HINDUISM

Hinduism is a religion with various Gods and Goddesses. According to Hinduism, three Gods rule the
world. Brahma: the creator; Vishnu: the preserver and Shiva: the destroyer. Lord Vishnu did his job of
preserving the world by incarnating himself in different forms at times of crisis.

Hinduism, religion that originated in India and is still practiced by most of its inhabitants, as well as by
those whose families have migrated from India to other parts of the world (chiefly East Africa, South
Africa, Southeast Asia, the East Indies, and England). The word Hindu is derived from the Sanskrit
word sindhu (“river”—more specifically, the Indus); the Persians in the 5th century BC called the Hindus
by that name, identifying them as the people of the land of the Indus. The Hindus define their
community as “those who believe in the Vedas” (see Veda) or “those who follow the way (dharma) of
the four classes (varnas) and stages of life (ashramas).”

Karma is regarded as a fundamental law of nature that is automatic and mechanical. It is not something
that is imposed by God or a god as a system of punishment or reward, nor something that the gods can
interfere with.
The word karma refers primarily to "bad karma" - that which is accumulated as a result of wrong
actions. Bad karma binds a person's soul (atman) to the cycle of rebirth (samsara) and leads to
misfortune in this life and poor conditions in the next. The moral energy of a particular moral act bears
fruit automatically in the next life, manifested in one's class, disposition, and character.
Hindu texts also prescribe a number of activities, such as pilgrimages to holy places and acts of devotion,
that can wipe out the effects of bad karma. Such positive actions are sometimes referred to as "good
karma." Some versions of the theory of karma also say that morally good acts have positive
consequences (as opposed to simply neutral).
In Vedanta and Yoga teachings, there are three types of karma:
- Prarabdha karma - karma experienced during the present lifetime
- Sancita karma - the store of karma that has not yet reached fruition
- Agamin or sanciyama karma - karma sown in the present life that will come to fruition in a future life.

BELIEFS
 Truth is eternal.

Hindus pursue knowledge and understanding of the Truth: the very essence of the universe and

the only Reality. According to the Vedas, Truth is One, but the wise express it in a variety of

ways.

 Brahman is Truth and Reality.

 Hindus believe in Brahman as the one true God who is formless, limitless, all-inclusive, and

eternal. Brahman is not an abstract concept; it is a real entity that encompasses everything (seen

and unseen) in the universe.

 The Vedas are the ultimate authority.

The Vedas are Hindu scriptures that contain revelations received by ancient saints and sages.

Hindus believe that the Vedas are without beginning and without end; when everything else in the

universe is destroyed (at the end of a cycle of time), the Vedas remain.

 Everyone should strive to achieve dharma.

Understanding the concept of dharma helps you understand the Hindu faith. Unfortunately, no

single English word adequately covers its meaning. Dharma can be described as right conduct,

righteousness, moral law, and duty. Anyone who makes dharma central to one’s life strives to do

the right thing, according to one’s duty and abilities, at all times.

 Individual souls are immortal.

A Hindu believes that the individual soul (atman) is neither created nor destroyed; it has been, it

is, and it will be. Actions of the soul while residing in a body require that it reap the consequences

of those actions in the next life — the same soul in a different body.

The process of movement of the atman from one body to another is known

as transmigration. The kind of body the soul inhabits next is determined by karma (actions

accumulated in previous lives).

 The goal of the individual soul is moksha.

Moksha is liberation: the soul’s release from the cycle of death and rebirth. It occurs when the

soul unites with Brahman by realizing its true nature. Several paths can lead to this realization

and unity: the path of duty, the path of knowledge, and the path of devotion (unconditional

surrender to God).
Doctrine

The first of the five strands of Hinduism is doctrine, as expressed in a vast textual tradition anchored to
the Veda (“Knowledge”), the oldest core of Hindu religious utterance, and organized through the centuries
primarily by members of the learned Brahman class. Here several characteristic tensions appear. One
concerns the relationship between the divine and the world. Another tension concerns the disparity
between the world-preserving ideal of dharma and that of moksha (release from an inherently flawed
world). A third tension exists between individual destiny, as shaped by karma (the influence of one’s
actions on one’s present and future lives), and the individual’s deep bonds to family, society, and the
divinities associated with these concepts.

Practice

The second strand in the fabric of Hinduism is practice. Many Hindus, in fact, would place this first.
Despite India’s enormous diversity, a common grammar of ritual behaviour connects various places,
strata, and periods of Hindu life. While it is true that various elements of Vedic ritual survive in modern
practice and thereby serve a unifying function, much more influential commonalities appear in
the worship of icons or images (pratima, murti, or archa). Broadly, this is called puja (“honouring [the
deity]”); if performed in a temple by a priest, it is called archana. It echoes conventions of hospitality that
might be performed for an honoured guest, especially the giving and sharing of food. Such food is
called prasada (Hindi, prasad meaning “grace”), reflecting the recognition that when human beings make
offerings to deities, the initiative is not really theirs. They are actually responding to the generosity that
bore them into a world fecund with life and possibility. The divine personality installed as a home or
temple image receives prasada, tasting it (Hindus differ as to whether this is a real or symbolic act, gross
or subtle) and offering the remains to worshipers. Some Hindus also believe that prasada is infused with
the grace of the deity to whom it is offered. Consuming these leftovers, worshipers accept their status as
beings inferior to and dependent upon the divine. An element of tension arises because the logic
of puja and prasada seems to accord all humans an equal status with respect to God, yet exclusionary
rules have sometimes been sanctified rather than challenged by prasada-based ritual.

CHRISTIANITY
Definition of Doctrine
Doctrine is something that is taught; a principle or creed of principles presented for acceptance
or belief; a system of beliefs. In Scripture, doctrine takes on a broader meaning. In
the Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology this explanation of doctrine is given:
"Christianity is a religion founded on a message of good news rooted in the significance of the
life of Jesus Christ. In Scripture, then, doctrine refers to the entire body of essential theological
truths that define and describe that message ... The message includes historical facts, such as
those regarding the events of the life of Jesus Christ ... But it is deeper than biographical facts
alone... Doctrine, then, is scriptural teaching on theological truths."
Christian Creeds
The three major Christian creeds, the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian
Creed, together constitute a fairly comprehensive summary of traditional Christian doctrine,
expressing the fundamental beliefs of a wide range of Christian churches. However, many
churches reject the practice of professing a creed, even though they may agree with the
contents of the creed.
BELIEFS
Its main points include: Belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the Holy
Spirit. The death, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension of Christ. The holiness of the
Church and the communion of saints.
God

Christians believe that there is only one God, whom they call Father as Jesus Christ taught
them.

Jesus

Christians recognise Jesus as the Son of God who was sent to save mankind from death
and sin.

Jesus Christ taught that he was Son of God. His teachings can be summarised, briefly as the
love of God and love of one's neighbour.

Jesus said that he had come to fulfil God's law rather than teach it.

Justification by faith

Christians believe in justification by faith - that through their belief in Jesus as the Son of
God, and in his death and resurrection, they can have a right relationship with God whose
forgiveness was made once and for all through the death of Jesus Christ.

The Trinity

Christians believe in the Trinity - that is, in God as Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Some confuse this and think that Christians believe in three separate gods, which they
don't.

Christians believe that God took human form as Jesus Christ and that God is present today
through the work of the Holy Spirit and evident in the actions of believers.

Life after death

Christians believe that there is a life after earthly death.

While the actual nature of this life is not known, Christians believe that many spiritual
experiences in this life help to give them some idea of what eternal life will be like.
The Saints

These days, the word saint is most commonly used to refer to a Christian who has lived a
particularly good and holy life on earth, and with whom miracles are claimed to have been
associated after their death.

The formal title of Saint is conferred by the Roman Catholicand Orthodox Churches
through a process called canonisation.

Members of these Churches also believe that Saints created in this way can intercede with
God on behalf of people who are alive today. This is not accepted by most Protestants.

In the Bible, however, the word saint is used as a description of anyone who is a committed
believer, particularly by St. Paul in the New Testament (e.g. Ephesians 1.1. and 1.15).

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Prayer and ritual

Prayer

Prayer is the means by which Christians communicate with their God.

The New Testament records that Jesus taught his disciples how to pray and that he
encouraged them to address God as Father. Christians believe that they continue this
tradition.

Sometimes the prayers are formal and part of a ritual laid down for hundreds of years.

Others are personal and spontaneous, and come from personal or group need.

Whilst prayer is often directed to God as Father, as taught by Jesus, some traditions
encourage prayer to God through intermediaries such as saints and martyrs.

Prayers through Mary, as the mother of God, are central to some churches and form a
traditional part of their worship.

The Church

The Christian church is fundamental to believers. Although it has many faults it is

recognised as God's body on earth.

The church is the place where the Christian faith is nurtured and where the Holy Spirit is
manifest on earth.
 It is where Christians are received into the faith and where they are brought together into
one body through the Eucharist.

Baptism

The Christian church believes in one baptism into the Christian church, whether this be as
an infant or as an adult, as an outward sign of an inward commitment to the teachings of
Jesus.

Eucharist

Eucharist is a Greek word for thanksgiving. Its celebration is to commemorate the final
meal that Jesus took with his disciples before his death (the Last Supper).

This rite comes from the actions of Jesus who, at that meal, took bread and wine and asked
his disciples to consume them and continue to do so in memory of him.

At the meal, the wine represented his blood and the bread his body.

The Eucharist (also known as a Communion meal in some churches) is central to the Church
and is recognized as a sign of unity amongst Christians.

Different Churches understand and practice the Eucharist in different ways. As a result, the
central ideas of the Eucharist can cause disharmony rather than unity.

For example, the idea that Christ is present in the bread and wine is interpreted literally by
some churches and metaphorically by others. This has given rise to substantial and often
irreconcilable disagreement.

The Trinity

Christian beliefs concerning God

 There is only one God

 God is a Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit

 God is perfect

 God is omnipotent

 God is everywhere

 God knows everything

 God created the universe

 God keeps the universe going

 God intervenes in the universe

 God loves everyone unconditionally (though people have to comply with various
conditions in order to achieve salvation)

 Human beings can get to know God through prayer, worship, love, and mystical
experiences

 Human beings can get to know God through God's grace - that is through his love and his
power
God the Son

 God lived on earth as Jesus

 Jesus was both wholly God and wholly human

 Jesus was born to a human woman, Mary, but conceived of the Holy Spirit

 Because Jesus was wholly human he was subject to pain, suffering, and sorrow like other
human beings

 Jesus was executed by crucifixion but rose from the dead at the Resurrection

 Jesus's life provides a perfect example of how God wants people to live

 Jesus died on the Cross so that those who believe in him will be forgiven all their sins
God the Holy Spirit

 After the Resurrection, Jesus remained on earth for only a few days before going up into
Heaven

 Jesus promised that he would stay with his followers, so after he went to Heaven he sent
his Spirit to guide them

 The Holy Spirit continues to guide, comfort, and encourage Christians

KARMA
 The concept of karma exposes the false notion that we create our own
morality. For example, it reminds us that kindness to others rewards us
and unkindness punishes us in ways no less real for being subtle or
delayed.
 The concept of karma reinforces the understanding that actions count in
ways that talking or pretending does not. As Jesus said, “Not everyone
who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he
who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter”(Matthew
7:21).
 Belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the Holy Spirit
  The death, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension of Christ
 The holiness of the Church and the communion of saints
 Christ's second coming, the Day of Judgement and salvation of the faithful.

VIEWS
Its main points include: Belief in God the Father, Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and the Holy
Spirit. The death, descent into hell, resurrection and ascension of Christ. The holiness of the
Church and the communion of saints.

BUDDHISM
Basic Beliefs and Practices
The basic doctrines of early Buddhism, which remain common to all Buddhism, include the four
noble truths : existence is suffering ( dukhka ); suffering has a cause, namely craving and
attachment ( trishna ); there is a cessation of suffering, which is nirvana ; and there is a path to
the cessation of suffering, the eightfold path of right views, right resolve, right speech, right
action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. Buddhism
characteristically describes reality in terms of process and relation rather than entity or substance.
Experience is analyzed into five aggregates ( skandhas ). The first, form ( rupa ), refers to
material existence; the following four, sensations ( vedana ), perceptions ( samjna ), psychic
constructs ( samskara ), and consciousness (vijnana ), refer to psychological processes. The
central Buddhist teaching of non-self ( anatman ) asserts that in the five aggregates no
independently existent, immutable self, or soul, can be found. All phenomena arise in
interrelation and in dependence on causes and conditions, and thus are subject to inevitable
decay and cessation. The casual conditions are defined in a 12-membered chain called dependent
origination ( pratityasamutpada ) whose links are: ignorance, predisposition, consciousness,
name-form, the senses, contact, craving, grasping, becoming, birth, old age, and death, whence
again ignorance.
With this distinctive view of cause and effect, Buddhism accepts the pan-Indian presupposition
of samsara, in which living beings are trapped in a continual cycle of birth-and-death, with the
momentum to rebirth provided by one's previous physical and mental actions (see karma ). The
release from this cycle of rebirth and suffering is the total transcendence called nirvana.
From the beginning, meditation and observance of moral precepts were the foundation of
Buddhist practice. The five basic moral precepts, undertaken by members of monastic orders and
the laity, are to refrain from taking life, stealing, acting unchastely, speaking falsely, and
drinking intoxicants. Members of monastic orders also take five additional precepts: to refrain
from eating at improper times, from viewing secular entertainments, from using garlands,
perfumes, and other bodily adornments, from sleeping in high and wide beds, and from receiving
money. Their lives are further regulated by a large number of rules known as the Pratimoksa.
The monastic order (sangha) is venerated as one of the three jewels, along with the dharma, or
religious teaching, and the Buddha. Lay practices such as the worship of stupas (burial mounds
containing relics) predate Buddhism and gave rise to later ritualistic and devotional practices
VIEWS
Buddha's most important teachings, known as The Four Noble Truths, are essential to
understanding the religion. Buddhists embrace the concepts of karma (the law of cause and
effect) and reincarnation (the continuous cycle of rebirth). Followers of Buddhism
can worship in temples or in their own homes.

KARMA
Karma (Sanskrit, also karman, Pāli: kamma) is a Sanskrit term that literally means "action" or "doing". The
term is used within the Buddhist tradition in two senses:
On the specific level, karma refers to those actions which spring from the volition (cetanā; also "urge" or
"intention") of a sentient being. Karmic actions are compared to a seed that will inevitably ripen into a
fruition (referred to as vipāka or phala in Sanskrit and Pali).
On the general level, contemporary Buddhist teachers frequently use the term karma when referring to the
entire process of karmic action and fruition.
In the Buddhist view, developing a genuine, experiential understanding of karmic action and fruition—how all
of one's actions are like planting seeds that will eventually bear fruit—is an essential aspect of the Buddhist
path. Karmic actions are considered to be the engine which drives the cycle of uncontrolled rebirth
(samsara); correspondingly, a complete understanding of karmic action and fruitionenables beings to free
themselves from samsara and attain liberation.
Within Buddhism, the theory of karmic action and fruition (karmaphala) is identified as part of the broader
doctrine of dependent origination (pratityasamutpada), which states that all phenomena arise in dependence
upon multiple causes and conditions. The theory of karmic action and fruition is a specific instance of this
broader doctrine that applies specifically to sentient beings–when there is a volition (cetanā) behind an
action, then the action is karmic action (or seed) that will eventually bear fruition. Every action of body,
speech, or mind is considered to be karmic action, and the determining factor in the quality of one's actions
is our intention or motivation.
Buddhism: Major Doctrines
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
1. The problem: suffering (dis-ease).
2. The cause: desires (thirsting).
3. The ideal: nirvana, the end of suffering & desires.
4. The process: the Eightfold Path; meditation of various kinds; monasticism, itinerancy, or solitude.

FIRST NOBLE TRUTH

“All life is suffering.” Duhkha.
We are always dissatisfied, anxious.
Even when we think we are happy, underneath we “live lives of quiet desperation.”
“Dis-ease.”

SECOND NOBLE TRUTH

“Desires cause suffering.” Trsna.
Not just nasty or selfish desires. Any desire to change the world. Even the desire to do well or help
others or save the planet.
This dominates our psyche: thirsting.
Craving for things; aversion to things; attachment to what we have.

THIRD NOBLE TRUTH

“Extinction”: the end to suffering and desires. Nirvana.
Basic attitude: equanimity, tranquility & openness.
Psychology/Ontology: unity with reality and all things interwoven.
Consciousness: direct perception and oneness with object of perception.
Action: not based on desires > spontaneity.
Emotions: no emotions, or undisturbed free flow.

FOURTH NOBLE TRUTH

“The Eightfold Path.” Includes morality, wisdom, and meditation.
Main technique: meditation. Break the control of our ADD mind so we can experience reality with
undisturbed openness.
Meditation can take many forms, including art.
Often requires break from normal life: monasticism, wayfaring, or reclusion.

REALITY: INTERRELATEDNESS
“Emptiness.” Not empty of reality, but empty of “thingness”: independence and permanence.
All things are radically interrelated. Everything comes into being by mutual co-arising and exists in
mutual conditioning.
“Interbeing.”
An unbroken field of being, with distinctness retained, like a gravitational field.

REALITY: NONSELF
We have desires (and thus suffering) because we are deluded about reality. We believe there is a
“self” separate from the world-out-there.
Because we are separate from the world, there are things to want and to fear.
Enlightenment comes when we realize there is no self/other dichotomy, there is no gap between
consciousness and reality.

REALITY: IMPERMANENCE
Nothing in permanent.
Two basic formulations:
>> Everything will pass away and go out
>> All things are in flux every moment
Thus attachments and desires are deluded and lead to suffering.

BUDDHA NATURE
Fundamental Buddhist doctrine that developed and changed over time
Early notion: we have the potential to become Buddhas (enlightened)
Later development:
we all ARE Buddhas: "original enlightenment"
the phenomenal world is the Buddha

CONSCIOUSNESS
Related to the notion of nonself. No self that "has" consciousness (versus Descartes' "I think therefore
I am")
Denies the dichotomy between subjective consciousness and objective reality. Instead: "direct
perception."
Ideal of "seeing things as they are," which involves perception devoid of the subject/object split and
desires and dis-ease

THE VALUE OF NATURE

Nature is valued highly.
But our response to the value of nature problematic.
Nature can help lead us to enlightenment, or it can be a source of attachment.