Transcript Chapter 9 _Hindusim and Buddhism

THE WORLD’S HISTORY
Fourth Edition
Chapter
9
Indian Empires:
New Arrivals in South
Asia
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Hinduism and Buddhism
Examining Religious Beliefs
• All five of the world religions studied in this
section are based on miracles
• Historians cannot study actions that leave
no direct evidence; they can only study the
actions of believers
• Religious belief creates standards of
behavior and religious organizations
• Creates a sense of the sacred
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Examining Religious Beliefs
• Historians can study:
– Sanctification of time
– Sanctification of space
– Sanctification of language and literature
– Sanctification of artistic and creative endeavor
– Sanctification of family and ancestors
– Creation of religious organization
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Hinduism
• The Origins of Hinduism
– Because of use of Sanskrit, many
believed that Hinduism was a product of
the Aryan invasion
– Now believe that Indus Valley people
were source of many Hindu beliefs
– Anthropologists believe that Hinduism is
an amalgam of a variety of different
beliefs
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Howard Spodek
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Hinduism
• Sacred Geography and Pilgrimage
– Hinduism is confined to the Indian
subcontinent and its migrants
– Broad dispersion of sacred places
promotes pilgrimages to important sites
– Each city and town has its own sites that
foster close-knit communities
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Howard Spodek
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Hinduism
• Central Beliefs of Hinduism
– Rigveda
 Oldest of four Vedas composed 15001200 B.C.E.
 1,028 verses of Sanskrit poetry that
invokes early gods and speculates on
the creation of the world
 Does not claim to offer specific
answers
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Howard Spodek
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Hinduism
• Central Beliefs of Hinduism [cont.]
– Caste
 Rigveda introduced the caste system
as result of sacrifice of Purusha, a
mythical creature, into four parts
 Caste is hierarchical and hereditary
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Hinduism
• Central Beliefs of Hinduism [cont.]
– Caste
 Speculations of purpose include
maintaining order among the diverse
people of India, preserving frozen
economic system, or suppressing subject
people
 Believe that today’s caste system existed in
the past
 Caste was often more important that
government
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Hinduism
• Central Beliefs of Hinduism [cont.]
– Brahmanas (from 900-500 B.C.E.) and
Upanishads (800-500 B.C.E)
 Former discusses rituals and myths; latter contains
mystical speculation
 From the Upanishads Hindus derive
•
•
•
•
dharma = religious and ethical duties
karma = human activities and impact on its atman
samsara = life cycle of different duties for different stages
moksha = unification of atman and Brahman
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Hinduism
• Central Beliefs of Hinduism [cont.]
– The Great Epics
 Bhagavad-Gita is part of Mahabharata
• A story of duties and meaning of life and death
• Warrior (kshatriya) must fulfill dharma by fighting
• Krishna, blue-skinned god, is non-Aryan
• Story supports bhakti, mystical devotion to god
• Role of women is more prestigious than in
Ramayana, where Rama’s wife Sita was
subservient
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Hinduism
• Central Beliefs of Hinduism [cont.]
– The Puranas
 Focus on Vishna and Shiva, most popular of the
Hindu gods
 Goddesses serve as consorts to powerful male
gods
 Balance the suppressed vision of women present
in earlier Hindu literature
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Howard Spodek
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Hinduism
• Temples and Shrines
– Shift in Hindu practice in 7th century C.E.
– Personal prayer replaced sacrifice as way to
communicate with the gods
– Result was caves and temples of great beauty
that reflected Hindu beliefs through art
– Sexual passion and union of males and
females entered worship as analogues for
passion for gods
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Hinduism
• Religion and Rule
– Powerful sought support in religion and
religion validated power of elites
– Brahmin priests were used to awe
indigenous people after confiscation of
local lands
– Kings rewarded priests with land, court
subsidies, and temple bequests in return
for support
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Hinduism
• Hinduism in Southeast Asia
– Brahmin priests and Hindu priests were used
as early as the 3rd century C.E. to validate
royal authority in rare example of spread of
Hinduism outside India
– Represented an extension of ongoing trade
– Externals of Hinduism--Sanskrit, Indian gods,
and Indian calendar--present by 5th century
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Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Origins of Buddhism
– Developed within Hinduism
– The Life of the Buddha (born c. 563 B.C.E.)
 Sheltered life shattered by introduction to human
suffering at age twenty-nine
 Reached enlightenment after meditation under tree
 Antidote to pain and suffering is recognition that
temptations are illusions
 Key is Four Noble Truths and Noble Eightfold Path
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Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• The Origins of Buddhism [cont.]
– The Sangha (groups of monks and nuns)
 Initially open to women; nuns today are in
Tibet
 Obedient to order, monks are intellectually
free
 Settled into monasteries after abandoning
tradition of begging
 Abandonment of begging led to loss of
contact with common people
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Emergence of Mahayana Buddhism
– 200 B.C.E-200 C.E. saw more Buddhist than
Hindu shrines in India
– General councils codify Theravada Buddhism
and Mahayana Buddhism (“Greater Vehicle”)
– Believed that bodhisattvas facilitated
achievement of Nirvana by masses
– Maitreya Buddha a servant to redeem
humanity
– Mahayana Buddhism a challenge to Hinduism
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Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Decline of Buddhism in India
– Buddhist appeal was for warriors and
businessmen who felt scorned by Brahmins
– Decline paralleled decline of Gupta empire
– Many Indians could not easily distinguish
Mahayana Buddhism from Hinduism
– Buddhists relied on Hindu priests to conduct
life-cycle ceremonies
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Decline of Buddhism in India [cont.]
– Hinduism became more attractive to
Buddhists
 Hindu religion built on common folktales
 Could be Hindu and Buddhist at same time
 Neither group treated women well
– Began to wane with onset of Muslim traders
along silk route
– Muslims destroy remnants of temples and
monasteries upon entering India
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Jainism
– Another religion of India, similar to both
Hinduism and Buddhism
– Like Theraveda Buddhism, Jains reject caste
system and supremacy of Brahmins
– Jains practice nonviolence to such a degree
that many do not farm for fear of killing
creatures in the soil
– Rely on Hindu priests for ceremonies
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Buddhism in China
– Arrival in China: The Silk Route
 First Buddhist missionaries to China in 65 C.E.
 Pilgrimages to India to learn Buddhism included
those of Faxian (early 5th century) and Xuanzang
(early 7th century)
 All traveled the silk route
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Buddhism in China [cont.]
– Relations with Daoism and Confucianism
 Fall of Han discredited Confucianism and opened
door to Buddhist ideas
 Mahayana Buddhism similar to Daoism
 In south, Buddhism represented philosophy for
dealing with hazardous life in semi-exile
 Buddhism and Confucianism accommodated each
other
 Buddhist travels promoted Chinese unity
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Buddhism in China [cont.]
– Buddhism under Tang Dynasty (618907 C.E.)
 Divided into eight major sects
 Pure Land variant promised paradise
for those who believed in the ruler of
paradise, Buddha Amitabha
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Buddhism in China [cont.]
– Buddhism under Tang Dynasty (618-907
C.E.)
 Chan taught the importance of meditation
 Invented woodblock printing
 Only woman to rule China in her own name, the
“Emperor” Wu (625-705 C.E.), used Buddhism to
legitimate her rule
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Buddhism in China [cont.]
–Buddhism’s Decline in China
Chinese power in central Asia
broken by Islamic power
Central Asian Buddhism survived
only in Tibet
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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Buddhism
• Buddhism in China [cont.]
– Buddhism’s Decline in China
 Tang Emperor Wuzong (r. 840-846
C.E.) feared power of Buddhism and
blamed it for decline of Tang power
• Confiscated Buddhist lands
• Destroyed Buddhist texts
• Forced monks and nuns to leave
monasteries and convents
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Buddhism in Japan
– Japan followed Shinto, “the way of the kami,”
who were powers and spirits inherent in
nature
– After arrival of Buddhism, kami were seen as
minor Buddhas while bodhisattvas and
Buddhas were seen as major kami
– Japanese royal family knew of adoption of
Buddhism by Asoka and imitated his action
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Buddhism in Japan [cont.]
– Buddhism’s Arrival in Japan
 Arrived 552 C.E. via Korea
 Initial acceptance tied to belief that monks could
work medical miracles
 Acceptance at court came under Prince Shotoku
Taishi (573-621 C.E.)
 Saw Buddhism as a basis of Chinese power and
wanted that power source for himself
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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Buddhism
• Buddhism in Japan [cont.]
– Buddhism’s Role in Unifying Japan
 Japanese creation of Nara capital
expanded imitation of Chinese practices
including Buddhism
 Buddhism joined Shinto as support of
government
 Buddhism facilitated Japanese
centralization
 Buddhist wealth and power alarmed many
Japanese
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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Buddhism
• Buddhism in Japan [cont.]
– Japanese Buddhism Develops New Forms
 Saicho monastery, placed far from centers of
power, focused on Tendai variant that held
enlightenment achieved by sincere religious
devotion
 Shingon (“True Word”) emphasized mantras
 Amida (Amitabha) favored chanting mantras
 Zen (Chan in China) emphasized defense of state
and the importance of martial arts
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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Buddhism
• Buddhism in Japan [cont.]
– Lasting Buddhist Elements in Japanese
Society
 Cultivated an especially pure aesthetic
dimension
 Buddhist emphasis on transience of all
life affected Japanese literature such
as the Tale of Genji
 Merged with aspects of Shinto
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Howard Spodek
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Comparisons
• Both have experienced transformations
• Both have sacred calendars and control of
life-cycle events
• Both have sacred languages
• Both ultimately connect to common people
• Both show flexibility of world religions
• Both show ties between government and
religion
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
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What Difference Do They Make?
• Hinduism sustains a religion of polytheism
that provides cultural unity for South Asia
• Buddhism is religion of hundreds of
millions of people
The World’s History, Fourth Edition
Howard Spodek
Copyright ©2010, ©2006 by Pearson Education, Inc.
All rights reserved.