HINDUISM, BUDDHISM, and TAOISM

Kindred religions

Common elements

Emphasis on:Acceptance of things the way they areOvercoming desireHumilityRecognizing that a human life is always extremely short and personal achievements are strictly limitedBelief in a particular way of life: “dharma”Belief in a universal principle of merit: “karma”

Common elements

View of good and bad is more like learning to ride a bicycle than learning spellingRather than a personal god who metes out punishment for breaking rules, these religions are based on universal forces or principles which lead to pain and discomfort if they are ignored (like someone who rides a bicycle recklessly can get hurt)

Hinduism

An ethnic religion of the Indian subcontinent

HINDUISM

A label that includes a wide range of:Religious practicesCustoms BeliefsSacred places Deities

Hinduism is tolerant of this variety and does not condemn certain religious practices or beliefs as evil

Origins of Hinduism

Indo-Europeans were polytheistic and worshipped cattleBrought their beliefs to the Indus Valley by relocation diffusion from 1,400 BC

Rig Veda (oldest Indo-European document, written ca. 1,200 BC) is the foundation of HinduismThe diversity of religious practice in India suggests a process of syncretism (combination of cultures) during a phase of expansion diffusion

Fundamental beliefs of Hinduism

ReincarnationKarmaCaste system (4 main castes or varnas, many sub-castes or jatis)

BrahminKshatriyaVaisyaShudra

Sanctity of the cow

Five Major Doctrines

Truth is one, Sages call it by different names

Rig Veda, 1.164.46

All Mankind is One Family

Hitopadesha, Subhashita Ratna Bhandagare

Law of Karma - As you sow, so shall you reap

Mahabharata, Shantiparva 299.42; BG 18.60

That mode of living which is founded upon total harmlessness towards all creatures or [in case of genuine necessity] upon a minimum of such harm, is the highest morality

Mahabharata, Shantiparva 262.5-6

Whenever there is a decline of virtue, God incarnates Himself on earth to uphold righteousness

Bhagavad Gita 4.7, 4.8

www.hindunet.org

Brahman/Paramatman

Brahman is the supreme realityBrahman has two aspects, transcendent (impersonal and unknowable) and immanent (personal and knowable)In the impersonal aspect, Brahman lies outside the realm of human description and can only be sensed as a presence within oneself and the rest of the universe

God is “immanent,” the universe is the manifestation rather than the creation of God

In the personal aspect, Brahman can be known in various forms—the many Hindu deities and the rest of creation

Deities (gods/goddesses)

Brahma: creative forceVishnu: sustaining force (incarnated as Krishna and others)Shiva: force of renunciation, release, self-mastery

Hanuman (incarnation of Shiva who has Rama in his heart) : epitome of devotionGanesha (son of Shiva & Parvati): remover of obstacles

Saraswati (Brahma’s consort): human creative force, arts & sciencesLakshmi (Vishnu’s consort): prosperity, love, beauty, delightKali/Parvati/Durga (Shiva’s consort): power, transformation, destroyer of evil

Representations of Deities

Hanuman

service, devotion, intelligence, strength

Saraswati

arts and sciences, knowledge, purity

Krishna (an incarnation of Vishnu)

divine love

Shiva

Renunciation, self-mastery

GaneshRemover of obstaclesSource of knowledge (legend attributes the Mahabharata to Ganesh)One of the most commonly-seen icons

Hindu iconography

Images are meant to recall the various aspects or powers of a god, not to be literal representations of a physical form.

For example, four arms on a god are not meant literally to represent a four-armed god.

“He has four hands, elephant's head and a big belly. His vehicle is a tiny mouse. In his hands he carries a rope (to carry devotees to the truth), an axe (to cut devotees' attachments), and a sweet dessert ball -laddoo- (to reward devotees for spiritual activity). His fourth hand's palm is always extended to bless people.”

“A unique combination of his elephant-like head and a quick moving tiny mouse vehicle represents tremendous wisdom, intellegence, and presence of mind.”

www.hindunet.org

Ganesh

Son of Shiva and Parvati

Was protecting his mother while she bathed. His father returned and cut off Ganesh’s head, not knowing the person who kept him from his wife was his own son.

Shiva solved the problem by replacing his son’s head with the head of a passing elephant

Buddhism

An offshoot of Hinduism that is dominant in regions other

than its cultural hearth

BUDDHISM

An outgrowth from Hindu mysticism (tradition of wandering ascetics)Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) lived about 563BC in the foothills of the Himalayas

Raised as royaltyExposed to hardship & suffering in his 20sLived as ascetic for 6 yearsAchieved enlightenment or nirvana by adopting the “middle way”; taught for 45 years throughout India

Branches of Buddhism

Therevada (Hinayana)SE. Asia and Sri LankaFocus on meditation & personal perfection

MahayanaChina, Japan, Korea, TibetBelief in enlightened beings (bodhisattvas) who have perfected themselves to the point they are capable of leaving the cycle of death and rebirth because they have reached nirvanaBodhisattvas remain in human form to help others reach nirvana (perfect contentment, release of attachments, and release from cycle of death & rebirth)

The Eightfold Way

1. right understanding2. right thinking3. right speech4. right conduct5. right livelihood6. right effort7. right mindfulness8. right concentration

What does this all mean?Compassion, patience,

serenity achieved through meditation and self-discipline

Spiritual work is required

The eightfold way leads to Nirvana

Sanskrit for "to extinguish“: means to extinguish ignorance, hatred and earthly suffering

More religious iconography

Buddhist Iconography

“The hollow of the bell symbolizes the wisdom cognizing emptiness. The clapper represents the sound of emptiness. The eight lotus petals are the four mothers and four goddesses and the vase represents the vase containing the nectar of accomplishment.”

Buddha Dharma Education Association http://www.buddhanet.org.au/budstudy/buddhism/history/b_bell.htm

The Buddha Image

The Buddha is the enlightened person, a role model to emulate not a god to try to please or placate

Diffusion of Buddhism

Can people in our culture who have not grown up in a Buddhist household consider themselves Buddhists?

To what extent is the diffusion of Buddhism a case of stimulus diffusion in which popular culture takes an element of folk culture and turns it into a fashion with a set of commodities?

Taoism

A spiritual philosophy

TAOISM

A philosophy about how to live life well

Derived mainly from the writings of Chuang Tzu (ca. 250 BC) and Lao Tzu (6th c. BC)

Teaches a “way” or “path” that is beneficial to one who follows it

Eliminates unhappiness & conflict

Facilitates achievement of goals

Aligns oneself with universal forces

Assumptions of Taoism

Going with the flow of the universe (the Tao) is the most effective way to get things done

Animals, children, even drunks go with the flow; the rest of us have to unlearn our habits of resistance and force

If you are doing something the right way (living in the Tao) you will achieve your goals without feeling that you have exerted yourself

If others become angry with you or admire you too much this is a sign that you are failing to go with the flow (follow the Tao)

One who lives life well lacks nothing, because he or she desires nothing that is difficult to obtain

Accept that things need to run their course, and do not resist the natural tendency of things to work out in a certain way

Is it any wonder that Taoists make use of water metaphors?

Chuang Tzu on sensation

Love of colors bewilders the eye and it fails to see right. Love of harmonies bewitches the ear, and it loses its true hearing.

Love of perfumes fills the head with dizziness. Love of flavors ruins the taste. Desires unsettle the heart until the original nature runs amok.

These five are enemies of true life. Yet these are what men of discernment claim to live for. They are not what I live for. If this is life, then pigeons in a cage have found happiness! (12:15, p. 118)

Chuang Tzu on humilityIf a man is crossing a river and an empty boat collides with his own skiff, even though he be a bad-tempered man he will not become very angry. But if he sees a man in the boat, he will shout at him to steer clear. If the shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and begin cursing. And all because there is somebody in the boat. Yet if the boat were empty, he would not be shouting, and not angry. If you can empty your own boat crossing the river of the world, no one will oppose you, no one will seek to harm you....

Who can free himself from achievement, and from fame, descend and be lost amid the masses of men? He will flow like Tao, unseen, he will go about like Life itself with no name and no home. Simple is he, without distinction. To all appearances he is a fool. His steps leave no trace. He has no power. He achieves nothing, has no reputation. Since he judges no one, no one judges him. Such is the perfect man: His boat is empty. (20:2, 4, pp. 168-171)

Lao Tzu on action

The Tao abides in non-action,Yet nothing is left undone.If kings and lords observed this,The ten thousand things would develop naturally.If they still desired to act,They would return to the simplicity of formless substance.Without form there is no desire.Without desire there is tranquility.In this way all things would be at peace.

Tao

To name Tao is to name no-thing. … Tao is a name that indicates without defining.

Tao is beyond words and beyond things. It is not expressed either in word or in silence. Where there is no longer word or silence Tao is apprehended. (25:11, p. 226)