Unit 2.1: Religions & Philosophies of

India & ChinaIndo-Aryan

Beliefs India

Aryans

Hymn to Indra“The one who made firm the quaking earth; the one who make feast the shaken mountains; the

one who measured out wide the atmosphere; the one who propped up heaven; he O people,

is Indra...

The one in whole control are horses, cows, villages, all chariots; the one who has caused to be born the sun, the dawn,; the one who is the

waters’ leader; he, O people, is Indra...

The one without whom people do not conquer; the one to whom, when fighting,

they call for help; the one who is a match for everyone; the one who shakes the unshakeable, O people, is Indra.”

Caste System

BRAHMINSpriests

KSHATRIYAwarriors

VAISYASherders, farmers,

merchants, craftspeople

SUDRASfarm workers,

servants. laborers

determines - Occupation - Economic potential - Social status

non-aryans

Untouchables

All societies have had a social hierarchy. The Indian caste system was only one of the

most rigid.

Why do human beings have this need to structure society in terms of higher and lower

classes?SCoodle discussion forum assignment

Hinduism(India)

Caste System

BRAHMINSpriests

KSHATRIYAwarriors

VAISYASherders, farmers,

merchants, craftspeople

SUDRASfarm workers,

servants. laborers

determines - Occupation - Economic potential - Social status

non-aryans

Hinduism

Brahman - ultimate reality

Atman - individual self

vedas = Sacred text

how did reincarnation justify the caste

system?

KARMA determines CASTE

in this life in next life

a person is born into a

caste

higher caste

lower caste

if good and obeys

caste rules

if bad and breaks caste rules

dharma

Buddhism(India)

Buddhism

rivaled hinduism

6th Century B.C.

WHY?

Siddhartha

“the enlightened one”

denied the reality of material world

!"#$%!% the ultimate reality=

Four Noble Truths

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EightFold Path1. Right view - we need to know the Four Noble Truths2. right intention - we need to decide what we really want3. right speech - we must seek to speak truth and to speak well to others4. right action - “do not kill. Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not be unchaste, Do not take drugs or drink alcohol.”5. right livelihood - we must do work that uplifts our being6. right effort - “Those who follow the Way might well follow the examples of an ox that arches through the deep mud carrying a heavy load. He is tired, but his steady, forward-looking gaze will not relax until he comes out of the mud.”7. right mindfulness - we must keep our minds in control of our senses: “All we are is the result of what we have thought.”8. Right concentration - we must meditate to see the world in a new way

1. make a list of 10 favorite things you own

SHARE with someone what these means to you/

2. in a short paragraph, describe how these items define you as a person.

the aim of nirvana is to do without these feelings of want for earthly things

Because what humans do is so much a matter of what they believe they can do, these religions are keys to Indian history; it is the making of a culture that is its pulse, not the making of a nation or an economy, and to this culture religion was central.

- J.M. RobertsA Short History of the World, page 67

Buddhism teaches that humans suffer due to desire’s

attachments.

What do you think this idea of desire, or becoming attached to things means? Do attachments

cause suffering? in what ways do we lose who we are when we attach importance to material possessions?

SCoodle discussion forum assignment

Mauryan Dynasty

After 400 B.C., India faced threats from the west...

1. Persia2. Greece & Macedonia under

Alexander the Great

!"#$"%&'())%'*)+(,-%*,.(",'%/,0(*%1"$"222% Committed to spreading

impartiality,

cheerfulness, truthfulness,

and goodness throughout his kingdom, Asoka once said:

“All men are my children. As for my own children, I desire that they may be provided

with all the welfare and happiness of this world and of the next, so do I desire for all

men as well.”

“It is forbidden to decry other sects; the true

believer gives honor to whatever in them is

worthy of honor.”—Asoka, from Asoka's Edicts, third century

B.C. ext"Asoka: quote on respecting other religions." World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. 2008.

ABC-CLIO. 16 Nov. 2008 <http://www.ancienthistory.abc-clio.com>.

governed in accordance with

Buddhist ideals

Asoka (r. ~300 B.C)

KINDNESS1. hospitals

2. shade trees3. shelters

COMMERCIAL // CROSSROADS

What happened after Asoka’s death in 232 B.C.?BUT...