Key Concepts in Eastern Philosophy and Religion
Classified in Philosophy and ethics
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Moksha: Liberation
- Moksha is the end of the death and rebirth cycle and is classed as the fourth and ultimate artha (goal). It is achieved by overcoming ignorance and desires.
Jivas: Individual Souls
- Jivas are individual souls that come from water (chaos, universe) then illumination (order, liberation) then reincarnate.
- They are bound by maya, which hides their true self, which is characterized by eternal existence, consciousness, and bliss. There are an infinite number of jivas.
Mahayana: The Big Raft/ Karuna (Compassion)
- It literally means "Great Vehicle" and teaches universal salvation with emphasis on social concerns.
Bhagavad: Hindu Text
- Became an important work of Hindu tradition in terms of both literature and philosophy.
Tanha: Life is Desire (We Suffer Because We Are Selfish)
- Desire to hold onto pleasurable experiences, to be separated from painful or unpleasant experiences.
Theravada: The Little Raft (Wisdom)
- Teachings of the Elders' - is based on the early teachings of the Pali canon.
Dukka: Suffering
- Suffering", "pain unsatisfactory "or" stress". It refers to the fundamental unsatisfactoriness and painfulness of mundane life.
Skanda: Skeins of the Human Self
- Hindu god of war who was the firstborn son of Shiva. The many legends giving the circumstances of his birth are often at variance with one another.
Nirvana: “To Extinguish” the Boundaries of the Finite Self
- A state of perfect happiness, the final goal of Buddhism, a state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self.
Satori: Mystical Experience
- Sudden enlightenment or satisfying behavior.
Te: Power by Which People Are Ruled by Moral Example
- Power is manifest or actualized, it can be inherent within a person or thing existing in harmony with tao.
Ch’i : Vital Energy Through Matter, Movement, and Mind
- Links them to the universe as a whole and animates life.
Shiva: The God of Destruction and Regeneration in the Hindu Sacred Triad
- Has multiple meanings, that can be the destroyer, or the consciousness of an individual.
The Dreaming: Place is Concrete While Space is Abstract
- The world was originally formless. Supernatural beings called Ancestors emerged and roamed about the earth.
The Four Passing Sights: An Old Man, a Body Racked with Disease, a Corpse, a Monk with a Shaved Head
The Six Aspects of Religiosity
- Authority
- Ritual
- Speculation
- Tradition
- Grace
- Mystery
❖ Religiosity deals with a strong religious feeling or belief, the six aspects are what people and their religions believe makeup or surround the purpose and overall involvement with religiosity.
Caste (Class Structure Determined by Birth, Meaning You Are Born into It, Brahmins They Are Leaders and the Untouchables They Are the Bottom of the Group)
Karma: Work of Cause and Effect, Every Decision is an Act of Free Will
The Eightfold Path: A Treatment Through Training and Practice, Right Associations with Others
- Right views
- Right intent
- Right speech
- Right conduct
- Right livelihood
- Right effort
- Right mindfulness
- Right concentration
The Image of the Crossing: Buddhism is a Voyage Across Life's River, a Transport from the Common-Sense Shore of Ignorance, Grasping, and Death, to the Further Bank of Wisdom and Enlightenment
Before the river was crossed the two shores, human and divine, had to appear distinct from each other, different as life and death, as day and night. But once the crossing has been made, no dichotomy remains. The realm of the gods is not a distinct place. It is where the traveler stands; and if that stance happens to be in this world, the world itself is transmuted.