Buddhism, Christianity, Islam

Spiritual founder

Roots in earlier religious traditions

Local and regional religions

Polytheism

*Missionaries

Cross languages and cultures

*Converts

Adopt and adapt beliefs

Early South Asia and the Origins of Buddhism

South Asian Geography

Diverse terrain and climate

Mountains

Plains

Tropical south

Indus River Valley Complex Society, 2600-1700 BCE

Cities

Harappa

Mohenjo-daro

1500 towns

Irrigated agriculture

Wheat

Barley

Domesticated animal

Chicken

Writing

Not deciphered

Social elite?

Urban design

Broad streets laid out in a grid

Water and sewage systems

Theories of decline of complex society

Arya invasion?

Environmental problems

Natural disaster

Indo-Aryans

Arrived NW India, ca. 1500-1000 BCE

Spread to Ganges river valley, ca. 1000 to 500 BCE

South Asian Culture

Diverse language families

*Indo-European

Indo-Aryans

Dravidian

Indo-Aryan Religion

*Rig Veda

Compiled orally, 1500 to 1000 BCE

Written down, 600 BCE-1000 CE?

Polytheism

Indra, etc.

*Brahman (priest)

Ritual sacrifices

*Varna (caste) social organization, 1000 BCE

Brahman

Kshatriya (warrior)

Vaishya (farmers and merchants)

Shudra (laborers)

Religion of Upanishads, 600 BCE

Religion’s role in varna (caste)

*Karma

Rebirth (Reincarnation)

Afterlife

Heavens and hells

Gods in human form

*Buddha, ca. 630-550 BCE

Name

Siddhartha Gautama

Honorary titles

Buddha, "The Enlightened One"

Tathagata, "He who arrived at the truth"

Sakyamuni  “Sage of the Sakyas”

Legends of Life of the Buddha

Early life

Kshatriya (Warrior) prince

Path to enlightenment

Leaves family

*Asceticism

*Meditation

Buddha’s 4-Stage Trance

1) Saw past lives

2) Saw realities of the cycles of existence

3) Saw life was suffering (samsara)

4) *Nirvana ("Extinction")

Enlightenment

Becomes the Buddha

Buddha's Teachings (Dharma)

*Middle Path

*Four Noble Truths

1) Life is suffering

2) Desire is source of suffering

3) Ending desire "thirst" is solution

4) *Noble Eightfold Path

Roots in Upanishads

Karma

Reincarnation

Innovations of Buddha

“The Middle Path”

Nirvana

Social equality

Lecture Study Questions

1. What general characteristics do the universal religions of Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam have in common?

2. According to legend, why did the Buddha decide to embark on a spiritual quest? How did he obtain Nirvana (Enlightenment)?

3. The remainder of lecture questions are the same as study questions for Hansen, et al., pp. 52-61 below.

Reading Study Questions

Hansen, et al., 52-61

1. What are the Indo-European languages? Why is India divided between Indo-European languages in the north and Dravidian languages in the south?

2. What was the nature of Vedic religion's gods and religious rituals? What role did Varna (caste) play in the religion?

3. What new religious ideas did the Buddha develop? Why did many people in India find Buddha's religious ideas to be more appealing than the Vedic religion?

Supplementary Reading on D2L>Content:

15) "Buddha's First Sermon"(Also see Hansen, et al., p. 67)

1. What is the Middle Path? Why does Buddha preach that it is the proper path to Enlightenment?

2. What are the *Four Noble Truths? Why did Buddha claim that all of life is suffering? How has the Buddha reached the point of escaping the cycle of rebirth?