Siddhartha Guatama Early Life:
- Born as Siddartha Guatama during 5th century B.C.E.
- Raised in a weathly (Kshatriya) family
- Father did not allow him to leave the palace because he did not want him to experience misery
- Guatama left the house one day and saw three things on the streets of India:
-A sick man and corps which taught him that disease and death were inescapable
-A monk which taught him that many people exclude themselves from society in order to perfect their spirits and live a holy life
- Then Guatama decided to abandon his lavish life to live an ascetic life and achieve enlightenment
Enlightenment
-suffering is caused by desire -suffering is ended through the elimination of desire -living a disciplined life with the help of The Noble Eightfold Path eliminates desire |
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Popularity
- After Turning of the Wheel of Law, Buddha gained many disciples from the Ganges valley
- Buddhism mainly attracted people of the lower classes because it disregarded the rules of the caste system
- Received a lot of support from emperor Ashoka
- Monks greatly contributed to the spread of Buddhism
Mahayana Buddhism
-Theologians specified the roles of the boddhisatva (enlightened beings) which stated that they could delay entry into nirvana in order to help others who needed spiritual help -Monasteries would accept gifts from the wealthy which merited salvation
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The Noble Eigthfold Paths
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Thervada Buddhism
- Was more strict than Mahayana
- Lost popularity due to the establishment and popularity of Mahayana
- Was popular in Ceylon, Burma, and Thailand
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Jainism
![Picture](/uploads/3/9/2/1/39215257/4142664.jpg?350)
by Hana Choi
Values
Appeals
- 7th century B.C.E
- Great teacher Vardhamana Mahavira (the great hero) turned to Jainism
- Mahariva was born in northern India about 540 BCE to a prominent kshatriya family
- Age of 30 to seek salvation by escaping the cycle of incarnation
- 12 years- led ascetic life in Ganges
- Abandoned all worldly possessions
- they referred to him as Jina (the conqueror)
- They referred to themselves as Jains
- Inspiration came from the Upanishads
Values
- Believed that everything in the universe possessed a soul
- As long as they remained trapped in their terrestrial bodies, they experienced physical and psychological suffering
- Only by purification from selfish behavior could souls gain release from their imprisonment, shed burdens of karma that they had accumulated during the various incarnations, and attain a state of bliss
- Purification- observed principle of Ahimsa (nonviolence) to other living souls
- Vegetarian diet, masks, and avoided sudden movements to avoid bruising anyone and the living things in the air
- Against farming and crafts, etc.
Appeals
- Opposed the idea of putting sharp distinctions between human beings
- Merchants, scholars, literary figures (people of the lower class)
- Respect to all living souls