RELG 102 1st Edition Exam 6 Study Guide Lecture 18 21 Lecture 18 April 10 Uniqueness Buddhism is different from Hinduism in several ways o Buddhists do not believe in a soul principle called anatman o Buddhists do not really follow the Vedas o Buddha himself was silent regarding concepts like the self o Buddhists do not follow social castes o Buddhists do not accept Hindu gods Basic principles Buddha rejected the pantheon of Hindu gods didn t believe they were immortal Basically concepts like soul and god were invented to protect our permanence System of karma and samsara not the same either Yet like Hindus Buddhists acknowledge that there is suffering in the world Buddhism is very complex and can very Samsara Ignorance keeps one in the cycle of rebirth Desire aversion delusion also keeps the cycle going Your new life is merely conditioned by your old one Last thought of a dying person conditions the first thought of the new born baby Life force is always in flux o Life is always changing Lecture 20 April 22 o Suffering dukkha exists all elements in nature involving suffering but doesn t mean one shouldn t be miserable be joyous Three kinds of suffering natural pain produced by change conditional reality of existence o Thirst or craving for suffering this is ignorance of the real nature of things we see things as permanent they are not o Cessation of suffering existence in ignorance suffering Nirvana means extinction it is freedom from it is beyond reasoning it is perspective not a state The path to cessation of Dukkha Buddhism s path to enlightenment is called the middle path because it avoids extremes no asceticism or indulgence Noble eightfold path Right understanding Right thought Right speech Right conduct Right livelihood Right effort Right contemplation or mindfulness Right concentration Nirvana Simple negation like freedom Freedom from the cycle of rebirth passionate attachment to reality and person and things anger ignorance Freedom to act and be real Lecture 21 April 24 Mohayana Buddhism Arose in south india spread through central asia Popularized the original teachings of Buddha Envisioned salvation nirvana for all Worship and exaltation of the Bodhisattva a super being who has rid himself of all personal desires but is waiting for all to be saved one step below Enl Don t have to be a monk to be a good Buddhists Buddha Heavenly body Earthly body Absolute essence of universe Two key concepts Non reality of objects people began to see that external material things are bogus Great personal compassion social caste gone love on another is central message of Buddha Buddha wants you to attain Nirvana Tantric Buddhism Final phase of indian Buddhism Philosophy based upon Upanishads focus on tantras Emphasizes meditation through visualization 3 m s Mandala represent the entire universe o Goal is to visualize into a divine image Mudras symbolic hand gestures invoke spirits Mantras chanting formulas used to help focus and bring prosperity o Om is key syllable Zen was the first form of Buddhism to gain large followings in north America o Zen Buddhism meditation Mecca Medina and Jerusalem are holy cities for Muslims why Jerusalem o On eve of judgment Jerusalem will be place of refuge against the Anti Christ o The Messiah will triumph there over evil o Muhammad s night of Ascension Muhammad is criticized along two lines o He was a war monger o He was morally corrupt The Quran Only with the Quran will Arabic be cemented The Quran is the book of God But what about the other scriptures Quran as correction The Quran means recitation it is every Muslims duty to recite and learn it it is an expression of piety It is about 80 the size of the new testament with 114 chapters or suras It was received to Muhammad over 22 years but is it a new text Who wrote the Quran The Quran is a scripture God is merciful and just we ve seen this before Tawheed is the unity of Allah Allah G guides us in three ways through Muhammad the Angels and Quran Absolute monotheism here Quran is final revelation from God it is unchangeable Quran on Scripture the people of the book are a community in obedience they believe in Allah and the last day enjoin what is right and forbid what is evil and vie with one another for good works They are of the righteous 3 113 115 if someone kills another person it is as if he had murdered all mankind 5 32 What are the major teachings of the Quran No modern biblical criticism here it is the eternal literal word of God At the center is God or Allah more than 2500 mentiond God is transcendent all powerful The Quranic Universe Three realms heaven earth hell Inhabitants of the world include angels jinn s and humans Jinn s made of smokeless fire Invisible good or bad entities word genies Angels are he link between God and Humans communicate divine revelations Finally human beings share a special relationship to God God breathed his her spirit into him 15 29 Jinn Satan or Iblis refused to bow before Adam hence expulsion and fall from heaven Humans are to implement Gods will No original sin in the Quran sin is not inherent Sin for Muslims disobedience Humans created good but are just limited creatures death result of mortal human condition not sin First you sin then comes repentance then comes Gods forgiveness The worst of sins involves ones relationship with God o Shirk idolatry worshipping other Gods Considered by some to be the one unforgivable sine but the Quran seems to allow for leniency Kufr unbelief atheism ungratefulness to God