Study Guide World Religions First Exam

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Study Guide World Religions First Exam You should know the definitions and contexts of the following terms: Agnosticism Animism Atheism Dualism Immanent Monotheism Nontheistic Pantheism Polytheism Transcendent Divination “The Dreaming” Eternal Time Holistic Pilgrimage Sacred Shaman Libation Taboo Totem Uluru Vision quest Hinduism Ahimsa Atman Ashram Avatar Bhagavad Gita Bhakti Bhakti yoga Brahma Brahman Brahmin Brahmanas Caste Devi Guru Hatha yoga Jnana yoga Kali Karma Karma yoga Krishna Mantra Maya Moksha Puja Raja yoga Rama Sannyasin Sati Shiva Syncretistic Trimurti Upanishads Vedas Vishnu Yoga Buddhism Anatta(anatman) Anichcha Arhat Bodhi Bodhisattva Dharma Dhyana Dukkha Guanyin Karuna Koan Lama Maitreya Mandala Mudra Nirvana Samadhi Samsara Sangha Stupa Sutra Syncretistic Tathata Trikaya Tripitaka You should know anything covered in class on the worksheets, but in particular know the following: Multi-dimensional definition of religion Oral religions: Obstacles to study Three key patterns: Relationship to the natural world Sacred time and space Respect for origins, gods, ancestors, traditions, nature Rituals & ceremonies/Rites of Passage Hinduism: Origins and Aryan influence Concepts in the Upanishads: Brahman, atman, maya, karma, moksha Caste system and stages and goals of life Yogas Trimurti (Brahma,Vishnu, Shiva) Code of Manu Buddhism: Origins and the Life of Siddhartha Gautama Reactions against perceived perversions of Brahmanic Hinduism (six aspects, Smith p.92) Smith’s seven features of Buddhism (p. 98) Three marks of reality: Change, no permanent identity, suffering Four noble truths and the noble eightfold path Theravada: Elder’s Way, origin, arhat, tripitaka, sutra, stupa. Mahayana: Big Vehicle, karuna, bodhisattva, Maitreya, shunyata, tathata, Shingon, mandala, Tendai, Nichiren, Zen, koan Vajrayana: Diamond vehicle, origins, lama, prayer wheels, mudras, mandalas From Anthology of World Scriptures Definition of scripture (p. 6) Variation in literary form of scripture Hierarchy of scripture: they often include secondary authoritative writings or commentaries Canon: open or closed Uses of scripture (p. 9 -10) Advantages and Disadvantages (p. 11-14) Protestant bias (p. 15) .

Copy Link

Recommended publications

Atman/Anatman in Buddhism
Åtman/Anåtman in Buddhism and Its Implication for the Wisdom Tradition by Nancy Reigle Does Christianity believe in reincarnation? Of course it does not. Yet, students of the Wisdom Tradition may seek to find evidence that early Christians did accept reincarnation. Similarly in Buddhism. Does Buddhism believe in the åtman, the permanent self? Certainly the Buddhist religion does not. Yet, there is evidence that the Buddha when teaching his basic doctrine of anåtman, no-self, only denied the abiding reality of the personal or empirical åtman, but not the universal or authentic åtman. The Wisdom Tradition known as Theosophy teaches the existence of “An Omnipresent, Eternal, Boundless, and Immu- table PRINCIPLE,” 1 often compared to the Hindu åtman, the universal “self,” while Buddhism with its doctrine of anåtman, “no-self,” is normally understood to deny any such universal principle. In regard to Buddhism, however, there have been several attempts to show that the Buddha did not deny the exist- ence of the authentic åtman, the self.2 Only one of these attempts seems to have been taken seriously by scholars3; namely, the work of Kamaleswar Bhattacharya. His book on this subject, written in French, L’Åtman-Brahman dans le Bouddhisme ancien, was published in Paris in 1973; and an English translation of this work, The Åtman-Brahman in Ancient Buddhism, was published in 2015.4 It is here that he set forth his arguments for the existence of the Upanißadic åtman in early Buddhism. This is the work that we will discuss. How must we understand
[Show full text]
Yoga and Psychology and Psychotherapy
Yoga and Psychology and Psychotherapy Compiled by: Trisha Lamb Last Revised: April 27, 2006 © 2004 by International Association of Yoga Therapists (IAYT) International Association of Yoga Therapists P.O. Box 2513 • Prescott • AZ 86302 • Phone: 928-541-0004 E-mail: [email protected] • URL: www.iayt.org The contents of this bibliography do not provide medical advice and should not be so interpreted. Before beginning any exercise program, see your physician for clearance. “How is the field of psychotherapy to become progressively more informed by the infinite wisdom of spirit? It will happen through individuals who allow their own lives to be transformed—their own inner source of knowing to be awakened and expressed.” —Yogi Amrit Desai NOTE: See also the “Counseling” bibliography. For eating disorders, please see the “Eating Disorders” bibliography, and for PTSD, please see the “PTSD” bibliography. Books and Dissertations Abegg, Emil. Indishche Psychologie. Zürich: Rascher, 1945. [In German.] Abhedananda, Swami. The Yoga Psychology. Calcutta: Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1960, 1983. “This volume comprises lectures delivered by Swami Abhedananda before a[n] . audience in America on the subject of [the] Yoga-Sutras of Rishi Patanjali in a systematic and scientific manner. “The Yoga Psychology discloses the secret of bringing under control the disturbing modifications of mind, and thus helps one to concentrate and meditate upon the transcendental Atman, which is the fountainhead of knowledge, intelligence, and bliss. “These lectures constitute the contents of this memorial volume, with copious references and glossaries of Vyasa and Vachaspati Misra.” ___________. True Psychology. Calcutta: Ramakrishna Vedanta Math, 1982. “Modern Psychology does not [address] ‘a science of the soul.’ True Psychology, on the other hand, is that science which consists of the systematization and classification of truths relating to the soul or that self-conscious entity which thinks, feels and knows.” Agnello, Nicolò.
[Show full text]
A Brief Introduction to Buddhism and the Sakya Tradition
A brief introduction to Buddhism and the Sakya tradition © 2016 Copyright © 2016 Chödung Karmo Translation Group www.chodungkarmo.org International Buddhist Academy Tinchuli–Boudha P.O. Box 23034 Kathmandu, Nepal www.internationalbuddhistacademy.org Contents Preface 5 1. Why Buddhism? 7 2. Buddhism 101 9 2.1. The basics of Buddhism 9 2.2. The Buddha, the Awakened One 12 2.3. His teaching: the Four Noble Truths 14 3. Tibetan Buddhism: compassion and skillful means 21 4. The Sakya tradition 25 4.1. A brief history 25 4.2. The teachings of the Sakya school 28 5. Appendices 35 5.1. A brief overview of different paths to awakening 35 5.2. Two short texts on Mahayana Mind Training 39 5.3. A mini-glossary of important terms 43 5.4. Some reference books 46 5 Preface This booklet is the first of what we hope will become a small series of introductory volumes on Buddhism in thought and practice. This volume was prepared by Christian Bernert, a member of the Chödung Karmo Translation Group, and is meant for interested newcomers with little or no background knowledge about Buddhism. It provides important information on the life of Buddha Shakyamuni, the founder of our tradition, and his teachings, and introduces the reader to the world of Tibetan Buddhism and the Sakya tradition in particular. It also includes the translation of two short yet profound texts on mind training characteristic of this school. We thank everyone for their contributions towards this publication, in particular Lama Rinchen Gyaltsen, Ven. Ngawang Tenzin, and Julia Stenzel for their comments and suggestions, Steven Rhodes for the editing, Cristina Vanza for the cover design, and the Khenchen Appey Foundation for its generous support.
[Show full text]
Atman/Anatman in Buddhism and Its Implication for the Wisdom Tradition for the Wisdom Tradition
Åtman/Anåtman in Buddhism and Its Implication for the Wisdom Tradition by Nancy Reigle Does Christianity believe in reincarnation? Of course it does not. Yet, students of the Wisdom Tradition may seek to find evidence that early Christians did accept reincarnation. Similarly in Buddhism. Does Buddhism believe in the åtman, the permanent self? Certainly the Buddhist religion does not. Yet, there is evidence that the Buddha when teaching his basic doctrine of anåtman, no-self, only denied the abiding reality of the personal or empirical åtman, but not the universal or authentic åtman. The Wisdom Tradition known as Theosophy teaches the existence of “An Omnipresent, Eternal, Boundless, and Immu- table PRINCIPLE,” 1 often compared to the Hindu åtman, the universal “self,” while Buddhism with its doctrine of anåtman, “no-self,” is normally understood to deny any such universal principle. In regard to Buddhism, however, there have been several attempts to show that the Buddha did not deny the exist- ence of the authentic åtman, the self.2 Only one of these attempts seems to have been taken seriously by scholars3; namely, the work of Kamaleswar Bhattacharya. His book on this subject, written in French, L’Åtman-Brahman dans le Bouddhisme ancien, was published in Paris in 1973; and an English translation of this work, The Åtman-Brahman in Ancient Buddhism, was published in 2015.4 It is here that he set forth his arguments for the existence of the Upanißadic åtman in early Buddhism. This is the work that we will discuss. How must we understand
[Show full text]
Pain and Flourishing in Mahayana Buddhist Moral Thought
SOPHIA DOI 10.1007/s11841-017-0619-4 A Nirvana that Is Burning in Hell: Pain and Flourishing in Mahayana Buddhist Moral Thought Stephen E. Harris1 # The Author(s) 2017. This article is an open access publication Abstract This essay analyzes the provocative image of the bodhisattva, the saint of the Indian Mahayana Buddhist tradition, descending into the hell realms to work for the benefit of its denizens. Inspired in part by recent attempts to naturalize Buddhist ethics, I argue that taking this ‘mythological’ image seriously, as expressing philosophical insights, helps us better understand the shape of Mahayana value theory. In particular, it expresses a controversial philosophical thesis: the claim that no amount of physical pain can disrupt the flourishing of a fully virtuous person. I reconstruct two related elements of early Buddhist psychology that help us understand this Mahayana position: the distinction between hedonic sensation (vedanā) and virtuous or nonvirtous mental states (kuśala/akuśala-dharma); and the claim that humans are massively deluded as to what constitutes well-being. Doing so also lets me emphasize the continuity between early Buddhist and Mahayana traditions in their views on well-being and flourishing. Keywords Mahayana Buddhism . Buddhist ethics . Buddhism . Ethics . Hell Julia Annas has shown that taking seriously Stoic and Epicurean claims that the sage is happy even while being tortured on the rack helps articulate the structure of their ethics, and in particular the relationship between virtue (arête) and happiness (eudaimonia).1 In this essay, I apply this strategy to Mahayana Buddhist moral philosophy by taking seriously the image of the bodhisattva joyfully diving into the hell realms.
[Show full text]
The Relation of Akasa to Pratityasamutpada in Nagarjuna's
The relation of akasa to pratityasamutpada in Nagarjuna’s writings Garth Mason To Juliet, my wife, whose love, acceptance and graceful realism made this thesis possible. To Sinead and Kieran who teach me everyday I would like to thank Professor Deirdre Byrne for her intellectual support and editing the thesis The relation of akasa to pratityasamutpada in Nagarjuna’s writings By Garth Mason Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF LITERATURE AND PHILOSOPHY In the subject of RELIGIOUS STUDIES at the UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH AFRICA PROMOTER: PROF. M. CLASQUIN AUGUST 2012 i Summary of thesis: While much of Nāgārjuna’s writings are aimed at deconstructing fixed views and views that hold to some form of substantialist thought (where certain qualities are held to be inherent in phenomena), he does not make many assertive propositions regarding his philosophical position. He focuses most of his writing to applying the prasaṅga method of argumentation to prove the importance of recognizing that all phenomena are śūnya by deconstructing views of phenomena based on substance. Nāgārjuna does, however, assert that all phenomena are empty and that phenomena are meaningful because śūnyatā makes logical sense.1 Based on his deconstruction of prevailing views of substance, he maintains that holding to any view of substance is absurd, that phenomena can only make sense if viewed from the standpoint of śūnyatā. This thesis grapples with the problem that Nāgārjuna does not provide adequate supporting arguments to prove that phenomena are meaningful due to their śūnyatā. It is clear that if saṃvṛti is indiscernible due to its emptiness, saṃvṛtisatya cannot be corroborated on its own terms due to its insubstantiality.
[Show full text]
Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings
Buddhist Beliefs and Teachings 1 1 The birth of the Buddha and his life of luxury Buddhism was founded 2500 years ago by Siddhartha Gautama. He was born approx. 500BCE in southern Nepal to King Suddhodana and Queen Maya. When he became enlightened he became known as the Buddha, which is a title meaning ‘awakened on’ or ‘enlightened one’. There are many stories surrounding Siddhartha’s life – including legendary and miraculous events. The following is a traditional commonly told about Siddhartha’s birth: Legend Queen Maya suggests that: Shortly after his dreamed that a birth a prophecy •Siddhartha could white elephant She gave birth immediately walk was made that came from to Siddhartha and talk Siddhartha heaven to tell when she had •Walked seven steps would either and lotus flowers her she would stopped to rest appeared under his become a great give birth to a feet. king or a holy holy child. •Declared he man. wouldn’t be reborn Siddhartha’s life of luxury: His mother died a week after his birth. His father wanted to protect him from any hardship, therefore Siddhartha only knew luxury – with the hope that he would be a great king like his father. Siddhartha had many mansions, female dancers for 2 2 entertainment and protected by sunshades. The four sights As Siddhartha got older, he got more curious about life outside the palace. One day he convinced his attendant Channa to take him to the nearby city. Here encountered four sights. (These stories can be found in Jakata 75) Siddhartha saw a frail old man and realised that everyone will age Siddhartha wanted answers to the problems of old age, illness and death.
[Show full text]
The Pratītyasamutpādagātha and Its Role in the Medieval Cult of the Relics
THE JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF BUDDHIST STUDIES EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Roger Jackson Dept. oj Religion Carleton College Northfield, MN 55057 USA EDITORS Peter N. Gregory Ernst Steinkellner University of Illinois University of Vienna Urbana-Champaign, Illinois, USA Wien, Austria Alexander W. Macdonald Jikido Takasaki Universite de Paris X University of Tokyo Nanterre, France Tokyo, Japan Steven Collins Robert Thurman Concordia University Columbia University Montreal, Canada New York, New York, USA Volume 14 1991 Number 1 CONTENTS I. ARTICLES 1. The Pratityasamutpadagathd and Its Role in the Medieval Cult of the Relics, by Daniel Boucher 1 2. Notes on the Devotional Uses and Symbolic Functions of Sutra Texts as Depicted in Early Chinese Buddhist Miracle Tales and Hagiographies, by Robert F. Campany 28 3. A Source Analysis of the Ruijing lu ("Records of Miraculous Scriptures"), by Koichi Shinohara 73 4. Pudgalavada in Tibet? Assertions of Substantially Existent Selves in the Writings of Tsong-kha-pa and His Followers, by Joe Bransford Wilson 155 II. BOOK REVIEWS 1. The Dawn of Chinese Pure Land Buddhist Doctrine: Ching-ying Hui-yiian's Commentary on the Visualization Sutra, by Kenneth K. Tanaka (Allan A. Andrews) 181 2. Three Recent Collections: The Buddhist Heritage, ed. Tadeusz Skorupski; Chinese Buddhist Apocrypha, ed. Robert E. Buswell, Jr.; and Reflections on Tibetan Culture, ed. Lawrence Epstein and Richard Sherburne (Roger Jackson) 191 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS 195 The Pratityasamutpddagathd and Its Role in the Medieval Cult of the Relics by Daniel Boucher I. Introduction Over the past one hundred and fifty years, thousands of clay seals, miniature stupas, and images inscribed with the famous "Buddhist creed" (the ye dharmd hetuprabhava..
[Show full text]
Buddhist Rebirth: a Survey of Pre-Modern Asian Thought Tiffany L
Southern Illinois University Carbondale OpenSIUC Honors Theses University Honors Program 5-1991 Buddhist Rebirth: A Survey of Pre-Modern Asian Thought Tiffany L. Severns Southern Illinois University Carbondale Follow this and additional works at: http://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/uhp_theses Recommended Citation Severns, Tiffany L., "Buddhist Rebirth: A Survey of Pre-Modern Asian Thought" (1991). Honors Theses. Paper 301. This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the University Honors Program at OpenSIUC. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of OpenSIUC. For more information, please contact [email protected]. During, and most especially after the death of the Buddha, there existed much confusion and speculation regarding Buddhist doctrines of rebirth. The theoretical and philosophical aspects of the concepts of rebirth were among the concerns of these Buddhists. How could one be reborn if one ~id not have a self? How did one's karma affect the circumstances of one's rebirth? On another level, there was much debate over the mechanics of rebirth. How does one's karma trigger rebirth if there is no transmigration? Is there an intermediate state of being between death and life, and if so, what form did this state take? Some schools did not approach the philosophical problems of rebirth. Taking the teachings of karma and rebirth as true based on accounts of extra-sensory verification by Gautama Buddha and others (Hick 349), these chose to concentrate on the practical aspects of practice in the here-and-now rather than to tie up valuable time and energy in intellectual nit-picking.
[Show full text]
EDUQAS GCSE Buddhism BELIEFS – TEACHINGS - PRACTICES
EDUQAS GCSE Buddhism BELIEFS – TEACHINGS - PRACTICES CONTENTS Specification and key terms p. 3 Introduction p. 4 The Buddha p. 6 The Dhamma p. 11 The Four Noble Truths p. 15 Samsara, Enlightenment and Nirvana p. 19 Theravada: the Arhat Ideal & Mahayana: The Bodhisattva Ideal p. 22 Theravada Understanding of Human Personality p. 26 Mahayana Understanding of Human Personality p. 30 Ethical Teaching p. 34 Pure Land Buddhism p. 38 Buddhist places of worship p. 42 Meditation p. 46 Devotional Practices p. 50 Death and Mourning p. 54 Festivals and Retreats: Practices in Britain and elsewhere p. 58 N. G. Heap Eton College 2 Specification: Learners should be aware that Buddhism is one of a diverse range of religious and non-religious traditions and beliefs in Great Britain today that also includes Christianity, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Sikhism, Humanism and Atheism, but that the main religious tradition in Great Britain is Christian. This knowledge may be applied throughout the assessment of the specified content. Learners must know, understand and express common and divergent views and the basis for beliefs, teachings and practices. Reference to relevant sources of wisdom and authority are expected, including scripture and/or sacred texts. Key terms Anicca: The impermanent nature of things Anatta: No independent or permanent self Dukkha: Suffering/unsatisfactoriness Skhandas: The five elements that make up a human being: 1. Form 2. Sensation 3. Perception 4. Mental Formations 5. Consciousness Samatha: Calmness or breathing meditation Pratitya-samutpada:
[Show full text]
The Social Implications of Karmic Causality in Tibet Erin Burke
Karmic Calculations: The Social Implications of Karmic Causality in Tibet Erin Burke Karma and its place in reincarnation theory are favorite topics among scholars of Tibetan religion, underlying interpretations of almost all facets of Tibetan culture. Though karma’s significance in Tibetan culture is undeniable, the specificity of its implications as a type of causality is sometimes taken for granted. Portrayals of karma as an ethically just, individualistic system of cause and effect abound in scholarship on Buddhism. Scholars often conclude that “the law of karma” is a completely rational ethic that is contingent on human agency, and therefore that it promotes morality on the social level. Gananath Obeyesekere explains karma’s relationship to rebirth with his theory of “ethicization,” a term he uses to “conceptualize the processes whereby a morally right or wrong action becomes a religiously right or wrong action that in turn affects a person’s destiny after death.”1 Underlying his explanation of these processes is an understanding of karma’s leading role in making sense of sin and suffering. Obeyesekere regards “orthodox” karma as a system of unalterable consequences of individual actions that supercedes the intervention of magic and of other beings, such as deities. In Western culture, phrases such “you sow as you reap” and “what goes around comes around,” suggest something like karma to be an objective guiding force. These descriptions of the “law of karma” liken karma to something detached, infallible and omnipotent, similar to Western conceptions of God. With such a “law” in place, ritual intervention would be unlikely. However, Tibetan Buddhism is a highly ritualized religion with practices that appeal to numerous types of forces and agents within this and other worlds.
[Show full text]
Shankara's Advaita Vedanta
Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta David Paul Boaz The Purusha, the inner Self, dwells always at the Heart. That One is the Bright, the luminous immortal Self. Katha Upanishad Shankara’s teaching on the Upanishads, Vedanta (Brahma) Sutra and Bhagavad Gita is the very nondual essence of Vedanta, and a sublime contribution to the world’s spiritual literature, and to our nondual Great Wisdom Tradition teaching. Shankara (788-820) was the supreme adept-realizer of the Hindu Upanishadic tradition. In his thirty two years this great master and scholar re-established the authority of the Vedas against the prevailing Buddhist ideology of the time. For Shankara’s Advaita Vedanta the supreme truth of the three Hindu canons (the Upanishads, Vedanta Sutra and Bhagvad Gita) is the nondual nature of Brahman, Absolute Spirit that is Reality Itself. For the Advaita Vedanta of Shankara, Brahman is the nondual primordial awareness that is Absolute or Ultimate Consciousness Being Itself, “One, without a second,” without limit, empty of all predicates, attributes and qualities, beyond concept and belief, or any subject-object dualism whatsoever. As we have seen, Shankara refers to this prior unity as Nirguna Brahman, the Absolute. Satchitananda however, is usually understood as Saguna Brahman, Brahman with relative qualities, the Great Love that is being (sat), consciousness (chit) and bliss (ananda). Ishvara (usually as the Trimurti) the primordial creator-God or creative principle of Brahman is also Saguna Brahman, the spacetime limited creator God, the cause of the conditional state of ananda/bliss and the object of the spiritual devotion of the devotee. Nirguna Brahman is pure nondual Being Itself; Saguna Brahman is pure Being in the various states and stages of becoming in spacetime reality.
[Show full text]