Categorias: Todos - democracy

por James Bell 13 anos atrás

414

Heritage Sectional Exam #2

In the era following the Persian Wars, Athens saw significant social and political transformations. The radicalization of democracy emerged as a key outcome of these conflicts, highlighted by the notable Battle of Marathon.

Heritage Sectional Exam #2

Heritage Sectional Exam #2

Music

PITCH
represents the percieved frequency of a sound.
Music is the most abstract and sublime of all the arts. Its mysterious power led all ancient cultures it as having a divine origin.
INTERVAL
Distance between modes
MODE
we can tell where the music is from by the mode
It is the basic pitch material of music
a patterned arrangement
"Humanly Organized Sounds"
Ancient Music

Philosophy

Maimonides
Negaitve Theology
St. Augustine
Predestination is inevetiable because God is omniscient

But if predestination is inevetable then can there be free will? If not then what is salvation?

Time is a function of the mind
A life of rightly ordered love is the moral life
Sensation misleads; reason is the way basic truths are understood, not through faith

Faith is the first step

We believe in order to understand

Faith is insufficient

NeoPlatonism

Evil is a privation, a turning away, not a positive force

A Platonist at heart who believes in metaphysical and epistemological dualism of Plato
Neoplatonism
Each successive stage of being "emanates" from a higher one, but the emanitions do not undold in an external objective time

Emanations are metaphysical stages of being from One to Duality to Many

Language forces us to describe emanations as temporal

Emanations all at once

ONE=>Nouns (Thinker and Thought)=>Soul=>Matter
Plotinus (205-270 CE)
Manicheanism
Abstain from mirriage, because bodily urges prolong the powers of darkness
abstain from all "ensouled things"

eat only vegetables

humans are a mix of good and evil

through sustained activity of the mind, humans should recognize the duality of things

Two primal principles of good and evil, coeternal and independent

Persian idea handed down by zoroastrians

Philosophies of Coping
Stoicism

Desire the Inevitable

Universal Brotherhood

Determinism Vs. Free Will

Epictetus

"I told you it would break."

Skepticism

ATARAXIA

Quietude

We must suspend judgement

Just walk away if you don't know

For every "P" there is a "NOT P"

~(P&~P)

Law of Universal Contradiction

Pyrrho

Sextus Empiricus

Epicureanism

Cultivate Friendship

Pursue Pleasure with Friends

Not bodily pleasure

Atomistic Metaphysics

The Swerve

Democritus

Epicurius

The Obstacle to peace of mind is fear of death

Aristotle
Tutor to Alexander the Great

Missed the point of his instruction.

Potentiality to Actuality to Pure Actuality

We are beings of change: doing right is "flourishing well"

Morality (doing right) relies on the Polis

Morality comes from the polis?

Flourishing well is impossible outside the polis

Idiotes=The Quiet Man?=Idiot

Pure actuality=God=Pure thought thinking about itself=The uncaused cause of all change

Great chain of being

The scientist studies change and the cause

Final cause

A thing's Telos or purpose (a tiny platonic form)

Formal cause

the overall configuration of a thing

Efficient cause

the oomph, the push, the immediate local force of movement

Material cause

Substance of a thing

Parmenides and Heraclitus are Mistaken

Neither Metaphysical Monism or Pluralism

Wisdom=Happiness
Trying to explain causality
Plato
Reincarnation of the soul
DIALECTIC

intellectual assention to the Forms

Doctrine of Recollection

EQUAL STICKS ARGUEMENT from the Phaedo

knowledge demands permanence

Learning is merely remembering knowledge of the forms already present

Doctrine of the Forms

Real knowledge is not from sensation

Metaphysical and epistemological dualism

Two kinds of knowledge

Two Substances

Two worlds

"True friends share in all things"
How to reconcile differences between Heraclitus and Parmenides
Socrates
The trial and Death

The Apology

The problem of alcibiades: a corrupted youth?

Sicily Campaign

The ethical life and the social contract with the state
SOCRATIC METHOD

CONCEPTIONAL DIVISION

Pre-socratic Philosophers
Zeno

Paradoxes

Parmenides

No NOTHINGNESS

Math and reason tell us that change impossible

Change is an illusion

STATIC universe

everything is static

Heraclitus

LOGOS

listen to the logos

FLUX

"You cant step in the same river twice."

Fire is a metaphor for change

direct experience confirms that all is constantly changing

everything is in flux

Pythagoras

Some of his ideas probably come from persia and hence Zoroastrianism

Under the Babylonians the Hebrews would have been influenced bt the same ideas, hence emergence in Daniel of the concept of an afterlife

Dualism of mind and body

DUALISM

The condition or state of being dual or consisting of two parts; twofold division; duality. - A theory or system of thought which recognizes two independent principles. spec. - Philos. The doctrine that mind and matter exist as distinct entities; opposed to idealism and materialism. - The doctrine that there are two independent principles, one good and the other evil.

The universe is composed of numbers

Anaximander

proposed that humans evolved from sea creatures who came to live on land

his stuff is an eternal apeiron responsible for all things animated by a kind of internal principle of justice

APEIRON

Boundless infinite substance

Anaximenes

AIR

his stuff was air animated by a principle of expansion and condensation

Thales

WATER

his stuff is water animated internally by a kind of soul

Passed on knowledge of mathematics

from Babylon

He predicted a solar eclipse

Subjects
Logic
Aesthetics
Ethics
Epistemology
Metaphysics
Bhagavad-Gita
Greek Drama
Euripedes

Medea (431 BCE)

DISCUSSION

EXILE

Reduction of Humanity

IDIOTES=PRIVATE MAN

SHAME

POLIS

Why does Euripides overturn his audience's expectations in creating this Jason and this Medea? What might he be saying about Athenian attitudes toward "Others?"

Is Medea justified in taking her revenge against Jason?

What role-if any-do the gods play in Medea's revenge? How do we know?

What evidence does Euripides give us in the play to answer this question?

The 2nd Scene between Jason and Medea

The goddess Peitho: Persuasion

What different track does Medea take here, and why?

Historical Context

The Athenian jury system

The radicalism of Athenian democracy

What might Euripides in the production of Medea, on the eve of the Peloponnesian War, be saying about to Athenians?

Peloponnesian Wars (431-404 BCE)

Persian Wars (c. 500-479 BCE)

The Argon

Who were the sophist philosophers in 5th Century BCE Athens?

The contest of words

Jason Vs. Medea

Whose arguement is more logical? Persuasive? Intelligent?

Pelias and the daughters of Pelias

Jason and the Argonauts

480-406 BCE

Chorus

Moderate Views

Clariifier

Ethical commentary

Tragic Performance at Athens

The Greater Dionysia (or City Dionysia)

Origins

Grove of Thespis

Dionysus

Virgil
The Aeneid

When is the Aeneid set? How are the Punic Wars Relevant

Fato- divine world order. Equivalent to Manifest Destiny

It was the destiny of Rome to take over Carthage.

In the third Punic War Rome destroyed Carthage

1200 BCE

What are the opposites of Augustan values?

Furor

Passion/Emotional

Burning Anger

Boiling Rage

Fury

Juno

Juno Loved Carthage

Hated the trojans, who were destined to found Rome and defeat Carthage.

What are the values of Augustan Rome?

Strength

Order

Command of Life and Death

Empire

Pietas

Devotion to

Roman Empire/Rome

Duty

Loyalty

Family

Gods

Dedication

Respect

Topic Questions

Virgil opposes pietas (piety) and furor (fury?)

Dido represents fuor (fury)

Passionate

Does it hold up all the way through the end of the poem?

Interpretation

Aeneas kills Turnus

Turnus was a supplicant

Rome was "born of violence"

Or Supplication was a greek thing looked down upon in Roman society

Medea supplicated Jason

But she was sarcastic

Jason Denied Her

Priam supplicated Achilles

Achilles agreed to give Hector's body back

Therefore it was wrong to kill him

Evidence of Furor

You can't deny a supplicant

The Romans appropriate Greek forms, and yet they make them their own

What does Virgil do with the epic form that is new in the history of literature or that is not "Greeky," but distinctly Roman?

Hero looks out for society, not himself

Written down first, not oral

How dies Virgil imitate Homer's epic?

Iliad

Differences

Aeneas is Pious whereas Achilles is Selfish

Selflessness

Aeneas is rational minded whereas Achilles is emotionally minded

Aeneas does not get angry in the same way

Righteous Wrath of Achilles

Predestination

Fate is above Gods

Gods can delay fate but not alter it

Influence of gods

Similarities

Contain hero and gods

What message does Virgil convey to Augustus about how to rule?

Propaganda?

Augustus is pious

"Augustus is doing well"

Dido relates to Cleopatra (African Queens)

Virgil is critiquing Augustan Rule

Imperium

Common Roman Values

Aeneas relates to Augustus

Art

Greek
Repetition in art is very greek
"Order as Beauty"
Roman
Helenistic

History

Rise of the Polis
Athens after the Persian Wars
Athens after Solon

Tririemes

Drawn from those to poor to be hoplites

Require 200 rowers

The Persian Wars

The Invasion of Xerxes (480 B.C)

He was agitated by the radical Athenian democrats

The Battle of Marathon (490 B.C.)

Trirenes

Naval Battle

Athens and other Greek City States Vs. Persians

Athens declares war on Persia in 499 B.C.

Democracy more radical

The Birth of Democracy (508/7 B.C)

594/3 -460 B.C.

Solon of Athens

A politician and statesman as well as a poet, he served as chief magistrate at a time when Athenian society was polarized between a small and wealthy aristocracy and a common people opressed by poverty and disenfranchisement.

Born 640 B.C and died c560 B.C,

Poem 2, pg 66, line 26, Community

"In this way public calamity comes to each man;s home, and the doors of the courtyard no longer can hold it back;"

Poem 2, pg 65, line 7, Moderation

"and the leaders of the people are unjust in mind. In their case it is certain"

Solon (594/3 B.C)

The Aristocratic regimes in Athens

Tyrtaeus of Sparta/Sparta

Poem 7, pg 18, line 1, Merit

"I would neither make mention of a man nor hold him in esteem"

Poem 5, pg 15, line 1, Community

"To fall and die among the fore-fighters is a beautiful thing for a brave man who is doing battle on behalf of his country;"

Poem 2, pg 14, line 9, Citizenship

"and that victory and power should attend on the mass of the people"

Tyrtaeus (c.650 B.C.)

Spartan poet. said to have written a poem on the spartan constitution. He was best known for the war poetry in which he exhorted Spartan soldiers to bravery in the field.

Spartan government

Archaic Greece

HOPLITE WARFARE

Demands for Change

Redistribution of land

Cancellation of debt

End of debt bondage

More open admission to office

Written laws

Community defends itself = Citizenship

Communal enterprise = Moderation

Hoplites identically armed = Equality

Ancestry irrelevant = Merit

Phalanx

Reinforces polis

700-650

UNDERMINING ARISTOCRATIC RULE

Change in warfare

Trade and cooperation creates new class with wealth, but no status

Poor more easily exploited

Greater exploitation of land

Population boom= Agricultural Intensification

Aristocratic rule over the polis

700-480

The Geometric Period

Orientalizing Trends

Sappho

Hesiod

Homer

Literature

Alphabet

Statuary

Pottery

Non Aristocrats

Can play clans off of each other

Can demand the loyalty of the aristocracy

Aristocrats

Can compete in larger arena

Can exploit the poor more easily

Collections remain small

Resources and population collected together

New Opportunities in the polis

c.900-700

Homeric Society

Achilles

Religions

Judaism
Distinguishing between Judaism and Christianity

Judaism considers calling Jesus "God" blasphemous.

Trinitarian Christianity is rejected as polytheistic and Christianity in general is rejectd since Judaism does not accept accept Jesus as the Messiah.

Judaism is a monotheistic religion that condems all forms of idolatry and rejects polytheism.

Although Judaism reconizes people of other religions can serve god and live according to god's laws, there are significant exceptions

Immortality

Although resurrection from the dead is part of Jewish doctrine, Judaism has focused upon a good life on earth and fellowship with god during the person's lifetime.

Judaism places less emphasis upon an afterlife than Christianity

Nature and the World

The historically negative attitude toward the body and nature as "profane" in christianity is not present in Judaism.

Unlike Christianity, judaism displays no animosity for the natural world. though god is supernatural, the world is nevertheless god's creation. part of the convenant with god is the responsible stewardship over this creation.

The Nature of God

This veneration of God by some jews is carried on to the extent that they will decline to write the word god and refrain from any naming of it.

In some interpretations however, God is a fundamental, unfathomable mystery. God is a verb, not a noun; a process, not a singularity; ultimately indescriable and incomprehensible to the human mind.

God is traditionally conceived as a personal God

Perhaps more importantly, god makes a covenant with the chosen, to protect, instruct, and show them compassion; in return the people upheld god's laws, worshiped, and show proper devotion.

The traditional characteristics of Monotheism reside in the god of the torah; god is endowed with omniscience, omnipotence, and omni-benevolence

Moses

By accepting god's commandments, the hebrews agreed to serve god exclusively; in return god would bring them to the promised land and make them a great nation.

Moses is the most important person in jewish history, as he is credited with the bringing of the children out of israel out of bondage in egypt(c.1300 BCE) and the covenant between god and his people was renewed under Moses.

Moses lived around 1200 BCE and introduced the commandments that are part of the torah.

The Torah

historically a conservative interpretation has prevailed

The Torah may be understood in conservative or liberal interpretations.

Liberal

The bible is the product of the interaction of god with his chosen people and a record of their understanding of God's revelation

Conservative

an accurate account of the history of the jewish people.

The bible is actual word of god and is thus without error.

although Moses is credited with the origin of the Torah, it seems to date 400 years after he lived.

The first five books of the old testemant comprise the Jewish Torah.

The jewish bible is actually a set of books; the most important of thise is the Torah

The Chosen People

Jews think of themselves as being chosen as the people responsible to God.

Central Doctrine

In contrast to christians who accept Christ as the Messiah, jews, by not accepting christ as devine, are still waiting for their Messiah.

The basic tenet of this religion is that god made a covenant with a group of chosen to demostrate God's requirements to the rest of humanity

Judaism encompasses some four millenia of development.

Christianity

In sum, worshippers are saved by grace through faith.

A person who is saved will live a morally exemplary life due to love of God and their fellow humans.

Good deeds in themselves are insufficient to guaruntee salvation; rather, good deeds may be evidence of repentance after a person is already saved

Christianity contends that only by accepting Jesus Christ as one's savior can one be saved through grace.

Only through the grace of god is salvation possible

Human Nature

Regarding human nature there is some division in christian views:

Both agree that God's grace is essential.

Another view holds that humans are capable of acting in keeping with both god's wishes and through proper nurture and devotion to god can live morally acceptable lives.

Some contend that humans are inherently sinful from the time of birth and can only overcome this with god's help.

Humans are viewed as created in "the image of god" and, unlike other creatures, have responsibility to god and are morally accountable.

The Sacred and the Profane

Historically Christianity has demostrated a certain antagonism toward the natural world as profane and therefore inferior, matter. This tendency has often times surfaced in historical Christianity as a negative attitude toward ohysical pleasure and the human body.

Christian thought is characterized by a certain duality that divides reality into the profane and the sacred.

Christ

It is claimed as the son of god, jesus made a willing sacrifice- through his cruxifiction- so that through his blood those that believed in him will be cleansed of sin. many christians view this sacrifice as an act of grace- a great gift bestwoed upon an undeserving humanity.

Jesus is veiwed as having been born of the virgin mary and living a morally exemplary life. He demonstrated his teachings by example, parable, sermons, and miracles

The most crucial beliefs in this religion:

God is believed to be manifest in three persons: Father, son, and holy spirit. this doctrine of the trinity is rejected by jews and muslims.

Jesus was resurrected from the dead on Easter Sunday

Jesus is conceived as both human and divine

as human, he is the man Jesus of Nazareth, but unlike any other humans, without sin.

as divine, he is the incarnation of god: he is the christ- god in human form

A monotheistic religion contending the most complete revelation of god was personified in Jesus of Nazareth.

Church Fathers from Rome to Byzantium
Jesus

Facets of Jesus

Healer

Heals the sick and raises the dead.

Revolutionist

Handyman

Compassionate

Friend, Mary M.

Teacher

Golden Rule

Angry

Temple/money changes, Hypocracy of Pharisees

Islam
Forms of Islam

Major divisions:

Shi'ite

Ali is the first imam. 'Ali's successos are the true imam

The imam is viewed as the spiritual leader of the community

Claim Muhammad announced 'Ali would be his successor

Sunni

Believe that the successor of the Prophet should be chosen by consensus of the Muslim community

Comprised of 85% of Muslims

The first division occured between Sunni and Shi'ites and persists to the present day

To compound difficulties , Muhammad had no son, so the question became whether the religion should be continue based upon Muhammad's lineage (closest relative) or be determined by the most spiritually qualiefied person

Since Muhammad appointed no clear- cut sucessor, after his death the Muslim community became divided on who should succed the Prophet

Religion and State

Subtopic

Religion and State are inseparable

The World

Islam is not opposed to science, for science is seen as an attempt to understand God's understanding

Islam views the world as good, a creation of God, there for humans to enjoy

Salvation

There is no need for Grace in Islam for human actions cary merit, God's mercy, and His goodness

Muslims believe that on the Day of Judgement humans will be resurrected and judged by God

A person must live up to the requirements of the Qur'anm fulfill their religious duties and obligations, and refrain from prohibited actions

Islam has a clear belief of Heaven and Hell and the appropriateness of a person's logos

If they are to be accepted by God, Muslims must follow a very straight-forward and clear-cut system of ethics

Islamic Attitudes toward other religions

Most notably, Islam rejects as Idolatry the Christian notion of the trinity and denies any divine element in the person of Jesus. Jesus and Muhammad are seen as both mortal humans who were chosen by God to deliver a certain message

Muhammad is viewed as bringing God's final revelation to humanity and as such the Qur'an supersedes the authority of the Buble and the Torah

Islam regards Jews and Christians as people of the book

Since Abraham and Jesus are recognized as prophets of the same God as Muhammad's Allah

Religious Requirements

Monotheism

There is no God but God

Fasting

Ramadan

Almsgiving

Pilgrimage (Hajj)

Daily Prayer

Sources of Islam

The Sunna is thought to be an authentic record of Muhammad's actions and decisions on moral matters without clear scriptiural instruction. This provides a morally exemplary example for all followers of Islam

The Qur'an is thought to be the direct revelation of God through his messenger Muhammad

Devout Muslims believe that it is impossible to translate the Qur'an from Arabic

It loses its beauty/impact in translation

Thought to be the Miracle of Islam

Argued that it was impossible for Muhammad (who was an illiterate, uneducated shepard, to have composed prose of such prodound beauty, wisdom, and sublime nature

Islam allows for belief in Angels and the personification of evil

The Divinity of Jesus is explicitly rejected by Muslims , as is the Trinity

Although Moses and Jesus are also recognized as prophets, Muhammad's message is thought to be God's final revelation

Muhammad is God's messenger

Muhammad

Died 632 CE

He started his quest to unite the tribes of Arabian under Islam in 622.

Converted many polytheistic tribes to Islam

First Revelation in 610 CE

Born in Arabia in 570 CE

Shortly after the Byzantine Empire peaks under Justinian (527-65)

Strict Monotheism

There iis no God but God (Allah)

Dichotomy

1. Division of a whole into two parts. a. spec. in Logic, etc.: Division of a class or genus into two lower mutually exclusive classes or genera; binary classification. b. gen. Division into two. Something divided into two or resulting from such a division; something paradoxical or ambivalent.

HADITH

important tool for understanding the Qu'ran

JIHAD

"Holy War"

Fight

till persecution ends

Strive

"Struggle"

"Was Islam spread by the Sword"?

Is Islam considerd a peaceful religion? When answering this question it is important to understand which professor you are writing from. Professsors like Ammon and Smith would are you that Islam is not any more violent than chirstianity was while Paxman would like to know the exact history of Islam and expect an answer to come from an analysis of this history.

Islam born into a conflictual environment, Mecca 610 CE.
Hinduism
Reincarnation

The end goal of the process of reincarnation is final and complete union with Atman

Depending on the form that Hinduism takes, even animals can be revered as sacred

Ideally one progresses through many cycles of reincarnation and is reincarnated into higher forms each successive time

The Jiva

One's essence after death' it is also that which preserves through various cycles of reincarnation

The surviving personal part in enlightenment; the personal soul

Present condition determines future lifetimes

The balance and ratio of the two in a previous life determines an individual's present condition

Humans have free will and moral responsibility for their decisions and, as a result of those decisions, accumulate good and bad karma

describes a moral universe with a moral law of cause and effect

The total difference between good and bad deeds

One's present condition is a reflection of one;s virtue in previous lifetimes

Stages of Life

Sannyasin - liberation - contemplative detachment - wondering monk

Retirement - 30 years or older - grandchildren

true education : yoga

Householder - 20 years or older - mirage and family

trancends wants

Student - 10 years or older - religious education

Yoga

A 5th type of, Hatha yoga, focuses on gaining control over bodily processes and desires

Ultimately all yoga is a process of rejection of ego/self.

Types of Yoga

Raja

Steps

Nirvana - liberation of enlightenment

Object disappears; veil of Maya is lifted; thinking of "no being"

Atman facing Brahman: subject - object relationship

Control of mind

Control of senses

Conquering breathing mechanisms

Eliminating physical distractions

Social obligations conquered

Eliminating bodily addictions

Through psychological exercise for the royal experiment.

Jinana

Through knowledge, for the reflective or intellectual

Karma

Through work, for the active individual

Bhakti

Through love, for the emotionally inclined person

Paths to the goal of life is different because people have different personalitys

the four types of personalities are emotional, reflective, active, and experimental

Each of these types requires a different yoga

A method of achieving enlightenment

Purpose of Religion

Maya (god) is the veil of illusion that makes people think they are seperated from Brahman

The purpose of life is to reunite the Atman and Brahman

The part of God in each human being is the Atman

The human being is a body, a personality, and Atman - Brahman(God Head), (the soul)

Detachments and indifference to the misfortunes of life is essential

The road to liberation is religion; success and wealth are self defeating pursuits.

Historical developmen

Vedas to Upanishads to Mahabharata to Bahavad Gita

Religion began with philosophy

Central Doctrine

Hindus accept that

What humans really need are Being, Awareness, and Liberation/Joy

There is a limitation on Being: Death

There are limitations to awareness: Ignorance is in all its manifestations

There are limitations to Joy and happiness, including: pain, boredom, frustration, and finitude

Material goods and comforts are finite

Someday humans will become aware they are finite.

Humans are icapable of being satisfied

Success is limited and exclusive

Paradox of human nature is the desires, wants, and needs of humans are infinite, yet humans themselves are part of the finite (limited by their mortality). The conflict between our infinite wants and our finite being is the source of human distress and suffering

Contrasts western religions which believe God is supernatural and seperate from the world. Hindus believe that God is everything and is infinite, a view called Pantheism.

A polytheistic religion with many gods and goddesses which express the the infinite Brahmin

Buddhism
Historical Developments

Buddhism developed into various branches depending on various groups’ interpretations

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibet

Daili Lama

Chen (Zin) Buddhism

Japan

Zen

Theravada Buddhism

Nirvana is achieved through wisdom and a full time preoccupation with enlightenment and religion

Mahayana Buddhism

The way to enlightenment is through the heart and wisdom gained in the absence of self-seeking desire

Humans need not make religion a full time preoccupation

There are virtues of grace that “the one” helps with

The individual is dependent on others and is part of the “One”

Four Noble Truths

The Truth of the Path Leading to the Cessation of Suffering

Liberation: Emancipation from the cycle of birth and death via the Eight-fold Path The Eight-fold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path

Right Absorption: Raja Yoga (meditation and self-control)

Right Mindfulness: we are what we think; we must think correctly

Right Effort: Exhibit proper ambition and restraint

Right Occupation: Be a moral businessperson and promote life

Right Behavior: Proper conduct is essential

Right Language: Speech indicated the character and personality; by changing speech patterns, character can be transformed

Right Aspiration: To know what is wanted

Right knowledge: Meaning of 4 Noble Truths

The Truth of Cessastion of Suffering

Overcoming selfish desires (Manifoldness): Overcoming the dislocation of self (being off centered) and self-centered emotional and physical cravings

The Truth of the Origen of Suffering

The Cause of Dukkha is Tanha, psychological attachment to worldly things and aspirations

The Truth of Suffering (dukkha)

6 Types of Dukkha

Trauma of Birth Pathology of sickness Morbidity of Decrepitude Phobia of Death Incurable Disease Separation from loss of love

Life is discontentment and suffering. The world is an illusion and because we do not understand it, we become fixated on various desires and attachments causing us to become frustrated and suffer. Suffering ceases when the illusion of Maya is eliminated through “awakening” or enlightenment

Departure from Hinduism

The Buddha taught it was not necessary to cycle through many lifetimes of reincarnation in order to reach Nirvana, one could reach Nirvana in one lifetime.

By departing from these six aspects of religion as practiced in Hinduism, Buddhism became a separate religion

In India, over the next 500 years, Buddhism became re-absorbed into Hinduism

Seven Points of Proper Religion

In contrast to the six aspects of improper religion, the Buddha taught that correct religion had seven features

Individualistic: Humans should seek relgious salvation

Democratic: Total rejection of caste system, classicism, racism, etc

Psychological: All suffering and negative aspects of human nature originated with a specific cause, which over time has become blurred and distorted

Therapeutic: Cessation of suffering

Pragmatic: Rejection of speculation and theology

Scientific: Discover cause and effect relationships regulating nature

Empirical: direct experience of true knowledge

Consequently, he taught that six traditional aspects of religion divert and distract people from the path to enlightenment.

Dogma

Dogmatic doctrines, mysticism, superstition, and supernatural beliefs should be eliminated from religion

Autonomy

Individuals should count on themselves and not become dependent upon God as an emotional crutch

Tradition

Has no logical useful function and should be rejected

Speculation

Intellectual speculation about unanswerable questions and the unknown is useless

Ritual

Senseless, repetitious ceremony originating as magic and superstition, ritual becomes more important than religion, leading to idolatry

Authority

This monopolization led to religious corruption and oppression

The Buddha sought to eliminate the caste system of India; specifically he taught that the Brahmin caste made religious knowledge privileged property, thereby making the other castes feel inferior.

Tends to be concentrated in the hands of a few; jurisdiction over religious knowledge is carried to the point of abnormality

Siddhartha Gautama

The Buddha was historically an Indian prince named Siddhartha Gautama of the Sakyas class

The Awakening

After a six year spiritual quest, he became enlightened at age 35. From there, he took the name of “the Buddha” meaning awakened one.

Hence Buddhism is the religion of spiritual awakening

Eventually he was confronted with the spectacles of age, disease, and death. These sights disturbed him and set him on his quest for spiritual enlightenment.

After years of strict asceticism and nearly dying of starvation, he concluded that asceticism was not the proper path; henceforth, he advocated the Middle Way—a life of physical moderation

At the age of 29, he left the palace and became a wandering ascetic

iHe was born in 563 BCE and was shielded from the differing in the world by his father.

Basic Concepts

Dharma: refers to the legacy of Buddhist teaching or scripture, the way of the Buddha

It emerged in opposition to the violence, suffering and inequality he witnessed in Indian society. Siddhartha felt that war, animal sacrifices, and the caste system ( which ranked members of Indian society by heredity) all undermined peace and degraded life.

Karma: The law of Karma has no influence on the Arhat; since the Arhat are completely detached and desire nothing, the laws of nature no longer affect them.

Metaphysical speculation: The Buddha claimed that the Jiva does not exist as a personal soul. Enlightenment, Nirvana, and Atman are all concepts beyond ordinary human consciousness

Arhat: a person who desires nothing and is beyond ordinary human consciousness

Nirvana : the highest destiny of the human spirit, a condition beyond enlightenment; literally means to "bow out"