SOUTH-EAST ASIA BIBLE COLLEGE

MANDALAY, MYANMAR

World’s Major Religions

 COURSE OUTLINE
LESSON ONE: RELIGIONS
A. WHAT IS A RELIGION?
B. ELEMENTS OF A RELIGION
C. CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGIONS
E. WHY MANY RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD?

LESSON TWO: HINDUISIM

A. WHAT IS HINDUISM?
B. THE SCRIPTURES OF HINDUISM
C. THE HISTORY OF HINDUISM
D. HINDU BELIEFS
E. POPULAR HINDUISM
F. THE FUTURE OF HINDUISM

LESSON THREE: CONFUCIANISM

A. CONFUCIUS, THE GREAT TEACHER
B. THE SCRIPTURES OF CONFUCIANISM
C. THE TEACHINGS OF CONFUCIUS ABOUT LIFE
D. CONFUCIANISM AS A RELIGION

LESSON FOUR: TAOISM

A. LAO TZU AND TAO TE CHING
B. THE TEACHINGS OF TAOISM
C. TAOISM AS A RELIGION
D. PRESENT-DAY TAOISM

LESSON FIVE: ISLAM

A. THE STORY OF MUHAMMAD, THE APOSTLE OF GOD
B. ISLAM IN THE WORLD
C. THE TEACHINGS OF ISLAM
D. THE PRACTICE OF ISLAM
E. GROUPS WITHIN ISLAM
F. THE MUSLIM

LESSON SIX: BUDDHISM

A. THE FOUNDER OF BUDDHISM
B.THE TEACHINGS OF BUDDHISM
C. MONASTIC BUDDHISM
D. THE EXPANSION AND DIVISION OF BUDDHISM
E. THE BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES
F. MAIN BUDDHIST GROUPS
G. WAYS OF WORSHIP
H. POPULAR BUDDHISM

LESSON SEVEN: CHRISTIANITY

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 INTRODUCTION

There are many different religions in the world. They all have narratives, symbols, and sacred
histories that are intended to create meaning of life or traditionally to explain the origin of life or the
universe. From their belief about the cosmos and human nature, they tend to derive morality, ethics,
religious law or a preferred lifestyle. According to some estimates in 2010, there are roughly 4,200
religions in the world. Since it is impossible to study all of them, we‘ve selected for our study five
religions—Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Islam, and Buddhism—which have followers in
Myanmar. We‘ve done this because our intension is not just to get knowledge about these religions,
but it is to reach its followers with the Gospel as much as we can within a short period of time so that
everyone heard the Good News of Christ Jesus in our country.

LESSON ONE: RELIGIONS

Lesson outline

A. WHAT IS A RELIGION?
1. Typical dictionary definition of religion
2. Various scholars‘ definition
B. ELEMENTS OF A RELIGION
C. CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGIONS
1. Western classification
2. David A. Brown‘s classification
3. Different lists of Major Religions
D. RELIGIOUS POPULATION (By percentage)
E. THE VARIETY OF RELIGIONS (Why many religions in the world?)
1. People have different ideas about God
2. People place different emphasis upon God‘s ‗beyond and within‘
3. People see different signs of God‘s presence and have different responses to God‘s
presence in different ways

A. WHAT IS A RELIGION?

There are numerous definitions of religion. The word ‗religion‘ is sometimes used interchangeably
with faith, belief system or sometimes set of duties. The word ‗religions‘ (plural) is used to refer to
both Christianity and other forms of worship. Religion is a basic human activity in both an individual
and a social.

1. Typical dictionary definition of religion

 The Chambers Dictionary defined religion as a belief in, or the worship of, a god or gods.
 Merriam-Webster Dictionary defined religion as the service and worship of God or the
supernatural.
 An English-Reader‘s Dictionary defines religion as a system of faith and worship based on
belief in God as creator and controller of the universe.

2. Various scholars’ definition

 A religious scholar defined religion as an organized collection of beliefs, cultural systems,

and world views that relate humanity to the supernatural, and to spirituality.
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  Daniel Defoe: Religion is properly the worship given to God, but it is also applied to the
worship of Idols, and false Deities.
 Edward Burnett Tylor: Religion is the belief in spiritual beings.
 A theologian Antoine Vergote defined religion as the entirely of the linguistic expressions,
emotions and, actions and signs that refer to a supernatural being or supernatural beings.

B. ELEMENTS OF A RELIGION

The practice of a religion may include rituals, sermons, commemoration or veneration of a deity,
gods or goddesses, sacrifices, festivals, feats, funerary services, matrimonial services, meditation,
prayer, music, art, dance, and other aspects of human culture. Though their practices may be differed
from each other, most religions include the following elements:
 The beliefs about God
 The beliefs about God‘s relationship with the world.
 The ways in which the people worship God and pray to Him.
 The rules which people follow because of their beliefs about God.
 The places and people which people believe to be holy and to belong to God in a
special way.

C. CLASSIFICATION OF RELIGIONS

Some scholars classify religions as either universal religions that seek worldwide acceptance and
actively look for new converts, or ethnic religions that are identified with a particular ethnic group
and do not seek converts. Some academic studying the subject have divided religions into three
broad categories:
 World religions, a term which refers to transcultural, international faiths;
 Indigenous religions, which refers to smaller, culture-specific or nation-specific religious
groups;
 New religious movements, which refers to recently developed faiths.

Now let‘s look at more specific religious groups which are classified by other scholars.

1. Western classification

a) Abrahamic religions: They originated in the Middle East. They are the largest group, and
consist mainly of Christianity, Islam, Judaism and the Bahá‘í Faith. They are named for the
patriarch Abraham, and are unified by the practice of monotheism (monotheistic religions).
Today, around 3.4 billion people are followers of Abrahamic religions and are spread widely
around the world apart from the regions around East and Southeast Asia. Several Abrahamic
organizations are vigorous proselytizers. Smaller regional Abrahamic religious groups are
Samaritanism, the Rastafari movement, and Druze.

b) Iranian religions: Iranian religions originated in Iran and include Zoroastrianism,

Yazdânism or Kurdish religions (include the traditional beliefs of the Yazidi, Alevi, and Ahl-
e Haqq), and Mandaeism and Manichaeism (historical traditions of Gnosticism). Iranian
religions are ancient religions, nowadays these religions are practiced only by minorities. It
has significant overlaps with Abrahamic traditions, e.g. in Sufism and in recent movements
such as Bábism and the Bahá'í Faith.

c) Indian religions: Indian religions are originated in Indian Subcontinent, and tend to share a
number of key concepts, such as dharma and karma. They are sometimes classified as the
dharmic religions, as they all feature dharma (the specific law of reality and duties expected
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 according to the religion). They are of the most influence across the Indian Subcontinent,
East Asia, Southeast Asia, as well as isolated parts of Russia. The main Indian religions are
Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism.

d) East Asian religions: East Asian religions originated in East Asia, and consist of several East
Asian religions which make use of the concept of Tao (in Chinese) or Dō (in Japanese or
Korean), namely Taoism and Confucianism, both of which are asserted by some scholars to
be non-religious in nature.

e) African diasporic religions: African diasporic religions practiced in the Americas, imported
as a result of the Atlantic slave trade of the 16th to 18th centuries, building on traditional
religions of Central and West Africa.

f) Indigenous ethnic religions: Indigenous ethnic religions, formerly found on every continent,
now marginalized by the major organized faiths, but persisting as undercurrents of folk
religion. Includes traditional African religions, Asian Shamanism, Native American religions,
Austronesian and Australian Aboriginal traditions, Chinese folk religion, and postwar Shinto.
Under more traditional listings, this has been referred to as "paganism" along with historical
polytheism.

g) New religious movements: New religious movement is the term applied to any religious
faith which has emerged since the 19th century, often syncretizing, re-interpreting or reviving
aspects of older traditions: Hindu reform movements such as Ayyavazhi,Swaminarayan Faith
and Ananda Marga, are examples if new religious movements within Indian religions; Cao
Dai is a syncretistic, monotheistic religion in Vietnam; Unitarian Universalism; Noahidism;
Scientology; Eckankar, Wicca; Satanism, polytheistic deconstructionism, and so forth.

2. David A. Brown’s classification

a) Traditional religions: Dinka religion in Sudan, Ga religion in Ghana, Maori religion in

New Zealand, Shamanism in Korea.
b) National religions: Shintoism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Taoism, Judaism.
c) International religions: Buddhism, Christianity, Islam.
d) Religions in the modern world: Scientology, Secularism, Pluralism, any religious reform
movements.

3. Different lists of Major Religions

According to The Everything World‘s Religions Book (2010), there are roughly 4,200 religions in
the world. But here we are going to look for how many major religions in the world that are
recognized by most scholars.
In 1838, Josiah Conder had a list of major religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam or
Mohammedanism, Paganism. In 1883, most authors arranged major religions like this: Christians,
Buddhists, Hindoos, Mohammedans, Fetichists.
Recent scholars recognize twelve classical world religions which is the list of religions
described most often in surveys of the subject, and studied in World Religion classes:
1) Bahá‘ísm 2) Buddhism 3) Christianity 4) Confucianism
5) Hinduism 6) Islam 7) Jainism 8) Judaism
9) Shinto 10) Sikhism 11) Taoism 12) Zoroastrianism
This classical set of twelve is not necessarily the most accurate reflection of the present, real-
world religious situation. "Major religions", for the purposes of this list, are:
 in Large – at least 500,000 adherents

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  in Widespread - appreciable numbers of members live and worship in more than just one
country or limited region
 in Independent - the religion is clearly independent and distinct from a broader religion

During the 1800s comparative religion scholars increasingly recognized Judaism, Christianity,
Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism as the most significant "world religions." Even today, these are
considered the "Big Five" and are the religions most likely to be covered in world religion books.
Five smaller or more localized religions/philosophies brought the list of world religions to ten:
Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism, Shinto and Zoroastrianism.

D. RELIGIOUS POPULATION (By percentage)

The CIA's World Factbook gives the world population as 7,021,836,029 (July 2012 est.) and the
distribution of religions as Christian 33.39% (of which Roman Catholic 18.85%, Protestant 8.15%,
Orthodox 4.96%, Anglican 1.26%), Muslim 22.74%, Hindu 10.8%, Buddhist 6.77%, Sikh 0.35%,
Jewish 0.22%, Baha'i 0.11%, other religions 10.95%, non-religious 9.66%, atheists 2.01%. (2010
est.). (―The World Factbook‖. Central Intelligence Agency. November 13, 2012. Retrieved
November 18, 2012.)

E. THE VARIETY OF RELIGIONS (Why many religions in the world?)

No human face is exactly the same as another human face. In the same way, no two people ever
respond to God's presence in exactly the same way. Each person's prayer is personal to himself, and
each person's response to God has its own individual quality and characteristics.
Human beings, however, do not live entirely individual lives. Family groups themselves are
related to each other in the larger groupings of society. Each individual has his/her own experience
of God, but he/she can share it with others in the community. Religion is both an individual and a
social activity. Each religion is different from the others and has its own special characteristics.
Some people worship God as transcendent, believing that he is independent of the world. On
the other hand, some worship God as imminent, being closely related to the world. They feel
dependent upon God and seek His aid against evil powers.
People feel that they owe a duty to God as a result worship, praise and gifts are offered in
religious ceremonies in order to please God. The worship of God includes birth, marriage, and death,
or the planting and reaping of crops. When men fail to behave according to their accepted ideas of
right and wrong, they often feel that they have angered God. They use various means, especially
sacrifice, in order to restore good relationships.

Thus, there are some facts in summary that the reason of many religions in the world:

1) People have different ideas about God.

People of different parts of the world think about God in different ways some believe that God is one
personal being for whom they use the word ‗God‘ like a personal name (e.g. Jews, Muslims). Others
believe that there are many different gods. Some Buddhists do not think of God as a personal being
at all. In many of the religions in which people worship many gods, they also believe that there is
one supreme God who rules over all the other gods. And some those who worship many gods
recognize that these many gods are very closely united to each other. Some say that the different
gods are ‗all parts of one Divinity‘. They believe that when they worship one particular god they
worship Divinity as a whole. [Divinity-with a capital letter- means the whole group of divine powers and
beings, divinity-with a small letter- means one of the divine power or being.]
-Hindus acknowledge multitudes of gods and goddesses
-Buddhists (esp. Theravada Buddhist) say there is no deity.
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-Muslims believe in a powerful but unknowable God.
-Christians believe in the God who is living, eternal being, creator of all creatures, loving and
approachable.
-New Age followers believe they are god.

2) People place different emphasis upon God’s ‘beyond and within’.

In describing the relationship between God and the world, people say that God is transcendent and
that He is immanent. Transcendent means something is beyond what is natural and normal, and
different from it. So God is transcendent means He is not limited to particular places and times as
human beings are; He lives outside the natural world in which human beings live; Human beings can
never fully know the will or the thoughts of God, for He is beyond their understanding; God is
always first there, He is the creator of all things and the initiator of all events…etc. Immanent means
‗dwelling within‘: Human beings feel the presence of God within their natural surroundings, and
through what happens to them and their families. They believe that God is present within the natural
world, although at the same time He transcends it. NB: Immanence can be a mislead word if we
suppose that it means that God lives only within the created world. Hinduism‘s belief is that God is
every created thing and everything is god, and they worship big trees, marvelous stone, wonderful
things...etc. People of all religions think about God in these two ways, but different religions place
different emphasis upon them.

3) People see different signs of God’s presence and have different responses to God’s presence
in different ways.

Many religious thinkers believe that God is in a living relationship with the whole universe at all
times, and He is in control of everything that happens in the whole universe. Human beings are
always looking for ways by which to improve their relationship with the world around them. Some
believe that it is only by adjusting their lives to their surroundings that they are able to provide
themselves and their families with the basic necessities of life: food and shelter. Farmers must adjust
their planting and sowing to the changes of the seasons. Fishermen must plan their work to fit in with
the currents and movements of the seas, and with the habits of the fish.
In some cases it is a hard task for people to adapt their lives to the conditions in which they
live. They have to use many different skills as well as to be courageous and thoughtful. And in trying
to adjust their lives to their environment, people come into contact with powerful forces which
appear to cause great changes in the natural world. They feel that these forces or powers are the ones
which really control the world and the living creatures which inhabit it.
Most religions teach that there are particular ways in which the relationship between God and
the universe is expressed and strengthened, e.g.:
 Particular natural objects are set apart as things through which the divine powers are able to
work in human lives. Often these objects are stones, trees, or sources of water which people
believe have special religious powers or significance. They often set aside the areas around
such objects as sanctuaries or holy places. Sometimes they erect buildings near them for use
as temples, mosques, or churches.
 Particular people are called the ministers of God. They may be guardians of the sacred things,
or leaders of the community‘s prayers and acts of sacrifice. Often they have an established
position within the community as priests or temple-guardians. People believe that such
persons are compelled to speak on God; behalf as prophets or as seers. They are described as
being possessed or inspired by God‘s Spirit.
 People also recognize God‘s presence through the great events of nature. They think that
great natural disasters or deliverances, floods, droughts, earthquakes, and the liken, are acts of
God. They may be either acts of His judgment or acts of His mercy.

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  In the same way, nations and tribes interpret the great events of their history as acts in which
God intervenes on their behalf. Many books of the O.T and some chapters of the Qur‘an
recount history of this way.
 In some religions, people treasure the records of great events and the words of the prophets
and other inspired men as sacred scriptures. People believe that these scriptures have
authority as revelations of God‘s wills and purposes.

LESSON TWO: HINDUISIM

Now we are going to study about HINDUISM, one of the national religions in this lesson two. By
national religion we mean that a religion which is associated with a particular nation. According to
David A. Brown‘s classification, there are five national religions such as Shintoism is the national
religion of Japan, Hinduism is of India, Confucianism and Taoism are of China (Chinese religions),
Judaism is of Jews (Israelis), and each one of which is linked with the history of one particular
nation, or particular group of peoples. There are many differences between them. All of them, except
Shintoism, have sacred Scriptures which their followers honor as authoritative guides for what they
believe and how they should live.

Lesson Loutline

A. WHAT IS HINDUISM?
1. A Major Religion
2. Oldest Living Religion
3. An Ethnic Religion
4. A Family Religion
B. THE SCRIPTURES OF HINDUISM
1. Sruti and Smriti
2. Vedas and Upanishads
3. Ramayana and Mahabharata
4. Bhagavad Gita
C. THE HISTORY OF HINDUISM
1. The Vedic Age: 2000 – 600 BC
2. The Age of Protests: 600 – 200 BC
3. The Age of Epics and Puranas: 200 BC – AD 1000
4. The Age of Bhakti: AD 1000 – 1750
5. The Modern Period: AD 1750 ONWARD
D. HINDU BELIEFS
1. The Four Goals of Life
2. The Four Stages of Life
3. The Three Ways
4. God and Man
E. POPULAR HINDUISM
1. Worship
2. Temples and Temple Worship
3. Festivals and Pilgrimages
4. Rites and Customs
5. Unity in Diversity
F. THE FUTURE OF HINDUISM
1. India and Hinduism
2. Tradition and Change

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 A. WHAT IS HINDUISM?

Hinduism is the complex religion followed by very many of the different communities and tribes in
modern India. And it has followers from many different groups of people with many different beliefs
about God.

1. A Major Religion

Hinduism is among the widely practiced religions of the world. More than 80 percent of Indian
people are Hindus. There are followers of the Hindu faith in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bali in
Indonesia, and considerable numbers of Hindus in Fiji, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Mauritius,
the West Indies, and a few of the African states. They are the descendants of Indian emigrants.
Unlike Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam, Hinduism was never a missionary religion. However, the
influence of Hinduism on the culture of some of the East Asian countries is much more evident as a
result Buddhism was an offshoot of Hinduism. Consequently, the spread of Buddhism, therefore,
meant the spread of Hindu ideas as well.

2. Oldest Living Religion

Hinduism is perhaps the oldest living religion in the world. The word Hindu, like the word Indian, is
derived from the name of river Indus, but the religion itself is older than the name. Hinduism was
originally known as Arya Dharma, or the ‗Aryan Way‘. There was a flourishing civilization in India
as early as 3000 BC and the Aryan came to India in about 2000 BC. It is generally believed that
Hinduism contains both Aryan and pre-Aryan elements. Dharma, in Hinduism, means duty, right,
virtue, morality, law, truth, righteousness that leads to salvation or liberation (Moksha).

3. An Ethnic Religion

Hinduism is the religion of a people and it developed through the long centuries of their life as a
nation, giving rise to a great variety of beliefs and practices. Hinduism has no founder. It is the result
of a process of gradual evolution through thousands of years. It has no common creed and dogma of
doctrines. Hinduism is not institutionalized. It has no body of believers who follow one common
pattern of worship.

4. A Family Religion

There is a variety of beliefs and practices within Hinduism that makes difficult to say who a Hindu
is. To be a Hindu, a person may observe a complicated system of rules or none at all; one may give
up the world or accept it; one may worship one god or many gods; one may worship a man as god, as
many do in India, or one may worship no god at all, and yet be a Hindu. Thus Hinduism is a flexible
faith. It is able to accept new ideas and beliefs.

B. THE SCRIPTURES OF HINDUISM

1. Sruti and Smriti

Hindu Scriptures are divided into two classes: Sruti and Smriti.
Literally Sruti means that which is heard. It is truth as it was revealed to the sages of old. The
four Vedas which are collections of ancient texts together form the Sruti. They are the fundamental
Scriptures of the Hindus faith. There they are the primary sources and the authoritative texts of
Hinduism.

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 Smriti means which is remembered. It is truth interpreted by sages and scholars. If Sruti is
like the Bible then Smriti is like the teaching and tradition that are derived from the Bible. All
scriptures other than the Vedas are classified as Smriti. Most of them (Smriti) are of a sectarian
nature, and only of secondary importance.

2. Vedas and Upanishads

The four Vedas are the Rig-Veda, the Sama-Veda, the Yajur-Veda, and the Atharva-Veda. Each of
them consists of four main parts:
 The Mantras- these are hymns and chants in praise of god
 The Brahmanas – explanations of the mantras.
 The Aranyakas – meditations which explain their meaning.
 The Upanishads or secret teachings – The teaching of the Upanishads is known as Vedanta-
the anta or end of the Veda. It is full of spiritual truths. Much of Hindu literature through the
centuries is comprised of commentaries on the Upanishads and interpretations of the lofty
thoughts contained in them.

3. Ramayana and Mahabharata

These two epics or Puranas- The Tamayana and The Mahabharata are the national epics of India,
and are part of the common heritage of Hinduism. They are the common man‘s Scriptures and the
masses of the Hindu people draw their values and ideals from them.
The Ramayana is the story of Rama who destroys the demon – king Ravana and reestablishes
righteousness on earth. Rama is believed to be an avatar (i.e. incarnation) of God, and the repetition
of his name is the most common devotional exercise in popular Hinduism. (Incarnation means the
action in which a divine being or a spirit takes human form and a human body).
In the Mahabharata we have the story of a great war. The hundred Kaurava brothers, who
present Evil, are ranged against their five cousins, the Pandavas, who represent Good. With the help
of Sri Krishna, another incarnation of God, Good triumphs over Evil. These great epics contain
characters and events which illustrate human qualities and situations. They teach values of courage
loyalty, devotion, truthfulness, and steadfastness. They have inspired men and women for many
generations.

4. Bhagavad Gita

The Bhagavad Gita or ‗the Lord's Song‘ is the best-known book of Hindu Scripture. It is a part of the
Mahabharata. Its basic teaching centers on the need for selfless action, such as do your duty. It is
very practical because by doing your duty whatever the duty may be in the given situation of your
life, you are really worshipping God.
The Gita is said to contain the essence of Hindu philosophy and it has been called the lay-
man's Upanishad because it presents the difficult teachings of the Upanishads in a way that common
people can understand. The Gita is today the most widely used among all Hindu sacred writings.
They regularly listen to discourses on the Gita, sitting in the shade of village trees or in the big halls
of cities.

C. THE HISTORY OF HINDUISM

For centuries Hinduism was indifferent to time and history. The result is that there are no precise
dates and definite evidence for the beginnings of Hinduism. We do not know, when was the Gita
written?, when and where did a particular event take place or a movement begin? There are no
ancient records or chronicles that record stories of the lives of important people, or give the dates of
great events. So we must be content, as we study Hinduism, with general observations on broad
period and on developments that took place through many centuries

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1. The Vedic Age: 2000 – 600 BC

This was the formative period of Hindu faith. It is confusing in many ways, but Hinduism began to
take a definite direction.

a) Vedic deities and rituals: The earliest of the Vedas, Rig Vedas, contains a vast number of
hymns addressed to such deities as the sky, the sun, the earth, the storm and the fire. The gods of
popular belief during this time were the forces of nature. Chief among them were Indra, the god of
power, and Varuna, the god of righteousness. Rituals and sacrifices were performed to please the
gods. It was believed that the order of the universe was maintained through sacrifice. The universe
itself, according to one text, came out of a sacrifice performed by the gods.
But such ideas were too difficult for ordinary people to understand. They were content with
the outward aspects of sacrifice. For them the rituals of worship were a kind of magic. Thus, in
course of time, the priests who performed the rituals grew in importance and power. They were
thought to be a superior class. They were considered to be the guardians of secret knowledge and
necessary to the well-being of the people.

b) The Search for Ultimate Reality: The Vedic hymns show that along with their worship
of many gods, people were searching for the God behind the gods. Upanishadic teaching is often
summarized in the text, "That thou art‖, it claims that there is only one reality." Brahman, the Spirit
of the Universe, and atman, the human soul, are not two but one and the same. This teaching is
known as advaita, which literally means not-twoness. This attempt to know God and to grow into
God was the religion of the few. The common people tried to please the gods by performing
sacrifices.
c) The Caste system: In India the practice of caste system is very strong. It laid down rules
about how people belonging to one caste should behave towards those in others, and the homage and
service due from those in lower castes to those in higher ones. The system of caste developed during
the Vedic period. In the Rig Veda there is a mythical account of its origin: the Brahmin or priestly
class came from the mouth of Brahma the Creator, the Kshatriya or ruling class came from the arm
of Brahma, the Vaisya or merchant class came from the thigh of Brahma, and the Sudra or workmen
were from the foot of Brahma.
Originally, the caste of a man was decided by his occupation. He could change his caste by
changing his occupation. But later on caste became a matter of heredity, and a man‘s caste—and thus
his occupation—was decoded according to the caste of his parents. Caste controlled all social
relationships and denied individual freedom. Innumerable sub-castes arose within the main caste
divisions, each with its own intricate rules. Outside these were the untouchables, whose shadow,
even, was believed to be polluting.

d) The Doctrine of Karma: The law of Karma is related to the caste system and is central to
Hindu faith—what caste was in the sphere of practical life, karma was in the realm of spiritual life.
The aim of human life, according to ancient Hindu teaching, is to realize oneness with Ultimate
Reality. This cannot be achieved in one life, so each soul goes through many lives. A soul is not
born, nor does it die. As death follows birth, so rebirth follows death. The process continues till the
soul is purified and ready to merge into the Soul of the Universe, which is its destiny.
The process itself is known as samsara which means going through. It is the ceaseless series
of birth and rebirths, till at the last final release from the bonds of life. The release is called moksha.
It is the exit from this world of existence, and liberation from the series of births and rebirths. It is
also the entry into real existence, the absorption into God which is the state of supreme blessedness
in the Hindu scheme. It is life in God. This is where the law of Karma comes in. What people are
today, this law says, is the result of what they were yesterday. What they will be tomorrow depends
on what they are and how they live today. Every action is followed by another action or an event
appropriate to it. This is the law of karma. It is an impersonal law, and involves no judgment

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whatever, neither reward nor punishment. The law of karma simply links this present life with the
previous one and the following one.

2. The Age of Protests: 600 – 200 BC

Two movements of protest, Jainism and Buddhism, arose within Hinduism in the sixth century BC.
Their founders rejected the authorities of the priests and wanted to liberate the masses of the people
from the tyranny of religious rituals and sacrifices. They taught that the ultimate aim of man was to
know him—to fulfill him—rather than to reach God. They also argued that man could achieve this
aim through severe self-discipline and self-control.
Both the Buddha, the founder of Buddhism and Mahavira, the founder of Jainism were
originally Hindus. Buddhist teachings reflect the teaching of the Upanishads. Some of the
fundamental tenets of Hinduism were challenged, but the foundations of Hinduism were not shaken.
Hindus later worshipped the Buddha as one of the gods. The worship of images developed during
this period.

3. The Age of Epics and Puranas: 200 BC – AD 1000

a) The Great Epics: After a period of reaction and protest, the Ramayana and Mahabharata
played a vital role in the development of Hinduism. The abstract ideas and principles expressed in
the Upanishads were personified in the characters and stories of the two epic poems. These epics,
and some of the later Puranas or ancient writings, became the Scriptures of popular Hinduism.
These writings touched the hearts of men and fired their imaginations. In the Upanishads
God is most often described as impersonal and without qualities? He everything and He is nothing.
He can only be described as ‗not this, not that‘. In the persons of Rama and Krishna, who are the
heroes of these poems, this unknowable and impersonal absolute becomes knowable and loveable.

b) Doctrine of Avatara: In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna describes himself as the Absolute
who is identified with all things that are. He is the light of the sun, the brightness of fire, life in all
things, and the penance of the ascetics. In sacrifice he is the act of offering, the offering, the
sacrificial fire, and the sacrifice.
Krishna tells Arjuna, ―I am unborn, the lord of all things. Yet I am born by entering nature
through my mysterious power… I incarnate myself from age to age to save the righteous, to destroy
the wicked, and to reestablish Dharma.‖ This is the doctrine of Avatara, which means descent,
especially the descent of a god from heaven. An avatara is an incarnation, but unlike the incarnation
of Christ. It does not signify a unique and final revelation. In fact, according to popular Hinduism
nine avataras have already happened, and a tenth one is yet to take place.

c) Cults of personal devotion:Popular belief had already begun to think of God as a person,
and to describe Him in his threefold role of creator, preserver, and destroyer. Brahma was the
creator, Vishnu the protector, and Siva the destroyer. Together they formed the Trimurti, the one
God with three forms. Now the concept of avatara brought this God in a familiar form to the hearts
and home of men. It made personal devotion to God real and respectable. People learnt to express
their religious faith in bhakti or devotion to the gods. Bhakti means more than devotion, it is loving
devotion. It stands for the soul‘s longing for God and clinging to God.

d) Puranas: The religious poems known as puranas gave further encouragement to the
bhakti movement. They tell the deeds of gods, the exploits of heroes, and the achievements of saints.
There are eighteen principal puranas, and many secondary ones. Some are about Vishnu,
some about Brahma, and the others about Siva. This meant that each god, in course of time, came to
have his own devotes (e.g., Vaishnavites are the devotees of Vishnu; Saivites are the devotees of
Siva)

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 Towards the close of this period the Bhagavata Purana appeared. It is a collection of edifying
stories and devotional discourses which contains accounts of all the avataras of Vishnu, and has a
unique position in the devotional literature of Hinduism. It emphasizes the bhakti way of salvation,
and has inspired innumerable plays and poems and pictures.
Along with the three chief gods, people worshipped Shakti (or power), as personified in the
mother-goddess. The literature which it gave rise to is known as Tantra literature.

e) Darsanas: The nine systems of Hindu philosophy were organized during this period. They
are known as darsanas, which means world-view or systems.

4. The Age of Bhakti: AD 1000 – 1750

This title merely means that, during this long period, the chief element in the religious life of the
common people was the element of personal devotion to God.

a) Ordinary Hinduism: The common people belonged to one or another of the many sects
that had developed within Hinduism. They worshiped their favorite gods in the many temples. They
went to pilgrimages. They observed caste rules. They kept an image of their favorite deity in their
homes. They respected animal life, and recognized the sanctity of the cow. There are innumerable
gods and goddesses, who had become familiar figures in popular imagination, but Vishnu, Siva, and
Shakti continued to be the chief objects of devotion. The religion of the ordinary people was homely,
and touched all aspects of their life.

b) Spread of Bhakti: Bhakti movements were already active in the southern parts of the
country, India. There were groups of poets and signers whose poems and songs expressed an intense
personal devotion to God. Rama and Krishna—avatars of Vishnu—and Siva and Shakti became the
objects of popular devotion. People believe that the way to salvation is the way of devotion.

c) Ramanuja: Ramanuja lived in the early part of the twelfth century. He stressed the
importance of simple faith and complete surrender. Salvation comes through the realization of man‘s
absolute dependence of God.

d) Impact of Islam: During this period India was under Muslim rule, but the influence of
Islam on the Hindu faith was not great. It did not weaken the caste system, nor the practice of idol
worship. The Muslim emperor Akbar tried to establish a new religion which included Hindu
elements, but he was not successful. The presence of an entirely different religion in their midst
made Hindus more conscious of their Hinduism. They became more and more proud of their
centuries-old religion and culture. At the end of the Muslim era, Hindus were more consciously
Hindu that they were at its beginning.

e) Sikhism: During this period Sikhism arose as a new religion. Nanak, who founded the
faith, was a simple and good man, and was inspired by a great love for his fellow men. His purpose
was to reconcile Hindus and Muslims, and to realize a way of life and a system of beliefs which
would make love real and brotherhood possible. However, it eventually developed into a new
religion.

5. The Modern Period: AD 1750 ONWARD

The modern period is the period of reform caused by Western impact and Christian influence. It is
also the period of renaissance. During this period, Indian nationalism came to life and, with it, a
reaffirmation of the Hindu Way.

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 a) Reform Movements: There are three major reform movements.
The first movement was the Brahmo Samaj—the Society of God—founded by Raja Ram Mohan
Roy. It was a Puritan movement within Hinduism. Since the Samaj took up the cause of social and
religious reform, it denounced social evils like child-marriage, and religious practices like idolatry. It
was strongly monotheistic and did not teach belief in the avataras. It condemned caste distinctions.
The Samaj owed a good deal to the ethical teaching of the Gospel. One of its later leaders, Keshub
Chander Son, was deeply attracted to the person of Jesus Christ. He tried, through some of his
experiments, to bridge the gulf between Christianity and Hinduism.
The second movement, the Arya Samaj, was a revivalist movement more than a reform
movement. Its great leader was Swami Dayanand Sarasvati who was a militant Hindu. It was
opposed to Islam and Christianity. It promoted religious nationalism, and taught Hindus to take their
faith seriously.
The third movement is the Ramakrishna Mission which was based on the teaching of Sri
Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. Ramakrishna was a simple, uneducated Brahmin with a great hunger for
God. He was serving as a temple priest when he began to live a life of severe self-discipline and
strenuous search for God. He meditated on the Mother–Goddess till she appeared to him in person.
Later, he had visions of other gods as well. He even had a vision of Christ. Many young people
gathered around him and he taught them that the final purpose of human life is the realization of
God. It can be reached through devotion (bhakti). They accepted him as their guru (teacher)
Ramakrishna was a saintly man, and the religion he practiced was a practical one. It did not
depend on rituals, and it did not call for learning. His disciple Vivekananda popularized his teaching.
Vivekananda was a young university student when he first met Ramakrishna, and their meeting
changed the whole direction of his life. He established the Ramakrishna Mission in order to
propagate the teaching of his master. It has today developed into the missionary wing of Hindu
religion, and is a great social service agency. In India it runs a large number of educational, medical,
and relief institutions.

b) Tagore: The poet Rabindranath Tagore also played a decisive role in the renaissance of
the Hindu faith. His songs and poems teach about God and man and express the aspirations of the
Indian people. He is the poet both of Indian nationalism and of renascent Hinduism. Tagore sings of
God who is man, and his religion is the religion of man.

c) Gandhi: Mahatma Gandhi is known to most people as the man who led India‘s struggle
for independence, and successfully applied the principle of ahimsa which means non-violence in
social and political struggles. He was a man of action. But action, in his case, was born out of faith.
Gandhi was primarily a religious man, and a Hindu. He often claimed that it was because of his
religious convictions that he took up politics.
He also acknowledged his indebtedness to the teaching of Christ. The Sermon on the Mount
was a formative influence in his life and the story of the cross never failed to challenge him. In spite
of all this, his deepest convictions came out of the Hindu scriptures. Gandhi used to say ‗Truth is my
God‘ and ‗non-violence‘ is the way to reach Him. Gandhi‘s God is not a person; rather it is a
principle, but Gandhi would not quarrel with those who worshiped a personal God. Hinduism is
never dogmatic.

d) Radhakrishnan and Aurobindo: Dr. Radhakrishnan and Sri Aurobindo have been
perhaps the most important exponents of Hinduism. Radhakrishnan (was President of theIndian
Republic for a time) believed that Hinduism could provide a solution to ‗the problem of the conflict
of religions‘, not in a common creed but in a common quest for ‗God‘. Sri Aurobindo has gone so far
as to claim that ‗the Hindu religion is the universal religion which… can triumph over materialism
by including and anticipating the discoveries of science and the speculation of philosophy…which
embraces in its compass all the possible means by which man can approach God…and has utterly
removed from us the reality of death‘.

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 D. HINDU BELIEFS

We are going to deal chiefly with the major doctrines and theories of what is commonly called
‗Higher Hinduism‘.

1. The Four Goals of Life

According to Hinduism, there are four goals for life. They are dharma (righteousness), artha
(worldly prosperity or material well-being), karma (enjoyment or pleasure), and moksha (liberation).
The final end is to release from the bonds of flesh and the limitations of death-bound life. To
progress towards liberation, one must live one‘s life here and now, in other words carrying out the
responsibilities of social and family life which is the pursuit of artha. It also means satisfying the
demands of the flesh which is the pursuit of karma. Both these are legitimate ends, but in their
pursuit one should be guide by the overall goal of dharma (righteousness) and the ultimate goal of
moksha (liberation).

2. The Four Stages of Life

Traditional Hinduism divides the life of a man into four stages. The first stage is that of the student
who is a bachelor and lives in the house of the guru and, under his guidance, studies the sacred texts.
The second and the important stage is that of the householder who maintains the fabric of society. He
now lives with his wife and discharges his debt to his ancestors by having children. He observes
virtues like hospitality and industry, and contributes to the total well-being of society. During the
third stage he retires to the forest with his wife, and meditates on the values of life. The fourth and
last stage is that of the holy sage who now renounces the world and all attachments. It is interesting
to note that the first three stages are said to be obligatory, i.e., all men experience them, while the last
is only optional, and not all men reach it.

3. The Three Ways

The history of Hinduism is the history of man‘s search for reality. It is the story of a human quest—
the quest for the truth of things. For the Hindu, God is this reality or truth. Hinduism expresses the
human search for reality, light, and immortality, as it practices a famous prayer in the Upanishads
which reads: From the unreal lead me to the real,
From darkness lead me to light,
From death lead me to immortality.
It recognizes three chief ways which the religious person may follow in order to reach this
goal. These ways to God are also known as yogas or disciplines. The word yoga related to the
English word yoke, and signifies the yoking of our mind to God. Yoga also means the disciplining of
our mind and body.
The first way is the way of good works. Unselfish service is the means of reaching God.
Every man has his allotted duty or dharma. Right action consists in the discharging of this dharma.
In the Bhagavad Gita Krishna tells Arjuna, ―You are entitled only to work, and not to its fruit. So
never work for fruit, nor yet desist from work‖.
The second way is that of devotion (bhakti).
The third way is the path of knowledge. Such knowledge is more than intellectual
understanding, and it includes spiritual insight as well. It starts with the study of the Vedas and other
scriptures. The first stage is followed by a long period of reflection and meditation. The final stage in
the growth of knowledge is that of self-realization, when a person becomes aware of his or her unity
with God. When this state is reached one becomes a jivan-mukta, or liberated soul.
In other words, there are three ways of enlightenment: Karma marga (action and ritual),
Bhakti marga (devotion), Jnana marga (knowledge and meditation),. Enlightenment is always based
on one‘s own effort.

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4. God and Man

Hinduism teaches that God is the impersonal absolute, and on the other hand He is a personal God.
Thus, he is above and beyond all that we see and know, but all that we see and know is a part of him.
He is eternally unchanging, at the same time he is also concerned about the human situation and he
comes periodically into the world of men and matter in order to uphold righteousness (dharma) and
root out unrighteousness.
Man‘s goal is God. His fulfillment consists in becoming one with the divine state of
changeless bliss: that is liberation which is earned through following one or more of the three ways,
and living through the four stages of life and seeking the four goals of life. It is earned through many
lives, accumulating credits in life after life, as an earnest student does through year after year of
study.

E. POPULAR HINDUISM

By Popular Hinduism, it means the religion of millions of ordinary Hindu people, and in this popular
Hinduism there is no common pattern of devotion. Religious customs and practices vary from region
to region and even from village to village. A person may choose his own favorite deity from the vast
number Hindu gods and goddesses. Each household worships its own god and a village also often
has its special deity. At the local level Hinduism has many sects. The major sects worship Siva,
Brahma, Vishnu, or Shakti, but in addition to these there are minor sects worshiping their own gods.
Following items are only brief and general observations on certain common aspects of
everyday Hindu religion.

1. Worship

Hindus worship in their homes and in temples. Many wealthy people set apart a room, or part of a
room, in their homes for puja (worship) in which the image of the family deity or at least a picture of
the chosen god is kept. During the time of worship, lamps are lit and incense is burned before the
deity. Worship for the Hindu is an individual act. It is not collective and congregational as in
Christian churches. But the content of Hindu prayers is seldom personal, and has very little of the
petitionary element. Prayer often consists in the repetition of the divine name or the recitation of
mantras, or sacred formulas. God is nameless, but he has nevertheless a thousand names and the
repetition of one name and the recitation of verses made up of many name are common acts of
worship. (An ancient story: a very wicked man accidentally uttered a name of God—he called his
son by name, his son was called Narayana which is a divine name—during the last moments of his
life, and thereby attained salvation).

2. Temples and Temple Worship

India is famous for its temples. Every village has its own temple. In the big cities of India there are
well-known temples which crowds of people visit regularly. There are also innumerable pavement
shrines, humble structures in which local people put up to house their chosen deity. Temples are
different but each temple is dedicated to a particular deity, the image of the god or goddess. The
temple priests bathe, dress and feed the image of the deity. Devotees come to gaze at the god and
partake of the food which is offered to the god and then distributed among the devotees. Hindu
temples are often noisy and crowded. Amidst all the hustle, individual devotees move silently about
saying their prayers and making their offerings. Sometimes they process round and round the shrine
in which the image of the god or goddess is.

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3. Festivals and Pilgrimages

Hindus celebrate many festivals such as Diwali (one of national festivals), the Festival of Lights,
which commemorates the destruction of the demon king by Krishna; Onam (in Kerala) and Pongal
(in Tamil Nadu) are harvest festivals. A number of festivals commemorate the acts of liberation done
by gods and goddesses. Durga Puja, the worship of the mother-goddess, is the national festival in
Bengal. It celebrates the triumph of good over evil. The festival of Dasara commemorates Rama‘s
victory over Ravana. Colorful processions with dramatic and dance performances mark the
celebration of the most important festivals.
There are thousands of pilgrim centers in India. Most of them are connected with the exploits
of gods and goddesses and those whose stories are told in Indian myths. Vrindaban in North India is
honored as the birth-place of Krishna. Some centers of pilgrimage like Madurai and Rameshwaram
in South India are famous because of their temples. Others are connected with sacred rivers like the
Ganger, and sacred hills like Thirupati and Sabarimalai. The Ganger is considered to be the most
sacred river; as a result places close to its source are among the most popular centers of pilgrimage,
and towns like Benares on the banks of the Ganger are considered to be among the holiest places in
India.
Pilgrimages are usually made at certain seasons. This is partly because of the climate and the
belief that there is greater merit in a pilgrimage undertaken at the time of a festival. Individuals,
families, and large groups of people (rich and poor, educated and uneducated, from all walks of life)
go periodically on pilgrimages. In the country side, they go by train, and bus and bullock-carts. Often
they cover long distances on foot, carrying their food and clothing with them. In some places
pilgrims need only to go to their respective deity and make their offerings to them. In some cases
they are expected to undergo various austerities. Many pilgrims who go to Thirupati have their heads
shaven in the temple precincts.

4. Rites and Customs

The Laws of Manu, an ancient Hindu law book, lists twelve ‗sacraments‘ for the Brahmin. Not even
orthodox Hindus observe all of them today. However, there are many customs and rituals connected
with birth, marriage and death. These also vary a good deal from region to region. Each caste group
has its own customs. For example, Brahmins observe the initiation ceremony at which boys are given
the sacred thread which they must wear all their life.
Astrology plays an important part in the life of a Hindu. It is the forecasting of a person‘s
character and life-experience from the position of the stars in the sky at the time of his birth. The
time and the day of a child‘s birth are vitally important; it is on the basis of these that the child‘s
horoscope(the position of the stars is known as a person‘s horoscope) must be prepared. There are
auspicious hours and days for buying and selling, sowing and reaping, starting on a journey and
starting a business, and for marrying.
Moreover, Hindu marriage is arranged by both parents of the bride and the bridegroom. They
study their horoscopes carefully, and only fix the marriage if these agree. The marriage ceremony
may be extremely elaborate, lasting several days, but it can also be very simple. It normally takes
place at home or in a temple.
As a rule, Hindus cremate their dead. The eldest son should light the funeral pyre of the
parent. For this reason the Hindus value male children. Many Hindus do not eat meat, though
vegetarianism is not obligatory. Even those who eat meat will not touch beef. The cow, from ancient
times, was regarded as a symbol of the bounty of the earth. According to Gandhi, worship of the cow
symbolized the Hindus‘ reverence of all life. It must be admitted that many who worship the cow are
no longer aware of such symbolism; they regard it as a fetish (fixation).

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5. Unity in Diversity

Hinduism holds within it an immense variety of religious experiences. Much of popular Hinduism is
close to worship of nature spirits. At the other end of the Hindu spectrum are mysticism and a
profound spirituality. The swami who sits cross-legged and meditates on the mystery of God and the
universe is clearly a Hindu. So is the old woman who stands in awe before the shining idols of
Genesha, the pot-bellied elephant-god. The people with caste marks on their foreheads are obviously
Hindus. But there are thousands of people who never go to temples and never pray to gods and who
bear no external marks of Hinduism, yet they are Hindu in their thinking and attitude.

F. THE FUTURE OF HINDUISM

1. India and Hinduism

There were fanatical Hindus who wanted to establish a Hindu Raj in India, a theocratic Hindu state.
However, other counsels prevailed and India today is a secular state. This does not mean that it is an
irreligious state. The state is neutral in matters concerning the religious convictions and observances
of the citizens. People of all faiths are free to follow, and to propagate their religions. But Hinduism
continues to be the religion of the vast majority of the Indian people. The culture of the country is, by
and large, Hindu culture.

2. Tradition and Change

Hinduism has rid itself of many of its social evils. It has submitted itself to social legislation
introduced by the state. The caste system is no longer rigid. Untouchability has been banned. Women
were free. Many of the old superstitious beliefs and anti-social practices (like sati, the cruel custom
which demanded that a widow should burn herself on the funeral pyre of her husband, and child
marriage) have disappeared from the Indian scene. Rural economy has been disturbed by
industrialization, and, with it, the rural way of life. The old family pattern has been disrupted by
urbanization and similar forces.
But traditional forces are still powerful. Village people continue to be fatalistic. Where the
traditional values have disappeared, new values have not yet emerged to fill the vacuum. Caste is still
a factor to be reckoned with. The external marks of caste are not very evident, but the caste mentality
is still strong. The fact that even Christians practice caste in many places proves how strong its hold
is.
There are many half-hearted Hindus, but this does not mean that the temples are deserted, or
that festivals go unobserved. Far from it, collections in the big temples have increased enormously.
The old shrines in busy city corners and rural centers still have their worshippers. New shrines are
coming up all the time. New cults make their appearance every now and then. People continue to on
pilgrimages. Saffron-clad sadhus (holy men) still roam about the streets.
There are big publishing concerns, like Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (The Home of Indian Wisdom),
which brings out books and periodicals on Hindu religion and culture. The attempt to relate ancient
teaching to modern life goes on all the time. Hinduism is still very much a living religion.

About Krishna (Chrishna)

Krishna was born, lived and died at least 14 centuries before Yeshua. Estimates of his birth date
vary. Some are 1477, 3112, 3600, 5150, and 5771 BCE. As a minimum, he is believed to have been
on Earth at least 14 centuries before Jesus. Thus, if there has been any migration of beliefs between
Hinduism and Christianity, the source is Hinduism.
Hindus believe that whenever profound evil spreads widely throughout the earth, the
Supreme Being comes to earth in the form of a human person "in order to uproot vice and to
establish virtue so that the earth may get rid of sinners."

17
 Lord Krishna was just such an incarnation: "Krishna is the ninth [There is disagreement
among Hindu sources as to whether Krishna was the eighth or ninth incarnation of Vishnu. Many
consider Buddha to have been the next incarnation.], and the complete incarnate of Vishnu, the
Godhead of the Hindu Trinity of deities. Of all the Vishnu avatars he is the most popular, and
perhaps of all Hindu gods the one closest to the heart of the masses...Krishna was dark and extremely
handsome. The word Krishna literally means 'black', and black also connotes mysteriousness...
Whether he was a human being or a god-incarnate, there is no gainsaying the fact that he has
been ruling the hearts of millions for over three millennia. In the words of Swami Harshananda, 'If a
person can affect such a profound impact on the Hindu race affecting its psyche and ethos and all
aspects of its life for centuries, he is no less than God'."
He is believed to have died at the advanced age of 125. "In his final days on earth, he taught
spiritual wisdom to Uddhava, his friend and disciple, and ascended to his abode after casting off his
body, which was shot at by a hunter named Jara."

LESSON THREE: CONFUCIANISM

Lesson Outline

A. CONFUCIUS, THE GREAT TEACHER

B. THE SCRIPTURES OF CONFUCIANISM
1. The Five Classics
2. The Four Books
C. THE TEACHINGS OF CONFUCIUS ABOUT LIFE
1. The Meaning of Benevolence
2. Filial Piety (The respect of a son for his father)
3. Optimism
D. CONFUCIANISM AS A RELIGION
1. The Worship of Heaven
2. Cult of Confucius
3. Ancestor Worship
4. Confucianism in the Present Day

INRODUCTION

Confucianism and Taoism are known as Chinese religions. The Chinese view of the world is
expressed in the principle if Yin and Yang. This principle is present in all three of China‘s religious
traditions: Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. The principle of Yin and Yang is based on the idea
that opposites belong to each other. Two things which appear to be against each other actually
belong to each other and make one complete whole. The Chinese find examples of this in opposites
such as good-evil, light-dark, hot-cold, dry-moist, male-female, Heaven-Earth. All that exists is an
expression of the underlying yin and yang. Yin and Yang complement and balance one another:
together they made a perfect whole.
This principle explains why, before the People‘s Republic was established in 1949, many
Chinese followed two religions, Confucianism and Taoism. Confucianism stressed the responsibility
which people have towards each other, while Taoism looked beyond people to the way of nature.
Both, however, balance each other within the life of the Chinese people as a whole.
This principle also explains why both these religions, Confucianism and Taoism, appear to
teach mainly social behavior. Their teaching about behavior in this world must be balanced by prayer
and religion.

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 A. CONFUCIUS, THE GREAT TEACHER

Confucius, the founder of Confucianism, was born in 551 BC in the province of Lu. He came from a
poor family. His father died when he was three years of age, and Confucius had to make his own
way in the world. The hardship and poverty of those early years helped him to understand the
common people.
From childhood he showed a great love for learning. By the time he was twenty he had
opened a school and become a teacher. His method was not to discover new ideas, but to transmit the
wisdom of the ancients. His only aim in teaching was to give a faithful interpretation of the past to
others. The reputation of his personality and wisdom spread rapidly, and he attracted many
followers.
After service as a government officer in Lu for a short time, he left his own country and
travelled from state to state for fourteen years, seeking for a ruler who would accept his counsel. In
time he was able to return to his own country, Lu, but by that time he was too old to be an officer.
Therefore he spent his last five years in teaching, and in editing the great Chinese books. He died in
479 BC, at the age of seventy-two.
Confucius became more famous after his death. He never intended to found a new religion,
but the prince of Lu erected a temple in his honor, and sacrifices were offered to him. This was the
beginning of Confucianism as a religion of China. The custom of building temples in honor of
Confucius has continued into the present century. Until 1912 the emperor offered in his honor twice
a year, in the spring and the autumn.

B. THE SCRIPTURES OF CONFUCIANISM

Confucius and his disciples collected, edited, and interpreted the writings of earlier Chinese
philosophers and teachers. His disciples also collected the sayings of Confucius himself. There are
two collections which constitute the Scriptures of Confucianism. They are the Five Classics and the
Four Books.

1. The Five Classics

1) The Book of Changes (Yi Ching):This is a manual of divination, to assist in seeing future
events. It consists of a series of ancient diagrams, together with later commentaries upon them.
2) The Book of History (Shu Ching): It is a collection of documents ascribed to Emperor
from Yao down to the early Chou dynasty. It is a moral and religious narrative which teaches the
lesson that Heaven blesses only virtuous rulers with peace and prosperity.
3) The Book of Songs (Shih Ching): It is a collection of three hundred short poems, most of
which belong to the Chou period in which Confucius lived.
4) The Book of Rites (Li Ki): it is a code of rules about worship, and about social and family
relationships. It remains to this day the authoritative guide for Chinese morality and ethics.
5) The Annals of Spring and Autumn: It records events in the state of Lu over three hundred
years.

2. The Four Books

These were put together in the eleventh century AD, the time of the Sung dynasty. These works
formed the basis of the education of the ruling class, and the text of the examinations by which
government officers were recruited.
1) The Analects: the sayings of Confucius, which were compiled by his disciples.
2) The Mencius: the sayings of the most prominent of Confucius‘s successors, Mencius
(371-298 BC). He made philosophical comments on Confucius‘s teaching.
3) The Doctrine of the Mean, and
4) The Great Learning are parts of the treatises of the Book of Rites.

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 C. THE TEACHINGS OF CONFUCIUS ABOUT LIFE

1. The Meaning of Benevolence

The central idea of the Confucian ethic is expressed in a sentence from the Great Learning. This
describes the goal of life to be the discovery of ‗the way of cultivating the self, managing one‘s
household, governing the nation, and establishing world peace‘. Thus the way to bring happiness to
one‘s home, nation, and the entire world, is by taking care of one‘s own personal character and
conduct.
Confucianism teaches that there are five virtues: Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety,
Wisdom, and Trustworthiness. Among the five virtues Benevolence (Jen in Chinese) is the greatest.
Confucius did not give any theoretical definition of these virtues. His definitions are descriptions of
virtue in action. Confucius gave different answers to the questions raised by his disciples about the
nature of Jen (what is benevolence?): (1) ‗…to treat people as though we were attending a high
sacrifice; not to do unto others what we would not that they should do unto us; to breed no wrongs in
the state and breed no wrongs in the home‘; (2) ‗To love mankind‘.
Confucius said, ―He who can practice five things in dealing with the Empire may be
accounted to have benevolence. The five things are ‗Politeness, liberality, good faith, diligence, and
generosity.‘ Being polite you will not be slighted; being liberal you will win the people; having good
faith you will be trusted by others; having diligence you will be successful; being generous you will
be worthy to employ others.‖

2. Filial Piety (The respect of a son for his father)

In Confucianism, particular regard is given to the family as the basic unit of society. It is recognized
as the foundation of the whole political and social structure of nay human community.
Confucianism teaches that there are five basic human relationships: ruler and subject, father
and son, husband and wife, elder and younger, and friend and friend. Out of these five, three have to
do with the family. In the family the father-son relationship is the foundation of all others, and
depends upon the son‘s proper respect for his father. This sort of respect, therefore, is the keystone of
the Confucian teaching about behavior. In China even loyalty to the ruler is understood in the same
way.
The duties of son-ship have two forms, the physical and the spiritual. To fulfill his physical
duties, a son should pay due attention to the bodily needs of his parents; he should care for his own
body as a legacy received form his ancestors; and he should rear children to provide for the family
continuity. To fulfill his spiritual obligations, a son should obey his parents, remember them after
death by annual sacrifices, and win success and honor to bring glory to the family name.
The duties of son-ship include not only obedience to living parents, but also service to the
dead. People pay homage to the departed by holding appropriate ceremonies. At this point the duties
of son-ship are bridge between practical duties in this world, and the concerns of religion for a life
beyond this one.

3. Optimism

Optimism is the attitude to life which believes that everything is basically good and that things will
become better in the future, not worse.
Mencius taught that human nature is good, because man is the embodiment of the Tao which
is good (to learn more about Tao see in Taoism). According to his teaching, evil is due either to
environment or to education. This was the basis of Confucian optimism in ethics.
Chu-Hsi (AD 1130-1200), the founder of Neo-Confucianism, re-affirmed Confucian
optimism. Chu-Hsi believed that the whole universe is based on Li (principle). According to him, a
man‘s nature or character is his Li, which is part of the Li of the Universe, and is the same in all men.

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But each man‘s Chi (substance) is different, and individual differences depend on the differences of
Chi.
According to this teaching people‘s appearances differ, but the basic nature of all people is
the same, for all possess the same Li, which us good. This basic Li shows itself in the Five Virtues:
Benevolence, Righteousness, Propriety, Wisdom, and Trustworthiness. Man‘s nature is good.
According to Chu-Hsi, unenlightened people are those who fail to allow their basic nature to
be revealed, because of their craving for things. This is due to the impurity of their Chi. Therefore it
is necessary for people to rid themselves of wrong appearances, and return to their basic nature, or
Li. This is why the Great Learning is important: it helps people to do this. Thus Confucian teaching
is optimistic: it teaches that people are basically good.

D. CONFUCIANISM AS A RELIGION

There are opposing views as to whether Confucianism is actually a religion. Some people say that it
is not, because it is chiefly concerned with behavior in this world. Whenever Confucius was
questioned about other-worldly matters, he drew the questioner‘s attention to the affairs of this
world. When he was asked about serving the spirits of the dead, he answered, ‗While you are not
able to serve men, how can you serve their spirits?‘ Asked about death itself, he answered again,
‗While you do not know life, how can you know about death?‘ Confucius shifted the emphasis from
heaven to earth, from other-worldliness to this-worldliness.
He, however, never denied the existence of ‗Heaven‘, or Shang Ti, the Supreme Ruler. For
him Heaven was the power on which everything depends. Life and death, wealth and honor, are all in
Heaven‘s hand.
Confucius put strong emphasis on the importance of human relationships, but he based his
teaching on the ancient belief in Heaven. Although it has no creed or ecclesiastical organization,
Confucianism is still a religion to the Chinese. This is not only because it is based on the belief in
Heaven, but also because it points towards important principles which give meaning and direction to
their lives.
There are religious practices which are related to the teachings of Confucianism: the worship
of Heaven or Shang Ti, the ceremony in praise of Confucius, and ancestors worship.

1. The Worship of Heaven

Confucius‘s name has been associated with the cult which was established as the state religion of
China in the second century BC, and held this position until 1912, when dynastic rule in China came
to an end. The center of this state religion was Heaven or Shang Ti. Chinese people thought of Shang
Ti as the personal god who has a righteous purpose in governing the world. The emperor made the
annual offering to Shang Ti.
The worship of Shang Ti expresses the belief that the state is built upon the pattern of the
family. The emperor was regarded as the son of Heaven. He was appointed by Heaven to rule the
world, and so Heaven was his father whom he had to serve as a son. Therefore the emperor had to
make an annual offering to Heaven.

2. Cult of Confucius

Confucius never considered himself the founder of a new religion. The Chinese never made him a
god, but respected him as their great teacher or sage. In due time, however, people gave such
reverence and devotion to the memory of Confucius that it gradually became like a religion. In the
fifth century AD, a temple was erected at the site of Confucius‘s tomb. In 630 the emperor of the
Tang dynasty made a decree that all districts in the empire should build temples to Confucius. This
spread the cult of Confucius in China. At the same time, in the capital, they established imperial
colleges in which the Confucian Classics were taught. From then on the people gave Confucius the
title of Supreme Saint, and worshipped him at annual ceremonies.

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3. Ancestor Worship

Ancestor worship is at the center of Chinese religion. There are two reasons for ancestor worship:
one is the son‘s respect for his father which is the central virtue in Chinese teaching, and the other is
the belief that people continue to live with their ancestors. The Chinese believe that the world of
living people and the world of those who have died are not two worlds but one. (Read again Yin and
Yang)
During China‘s long history ancestor worship has passed through many changes, but the
basic structure of it remains the same. Ancestor worship centers about the tablet, the funeral, and the
grave. Among these the tablet occupies the most important places. The tablet, upon which the names
of ancestors are written, is kept in the main hall of the house for four generations. Offering which
consists of food, incense, flowers, and candles, are placed before the tablet. The manner and time of
offering vary, but a basic pattern can be observed. The head of the house lights three sticks of
incense and places them in the incense burner. He then bows three times and asks for a blessing.
Formal offerings are made on the anniversary of the birth and death of the departed. The most
important offerings are on the last day and the first day for the year, when the whole family gathers
together. This is a time of reunion of the living and the dead.

4. Confucianism in the Present Day

Unlike Taoism, the Communists in China have severely criticized Confucianism. Mao Tse-Tung, the
leader of the communist party, once wrote that emphasis on the honoring of Confucius and the
reading of the Classics are parts of that feudal culture which must be overthrown.
Throughout its history, China has seen many changes in its government, but has not itself
been changed to any great extent. For more than two thousand years, Confucianism has been the
ruling religion in China. It is a difficult task, therefore, to remove Confucianism from Chinese
culture, and the Chinese way of life.

LESSON FOUR: TAOISM

Lesson Outline

A. LAO TZU AND TAO TE CHING

B. THE TEACHINGS OF TAOISM
1. The Creative Principle, Tao
2. Human Virtue, Te
a) Inaction in Nature
b) Non-Competition in emptiness
c) Contentment with what is
C. TAOISM AS A RELIGION
D. PRESENT-DAY TAOISM

A. LAO TZU AND TAO TE CHING

According to tradition, the founder of Taoism was the Old Master, Lao Tzu. We know very little
about him except that he was born in 604 BC, was a keeper of the imperial archives at the capital of
Chou, and retired and disappeared in middle life. Confucius told to his disciples what sort of man
Lao Tzu was: ‗Of birds, I know that they have wings to fly with; of fish, that they have fins to swim
with; of wild beasts, that they have feet to run with. For feet, there are traps; for fish, nets; for wings,

22
arrows. But for the dragon, I cannot know how he ascends on the winds and clouds to heaven. I have
seen Lao Tzu. Today I have seen a dragon‘.
When Lao Tzu departed from the capital city of Chou, the officer stationed at the frontier
asked him to write a book. Lao Tzu wrote a book of poems in two parts, of about five thousand
words. The subject of this book, which came to be known as the Book of Tao-Te-Ching, was an
explanation of the Creative Principle (Tao) and of Human Virtue (Te). It remains to this day as the
basic text for all Taoist thought.

B. THE TEACHINGS OF TAOISM

1. The Creative Principle, Tao

Lao Tzu taught that there is a creative principle, Tao, which existed before the world. Tao is
invisible, and intangible. But it is not ‗nothing‘: it is the ground of all being, and it is the way in
which nature and the universe exist. It is behind and beneath all. It produces and nourishes all‘
therefore Tao is sometimes called ―Mother‘ because all things come from, and are nourished by it.
‗Out of Tao, One is born; out of One, Two: Yin and Yang; out of Two, Three: Yin Yang, and breath;
out of Three, the created universe. Tao is the origin of heaven and earth, the creative principle; it is
also the Way in which heaven and earth now live.
Although Tao is the creative principle, it is not the creator. Lao Tzu apparently did not think
of Tao as a personal being, as Christians and Muslim think of God. The ‗great virtue‘ of Tao is that it
does everything but desires nothing; it is ‗emptiness‘, which does not compete with other forces but
is content with itself. When human beings express this same virtue of contentment, they live good
lives. This teaching was the foundation of Lao Tzu‘s teaching about behavior, and it showed itself in
the three teachings about human life which follow.

2. Human Virtue, Te

a) Inaction in Nature: In Chinese thought, nature is something which happens by itself.

Man‘s part in nature is to be quiet and passive, so that Tao, the creative principle of the universe,
may act through him without hindrance. Man must let Tao be Tao in him; he must do nothing on his
own but must simply follow the Tao—or Way—of nature.
Lao Tzu renounced culture and civilization because they were the products of human activity.
Accordingly, he insisted upon inaction in ruling the people: ―Let the people be innocent of knowledge
and desire… by action without deeds all may live in peace. Banish wisdom, discard knowledge, and
then the people shall profit a hundredfold‖.

b) Non-Competition in emptiness: ‗Non-Competition in Emptiness‘ is the other side of the

principle of ‗inaction in nature‘. ‗Inaction‘ refers to a person‘s outward actions: ‗emptiness‘ is the
corresponding inner state. It means the absence of desire. ‗Attain the utmost in emptiness, hold firm
to the basis of tranquility.‘ When a person becomes tranquil, he obtains power to overcome all things
without having to compete with others.
Lao Tzu emphasized the superiority of humility and of avoiding competition with others:
―The wise man chooses to be last, and so becomes the first of all; denying self, he is saved. The
highest goodness is like water; water benefits all things and does not compete with them. It dwells in
the lowly places that people despise, but in doing so it is close in nature to the Tao.‖

c) Contentment with What is: This is another expression of inaction in nature and of non-
competition in emptiness. When a person is free from desire and has emptiness of spirit, and acts by
simply following the way of nature, he can know and attain contentment. The blessedness of the
Taoist is the blessedness of the man who expects nothing: ‗There is no greater sin than the desire for

23
possession, no greater curse than the lack of contentment‘. Where there is no contentment, there is
no happiness. In these ways, Lao Tzu taught the way of happiness.

B. TAOISM AS A RELIGION

It is said that Chin Shin Huang Ti, who became Emperor of China in 221BC, adopted Tao as a
religion which would bring him eternal life. During the years Taoism has become mixed with
Buddhist beliefs, and also with the beliefs and practices of various local religious groups. One belief
was that the ‗Queen of the West‘ had a peach tree in her garden which bore fruit once in a thousand
years. Those who ate this fruit attained immortal life.
During the twelfth century AD there was a movement of reformation within Taoism. The most
influential people in this movement were the ‗Perfecting the True‘ sect, which survived until the time
when the Communist Republic was established in China.
Wong Chung Yang (1112-1170) founded this sect in 1163. His teaching followed that of Lao
Tzu very closely. He emphasized the need for human beings to be in harmony with nature in order to
achieve calmness and simplicity. This sect advocates strong self-discipline. All priests leave their
homes and go to live in monasteries where they adopt a vegetarian diet. The central headquarters of
this sect is the White Cloud Temple near Peking.
The distinctive characteristic of ‗Perfecting the True‘ Taoism is its syncretism, or
combination of beliefs. It is influenced very much by Buddhism, but it tries to combine Taoism,
Buddhism, and Confucianism into a single religion.

C. PRESENT-DAY TAOISM

Two major Taoist sects have existed during the period from the end of the nineteenth century up to
the time of the communist revolution in China. These are called the ‗Pervading Unity of Tao‘ and the
‗Hall of the Tao‘. Their beliefs and practices have been carried on chiefly by secret societies. These
modern forms of Taoism teach about Tao, but they say that Tao is a universal energy man can obtain
health, wealth, many children, and a peaceful life. Members of these modern Taoist sects use charms,
magical phrases, and incantations in order to bring themselves into a right relationship with the Tao.
One of the peculiar features of these sects is that they worship images from all religions,
including Christianity, and they also use rituals from a number of different religions.
When the People‘s Republic of China came into existence in 1949, the Government dissolved
most Taoist organizations. But Taoism is not extinct in China, and the new Communist regime has
latterly encouraged it. In 1957 the China Taoist Association was formed in Peking, and the first head
of the association was a member of the central committee of the Communist party. The aims of the
Association are to unite Taoist throughout the country, to promote the traditions of ancient Taoism,
and to support the socialist reconstruction of the country.

LESSON FIVE: ISLAM

By now we are going to study ISLAMIC RELIGION which is one of the international religions.
Buddhism, Christianity and Islam are called ―international religions‖ because of they all have
followers in many different nations, and they might also be called ―missionary religions‖ for their
followers feel a responsibility to win people from all nations to their faith.

They are like each other in several ways:

1) Each one looks back to a particular person as the founder of the religion.
2) Each one has followers in many different countries.
3) Each ones has sacred Scriptures to be the guide to belief and conduct.
4) Each one promises to bring its followers to the Heaven (of God) beyond death.
5) Followers of each one try to win people to their faith.
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At the same time there are great differences between them, e.g.:
1) Each religion refers to its founder in a different way.
2) Each religion teaches that salvation comes to human people in a different way, and that
people must do different things to receive salvation.
3) Each religion describes God‘s relationship with the world in a different way, etc.
The most important thing in Buddhism is to escape from the pain of suffering by purification
of the self. The most important thing in Christianity is to be delivered from the power of evil and to
live joyfully and purely as God‘s children by His love and power made known through Christ. The
most important thing in Islam is to fulfill the duties which a person owes to God, the Ruler of All.

Lesson Outline

A. THE STORY OF MUHAMMAD, THE APOSTLE OF GOD

1. ARABIA
2. The Call of Muhammad
3. Muhammad‘s preaching in Mecca
4. Muhammad‘s Rule in Medina
5. The Conquest of Arabia
6. Foundation of a World Religion
B. ISLAM IN THE WORLD
1. The Arab Empires
2. Islamic Kingdoms
3. The Spread of Islam
4. Islamic Civilization
5. Muslims in the Twentieth Century
C. THE TEACHINGS OF ISLAM
1. Muslims‘ Belief about God.
2. Muslims‘ Belief about the Universe
3. Muslims‘ Belief about Human Beings
4. Muslims‘ belief about Revelation
5. Muslims‘ Belief about Destiny
D. THE PRACTICE OF ISLAM
1. The Qur‘an and the Traditions
2. The Shari‘a: The Law of Islam
3. The Pillars of Islam
E. GROUPS WITHIN ISLAM
1. Sunni Muslims
2. Shi‘a Muslims
3. The Sufis
F. THE MUSLIM

Briefly Introduction

Islam is the religion which Muhammad (Mahomet) preached in Arabia between the years of AD 610
and 632. Those who practice Islam are called Muslims. Islam means to surrender or to submit
oneself for obedience to God: a Muslim (Moslem) is a person who surrenders or submits himself to
obey God.
Muhammad taught the Arabs to believe in the one living God, and to live as the servants of
God. After his death, the Arab Muslims carried this religion into Asia and Africa. Today there are
Muslims in very many countries of the world. All Muslims honor Muhammad, whom they call ‗the
apostle of God‘. They accept his book, the Qur‘an (Koran), as the Scripture which God has given to

25
 them. They look back to his life to find guidance for their own behavior because he is so important to
them.
Estimates of the total number of Muslims range from 0.7 to 1.8 billion worldwide and 1.1 to
7 million in the U.S. We accept the best estimate of the world's Muslim population as 1.57 billion,
concluded by the Pew Forums. About 23% of all people on Earth follow Islam. The religion is
currently in a period of rapid growth. Christianity is currently the largest religion in the world. It is
followed by about 33% of all people—a percentage that has remained stable for many decades. If
current trends continue, Islam will become the most popular world religion sometime in the mid-21st
century.

A. THE STORY OF MUHAMMAD, THE APOSTLE OF GOD

1. ARABIA

a) Arabia: Arabia is a very large country. It is as big as the whole of India and Pakistan. It is
very dry and hot, and its people are few in number. These desert Arabs (Bedouin) live in tents, and
journey long distances to find pastures for their flocks of camels, sheep, and goats.

b) The Trade-routes: Because of trade has always been important in Arabia, trade-routes are
so good. Traders carried goods from S. Arabia, or ivory, gold, and slaves from Africa, India, and
China; ivory, gold, and slaves from Africa.

c) Arabia before Muhammad: Long before Muhammad, there were small kingdoms in
Yemen and other parts of S. Arabia. But between AD 400 and 600, these kingdoms became very
weak, and at the time of Muhammad there was no strong kingdom in Arabia. No one was able to
control the Bedouin tribes who lived in the desert. There was constant fighting and raiding between
the tribes, and the traders had to find ways of protecting their trading caravans from them.

b) Religion: Before Muhammad, the Arabs worshiped many different deities at their
sanctuaries. Some of them worshipped objects in the sky, such as the sun or the moon, or one of the
planets. They also associated prominent natural objects with the divine powers. These included great
rocks, groves of trees, high mountains, caves, and springs. Very rarely they used a shape idol of
stone or perhaps of precious metal. They offered sacrifice near the object which was associated with
the deity. If it was a stone, they smeared the blood of the sacrifice upon it. The Arabs often processed
round the sacred objects, dancing and chanting praise-songs to the deities.
At the time of Muhammad, Christianity was making its way among the tribes on the borders
of Arabia. There were also some Jewish tribes in western Arabia, particularly in the Hijaz and
Yemen. These were either Jewish tribes who had emigrated from Palestine, or Arab tribes who had
adopted the Jewish religion. Although Jews and Christians were few in number, their influence
spread along the trade-routes. Many Arabs knew some of the Bible stories, as well as Jewish and
Christian legends.

2. The Call of Muhammad

a) Mecca and Quraysh: Muhammad was born in Mecca, near the west coast of Arabia.
Mecca was an important town because it gave protection to caravans. The Bedouin in the Hijaz
allowed the trading caravans to pass peacefully to and from Mecca. And the Meccans gave them
special privileges when they visited their sanctuary.
The most important sanctuary at Mecca was called Ka‘ba (the name means ‗squared tent or
building‘). It contains an idol known as Hubal, which was made out of red sandstone and shaped in
the figure of a man. The worshippers threw their offering into a pit at the foot of the image of Hubal.

26
There were other sacred objects within the Ka‘ba and in the area immediately surrounding it. One of
these was a black stone meteorite. Muslim Pilgrims still touch this stone when they visit Mecca.
The family which had charge of the Ka‘ba was that of Qusayy, and they belonged to the
Quraysh tribe. They were also responsible for feeding the pilgrims, and for the council chamber and
war-banners.

b). Muhammad’s early years: Muhammad was born about AD 570. He belonged to the family of
Qusayy. His father died before he was born and his mother Amina died when he was six years old.
At first, Muhammad‘s grandfather, Abdu 1-Muttalib, took care of him, and when Abdu 1-Muttalib
died, Muhammas‘s father‘s brother, Abu Talib. Muhammad spent much of his early childhood with a
Bedouin foster-mother, Halima, in the desert country outside of Mecca.
At the age of twenty-five Muhammad married Khadija, a wealthy widow, who was several
years older than himself. He had acted as her agent on a journey to Syria and had conducted her
affairs very well. His marriage gave Muhammad independence and leisure. It was a happy marriage,
and Khadija bore Muhammad four daughters and two sons. All six children died in infancy except
one daughter, Fatima.

c) Muhammad’s call: Arab tradition says that Muhammad was upright, honest, and
trustworthy. He was also a deeply religious person. He used to go away by himself to the lonely hills
outside Mecca, and stayed there for many hours, sometimes for days at a time. His wife sometimes
accompanied him.
During these times of loneliness and quietness, Muhammad thought much about men‘s
dependence upon God. He felt very humble and thankful, and he was grieved because his neighbors
did not realize their dependence upon God. He realized that judgment would come upon them
because of their ingratitude, and he tried to awaken men to their serious danger.
During this period, Muhammad became convinced that he was called by God to proclaim His
message to the people of Mecca. On two separate occasions, he saw the vision of an angel who gave
him particular words to recite. Muslims believe that these were words from the Heavenly Book
which the angel Gabriel revealed to Muhammad. They were the first words of the Qur‘an which
were sent down to him (they are now in the Qur‘an: 96.1-8 and 74.1-10). These visions gave
Muhammad the courage to preach to his people. He believed that God had called him to be His
spokesman, and God gave him the actual words of the messages which he had to preach.

3. Muhammad’s preaching in Mecca

a) The Qur’an: Muhammad preached the messages which he received to the townspeople of
Mecca. Muhammad knew that the Christians and Jews read and recited sacred Scriptures aloud at
their services of worship. Muhammad called Christians and Jews ‗the people of the Book‘. He taught
the Muslims to recite his messages in a similar way. The number of messages which the Muslims
recited in this way was always growing, because Muhammad kept receiving new messages to prach.
The Muslims called these messages ‗the recitation‘ or al-Qur‘an (in Arabic). And they learnt them
by heart so that they could recite them when they met to pray.

b) God: Muhammad tried hard to make his hearers recognize the authority of the one living
God. He called God ‗Allah’ which means the one and only God who is distinct from all other gods
and deities. Before Muhammad preached, some Arabs may have given this title to some of the more
important pagan deities. Some Arabs were turning from the pagan practices which recognized many
gods and goddesses. They were turning towards a monotheistic belief in one supreme Creator-God.
(Monotheism means belief that Divinity is one living person.)

c) Man: Muhammad‘s messages often rebuked people for their failure to fulfill their duties to
God. He believed that, at the end, all men must return to God and be judged by Him. In the Qur‘an,

27
God calls men to worship Him and to believe in the massage of his prophets. He also calls them to
practice good behavior, and he rebukes those who do not honor the orphan, who do not feed the
poor, who devour the inheritance (of others), who love wealth to excess. Such men will suffer
punishment on the Day of Judgment.
According to the Qur‘an, good conduct means care for one‘s parents in old age, generosity to
the poor and travelers, modesty in the use of wealth and in conduct, fulfillment of one‘s duty to
relations, the use of fair weights and measures, keeping one‘s agreement. Adultery and the killing of
baby girls were forbidden.(The Arabs sometimes killed baby daughters to avoid the burden of caring
for them). Muhammad taught his disciples to seek God‘s guidance in the whole of their lives by
praying daily.

d) Muhammad, God’s spokesman: Muhammad preached as God‘s spokesman or prophet.

He believed that God had called him to proclaim the messages (which God had given him) in His
name. He also believed that the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians witnessed to the truth of the
messages which God had given to him for Arabs. He was God‘s spokesman to the Arabs in the way
in which other prophets had been His spokesmen to the other peoples. The Qur‘an contains stories
about these other prophets. Sometimes these stories are like those in the Jewish and Christian
Scriptures, sometimes they are different. Examples are stories of Abraham, and of Salih who was the
Arabian prophet to the people of Thamud.

e) Preaching and Persecution: Muhammad preached the messages at Mecca and taught
those who accepted his preaching to pray and to recite the Qur‘an together. The first believers
included Muhammad‗s wife Khadija, his adopted son Zayd, his cousin ‘Ali, and his friend Abu Bakr.
Many who followed him were poor people, some were slaves.
At first, there was little opposition to Muhammad‘s teaching. But, after two or three years,
opposition grew.
1) Muhammad‘s preaching annoyed the most important people in Mecca. He was not wealthy and
did not belong to the most influential of the families of Quraysh. The leaders of the town rejected his
claims, and resented the fact that poor people and slaves were allowed to be equal members of the
Islamic community.
2) The rich merchants were angry at his attacks on extravagance and wealth. They did not listen to
his call for humility, generosity, and moderation. They were unwilling to recognize their dependence
upon God and to submit themselves to the authority of Muhammad.
3) Muhammad also preached against the lesser deities which the Meccans worshipped. He denied the
existence of all other deities except Allah.
For these reasons the townspeople of Mecca persecuted the little group of Muslims. Those
who suffered most were the slaves and those who belonged to the less important families.
Muhammad‘s neighbors insulted him: sometimes they piled rubbish at his door or threw it at him.
Once some young men attacked him in the courtyard of the Ka‘ba, but his friend Abu Bakr rescued
him.
Muslims treasure the stories of the persecutions, and use them to teach children the virtues of
courage and steadfastness. A favorite story is that about Bibal (a Negro slave) who was one of the
first Muslims and suffered terrible persecution. On one occasion his tormentors stretched him out on
the burning sand, and put a great stone on his chest. He remained true to his faith, and Abu Bakr
purchased him and set him free.
The Meccans persecuted the Muslims for some years. On two occasions, groups of Muslims
sought refuge in Ethiopia where the king was a Christians, and he allowed them to practice their
religion. At Mecca, the clan of Muhammad‘s family (the Hashimites) were confined within their own
quarter of the town for more than a year. Other people in Mecca refused to buy or sell to them, or to
make marriage contracts with them. Not all the Hashimites were Muslims, but they still suffered in
this way.

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 f) Events leading to the Hijra: Khadija died at the end of AD 619, and his uncle, Abu
Talob, died shortly afterwards. After Abu Talib‘s death, Muhammad was in greater danger from his
enemies (although Abu Talib never became a Muslim, he had protected Muhammad). The Muslim
community continued to grow in numbers, but it seemed that Islam would never triumph in Mecca if
things remained as they were. Therefore, Muhammad began to look for support outside the town.
At the beginning of AD 620, Muhammad visited Ta‘if to seek help. But the leaders of the city
refused to accept his appeal for help, and to recognize him as a prophet. After a stay of ten days, the
common people drove him from the town, hooted and threw stones at him and nearly killed.
During the persecutions Muhammad suffered many doubts and temptations, but he was
encouraged by visions, and by receiving new messages from God. Two of these visions were
especially important:
(a) The vision at Nakhla: On his way back from Ta‘if, Muhammad spent the night at a place called
Nakhla, and saw a vision. He saw a company of jinn (spirit-demons who lived in the desert) listening
to the Qur‘an and accepting its authority. The vision encouraged him to believe that Islam would
triumph in the end despite its present difficulties.
(b) The Heavenly Journey: Muslims believe that a vision in which Muhammad visited Heaven and,
in particular, the Furthest Mosque in which angels meet to worship God. In later years the Umayyad
rulers called the mosque in Jerusalem the Furthest Mosque.
These visions encouraged Muhammad to continue his work, but his position in Mecca
remained difficult. The Muslims needed greater freedom to practice their religion. The opportunity to
do this came when he was invited to Medina.

4. Muhammad’s Rule in Medina

a) The Hijra (Migration): Two Arab tribes lived in Medina (three hundred miles north of
Mecca), the Aws and the Khazraj; they were related to each other. Jewish tribes also lived there,
particularly Qurayza, al-Nadir, and Qaynuqa.
Muhammad first met Arabs from Medina at one of the annual pilgrimages to Mecca. Perhaps
some of them had already heard about his activities. At the pilgrimage in AD 621, a few people from
Medina promised that they would support Muhammad. A few months later Muhammad sent Mus‘ab
to Medina to teach them the Qur‘an and how to pray.
At the pilgrimage in AD 622, a larger group of Medians met Muhammad in secret by night.
The Medians took Muhammad under their protection, and promised to defend him with their lives.
They also promised to worship no other god except Allah. During the next few months, numbers of
Muslims made their way from Mecca to Medina. In September, Muhammad himself, accompanied
by Abu Bakr, succeeded in escaping from the Meccans who were searching for him, and joined the
Muslim community at Medina. This journey is known as the Hijra (Arabic for migration) and
Muslims date their years from it. AD 1974 is the Muslim year 1394.
Some of the Medinans invited Muhammad because they accepted his message. Other
Medians invited him because they hoped he would settle the quarrel between the Aws and Khazraj.
These two tribes were always fighting, and needed the help of a third party to maintain peace
between them.
Soon after his arrival in Medina, Muhammad negotiated agreements between the different
groups of people living in the oases. These included the Muslims from Mecca, the Arab tribesmen of
Medina, and the Jews. All the groups accepted Muhammad as the person who should decide in
disputes between them. He could do this because they accepted him as God‘s representative. They
also declared that Medina was an area set apart for God, and forbade fighting and bloodshed within
it. By these agreements, Muhammad built a new kind of community among the Arabs. It has
remained an ideal for Islamic communities ever since. The worship of God was at the center of the
life of the community, through the recitation of the Qur‘an and the practice of prayer, fasting, and
almsgiving. The chosen leader was Muhammad, the apostle and spokesman of God.

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 b) Muhammad, Prophet and Chosen Messenger: Muhammad was both prophet and
chosen messenger. From the beginning the Qur‘an included lists of the prophets, and with one
exception, they are all people who are mentioned in the Old or New Testaments. One list is the
following: We inspired you (Muhammad) as we inspired Noah and the prophets after him. And as
we inspired Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, the Tribes, Jesus, Job, Jonah, Aaron, and Solomon; and
we gave David the Psalms (4. 163). In contrast with these, Muhammad is called the Gentile prophet
(4.157-158).
Another title used in the Qur‘an is chosen messenger or apostle. Nine people are given this
title in the Qur‘an, and each one was sent to a different community. The apostles were more
important than the prophets, and the people had no argument against God after their chosen
messenger had preached to them (4.165). Muhammad himself accepted both titles (7.158).
The Muslims respected Muhammad very highly. They brought young children to be blessed
by Muhammad. They used his washing water as holy water. They asked for his prayers in times of
sickness. They believed that his prayers could bring rain in times of drought.

c) The Completion of the Qur’an: Muslims believe that the whole Qu‘an is an Arabic copy
of the Heavenly Book which was written in Heaven before the creation of the world. But the whole
Qur‘an was not given to Muhammad at one time: it was revealed to him bit by bit all through more
than twenty years of his ministry, on any separate occasions.
When Muhammad first went to Medina, he faced towards Jerusalem when he prayed, and he
adopted other Jewish customs. The Jews in Medina, however, rejected his claim to be a prophet, and
argued with him about his version of Old Testament stories.
Christians are also mentioned in the Qur‘an. At first, they were said to be the nearest in love
to the believers (in contrast to the Jews and the pagans), but later they also were rebuked, particularly
for their beliefs about Christ. Towards the end of his life, Muhammad was commanded to fight
against the Jews and Christians until they submitted to the authority of the Muslims and paid tribute
to them.

5. The Conquest of Arabia

Muhammad lived in Medina for ten years, from the Hijra in AD 622 till his death in AD 632. During
this time, the practice of Islam spread all over Arabia. This did not happen easily, but it was the
result of constant struggle and determination on the part of Muhammad. He made his efforts in four
directions: (1) within Medina, (2) to Mecca, (3) to the Arab tribes, (4) outside Arabia.

a) Medina: When Muhammad first came to Medina; he was entirely dependent on the help
of those who had come with him from Mecca and those people in Medina who had become Muslims.
He had hoped for support from the Jewish tribes. But the Jews refused to recognize him as a prophet,
and became more and more hostile towards him. As a result, Muhammad changed his attitude
towards them, and later expelled them from Medina. He also extended his authority over those Arabs
in Medina who were unbelievers at the time of the Hijra. As time passed, they accepted Islam for one
reason or another.

b) Mecca: After the Hijra, Muhammad set out to win control of Mecca and the trade-routes.
At first, Muhammad‘ force and the Meccans kept sending men to spy on each other. There were
many small fights and raids. There were also three big battles in which Muhammad took part and
fought bravely. In AD 630, Muhammad entered Mecca as the head of his army. There was hardly
any opposition. The Muslims broke the idols in the Ka‘ba in pieces, and the Meccans became
Muslims. And he gained control of west Arabia with its trade-routes. A tradition says that
Muhammad made the whole of this area a sacred area into which only Muslims were allowed to
enter.

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 c) The Arab Tribes: After the conquest of Mecca, Muhammad‘s influence spread rapidly.
Tribes sent delegations to him from all over Arabia. Muhammad also sent expeditions against some
of the more important tribes which were slow in coming to terms with him.

6. Foundation of a World Religion

Towards the end of his life, Muhammad began to reach out towards territories beyond the borders of
Arabia. He compelled the people who chose to remain Christian or Jewish to pay tribute. It was
much heavier than the alms-tax which he imposed on those who became Muslims. Muhammad died
in AD 632. During the years at Medina he had created the foundations of the great religion which we
know as Islam. He did this in several ways.
1) He taught a way of prayer and worship which people of all kinds and all communities are
able to understand, and, if they wish, to practice.
2) He was the instrument by which the Koran was revealed to his followers.
3) He brought peace among many of the tribes in Arabia through his authority as the Apostle
of God. His treaties began with the words, ‗In the name of God and his chosen messenger.‘ Thus he
made it possible for his successors to lead Arab-Muslim armies into the lands of the Byzantine and
Persian empires.
4) He taught a pattern of behavior which has become the basis of law in Islamic communities.
It was truly Arabian in origin and suited the customs of Mecca and Medina. It is not completely
adequate for modern society, but it is moderate and, in some important matters, humane.

B. ISLAM IN THE WORLD

1. The Arab Empires

After Muhammad died, his friend Abu Bakr succeeded him, and continued the policy which
Muhammad had begun, and sent Arab armies into Syria and Iraq. In the years between AD 634 and
643, they defeated large Byzantine and Persian armies and conquered Syria, Iraq, Persia, and Egypt.
After the conquests in Egypt, Syria, and Persia, the Arab commanders continued to send
expeditions both towards the west and the east. By AD 720, one hundred years after the death of
Muhammad, Spain, Moroco, Algeria, Tunis, Libya, Egypt, Palestine, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Iran,
Afghanistan, parts of Paskistan, and certain areas in the south of the Soviet Union had become parts
of the one Arab empire.
The one supreme ruler of this vast Empire was called the ‗successor‖( khalif) of the Prophet
Muhammad. The khalifs were kinsmen of Muhammad and all belonged to the Quraysh tribe and
were kinsmen of Muhammad. The Arab empire continued as one empire for the first hundred years
of the Abbasid khalifs (those rule came to an end in 1258), and for much longer in the provinces near
to Iraq.

2. Islamic Kingdoms

The Abbasids removed the capital of the empire to Baghdad in AD 762. The last ‘Abbasid was killed
in AD 1258. From about AD 755 onwards the Empire broke up for several reasons such as
-the rulers of the more distinct provinces claimed independence of the ‘Abbasid Khalifs,
-the non-Arab peoples of the empire resented Arab rule,
-disputes occurred about religious beliefs and practices (the different sects often tried to settle
these disputes by fighting or rebellion),
-Turkish tribes from Central Asia invaded the eastern parts of the empire from about AD 970
onwards.

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 Thus from about AD 850 onwards, the story of Islam is told in the histories of many different
kingdoms (stories of many different peoples and of many great civilizations). Among the most
important kingdoms were:
-The Kingdom of the Umayyads in Spain which lasted in AD 1492;
-The Kingdom of the Fatimids in Egypt who founded Cairo in AD 969;
-The Kingdom of the Moghul emperors in India, from about AD 1500-1700;
-The Kingdom of the Ottoman Turks, who ruled almost the whole Arabic-speaking world from their
capital Constantinople, from about AD 1500-1918.

3. The Spread of Islam

Three different kinds of people have been responsible for taking Islam to other countries: (1) traders,
(2) teachers, and (3) rulers. Through the efforts of these three groups of people Islam spread all over
the world.

a) Traders and Merchants: Muslim traders traveled from the Arab empires to India, China,
and south-east Asia. Other travelled to Africa across the Sahara deserts, up the Nile, or by Red Sea to
the coasts of East Africa. Wherever Muslims went they practiced Islam. They kept the religious law
and performed the prayers. Thus they spread Islam among their servants and clients. If they married
non-Muslims they spread Islam among their wives‘ families and relations. If there were a number of
Muslim traders in one place they became a Muslim community, and set up their own mosques and
schools.

b) Teachers and Holy men: The traders often asked for help and advice from Muslim
teachers and holy men. When local rulers became Muslims, they also used the services of Muslim
teachers. Such teachers often came from Arabia, and, in south-east Asia, from India-Pakistan.

c) Muslim Rulers: Sometimes a local ruler who had become a Muslim extended his
authority over neighboring territories. As a result other tribes became Muslim. Sometimes such an
effort was called a jihad or war which is undertaken for the spread of Islam.

4. Islamic Civilization

To be a Muslim, a person must keep the Law and perform the Prayer which includes recitation of the
Qur‘an. From the beginning, Muslims have believed reading and writing to be important, and
Muslim states and communities have encouraged education. The mosque and the school have always
been the most important buildings in a Muslim community, providing for the study of the Qur‘an and
of Islam.
Thus Islamic civilization has been built on three main foundations: (1) the religion of Islam
which came out of Arabia, (2) the Arabic language and poetry, and (3) the older civilizations of the
countries which the Arabs conquered. These were built mainly on the old Greek and Persian
civilizations and on Christianity. Islamic civilization is constantly growing, and has enriched the life
of Muslim peoples through the centuries, and has helped them to build stable and humane societies.

5. Muslims in the Twentieth Century

Today, Muslims are divided into four main groups:

a) The Arab Countries: Most people who live in these countries are Muslims. There are,
however, large Christian minorities in Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Iraq, and smaller groups in other
countries. In Lebanon, half of the people are Christians.

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 b) The Islamic Nations of Southern Asia: The Islamic nations of southern Asia speak their
own languages, and each of them follows its own independent policy. The most important of these
countries are: Turkey, Iran( most Muslims in Persia are Shi‘ites not Sunnis), Afghanistan, Pakistan
(second largest Muslim states in the world today), Bangladesh, Indonesia (the first largest country in
the world today).[Countries with the Largest Muslim Populations: 1. Indonesia, 2. Pakistan, 3.
India, 4. Bangladesh, 5. Egypt, 6. Nigeria, 7. Iran, 8. Turkey, 9. Algeria, 10. Morocco]

c) Africa: Many African countries, south of the Sahara desert, have large Muslim
communities such as Senegal, Mali, Northern Nigeria, Niger, Chad, the Republic of the Sudan,
Somalia. Countries like Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, and
Uganda have Muslims, but they are not the majority of the population. Many people in these
countries still follow local religions. Both Christianity and Islam are preaching to them. In some
areas, Muslims are still growing in number, especially in the towns.

d) Muslim Minority Groups in Asia and Eastern Europe: There are large communities of
Muslims living in countries which do not now have Muslim governments such as India, China, and
Soviet Russia, Yugoslavia, Albania, Poland, and Hungary. In Western Europe and America small
groups of Muslims live in many different countries. Some are immigrants who have come from
North Africa (to France), Pakistan and India (to Britain), and Indonesia (to Holland). Other groups
are university teachers and students, diplomats, and businessmen. In US, a large group of Negroes
adopted Islam (call themselves the Black Muslims) and 1.1million Muslim adherents in USA today.

C. THE TEACHINGS OF ISLAM

Many millions of Muslims in the world do not all believe exactly the same things about God and the
world. Some Muslims are well educated in their faith; others have only a little knowledge of it. But
most of them share the same basic beliefs about God and the world.

1. Muslims’ Belief about God.

The Muslim creed (shahada in Arabic) begins with the words, ‗There is no god except Allah‘. Allah
means ‗the one and only God‘.

a) The Uniqueness of God: God is unique. He is different from all created things and all
creatures. Nothing resembles God. According to Muslim teaching, no thing or person can be
associated with Him, or is equal to Him or like Him. The greatest sin in Islam is ‗to associate as a
partner‘ with God‘. It is called shirk.

b) The Attributes of God: God is different from all creatures, but it is possible to make
certain statements about Him in His relationship with the world; the Qur‘an supports these
statements:
 God lives eternally, with no beginning or ending, and lives independently of the universe.
 God knows all things, past, present, and future.
 God can do all things.
 All things exist as they are by the will of God.
 God hears all sounds; yet He has no ear as men have.
 God sees all things (even the steps of a black ant on a black stone on a dark night); yet He has
no eye as men have.
 God communicates with men.

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 c) The Most Beautiful Names: Muslims express their beliefs about God by using certain
names when speaking about Him. The following examples illustrate the seven attributes of God
which are listed above.
 The One, the Real, the Living, the Secure, the First, the Last.
 The Wise, the Knower, the One who comprehends (everything).
 The Great, the Powerful, the Strong, the Mighty.
 The Agent, the Beginner, the Creator, the King, the Sovereign, the Governor.
 The Hearer, the Answerer (of prayer).
 The Watcher, the See-er.
 The Giver, the Merciful, the Compassionate, the Forgiver, the Generous, the Loving.

2. Muslims’ Belief about the Universe

Both the Qur‘an and Muslim theological books describe the universe in traditional, not scientific,
ways. They suggest that Heaven is a place beyond the skies in which the planets move. They
describe it as a place of cool gardens, with rivers and fruit-trees, in which the blessed will be at rest
eternally. Hell also has a place in the Islamic world-view. It is a place of punishment and contains a
number of different areas: the wicked are sent to that part of Hell which is suitable for them.

3. Muslims’ Belief about Human Beings

Muslims believe that God appointed human beings to be His agents on earth, and gave them the earth
with all its recourses. Because God created human beings and gave them the earth to live in, they are
the servants of God. A human being can have no higher dignity than to be a servant of God, abdu
llah. This was the title which Muhammad was proud to use; he was called servant of God when he
received the Qur‘an and when he was raised to heaven. Most Muslim families have members whose
names are made up of a word for ‗servant‘ like abd and one of the divine names; e.g., Abdullah,
Abdu 1-Baqi, Abdu 1-Hamid. The Qur‘an tells how Satan deceived Adam and his wife. Because of
this they were driven out of the Garden but God in his mercy gave guidance to men.

4. Muslims’ belief about Revelation

God has given the guidance to men:

a) Through the natural world: Because God created the world, men may learn from it about
Him. In the Qur‘an the good things of the natural world are called signs of God‘s bounty and mercy.
Similarly, men may learn about God from the affairs of human history. He controls these also.

b) Through his angels: The angels are the messengers of God. He sends them to carry out
His will. They normally work unseen and are the constant companions of men. Angels are sexless
and neither eat nor drink. The most important angel is Gabriel who brought the Qur‘an to
Muhammad and taught him the prayer-act.

c) Through the Scriptures: Muslims believe that God caused the contents of the Heavenly
Book to be revealed to other prophets before Muhammad such as the Tawrat (Torah) or Law, to
Moses; the Zabur or Psalms, to David; and the Injil(evangel) or Gospel, to Jesus; Finally God
revealed the Qur‘an to Muhammad. For Muslims the Qur‘an replaces all previous Scriptures. They
believe that in passages where the Qur‘an differs from older Scriptures, the Jews or Christians have
wrongly altered the Old and New Testaments.

d) Through the prophets: God also spoke through the prophets and apostles. He inspired
them to speak in his name and to guide their people.

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5. Muslims’ Belief about Destiny

Muslims believe that God will judge the world. On that day the angels will bring everyone for
judgment. Their deeds will be weighed in the scales. Those who pass the test will be admitted to
Paradise, those who fail will be sent to Hell. Islam emphasizes the sovereign power of God. The
Qur‘an even says that those who go astray do so by the will of God. But every person is responsible
for his own behavior and his own punishment. Muslims believe that if Muslims commit great sins
and die unrepentant, they will go to Hell. But they also believe that the prophet will intercede (pray)
for those who go to Hell and they will eventually pass into Paradise.

D. THE PRACTICE OF ISLAM

1. The Qur’an and the Traditions

The Qur'an is the primary text of Islam, revealed to the Prophet Muhammad beginning in the year
610 C.E. It was canonicalized between 644 and 656. The Qur'an is required reading for anyone who
wants to understand Islam. Qur'an means "The Recital" in Arabic; according to the story, the angel
Gabriel commanded Muhammed to "Recite‖. The Hadith, second only to the Qur'an in importance
and authority, are collections of Islamic traditions and laws (Sunna). This includes traditional sayings
of Muhammed and later Islamic sages. By the ninth century over 600,000 Hadith had been recorded.

a) The Qur’an: By the end of Muhammad‘s life, all the passages of the Qur‘an had been
revealed and they formed the sacred Scriptures of Islam. They were all collected together into one
standard edition after Muhammad‘s death and Zayd ibn Thabit, who had been Muhammad‘s
secretary, did much of the work. The Qur‘an contains only messages which Muhammad himself
believed God gave to him to proclaim. Muslims have preserved many traditions about what
Muhammad said on other occasions but they did not include these in the Qur‘an.
They believe that God gave to Muhammad both the words and the contents of the Qur‘an,
and the Qur‘an is a faithful copy of the Book which God caused to be written in heaven. They
believe that the written or recited Qur‘an is identical with the uncreated and eternal word of God.
They believe what the very language the Arabic Qur‘an is without an equal, and that no one can
write anything as beautiful. Muslims also believe that it is imposible to translate the Qur‘an into any
other language. Translators of the Qur‘an into other languages can never translate the beauty and
force of the Arab. They can only write paraphrases.
Muslims love to recite or to listen to the recitations of the Qur‘an. A person who can recite
the whole book by heart is called a hafiz, and many boys two whole years learning to do this.
Muslims use verses from the Qur‘an as charms. They hang them in little cases round their necks as a
protection against evil and sickness.

b) The Traditions: The ‗customary practice‘ of the Prophet is called sunna in Arabic. Most
Muslims are called Suni Muslims, because they follow his example in this way. The study of the
Traditions is a complicated and difficult one because some Traditions mention the words and actions
of those who were the Companions of Muhammad, and not those of Muhammad himself.

2. The Shari’a: The Law of Islam

All Muslims should follow the one path of conduct which is taught by the Qur‘an, and by the sunna
of the Prophet. Muslims call this one path the Shari‘a (the road to the watering place). The Shari‘a
includes the whole conduct of a person‘s life: what he does at home and at business; his marriage and
his rights of inheritance; his duties to the state, to his neighbors, to his relations and his family. It also
includes the religious duties. A Muslim must walk this path in order to obey the Divine Will. In

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theory the Shari‘a law should govern the life of every Muslim in every respect. In practice, however,
this has not been possible. Two other forms of law have also guided the lives of Muslims:

a) Customary Laws: Muslims have often followed a pattern of behavior which has mixed
the rules of the Shari‘a with local customs. Many African Muslims, for example, keep customary
African law as well as the Shari‘a.

b) The Civil and Criminal Laws of Government: The rulers of Muslim lands have often
made their own laws to control trade and to deal with crime. This has happened very frequently
during the present century. As a result, in Many Muslim lands today, modern codes of law have
displaced the Shari‘a law in the law courts, even in matters of family relationships. Often these codes
are based on European law.
Despite this, the Shari‘ a law remains the ideal pattern for every Muslim. It is the well-
marked road along which he must travel if he wishes to do the will of God. The Shari‘a law itself
often appears to give women an inferior position in contrast to men. A Muslim husband, for
example, is permitted by the Shari‘a law to have four wives, in addition to concubines, and he may
divorce his wife at his pleasure. But the Shari‘a law also lays down that a husband must treat all his
wives equally, and it protects women from cruelty and ill-treatment.
Muslims claim that their law gives women dignity, and enables them to preserve their
modesty easily. In some Muslim countries women are strictly secluded from social life, and may
only pass through the streets if they are veiled. Although such customs are permissible according to
Shari‘a law, they are largely matters of social custom and are not an essential part of Islamic
teaching. The prophet Muhammad contracted many marriages, but he arranged some of them in
order to give protection to the widows of important Muslims, and to make peace with great Arabian
families. Some of the modern civil law codes in Muslim lands make monogamy compulsory and
regulate divorce. The Shari‘a law also permits slavery. Owners treated slaves as members of their
families, and they were often well looked after.

3. The Pillars of Islam

The Shari‘a law lays down certain duties which human beings must perform because they are the
servants of God. Muslims call these duties the Pillars of Islam. They are these:
-Declaration of the Islamic Creed: the Shahada.
-The Prayer-act: the Salat.
-Almsgiving: the Zakat.
-The Fast during the month of Ramadan: the Sawm.
-Pilgrimage to Mecca: the Haji.
These duties are the acts of service, or worship, ’ibadat, which a Muslim owes to God.

a) The Declaration of the Creed: Muslims declare their faith in the simple words: ‗I testify
that there is no god except God, and that Muhammad is the Apostle of God.‘ To say this with
sincerity makes a person a Muslim. Muslims often place this declaration on the walls of mosques and
of private houses, and it is sometimes written on the flags of Islamic states.

b) The Prayer-Act: Muslims should perform the prayer- act five times every day:
 at dawn, before sunrise;
 soon after mid-day;
 during the afternoon;
 soon after sunset;
 before retiring to bed.
All Muslims perform the prayer-act in the same way. They believe that the angel Gabriel
taught Muhammad how to perform it. The Traditions report that Muhammad said: the prayer-act is
like a stream of sweet water which flows past the door of each one of you. A man plunges into it five

36
times a day. In performing the prayer-act the Muslim first washes his face, hands, and feet. He then
selects a clean piece of ground on which to pray and, if necessary, spreads a mat on the floor. He
faces towards Mecca.
In the mosque, the whole congregation can take an active part in the prayer from beginning to
end. Standing behind the leader, who is called the imam, they follow his actions, and utter the
prayers and praises with him. There are certain postures which Muslim must use during the prayer-
act, including prostrating himself with his forehead on the ground. The Muslim recites passages from
the Qur‘an including the Fatiha, and uses prayers many of which are very beautiful.

c) Alms-giving: Muhammad encouraged Muslims to give money and other goods to the
community, and his treaties with the tribes stated the amount of tribute which they were to pay.
Muslims thought of these payments as a religious duty, and used the word zakat, alms-tax, for it.
Muslims should pay the zakat each year on their crops and certain kinds of fruit, domestic animals,
gold and silver, and merchandise. The zakat money may only be used certain purposes as stated in
the Qur‘an, especially for the poor, those in any need, and for travelers. Muslims often make
charitable gifts in addition to the zakat tax.

d) Fasting: Muslims fast between sunrise and sunset during the month of Ramadan, as it is
commanded in the Qur‘an. Muslims keep the fast very strictly. During the daylight hours, they
abstain from all kinds of food and drink, as well as from tobacco, the use of perfume, sexual
intercourse, and evil speaking. Certain people including young children, nursing mothers, the sick,
and those who on journey are excused from fasting. In some cases, they must fast at other times
instead. Ramadan is a month of the Muslim religious calendar; it follows the movements of the
moon and not of the sun. It, therefore, takes place at a different time each year. When it comes at the
height of summer, it costs Muslims a great deal of effort to keep the fast of Ramadan. But it reminds
them of their duty to God, and they accept it as a time of self-discipline and of purification.
The Festival of breaking the fast is called ―Idu l-Fitr.‖ It is observed at the end of Ramadan.
Almost the whole community gathers in the morning at a special open space to pray. Then they visit
their friends and relations, and make gifts of alms. Everyone has a time of festivity and rejoicing.

e) The Pilgrimage: The annual pilgrimage to Mecca includes some of the customs which
pilgrims followed at the Ka‘ba in the days before Muhammad preached Islam. It also includes visits
to mountains outside Mecca which were places of pilgrimage before Islam. During all the
ceremonies of the pilgrimage, the pilgrims offer prayers and listen to sermons. While they process
between the two mountains, Arafat and Mina, they continually cry, ―We are at your service, O God,
we are at your service.‖ Every Muslim is expected to make the pilgrimage once in his or her lifetime,
if possible. Each year many Muslims keep the pilgrimage, coming from many different countries to
Mecca. It is a time of festivity; every Muslim family offers a sacrifice and gives much of it a way to
the poor. Muslims sacrifice the animals at the doors of their houses, facing Mecca, and they repeat
the name of God while carrying out the sacrifice.

f) The Holy War: The holy war, jihad, is not one of the Pillars of Islam, but it is a religious
duty. Every male Muslim has a duty to share in the struggle to spread Islam. This was an important
duty in the first Muslim community at Medina, and during the Arab conquests. Muslim communities
have used this duty to rouse their members to action, and they have done this in particular when
nation which are not Muslim have attacked Muslim states in war.

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 D. GROUPS WITHIN ISLAM

There are different groups among the Muslims such as 1) Sunni Muslims, 2) Shi‘ite Muslims, and 3)
Sufis.

1. Sunni Muslims

Most Muslims, perhaps 90%, are called Sunni Muslims. They accept the first four righteous Khalifs.
They follow sunna of the Prophet, as recorded in the Tradition. They all belong to one of the four
recognized systems of Shari‘a law. Sunni Islam is the largest denomination, although in some
countries it is a minority. Sunnis have their historical roots in the majority group who followed Abu
Bakr, an effective leader, as Muhammad's successor, instead of his cousin and son-in-law Ali. The
Sunnis are so named because they believe themselves to follow the sunna or "custom" of the
Prophet.

2. Shi’a Muslims

Shi'ites are those Muslims who followed Ali, the closest relative of Muhammad, as Muhammad's
successor. Many of the Shi‘ites in the early centuries were Persian. The main Shi’ite sects are: the
Seveners who believe that there were seven Imams, they are in India, Yemen, East Africa; the
Twelvers who believe that there were twelve Imams, they are mostly in Iran; the ’Ibadis who believe
that the community may elect any suitable Muslim as Imam, they are in Oman. The Shi‘ites differ
from the Sunni Muslims in the following ways.
 The Sunnis believe the first Muslim were right to elect the successors to the prophet
Muhammad. The Shi‘ites believe that ‘Ali should have become the first Khalif by
inheritance, because he was Muhammad‘s cousin and had married his daughter Fatima. And
Shi‘ites believe that ‘Ali‘s sons, Hasan and Husayn, should have become Khalifs after ‘Ali
was assassinated at Kufa in AD 661. Hasan died at Medina, and Husayn was killed by the
Umayyad governor at Karbala in Iraq in AD 671. They looked upon Husayn as a martyr, and
commemorate his death each year.
 The Shi‘ites believe that the successors to Husayn have been ‗hidden‘, waiting for the proper
time to reveal themselves. They call these successors Imams, not Khalifs.
 The Shi‘ites have their own collections of Traditions which support the claim of ‘Ali and his
family.
 They reject the four Sunni law systems, and allow their lawyers to use their own initiative in
interpreting the Qur‘an.

3. The Sufis

The name Sufi comes from the Arabic word suf, which means ‗wool‘. Thus the word Sufi came to
mean anyone who turned from the world towards religion, because Muslims who practice asceticism
wore woolen robes as sign that they had renounced the world. The Sufi of Islam may be either Sunni
or Shi‘i. The Sufis have tried to direct and to strengthen the inner and hidden lives of Muslim
believers. Sufi Islam is not exactly a sect, but the mystical expression of Islam. The greatest of the
Sufi teachers was al-Ghazzali who died in AD 1111. He brought religion back into the study of law
and theology. His greatest book was called the Revival of the Religious Science.

By the Numbers
1.6 billion - number of Muslims in the world today
85 - percentage of Muslims who are Sunni
15 - percentage who are Shi’ite
80% - estimated percentage of Muslims who have never heard the Gospel.

38
Ten Largest Muslim populations (as of 2013):-
1. Indonesia 206,986,560 2. India 189,945,000
3. Pakistan 180,608,292 4. Bangladesh 132,937,800
5. Iran 73,238,340 6. Egypt 70,056,000
7. Turkey 70,036,838 8. Algeria 36,092,810
9. Morocco 31,351,800 10. Afghanistan 30, 112, 68

F. THE MUSLIM

Like all human beings every individual Muslim has his own individual personality. He has his own
character, his own virtues, and his own faults. However, there are some things which most Muslims
think are important. We can describe the beliefs and practices of ordinary Muslims as follows:
1) Muslims know that they are the servants of God. God has entrusted to each one a certain
portion of this world‘s goods to use in God‘s service.
2) They believe that the will of God controls their whole lives. They express this by using
such phrases as ‗Thanks be to God‘, ‗What God wills‘, ‗If God wills‘.
3) They know that they must give account to God on the Day of Judgment. God will judge
them, but they hope that He will be merciful. They believe that Muhammad will intercede for them.
4) They know that they have certain duties towards God. They fulfill them as well as they are
able. They keep the prayers at least three times a day, and fast with their families during Ramadan.
They all try to make the Pilgrimage once to Mecca, but, if they are poor, they may feel themselves
excused by poverty.
5) They are generous in giving alms to the poor. They believe that God will reward them.
They give alms with special care on the feast days.
6) They are proud and thankful to be Muslims, and to belong to the community to which
Muhammad was God‗s special messenger. They are loyal to this community and, in times of danger,
will bravely fight for it.
7) They follow the Shari‘a law, as far as they can, in matters of marriage and inheritance.
Men have a position of privilege in comparison with women, but they also recognized and respect
the rights of women.
8) In their behavior Muslims try to follow the example of Muhammad as far as they know it.
They are modest in appearance and manners. They keep promise and guard what is entrusted to
them. They bear misfortune with patience.
9) They may also follow customs which are not found in the Qur‘an or Traditions. They may
use texts of the Qur‘an as charms. They may visit the tombs of holy men in order to seek their help in
prayer. They may think of some days as lucky and of others a unlucky.

39
 Comparison (similarities and differences) of Sunni and Shia Islam

SUNNAH SHIA or SHI’AH

adherents called Sunnis Shiites, Shi'i
meaning of name "well-trodden path" or "party" or "partisans" of Ali
"tradition"
current adherents 940 million 120 million
percentage of total Muslims 90% 10%
primary locations most Muslim countries Iran, Iraq, Yemen
sub sects none, but four major schools Ithna 'Ashariyah (Twelvers;
of Muslim law are the largest), Isma'iliyah and
recognized Zaydiyah
origins c. 632 CE; theology c. 632-650 CE; killing of Ali's
developed especially in 10th son Husayn in 680 CE is
cent. major event
Did Muhammad designate a no yes
successor?
true successor of the Prophet Abu Bakr, father of the 'Ali ibn Abi Talib, husband
Prophet's favoured wife, of the Prophet's daughter
'A'ishah (elected by people Fatimah (designated by the
of Medina) Prophet)
qualifications for ruler of tribe of the Prophet family of the Prophet
Islam (Quraysh); later, any
qualified ruler
current leaders imams mujtahids
identity of imams human leaders infallible manifestations of
God and perfect interpreters
of the Qur'an
Al Mahdi will come in the future was already on earth, is
currently the "hidden imam"
who works through
mujtahids to intepret Qur'an;
and will return at the end of
time
religious authority other ijma' (consensus) of the infallible imams
than the Qu'ran Muslim community
concealing faith for self- affirmed under certain emphasized
protection (taqiya) circumstances
temporary marriage practiced in the Prophet's still practiced
(mut'ah) time, but now rejected
holy cities Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem,
Najif, Karbala.
major holidays Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr Eid al-Adha, Eid al-Fitr,
Ashura

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 LESSON SIX: BUDDHISM

Lesson Outline

A. THE FOUNDER OF BUDDHISM

1. The Period of Enjoyment (563-534 B.C.)
2. The Period of Enquiry (534-528 B.C.)
3. The Period of Enlightenment (528-483 B.C.)
B. THE TEACHINGS OF BUDDHISM
1. The Four Noble Truths
2. The Doctrine of Anatta
3. Karma and Rebirth
4. Nirvana the Goal
5. The Path of Holiness
C. MONASTIC BUDDHISM
D. THE EXPANSION AND DIVISION OF BUDDHISM
1. The expansion of Buddhism
2. The two main divisions of Buddhism
a) Theravada Buddhism
b) Mahayana Buddhism
E. THE BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES
1. The Theravada Scriptures
2. The Mahayana Scriptures
F. MAIN BUDDHIST GROUPS
1. Buddhism in the Theravada Countries
2. Mahayana Buddhism
3. Zen Buddhism
4. Modern Movements in Thailand
a) A revival of the practice of meditation
b) Education
G. WAYS OF WORSHIP
1. The Refuges and the Precepts
2. Offerings
3. Prayers and Invocations
4. Transference of Merit
5. Pilgrimages
6. Ceremonies and Festivals
H. POPULAR BUDDHISM
1. Relic Worship
2. The Cult of the Bodhi Tree
3. Worship of the Buddha Image

Introduction

Buddhism was founded by Siddhartha (meaning ―he who has reached the goal‖) Gautama. Today,
Buddhism is the religion of hundreds of millions of people (World estimates for Buddhism vary
between 230 and 500 million, with most around 350 million) who live in lands stretching from the
island of Sri Lanka to the islands of Japan and throughout large areas of the Asian mainland.
Buddhism claims to be one of the most reasonable of the world‘s great religions. Its teaching
about belief and conduct is designed to meet human need, and to solve man‘s spiritual problems
without reliance on the supernatural. It is a missionary religion and differs from other religions

41
because it has no place either for God or a Savior. It puts salvation completely within man‘s control.
It is sometimes called a ―Do it yourself‖ religion.
Buddhism has been in existence for more than 2500 years. It has been a great civilizing force
and the state religion of Myanmar, Thailand, Tibet, Cambodia and Laos. It is also the religion of
majority in Sri Lanka and the faith of a very great number of Chinese, Japanese and Korean.
Buddhism has two main divisions as well as many sects. The two main divisions are
Theravada (or Hinayana) Buddhism which is followed by people in southern Asia particularly in
Myanmar, Thailand, and Sri Lanka; and Mahayana Buddhism which is followed by people in China,
Japan, Tibet and Mongolia. Both these schools of thought owe their basic teaching to a man named
Siddhartha Gautama.

A. THE FOUNDER OF BUDDHISM

Buddhism began as an offspring of Hinduism in the country of India. It is not easy to give an
accurate historical account of the life of Gautama since no biography was recorded until five hundred
years after his death. Today, much of his life story is clouded in myths and legends which arose after
his death. Even the best historians of our day have several different--and even contradictory--
accounts of Gautama's life. Siddhartha Gautama‘s life is often understood by dividing into three
phases: enjoyment, enquiry, and enlightenment.

1. The Period of Enjoyment (563-534 B.C.)

Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) was born (in approximately 560 B.C.) into the warrior caste of the Shakya
tribe and brought up (some said, in the town of Kapilavastu of northeastern India, but is now part of Nepal) in
what is now Bihar in eastern India, this was probably at Kapilavathu, the capital city of the Sakya
state to which his family belonged. The Buddha‘s family name was Gautama (or Gotama) and his
personal name is Siddhartha. His father was Suddhodhana, an aristocratic Hindu chieftain, and his
mother was Mahamaya.
It is said that he had three palaces for cold season, hot season and rainy season. During the
four rainy months female minstrels entertained him and he did not come down from the palace. He
had all the comforts and pleasures of life. His father took great pains to provide all he needed,
because he was the one and only son. He was educated to succeed his father as a chieftain of the
clan. His education consisted not only of various branches of learning taught by the great men of his
time but also of skill in all the manly arts, especially archery, in which he excelled.
At the age of sixteen he married a beautiful wife, Yasodhara, having won her favor in an
archer contest. From this time on for a bout thirteen years he led a life of luxury and domestic
happiness. His father took all precautions to guard his son from anything that would cause him pain
or displeasure (tradition says that his father tried to shelter him in a palace from any form of
suffering, such as sickness, death, old age, and the poverty of an ascetic), but he could not do this for
ever.

2. The Period of Enquiry (534-528 B.C.)

As the time came the young prince saw the cruel realities of life. He ventured away from the palace
and encountered all four kinds of suffering. This experience had a profound effect on him and caused
him to become disillusioned with his wealth and caused him to be concerned about the issue of
suffering.
The prince once drove through the streets of the city in a gaily decorated chariot and saw
suddenly an old man with gray hair tottered out of a hut, dressed in nothing but rags. His eyes were
dim and his teeth had fallen out. The prince was greatly distressed because of the old man. So, he
returned home in horror and disgust abandoning his trip to the Royal Garden for sports.

42
 On another day, as the prince drove in his chariot he heard a cry calling for help. He looked
round and saw a sick man twisting his body about in the dust, groaning and moaning for breath.
Again he was filled with dismay and returned home.
On another occasion the prince saw a corpse being carried by a crowd of people who were
weeping and wailing. The prince was struck dumb and returned home in silence. He went into his
room and began to think about the mystery of life. He realized the sorrow which is present in the life
of all men. He felt in himself despair, pain, and sorrow. Later he used the term dukkha, translated as
suffering to express this fact of human life. He thought to himself; there is a getting born and a
growing old, a dying and a being reborn, but alas, no escape is known from this suffering, not even
from old age and death. When shall such escape be revealed?
He found the answer to his question on another occasion when he saw a serene and dignified
hermit clothed in flowing orange-colored robes. (A hermit is a person who lives in a simple way, by
himself, often in isolated places in order to be free to pray.) He lived a life of peace in the midst of
unrest, of security in the midst of insecurity. So, the prince made up his mind to renounce the world,
like the hermit, and to go in search of peace and security from the suffering of this moral life.
One day when he was twenty-nine, in the very day when a much-long-for son, Rahula was
born to him, Gautama left his family and home, resolving not to return until he found the solution to
the riddles of life. He went deep into a forest, shaved his head, and clothed himself in the yellow
robes of a hermit. And for six years he sought for a solution. He sought for knowledge from famous
philosophers of his day, and practiced extreme forms of asceticism (which means living a hard life
without comfort or luxury in order to discipline one‘s body or to pray).
Eventually, he became dreadfully thin and weak through starvation. Five ascetics admired
and joined him as companions. But he soon realized that extreme asceticism was not the way, so he
began to take his normal food again. Thus the ascetic friends deserted him.
In summary: As a result of Siddhartha‘s encounter with suffering he left his family –
including a wife and child and his luxurious life. He committed himself to find the source of suffering
and to eliminate it. He began to practice an extreme form of asceticism. After six years his body
became so weak because of eating so little that he almost drowned while bathing in a river. He
realized that extreme asceticism did not produce the enlightenment he sought.

3. The Period of Enlightenment (528-483 B.C.)

Finally, after his near drowning he ate some food and walked to a city named Bodh Gaya, where he
sat under a fig tree (or a peepul-tree) by the edge of a river. He vowed not to rise again until he had
attained enlightenment, and then went into a deep state of meditation. During his meditation,
Siddhartha was severely tempted by Mara (the tempter), the evil one. Mara attacked him and tried to
frighten him with storms, torrential rains, and blazing weapons, and to seduce him by offering him
the wealth of the world. But Gautama was unmoved and resisted her temptations. After forty-nine
days of meditation, on a full-moon night in May (some say one night, others as many as forty-nine
days),at the sport now known as Buddhagaya (Bodh Gaya is now the site of the holiest shrine in the
Buddhist world, the Mahabodhi (―great enlightenment‖) Temple) in Bihar, he made his final
struggle and achieved enlightenment (attained enlightenment). He had found the solution to the
riddles of life. Thereafter, he became known as the Buddha, which means ―the enlightened one‖.
The word for enlightenment is bodhi, and the tree under which he won enlightenment came to be
known as the boddhi-tree or bo-tree.
The Buddha was thirty-five years old when he attained enlightenment. After his
enlightenment Buddha preached his first sermon, the contents of which have come to be known as
the Four Noble Truths. He traveled up and down of northern India, teaching and preaching the
message of hope and happiness and many were converted to him. Buddha called his path to
enlightenment ‗the Middle Way‘, because it avoided the extremes of both affluence and asceticism,
both of which caused him to suffer. He lived a life of unceasing activity. It is said that he slept for
only two hours at night. After forty-five years of preaching, Buddha died (He passed away at the age

43
of eighty at Kusinara on a full moon day of May) probably of food poisoning. His last words were,
―Decay is inherent in all component things! Work out your salvation with diligence.‖

A. THE TEACHINGS OF BUDDHISM

Buddhism has many common teachings with Hinduism because Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, grew
up in a Hindu clan born to the warrior caste. After his enlightenment his first sermon consisted of
what is now called the Four Noble Truths:{(1) all living beings suffer; (2) the origin of this suffering
is desire—for material possessions, power, and so on; (3) desire can be overcome; and (4) there is a
path that leads to release from desire.}. The Fourth Noble Truth is consisting of The Eight-fold Path
{right views, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right
concentration, and right ecstasy} to eliminate desire, which he said was the root of all suffering.
After his death his followers continued to develop doctrine and practice, which came to center on the
Three Jewels: the dharma-sacred truth (the sacred teachings of Buddhism), the sangha (the
community of followers, which now includes nuns, monks, and laity), and the Buddha.
The following doctrines and ideal are especially of Theravada (or Hinayana) Buddhism‘s
teachings.

1. The Four Noble Truths

a). The first Noble Truth is that suffering is a universal fact. Life consists of suffering.
There is pain and suffering in the world. Gautama realized that pain and suffering are omnipresent in
all of nature and human life. To exist means to encounter suffering. Birth is painful and so is death.
Sickness and old age are painful. Throughout life, all living things encounter suffering. The first
noble truth‘s concept includes the experiences of pain, misery, sorrow, and unfullfilment. The
Buddha preached in the Pali language, and the Pali word he used for ―suffering‖ is dukkha which
has a deep philosophical meaning and is very difficult to define. It concludes the ordinary meaning
of suffering such as misery, distress, despair, agony, suffering of body and mind. It also means
change, emptiness, imperfection and conflict.
Thus the Buddha dealt with a realistic situation. He was concerned with the suffering which
is always present in the life of men and women. While he was extremely sensitive to the universal
fact of human suffering, he discovered a way out of it which brings true and lasting happiness. That
is why the Buddha is said to have had a radiant and cheerful disposition. He often compared himself
to a physician. The physician‘s first concern is to diagnose the disease however unpleasant and
terrifying it may be. This is what the Buddha did in the second Noble Truth.

b) The Second Noble Truth states the cause of suffering. Gautama believed the root cause
of suffering is desire. It is the craving for wealth, happiness, and other forms of selfish enjoyment
which cause suffering. These cravings can never be satisfied for they are rooted in ignorance. We
suffer because we desire those things which are impermanent. The cause of suffering is hungering,
desiring and craving for self-satisfaction. It is the ceaseless striving for pleasures and sensations
which, though they give some satisfaction for the moment, only arouse more desire. People seek for
self-satisfaction through things which they believe they can experience because they do not know the
true nature of all things that they are impermanent (Everything is impermanent and ever-changing).
Attachment to things is therefore due to ignorance, ignorance leads to desire and desire to suffering.

(c) The Third Noble Truth is the end of all suffering. It declares that there is a state in which
there is complete freedom from suffering and bondage; suffering will cease when a person can rid
himself of all desires. It is a state of unspeakable joy, happiness, and peace which is called nirvana
(nibhana). The way to liberate oneself from suffering is by eliminating all desire. We must stop
craving that which is impermanent.

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 (d) The Fourth Noble Truth is the extinguishing of all desire by following the Eight-fold
path (desire can be eliminated by following the Eightfold path). The fourth noble truth declares the
way that leads to nirvana, and that way is known as the Noble Eightfold Path (which is a system of
therapy designed to develop habits which will release people from the restrictions caused by ignorance and
craving). It is also referred to as the middle way between the extremes of self-indulgence and self-
torture, both of which are profitless. The middle way consists of eight duties or principles of conduct.
These eight points can be categorized according to three major sections:

I. Wisdom (Panna):
1) Right View (understanding)—accept and understanding the Four Truths.
2) Right Resolve (thought)—freedom from ill-will, lust, cruelty, and untruthfulness.

II. Morality (ethical conduct or Sila):

3) Right Speech—abstaining from untruthfulness, harsh language, and vain talk.
4) Right Action (behavior)—abstaining from killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct.
5) Right Livelihood (occupation)—earning a living in a way not harmful to any living thing.
The sila or moral precepts command each to refrain from: Taking any life, Stealing, Immoral
sexual behavior (monks must be celibate), Lying, Taking intoxicants.

III. Concentration (mental discipline or Samadhi):

6) Right Effort—avoiding evil thoughts and overcoming them, arousing good thoughts and
maintaining them.
7) Right Mindfulness (awareness/ contemplation)—paying vigilant attention to every state of
the body, feeling and mind.
8) Right Concentration (meditation)—concentrating on a single object so as to induce certain
special states of consciousness in deep meditation.

If we see step by step it will go like this. The first is the Right View: One must accept the
Four Noble Truths. Step two is the Right Resolve: One must renounce all desires and any thoughts
like lust, bitterness, and cruelty, and must harm no living creature. Step three is the Right Speech:
One must speak only truth. There can be no lying, slander, or vain talk. Step four is the Right
Behavior: One must abstain from sexual immorality, stealing, and all killing. Step five is the Right
Occupation: One must work in an occupation that benefits others and harms no one. Step six is the
Right Effort: One must seek to eliminate any evil qualities within and prevent any new ones from
arising. One should seek to attain good and moral qualities and develop those already possessed.
Seek to grow in maturity and perfection until universal love is attained. Step seven is the Right
Contemplation. One must be observant, contemplative, and free of desire and sorrow. The eighth is
the Right Meditation. After freeing oneself of all desires and evil, a person must concentrate his
efforts in meditation so that he can overcome any sensation of pleasure or pain and enter a state of
transcending consciousness and attain a state of perfection.
However, some say that these eight points are not steps to be taken sequentially but instead
developed simultaneously with each other. This Eightfold Path leads to insight and wisdom which
dispel ignorance. It fruit is serenity, knowledge, and enlightenment which is nirvana—the state of
perfect peace and bliss.
Thus, the Buddha did not claim to be a savior who can take upon himself the sin and
suffering of mankind. The salvation or goal of Buddha was essentially the same as Hinduism, the
liberation from the wheel of life, death, and rebirth (samsara). But his more immediate goal was the
elimination of suffering. He claimed only to be a guide, a teacher of the Way. Having gained
deliverance from suffering, he pointed the way for others to follow. To follow is to gain spiritual
emancipation, not as a gift of divine grace but as a conquest won by man‘s intellect and will on his
own responsibility.
Man must work out his own salvation by his own efforts; no one can do for him what he must
do for himself. The emphasis on self-effort, self-conquest, self-emancipation, is the fundamental in

45
the Buddha‘s teaching. Thus Buddha teaches a man to trust himself and summon his powers within
him to achieve his goal in life. Be ye refuges unto yourselves; be your own salvation. With
earnestness and high revolve; work out your salvation with diligence. Buddhists believe that through
self-effort one can attain the eternal state of nirvana.
It is important however to notice that although Buddhism teaches that each person must work
out his salvation without the help of a savior, yet both branches of Buddhism also teach faith in the
Buddha. In Mahayana Buddhism the Buddha assumes the role of saviors and in the Theravada
Buddhism the worshipper in the daily chant says, ―I take refuge in the Buddha‖.

2. The Doctrine of Anatta

Buddhism does not teach that man has an eternal, indestructible soul, but says that there is no-soul
(an-atta). This doctrine of ‗no-soul‘ is implicit in the Buddha‘s teaching about suffering. Since all
things are subject to dukkha, to pain, decay, and death, there can be nothing permanent; all things
change and are impermanent. Hence there cannot be anything which is not subject to the law of
change.
It was by thinking about life that the Buddha arrived at the conclusion that there is no soul or
self. Buddha said that the so-called ‗I‘ is only a combination of ever-changing forces which together
make up a being.these forces include the sensations of sight, hearing, and touch, the activities of the
mind, and the qualities of things (solidity, heat and movement) as they are. Where these forces act
together there is a ‗being‘ which takes a certain form and is given a name.
Because the forces which combine to make this ‗being‘ are changing from moment to
moment, this ‗being‘ is also continually changing. A person or thing is never the same for two
consecutive moments. Buddhism viewed humanity as an impermanent collection of aggregates
(skandhas which include the physical body, emotions, perception, volition, and consciousness).
Thus the combination of physical and mental forces creates an illusion that there is a person,
when in fact there is no permanent self. It is this illusion that begets the notion of ‗I‘, ‗me‘, ‗mine‘,
and this in turn produces desire or craving. This produces selfishness, egotism, ill-will, hatred,
conceit, pride, attachment and all other evils we can think of. All this is what suffering means, and
the cure for all the evils in this world is to get rid of this false idea of the self because a human
person is a no-soul, anatta. A person must realize that the so-called self is only a combination of
ever-changing mental and material elements which make up a succession of changes and nothing
more.

3. Karma and Rebirth

Karma refers to the law of cause and effect in a person's life, reaping what one has sown. Buddhists
believe that every person must go through a process of birth and rebirth until he reaches the state of
nirvana in which he breaks this cycle. In other words, if at death a person has not realized the true
nature of being by completely destroying the desire for life, then this desire gathrs fresh life and
forms a new mind-body complex, a new ‗being‘. Life will continue as long as there is desire and it is
the law of karma that keeps the process going.
According to the law of karma, "You are what you are and do what you do, as a result of
what you were and did in a previous incarnation, which in turn was the inevitable outcome of what
you were and did in still earlier incarnations." For a Buddhist, what one will be in the next life
depends on one's actions in this present life. Unlike Hindus, Buddha believed that a person can break
the rebirth cycle no matter what class he is born into.
The law of karma can be described as the law of cause and effect. Everything is the result of
some prior cause and is itself the cause of something else which will follow. What a man sows he
shall reap. Good actions produce good results and bad actions produce evil results. The law of karma
operates by itself. No God can interfere with this law. Prayers, ceremonies, rites and offerings cannot
alter this law. It is a law that holds good in every department of the universe.

46
 As long as there is karma, a being will be born and reborn in various states in accordance
with his good or bad deeds. This is called samsara (reincarnation) which embraces the whole cycle
of existence; past, present and future. Behind us there stretches a vast of past lives, and before us lies
the possibilities of innumerable lives as long as karma persist. In reincarnation a person may be born
as an animal, a ghost, or a god, and may undergo suffering or enjoy pleasure in proportion to his bad
or good deeds. So the law of samsara or transmigration is one of the most perplexing and difficult
concepts in Buddhism to understand. The law of Samsara holds that everything is in a birth and
rebirth cycle (the ever-revolving wheel of life, death, and rebirth). Buddha taught, unlike Hinduism,
that there is no unified life to exist from life to life but that each life one lives is a composite of
aggregates.
The question is "If there is no soul, or person, who is it that is reborn? Is it the same person
that is reborn or it is another?‖ The traditional Buddhist answer is that one who is reborn is neither
the same nor another. There is nothing that passes from one life to another but it is one's own karma
in a previous life that brings about the new life. The new life is not the same as the previous life, but
the new life is not an altogether different one, because of the law of karma, or cause and effect. The
chain of existence will continue as long as there is desire for existence.

4. Nirvana the Goal

Nirvana means "the blowing out" of existence. Nirvana is very different from the Christian concept
of heaven. Nirvana is not a place like heaven, but rather an eternal state of being. It is the state in
which the law of karma and the rebirth cycle come to an end. It is the end of suffering; a state where
there are no desires and the individual consciousness comes to an end (but a Buddhist would object
using of the word ―annihilation‖). Gautama never gave an exact description of nirvana, but his
closest reply was this. "There is disciples, a condition, where there is neither earth nor water, neither
air nor light, neither limitless space nor limitless time, neither any kind of being, neither ideation nor
non-ideation, neither this world nor that world. There is neither arising nor passing-away, nor dying,
neither cause nor effect, neither change nor standstill."
Buddha said the existence of life after life must not continue forever. Thus his primary
concern was to point out a way of putting an end to reincarnation. That way is the Middle Way,
consisting of the eight steps whose goal is nirvana (literal meaning of nirvana is ‗dying out‘ or
‗extinction‘, as of a fire). The Buddha said the world is in flames, kindled by the fire of desire. The
process of rebirth is a rekindling of this fire from one flame to another flame, and this keeps the fire
of birth, old age, decay, death, pain, despair, anxiety, etc., constantly burning. Nirvana is the
extinguishing of the flame of desire, with that the life process as we know it comes to an end. In a
sense this is annihilation, but it is not the annihilation of the illusion of self, because there is no self
to annihilate according to the doctrine of anatta. Rather it is the annihilation of the illusion of the
self. By reaching nirvana, the thirst for life, lust, greed, selfishness, desires, appetites, all forms of
suffering are annihilated. The fire has gone out because there is no longer any fuel to feed it.
Nirvana is not just nothing. It is called ‗the harbor of refuge‘, ‗the cold cave‘, ‗the island
midst the floods‘, ‗the place of bliss‘, ‗liberation‘, ‗safety‘, ‗the home of ease‘, ‗the end of suffering‘,
‗the supreme joy‘. Nirvana is an experience of bliss which can be attained in this life in this world,
and not a state that can be attained only in the distant future. Everyone is capable of this attainment,
although very few hardly achieve it in full measure in this life. Buddhism also teaches about the bliss
of the saints (or perfect ones) after death. This is called parinirvana because the saint has no more
desire and there are no more rebirths for him. Nirvana is not a personal state, but an unconditional
state of bliss and ultimate happiness. Such is the goal of the Buddhist to which the Nobel Eightfold
Path leads.

47
5. The Path of Holiness

The person who perseveres in the Noble Eightfold Path will pass through Four Stages of Holiness
wherein he will, step by step, gain freedom from the ‗Ten Fetters‘ which bind people to the existence
of suffering.

a) The First Stage is that in which a person becomes entirely free from the first three of these
fetters:
(i) The false belief that he has a real unchanging soul
(ii) Doubt about the Buddha
(iii) Addiction to rituals as a means of deliverance from suffering, together with all
charms, rites, ceremonies, worship, or other forms of dependence on superhuman
agencies.

A person who has attained to this ‗First Stage‘ of the ‗Path‘ can never be reborn except as a
god or man because he is forever freed from rebirth in the lower forms of life; he is called Stream-
Winner.

b) The Second Stage is that in which a person is almost, but not quite, freed from the power
of the next two fetters. Such a person may return once to the existence of man—after an existence as
a god in one of the heavens, he is called Once-Returner.

c) The Third Stage is that in which a person becomes absolutely freed from the fourth and
fifth fetters:
(iv) Sense –Pleasures; this includes every conceivable form of desire for pleasure,
lust, natural affection, legitimate gratification of the physical senses, even many
mental and social delights which are normally considered to be good and helpful.
(v) Anger; this includes all ill-will or hatred that would lead to a desire to see another
injured.

The person who has attained to this Third Stage can never be reborn on earth. But passed to a
higher heaven whence he reaches nirvana he is called Non-Returner.

d) The Fourth Stage is that in which a person becomes perfectly free after having cast off the
remaining five (sixth to tenth) fetters:
(vi) The desire for existence in a bodily, material form in one of the lower heavens.
(vii) The desire for existence without a bodily, material from as a god in one of the
higher heavens.
(viii) Pride.
(ix) Restlessness.
(x) Ignorance.

The person who has attained to this Fourth Stage is free from any rebirth, he has attained
nirvana. He is called Holy One. A well-known passage describes the state of a saint(holy one) as a
state where there is neither solid nor liquid, neither heat nor air, neither this world nor any other,
neither sun nor moon, neither arising nor passing away nor standing still, neither being born nor
dying, neither substance nor development nor any basis for substance.

C. MONASTIC BUDDHISM

The goal that Buddhism set is far beyond the reach of the common man, and the principles of the
Eightfold Path are far too difficult for ordinary people to practice. To do so demands detachment
from the turmoil of daily life such as renunciation of all attachment to things of the world, and the

48
cutting of all ties that bind people to passing events, including family ties. This kind of life is
possible only for a few. Therefore, there grew up from very early times a monastic system.
Although the vast majority of Buddhists are laymen, there are also the monks who are
considered to be the followers of the ideal. A Buddhist monk lives alone or in one of the many
monasteries. He is expected to live a life of utmost simplicity, owning no personal property, or
money, and he is supposed to get his food only by begging. Hence, he is called a bhikku –a beggar.
He is allowed to possess only eight articles: the three separate pieces of his robes, a girdle, a begging
bowl, a water-strainer (to avoid swallowing living creatures), a razor to shave his head, and a needle
to repair his robes. Monks are permitted to take meals only between sunrise and noon. Their diet is
usually vegetarian, and they eat only for the purpose of sustaining life not for taste. In Theravada
countries, monks do not marry, but certain Buddhist sects in Korea and Japan permit their monks to
do so.
In Thailand and Myanmar almost all males spend at least a few weeks of their lives as monks
in a monastery. Almost all of them go back to lay life, although some may continue to be monks for
the rest of their lives. Monks live in communities. Twice a month, the monks within a particular area
gather together for a ceremony of confession at which the 227 monastic rules are recited. A Buddhist
monk is expected to spend his time in study and meditation, in recitation of the sacred texts and
listening to such recitation by other monks. His duties are to preach (particularly on the Sabbath days
and special occasions), to officiate at funerals, to perform certain ceremonies and to provide for the
religious education of the young. He may also participate in chanting before weddings, but his main
function so far as the layman is concerned is to serve as an example of the Buddhist way of life and
point the path toward nirvana.

D. THE EXPANSION OF BUDDHISM

Buddhism spread throughout India during Gautama‘s lifetime and his death. Initially Buddhism had
a missionary character and the disciples were sent out to preach. The Buddha said to his disciples,
―Go ye, O Bhikkus! Wander for the gain of many, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare of
gods and men. Let not two of you go the same way. Preach, O Bhikkus! , the doctrine which is
glorious in the beginning, glorious in the middle, glorious in the end in the spirit and in the letter,
proclaims a perfect and pure life of holiness.‖
For two centuries,however, Buddhism did not spread beyond India until the reign of King
Ashoka who ruled India from 269-237 BC. The king was so revolted by the bloodshed during a
battle he resolved to renounce all such fighting. The king then converted to Buddhism and devoted
his resources to the propagation of Buddhism, commissioning missionaries to go to other parts of
India as well as Syria, Egypt, Cyrene, Greece, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand.
Through the untiring efforts of zealous missionaries, the faith spread far and wide. Many,
high and low, were converted to Buddhism including the great Indian emperor, Ashoka who reigned
from 269 to 237 BC. He became a lay disciple at first but later adopted the life of a monk. He based
the region of the state on the peaceful tenets of Buddhism. Ashoka sent Buddhist missionaries to
various countries, not only to those near India but also to Egypt, North Africa, Syria and Macedonia.
These missionaries preached what is today known as Hinayana or Theravada Buddhism. As a result,
it is well established in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand.
About 200 years after the death of the Buddha, Buddhism developed a more liberal form
which was later known as Mahayana. Nevertheless it flourished in the first century AD and spread
to China, Korea, and Japan. From China, Buddhism spread to Korea and Japan. Japan is today the
stronghold of Mahayana Buddhism.
Buddhism also penetrated into Tibet and existed in scattered monasteries. But about AD 750
an Indian Buddhist monk named Padma Sambhava crossed the mountains into Tibet and preached a
different and peculiar form of Buddhism, known as Tantrism which is a mixture of Mahayana,
certain magical and mystical doctrines derived from Hinduism and ancient religious practices used in
Tibet. Tantrism includes prayers, ritual dances, exorcism of devils and magic spells.

49
 E. THE BUDDHIST SCRIPTURES

The Scriptures of Buddhism were written in much the same way as the New Testament. Gautama‘s
followers wanted first of all to record the exact words of their master and the rules he had laid down
for the monastic life and secondly to collect the interpretations of his teaching given by leading
scholars. These formed the Theravada Scriptures known as the Canon of the school of Elders and are
regarded as embodying the more authoritative and conservative traditions in Buddhism.
Then later on Buddhist sects in different countries made their own collections of holy books
adding to the earlier texts. These reflect rather more liberal traditions and include stories, epics, and
poems as well as doctrinal teaching. They became known as the Mahayana scriptures or greater
vehicle. Scholars of the Mahayana countries have referred to the Theravada scriptures as Hinayana
or Lesser Vehicle because they are less broad in scope though probably they are closer to the original
teaching of Gautama Buddha himself.

1. The Theravada Scriptures

The Theravada Buddhists believe the canon is closed and consists of the Pali Tripitaka. Pali is the
language it is written in and Tripitaka means the ―three baskets‖ of teachings, which inculde
Buddha‘s sermon‘s, rules for monks, and philosophical teachings. The length of the Tripitaka is
about seventy times longer than the Bible. The Theravada Canon is the accepted scriptures of
Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. These scriptures written in the Pali Language
are believed to have been put together in Sri Lanka in the first century BC. Though based on oral
traditions brought there by Buddhist missionaries about two centuries earlier, they were not actually
written down till some 600 years after Gautama‘s death.
The Canon is known as the Tripitaka (Three Baskets) because it consists of three separate
collections of texts. These are:

a) Vinaya-Pitaka (the Discipline Basket), containing of five books of detailed regulations for
the lives of monks and nuns.

b) Sutta-Pitaka (the Discourse Basket), containing collected discourses of the Buddha,

together with shorter sayings and covering all of his teaching. Sutta-Pitaka contains the most popular
and widelyread texts of the Theravada Tradition. It includes the Dhammapadda, or ‗Way of Virtue
(or Turth)‘,, a collection of poetry which is probably the best known of all the Buddhist sacred texts.

c) Abhidhamma-Pitaka (the Metaphysical Basket), containing the writings of later scholars

on doctrines and ethics. It is chiefly used by the monks.

2. The Mahayana Scriptures

The Mahayanas believe that the canon remains open and thus include writings from Indian, Chinese,
Japanese and Tibetan sources. The earliest scriptures of the Mahayana countries come from North
India. They were written in Sanskrit between AD 100 and 800. There is no common Mahayana
canon. Each country has its own collection written in its own language, e.g., Chinese, Tibetan,
Nepali, Korean, and Japanese. Like the Theravada scriptures, however, they are divided into three
chief categories:

a) Vinaya: Rules for religious orders.

b) Sutras: discourses –corresponding roughly to those in the Theravada Sutta-Pitaka.

c) Shastras: philosophical discussions.

50
 F. MAIN BUDDHIST GROUPS

After Buddha‘s death and before the reign of King Ashoka, a major division occurred within
Buddhism. This means that even before its expansion, two distinct branches developed, a
conservative and a liberal school of thought. The conservative school is labeled Theravada, and it
became the dominant form of Buddhism in Southeast Asia. Thus, it is also called Southern
Buddhism. The liberal school is Mahayana Buddhism, which traveled to the north into China,
Japan, Korea, and Tibet, and is also called Northern Buddhism. The primary issue was whether
enlightenment is available to everyone or to only a few. Those Buddhists who said enlightenment
was available to all were called the Mahayana, the ones who said it was only available to the few (for
instance, monks) were called the Hinayana (Lesser Vehicle), but due to the negative connotation of
the term Hinayana they began referring to themselves as Theravada Buddhists, which means ―the
teaching of the elders‖.
The Mahayana Buddhists see Buddha as a manifestation of the universal absolute whereas
Theravada Buddhists see him as being a man only. The Mahayanas believe there will be at least one
more manifestation of the Buddha essence called the ―Maitreya Buddha‖, whereas the Theravedas
believe that can only be one Buddha. Theravadas believe one must attain enlightenment solely
through one‘s own effort, whereas the Mahayanas teach that bodhisattvas (enlightened ones who
remain to help others along the path) can help people along the path to enlightenment and transfer
some of their own extra Karma merit to seekers.
From India Theravada Buddhism spread toward the southeastern parts of Asia and Mahayana
spread to the northeastern parts of Asia. An Indian Buddhist scholar Bodhidharma introduced Ch‘an
Buddhism to China; it is the predecessor to Zen Buddhism which developed in Japan after Ch‘an
Buddhism was introduced in the twelfth century AD. Japanese scholar D.T. Suzuki introduced Zen
Buddhism to America during the early part of the twentieth century. Besides the two branches
already discussed, there is a third branch known as Vajrayana or Tantra Buddhim. It emphasizes
occultic techniques for the development of spiritual power. This form of Buddhism is the primary
religion of Tibet where one of the most famous Buddhists, the Dalai Lama, is from. The Dalai Lama
is Tibet‘s exiled spiritual and political leader. The Tibetans consider him to be the fourteenth
reincarnation Avalokiteshvara, the bodhisattva of compassion. Besides these three there exists an
―unofficial‖ form of Buddhism called ―folk‖ Buddhism. It is quite different from the other sects of
Buddhism, it is animistic, that the spirits are controlling peoples‘ lives and they must appease these
spirits to have success in life and they should seek the spirits advice through various forms of
divination.

1. Theravada Buddhism: The "Way of the Elders"

The doctrine of Gautama Buddha has remained the ideal in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Thailand. In
other words, the Theravada form of Buddhism is dominant in southern Asia, especially in Sri
Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. For this reason it is sometimes known as
"Southern Buddhism."In these countries, however, Buddhist teaching among the ordinary people has
been mixed with other religious beliefs and practices.
Theravada means "The Way of the Elders" in Pali, reflecting the Theravadins' belief that
they most closely follow the original beliefs and practices of the Buddha and the early monastic
Elders. The authoritative text for Theravadas is the Pali Canon, an early Indian collection of the
Buddha's teachings. The later Mahayana sutras are not recognized.
The purpose of life for Theravadins is to become an arhat, a perfected saint who has
acheived nirvana and will not be reborn again. As a result, Southern Buddhism tends to be more
monastic, strict and world-renouncing than its Northern counterpart, and its approach is more
philosophical than religious.

There are four stages to becoming an arhat:

(1) Sotapanna ("stream-enterer") - a convert, attained by overcoming false beliefs

51
 (2) Sakadagamin ("once-returner") - one who will only be reborn once more, attained by
diminishing lust, hatred and illusion
(3) Anagamin ("never-returner") - one who will be reborn in heaven, where he or she will
become an arahant
(4) Arhat ("worthy one") - one who has attained perfect enlightenment and will never be reborn
Because of this focus on personal attainment and its requirement that one must renounce the
world to achieve salvation, Mahayana Buddhists refer to Theravada Buddhism as the "Lesser
Vehicle" (Hinayana).
In Theravada, it is thought to be highly unlikely, even impossible, that a layperson can
achieve liberation. Because Mahayana disagrees, it regards itself as providing a "Greater Vehicle" to
liberation, in which more people can participate.

2. Mahayana Buddhism: The "Greater Vehicle"

About 200 years after the death of Buddha, a group of his disciples disagreed with the others over the
interpretation of Buddha‘s teachings. They preached a doctrine which was less severe and more
suitable to the needs of ordinary people. This liberal movement was probably the beginning of a new
form of Buddhism which flowered and matured in the first century AD. This form of Buddhism
became known as Mahayana or the Greater Vehicle. It is the religion of northern countries of Asia,
China, Korea and Japan (Mahayana Buddhism is the primary form of Buddhism in North Asia and
the Far East, including China, Japan, Korea, Tibet and Mongolia, and is thus sometimes known as
Northern Buddhism).
In other words, Mahayana Buddhism emerged in the first century CE as a more liberal,
accessible interpretation of Buddhism. As the "Greater Vehicle" (literally, the "Greater Ox-Cart"),
Mahayana is a path available to people from all walks of life - not just monks and ascetics.
Mahayana Buddhists accept the Pali Canon as sacred scripture with the Theravadans, but also many
other works, the Sutras, which were written later and in Sanskrit.
Theravada and Mahayana Buddhists differ in their perspective on the ultimate purpose of life
and the way in which it can be attained. As we have known, Theravada Buddhists strive to become
arhats, or perfected saints who have attained enlightenment and nirvana. This is considered to only
be possible for monks and nuns, who devote their entire lives to the task. The best outcome the laity
can hope for is to be reborn in the monastic life.
Mahayana Buddhists, on the other hand, hope to become not arhats but boddhisatvas, saints
who have become enlightened but who unselfishly delay nirvana to help others attain it as well, as
the Buddha did. Perhaps more significantly for one who would choose between the paths, Mahayana
Buddhists teach that enlightenment can be attained in a single lifetime, and this can be accomplished
even by a layperson. The various subdivisions within the Mahayana tradition, such as Zen, Nichiren,
and Pure Land, promote different ways of attaining this goal, but all are agreed that it can be attained
in a single lifetime by anyone who puts his or her mind (and sometimes body) to it.
The Mahayanist taught about salvation by faith, faith and devotion was sufficient to enable a
person to be a true Buddhist and achieve the highest spiritual goals. Thus, salvation by faith became
one of the teachings of Mahayana Buddhism in northern countries.
The aim in Theravada Buddhism was that a person should achieve nirvana. In Mahayana
Buddhism, however, another aim was put before the believer that is to become a Bodhisattva who is
a compassionate person who has made a vow to reach supreme and perfect illuminations in order to
help all other human beings gain the same illumination or salvation. A Bodhisattva puts himself at
the service of others and is prepared to undergo any suffering for the sake of others.
Mahayanists believe that everyone can become a bodhisattva and attain Buddha-hood. They
also believe in a number of especially great Bodhisattvas and Buddhas who are able to save others by
transferring to them the merit which they themselves have acquired.
These Buddhas are not people who actually lived and they are, in some ways, simply
manifestations of the one Buddha reality of which Gautama Buddha was one manifestation. These
great Buddhas are believed to be enthroned in different heavens in the midst of assemblies of gods

52
and saints. In Japan, Vairocana is the great Buddha, but in China Amitabha Buddha is prominent.
Amitabha Buddha means ‗the Buddha of Infinite Light‘. Although Amitabha was not an actual
historical person as Gautama was, he is believed to be a glorious redeemer. His chief virtue is
compassion or love, and he is believed to inhabit a heaven known as ‗the Great Western Paradise‘ or
the ‗Pure Land‘. Everybody (monks, laymen) who has faith in Amitabha Buddha or even has the
repetition of his name will enter the Great Western Paradise or the Pure Land which belongs to him.
Faith for them means trust in the all-sufficiency of Amitabha‘s grace and the renunciation of self-
dependence or trust in one‘s own self-sufficiency. A Mahayana creed expresses this faith in these
words: ‗I believe in him as the highest being. Because of the sinfulness of men and because of their
suffering, Amitabha was incarnate and came upon earth to save men; and only in his suffering love
is there hope for me and for the world. He became human to become its savior and no one but he
alone can help. He watches constantly over all who trust in him and helps them‘.
Mahayana Buddhism offers hope for all, and it has a very great influence over the people of
the northern Asia. The Mahayanists reverence Gautama as a great teacher but they worship
Amitabha and other great Buddhas as merciful saviors.
A goddess known as Kuan Yin gives personal form to the ideas of mercy and love. She is the
goddess of compassion who guides the faithful to the promised land. The Mahayanists have come to
give her worship and honor equal to that which they give to Amitabha. Statues of this goddess are
placed in Mahayana monasteries and homes. These are some of the most significant sects and
schools within the Mahayana tradition: Tendai, Nichiren and Zen.

3. Zen Buddhism

Zen Buddhism originated in China and then spread to Japan. It has had an impact in many western
countries. The word ZEN in Japanese means ‗contemplation‘. Zen has as its goal insight or
enlightenment, like that which Gautama achieved under the Bo-tree. Zen teaches that people can
attain enlightenment by contemplation.
This doctrine matured in China at the end of the fifth century AD. Its founder was an Indian
mystic missionary named Bodhidharma who used to explain that knowledge gained from books is
worthless, no one gain merit by doing good works, only meditation gives a person direct insight into
reality. Boddhidharma is said to have retired to Mount Su where he spent nine years continuously
meditating with his face to a wall, saying nothing to anyone.
The main tenet of Zen Buddhism is that enlightenment does not come from the study of
scriptures, or from philosophical speculation; it comes from a sudden flash of insight into things
which a person is given during disciplined meditation. The experience of enlightenment happens
suddenly, like a flash of lightning. It is like a laugh which spontaneously occurs when one suddenly
sees the point of a joke. A person may need to take ten years learning to meditate to experience
enlightenment.
Zen disciples are trained with acts not with words. A Zen teacher might strike a student with
a stick, shout at him, and set him a riddle or a puzzling story to think about. All these are designed to
train the mind to see the truth. Zen monks lead lives of extreme simplicity, begging for their food,
working in the fields, and meditating. In recent times European thinkers have been attracted to Zen
Buddhism because of its ideas of simplicity and intuitive inspiration.

Buddhism- percentage by country

1. Laos 67%–98% (67% Theravada with 31% traditional animist.)
2. Cambodia 96.4% (Theravada, Muslim 3%, Christian and other 2%)
3. Japan 45%–96% (Shinto with Mahayana) (20% to 45% practicing)
4. Thailand 94.6% (Theravada, Muslim 4%, Christian 0.7%, other 0.3%)
5. Mongolia 94% (53% practicing) (Tibetan Buddhism, Muslim 3%, Christian and other 3%)
6. Taiwan 35.1%–93% (35.1% practicing) (Triple religion, Christian 4%, other 2%)
7. Macau 92.3% (Triple religion, Christian 6%, Atheist or other ~3%)
8. Hong Kong 92% (10% practicing) (Triple religion, Christian and others 8%)

53
 9. China 50–80–91% (8% practicing) (Triple religion, Atheist 5%, Christian 4%, Muslim 1.5%)
10. Myanmar 89% (Theravada, Christian 4%, Muslim 4%, Animism or other 2%)
11. Vietnam 85% (7.9% practicing)(Triple religion, Christian 8%, Cao Dai 3%, other 4%)
12. North Korea 4.5%–76% (4.5% practicing or legally recognized, 25% with additional
background of Korean Shamanism) (Mahayana with Confucianist, officially Atheist,
Christian 2%)
13. Bhutan 76% (Lamaistic, Hindu ~25%)
14. Christmas Island 75% (Triple religion, Christian 12%, Muslim 10%, other 3%)
15. Sri Lanka 70.19% (Theraveda, Hindu 12.61%, Muslim 9.71%, Christian 7.45%, Other
0.05%)
16. South Korea 22.8%–70% (22.8% practicing) (Mahayana with Confucianist, Christian 29%,
Shamanism, other)
17. Singapore 33–65% (33% practicing, 44% practicing with Taoism) (Triple religion , Christian
18%, Islam 14.7%, others)
18. Malaysia 23% (Muslim 60.3%, "Triple religion", Christian 9%, Hindu 6%, other 1.7%)
19. Brunei 15% (Muslim 67%, "Triple religion", Christian 10%, other 8%)
20. Nauru 11% (Christian 78%, Triple religion, Baha'i 9%, other 2%)

NB: "Triple religion" (or “Chinese-Mahayana Buddhism" or "Far East Asian Buddhism") is
the mixture of Mahayana Buddhism with Taoism and Confucianism. Mahayana Buddhism in Far
East Asian countries has a very wide meaning. That is why in such countries as China, Japan,
Vietnam, North and South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore, the three religions of
Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism are often all considered at once. This is referred to as a
―Triple religion‖, with Gautama Buddha in the center, Laozi in the left, and Confucius in the right.
In some regions, such as Japan, belief systems vary with differing emphasis on Shintoism, as well as
Ancestor Worship. Additionally, as Buddhism has harmonized with many Asian cultures, it is often
regarded as a cultural background or philosophy rather than a formal religion.

Largest Buddhist populations (as of 2010):

1. China 669,862,420–1,219,149,600 2. Japan 122,933,785

3. Vietnam 74,664,000 4. Thailand 61,943,563
5. Myanmar 53,649,200 6. India 35,000,000
7. South Korea 34,587,250 (11,265,560 practicing) 8. Taiwan 21,540,660
9. North Korea 18,279,770 (1,082,350 legally recognized) 10. Cambodia 14,414,370
11. Sri Lanka 14,232,846 12. United States 12,337,800 (2,107,980 practicing)
13.Malaysia 6,516,850 14. Hong Kong 6,496,300
15. Laos 6,370,000 16. Singapore 3,453,060 (1,753,092 practicing)
17. Nepal 3,179,353 18.Mongolia 2,989,200
19. Philippines 2,770,135 20. Russia 2,000,000

54
 The differences between Theravada and Mahayana

Theravada Mahayana

Southern (Sri Lanka, Thailand,

Northern (Tibet, China, Taiwan, Japan,
Location Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, parts of
Korea, Mongolia, parts of Southeast Asia)
Southeast Asia)

One surviving school (as many as 18

Schools and Sects
existed at one time)

Buddhist Books of the Theravada Tripitaka plus many

Pali Canon/Tripitaka only
Scriptures other sutras (e.g. Lotus Sutra)

Historical Buddha (Gautama) and past Gautama Buddha plus Amitabha, Medicine
Buddhas
Buddhas only Buddhas, and others

Maitreya plus Avalokitesvara, Mansjuri,

Bodhisattvas Maitreya only
Ksitigarbha and Samanthabadra

Goal of Training Arhat Buddhahood via bodhisattva-path

3 Buddha Bodies Very limited emphasis; mainly on Emphasized, including the samboga-kaya or
(Trikaya) nirmana-kaya and dharma-kaya reward/enjoyment body

Original
Pali Sanskrit
Language

Language of Tripitaka is only in Pali. Teaching in

Scriptures translated into local language.
Transmission Pali supplemented by local language.

Buddha's Historical disciples described in Many bodhisattvas that are not historical
Disciples Scriptures figures

Mantras and Emphasized in Vajrayana; sometimes

Some equivalent in the use of Parittas
Mudras incorporated in other schools

Bardo (Limbo) Rejected Taught by all schools

Heavily influenced by local religious ideas as

Non-Buddhist Mainly pre-Buddhist Indian influences
transmitted to new cultures (China, Japan,
Influences like concepts of karma, sangha, etc.
Tibet).

Emphasized, especially in practice-based

Buddha Nature Not taught
schools

Rituals Very few; not emphasized Many, owing to local cultural influences

4. Modern Movements in Thailand

The headquarters of the World Fellowship of Buddhists (WFB) have been in Thailand for many
years. Modern developments are of great interest, and provide an example of what is happening in
many Buddhist countries today.

a) A revival of the practice of meditation: In the late 1940s a movement began to revive
meditation in Thailand and by 1970 there were many hundred of meditation centers throughout the

55
kingdom. Both monks and laymen take advantage of the meditation centers which are mostly in
temple compounds. Meditation masters give instruction in meditation at these centers. Some people
receive their instruction in the evenings after work is done while others go to live for short or long
periods at a center. Others receive through radio broadcasts by experts. Many consider that
meditation (meditation for insight) is the real heart of Buddhist practice which has nirvana as its
goal.
b) Education: The study consists mostly of studies in the life of the Buddha and his
disciples, the monastic discipline, ethics, Buddhist proverbs, the scriptures and commentaries. And
the scriptures and commentaries which were written in the Pali language were also studied. Many
chants are memorized. And secular subjects are added to the monk‘s curriculum both at the high
school level and at the two universities for monks.

G. WAYS OF WORSHIP

The Buddhist ideal is to attain salvation by one‘s own efforts without the help of a supernatural
savior. Meditation and attention to behavior and right thinking thus take first place in the lives of the
Buddhists. However in both Mahayana and Theravada countries people rely on the help of the
Buddhas and pay honor to them in the temples. In Theravada countries the average Buddhist believes
that Gautama Buddha is Devatideva- god above god -who has supreme authority that people may
trust. He lives, knows, and loves, thus is worthy of all adoration. The strictly orthodox Buddhist still
thinks of Gautama as a man who once lived and is now no more, although he may regard him
(Gautama) as the greatest man who ever lived, and the most enlightened teacher of gods and men.

1. The Refuges and the Precepts

Every act of Buddhist worship begins with the recital of the formula of homage to the Buddha (the
worship offered to the Buddha): Homage to Him, the Blessed One, the Exalted One, the fully
Enlightened One. This is followed by the Three Refuges: - I go to the Buddha as my Refuge; - I
go to the Doctrine as my Refuge; - I go to the brotherhood of monks as my Refuge.
[Immediately after this the five precepts are taken.]
These five precepts can be taken by the worshiper by himself or by the assistance of a monk. They
are: 1) I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from destroying life.
2) I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from taking things not given.
3) I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from sexual misconduct.
4) I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from false speech.
5) I undertake to observe the precept to abstain from taking distilled and fermented liquors
which cause intoxication and heedlessness.

2. Offerings

Worshippers offer offerings at all places of worship. They are of various kinds such as flowers, old
lamps or candles, incense, food, drinks and requisites for the monks.
When a worshipper offers flowers he may recite the following, meditating on the
impermanence of life: ―I offer this mass of flowers, fresh and scented. I adore the Buddha with
flowers and through this merit may there be release or may I attain nirvana. As these flowers must
fade, so does my body march to the state of destruction?‖
When the worshipper offers oil-lamp or candles, he may say: ―I offer these bright lights that
dispel darkness to the Omniscient One, the light of the three worlds who has destroyed the darkness
of ignorance.‖ The offering of lights is believed to bring rich stores of merit that last for endless
ages.
When the worshipper offers food, he may say: ―O Lord, receive with favor this noble food
which we have prepared for Thee, accept it in compassion for us. I offer this delicious food to the

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Lord in deep reverence. May this food–offering of mine destroy all my sins and enable me to attain
nirvana.‖ Similar prayers accompany other offerings and every offering is considered to bring some
merit.

3. Prayers and Invocations

Worshipers offer prayers and invocations for human needs and material blessings. The prayer for
pardon is very important. In Sri Lanka a worshipper asks pardon from the Triple Gem (the Buddha,
the Doctrine, and the Brotherhood of Monks) for any sins committed by thought, word, or deed. In
the same way forgiveness is prayed for. The Myanmar uses a similar but more detailed prayer which
becomes as popular and known as the Buddhist Common Prayer. It runs as follows: ―I beg leave! I
beg leave! I beg leave! In order that any offence which I may have committed either by deed or by
mouth or by thought may be nullified, I raise my joined hands in reverence to the forehead and
worship, honor, look at, and humbly pay homage to the Three Gems: the Buddha, the Law, and the
Brotherhood once, twice, three times, Lord. And because of this meritorious act of prostration may I
be freed at all times from the Four States of Woe, the Three Scourges, the Eight Wrong Misfortunes
and quickly attain the Path, the Fruition, and the Noble law of Nirvana, Lord.‖

4. Transference of Merit

Very frequently worshipers make offerings in the name of deceased relatives, especially gifts of
robes, utensils, medicines and food for the monks. The merit gained by these offerings is transferred
to the dead and other beings. After doing such a meritorious act, a worshiper says, ―By this
meritorious act may our beloved dead be benefited; may they attain happiness; just as the rivers filled
with water by rain blow into the sea and fill it so may the merit of this offering be transferred to our
dead relatives.‖
In Myanmar this formula is said, ―I share the merit of this deed with my parents, friends,
relatives, the spirits and all living beings; may the earth bear witness.‖

5. Pilgrimages

A pilgrimage to a sacred place is considered to be a meritorious deed and the more pilgrimages a
person makes the greater is his merit. It is thus the ambition of every Buddhist to visit as many
sacred places as many times as possible during his life-time. The Buddha himself declared that there
are four places that one should look upon with emotion, namely the birthplace of the Buddha, the
place of his enlightenment, the place where he preached his first sermon, setting in motion the wheel
of the Dharma, and the place where he passed away into nirvana.
One should go on pilgrimage to these places because whoever dies with peaceful heart while
wandering in pilgrimage to such shrines, upon the breaking up of the body shall be reborn beyond
death in the blissful heaven –world. These words have, over the centuries, inspirited millions of
pilgrims, monks, nuns and lay devotees to make long journeys braving all dangers from remote parts
of the Buddhist world to worship at these sacred places in the land where the Buddha was born, it
was considered to be particularly meritorious to walk all the way on foot, undergoing some amount
of hardship.
The most popular place in Sri Lanka, Sri Pada (Sacred Foot-print) also known as Adam‘s
peak is a mountain 7,500 feet high, on which the Buddha left an imprint of his foot. It is a place to
which Buddhists, Hindus, Christians and Muslims go on pilgrimage.
According to a legend, the Buddha is believed to have left the print of his left foot on Adam‘s
Peak and then in one stride crossed to Thailand where he left the impression of this right foot on a
rocky hillside in Phrabad. This is a place that attracts thousands of pilgrims.

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6. Ceremonies and Festivals

Buddhist ceremonies and festivals are numerous. One of the most important is the ceremony known
as Pirit. This is supposed to have been approved by the Buddha, as way of avoiding the malice of
demons or evil spirits, and to give blessing. Monks chant the Pirit ceremony in temples or homes, or
in temporary recitation-halls or pavilions specially constructed for that purpose. The period of
chanting extends from one hour, to one day, a week, or even longer periods, according to the
occasion. Apart from its use as a protection against evil and disease, the ceremony is held on other
occasions such as the inauguration of a new house, the starting of a journey, of the beginning of a
new business.
Buddhists all over the world celebrate the festival known as Vesak. Vesak is the name of the
lunar month that falls in May, and the full moon day in that month is called Vesak day. It is the most
holy day for Buddhists. This sacred day has a threefold significance. It is said that the Buddha was
born, attained enlightenment, and died on a full-moon day in the month of May.

H. POPULAR BUDDHISM

The religion of the ordinary people in Buddhist countries is a mixture of Buddhist teaching and other
religious beliefs and practices. There are, however, three objects in Buddhist temples which are
particularly associated with the Buddha.

1. Relic Worship

After the death of Gautama Buddha, his mortal remains, such as his teeth, hairs from his head, and
his collar bone, were carefully preserved. They are kept safely in the many tower-like shrines which
exist throughout the Buddhist world. These are called stupas (mound) or pagodas. Since there are
millions of these stupas scattered throughout Asia, not all contain relics of the Buddha. Some contain
relics of the Buddha‘s disciples or of those worthy of being honored, and others, remainders of the
Buddha, such as images, sacred writings, and prayers. When a devotee enters a temple he first
worships the stupa, going round it three times in a meditative mood, keeping the object of worship,
namely, the stupa, to his right. Then he worships, prostrating, kneeling, squatting, or standing with
hands cupped together. Worship of the stupa is believed to bring great merit. The relics of the
Buddha are planted like quickening seeds at the center of the stupas. The worshippers believe that
they exert a living influence on the building, and keep alive for all time and all men the spiritual
power of the Buddha.
Every temple has a stupa, and some of them are of enormous size. One of the biggest in Sri
Lanka, the Abhayagiri Dagaba, when originally built, has a diameter of 327 feet and was 40 feet
high, being only fifty feet less than the highest of the Pyramids in Egypt, or the dome of St. Peter‘s in
Rome, and fifteen feet higher than St. Paul‘s Cathedral in London. One of the best known stupas is
the Shwe Dagon Pagoda. This pagoda on a hilltop in Yangon has a central tower surrounded by
spired shrines, and is covered with gold leaf. It is a common sight to see laymen sweeping the
pavement of the Shwe Dagon Pagoda, or putting on gold leaf which they have bought over the
outside of the pagoda‘s central tower. The latter is an act of great merit and can be done by men.
Women, however, can buy gold leaf and hire men to put it on the tower.
Building a stupa or contributing to building one is an act which brings great merit, and some
of the ancient kings in Theravada countries spent enormous amounts of money to build stupas and
acquire merit.

2. The Cult of the Bodhi Tree

There is a Bodhi tree within the precincts of every monastery. Worshippers pay respect to this sacred
tree because the Buddha attained Enlightenment under one, and after that paid his own respect to the

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tree. It is said that he spent one whole week standing in front of the tree, gazing with unblinking eyes
full of gratitude and love. Later on, he himself commended the worship of the Bodhi tree. There is a
strong belief that a god resides in every Bodhi tree. Some people believe that the tree itself is a god.
The homage and reverence paid to the Bodhi tree is considered to be homage and reverence paid to
the Buddha himself.

3. Worship of the Buddha Image

Strictly speaking image worship is quite out of place in Buddhism. Gautama Buddha never wanted to
be worshipped in any way. In the early days there were no Buddha images. He was represented by
symbols such as the wheel, the foot-print, the seat on which he sat, or by the shape of his shadow
which was supposed to be impressed on rocks. It was not until four or five centuries later that he was
represented by images. Today image-worship occupies a central place in the devotional life of
Buddhists.
Images of Gautama Buddha show him in one of the three postures: (1) standing, (2) seated,
and (3) reclining. Making an image for public worship is a great event attended by rituals and
ceremonies. Many Buddhist homes have small images of the Buddha. His shrine in a home is an
object of worship, and it is also believed to be source of blessing and magical protection.
The phrase ―suffering and enduring suffering‖ sums up the whole of philosophy and religion
of Buddhism, and the aim of every Buddhist is to be free from suffering. He believes that suffering is
self-made (the result of past karma). Thus every Buddhist depends on himself alone for his salvation,
not on God.
Though every Buddhist regards nirvana as his ultimate goal, the highest and holiest he can
aim at, for ordinary people it seems very far away, and not everyone wants to get there too quickly.
Ordinary lay Buddhist, as well as the monks, spends much of their time and money in performing
acts of merit in order to be reborn in happy conditions, and to enjoy material blessings along the way
to higher states of consciousness. They take the three refuges and follow the five precepts regularly,
especially on poya days, and spend time in meditation to develop spiritual qualities.
Emphasis on the inner quality of life, however, is a characteristic of Buddhists strictly follow
the orthodox teaching about whom or what actually continues to live through the process of samsara.
Most believe that the same person goes on living after his earthly life ends. This is clearly shown by
funeral prayers which express the hope that the mourners may meet the departed again in some
future birth.

Jesus and Gautama

There is much we admire in the life and teachings of Gautama. Being raised in the Myanmar
Buddhist culture, we appreciate the ethical teachings, the arts, and architecture influenced by
Buddhism. As we studied the life and teachings of Gautama and of Jesus, we discovered some
dramatic differences.
First, Buddha did not claim to be divine. Theravada remains true to his teaching that he was
just a man. The idea that he was divine was developed in Mahayana Buddhism 700 years after his
death. Furthermore, Northern Buddhism teaches that there have been other manifestations of the
Buddha or bodhisattvas and some believe Jesus to be one as well. However, Jesus did not claim to be
one of many manifestations of God; He claimed to be the one and only Son of God. This teaching
was not the creation of his followers but a principle He taught from the beginning of His ministry. In
fact, the salvation He preached was dependent on understanding His divine nature.
Second, Buddha claimed to be a way shower. He showed the way to nirvana, but it was up to
each follower to find his or her own path. Christ did not come to show the way; He claimed to be the
way. While Buddhism teaches that salvation comes through Buddha‘s teachings, Christ taught
salvation is found in Him. When Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life" (John 14:6), He was
saying He alone is the one who can give eternal life, for He is the source of truth and life. Not only
did He make the way possible, He promises to forever be with and empower all who follow Him to
live the life that pleases God.
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 Third, Buddha taught that the way to eliminate suffering and attain enlightenment was to
eliminate all desire. Christ taught that one should not eliminate all desire but that one must have the
right desire. He stated, "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be
satisfied." Christ taught that we should desire to know Him above all other wants.
Fourth, Buddha performed no miracles in his lifetime. Christ affirmed His claims to be
divine through the miracles He performed. He demonstrated authority over every realm of creation:
the spiritual realm, nature, sickness, and death. These miracles confirmed the claims that He was
more than a good teacher, but God incarnate.
Finally, Buddha is buried in a grave in Kusinara at the foot of the Himalaya Mountains.
Christ, however, is alive. He alone conquered sin and the grave. His death paid the price for sin, and
His resurrection makes it possible for all people to enter into a personal and eternal relationship with
God.
After a comparative study, we came to realize Buddha was a great teacher who lived a noble
life, but Christ is the unique revelation of God who is to be worshipped as our eternal Lord and
Savior.

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