reborn as a Siddhas, or liberated souls, in the
highest level of heaven, where they will be eternally
happy and separate from the world.
Major Tenets
• Everything is eternal; there is no all-powerful
“God” that has created the world.
• When a living being dies, it is reincarnated.
• All living beings have souls.
• The 3 gems.
• Reverence for the deities (Siddhas, Jinas, and
the 24 Tirthankaras).
• Vegetarianism, or Fruitarianism.
• The great vows, the Mahavrats.
The Sign of Jainism
• This is the sign of Jainism. Each part of
the sign symbolizes an important
principle or belief of Jainism.
• This symbol was adopted by all the sects
of Jainism in honor of the 2500th
anniversary of Lord Mahavira’s spiritual
liberation.
How to Become a Jain
• Jainism is a distinctly Indian religion, although
anyone who is willing to meet their strict
requirements can become a Jain.
• The most fundamental belief of Jainism is
Ahisma, complete non-violence toward all living
beings. No other religion takes the principle of
non-violence to the extent that the Jains do.
Requirements
All Jains must:
• Seek peace with their surroundings and be as non-violent as
possible, Ahisma.
• Be truthful in everything, Satya.
• Deal honestly with people, they must not steal, Asteya.
• Practice the 3 Gems:
• Right faith, right conduct, right knowledge. The most
important of these is faith, after it is obtained the others will
follow.
Basic Philosophy of
Jainism
• Jainism is more than meeting certain
criteria, it is epitomizing certain
philosophies.
• Pure Darshan: pure vision
• Pure Gyan: pure reason/knowledge
• Pure Charitra: pure character
Jainism: The Indian
Religion
Nearly all the people who
practice Jainism live in
India. The traditions and
culture behind Jainism
are distinctly Indian.
However, there are small
groups of followers in
the U.S. and U.K.
Age Of Reason
• For Jains, salvation is an ongoing process of asceticism,
renewal, and holy living.
• Because Jains do not “get saved” in the way that people
of other religions do, they do not have an age of
reasoning.
• If a very wise person is reincarnated as a baby person,
that child may show wisdom and spirituality far beyond
his or her years.
• Instruction in the ways of pure living is begun at an early
age, usually as soon as the child is able to comprehend
language.
• If a child dies, like any other living being, it is
reincarnated immediately.
Is Jainism Growing?
• There are an estimated 4 million Jains in the world.
• Jainism is not a fast growing religion,
although there has been a small increase in
adherents in the U. S. and U. K. in the last 40
years.
• Jains do not actively seek to convert others to
Jainism, rather they are peaceful and
accepting towards all peoples and religions.
Chapter 5
Buddhism
The life and legend of the Buddha
The Dharma
Buddhism spreads abroad
Buddhism in the West
Socially engaged Buddhism
Key terms
anatman (Pali: anatta)
anitya (Pali: anicca)
arhant (Pali: arhat)
bhikshu (Pali: bhikkhu;
feminine: bhikshuni, bhikkhuni)
bodhisattva
deity yoga
Dharma (Pali: Dhamma)
dukkha
karma
kensho
koan
lama
Mahayana
nirvana
Pali Canon
samsara
Sangha
stupa
sunyata
Theravada
Triple Gem
Vajrayana
vipassana
zazen
Zen
“When you open your mind to the truth, then you
realize there is nothing to fear. What arises passes
away, what is born dies, and is not self--so that our
sense of being caught in an identity with this human
body fades out. We don’t see ourselves as some
isolated, alienated entity lost in a mysterious and
frightening universe. We don’t feel overwhelmed by
it, trying to find a little piece of it that we can grasp
and feel safe with, because we feel at peace with it.
Then we have merged with the Truth.
Ajahn Sumedho, Buddhist monk
Beings are infinite in number,
I vow to save them all;
The obstructive passions are endless in number,
I vow to end them all;
The teachings for saving others are countless,
I vow to learn them all;
Buddhahood is the supreme achievement,
I vow to attain it.
Tiantai Zhiyi
The 4 Great Bodhisattva Vows
Timeline
c. 5th century BCE
c. 258 BCE
c. 200 BCE-200 CE
c. 100 BCE-300 CE
c. 80 BCE
c. 50 CE
1st century CE
c. 150-250
c. 550
c. 609-650
845
1222-1282
c. 1200-1500
1959-
Life of Siddhartha Gautama Buddha
Ashoka spreads Buddhism outside India
Theravada develops
Perfection of Wisdom books develop
Pali Canon written down in Sri Lanka
Buddhism spreads to China, SE Asia
Mahayana develops
Life of Nagarjuna
Buddhism enters Japan
Songtsan establishes Tibetan Buddhism
Chinese persecute Buddhism
Life of Nichiren
Buddhism declines in India
China represses Tibetan Buddhism
The Life and legend of the
Buddha
•What we know about him has been
passed down through his followers
•Prolific teachings passed down
orally; written down hundreds of
years after his death
•Followers have recalled his life in
sacred biographies
The life and legend of the
Buddha (continued)
•Siddhartha led a sheltered life of
luxury
•Left home and say the Four Sights:
a bent aged man, a sick person, a
corpse, and a monk
•Left home at 29 to wander as an
ascetic
The life and legend of the
Buddha (continued)
•Vowed to site under tree at Gaya
until enlightenment
•Experienced 4 states of
contemplation and had 3
realizations, he could
– Recall all his past lives
– See the entire cycle of life and death
– See the cause of suffering and the means of
ending it
The life and legend of the
Buddha (continued)
• Spent the next 45 years teaching
• His teaching (dharma) included Four Noble Truths, the
Nobel Eightfold Path, the Three Marks of Existence
• Some followers became monks (bhikshus); women were
allowed to become nuns if they followed the 8 special
rules
• Disciples (the sangha) accepted people from all castes and
levels of society
• When the Buddha died, he told his followers to be
responsible for their own spiritual development
The Dharma
•Buddhism is a non-theistic religion
•There is no personal god nor was
Buddha a god or is worshipped
•Buddha was a man who attained
enlightenment through meditation
and showed the path to freedom
Anatta
•There is no immortal self
•A human being is a energy process
composed of momentary flashes
•All human beings are interconnected
with the universe as energy processes
•Nothing in the world is solid
Reincarnation
•Unlike the Hindu, Buddhism does
not believe in an eternal soul
•But the rebirth process is because
one changing state of being sets
another into motion—karma
•Personality is created moment by
moment
Vow of the Bodhisattva
Beings are infinite in numbers, I vow to save
them all;
The obstructive passions are endless in number, I
vow to end them all;
The teachings for saving others are countless, I
vow to learn them all;
Buddhahood is the supreme achievement, I vow
to attain it.
The Four Noble Truths
•Life inevitably involves suffering, is
imperfect and unsatisfactory
•Suffering originates in our desires
•Suffering will cease if all desires cease
•There is a way to realize this state: the
Noble Eightfold Path
The Noble Eightfold Path
to Liberation
1. Right Understanding: realize and understand the Four
Noble Truths
2. Right Thought or Motives: uncover any unwholesome
roots in one’s thinking, eliminate self-centeredness
3. Right Speech: abstain from lying, gossiping, speaking
harshly, divisive speech
4. Right Action: observe the Five Precepts, namely to avoid
destroying life, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and
intoxicants
The Noble Eightfold Path
to Liberation (continued)
5. Right Livelihood: make a living without violating the
Five Precepts
6. Right Effort: eliminate impurities of the mind and
cultivate wholesome actions
7. Right Mindfulness: be aware in every moment, discipline
the mind
8. Right Meditation: quiet the mind through mental
discipline
The Eight Worldly
Pre-Occupations
Praise
Gain
Fame
Pleasure
Disgrace
Pain
Blame
Loss
The Eight-fold Path
The Wheel of Birth and
Death
•No eternal, independently existing soul
to be reborn
•Central cause is karma
•3 root afflictions: greed, hate, and
delusion
•Cultivating non-greed, non-hate, and
non-delusion act as causes to leave the
circle of birth and death
Mandalas are pictures of the
mind and of the universe.
Moving out from the center,
this wheel of samsara
includes animals representing
lust, hatred, and delusion, the
fates of beings with good
karma (left) and bad karma
(right), the six kinds of birth
from heaven to hell, the chain
of cause and effect, and a
monster grasping the wheel
representing death and
impermanence.
Branches of Buddhism
•Theraveda: way of the elders
– Prevalent in Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma),
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos
•Mayahana: great vehicle
– Prevalent in China, Korea, Mongolia, Vietnam,
Japan, Nepal, Tibet
•Both agree on basic concepts of Four
Noble Truths, karma, samsara,
Approximate distribution of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism.
Theraveda: The path of
mindfulness
•Devotional practices dominate
•Central text is the Pali Canon
•Triple Gem
– The Buddha
– The Dharma
– The Sangha
Mahayana: The path of
compassion and wisdom
•Focus on liberation of all beings
•Many Buddhas and bodhisattvas
•Buddha is an immanent presence in
the universe
•Three bodies of Buddha
•Emptiness (sunyata)
Our word “zero” comes
from the Arabic translation
of the Sanskrit sunya,
which means “empty.”
Buddhists represented
sunyata, “emptiness,” by
a circle.
Other Branches
•Chan and Zen: the great way of
enlightenment
•Pure Land: devotion to Amitabha
Buddha
•Nichiren: salvation through the
Lotus Sutra
•Vajrayana: the indestructible path
Om Mani Padme Hum
(Purity…Jewel…Lotus…Indivisible)
Means something like…
If you practice the path with the complete
union of compassion and wisdom, you can
transform all impurities to become a Buddha.
The Two Truths:
The Question of Inherent Existence
Conventional
Wisdom
Ultimate
Wisdom
The Three Jewels
Buddha
Dharma
Sangha
Spread of Buddhism
The Kali Yuga period…
•Our life-force is weak
•Delusions & emotional sickness prevail
•Violence is rampant
•False attitudes pretend to be true
Advice: In a rotten society, the worst thing
would be to follow the social norm.
Hinayana, Mahayana &
Vajrayana
Vajrayana is the use of subtle vital energies
to transform the mind. The gross mind is
neutralized and the subtle mind “rides” on
the clear light of bliss. This inner light is
considered the only aspect of existence that
is eternal. Once uncovered, one is said to
be capable of attaining Buddha-hood.
In the practice of rituals, the
diamond sceptre (vajra)
symbolizes method and the
bell wisdom. With their
unification the human being
obtains the insight that all
dualities derive from
Relative Truth and that, in
Absolute Truth, subject and
object, internal and external
world, nirvana and samsara
are one and empty.
The Dalai Lama
As a Tulku
Wood Valley Temple
Zen
Zen
Development of Zen
•Buddhism spread to China around
the time of Christ
•It absorbed elements of the Tao
•Bodhidharma in 5th century first
patriarch of Ch’an Buddhism - Zen
Qualities of Zen
•Dismisses all scriptures
•Relies on direct experience towards
cosmic unity
•Zazen – to sit and gain absolute
freedom to not allow any thought to
disturb your original nature
Sengtsan
The Great Way is not
difficult for thos who
have no preferences.
When love and hate
are both absent
everything becomes
clear and undisguised.
6th Patriarch of Zen
Stages of The
Path
Satori
“The moon is the same old moon, the flowers exactly
as they were,
Yet I’ve become the thingness of all the things I see!”
Pure Land
Buddhism
•Modern Japan – needed
Amida Buddha to save
them rather than save
themselves
•Pure Land is similar idea
to Christian heaven
Nichiren
•13th century Japanese
fisherman
•Lotus Sutra
•Strive to save self and
society
•“Namu myoho rengekyo”
Considerations…
“Civilization has nothing to do with
having electric lights, airplanes, or
manufacturing atomic bombs. It has
nothing to do with killing human
beings, destroying things or waging war.
Civilization is to hold one another in
mutual affection and respect.”
Buddhism in the West
•5 million Tibetan Buddhists in west
•Many vipassana retreats
•Thich Nhat Hanh – Vietnamese monk
is author of many books
Engaged
Buddhism
“Not to respond to the suffering around
us is a sign of an insane civilization.”
Dulak Sivaraksa, founder
The Heart Sutra of
Profound Illimination
…noble Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva
mahasattva, said… Form is emptiness;
emptiness also is form. Emptiness is no other
than form; form is no other than emptiness.
In the same way, feeling, perception,
formation, and consciousness are
emptiness. Thus, …all dharmas are
emptiness. There are no characteristics.
There is no birth and no cessation.
There is no impurity and no purity.
There is no decrease and no increase.
…in emptiness, there is no form, no feeling,
no perception, no formation, no
consciousness…… no ignorance, no end of
ignorance up to no old age and death, no end
of old age and death; no suffering, no origin
of suffering, no cessation of suffering, no
path, no wisdom, no attainment, and no nonattainment.
Summary
•You are the source of suffering & liberation
•A soft heart & quiet mind can see the truth
•Ignorance is a mistake in identity
•Truth sees the mistake & eliminates
suffering
•Compassion & wisdom are the tools
•Vow of the Bodhisattva
In this 18th-century painting, Amida
Buddha descends to welcome the
faithful to his Western Paradise. Pure
Land Buddhism taught that Amida
saved all who called on his name.
Tibetan prostrates herself with wooden pads and canvas shield.
How does Buddhism differ
from Hinduism?
Buddhism rejects…
• Authority of the ancient Vedic texts
• The Vedic caste system
• The Vedic and Hindu deities
• The efficacy of Vedic worship and
ritual
• The concept of Brahman
How does Buddhism differ
from Jainism?
Buddhism rejects…
•The concept of Atman
•The practice of strict
asceticism and withdrawal from
the world (preferring the
“middle way”)
•Vegetarianism as required
What do Buddhists believe?
• Rebirth (reincarnation) results from attachments (karma)
• Nirvana is a peaceful, detached state of mind
• Achieving Nirvana means escape from the cycle of
rebirth
Once Gautama Buddha died, after 80 years of life in this
world, having achieved Nirvana and teaching multitudes
his way of life, he ceased to exist as a distinct being
• Buddhism is non-theistic: Buddha is not the Buddhist
God – he is just a revered teacher
Buddhism in the West
• Various forms of Buddhism have spread to the West
– Exodus of thousands of Tibetans
– Efforts of Zen teachers
– Establishment of Theravada vipassana meditation
centers
• Difficult to replicate the monastic traditions in a
Western setting
• For immigrants maintaining Buddhist practices means
maintaining cultural and ethnic traditions
Socially Engaged
Buddhism
•Emerging focus on the relevance of
Buddhism to social problems