Buddhism and Hinduism Buddhism Life of Buddha Siddharth

Buddhism and Hinduism

Buddhism

Life of Buddha Siddharth a Gautama Born Prince of Kosala Notice people that were old, sick, and dying Left Home to become a Monk Stopped eating and nearly starved to death Became Buddha

Questions From Reading What is the name of the “ Awakened One”? When was he born? What does Buddha Mean? What are the four Nobel truths?

A. The Four Noble Truths (p. 153) Life is filled with suffering. Suffering is caused by people’s wants (pleasure, power, longer life, etc. ). Suffering can be ended if people stop wanting things. To stop wanting things, people must follow eight basic laws.

Questions From Reading Name the laws of the Eight Fold Path What is the Middle Way When did Buddha Die? Why is the Buddha Laughing? How is a person Successful in Buddhism?

B. The Eightfold Path (p. 153) The Buddha called the way to end suffering the Eightfold Path. It is a set of instructions on the proper way to live. By following the Eightfold Path, the Buddha taught, people could end suffering in their lives.

The Buddha’s Final Journey Toward the end of his life, the Buddha returned to his father’s palace and converted his father, as well as his wife and son, to Buddhism. The Buddha died at the age of 80. Buddhist monks gave up all they owned and depended on other Buddhist followers to give them food each day. They worked to live peacefully among all living things and to love others.

Hinduism

A. Hinduism (p. 142) Hinduism, one of the world’s oldest religions, grew out of the beliefs of the Aryans. All Hindus believe in one powerful force believed to connect all of life.

Writings of a New Religion . Vedas, or “Books of Knowledge The Vedas were the first building blocks of Hinduism. They told Hindus how they should live, and explained life. The oldest Veda has more than 1, 000 hymns and says the world is run by many gods and goddesses. The Vedas explain how Hindus believe people were created and what is the proper way to live.

Questions From Reading Where do most Hindus live? Hindus have numerous gods, but they are all part of one supreme being named____. What are three manifestations of the universe?

Braham Created the World Vishnu Sustains the World Shiva Destroys the World

Questions From Reading What are the two main gods worshiped by the masses? What element is used in all rituals? Hindus do not worship as a What are Hindu morning prayers and rituals called? Hindus believe in _____ which lead to the caste system?

Reincarnation Hindus accept this seemingly unfair system because they believe in reincarnation, a constant cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. They believe that people born into lower castes are paying the price for wrongs done in past lives. Likewise, people born into higher castes are being rewarded for good things done in past lives.

The Importance of Duty In order to be reincarnated into a higher caste, Hindus had to know what was right and good. They knew this by following the dharma for their caste. Dharma refers to the required laws and duties of each caste.

Questions From Reading Name what groups of people go with each part of the Purusa How are the living conditions of the outcasts or untouchables? Wretched/ worst Jobs.

Caste System Hindus believe that four different castes, or classes, of people were created from different parts of a god’s body. In the Hindu caste system a person’s place in society is determined by the rank of the family he or she is born into. In other words, caste was determined by birth, and there was no way to change it during one’s lifetime. It dictated your occupation, choice of spouse, and many other aspects of your life.

Mouth Priests/Teachers Brahmins Arms Rulers/ Warriors Kasatriyans Thigh Farmers/Traders Vaisyas Feet Laborers Sudras

Dharma Requirements Part of the dharma for servants was to do their jobs cheerfully. Professional/Merchants were responsible for producing and selling goods and services. Priests had to spend some of their time working to support their families. The Vedas told which jobs people in each caste could and could not do.

Consequences Following dharma helped to keep Hindu society running in an orderly fashion. Hindus believed that when people broke these rules, disorder would be the result. People who married outside their castes or did a job their caste did not allow were forced to live outside all castes and were referred to as “outcastes. ”

Outcastes were looked down upon by others and said to be “impure. ” People who came into contact with outcastes had Hindu priests perform special “cleansing” ceremonies in order to remove the contamination. Outcastes had few rights and were limited to the worst jobs, such as dealing with dead bodies and cleaning public toilets. They and their children had to live their lives as untouchables.

Many Paths to the Truth Over time Hinduism developed hundreds of different forms. Some call for dietary restrictions, while others allow for non-Hindu beliefs in their search for life’s meaning. Hinduism allows for the existence of more than one god and more than one way to truth.