Hinduism & Buddhism

Chapter 3 section 2

Outline for ppt

1. Early Chinese and Indian religious beliefs
2. What is social order?
3. What is Hinduism?
4. How did Hinduism influence social order? (Caste)
5. What is Buddhism?
6. How did Buddhism reject the social order created by Hinduism?

OBJECTIVES: �1) How did Hinduism influence the social structure in India?

2) How did Buddhism challenge the social structure developed by Hinduism?

Early Indian Religion

• Known as the Aryan people
• What we know about them comes from a collection of hymns, chants, and rituals known as the Vedas.
• They were polytheistic (believed in many gods) the main god was Indra
• Some spiritual leaders pushed the concept of brahman, a single spiritual power
• Many also began practicing meditation and yoga.

Early Chinese Religion

• Polytheistic religion, main god was Shang Di
• Gods would not respond to mortals, only the spirits of dead people
• Living people needed their ancestors to intervene with the gods for them
• Honored spirits of ancestors by offering sacrifices
• At first only royal families and nobles had ancestors important enough to influence the gods, eventually other classes began doing the same

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Important key terms for the lecture:

Caste - social groups into which people are born and cannot change.�Brahman - spiritual force that is all around us.�Moksha - union with Brahman.�Karma - Good vs. bad karma.�Dharma - religious and moral duties of an individual.�Reincarnation - rebirth, the only opportunity to change caste.�Ahimsa - (nonviolence) - Moral principle of Hinduism.�Siddhartha Gautama - founder of Buddhism.�Four Noble Truths - The heart and soul of Buddhism.�Eightfold Path - How one must act and what one must do to reach nirvana.�Nirvana - To be released from the cycle of rebirth and gain union with the universe.

Social Structure of India

Caste: social groups into which people are born and can’t be changed in your lifetime.

• Closely linked to Hindu beliefs.
• According to Hindus, the higher caste you were, the closer you were to Moksha.
• Caste rules/duties governed every aspect of life.
• Effective separation of all people.
• Provides social order in India

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Hinduism - Goal of Life (Moksha)

• Developed out of many different cultural and religious beliefs over time.
• Believe that everything is part of an unchanging all powerful spiritual force called Brahman.
• Polytheistic
• Goal = reaching Moksha - union with Brahman. (free self of selfish desires)
• Cannot be achieved in 1 lifetime. Developed belief in reincarnation (rebirth).
• Good Karma vs. Bad Karma can move you up or down caste each reincarnation.
• To escape rebirth Hinduism stresses the importance of Dharma - religious and moral duties according to caste.

• Karma - the amount of good work/action following your Dharma - duty that you perform. The more good Karma you build in your Atman (soul) in your life, the better your rebirth.

• If your Atman has better Karma than your previous life, then you are reborn into a higher life or caste. Eventually your Atman will not be reborn into another life form and you will achieve Moksha - release from Samsara and be one with Brahman

Samsara Cycle

Hinduism & Caste

• Hinduism separates people and creates social order.
• Because of the Indian culture, whatever caste you are born into is tied closely to the religious duties and social duties you must perform.
• Because the ultimate goal is to reach MOKSHA and the belief in REINCARNATION, people followed closely the Indian CASTE system in order to one day reach MOKSHA.

1. Which group is closest to Moksha?
2. Which group is outside of the social system entirely?
3. How do you think Hinduism and the Caste system influenced everyday life in ancient India?

Buddhism - Goal of Life (Nirvana/Enlightenment)

Story of Buddha - Siddhartha Gautama was the founder of Buddhism, sought the meaning of life from Hindu priests (Brahmins). Was not satisfied with the answers he was getting, meditated and fasted under a tree until he understood the meaning of life and how to reach a place of no suffering or death.

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Buddhism - Goal of Life (Nirvana/Enlightenment)

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Four Noble Truths - these lie at the heart of Buddhism (explanation of beliefs)� 1) All life is full of suffering, pain, and sorrow.� 2) The cause of suffering is nonvirtue (negative deeds and � mindsets like hatred and desire).� 3) The only cure for suffering is to overcome nonvirtue.� 4) To overcome nonvirtue you must follow the Eightfold Path.

Buddhism - Goal of Life (Nirvana/Enlightenment)

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Eightfold Path - The middle way between a life devoted to pleasure and a life of self-denial. Accepting the Four Noble Truths and following the Eightfold Path are key to reaching Nirvana

Nirvana/Enlightenment - Final goal of Buddhism (similar to Hinduism, union with the universe and release from the cycle of rebirth).

• Buddhism stresses moral principles like honesty, charity, and kindness to ALL.

Eightfold Path

Buddhism rejects Caste

• Buddhism rejected the Caste system developed by Hinduism
• Everyone is able to achieve nirvana regardless of what their social class is.
• This appealed to many Indians as well as other people of South East Asia allowing the religion to spread and grow.

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1. Where did Buddhism originate?
2. Where is the furthest south that Buddhism spread?
3. In which time period did Buddhism reach Korea?
4. Why would Buddhism be more appealing to people than Hinduism?

ABCC writing

A - Address the prompt

B - Back it up with specific evidence

C - Connect the evidence to the argument (how does your evidence help prove your point?)

C - conclude by restating the argument using alternative wording.

Task

Using one of the questions below and the CLAIM provided pick out specific evidence and develop an ABCC response.

Prompts:

1. How did Hinduism influence the social structure in India?�Claim: Hinduism influenced the social structure in India by creating social order.
2. How did Buddhism challenge the social structure developed by Hinduism?�Claim: Buddhism challenged the social structure developed by Hinduism by appealing to all people regardless of caste.