hinduism and taoism slideshow

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    HINDUISM, TAOISM, and

    BUDDHISM

    Kindred religions

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    Common elements

    Emphasis on:

    Acceptance of things the way they are

    Overcoming desire

    HumilityRecognizing that a human life is alwaysextremely short and personalachievements are strictly limited

    Belief in a particular way of life: dharma

    Belief in a universal principle of merit:karma

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    Common elements

    View of good and bad is more likelearning to ride a bicycle than learningspelling

    Rather than a personal god whometes out punishment for breakingrules, these religions are based onuniversal forces or principles whichlead to pain and discomfort if they areignored (like someone who rides abicycle recklessly can get hurt)

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    Hinduism

    An ethnic religion of the

    Indian subcontinent

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    HINDUISM

    A label that includes a wide range of:

    Religious practices

    Customs

    BeliefsSacred places

    Deities

    Hinduism is tolerant of this variety anddoes not condemn certain religiouspractices or beliefs as evil

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    Origins of Hinduism

    Indo-Europeans were polytheistic andworshipped cattle

    Brought their beliefs to the Indus Valley byrelocation diffusion from 1,400 BC

    Rig Veda (oldest Indo-European document,written ca. 1,200 BC) is the foundation ofHinduism

    The diversity of religious practice in India

    suggests a process of syncretism(combination of cultures) during a phase ofexpansion diffusion

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    Fundamental beliefs of Hinduism

    Reincarnation

    Karma

    Caste system (4 main castes orvarnas, many sub-castes orjatis)

    Brahmin

    Kshatriya

    VaisyaShudra

    Sanctity of the cow

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    Five Major Doctrines

    Truth is one, Sages call it by different names

    Rig Veda, 1.164.46

    All Mankind is One Family

    Hitopadesha, Subhashita Ratna Bhandagare

    Law of Karma - As you sow, so shall you reapMahabharata, Shantiparva 299.42; BG 18.60

    That mode of living which is founded upon total harmlessnesstowards all creatures or [in case of genuine necessity] upon aminimum of such harm, is the highest morality

    Mahabharata, Shantiparva 262.5-6

    Whenever there is a decline of virtue, God incarnates Himself onearth to uphold righteousness

    Bhagavad Gita 4.7, 4.8

    www.hindunet.org

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    Brahman/Paramatman

    Brahman is the supreme reality

    Brahman has two aspects, transcendent(impersonal and unknowable) and immanent(personal and knowable)

    In the impersonal aspect, Brahman lies outside therealm of human description and can only besensed as a presence within oneself and the restof the universe

    God is immanent, the universe is the manifestationrather than the creation of God

    In the personal aspect, Brahman can be known invarious formsthe many Hindu deities and therest of creation

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    Deities(gods/goddesses)

    Brahma: creativeforce

    Vishnu: sustainingforce (incarnated as

    Krishna and others)Shiva: force ofrenunciation, release,self-mastery

    Hanuman (incarnation of

    Shiva who has Rama inhis heart) : epitome ofdevotion

    Ganesha (son of Shiva &Parvati): remover ofobstacles

    Saraswati(Brahmasconsort): humancreative force, arts &sciences

    Lakshmi(Vishnusconsort): prosperity,love, beauty, delight

    Kali/Parvati/Durga(Shivas consort):

    power, transformation,destroyer of evil

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    Representations of Deities

    Hanuman

    service,

    devotion,

    intelligence,strength

    Saraswati

    arts andsciences,

    knowledge,

    purity

    Krishna (an

    incarnation

    of Vishnu)

    divine love

    Shiva

    Renunciation,

    self-mastery

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    Ganesh

    Remover ofobstacles

    Source of

    knowledge (legendattributes theMahabharata toGanesh)

    One of the mostcommonly-seenicons

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    Hindu iconography

    Images are meant torecall the various

    aspects or powers of

    a god, not to be literal

    representations of aphysical form.

    For example, four

    arms on a god are

    not meant literally torepresent a four-

    armed god.

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    He has four hands, elephant'shead and a big belly. His

    vehicle is a tiny mouse. In hishands he carries a rope (tocarry devotees to the truth), anaxe (to cut devotees'attachments), and a sweetdessert ball -laddoo- (to rewarddevotees for spiritual activity).His fourth hand's palm isalways extended to blesspeople.

    A unique combination of hiselephant-like head and a quickmoving tiny mouse vehiclerepresents tremendous

    wisdom, intellegence, andpresence of mind.

    www.hindunet.org

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    Ganesh

    Son of Shiva and Parvati

    Was protecting his

    mother while she

    bathed. His father

    returned and cut off

    Ganeshs head, not

    knowing the person who

    kept him from his wife

    was his own son.

    Shiva solved the

    problem by replacing his

    sons head with the head

    of a passing elephant

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    Taoism

    A spiritual philosophy

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    TAOISM

    A philosophy about how to live life well

    Derived mainly from the writings of Chuang Tzu(ca. 250 BC) and Lao Tzu (6thc. BC)

    Teaches a way or path that is beneficial to one

    who follows itEliminates unhappiness & conflictFacilitates achievement of goals by abandoning striving

    Aligns oneself with universal forces

    Teaches that one who lives life well lacks nothing,because he or she desires nothing that is difficult to

    obtainEncourages people to accept that things need to run theircourse, and not to resist the tendency of things to workout in a certain natural way

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    Lao Tzu isconventionally

    shown riding

    an ox

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    Quietism

    Love of colors bewilders the eye and it fails to see right.

    Love of harmonies bewitches the ear, and it loses its true hearing.

    Love of perfumes fills the head with dizziness.

    Love of flavors ruins the taste.

    Desires unsettle the heart until the original nature runs amok.

    These five are enemies of true life.

    Yet these are what status seekers claim to live for.

    They are not what I live for.

    If this is life, then pigeons in a cage have found happiness!

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    Chuang Tzu on humility

    If a man is crossing a river and an empty boat collides with his

    own skiff,

    even though he be a bad-tempered man he will not become very

    angry.

    But if he sees a man in the boat, he will shout at him to steer clear.If the shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and

    begin cursing.

    And all because there is somebody in the boat.

    Yet if the boat were empty, he would not be shouting, and not

    angry.

    If you can empty your own boat crossing the river of the world,no one will oppose you, no one will seek to harm you....

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    Tao

    To name Tao is to name no-thing.

    Tao is a name that indicates without defining.

    Tao is beyond words and beyond things.

    It is not expressed either in word or in silence.

    Where there is no longer word or silence

    Tao is apprehended.

    (25:11, p. 226)

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    Link between Taoism & Hinduism?

    Buddhism combines elements of these two(although in the case of Taoism thediffusion path and direction is not known)

    The transcendent (impersonal and

    unknowable) aspect of Hindu religionDescends from early Hinduism as a kind of spiritualrevival

    The quietist aspect of TaoismBelief that contentment arises when one calmsdesires

    For sensory stimuli For wealth and achievement

    For power

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