1. To recognize own limitations or possibilities for one’s transcendence.

2. To evaluate own limitations and the possibilities for one’s transcendence.

3. To recognize how the human body imposes limits and possibilities for one’s transcendence
4. To distinguish the limitations and possibilities for transcendence

Introduction: Transcending in the Global Age

Hinduism – at the heart of Hinduism lies the idea of human beings’ quest for absolute truth, so that
one’s soul and the Brahman or Atman (Absolute Soul) might become one.

Recognize the Human body imposes limits and possibilities for transcendence

A. Hinduism: Reincarnation and Karma

Essential Hinduism is based on the belief in karma and has its first literary expression in
Upanishads. Everything in this life is a consequence of actions performed in previous existence.
For the Jains, there is nothing mightier in the world than karma; karma tramples down all
powers.
B. Buddhism: Nirvana
Nirvana means the state in which one is free from all forms of bondage and attachment. It
means to overcome and remove the cause of suffering. It is also who is unencumbered from all
the fetters that bind a human being in existence.
The Buddha’s silence is due to his awareness that nirvana is a state that transcend every
mundane experience and cannot be talked about. Nirvana is beyond the sense, language and
thought. This way of life conforms to Buddha’s teaching that wisdom consists in treading the
Middle Way, avoiding the extreme of asceticism, inactivity and indifference on the one hand and
that of frantic activity and mindless pursuit pleasure on the other

The Aum (Om) the root of the universe and everything that exists and it continues to hold
everything together.

Buddhism: From Tears to Enlightenment

“Like stars fading and vanishing at dawn, like bubbles on a fast-moving stream, like morning
dewdrops evaporating on blades on grass, like candle flickering in a stormy wind, echoes, mirages, and
phantoms hallucinations and like a dream” – The Buddha

Buddhism, is a major Easter tradition, contained in the teachings of its founder, Siddharta
Gautama or The Buddha. The teaching of Buddha has been set forth traditionally in the “Four Noble
Truths” leading to the “Eightfold Path” to perfect character or arhatship, which in turn gave assurance of
entrance in Nirvana (enlightened wisdom) at death.

“Four Noble Truths”

1. Dukkha – Life is full of suffering

2. Samudaya – Suffering is caused by passionate desire, lusts, cravings
3. Nirodha – Only as these are obliterated, will suffering cease
4. Magga – Such eradication of desire may be accomplished only by following the Eightfold path of
earnest endeavor.

Eightfold Path

1. Right Mindfulness
2. Right Action
3. Right Intention
4. Right Livelihood
5. Right Effort
6. Right Concentration
7. Right Speech
8. Right Understanding
 Hinduism
Human beings have a dual nature
1. One is a spiritual and immortal essence (Atman)
2. Empirical Life and Character (Brahman)

The existence of the body is considered as nothing more than an illusion and even an obstacle to
an individual’s realizations of one’s real self.

 Hindus generally believe that the soul is eternal but bound by the law of karma (action)
to the world of matter
 Transmigration or metempsychosis is a doctrine that adheres to the belief that a
person’s soul passes into some other creature, human, or animal.
 Moksha is an enlightened state wherein one attains one’s true selfhood and finds
oneself with the One, the Ultimate Realty, the All-Comprehensive Reality: Brahman
 Samsara – cycle of life and death; a state of “nothingness”
 The goal of human life is conceived by the different Upanishads is to overcome
congenital ignorance. The Upanishads or sometimes referred to as Vedanta, the
concepts of Brahman and Atman (soul self) are central ideas in all Upanishads, with
“Know your Atman” as their thematic focus.
 For Hinduism, one’s whole duty is to achieve self – knowledge to achieve self-
annihilation and absorption into the Great Self
 Hinduism is one of the oldest Eastern traditions, practiced by hundreds of millions of
people for about 5,000 years

EVALUATE OWN LIMITAIONS AND THE POSSIBILITIES FOR THEIR TRANSCENDENCE

A. Forgiveness – when we forgive, we are freed from our anger and bitterness because
of the actions and/or words of another.
B. The Beauty of Nature – there is perfection in every single flower; this is what the
three philosophies believed. For a hug, for every sunrise and sunset, to eat together
as a family, are our miracles.
C. Vulnerability – to be invulnerable is somehow inhuman. To be vulnerable is to be
human. The experience that we are contingent, that we are dependent for our
existence on another is frightening
D. Failures – our failures force us to confront our weakness and limitation. When a
relationship fails, when a student fails a subject, when our immediate desires are
not met, we are confronted with the possibility of our plans and yet, we are forced
to surrender to a mystery or look upon a bigger world.
E. Loneliness – our loneliness can be rooted from our sense of vulnerability and fear of
death.
F. To love is to experience richness, positivity, and transcendence. Life is full of risks,
fear and commitment, pain and sacrificing and giving up thing/s we want for the
sake of the one we love.

Christianity

Biblical God and Humanity

This section looks at the reasonableness of belief in Gods existence. We shall treat the statement that
“God exists” as a hypothesis, which we call theistic hypothesis. For Augustine