WORLD RELIGION AND BELIEFS 021 The Four Veda is the basis of Hindus Faith

1. RIG-VEDA
- Collection of hymn that praised God and
discuss idea like truth, reality, universe
HINDUISM along with war, wedding and rituals

2. SAMA-VEDA
- Means sweet song that destroy sorrow:
● Hinduism is oftentimes considered as the oldest
song that are dedicated in praising God.
and most complex of all world religions
It differ from other Veda because it is a
● Has no single founder, no specific theological
set of music or song book
system, and no single sacred text
● The name Hinduism was given in the 19th century
3. YAJUR-VEDA
to describe the wide array of belief systems in
- “Knowledge of rites” rituals and
India
sacrifices to deities
● Hindu originated from the Persian Word HINDU (In
Sanskrit Sindhu) which means “river”. It also refers
4. ATHARVA - VEDA
to the people of the Indus Valley- The Indians
- About the spell in cursing your enemy or
(Bowker 1997). Hinduism was originally known as
charming someone or learn to invoke
“Arya Dharma” or the “Aryan Way”
rain or discover herbal medicine
7 CORE BELIEFS ON HINDUISM
UPANISHAD: Book of Philosophy
- Literally translates as “sitting down near” or “sitting
1. Belief in one Universal Soul: “Brahman” a form
close to” as it implies “listening intently to the
less, gender less source of reality and it is the
mystic teachings of a spiritual teacher who has
materials that made up the universe
fully understood the universal truths”. It could also
2. Belief in an Individual Immortal Soul: “Atman”=
mean “Brahma-Knowledge” whereby ignorance is
Soul; The action of the soul while it is still in the
totally eliminated
body has an effect to the next life “When you die
- The great Indian nationalist and philosopher Sri
your soul will move into another body which is
Aurobindo described the Upanishads as the
called as (Transmigration)”
“Supreme work of the Indian Mind.”
3. Karma: the result of an action that is maybe good
- It explains about the following: Karma (Action),
or bad
Samsara (Reincarnation), Moksha (Nirvana),
4. Moksha: the goal of every hindu is to get back to
Atman (Soul), and Brahman (Absolute Almighty)
Brahman and if you succeed you can freed
yourself from the cycle life and death and achieved
Other Hindu Books
Moksha
- The Ramayana, translated as the ‘Story of Rama”
5. Cyclical Time: there are no beginning or ending.
or “Rama’s Journey,” is a Sanskirt epic poem
Time is a series of cycle and there are 4 cycles
written by the poet Valmiki consisting of 24,000
verses in 7 books and 500 cantos
The 4 Yugas
- Mahabrata which is composed of around one
➔ SATYA
hundred thousand verses making it the world's
➔ TRETA
longest poem
➔ DVAPAR
➔ KALI
Apart from recognizing a vast assortment of Indian deities,
the Hindus believe in the trimurti (trinity) composed of
● Each Yuga is composed of 4.32 million years.
Brahma (creator), Vishnu (Preserver), and Shiva
Hindus believe that we are on the fourth and final
(Destroyer). Integral to Hindu worship are the sacred
YUGA “KALI” that will lead to total destruction of
images and temples believed to house and represent the
reality
deities.
6. Dharma: Proper behavior. Hindu maintain balance
in the universe. If you follow your Dharma
Caste System
everything will be fine.

Ex: if you are a King, your dharma is to rule. Brahmans belong to the highest caste. They are priests
If you are a Lion, your dharma is to kill and eat prays and scholars

Kshatryas are soldiers and warriors

Vaisyas are merchants and professionals


Sudras are the lowest caste. They are labourers and
servants
BUDDHISM
● Siddhartha Gautama Buddha
- Siddharta “He who is aim is
accomplished”
- He lived between 480-400 BC
● One day an old Hermit visit the palace to read the
future of Siddhartha. “If he stay in the palace he
will be a great emperor. But if he go outside he will
be a spiritual leader of the world”
● The king protect Siddhartha and never let him see
the outside world “No sickness, decay, death and
aging
● He married at the age of 16 to Yashodara “first
love” Son Rahula
● One day a musician visit the palace and ask
Siddhartha if he ever wonder what's outside the
big wall
● At the age of 29 the king allowed Siddhartha to go
outside the palace
● He decided he also want to find ways to end the
suffering. He joined the Ascetics (group of monk)
in extreme depravation in order to achieve the
enlightenment
● After 6 years of fasting, nothing happened He eat
again and decided to meditate alone in a Bodhi
Tree (after 49 days at the age of 35 he became
the enlighten one)
● He looked for his 5 ascetic friends and that day the
first revelation of Dharma happened. (4 noble of
truth) Sangha “Buddhist Monk Community”
● For the next 45 years, Siddhartha will gather a lot
of followers and died at the age of 80. he will be
cremated and his remain will be spread throughout
Indian subcontinent
THE FOUR NOBLE TRUTHS
❖ Dukkha
❖ Samudaya
❖ Nirodha
❖ Magga
1. Life is full of suffering
2. Suffering is caused by ignorance and selfish
desire
3. When ignorance and craving are reduced,
suffering is reduced
4. The way to overcome suffering is the path to
enlightenment
THE NOBLE EIGHTFOLD PATH
❖ Right View
- Know the truth
- Understand the “Four Noble Truths”
❖ Right Intention
- Free your mind of evil
- Free one’s self from ill-will, cruelty, and
untruthfulness
❖ Right Speech
- Say nothing that hurts others
- Abstain from untruthfulness,
tale-bearing, harsh language, and vain
talk
❖ Right Action
- Work for the good of others
- Abstain from killing, stealing, and sexual
misconduct
❖ Right Livelihood
- Respect life
- Earn a living in a way not harmful to any
living thing
❖ Right Effort
- Resist evil
- Avoid evil thoughts and overcome them,
arose good thoughts and maintain them
❖ Right Concentration
- Practice meditation
- Concentration on a single object so as
to induce certain special states of
consciousness in deep meditation
❖ Right Mindfulness
- Control your thoughts
- Pay vigilant attention to every state of
the body, feeling, and mind
THERAVADA BUDDHISM
● Theravada Buddhism (“school of elder monks” or
“school of the ancients”) or the “Southern School
of Buddhism” draws on the collected teachings of
the oldest recorded texts of Buddhist texts to
become its central precept, the Pali Canon
● The fundamental teachings of Buddhism are
closely tied to the life of Siddhartha Gautama who
was born between 563 B.C.E. to 480 B.C.E. in
Lumbini in the foothills of the Nepalese Himalayas.
MAHAYANA BUDDHISM
● The Mahasamghika (“of the Great Sangha”), one
of the early Buddhist schools, became the source
for the initial growth of Mahayana Buddhism
● Mahayana Buddhists advanced the radical idea
that Siddhartha Gautama was not the only
Buddha. There were other divine beings that came
to our world even before Siddhartha, some of them
came after him, and still others in the future
● One of the most popular and prominent Mahayana
Buddhist texts (or sutra) is the Lotus Sutra
containing the most definitive teachings of the
Buddha.
● The concept of trikaya (“three bodies”) pertains to
the teaching of Mahayana Buddhism about the
nature of the Buddha and reality
Theravada Mahayana

School of the older monk Modern

More orthodox (Traditional) more accessible to all

Siddhartha Gautama There are other Buddha

Buddha like Amitabha Buddha
(celestial being)
Meditation is the way to Believe that Nirvana can
scape sufferings be achieve by anyone.
Only monk can reach Bodhisattvas – Someone
Nirvana who almost attain the state
of Nirvana but delay it to
help others
Personal Journey Sukhavati – Heaven place
of bliss
Bodhisattvas – someone
trying to achieve Nirvana
(Arhant)
Theravada Mahayana
➔ Samsara (Reincarnation)birth and rebirth
➔ Arhant (someone who attained enlightenment)
➔ Gautama Buddha
➔ 4 Noble of Truth
➔ 8 Fold Path
➔ Nirvana
➔ Chinese symbol for Water
● Human nature is basically good, and this innate
goodness can be further developed through
self-cultivation and education
● The goal of a person is to be a “gentleman” by
following the moral way consisting of the virtues of
love, righteousness, wisdom, propriety and loyalty
to promote harmony in society
● Ancestor worship is an important aspect of
Confucianism; for Confucius believed that one way
of achieving harmony in society was by way of
performing the necessary rituals which would bring
reward (social order) or punishment (social chaos)
● Since Confucius believed that the afterlife was not
on the realm of human comprehension, people
should live based on the promotion of social
relations rather than on the expectations of
rewards or punishments after death
● Confucius discouraged his students from worrying
about the afterlife, but he believed in Tian
(heaven) which is analogous with moral order but
dependent upon human intervention to bring its
will into action; the li or ritual propriety is the way
through which the family, the state, and the world
may become parallel with Tian’s moral order

TAOISM
CONFUCIANISM

➔ Symbol of Ru
➔ A chinese language term for Confucianism

● Taoism or Daoism? They are the same…. 2 way

system of writing Chinese language Taoism or
 Daoism is one of the indigenous religion in China
(Confucianism, Taoism, Buddhism)
● Tao or Dao up until now is hard to explain.
Because according to the first page of its book “
The Dao that can be told is not eternal, The name
that can be named is not eternal name” Taoism
started also during the chaotic time in China just
like Confucianism.
● Lao tzu who lived between 500 BCE is considered
the founder of this religion. He wrote the book Tao
Te Ching, the translation of this name Lao Tzu is
old master or old boy.
● Tao Te Ching “The way and its power” is a
collection of Poetry and Saying That involves
pretty much everything,from Education,Politics,
Alchemy, Psychology, Society etc.
● Tao te ching is considered as the most translated
literature after the bible. According to some
translation Taoism or Daoism is the power of
letting go, others says it is doing nothing or the
effortless action or the FLOW
● It has 81 verses, over 5000 words and considered
as the most difficult to understand book or
literature. Just always remember that DAO or TAO
means the way or path
● Did you know that in some historical book Lao Zi
is named as master of Confucius because they
lived in the same generation.While in some books
the existence of Lao zi is still questionable.
TAOISM
- Believe that human and animals should live in
balance with TAO (universe)
- Believe in spiritual immortality, where the spirit of
the body joins the universe after death.
- Its main idea is to lived with harmony
- The Dao is considered as the source of all reality,
it surrounds us and penetrates us and it binds the
galaxy.
- During the time of communism Confucianism,
Taoism and other religions in China were banned
by the government.
● Daoists have no concept of heaven and hell as
compared to other religions. In their scriptures
there were mentions of heaven as the abode of
their deities and life on earth should be in harmony
with the will of heaven.However, based on their
concept of qi, heaven is achieved when one
achieves immortality and, if this is not possible,
then long life is enough. They have this concept
that those who achieve immortality reside in
utopian places on earth, such as forests and
mountains.
SHINTOISM
TORI GATE
- A sacred gateway.
- Each temple has a tori gate which is a symbol that
you are entering a sacred place.
- 100,000 shrines in Japan today
- Polytheism
● Indigenous Japanese people invented the word
Shinto to distinguish their faith from Buddhism who
is widely spread in the region
● Today Japanese people can have two religion,
both Shintoism and Buddhism
● The goal is just to be close to KAMIL (spiritual
energy) through weddings, festivals, funerals,
offerings, and worship they are being critic
because of it
● 80% of Japanese people participate in Shinto
practices but only 3-4% identify themselves as
believer of shinto.
- Around 8 million Kami
- Yokai (demon spirit)
● Shintoism is a way of KAMI (Spirit)
● There are spirits in earthly object like plants,
mountains etc
● This Religion is as old as the country itself
● It is the largest religion in JAPAN almost 80% of
the population
● The most important KAMI is The God of SUN
(AMATERASU)
● They believe that the Royal Family in Japan are
descendants of Amaterasu
● Shintoism has no official founder nor sacred book.
They are not trying to explain the world through
the concept of right and wrong that is why they
don’t have missionaries
● There is no clear-cut distinction between good and
evil in Shintoism, but there are things which are
associated with impurity such as blood and death;
thus, it is necessary to perform the appropriate
rituals to purify oneself from these things which are
considered impure. COLD BATH
● SHIMENAWA
● As long as people worship the KAMI, they are
protected and provided for by the kami; not
performing the necessary rituals that will appease
the Kami will certainly not earn the favor of the
spirits.
● There is no clear concept of heaven and hell; there
is mention, however, of another world which is
inhabited by the kami; and there is another world
connected to the burial of the dead
● Shintoism is primarily concerned with humanity’s
life on earth than on the afterlife.
● Because Shintoism believe that the world we have
is sacred and worthy of respect, Purification is a
way to remove the spiritual pollution in your body.