Worldview The Eternal Cycle of All Life Samsara

Worldview

The Eternal Cycle of All Life Samsara • Samsara (Wheel of Life): the law of birth, death and rebirth • It applies to all living things. • People may not end up being reborn as humans; they could be reborn as animals.

The Eternal Cycle of All Life Cont'd Moksha • Moksha: liberation from the cycle of rebirths (goal of life for Hindus) • According to this belief, Hindus can be reborn in a higher state of life, moving gradually upward from lifetime to lifetime.

The Eternal Cycle of All Cont'd Karma • Karma: arma whatever one does in a life affects what one will be in the next

The Eternal Cycle of All Life Cont'd Dharma • Dharma: Dharma one’s duties in life • The best way to ensure good karma is to do good deeds and follow one’s dharma. • Ignoring dharma builds up bad karma and increases the chances of an unfavorable rebirth.

The Divine Brahman • Brahman: Brahman the power that sustains the universe and is its deepest reality • Brahman cannot be named, and many forms of the deities are needed to express the various aspects of Brahman. • Hindus believe that consciousness unites everything and the self that people experience in their consciousness is one with Brahman.

The Eternal Cycle of All Life Cont'd Atman • Atman: Atman the true self • By going beyond their bodies, thoughts, and feelings, Hindus discover their true selves • Each atman is a fragment of the divine Brahman - everyone is part of the divine. • Hindus believe that coming to a consciousness of themselves as Brahman is the way to defeat death.

The Divine Maya • Maya: Maya the illusion that things are different from one another (and not One) • Maya is caused by distractions and keeps people from achieving moksha. • People need to Realize the divine oneness of all things (that Brahman or atman is present in everyone) and everything is to be set free.

Jigsaw Activity: Creating Similes Task: 1. Each student in the “home group” will be assigned a different term. 2. You will then go to your “expert group” and create a SIMILE for your term (Note: a simile is a figure of speech that uses the words like or as to compare two things. For example: “it was as easy as taking candy from a baby”. ) 3. Go back to your home group, share information about your term to the rest of the group and complete the handout

Journal Reflection “How could a belief in Karma, dharma, and samsara be used to explain such things such as severe illness, accidents, great loss, or extreme fears? How would a Catholic explain severe illness, accidents, great loss, or extreme fears ? ”

Homework Complete journal reflection Read pages 237 -238 in textbook Create vocabulary flashcards