Hinduism and Buddhism

Hinduism Hinduism is one of the oldest religionsreligions Hinduism’s roots are in the AryanAryan religion, which

changed after borrowing ideas from conquered people of IndiaIndia

The BrahmanBrahman is the universal spiritspirit made up of thousands of godsgods and goddesses

The Upanishads are ancient religious writingswritings that describe the search for Brahman

ReincarnationReincarnation = the idea of passing through many liveslives to reach the Brahman

DharmaDharma = the divine lawlaw of Hindus Law states that Hindus must

perform the duties of their castecaste

KarmaKarma = the consequencesconsequences of how a person lives

Buddhism

Buddhism = religion founded by Siddhartha GautamaGautama man who became known as the BuddhaBuddha, or

“Enlightened OneOne” Was a princeprince who left his family and wealth to travel Saw much suffering and questioned the need for

sufferingsuffering MeditatedMeditated under a tree for 49 days, then he understood Throughout the rest of his life, he traveledtraveled to tell people

about his discovery

NirvanaNirvana = a state of wisdomwisdom, occurs when a person gives up all desires

The core of Buddha’s teaching is called the Four Noble TruthsFour Noble Truths

The Eightfold PathEightfold Path describes the steps to eliminate suffering

Buddhism is divided into TheravadaTheravada Buddhism and MahayanaMahayana Buddhism TheravadaTheravada Buddhists

believe the Buddha was a great teacherteacher, not a god

MahayanaMahayana Buddhists believe the Buddha was a godgod who came to save people

In TibetTibet, a country in central Asia, lamaslamas (religious leadersleaders) headed the government

The DalaiDalai Lama was the governmentgovernment leader The PanchenPanchen Lama was the religiousreligious leader TheocracyTheocracy = a form of government in which

religious leaders headhead the government

JainismJainism = another religion that challenged Hinduism Jains believe in nonviolence to all living

creatures and live a strictstrict life AhimsaAhimsa = the Jain practice of nonviolencenonviolence,

influenced many people in modern times like Mohandas GandhiGandhi and Martin Luther King, Jr.