Hinduism Buddhism Jainism Sikhism Confucianism Daoism Shinto Judaism Christianity Robinson & Rodrigues Islam Robinson & Rodrigues © 2020 Thomas Robinson & Hillary Rodrigues www.robinest.org Legend The following symbols have been used in the QUICK FACTS timelines. Temple / Shrine Text Conflict / Battle Origin / First Presence Event City Ruler Quick Facts Quick Facts Calendar: lunar and solar Images and Art: exuberant use of iconography and painting Sacred Days and Holidays: Divali; Holi; Navaratra(i); Music: Vedic and other chants; Mahashivaratri; Ganesha devotional songs (bhajan); Chaturthi; Krishna Janmashtami classical compositions (raga) Special Day: Monday (for Shiva); Famous Leaders and Thinkers: Tuesdays and Saturdays (to ward Shankara; Mahatma Gandhi; off inauspicious astrological Swami Vivekananda influences) Main Empires: Gupta (North Main Rites: Mantra and water India); Chola (South India); Khmer oblation at sunrise, midday, and (Cambodia); Majapahit sunset are prescribed (Indonesia); Maratha (Central and North India); Vijayanagara (South Main Prayer: Gayatri Mantra; India) other short mantras of homage to various deities Guide to Conduct: Dharma Date of Establishment: unclear. Main Branches: Shaivism, Shastras; Yogic Restraints and Indus Valley Civilization (from c. Vaishnavism, and Shaktism Observances; Bhagavad Gita’s 3300 BCE); Aryan colonization paths to Moksha (from c. 1600 BCE) Main Belief: a way of life that is inclusive and tolerant of spiritual Food Concerns: beef is Founder: none approaches forbidden; vegetarianism is widespread Location of Origin: Indian Sacred or Famed Sites: subcontinent Banaras/Varanasi); Kumbha Mela Distinctive Dress: women may (Prayag/Allahabad, Haridwar); wear saris and cover their heads Main Areas: India, Nepal, Sources of the Ganga at temples; traditional dress for northern Sri Lanka, and Bali (Kedarnath, Badrinath) men is the dhotii Percent of World’s Population: Sacred Language: Sanskrit Monasticism: various organized 14% (1.1 billion) groups, especially Shankara’s Symbols: Om/Aum sign lineages Main Texts: Vedas, Dharma Shastras, Epics and Bhagavad Religious Authorities: swami; Religious Building: temple Gita, and Puranas guru; samnyasin Quick Facts Symbols: Dharma Chakra (eight- Religious Building: stupa, spoked wheel); Om/Aum; stupas; temple, monastery svastika; mandala; Buddha images Images and Art: stupas and Buddha images are abundant; Religious Authorities: the Vajrayana (thangka paintings and Sangha (mostly monks); Lamas mandalas) Calendar: lunar and solar Music: Sutra chanting; horns, drums, and bells in Mahayana Sacred Days and Holidays: and Vajrayana. Vesak (Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and parinirvana); Famous Leaders and Thinkers: Full Moon; Kathina Ceremony Siddhartha Gautama; Nagarjuna; Bodhidharma; Dalai Lama Special Day: Full Moon and New Moon Main Empires: Mauryan and Harsha (India); Tang (China); Main Rites: meditation; keeping Pagan (Myanmar); Ayutthaya the Precepts (Thailand) Main Prayer: The Three Refuges/ Jewels; Om Mani Padme Hum Date of Establishment: (c. 500 Main Branches: Theravada, (Vajrayana); Namu Amida Butsu BCE); founder’s dates are Mahayana, and Vajrayana (Japanese Pure Land) disputed Main Belief: The Four Noble Guide to Conduct: Five Founder: Siddhartha Gautama Truths with include the Eightfold Precepts; Eight-fold Path; Vinaya Path, dealing with the Anatman Pitaka Location of Origin: Indian (no soul/self) doctrine and the subcontinent ending of sorrow Food Concerns: vegetarianism is widespread, but not mandatory Main Areas: Thailand, Sri Lanka, Sacred or Famed Sites: Lumbini; Myanmar, Tibet, Southeast Asia, Bodhagaya; Sarnath; Distinctive Dress: for monks and Korea, Japan, China, India Kushinagara; Jokang Temple; nuns: tonsure and saffron robes Temple of the Emerald Buddha; (Sri Lanka; Thailand) or maroon Percent of World’s Population: Borobudur; Shwedagon Pagoda; robes (Myanmar; Tibet). 8-10% (c. 535 million) Todaiji Temple Monasticism: Theravada (Sri Main Texts: Tripitaka, Mahayana Sacred Languages: Pali; Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand); scriptures, Lotus Sutra, Tibetan Sanskrit; Tibetan; Chinese; Vajrayana (Tibet); Zen (Japan) Canon Japanese Quick Facts Religious Authorities: Monks Paintings of Cosmological and Nuns Schemes and episodes in Tirthankara lives in Jain Calendar: mostly lunar, but also manuscripts solar Monasticism: Male and female Sacred Days and Holidays: renouncers (Monks and Nuns) in Paryushan (Kalpa Sutra recited); Digambara and Shvetambara Divali (Festival of Lights); sects Mahavira’s Birthday; Akshaya Tritiya (fasting) Religious Building: Temple Special Day: nothing weekly; Music: Singing of hymns and Caturmas (4 months in the rainy devotional songs season has many holy days) Famous Leaders and Thinkers: Main Rites: Meditation; Following The 24 Jinas or Tirthankaras, the major or minor ascetic especially Mahavira; Umasvati; observances, especially ahimsa Hemachandra; Atmaramji; gurus (non-harming) and acharyas (teachers) Main Prayer: Om/Aum; Main Empires: Dynasty (c. 2nd Namaskara (Navkar) Mantra century BCE to early 4th century Date of Establishment: Main Branches: Digambaras (homage to beings worthy of CE); Western Ganga Dynasty (c. Uncertain; perhaps 6th century (sky-clad); Shvetambaras (white veneration). 350 to 1000 CE) BCE [robe] clad); Sthanakavasis (against temples and image- Guide to Conduct: The Three Founder: Adinatha (ancient worship Jewels (right faith, knowledge, mythic); Vardhamana, better and conduct); Minor vows (for known as Mahavira, last (24th) Main Belief: Freedom of the soul laypersons); Major vows (for Tirthankara of this era (599-527 from karma, through the renouncers) BCE or later) attainment of nirvana Food Concerns: Vegetarianism; Location of Origin: Indian Sacred or Famed Sites: Ultimately the goal is to attain subcontinent Shravanabelagola; Shikarji; physical death through fasting Palitana temples (Shatrunjaya); Main Areas: Throughout India, Dilwara temples (Mt. Abu); Girnar; Distinctive Dress: Naked but mainly northern India (Digambara monks); White robes Ranakpur (Shvetambara monks and nuns); Percent of World’s Population: Sacred Language: Various Some ascetics carry a broom and 0.064% (c. 5 million) Prakrits and Sanskrit mouth cloth (to avoid harming small creatures) Main Texts: Purvas and Agamas; Symbols: Svastika; Open Palm; Kalpa Sutra; Tattvartha Sutra Cosmological Symbol; Tirthankara Images and Art: Images of statues; Shrivatsa Tirthankaras and saints (some colossal) are commonplace. Quick Facts Symbols: (1) Ik Onkar; (2) Distinctive Dress: the Five Ks; Khanda; (3) Nishan Sahib (the turban for men Sikh flag); (4) the Five Ks of the Khalsa (uncut hair, dagger, comb, Monasticism: Udasis, an ascetic short pants, bracelet; males group founded by Nanak’s son; generally wear turbans rejected by Sikhism Religious Authorities: The Ten Religious Building: gurdwara Gurus; Akal Takht (central authority of Sikhism) Images and Art: portraits of the ten gurus; housed images of Calendar: dispute between Hindu deities until reform in 1906 dispora and Punjab Sikhs over competing calendars Music: hymns from the Adi Granth, with stringed instruments Sacred Days and Holidays: and professional as well as largely follows celebrations on the communal singing Hindu calendar, Vaisakhi (new year); Divali; Gurpurbs are Famous Leaders and Thinkers: distinctly Sikh Arjan: fifth Guru (built Golden Temple); Gobind Singh (founder of Special Day: no special weekly the Khalsa movement; Ranjit day Singh (established only Sikh Date of Establishment: 1500s CE Gobind Singh); Janamsakhis empire) (stories about Nanak) Main Rites: Baptism of the Founder: Nanak (1469-1539 CE) Sword; Path (continuous reading Main Empire: 1799-1849 founded Main Branches: Khalsa; of Adi Granth) by Ranjit Singh; some Sikhs have Location of Origin: Punjab area Sahajdharis (“slow adopters”) ambitions for an independent of Pakistan and northwest India Main Prayer: Japji (first part of Adi state called Khalistan Main Belief: monotheism; Granth Main Areas: throughout India devotion to God and selfless (with 2/3 in Punjab State); Great action to others are the way to Guide to Conduct: Adi Granth, Britain, USA, areas of the British liberation; close to Hinduism in Rehat Maryada; Four Commonwealth, particularly many aspects Prohibitions; Five Vices; Five western Canada Virtues Sacred or Famed Sites: city of Percent of World’s Population: Amritsar, India (“pool of Food Concerns: prohibits 0.3% (25 million) immortality), where the Golden meat from ritually killed Temple (Harmandir Sahib—Abode animals, such as halal and Main Texts: Adi Granth (First of God) and Akal Takht are located kosher Book); (also called Guru Granth Sahib); Dasam Granth (hymns of Sacred Language: Punjabi Quick Facts Calendar: primarily lunar; twelve temples and royal courts animal signs of the zodiac Famous Leaders and Thinkers: Sacred Days and Holidays: Confucius; Mencius; Xunzi; Zhu Xi Confucius’s Birthday; Qingming (Tomb-Sweeping Day); Chinese Main Empire: Han dynasty; Late New Year Tang dynasty; Song dynasty; influential until the fall of the Qing Special Day: no special day of dynasty; Joseon dynasty (Korea) the week Main Rites: ancestor veneration; elaborate rites on Confucius’s birthday; striving for proper ritual conduct in all aspects of life Main Prayer: none Guide to Conduct: The Five Constants and the Four Virtues, including such values as Date of Establishment: c. 500 Main Belief: social harmony humaneness, righteousness, and BCE through self-cultivation and right filial