HINDUISM
Basic facts
 Combination of many ancient
religions
 Began as a Polytheistic Religion
 Aryan and Indus River Valley
religions
 More beliefs/ideas slowly added
on
 Belief in many gods
 All are part of an all-powerful
spiritual force called brahman
Trinity of Important
Gods
-Brahma
-Shiva (destroyer)
-Vishnu (preserver)
HINDUISM
Basic Facts
 Sacred texts- Vedas, Upanishads and Bhagavad-Gita
 Ultimate goal of life is to achieve moksha, or union with
brahman
 In order to do this, a soul must be reincarnated through
different forms
 If you live according to dharma, moral duty, and ahimsa,
nonviolence, you can move up each time you are reincarnated
 Karma refers to the actions you make in one life that
determine your fate in the next life
The wheel is an
important Hindu
symbol because it
demonstrates the
cyclical nature of
life, or reincarnation
HINDUISM
Caste System
played an important
role in Hinduism
 Believe that each
level was a different
species of being
 Higher you were
closer you were to
moksha
HINDUISM
Caste system originally based on occupation –
unable to move up it in life.
However, it did provide social order/stability
Provided identity and interdependence
Marriage across castes was originally prohibited
Before long Hinduism spread throughout India
and Asia
BUDDHISM
Based on teachings of mortal man
 Why is that important?
Siddhartha Gautama born into
royalty 563 BC and chose to wander
country looking for life without
suffering
 Found enlightenment through meditation
 Spent his life teaching his ways
BUDDHISM
Beliefs
Four Noble Truths (heart of Buddhism)
1. all life is full of suffering, pain and sorrow
2. cause of suffering is desire for worldly goods
(possessions, love, etc)
3. only cure is to overcome this desire
4. to overcome this desire one must follow the
Eightfold Path
BUDDHISM
Eightfold Path
BUDDHISM
If you:
Understand Four Noble Truths
Follow Eightfold Path
Follow the Middle Path/Middle Way- life of
balance not too much pleasure and not too
much pain
And Meditate
You can become Enlightened, or reach Nirvana,
being one with the universe (no more
reincarnation)
BUDDHISM
Spread of Buddhism
 Missionaries and traders spread Buddhism throughout Asia (Silk Road)
 Declined in India however, many beliefs absorbed by Hinduism
 Over time Buddhism was split into 2 major sects
 Theravada- only most dedicated can reach enlightenment
 Mahayana- ordinary people can reach enlightenment
SYMBOLS OF BUDDHISM
HINDUISM AND BUDDHISM
Similarities
Same traditions/roots
Both stress
nonviolence and
intense reflection
Both believe in karma,
dharma, and
reincarnation
Both religion’s goal is
to reach enlightenment
(nirvana or moksha)
Differences
Buddhism does not
rely on priestsindividuals can reach
enlightenment
Buddhism rejects caste
system
Buddhism’s founder is
a human
Hindus worship many
gods