The Three Major Asian Beliefs

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• The Three Major Asian Beliefs
• Buddhism
• Confucianism
• Taoism

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The Three ISMs

• Buddhism

Confucianism
Taoism
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Buddhism
The father of Buddhism

• Siddhartha Gautama
• Was born around 563 B.C.
• In Nepal

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• He was a prince of a ruling house in Nepal,
  abandoned the luxuries of home, and the
  affections of a wife and a young son, to become a
  wandering hermit.
• He was following a pattern not uncommon in India,
  when the rigidities of a priest-dominated
  Hinduism were causing many to
  seek a more personal
• religion.

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Buddhism

• The Great AwakeningSiddhartha Gautama attained
  enlightenment sitting under a pipal tree.
• From then on, he was known as "The Enlighten
  One, the Buddha.

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Buddhism

• The Buddha began Buddhism and taught it to anyone
  who would listen.
• He was teaching a religion that was devoid of
• Authority
• Ritual
• Tradition
• Supernatural

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Buddhism

• By the time of his death, at age eighty, the
  Buddha's followers were established as
  communities of monks in northern India. Wandering
  through villages and towns with their begging
  bowls, eager to describe the path to the truth.

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Buddhism

• It was in fact
• Scientific
• Pragmatic
• Therapeutic
• Directed to individuals
• Enlightenment can be
  achieved by
  understanding Four Noble Truths and that the
  pain of life, with which the Noble Truths are
  concerned, can be avoided by following an
  Eightfold Path.

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Buddhism

• Buddhas key discovery is known as the Four Noble
  Truths.
• The Four Noble Truths
• 1. Life means suffering.
• Buddha believed that the pain we feel in life
  could be cured through Buddhism.
• 2. The origin of suffering is attachment. Which
  translates to the desire for private fulfillment.

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Buddhism

• 3. The cessation of suffering is attainable. The
  cure, not the real cure though, just the
  knowledge, and understanding that there is a
  cure.
• 4. The path to the cessation of suffering. Is the
  real cure in the form of the Noble Eight Fold
  Path

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Buddhism

• Eight Fold Path

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• EIGHT FOLD PATH
• 1. Right View
• 2. Right Intention Wisdom
  
  
• 3. Right Speech
  
• 4. Right Action
• 5.Right Livelihood Ethical Conduct
• 6. Right Effort
• 7. Right Mindfulness
• 8. Right Concentration Mental Development

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Buddhism

• The Eight Fold Path You must have all of the
  following qualities
• 1.The Right Knowledge
• You must have the knowledge of the Four Noble
  Truths.
• 2.The Right Aspiration
• You have to want to reach true enlightenment for
  the Eight Fold Path to work.

As in Confucianism
As in Taoism
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Buddhism

• The Eight Fold Path
• 3. The Right Speech
• You need to take notice of how often you feel the
  need to deviate from the truth.
• 4. The Right Behavior
• Do not kill, Steal, Lie, or be unchaste, take
  drugs or intoxicants.

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Buddhism

• The Eight Fold Path
• 5. The Right Livelihood
• Your occupation can not go against the teachings
  of the Buddha.
• 6. The Right Effort
• You have to be dedicated and always try to follow
  the way of the Buddhist.

Unlike Taoism
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Buddhism

• The Eight Fold Path
• 7. The Right Mindfulness
• You have to be aware of every part of yourself.
  Your thought and your feelings.
• 8. The Right Absorption
• If you loose delusion, craving and hostility, the
  three poisons. You will see things how they
  should be.

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Buddhism

• If you follow the Four Noble truths you could
  reach Nirvana. Which is the ultimate goal for
  every Buddhist.
• Nirvana is permanent, stable imperishable,
  immovable, ageless, deathless, unborn, and
  unbecoming it is power, bliss and happiness, the
  secure refuge, the shelter, and the place of
  unassailable saftey incomprehensible peace
  (worlds region)

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Buddhism

• Buddha said that the human self has no soul,
  Anatta.

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Buddhism

• Buddha did believe in reincarnation.
• He saw it as a wave.
• He said that nothing will be identical to this
  life in the next, Pari Passu.

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Buddhism

• There are three groups of Buddhist today.
• Hinayana The Little Way
• Mahayana The Great Way
• Vajrayana The Diamond Way

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Buddhism

• Hinayana The Little Way
• They prefer to call their Buddhism
  Theravada
• The way of the Elders.
• Believed that Progress lies with the individual.
• Believe that there is no God to help you get
  through life.

As in Confucianism
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Buddhism

• Hinayana The Little Way
• The prime attribute is wisdom Bodhi.
• Monasteries filled with spiritual dynamos where
  Theravada thrived.
• They believe that their religion was for these
  high priest to teach and pass on.
• They would only use meditation and invocations to
  strengthen their faith.

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Buddhism

• Mahayana The Great Way
• Claim that they represent the true line of
  succession, from the Buddha.
• That Buddha reached Nirvana and returned to teach
  others how to reach it as well.
• They believe that there are Buddhas and
  Bodhisattvas, to help them through life.
• Bodhisattvas A person that has attained
  enlightenment, but postpones Nirvana in order to
  enlighten others.

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Buddhism

• Mahayana The Great Way
• The prime attribute is compassion Karuna.
• Believe that the religion is primarily for the
  average person.

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Buddhism

• Vajrayana The Diamond Way
• The way to realize Buddhas wisdom and
  compassion.
• Vajrayana started in Tibet.
• It teachings gives the advantage of reaching
  Nirvana in a single life time by using, and
  focusing all the energies in the body.

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Buddhism

• Vajrayana The Diamond Way
• Mantras Fashion sounds into holy formulas

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Mudras Turn hand gestures into scared dances
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Mandalas Use sand icons whos holy beauty
empowers
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Sand Mandala
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Buddhism

• Vajrayana The Diamond Way
• The Dali Lama is the Vajrayanas version of a
  Bodhisattva.
• The Dali Lama has reincarnated himself 13 times,
  so he can continue to lead the Tibetan people.

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Dali Lama
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Buddhism

• Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana The Rafts
• They all have a single founder.
• They all deal with the metaphor, using a raft to
  cross lifes river.
• Once you cross the river the realm of God is no
  distant place. It is where you now stand.
• They all have very lavish temples and shrines.

Unlike Taoism
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Buddhist Temples
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Buddhism

• Hinayana, Mahayana, Vajrayana The Rafts
• They all believe in the kindness to all
  creatures, the non-killing of animals, the
  elimination of caste barriers in religion and
  their reduction in social matters. (world
  religions)
• Buddhism thrives in every Asian land, except the
  one that gave birth to it. India

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Confucianism
The father of Confucianism

• Confucius
• Was born around 551 B.C.
• In what is now the
• Shantung Province

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Confucianism

• In his early twenties he became a tutor
• At the age of fifty Confucius set out on a 13
  year trek
• He died at the age of 74
• Confucius was undoubtedly one of the worlds best
  teachers
• He always taught informally, like a fellow
  learner with his students
• He never thought of himself as a sage

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Confucianism

• With his death began his glorification
• His teachings have touched almost every Chinese
  student for the past two thousand years.
• Confucius believed that tradition was the key to
  peace, in this very unstable time.
• He believed that tradition would show them the
  way back to a happy China.

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Confucianism

• Confucius looked back Five Hundred years to the
  Chou Dynasty for the answer on how to get China
  out of turmoil.
• He shifted tradition from an unconscious state to
  a state of consciousness.
• During the Chou Dynasty, warfare had become a
  very gruesome affair, whole populations were put
  to death. Anywhere from 60,000 to 400,000 people
  slaughtered

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Confucianism

• Confucius had Five Ideals that guided his
  thoughts
• Jen Is the ideal way for one to carry oneself
  through life. Measure the feeling of others by
  ones own.
• Chu Tzu If Jen is how a person should be, then
  Chu Tzu is how a person should act.

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Confucianism

• Five Ideals that guided his thoughts
• Li The propriety- The way things should be done.
  It is the way you should act in what ever role
  you play in life.
• A father should be a father, and a ruler should
  be a ruler.

Unlike Taoism

• Te Translates to Power. How the people with
  power, use it. For a person to be a great leader
  his followers must choose to follow him.

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Confucianism

• Five Ideals that guided his thoughts
• Wen Victory goes to the state with
  the highest culture. Art has the
  power to ennoble the human spirit.

China placed the scholar-bureaucrat at the top of
its social scale, and its soldiers at the bottom.
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Confucianism

• Confucius believed that with out human
  relationships, there would be no self.
• There are Five Constant relationships
• in life
• Parent and Child
• Husband and Wife
• Elder Sibling and Junior Sibling
• Elder Friend and Junior Friend

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Confucianism

• People have to warrant the respect and power that
  comes with their positions in life. Power and
  respect are not a given, they must be earned.
• He believed that if everyone followed the five
  ideals, even just one person the effect would be
  wide spread. Through that persons family,
  community, nation, and the world.

As in Buddhism
Unlike Taoism
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Confucianism

• Confucius shifted Chinas focus from heaven to
  earth. Though he did not remove heaven from the
  picture.
• He saw that his country could not serve its
  people, so how was it going to serve its
  ancestors.
• He believed that somewhere in the universe there
  is a power that is on the side of right.

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Confucianism

• China configured the Confucianism religion, so
  that it would serve everyone.
• China still holds a great importance for the Five
  Constant Relationships.
• With each passing year people listen more and
  more to there elders.

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Confucianism

• You should be able to work out your problems with
  out involving the courts.
• Confucianism has the power to change entire
  civilizations for the better. It affects every
  aspect of life and makes it better.

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Confucianism

• Confucius repeatedly calls for Self-examination
• There are many extravagant temples and shrines
  for Confucius.
• Confucius focused on the individuals, the people
  more than anything else.

Unlike Taoism
Unlike Taoism
As in Buddhism
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Taoism
The father of Taoism

• Lao Tzu
• Was born c. 640 B.C.
• No one is really sure about
• any dates or places.

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Taoism

• Lao Tzu was not pleased with his people, so he
  left and went on a journey.
• Lao Tzu was asked to leave
• a record of his beliefs with
• his civilization.
• It took him three days to
• complete 5000 characters
• titled the Tao Te Ching.

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Taoism

• The Tao Te Ching is in effect the Taoist bible.
• It centers around the concept of Tao. Or the
  path

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Taoism

• There are three meanings of Tao
• Tao- The way to ultimate reality. This Tao is
  way to vast for a person to comprehend or fathom.
• Tao- The way of the universe. The norm, the
  rhythm, and the driving power in all of nature.
  Deals more with the spiritual side then the
  Physical side of things.

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Taoism

• Three meanings of Tao
• Tao- The way of human life. It refers to the way
  that we mesh with the Tao of the universe.

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Taoism

• Just like the three meanings of Tao. All three
  were designed to facilitate the power of Tao
  through te
• There are three types of Taoism
• Philosophical Taoism
• Religious or
  Popular Taoism
• Vitalizing Taoism

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Taoism

• Philosophical Taoism
• Is a reflective look at life
• Relatively unorganized
• Teaches what you should understand
• You work on improving yourself
• Seeks power through knowledge
• Sought to conserve te and not to expend is on
  friction and conflict.

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Taoism

• Philosophical Taoism
• Wu Wei- The perfect way to live life, and reduce
  conflict and friction
• Combines supreme activity and supreme relaxation

• The conscious mind has to get out of the way of
  its own light.
• For one to perfect the wu wei lifestyle.
• A lifestyle above excess and tension.

As in Buddhism
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Taoism

• Religious Taoism
• Became a full fledge church
• Its programs are active
• The Taoist priesthood made cosmic life-power
  available for ordinary villagers.
• Their power was with magic, the harnessed higher
  powers for human ends.
• Want to help transmit Chi to people that can
  not get it on their own.

As in Buddhism
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Taoism

• Vitalizing Taoism
• The programs are active
• Relatively unorganized
• Teaches what you should do.
• Is a self help program
• You work on improving yourself
• Want to increase the amounts of Tao or te in
  their life
• They do this through chi

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Taoism

• Vitalizing Taoism
• They want to remove the barriers that slowed the
  flow of chi
• The power of chi
• could shift Heaven and Earth

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Taoism

• Philosophical, Religious and Vitalizing Taoism
• All center on how to maximize their Tao.
• They honor hunchbacks, crippels. Because the
  tallest tree gets the axe first.
• Their temples blend in with the landscape. They
  do not stand out.

Unlike Buddhism and Confucianism
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Taoist Temple
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Taoism

• Philosophical, Religious and Vitalizing Taoism
• They all teach that people will be at their best,
  when they are living in harmony with their
  surroundings.
• They consider ceremonies pompous and downright
  silly.
• They feel there is nothing to gain from
  punctiliousness, and the meticulous observance of
  propriety.

Unlike Confucianism
Unlike Buddhism
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Taoism

• The Taoist believe in opposites, and that things
  in nature have a way of working themselves out.

The Taoist believe that people should be
spontaneous and life their lives by someone
elses thoughts.
Lao Tzu connects the human to what transcends it.
Unlike Confucianism
Unlike Confucianism
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Yin and Yang
(Chinese philosophy) the two fundamental
principles, one negative, dark, passive, cold,
wet, and feminine (yin) and the other (yang)
positive, bright, active, dry, hot and masculine.
The interactions and balance of these forces in
people and nature influence their behavior and
fate.