Hinduism &
Buddhism
Hinduism
 Hinduism
is a religion that began in
India.
 The religion dates back to 1500 B.C.,
making it the worlds oldest religion.
 There are 750 million Hindus in the
world today.
 Most Hindus still live in India.
Hindu Beliefs
 Hindus believe
in a single Divinity or
supreme God that is present in everything
called Brahman.
 Hindus also believe in other gods who are
aspects of that supreme God such as the
Trinity: Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu.
 A Hindu believes that the individual soul
(atman)
Karma and Reincarnation
 Reincarnation
is the belief that the soul
repeatedly goes through a cycle of being
born into a body, dying, and being reborn
again in a new body.
 Karma, a force that determines the
quality of each life, depending on how well
one behaved in a past life.
 Hinduism says we create karma by our
actions on earth.
 If
you live a good life, you create good karma.
If you live a bad life, you create bad karma.
Reincarnation
Samsara is the wheel of rebirth which means the
soul is reborn from one life form to another.
Continuous cycle of birth, death and rebirth
People may be reincarnated at a higher or lower
level of existence depending on their karma from
their present life.
People may be reborn as plants or animals or they
may be elevated to a higher caste as a human.
Death is not final for Hindus as they expect to be
reborn many times.
Moksha
 Each time
a Hindu soul is born into a better life, it
has the opportunity to improve itself further, and
get closer to ultimate liberation.
 This liberation is called Moksha.
 One attains Moksha when one has "overcome
ignorance", and no longer desires anything at all.
 The ones who reach this state no longer struggle
with the cycle of life and death.
 The way to get to Moksha is to not create any
karma.
 Three paths to achieve Moksha
 The path of duty, the path of knowledge, and the
path of devotion (unconditional surrender to God).
Brahma
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The Creator
Brahma is the first member
of the Hindu Trinity and is
“the Creator”
He periodically creates
everything in the universe.
(The word periodically here
refers to the Hindu belief
that time is cyclical;
everything in the universe —
except for Brahman and
certain Hindu scriptures — is
created, maintained for a
certain amount of time,
and then destroyed in order
to be renewed in ideal form
again.)
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The Maintainer or Preserver
Second member of the Hindu
Trinity.
He maintains the order and
harmony of the universe, which is
periodically created by Brahma
and periodically destroyed by
Shiva to prepare for the next
creation.
Vishnu is worshipped in many
forms and in several avatars
(incarnations).
Vishnu is an important, somewhat
mysterious god. Less visible than
nature gods that preside over
elements (such as fire and rain),
Vishnu is the pervader — the
divine essence that pervades the
universe. He is usually worshipped
in the form of an avatar
Vishnu
VISHNU
Shiva
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SHIVA
The destroyer
Third member of the Hindu
Trinity,
Tasked with destroying the
universe in order to prepare for
its renewal at the end of each
cycle of time.
Shiva’s destructive power is
regenerative: It’s the
necessary step that makes
renewal possible.
Hindus customarily invoke
Shiva before the beginning of
any religious or spiritual
endeavor; they believe that
any bad vibrations in the
immediate vicinity of worship
are eliminated by the mere
utterance of his praise or
name.
Dharma
Dharma: ethical duty based on the
divine order of reality.
The word is the closest equivalent to
“religion.”
Belief that a person has an
obligation or a duty
Varna-Social Class
 Brahmans
or Brahmins - the intellectuals and the
priestly class who perform religious rituals
 Kshatriya (nobles or warriors) - who traditionally
had power
 Vaishya (commoners or merchants) - ordinary
people who produce, farm, trade and earn a
living
 Shudras (workers) - who traditionally served the
higher classes, including laborers, artists, musicians,
and clerks
Sacred Writings
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The Vedas collections of Sanskrit hymns
(written down 1200-900BCE, but based on
older oral versions).
The oral traditions that had been handed
down were recorded in sacred books called
Vedas, or “Books of Knowledge.”
The Upanishads which means the inner or
mystic teaching that were passed down from
guru (teacher) to disciple (student).
Festival: Diwali
Diwali: “Row of lights
Takes place in Oct. or Nov.
It is a series of five festivals
Lights are floated on small rafts
If the candle remains lit, good luck
will follow.
 India’s biggest and most important
holiday of the year
The Ganges River
Falling from
Its source of
Vishnu’s feet
onto Shiva’s
head and out
from his hair,
the water of
the Ganges is
sacred enough
to purify all
sins.
Banaras - Hindu’s Holy City
Pilgrims come from all
over to bathe in the
Ganges.
Countless Hindus come to
Banaras to die.
It has 1500 temples, most
of them devoted to Shiva.
It is a gathering place for
the religiously learned and
their disciples.
Jainism
Jainism is an ancient religion from
India that teaches that the way to
liberation and bliss is to live a life of
harmlessness and renunciation. The
aim of Jain life is to achieve
liberation of the soul.
BUDDHISM
 The
philosophy of Buddhism is based on the
teachings of Lord Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama
(563 and 483 BC), a royal prince of Kapilvastu,
India.
 At the age of twenty nine he left the comforts of his
home to seek answer to the cause of human
sufferings.
 Gautama became the enlightened one, the
Buddha, after wandering and meditation for six
years.
Buddhism
 Buddhism
teaches its followers to
perform good and wholesome
actions and to purify and train the
mind.
 Final goal is to achieve Nirvana
Spread of Buddhism
 The
Buddha spent 45 years traveling throughout
India teaching the Four Noble Truths and the
Eightfold Path.
 Through his efforts, he was able to gain a large
following of several thousand disciples.
 After his death, the Buddha’s followers continued
to travel, preaching the new religion throughout
the Asian continent, into China, Japan, Korea, and
eventually throughout the World.
Four Noble Truths Of Buddhism
 Life
is suffering;
 Suffering is due to attachment;
 Attachment can be overcome
 There is a path for accomplishing this.
Eight Fold Path Of Buddhism
 Right
view is the true understanding of the four
noble truths.
 Right aspiration is the true desire to free oneself from
attachment, ignorance, and hatefulness.
 Right speech involves abstaining from lying,
gossiping, or hurtful talk.
 Right action involves abstaining from hurtful
behaviors, such as killing, stealing,
Eight Fold Path of Buddhism
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Right livelihood means making your living in such a way
as to avoid dishonesty and hurting others, including
animals.
Right effort is a matter of exerting oneself in regards to
the content of one's mind: Bad qualities should be
abandoned and prevented from arising again; Good
qualities should be enacted and nurtured.
Right mindfulness is the focusing of one's attention on
one's body, feelings, thoughts, and consciousness in
such a way as to overcome craving, hatred, and
ignorance.
Right concentration is meditating in such a way as to
progressively realize a true understanding of
imperfection, impermanence, and non-separateness.