Harappa Culture

• Hinduism.
• (2750 BCE - 1750 BCE)
• Several large towns on the banks of the Indus River (and beyond) in what is now Pakistan revealed by excavations in 1926.
• Believed the towns were in existence by about 2750 BCE.
• Urban Civilization: Had a written language interpreted by inscriptions carved in seats. (unknown language) Architechture suggests religious practices.
• Some scholars think the civilization was destroyed by Indo-European invaders from Central Asia around 1750 BCE. Others believe in flooding or epidemics.

Atman

• Hinduism.
• "Human Soul"

Brahman

• Hinduism.
• "Supreme Being"
• Pervades and yet transcends not only human thought but the Universe itself. Cannot be described any more than infinity can be contained.
• Brahman and Atman's relationship is like dissolving salt into water.
• Is referred to as the hidden, inner controller of the human soul (Atman), by others, as the frame and the substance of the universe.

Karma

• In Hinduism: literally means 'action,' especially ritual action, but eventually comes to refer to a system of rewards and punishments attached to various actions. Implies a continuing cycle of death and rebirth or reincarnation called samsara.
• In Buddhism: means that living creatures are reborn again and again, for better or worse depending on their moral conduct in previous lives.
• In Jainism: considered to be material in nature, consisting of undiferentiated particles that become attracted to the soul whenever the sentient being thinks, speaks, or acts in any way. Seems to be especially attrated to souls that are 'moist' with desires; drier, more dispassionate souls are not so easily polluted. Particles of karmic matter stick to the soul and keep it in a state of bondage.

Samsara

• Hinduism, Sikhism, Buddhism
• A continuous cycle of death and rebirth or reincarnation.
• To achieve liberation (moksha) from this cycle, according to the Upanishads, requires a transforming experiential wisdom. Once that wisdom is attained, one becomes immortal (a-mrta, 'without death')

Brahmins

• Hinduism.
• Priestly class that historically considered itself the 'highest' in Indian society.
• Retained the authority to teach and ;earn the Vedas.
• Although not all members of the community were priests, they held the power and prestige generally associated with spiritual learning.

Dharma

• In Hinduism: Religious and social duty, including both righteousness and faith. Golden Age (krta yuga) lasts 1,728,000 earthly years: Bull of Dharma is on all four legs. Treta Age lasts 1,296,00 earthly years: Dharma is on three legs. Dvapara Age lasts 864,000 earthly years: Dharma is hopping on two legs. Kali Yuga (worst of all possible ages) lasts 432,000 earthly years: Dharma is on one leg and things get progressively worse.
• In Buddhism: Refers to teachings that are firm or lasting. Among those eternal truths are the laws of nature, the reality of spiritual forces such as karma, and the rules of moral conduct. Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path.

Three Ways To Liberation

• Hinduism.
• The way of action (karma yoga): the path of unselfish duty performed neither in fear of punishment nor in hope of reward.
• The way of knowledge (jnana yoga): through scriptural knowledge, one may achieve a transforming wisdom that also destroys one's past karma.
• The way of devotion (bhakti yoga)

Caste System

• Hinduism.
• Priests, Rulers, Merchants, and Servants.
• Priests: Brahmins; authority to teach and learn Vedas.
• Rulers: Kshatriya ('royal' or 'warrior'); protect the people and the country.
• Merchants: Vaisyas; permitted to study Vedas but not teach them. In charge of commercial transactions, as well as agricultural work. Power of wealth and economic decisions.
• Servants: Shudras; serve the other classes.

Yoruba

• Indigenous.
• A West African ethnic group, one of the largest on the continent; because a large proportion of the slaves sent to the Americas were Yoruba, their traditions had the most visible influence on the religions of the African Diaspora.
• Nigeria and Benin.
• Believe that Olodumare, the lord of the heavens, delegated the creation to lesser gods called Orisha.
• Olodumare reigns but does not rule.

Igbo

• Indigenous.
• Southeastern Nigeria.
• Their supreme being is far removed from himan beings and has created lesser spirits, divine servants, to handle speciic types of problems.

The 10 Gurus

• Sikhism.
• Before his death, Nanak appointed his disciple Angad as his successor, inaugurating a spiritual lineage each of whose members was accorded the title of 'Guru' and served for life. Counting Nanak, the succession of ten Gurus extended for two centuries.
• 1. Nanak, 2. Angad, 3. Amardas, 4. Ramdas, 5. Arjan, 6. Jehangir,               7. Hargobind, 8. Shah Jehan, 9. Tegh Bahadur, 10. Gobind Singh.

Triple Gem of Buddhism

• Buddhism.
• The Buddha.
• The Dharma (teaching)
• The Sangha (community) has two components: the monastic community of ordained men (bhikshus) and women (bhikshunis), and the broad community of all the lay people who follow the Buddha's path.

Wheel of Dharma

• Buddhism.
• a.k.a. Dharmachakra.
• Represents the teachings of Buddha.

The Four Sights

• Buddhism.
• 1. A sick man.
• 2. A suffering old man.
• 3. A dead man.
• 4. A monk whose calm detachment from the world suggests a path to overcoming suffering.

Koan

• Buddhism.
• A paradoxical anecdote or riddle that is specifically designed to defy rational understanding and force the student out of normal 'heady' (reason- or word-centred) mode into a more intuitive, body-centred state of mind.
• Used in Chan-Zen tradition to provoke a breakthrough in understanding by forcing students past the limitations of verbal formulations and logic.

Pagodas

• Buddhism.
• A multi-story tower, characteristic of Southeast and East Asian Buddhism, that developed out of the South Asian mound or stupa (originally a hemispherical mound built to contain cremation ashes or a sacred relic.

Tian

• Confucianism and Daoism.
• Confucious called it 'Heaven' or the divine; Laozi called it the Dao (the 'way')
• Also increasingly refers to the source and principle of ethical laws and values.

Neo-Confucianism

• Confucianism.
• Song Dynasty (mid-tenth to late thirteenth century)
• Goal was to find answers in the classical heritage to a number of questions that had been raised during the centuries of Daoist and Buddhist dominance, then attributed to Confucious the new way of thinking that they themselves had devloped in response to Daoism and Buddhism.
• Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming.
• Four Books: Analects of Confucius, Book of Mencius, Great Learning, Doctrine of the Mean.

Mandate of Heaven

• Confucianism.
• The ancient Chinese concept of a divine right to rule that is nevertheless subject to forfeiture (and hence justifies rebellion) if the king is a tyrant.

Heavenly Masters Sect

• Daoism.
• a.k.a. Zhengyi
• A lineage of Daoist teachers originating with the Heavenly Master Zhang Daoling, who claimed that Laozi appeared to him in a vision in 142.
• Its founding is often identified as the foraml beginning of the Daoist religion as an institution.

Perfect Truth Sect

• Daoism.
• a.k.a. Quanzhen Dao or Way of Complete Perfection.
• A Daoist sect whose monks are celibate, dating from thirteenth-century era of Mongol rule.
• Founded by Wang Zhe and became the major monastic form of Daoism
• Shows the greatest Buddhist influence.

Anatman

• Buddhism.
• 'No soul', the doctrine that the human person in impermanent, a changing combination of components.
• In Sanskrit meaning without Atman, the eternal self or soul.
• Philosophically means there is nothing absolute or unchanging about us.
• Psychologically means that 'I' should not think of anything as 'mine', for there is no absolute 'me.'

Yoga

• Hinduism.
• The physical and mental discipline through which one 'yokes' one's spirit to a god.
• Classic yoga text for many Hindus is a collection of short, aphoristic fragments called the Yoga Sutras.
• Crucial aspect is learning to detach the mind from the domination of external sensory stimuli.