GHIST 101 1st Edition Lecture 4 Outline of Last Lecture I. Mesopotamiaa. Sumerians b. Religion and Literature c. Technology d. Lawe. Expansion and Decline II. Ancient Egypt a. Nileb. Land and People of Ancient Egypt c. Dynasties d. Religione. Cultural Achievements Outline of Current Lecture II. Harappan CivilizationIII. AryansIV. Hinduism a. Scripts of Hinduismb. Teaching Hinduism c. Castes (Social Classes) d. Hindu Traditions V. Buddhism a. Four Noble Truthsb. Goal of the Middle Way c. Theravada Buddhism d. Mahayana Buddhism Current LectureHarappan Civilization - Cities were carefully designed – irrigation systems to facilitate agriculture- The size of this civilization was double Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilization - Prosperous between 2600 and 1900 B.C. - Located in the Indus River - Urban planning These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.- Trading Networks- Harappan Scripts o Scripts were impossible to read – 400 unique symbols to represent language- Mysterious End – after 700 years the civilization disappeared o We don’t know how it was ended o Not very famous because it has been forgotten for centuries- Aryans o The Indo-Aryans Moved to the Punjab region in India by 1400 BC Migration - British theory of Aryan Invasion- The theory was embraced by the British – a group of Caucasians came and invaded India and tried to turn Indians into Caucasians- Rig Veda- became foundation of Hinduism  Economic transformations in the Ganges River Valley - Used metal tools - Hinduism o Third largest religion in the world o Has about 1 billion believers in the world o Not founded by one individual  Hinduism has a number of ideas  Added to the Indian people by other people  Indians do not call themselves Hindu- call themselves Dharma o Vedic Dharma  Dharma: The universal law – Principal of the universe - If you understand Dharma, you will apply Dharma to your life - Europeans tried to use their way of thinking to revise and teach their thinking  Vedic Dharma: The application of the law to Indian society o Hinduism is a closed religion – if you want to be a Hindu, you have to be born into a Hindu family o Scripts of Hinduism Polytheistic - Most important Deity was Brahman, the Ultimate Reality - Other gods form part of Brahman Shrut – “That which is heard” - It has been transmitted through generations - It has to be learned from a master- It was not written down in history until the invasion of the Europeans- The Vedas and some other textso Rig Veda-  Smrit- “that which is to be remembered”- Less important, compiled in later periods - Epics, sutras, devotional songs - Scriptures of Hinduism o Teaching of Hinduism Karma - One’s deeds will later have an effect - Karmic consequence can happen in other lives  Samsara - Reincarnation - Only found in ancient India- After one dies, the soul will be reborn into another form of life and will happen internally - Cycles of life  Moksha- Release from the cycles of samsara- Physical world is unreal and the world of mind and spirit is real - United with the Brahman o To imagine the Brahman as an ocean, and the physical world and actions are just bubbles on the surface of the water, and once the bubbles burst, you can be combined with the ocean againo Castes- social classes  Brahmins- Professional priests Ksatriyas - Warriors and rulers - Political elites of society  Vaisyas - Business people, peasants, workers Sudras- Servants, laborers, serving higher castes  “Outcasts”- No rights and no legal protection; “untouchable” - Their duties were dealing with trash, dead people, beggars The cast system itself is a challenge to the Indian government today - There should be no caste system anymore but it is still a core teaching of Hinduism - One has a certain social class and one has that from birth and you should honor the class and fill your responsibility of that class.o Hindu Traditions Multiple Traditions- Shaivism – Shiva o Shaivism is the second largest religious community in cotemporary India. - Vaishnavism – Vishnu o Practices monotheism  Many different tales telling behaviors  Hinduism was not a coherent teaching - Buddhism o Siddhartha Gautama- The Buddha (c 563-480 BC)o Prince in Nepal o Encounters with suffering, disease, death  He couldn’t understand suffering- everything in life was wonderful  He went on a journey and saw people suffering and dying of disease  He was sitting under a tree for 40 days and he believed he found the answer to his question of “how to escape from suffering” and became theBuddha o Wandering and religious explorationo Buddha – a person who is awaken and enlightened o Enlightenment – The Middle Way He spend 45 years to teach thousands of disciples  Established religious order in India – became famous Religious teacher and died when he was 80 years old  Converted families and large numbers of disciples  Today, Buddhism is the major religious in east and southeast Asia but not India  Born in India but not practiced in India today o Fourth Noble Truths  Life is suffering (or sorrowful)  Suffering comes from attachment or desire - If you desire, you cannot get that, and then you suffer- Desire- if you desire to get something that you cannot have, you will be depressed  To end suffering, end attachment - Do not value powerful, wealthy things in society and end desires - If you end every desire in your life, you will be able to be released from Samsara and you will be able to jump into existence  Eightfold Path - Right views, right intentions, right speech, right actions, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration- You need to have self discipline to understand the noble trutho Goal of the Middle Way Nirvana – “blowing out” or release from the karmic cycle of rebirth - Once you really understand the truth, you can go to the ocean andtranscend suffering and come back to Brahman  Essence of Dharma (law) – to escape from suffering and existence through:- Morality- Mental discipline- Intuitive grasp of the Four Noble Truthso Need to believe in the four noble truths to “be good”  Differences from Hinduism- Buddhism – you have Buddha- Pantheon - Social View o Buddhism strongly rejects the castes system – everyone