turkey women's role in Islam

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SEVENTH EDITION

Experiencing the World’s Religions TRADITION, CHALLENGE, AND CHANGE

Michael Molloy

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EXPERIENCING THE WORLD’S RELIGIONS: TRADITION, CHALLENGE, AND CHANGE, SEVENTH EDITION Published by McGraw-Hill Education, 2 Penn Plaza, New York, NY 10121. Copyright © 2018 by McGraw-

Hill Education. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. Previous editions © 2013, 2010, and 2008. No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education, including, but not limited to, in any network or other electronic storage or transmission, or broadcast for distance learning. Some ancillaries, including electronic and print components, may not be available to customers outside the United States. This book is printed on acid-free paper. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 LCR 21 20 19 18 17

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 978-0-07811921-7 MHID 0-07-8119219

Brand Manager: Jamie Laferrera Product Developer: Erika Lo Marketing Manager: Nancy Baudean Content Project Manager: Ryan Warczynski Lead Content Project Manager: Jodi Banowetz Senior Buyer: Susan K. Culbertson Content Licensing Specialist: Lori Slattery Cover Image: © Doug Sherman/Geofile Compositor: Aptara , Inc.®

Names: Molloy, Michael, 1942-author. Title: Experiencing the world’s religions : tradition, challenge, and change     / Michael Molloy. Description: SEVENTH EDITION. | Dubuque, IA : McGraw-Hill Education, 2018. Identifiers: LCCN 2017024745| ISBN 9780078119217 (alk. paper) | ISBN 0078119219 (alk. paper) Subjects: LCSH: Religions—Textbooks. Classification: LCC BL80.3 .M65 2018 | DDC 200—dc23 LC record available at     https://lccn.loc.gov/2017024745

mheducation.com/highered

The Internet addresses listed in the text were accurate at the time of publication. The inclusion of a website does not indicate an endorsement by the authors or McGraw-Hill Education, and McGraw- Hill Education does not guarantee the accuracy of the information presented at these sites.

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For John and Kathy Dracup and their family, with admiration

and thanks.

Page vii

Contents

1 Understanding Religion  3 Preface  xvi

FIRST ENCOUNTER  3 What Is Religion?  4

Key Characteristics of Religion  5

2 Indigenous Religions  33

The Sacred  7 Religious Symbolism  8 Speculations on the Sources of Religions  10

Patterns among Religions  14

First Pattern: Views of the World and Life  14 Second Pattern: Focus of Beliefs and Practices  16 Third Pattern: Views of Male and Female  17

Multidisciplinary Approaches to the Study of Religion  20

The Study of Religion  22 Recent Theories  23

Key Critical Issues  24 Why Study the Major Religions of the World?  26 The Journey  28 Reading: Discovering Mystery  29

FIRST ENCOUNTER  33 Discovering Indigenous Religions  35

Past Obstacles to the Appreciation of Indigenous Religions  36 The Modern Recovery of Indigenous Religions  36

Studying Indigenous Religions: Learning from Patterns  38

Human Relationships with the Natural World  39 Sacred Time and Sacred Space  42

Page viiiRespect for Origins, Gods, and Ancestors  42 Sacred Practices in Indigenous Religions  47

Life-Cycle Ceremonies  47 Taboo and Sacrifice  51 Shamanism, Trance, and Spiritual Powers  55 Artifacts and Artistic Expression in Indigenous Religions  59

3 Hinduism  73

Personal Experience: Meeting Maori People  61 Indigenous Religions Today  63 Reading: The Importance of Dreams  67

FIRST ENCOUNTER  73 The Origins of Hinduism  75

The Earliest Stage of Indian Religion  76 The Religion of the Vedic Period  78 The Vedas  79

The Upanishads and the Axis Age  80

4 Buddhism  119

The Origin of the Upanishads  80 Important Concepts of the Upanishads  81

Living Spiritually in the Everyday World  85

The Bhagavad Gita  85 The Caste System  87 The Stages of Life  88 The Goals of Life  89 The Yogas  89

Devotional Hinduism  92

The Trimurti: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva  94 Worship of the Divine Feminine: Devi  97 The Guru as Object of Devotion  99 Devotion to Animals  101 Other Forms of Religious Devotion  102

A Visit to the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine Temple  103 Hinduism and the Arts  104 Hinduism: Modern Challenges  105

Mohandas Gandhi  107 Contemporary Issues  109 Hindu Influence beyond India  112

Page ix

Reading: Ramakrishna and the Experience of God  114

FIRST ENCOUNTER  119 The Beginnings of Buddhism: The Life of the Buddha  120 The Basic Teachings of Buddhism  125

The Three Marks of Reality  126 The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path  128

The Influence of Indian Thought on Early Buddhist Teachings  130

Ahimsa: “Do No Harm†​  131 The Soul and Karma  131 Nirvana  132

The Early Development of Buddhism  132 Theravada Buddhism: The Way of the Elders  135

Theravada Teachings and Literature  139 Theravada Art and Architecture  139

Mahayana Buddhism: The “Big Vehicleâ€​  141

New Ideals: Compassion and the Bodhisattva  141 Mahayana Thought and Worldview  142 Mahayana Literature  145

5 Jainism and Sikhism  175

The Spread of Mahayana in East Asia  146 Some Major Schools of Mahayana  149

Vajrayana Buddhism: The “Diamond Vehicleâ€​  157

Origins, Practice, and Literature of Tibetan Buddhism  157 Ritual and the Arts  160

Personal Experience: New Year’s Day at Wat Saket  162 Buddhism and the Modern World  165 Reading: Approaching the End  170

FIRST ENCOUNTER  175 Shared Origins  176 Jainism  177 Background  177 Mahavira and the Origins of Jainism  178 Worldview  180

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Jain Ethics  181 The Development of Jainism and Its Branches  183

Digambaras  184 Shvetambaras  184

6 Daoism and Confucianism  199

Sthanakavasis  184 Terapanthis  185

Jain Practices  185 Jain Scriptures  186 Jain Art and Architecture  186 Sikhism  187 Background  187 Nanak and the Origins of Sikhism  188 The Worldview and Teachings of Nanak  188 The Development of Sikhism  189 Sikh Scriptures  191 Sikhism and the Modern World  192 Personal Experience: A Visit to the Golden Temple  193 Reading: The Eternal Law  195

FIRST ENCOUNTER  199 Basic Elements of Traditional Chinese Beliefs  200

Daoism  203 The Origins of Daoism  203

Laozi (Lao Tzu)  204 The Daodejing  204 Zhuangzi (Chuang Tzu)  208

Basic Early Teachings  208 Daoism and the Quest for Longevity  210 The Development of Daoism  210 Daoism and the Arts  213 Daoism and the Modern World  217

7 Shinto  245

Confucianism  218 The Dao in Confucianism  218

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The Life of Confucius  219 Living According to Confucian Values  220

The Five Great Relationships  222 The Confucian Virtues  224

Confucian Literature  227 The Development of Confucianism  229

Schools of Philosophy  229 The Development of Confucianism as a Religious System  231

Confucianism and the Arts  233 Personal Experience: Qing Ming, a Ceremony in Spring  235 Confucianism and the Modern World  237 Reading: On Cloud-like Wandering  240

8 Judaism  271

FIRST ENCOUNTER  245 The Origins of Shinto  246 The Historical Development of Shinto  249

Accommodation with Buddhism and Confucianism  249 Shinto and Japanese National Identity  251

Essentials of Shinto Belief  252 Shinto Religious Practice  254

Worship at Shrines  254 Celebration of the New Year  256 Observances of the Seasons and Nature  257 Other Practices  258

Personal Experience: An Unexpected Shrine  259 Shinto and the Arts  260

Architecture  260 Music and Dance  261

Shinto Offshoots: The New Religions  262 Shinto and the Modern World  265 Reading: Loving the Whole Earth  266

FIRST ENCOUNTER  271 An Overview of Jewish History  272

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The Hebrew Bible  275 Biblical History  277

In the Beginning: Stories of Origins  277 The World of the Patriarchs and Matriarchs  279 Moses and the Law  282 The Judges and Kings  286 Exile and Captivity  289 Return to Jerusalem and the Second Temple  289

Cultural Conflict during the Second Temple Era  290

The Seleucid Period  290 Responses to Outside Influences  291

9 Christianity  319

The Development of Rabbinical Judaism  292

The Canon of Scripture and the Talmud  293 Islam and Medieval Judaism  294 The Kabbalah  294 Christianity and Medieval Judaism  295

Questioning and Reform  296 Judaism and the Modern World  297

Hitler and the Holocaust  298 Creation of the State of Israel  299

Personal Experience: A Visit to Masada  300 Jewish Belief  301 Religious Practice  301

The Jewish Sabbath  302 Holy Days  303 Jewish Dietary Practices  305 Other Religious Practices  305

Divisions within Contemporary Judaism  307

Culturally Based Divisions  307 Observance-Based Divisions  309

Jewish Identity and the Future of Judaism  312 Reading: What It Means to Be Fully Alive  314

FIRST ENCOUNTER  319 The Life and Teachings of Jesus  321

Jesus in the New Testament Gospels  325 Page xiiiThe Two Great Commandments  328

Early Christian Beliefs and History  328

Paul and Pauline Christianity  329 The New Testament: Its Structure and Artistry  332 The Christian Canon  336

The Early Spread of Christianity  338 Influences on Christianity at the End of the Roman Empire  342

Augustine  343 Benedict and the Monastic Ideal  343

The Eastern Orthodox Church  345

Early Development  345 Monasticism in the Eastern Church  346 Eastern Orthodox Beliefs  347

Personal Experience: Mar Saba Monastery  349

10 Islam  389

Christianity in the Middle Ages  351

Christian Mysticism  351 The Crusades, the Inquisition, and Christian Control  353 The Late Middle Ages  354

The Protestant Reformation  355

Martin Luther  356 Forms of Protestantism  357

The Development of Christianity Following the Protestant Reformation  361

The Catholic Reformation (Counter Reformation)  361 The International Spread of Christianity  362 Nontraditional Christianity  365

Christian Practice  369

Sacraments and Other Rituals  369 The Christian Year  371 Devotion to Mary  373

Christianity and the Arts  375

Architecture  375 Art  377 Music  378

Christianity Faces the Modern World  380

The Challenges of Science and Secularism  380 Contemporary Influences and Developments  381

Page xiv

Reading: How Saint Francis Made Brother Masseo Twirl Around  384

FIRST ENCOUNTER  389 The Life and Teachings of Muhammad  391 Essentials of Islam  395

The Five Pillars of Islam  397 Additional Islamic Religious Practices  403 Scripture: The Qur’an  406

The Historical Development of Islam  408

Expansion and Consolidation  409 The Shiite and Sunni Division within Islam  411

Sufism: Islamic Mysticism  416

Sufi Beliefs  417 Al-Ghazali and Sufi Brotherhoods  420 Sufi Practice and Poetry  421

Personal Experience: Visit to a Mosque  423 Islamic Law and Philosophy  424

11 Alternative Paths  449

Islamic Law and Legal Institutions  424 Islamic Philosophy and Theology  425

Islam and the Arts  427

Architecture  427 Fine Art  429

Islam and the Modern World  432

Islam and Contemporary Life  433 Islam and the Roles of Women  433 The Challenge of Secularism  435 A Range of Solutions  436 Islam in the West and Beyond  438

Reading: The Merciful  444

FIRST ENCOUNTER  449 Origins of New Religions  450 Contemporary Paganism: Wicca and Druidism  451

Page xv

Religions of the Yoruba Tradition: SanterÃ​a, Voodoo, and Candomblé  456 Theosophy  459 Scientology  462 Falun Gong  464 Cao Dai  465 Rastafarianism  467 Baha’i  470 New Religious Movements: A Special Role  474 Personal Experience: Celebrating the Goddess  475 Reading: The Goal of Scientology  478

12 The Modern Search  483

FIRST ENCOUNTER  483 Modern Influences on the Future of Religion  485

The New World Order  486 Multiculturalism and Interfaith Dialogue  487 Women’s Rights Movements  488 Reassessment of Human Sexuality  490 Science and Technology  491 Science and Ethical Issues  492 Secularism  494 Environmental Challenges  495

The Recurring Challenges of Change  497 Environmentalism: A Religious Phenomenon?  500 Eclectic Spirituality  503

Interrelatedness  504

DIGITAL EDIT ION

Reverence and Respect  506 Contemplative Practices  507

Personal Experience: Supper Together  509 Reading: Learning from a Tree  511

Answer Key  A-1 Notes  N-1 Index  I-1

Page xvi

Preface

The cover of this book continues the theme of water. Water flows and changes form. Water makes snow and ice. Water makes rivers and waterfalls. Water brings life.

Religions speak in symbols—fire, cloud, hills and high places, darkness and light, incense, candles, colors. Religions, though, perhaps love water best. Buddhists use water for blessing. Hindus purify themselves in rivers. Christians undergo baptism in water as a rite of initiation. Followers of Islam and Shinto cleanse themselves with water before prayer. Water means change, purification, and new beginnings.

Because water can signify so much to us, it is the major symbol of this book. By studying many religions, we also hope to be cleansed and brought to new life.

This book was written for my students. Keeping their needs in mind, I have tried to provide what is essential and to present it in clear language. I want to talk about doctrine and practice. Yet I also hope to show some of those things that have captivated me: religious music, art, and architecture. I want to show my respect for all religious traditions, both in a scholarly and an approachable way. Finally, I hope to invite students not only to read about religions, but also to experience them firsthand. It is like the difference between reading maps of a country and then actually traveling on its roads and seeing its sights. Experience brings the prize.

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Boxed Features

CONFLICT IN RELIGION

CONTEMPORARY ISSUES

RITUALS AND CELEBRATIONS

Religious Blends 24 Kamikaze Pilots and Shinto 252 Sunni versus Shiite: Why the Conflict? 439 Jihad and the Modern World 443 Religions, Sacred Texts, and Violence 496

Halloween: “Just Good Fun†​ or Folk Religion? 65 The Green Movement: A New Global Indigenous Religion? 66 The Chipko Movement 110 Pema Chödrön 166 Environmental Buddhism 168 The Confucius Institute 238 Eco-Judaism 312 Martin Luther King Jr. 365 Creation Care 383 Islamic Ecology 441 “Cults,†​ “Sects,†​ and “New Religious Movements†​ 451 Ecology and the New Religious Movements 462 Humanism: A New Religion? 473 Humor and Religion 474 Religion and Pop Culture 504

RITUALS AND CELEBRATIONS

DEEPER INSIGHTS

Travel and Pilgrimage 27 The Vision Quest 51 Hindu Meditation: More Than Emptying the Mind 91 Hindu Celebrations 102 Buddhist Festivals 148 Buddhist Meditation 164 The Mass 379 The Islamic Religious Calendar: Festivals and Holy Days 404 The Contemporary Pagan Year 453

Multiple Images of the Female 18 Do Religions Oppose Science? 25 Australian Aboriginal Religion 40 Religion of the Pueblo Peoples 43 The Igbo: An Indigenous Religion in Transition 50 Traditional Hawaiian Religion 53 Traditional Maori Religion 56 Isaac Tens Becomes a Shaman 57 Buddhism in Thailand 138 Buddhism and Japanese Arts 154 Jains and a Holy Death 182 The Five “K’s†​ of the Sikh Khalsa 191 The Seasons of Life 207 The Chinese Garden—Bridge to the Infinite 213 Daoism and Nature 218 The Ideal Human Being 221 The Five Classics and the Four Books 228 Inari Shrine 255 Shinto and Nature 264 Books of the Hebrew Bible 276

The Gods of Egypt 284 The Ten Commandments 288 What’s in a Name? 303 The Christian System of Chronology: BC and AD 321 The Books of the New Testament 333 The Christian Worldview 337 Greek and Roman Religions and Early Christianity 340 Inside a Greek Orthodox Church 348 Emphases of Protestant Christianity 357 Emphases of Catholic Christianity 362 Examples of Nontraditional Christianity 367 Signs and Symbols 372 Color Symbolism 373 Zoroastrianism 418 The Meaning of Muslim Names 422 Major Orishas of SanterÃ​a 459

Page xviii

Changes in the Seventh Edition

Although the core of religions remains fairly constant, change is always happening. Followers of different religions split and form new branches, religious values change, new leaders arise. These transitions are reflected in the new edition. New reading selections have been added to each chapter.

NEW TO THE SEVENTH EDITION Chapter 1, Understanding Religion

Chapter 2, Indigenous Religions

Chapter 3, Hinduism

Chapter 4, Buddhism

Chapter 5, Jainism and Sikhism

Chapter 6, Daosim and Confucianism

Chapter 7, Shinto

New Contemporary Issues box: “Do Religions Oppose Science?†​

New Reading: “Discovering Mystery†​

New Deeper Insights box: “Traditional Maori Religion†​

New Reading: “The Importance of Dreams†​

New Personal Experience: “A Visit to Self-Realization Fellowship Lakeside Shrine†​

New Reading: “Ramakrishna and the Experience of God†​

New Contemporary Issues box: “Pema Chödrön”

New Personal Experience: “New Year’s Day at Wat Saket†​

New Reading: “Approaching the End†​

New Reading: “The Eternal Law†​Â​

New Reading: “On Cloud-like Wandering†​Â​

New Deeper Insights box: “Inari Shrine†​

New Personal Experience: “An Unexpected Shrine†​

Page xix

Chapter 8, Judaism

Chapter 9, Christianity

Chapter 10, Islam

Chapter 11, Alternative Paths

Chapter 12, The Modern Search

The seventh edition of Experiencing the World’s Religions: Tradition, Challenge, and Change is now available online with Connect, McGraw-Hill Education’s integrated assignment and assessment platform. Connect also offers SmartBook for the new edition, which is the first adaptive reading experience proven to improve grades and help students study more effectively. All of the title’s website and ancillary content is also available through Connect, including:

New Reading: “Loving the Whole Earth†​

New Personal Experience: “A Visit to Masada†​

New Reading: “What It Means to Be Fully Alive†​

New Personal Experience: “Mar Saba Monastery†​

New Reading: “How Saint Francis Made Brother Masseo Twirl Around†​

New Personal Experience: “A Visit to a Mosque†​

New Reading: “The Merciful†​

New Contemporary Issues box: “Humor and Religion†​

New Reading: “The Goal of Scientology†​

New Personal Experience: “Supper Together†​

New Reading: “Learning from a Tree†​

A full Test Bank of multiple-choice questions that test students on central concepts and ideas in each chapter.

An Instructor’s Manual for each chapter with full chapter outlines, sample test questions, and discussion topics.

Lecture Slides for instructor use in class.

Page xx

Page xxi

Page xxii

Acknowledgments

We are all the product of kindness and insight shared with us by others. When I look back on the people of the religions and cultures that shaped me, I feel amazement and am full of gratitude. In some cases, though, I feel apologetic. At the time when I was receiving the gifts from these people, I was often not aware of the quality of the gifts and the generosity of the givers. One example will illustrate this.

My teacher in Japan arranged for me to live for a while in a Zen Buddhist temple in Shikoku. It was headed by a middle-aged monk with kind eyes and a brilliant smile. We meditated every morning before breakfast and every evening after supper. During the daytime, I cleaned the temple floors, moved rocks, and planted trees. The food was vegetarian, and we had a rough and unfussy tea ceremony every day after lunch. At night, I slept in the meditation hall, in the same place where I meditated. The large doors at each end of the hall were kept open all night.

To keep me warm, I was given two white comforters to use as blankets. They were so short, though, that I had to cover the top part of my body with one comforter, and the lower part of my body with the other. Every night, though, they came apart and the middle part of my body froze with cold.

After a few weeks, I told the monk that I had to leave. He looked shocked. “Don’t go. I can tell that you are the type.â€​ “What do you mean?â€​ I asked. He answered with a soulful look in his eyes. “If you stay here just ten years, I guarantee that you will

reach enlightenment.â€​ I thought to myself that, from his way of viewing life, this was a great compliment. I was tempted to say, â

€œBut in ten years I will have frozen to death.â€​ I stayed silent. “Is there something wrong here?â€​ he asked. “No,â€​ I answered. “It has been wonderful, and so have you.â€​ Then I added, “But I must go. You

see, the whole world is my temple.â€​ He smiled and nodded that he understood. To him I now apologize. Thanks are due to some exceptional teachers. Among them have been Rev. Arthur Daspit, Dr. Jerome

Theisen, Dr. Sobharani Basu, Dr. Winfield Nagley, and Dr. Eliot Deutsch. Because a book is not by a single person but is more like a quilt with many parts, thanks go to the development team, at ansrsource, led by editors Anne Sheroff and Reshmi Rajeesh; to my photo researcher, Emily Tietz; and to Dr. Thomas Hilgers, who provided many unique photos. Also, thanks go to the team at McGraw-Hill Education; to the Product Developer,

Page xxiii

Erika Lo; and to the Content Project Manager, Ryan Warczynski. I am grateful to a multitude of colleagues and reviewers:

REVIEWERS SCHOOLS

Catherine Alvarez University of South Florida

Don Aycock St. Johns River State College

Vanda Bozicevic Bergen Community College

Chris Brawley Central Piedmont Community College

Charlene Burns University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire

Dan Campbell St. Petersburg College

Tim Cannon Forsyth Technical Community College

Jeff Christ Moraine Valley Community College

Brandon Cleworth Glendale Community College

Jonathan Ebel University of Illinois–Urbana-Champaign

Steven Fink University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire

Stephen C. Finley Louisiana State University

Steve Godby Broward College

Amanda Hayden Sinclair Community College

Karen L. Hornsby North Carolina A&T State University

Fotini Katsanos University of North Carolina–Charlotte

Michael Mackey Community College of Denver

Christopher Martinez Hillsborough Community College

Daniel McFee Mercyhurst University

Carolyn M. Jones Medine University of Georgia

Steven D. Meigs University of South Florida

Micki Pulleyking Missouri State University

Page xxiv

Curtis Smith Pennsylvania State University

Lori Stewart San Diego State University

Debbie Thompson Ozarks Technical Community College

Mathias Warnes CSUS, Folsom Lake College, Sierra College

The book is far better as a result of their reviews. Although it is a truism, this book has also been influenced by hundreds of other people who are also owed my sincere thanks. They planted in me seeds that I hope have come to flower.

Page 2

CHAPTER 1

Page 3

Understanding Religion

©Ben Horton/National Geographic/Getty Images RF

Page 4

FIRST ENCOUNTER You have been staying in San Diego for the past five months. The city is fun, but much different than you had expected. Before you came, you had thought that the city would be a fairly quiet seaside town with a historical center. You quickly found the historical center—old Spanish-style buildings, pink oleander, and red bougainvillea—but you still haven’t found the quiet. Once a provincial naval port, the city of San Diego is now large, modern, and crisscrossed with freeways and wide roads. The hum of traffic can even be heard in the hillsides.

A friend told you of Joshua Tree National Park and its wonderful vegetation. It is not too long a drive, and you consider taking a trip. You and your friend plan your trip, expecting to camp for two nights during a week in autumn. Together you drive north. You have lots of bottled water, sunscreen, a hat, and a long-sleeved shirt for protection from the bright sun. You drive through the Anza-Borrego area and then to the Salton Sea. Finally you arrive at Joshua Tree National Park and get a camping permit.

The Joshua trees look like vegetation from another world, and the massive boulders are unbelievable. After setting up camp and eating supper, you enjoy the sunset. The dusk comes on gently, and before you are aware of it, the stars start to appear. You put on your hooded jacket and walk out into a world transformed by twilight.

What strikes you first is the crispness of the air. You walk farther, beyond the clearing, and suddenly you are on a path near large boulders. As a strong breeze rises, the wind makes an eerie, whispering sound. Moving on, you find yourself walking along a slight ridge. To your right, you see the evening star against the blue-black sky. To your left, the sky still holds some daylight. You sit down on a flat rock, pull up your hood, and watch the silhouettes of rocks and trees disappear as darkness spreads its thickening veil.

It’s difficult to pull yourself away. All around you stars begin to pop out, and soon they are blooming thick as wildflowers. Overhead, the mass of stars resembles a river—it must be the Milky Way. You get up and

slowly turn full circle to take it all in. You had almost forgotten about stars. You don’t see them much back home, let alone think of them.

Where you have lived, stars appear in movies. Here, though, stars are mysterious points of light. You remember what you once learned: stars are so distant that their light can take millions of years to reach earth. You realize that some of the stars you see may no longer exist. Only their light remains.

At last you begin to walk back. A cluster of clouds emerges on the horizon, lit from behind by the rising moon. You see your campground in the distance. From here it looks so small. The stars seem like the permanent, real world, while the few tents appear little and temporary—more like a question mark in the great book of the universe. Questions flood your mind. Who are we human beings? Do we make any difference to the universe? Are we part of any cosmic plan? Is there any point to the universe at all? What is it all about?

Page 5

WHAT IS RELIGION? Starry Night over the Rhà ńe depicts a sky full of luminous stars. Painted near the end of its creator’s life, the work summarizes the vision of Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890). Van Gogh was an intensely religious man who had planned to be an ordained minister in the Dutch Reformed Church, as was his father. But he struggled with his studies and had a falling-out with Church authorities. For a time, he lived as a lay preacher, working with poor miners in Belgium. When he was 27, his brother Theo, an art dealer, encouraged him to take up painting.

Despite this new career in painting, van Gogh continued to think of himself as a minister. If he could not preach in words, he would preach in pictures. His subjects were the simple things of life: trees, sunflowers, a wicker chair, a bridge, his postman, a farmer sowing seeds, peasants eating a meal, workers bringing in the harvest. His paintings express a quiet awe before the wonder that he sensed in everyday objects and ordinary people. It was his special sense of the sacredness he saw all around him that he wanted to share. Almost as a reminder, in Starry Night over the Rhà ńe, van Gogh placed the town below the night sky, but with his attention upward to the stars. The heavenly realm illuminates van Gogh’s vision of the sacred character of the entire world.

Vincent van Gogh’s Starry Night over the Rhône offers a startling perspective. The familiar human world that we know is dwarfed by the vast, mysterious cosmos. ©Peter Barritt/Superstock

Page 6

Key Characteristics of Religion When people begin their study of religions, they bring ideas from the religion in which they were raised or from the predominant religion of their society. They may assume, for example, that every religion has a sacred book or that it worships a divine being or that it has a set of commandments. Indeed, many religions do share all these characteristics, but some do not. Shinto, for example, does not have a set of commandments, nor does it preach a moral code; Zen Buddhism does not worship a divine being; and many tribal religions have no written sacred scripture. Nevertheless, we call them all religions. What, then—if not a common set of elements—must be present for something to be called a religion?

An obvious starting point for many scholars is to examine linguistic clues: What are the linguistic roots of the term religion? Intriguingly, the word’s Latin roots are re-, meaning “again,â€​ and lig-, meaning “joinâ€​ or “connectâ€​ (as in the word ligament). Thus the common translation of religion is â €œto join again,â€​ “to reconnect.â€​ If this derivation is correct, then the word religion suggests the joining of our natural, human world to the sacred world. In classical Latin, the term religio meant awe for the gods and concern for proper ritual. We must recognize, though, that the term religion arose in Western culture and may not be entirely appropriate when applied across cultures. Spiritual path, for example, might be a more fitting designation to refer to other religious systems. We will keep these things in mind when we use the long- established term religion.

People have constantly tried to define religion, and there are thus many notable attempts. These definitions may emphasize a sense of dependence on a higher power, awareness of the passing nature of life, the use of symbolism and ritual, the structuring of time, or the acceptance of moral rules. Yet reading these definitions makes one aware of their limitations. The definitions often seem inadequate and time-bound, the product of a particular culture or period or discipline. Perhaps, for the time being, it is better simply to be open to many possible definitions, without as yet embracing any single one. After studying the major world religions, we will undoubtedly come closer to our own definition of religion.

The problem of how to define religion continues to plague scholars, who love definition. A definition may apply well to some religions, but not to others. A definition may apply to religions of the past, but may not be suitable for a religion of the future.

Traditional dictionary definitions of religion read something like this: a system of belief that involves worship of a God or gods, prayer, ritual, and a moral code. Yet there are so many exceptions to that definition

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Religion [is] a way of life founded upon the apprehension of sacredness in existence.   —Julian Huxley, biologist3

that it is neither comprehensive nor accurate. So instead of saying that a religion must have certain characteristics, it is more useful to list a series of characteristics that are found in what are commonly accepted as religions. Scholars note that what we ordinarily call religions manifest to some degree the following eight elements:

Each of the traditions that you will study in the pages ahead will exhibit most of these characteristics. But the religious traditions, like the people who practice them, will manifest the characteristics in different ways and at different times.

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Belief system Several beliefs fit together into a fairly complete and systematic interpretation of the universe and the human being’s place in it; this is also called a worldview. Community The belief system is shared, and its ideals are practiced by a group.

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Central myths Stories that express the religious beliefs of a group are retold and often reenacted. Examples of central myths include the major events in the life of the Hindu god Krishna, the enlightenment experience of the Buddha, the exodus of the Israelites from oppression in Egypt, the death and resurrection of Jesus, or Muhammad’s escape from Mecca to Medina. Scholars call such central stories myths. The term “myth,†​ as scholars use it, is a specialized term. It does not in itself mean (as in popular usage) that the stories are historically untrue, but only that the stories are central to the religion. Ritual Beliefs are enacted and made real through ceremonies. Ethics Rules about human behavior are established. These are often viewed as having been revealed from a supernatural realm, but they can also be viewed as socially generated guidelines. Characteristic emotional experiences Among the emotional experiences typically associated with religions are dread, guilt, awe, mystery, devotion, conversion, “rebirth,†​ liberation, ecstasy, bliss, and inner peace. Material expression Religions make use of an astonishing variety of physical elements—statues, paintings, musical compositions, musical instruments, ritual objects, flowers, incense, clothing, architecture, and specific locations. Sacredness A distinction is made between the sacred and the ordinary; ceremonies often emphasize this distinction through the deliberate use of different language, clothing, and architecture. Certain objects, actions, people, and places may share in the sacredness or express it.

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The Sacred All religions are concerned with the deepest level of reality, and for most religions the core or origin of everything is sacred and mysterious. This sense of a mysterious, originating holiness is called by many names: Brahman, Dao, Great Mother, Divine Parent, Great Spirit, Ground of Being, Great Mysterious, the Ultimate, the Absolute, the Divine, the Holy. People, however, experience and explain sacred reality in different ways, as you shall see in the chapters that follow.

One familiar term for the sacred reality, particularly in the Western world, is God, and monotheism is the term that means a belief in one God. In some systems, the term God often carries with it the notion of a Cosmic Person—a divine being with will and intelligence who is just and compassionate and infinite in virtues. God is also called omnipotent (“having total power over the universeâ€​). Although God may be said to have personal aspects, all monotheistic religions agree that the reality of God is beyond all categories: God is said to be pure spirit, not fully definable in words. This notion of a powerful God, distinct from the universe, describes a sacredness that is active in the world but also distinct from it. That is, God is transcende nt—unlimited by the world and all ordinary reality.

Mourners in Romania recall a person’s life with a memorial service. ©Thomas Hilgers.

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In some religions, however, the sacred reality is not viewed as having personal attributes but is more like an energy or mysterious power. Frequently, the sacred is then spoken of as something immanent within the universe. In some religions, there is a tendency to speak of the universe not just as having been created but also as a manifestation of the sacred nature itself, in which nothing is separate from the sacred. This view, called pan theism (Greek: “all divineâ€​), sees the sacred as being discoverable within the physical world and its processes. In other words, nature itself is holy.

Some religions worship the sacred reality in the form of many coexisting gods, a view called polytheism. The multiple gods may be fairly separate entities, each in charge of an aspect of reality (such as nature gods), or they may be multiple manifestations of the same basic sacred reality.

In recent centuries, other views have become prominent. There can be a tendency to deny the existence of any God or gods (atheism), to argue that the existence of God cannot be proven (agnosticism), or simply to take no position (nontheism). (Such tendencies are not strictly modern; they can also be found in some ancient systems, such as Jainism; see Chapter 5.) However, if one sees religion broadly, as a “spiritual path,â€​ then even systems based on these three views—particularly if they show other typical characteristics of a religionâ €”can also be called religions.

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Religious Symbolism Religions present views of reality, and most speak of the sacred. Nevertheless, because religions are so varied in their teachings and because the teachings of some religions, when taken at face value, conflict with those of others, it is common to assert that religions express truth symbolically. A symbol is something fairly concrete, ordinary, and universal that can represent—and help human beings intensely experience—something of greater complexity. For example, water can represent spiritual cleansing; the sun, health; a mountain, strength; and a circle, eternity. It is common to find symbolism, both deliberate and unconscious, in religious art and ritual.

Symbols and their interpretation have long played an important part in analyzing dreams. It was often thought that dreams were messages from a supernatural realm and that they provided a key to the future. Although this type of interpretation is less common nowadays, most people still think that dreams are significant. Sigmund Freud introduced his view of the dream as a door into subconscious levels of the mind. He argued that, by understanding dreams symbolically, human beings can understand their hidden needs and fears. For example, a dream of being lost in a forest might be interpreted as distress over losing one’s sense of direction in life, or a dream of flying could be interpreted as a need to seek freedom.

Carl Gustav Jung extended the symbol-focused method of dream interpretation to the interpretation of religion. Some religious leaders have been cautious about this approach—popularized by the mythologist

The mandala, according to Jung, illustrates “the path to the center, to individuation.â€​ ©Thomas Hilgers

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Joseph Campbell—lest everything be turned into a symbol and all literal meaning be lost. And specialists in religion oppose the view that two religions are basically the same simply because they share similar symbols.

Nevertheless, there are many scholars and religious leaders who recognize the importance of symbolic interpretation, and they say that the use of religious symbols may point to some structure that underlies all religions. There is no doubt that many of the same symbolic images and actions appear repeatedly in religions throughout the world. Water, for instance, is used in all sorts of religious rituals: Hindus bathe in the Ganges River; Christians use water for baptisms; Jews use water for ritual purification; and Muslims and followers of Shinto wash before prayer. Ashes also have widespread use among religious traditions to suggest death and the spirit world: ashes are used by tribal religions in dance ceremonies, by Hindu ascetics to represent self- discipline and detachment, and by some Christians, whose foreheads are marked by ashes in observance of Ash Wednesday. Likewise, religious buildings are placed on hills or are raised on mounds and reached by stairsâ €”all suggesting the symbol of the holy mountain, where the sacred can be encountered.

We also see in various religions the recurrence of a symbolic story of transformation: a state of original purity degenerates into pollution or disorder, or a battle to fight disorder culminates in a sacrificial death that results in a renewed sense of purity and order. Scholars point out, too, that religions frequently use words in a symbolic way; for example, the divine is often described as existing “up above,â€​ insight can be â €œawakened,â€​ and a person can feel “reborn.â€​

When viewed this way, religious symbols, myths, and terminology at times suggest a universal symbolic â €œlanguageâ€​ that all religions speak. Those who are interested in religious symbolism hope that understanding the “languageâ€​ of symbols will help uncover what is universally important in all religions.

In the midst of a vineyard in South Africa, one can find a Muslim shrine, such as this one. ©Thomas Hilgers.

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Speculations on the Sources of Religion Why does religion exist? The most evident answer is that it serves many human needs. One of our primary needs is having a means to deal with our mortality. Because we and our loved ones must die, we have to face the pain of death and the inevitable questions it brings about whether there is any soul, afterlife, or rebirth. People often look to religion for the answers. Religion can help us cope with death, and religious rituals can offer us comfort. Human beings also desire good health, a regular supply of food, and the conditions (such as suitable weather) necessary to ensure these things. Before the development of modern science, human beings looked to religion to bring about these practical benefits, and they often still do.

Human beings are also social by nature, and religion offers companionship and the fulfillment that can come from belonging to a group. Moreover, religion often provides a structure for caring for the needy.

Human beings have a need to seek out and create artistic forms of expression. Religion stimulates art, music, and dance, and it has been the inspirational source of some of the most imaginative buildings in the world. Religion not only makes use of multiple arts, but it also integrates them into a living, often beautiful whole.

Perhaps the most basic function of religion is to respond to our natural wonder about ourselves and the cosmos—our musings on a starry night. Religion helps us relate to the unknown universe around us by answering the basic questions of who we are, where we come from, and where we are going.

Issues relating to the origins of religion have engaged thinkers with new urgency ever since the dawn of the age of science. Many have suggested that religion is a human attempt to feel more secure in an unfeeling universe. The English anthropologist E. B. Tylor (1832–1917), for example, believed religion was rooted in spirit worship. He noted how frequently religions see “spiritsâ€​ as having some control over natural forces, and how commonly religions see those who die—the ancestors—as passing into the spirit world. Fear of the power of all these spirits, he thought, made it necessary for people to find ways to please their ancestors. Religion offered such ways, thus allowing the living to avoid the spirits’dangerous power and to convert

These Mayan temples in Guatemala help to create a central sacred space. ©Diego Grandi/Shutterstock RF

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that power into a force that worked for the good of human beings. Similarly, the Scottish anthropologist James Frazer (1854–1941), author of The Golden Bough, saw the origins of religion in early attempts by human beings to influence nature, and he identified religion as an intermediate stage between magic and science.

Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) theorized that belief in a God or gods arises from the long-lasting impressions made on adults by their childhood experiences, in which their parents play a major part. These adults then project their sense of their parents into their image of their God or gods. According to Freud, these experiences—of fear as well as of security—are the basis for adults’attempts to deal with the anxieties of a complicated present and an unknown future. Freud argued that since a major function of religion is to help human beings feel secure in an unsafe universe, religion becomes less necessary as human beings gain greater physical and mental security. Freud’s major works on religion include The Future of an Illusion, Moses and Monotheism, and Totem and Taboo.

Another psychologist, William James (1842–1910), came to his ideas on religion via an unusual course of study. Although he began his higher education as a student of art, he made a radical switch to the study of medicine. Finally, when he recognized the influence of the mind on the body, he was led to the study of psychology and then of religion, which he saw as growing out of psychological needs. James viewed religion as a positive way of fulfilling these needs and praised its positive influence on the lives of individuals. He wrote that religion brings “a new zestâ€​ to living, provides “an assurance of safety,â€​ and leads to a â €œharmonious relation with the universe.â€​

The German theologian Rudolf Otto (1869–1937) argued in his book The Idea of the Holy that religions

Who are we, where do we come from, and where are we going? Each religion offers answers to these questions, and graveyards often hint at believers’visions of what happens after death. ©Thomas Hilgers

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emerge when people experience the aspect of reality that is essentially mysterious. He called it the “mystery that causes trembling and fascinationâ€​ (mysterium tremendum et fascinans). In general, we take our existence for granted and live with little wonder. Occasionally, though, something disturbs our ordinary view of reality. For example, a strong manifestation of nature—such as lightning or a violent thunderstorm—may startle us. It is an aspect of reality that is frightening, forcing us to tremble (tremendum). But it also brings a feeling of fascination (fascinans). The emotional result is what Otto called numinous awe. He pointed out how often religious art depicts that which is terrifying—such as Durga, a powerful Hindu goddess.

Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961), an early disciple of Freud, broke with his mentor because of fundamental differences of interpretation, particularly about religion. In his books Modern Man in Search of a Soul, Psychology and Alchemy, and Memories, Dreams, Reflections, Jung described religion as something that grew out of the individual’s need to arrive at personal fulfillment—which Jung called individuation. According to Jung, many religious insignia can be seen as symbols of personal integration and human wholeness: the circle is an unending line, the cross is made of lines that join at the center, and the sacred diagram of the mandala is often a circle within or enclosing a square. Jung called such signs “the path to the center, to individuation.â€​ He pointed out that as people age, they can make a healthy use of religion to understand their place in the universe, and they can use it to prepare for death. For Jung, religion is a noble human response to the complexity and depth of reality.

The skeptical view of Karl Marx (1818–1883) about religion is often mentioned. Yet it may have been gentler than that of the Russian and Chinese forms of Marxism that emerged from it. While many types of Marxism have been strongly atheistic, Marx himself was not so militant. He indeed called religion an opiate of the masses. Yet for him religion had both a bad and a good side. Religion, he thought, emerged naturally because people felt poor, powerless, and alienated from their work. On the other hand, Marx also thought that religion gave great consolation, for it spoke of a suffering-free life after death. For Marx, religion was a symptom of the poverty and inadequacy of modern society. The need for religion, he thought, would dissolve when society improved.

Some recent theories do not look specifically at religion. However their wide-ranging insights are applied in the study of the origin of religions, as well as in many other fields. Among these theoretical approaches are structuralism and post-structuralism, along with the technique of deconstruction. You will look at some of these ideas and applications later.

Various scholars have attempted to identify “stagesâ€​ in the development of religions. Austrian ethnographer and philologist Wilhelm Schmidt (1868–1954) argued that all humankind once believed in a single High God and that to this simple monotheism later beliefs in lesser gods and spirits were added. The reverse has also been suggested—namely, that polytheism led to monotheism. Influenced by the notion of evolution, some people have speculated that religions “evolveâ€​ naturally from animism (a worldview that sees all elements of nature as being filled with spirit or spirits) to polytheism and then to monotheism. Critics of

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this view feel it is biased in favor of monotheism, in part because it is a view originally suggested by Christian scholars, who presented their belief system as the most advanced.

Scholars today hesitate to speak of any “evolutionâ€​ from one form of religion to another. To apply the biological notion of evolution to human belief systems seems biased, oversimple, and speculative. Even more important, such a point of view leads to subjective judgments that one religion is more “highly evolvedâ€​ than another—a shortsightedness that has kept many people from appreciating the unique insights and contributions of every religion. Consequently, the focus of religious studies has moved from the study of religion in general to the study of individual religions, a field that assumes that all religions are equally worthy of study.

PATTERNS AMONG RELIGIONS

When we study religions in a comparative and historical sense, we are not looking to validate them or to disprove them or to enhance our own belief or practice—as we might if we were studying our personal religious tradition. Instead, we want to comprehend the particular religions as thoroughly as possible and to understand the experience of people within each religion. Part of that process of understanding leads us to see patterns of similarity and difference among religions.

Although we do look for patterns, we must recognize that these patterns are not conceptual straitjackets. Religions, especially those with long histories and extensive followings, are usually quite complex. Furthermore, religions are not permanent theoretical constructs. Rather, they are constantly in a process of change—influenced by religious leaders, governments, historical events, changing technology, and the shifting values of the cultures in which they exist.

Religion is the substance of culture, and culture the form of religion.   —Paul Tillich, theologian9

First Pattern: Views of the World and Life Religions must provide answers to the great questions that people ask. How did the universe come into existence, does it have a purpose, and will it end? What is time, and how should we make use of it? What should be our relationship to the world of nature? Why do human beings exist? How do we reach fulfillment, transformation, or salvation? Why is there suffering in the world, and how should we deal with it? What happens when we die? What should we hold as sacred? The questions do not vary, but the answers do.

Given the great variety in their worldviews, religions, not surprisingly, define differently the nature of sacred reality, the universe, the natural world, time, and human purpose. Religions also differ in their attitudes toward the role of words in expressing the sacred and in their relations to other religious traditions. By examining different views on these concepts, we will have further bases for comparison that will lead us to a more complete understanding of the world’s religions.

The nature of sacred reality Some religions, as you have seen, speak of the sacred as transcendent, existing primarily in a realm beyond the everyday world. In other religions, though, sacred reality is spoken of as being immanent; that is, it is within nature and human beings and can be experienced as energy or holiness. Sometimes the sacred is viewed as having personal attributes, while elsewhere it is seen as an impersonal entity. And in certain religious traditions, particularly in some forms of Buddhism, it is hard to point to a sacred reality at all. Such facts raise the question as to whether “the sacred†​ exists outside ourselves or if it is better to speak of the sacred simply as “what people hold to be sacred.†​

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The nature of the universe Some religions see the universe as having been begun by an intelligent, personal Creator who continues to guide the universe according to a cosmic plan. Other religions view the universe as being eternal; that is, having no beginning or end. The implications of these two positions are quite important to what is central in a religion and to how the human being acts in regard to this central belief. If the universe is created, especially by a transcendent deity, the center of sacredness is the Creator rather than the universe, but human beings imitate the Creator by changing and perfecting the world. If, however, the universe is eternal, the material universe itself is sacred and perfect and requires no change. The human attitude toward nature At one end of the spectrum, some religions or religious schools see nature as the realm of evil forces that must be overcome. For them, nature is gross and contaminating, existing in opposition to the nonmaterial world of the spirit—a view, known as dualism , held by some forms of Christianity, Jainism, and Hinduism. At the other end of the spectrum, as in Daoism and Shinto, nature is considered to be sacred and needs no change. Other religions, such as Judaism and Islam, take a middle ground, holding that the natural world originated from a divine action, but that human beings are called upon to continue to shape the world. Time Religions that emphasize a creation, such as Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, tend to see time as being linear, moving in a straight line from the beginning of the universe to its end. Being limited and unrepeatable, time is important. In some other religions, such as Buddhism, however, time is cyclical. The universe simply moves through endless changes, which repeat themselves over grand periods of time. In such a religion, time is not as crucial or “real†​ because, ultimately, the universe is not moving to some final point. Consequently, appreciating the present may be more important than being oriented to the future.

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A Muslim scholar examines Islamic religious literature electronically. ©Pascal Deloche/Godong/picture-alliance/Newscom

Human purpose In some religions, human beings are part of a great divine plan, and although each person is unique, individual meaning comes also from the cosmic plan. The cosmic plan may be viewed as a struggle between forces of good and evil, with human beings at the center of the stage and the forces of good and evil at work within them. Because human actions are so important, they must be guided by a prescribed moral code that is meant to be internalized by the individual. This view is significant in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In contrast, other religions do not see human life in similarly dramatic terms, and the individual is only part of much larger realities. In Daoism and Shinto, a human being is a small part of the natural universe, and in Confucianism, an individual is part of the family and of society. Such religions place less emphasis on individual rights and more emphasis on how the individual can maintain harmony with the whole. Actions are not guided by an internalized moral system but by society, tradition, and a sense of mutual obligation. Words and scriptures In some religions, the sacred is to be found in written and spoken words, and for those religions that use writing and create scriptures, what is important is the reading, copying, and using of sacred words in ceremony, music, and art. You see the importance of words in indigenous religions—which primarily pass on their traditions orally. You also see it in Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Other religions—such as Daoism and Zen Buddhism—show a certain mistrust of words. They instead value silence and wordless meditation. Although Zen and Daoism utilize language in their practices and have produced significant literature, each of these religions finds language limited in expressing the richness or totality of reality. Exclusiveness and inclusiveness Some religions emphasize that the sacred is distinct from the world and that order must be imposed by separating good from bad, true from false. In that view, to share in sacredness means separation—for example, withdrawal from certain foods, places, people, practices, or beliefs. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam are among the religions that have been generally exclusive, making it impossible to belong to more than one religion at the same time. In contrast, other religions have stressed inclusiveness. Frequently, such religions also have emphasized social harmony, the inadequacy of language, or the relativity of truth, and they have accepted belief in many deities. Their inclusiveness has led them to admit many types of beliefs and practices into their religions, to the point that it is possible for an individual to belong to several religions—such as Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucianism—all at the same time. Such inclusiveness has led to misunderstanding at times, as in the case of a Christian missionary having “converted†​ a Japanese follower only to find the new convert still visiting a Shinto shrine.

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Second Pattern: Focus of Beliefs and Practices Realizing the limitations of all generalizing, you nonetheless might gain some perspective by examining the orientations exhibited by individual religions. When you look at the world’s dominant religions, you see in their conception and location of the sacred three basic orientations.

Any one of these three orientations may be dominant in a religion, yet the other two orientations might also be found in the same religion to a lesser extent and possibly be subsumed into a different purpose. For example, ceremony can be utilized to help induce mystical experience, as in Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, Japanese Shingon Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, Daoism, and even Zen Buddhism, which has a strongly ritualistic aspect of its own.

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Sacramental orientation The sacramental orientation emphasizes carrying out rituals and ceremonies regularly and correctly as the path to salvation. In some religions, correct ritual is even believed to influence the processes of nature. All religions have some degree of ritual, but the ceremonial tendency is predominant, for example, in most indigenous religions, in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, in Vedic Hinduism, and in Vajrayana Buddhism. Making the Catholic sign of the cross, for example, is done in a certain way: only with the right hand, beginning with a touch on the forehead, then on one’s chest, and finally on each shoulder.11

Prophetic orientation The prophetic orientation stresses that contact with the sacred is ensured by proper belief and by adherence to moral rules. This orientation also implies that a human being may be an important intermediary between the believer and the sacred. For example, a prophet may speak to believers on behalf of the sacred. Prophetic orientation is a prominent aspect of Judaism, Protestant Christianity, and Islam, which all see the sacred as being transcendent but personal. The television crusades of evangelistic ministers are good examples of the prophetic orientation in action. Mystical orientation The mystical orientation seeks union with a reality greater than oneself, such as with God, the process of nature, the universe, or reality as a whole. There are often techniques—such as seated meditation—for lessening the sense of one’s individual identity. These techniques help the individual to experience a greater unity. The mystical orientation is a prominent aspect of Upanishadic Hinduism, Daoism, and some schools of Buddhism. (Master Kusan [1909â €“1983], a Korean teacher of Zen Buddhism, described the disappearance of self in the enlightenment experience of unity with this memorable question: “Could a snowflake survive inside a burning flame?†​ ) Although the mystical orientation is more common in religions that stress the immanence of the sacred or that are nontheistic, it is an important but less prominent tendency in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam as well.

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Third Pattern: Views of Male and Female Because gender is such an important part of human life, religions have had much to say about the roles of men and women, both on earth and in the divine spheres. Because of differences in how religions view these differences, they may constitute another underlying pattern that we can investigate when studying religions. Thus, conceptions of what is male and what is female provide another basis for comparing religions.

Deeper Insights

MULTIPLE IMAGES OF THE FEMALE

eligions frequently have been criticized for the dominance of males, both in their religious leadership and in their images of the sacred. While there is truth to such criticism, scholarly attention helps us to note the multitude of female roles and images to be found among religions. Consider these examples:

In India, the divine is worshiped in its female aspects as the Great Mother (also known as Devi) or as other female deities.

In Catholic and Orthodox Christianity, Mary, the mother of Jesus, receives special veneration; she is held to possess superhuman powers and is a strong role model for women’s behavior.

In the Mahayana Buddhist pantheon, Guanyin (Kannon) is worshiped as a female ideal of mercy.

In Japan, the premier Shinto divinity is the goddess Amaterasu, patroness of the imperial family. In contrast to many other religious systems, the goddess Amaterasu is associated with the sun, and a male god is associated with the moon.

In Korea and Japan, shamans are frequently female.

In Africa, India, and elsewhere, some tribal cultures remain matriarchal.

In Wicca—a contemporary restoration of ancient, nature-based religion—devotees worship a female deity they refer to as the Goddess.

Symbolic forms of the female divine are still prominent in the rites of several religions. Common symbols include the moon, the snake, spirals and labyrinths, the egg, yoni (symbolic vagina), water, and earth. These symbolic representations of the female suggest generation, growth, nurturance, intuition, and wisdom.

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In many influential religions today, male imagery and control seem to dominate. In them, the sacred is considered male, and the full-time religious specialists are frequently male. Yet this may not always have been the case. Tantalizing evidence suggests that female divinities once played an important role in many cultures and religions. The most significant female deity was particularly associated with fertility and motherhood and has been known by many names, such as Astarte, Asherah, Aphrodite, and Freia (the origin of the word Friday). Statues of a Mother-Goddess have been found throughout Europe, as well as in the Middle East.

Is it possible that female images of the divine were once more common and that female religious leadership once played a more important role? It has been argued that male dominance in religion became more common as the result of the growth of city-states, which needed organized defense. In this argument, city-states elevated the status of men because of their fighting ability. In Israel, worship of a female deity was stamped out by prophets who preached exclusive worship of the male god Yahweh and by kings who wanted loyalty paid to them and their offspring. We read passages like this in the Hebrew scriptures: “They abandoned the Lord and worshipped Baal and the Astartes. So the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israelâ €​ (Judg. 2:13–14). The Christian New Testament contains words that sometimes have been interpreted to mean that women should not play a prominent role in public worship: “I do not allow them to teach or to have authority over men; they must keep quiet. For Adam was created first, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and broke God’s lawâ€​ (1 Tim. 2:12–14). In Asia, Confucianism has been distrustful of women in general and has ordinarily refused them leadership roles. In Buddhism, despite recognition in scripture that women can be enlightened, in practice the great majority of leaders have been men.

Easter, a springtime festival of fertility, is marked by these Easter eggs decorating a European store. ©kaczor58/Shutterstock RF

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A century ago, great numbers of people across the world had little experience of the different beliefs and practices in other regions. Yet radio, television, the Internet, cell phones, and other technologies have changed this. Thus it is no surprise that long-established customs regarding gender should now be challenged and changed.

Such changes may not come easily. In some religious traditions, the possibility of changes can produce a rift. This is happening today—for example, in the Christian Anglican Communion and several other Christian denominations. You can expect similar disruptions in other religious traditions, as technological changes bring knowledge of different cultures.

Knowledge of other cultures will continue to grow, and the study of other religions will contribute to this process. Such study will open people’s eyes not only to the gender expectations in religions of the past, but also to today’s evolving practices. This is nudging several religious traditions to accept women in areas

In many religions, the gender associated with positions of power is no longer exclusively male. Here a female priest baptizes a baby into Christian life. ©Ian Miles-Flashpoint Pictures/Alamy Stock Photo

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where in earlier centuries they were not expected to have a role. There are many resultant tensions—those in Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam are currently receiving publicity. However, you can expect that women will be widely successful in receiving full acceptance in roles of leadership.

MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF RELIGION Religion has influenced so many areas of human life that it is a subject not only of religious studies but of other disciplines, as well. As you have seen, the social sciences have long studied religion. More recently, linguistics, literary theory, and cultural studies have offered new ways of seeing and interpreting religion.

There are other approaches, too. You can focus your study on a single religion or look at several religions at the same time. Believers may opt to explore their own religion “from the inside.â€​ On the other hand, nonbelievers may want to concentrate on the answers that several religions have given to a single question, such as the purpose of human life. Following is a list of some common approaches to religion:

Psychology Psychology (Greek: “soul study†​) deals with human mental states, emotions, and behaviors. Despite being a fairly young discipline, psychology has taken a close look at religion because it offers such rich human “material†​ to explore. A few areas of study include religious influences on child rearing, human behavior, gender expectations, and self- identity; group dynamics in religion; trance states; and comparative mystical experiences.

Archeology has provided many new clues about past religious practice. ©Francois Nascimbeni/AFP/Getty Images

Mythology The study of religious tales, texts, and art has uncovered some universal patterns. Mythology is full of the

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The use of theory for the study of religion is not limited to the fields of linguistics and literature. In fact, an increasing number of academic disciplines are studying religions as part of the human search for understanding. Thus a scholar in the field of art may see and interpret religions as forms of art. Specialists in psychology may interpret religions primarily as expressions of individual human needs. Sociologists may see religions as ways of shaping groups and of promoting and maintaining group identity. The viewpoints of these and other disciplines can also be adopted by scholars of religion as keys to understanding the complexities of religions.

recurrent images and themes found in religions, such as the tree of knowledge, the ladder to heaven, the fountain of life, the labyrinth, the secret garden, the holy mountain, the newborn child, the suffering hero, initiation, rebirth, the cosmic battle, the female spirit guide, and the aged teacher of wisdom.

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Philosophy Philosophy (Greek: “love of wisdom†​) in some ways originated from a struggle with religion. Although both arenas pose many of the same questions, philosophy does not automatically accept the answers given by any religion to the great questions. Instead, philosophy seeks answers independently. Following reason rather than religious authority, it tries to fit its answers into a rational, systematic whole. Some questions philosophy asks are these: Does human life have any purpose? Is there an afterlife? How should we live? Philosophy is essentially the work of individuals, while religion is a community experience; philosophy tries to avoid emotion, while religion often nurtures it; and philosophy is carried on without ritual, while religion naturally expresses itself in ceremony. Theology Theology (Greek: “study of the divine†​) is the study of topics as they relate to one particular religious tradition. A theologian is an individual who usually studies her or his own belief system. For example, a person who is in training to become a Christian minister might study Christian theology. The arts Comparing patterns in religious art makes an intriguing study. For example, religious architecture often uses symmetry, height, and archaic styles to suggest the sacred. Religious music frequently employs a slow pace and repeated rhythms, which induce tranquillity. Religious art often incorporates gold, haloes, equilateral designs, and circles, which suggest otherworldliness and perfection. Anthropology Anthropology (Greek: “study of human beings†​) has been interested in how religions influence the ways different cultures deal with issues such as family interaction, individual roles, property rights, marriage, child rearing, social hierarchies, and division of labor. Archeology Archeology (Greek: “study of origins†​) explores the remains of earlier civilizations. In its work, it often uncovers the remains of religious buildings from ancient cultures. When possible, archeologists translate writings left by these earlier people, much of which can be religious in origin. Archeology occasionally sheds light on how one religion has influenced another. For example, the excavation of a cuneiform library at Nineveh revealed a story (in the Epic of Gilgamesh) that is similar to—and may have influenced—the biblical story of Noah and the flood. Archeology can also reveal religious material that enables scholars to decipher an entire writing system. For example, the discovery in the early nineteenth century of the Rosetta Stone—because it contained the same inscription in three different scripts—helped lead researchers to unlock the meaning of Egyptian hieroglyphics. Linguistics and literary theory The study of linguistics has sometimes involved a search for patterns that may underlie all languages. Linguistics has also suggested general patterns and structures that may underlie something broader than language alone: human consciousness. This interest in underlying patterns has brought new attention to the possible structures behind religious tales, rituals, and other expressions of religious beliefs and attitudes. Linguistics has also examined religious language for its implications and often-hidden values. (Consider, for example, the various implications of the religious words sin and sacred.) Literary theory, on the other hand, has studied the written texts of religions as reflections of the cultural assumptions and values that produced the texts. Literary theory, for example, has pointed out some of the ways in which religions have treated women and minorities as different from more dominant groups. Literary theory also has shown that non-written material—such as religious statues, paintings, songs, television shows, and films—can be viewed as forms of communication and that they can be studied in many ways that written texts are studied.

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The Study of Religion Originally, religions were studied primarily within their own religious traditions. The goal of this approach was that faith and devotion would be illuminated by intellectual search. Although this approach continues in denominational schools, the study of religion began to take new form two centuries ago.

There were several causes for the change. First, the early scientific movement accepted belief in a creator- god, but it rejected belief in miracles, and it demanded scientific proof for beliefs. The emerging scientific movement thus forced people to revise some of their traditional religious beliefs. Second, because of the growth of historical studies, academic experts began to question the literal truth of some statements and stories presented in the scriptures. (For example, did the story of Noah and the Ark actually happen, or was it meant mainly to be a teaching parable whose real purpose was moral?) Third, because of the growth of trade and travel, even faraway cultures were becoming known. Their religions proved to be not only colorful but also wise. The morality taught by Buddhism, the sense of duty found in Confucianism, the love of nature taught in Shinto—all these seemed admirable. Yet what did this mean for other religions? In the next two centuries this question intensified, as more information became available through history, anthropology, and sociology. Scriptures and ritual texts were translated, and anthropologists began to have direct experience of even small and rare religions.

In the university world, the study of religions was at first fragmented. The great questions of religion were studied in philosophy departments. Other aspects of religion could be found in departments of history, psychology, anthropology, and art. There was as yet no department of religious studies that unified these interests.

The fragmented academic approach changed in the middle of the twentieth century, as departments of religious studies were formed and became a regular part of academic life. At first it was uncertain if these departments of religion would survive. However, the popularity of some courses in religion—particularly those in world religions, death and dying, and the psychology of religion—demonstrated the worth of having separate, permanent departments of religious studies.

The study of religion has further expanded, and in the present century we are able to examine religions from additional and sometimes unexpected points of view. For example, one of the most provocative new perspectives is neurology. Are religious beliefs and practices a part of our genetic makeup, or are they merely manufactured by cultures and learned by people? Is a religious experience the intrusion of a sacred being on individual consciousness, or is it the activity of a particular chemical in the brain? Similar questions may be asked about morality. Are moral demands a part of our physical constitution, or are they simply rules taught by society? As academic disciplines expand and additional disciplines emerge, new aspects of religion will be discovered.

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Recent Theories Recent thinking about religion has been influenced by the field studies of anthropologists and other behavioral scientists. Archeology has also contributed much to newer thinking.

At one time it was thought that religions were best traced to a “great founder,â€​ such as Moses, the Buddha, Jesus, or Muhammad. This is no longer the common approach. Rather, sociologists have pointed out how religions seem to emerge from whole tribes and peoples. One of the first thinkers to speak of this was the French sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858–1917). He noted how religions reinforce the values of groups, and his approach was empirical, based on research. His approach has been continued by later French thinkers, such as Claude Lévi-Strauss.

Claude Lévi-Strauss (1908–2009) did fieldwork in Brazil, where he studied the mythology of tribal groups. There he began to see great similarities in the myths of indigenous peoples. This led him to see large structural similarities among kinship patterns, languages, and social relations. He theorized that structures in the human mind formed these similarities. His thought, called structuralism, has influenced the study of religion, particularly regarding taboos, marriage, and laws about food purity.

A countermovement, called post-structuralism, soon emerged. It emphasized the individuality of each experience and argued that belief in grand structures may keep investigators from appreciating that individuality. Michel Foucault (1926–1984) is thought of as its primary exponent. His work especially focused on those marginalized by society—prisoners, medical patients, and the insane.

Jacques Derrida (1930–2004) began with a structuralist approach, but he moved away from grand theories in order to focus on language, meaning, and interpretation. He is known for going behind the ordinary interpretation of texts in order to discover new cultural meanings. This method is known as deconstruction. In the area of religion, it can be quite effective. For example, traditional religious texts can be looked at from many new points of view. For example, you can look at scriptural passages to investigate underlying attitudes toward the treatment of women, slaves, indigenous people, children, and the old. Deconstructive principles can also be used to investigate religious art, architecture, and music.

Increasingly, religious investigation relies on anthropologists who have lived with native peoples and learned their languages. One researcher of this type was E. E. Evans-Pritchard (1902–1973), who lived among the Azande and Nuer people in Africa. Another esteemed anthropologist was Clifford Geertz (1926â €“2006), who lived in Indonesia and Morocco and wrote about practices there. Geertz championed what he called thick description—a description not only of the appearances of rituals and religious objects, but also of their meaning for the practitioners.

Conflict in Religion

16

A RELIGIOUS BLENDS

book like this has to treat religions as somewhat separate. While there is truth to that separateness, it is also true that religions are constantly borrowing from each other. One example that we know of occurs in the Catholic practice of Mexico. Our Lady of Guadalupe is not only one form of the Virgin Mary; she is also a continuation of the pre-Christian deity Tonantzin, who was once worshiped at the modern-day site of the main church of Our Lady of

Guadalupe. Other native beliefs and practices continue in the Christianity of South America. For example, the veneration of earlier nature deities has influenced the current veneration of saints. In Zen Buddhism, there is influence from Daoism and Confucianism; the Daoist love of nature appears in Zen flower arrangement and garden design, and the Confucian respect for a teacher appears in the obedience given to a Zen master. The Shiite Islam of Iraq contains practices that can be traced back to Zoroastrianism. In recent times, Scientology seems to have elements very similar to those found in Hinduism and Buddhism, and the Vietnamese religion of Cao Dai unites beliefs of Asian religions with elements of Christianity and spiritism. As we study the religions of the world, we must remember this tendency to borrow and blend, which enriches them all.

The so-called phenomenological approach to religious studies has been very popular. This approach emphasizes direct experiential research to gather data. It seeks to understand religious acts and objects from the consciousness of the believers, and it tries to avoid projecting the researcher’s beliefs and expectations into the data. Specialists of this type have sometimes focused on one religion. Contemporary examples are Wendy Doniger (O’Flaherty, b. 1940) and Diana Eck (b. 1945). Both of them have specialized in Hinduism, but their writings and other work have incorporated other world religions.

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KEY CRITICAL ISSUES The research-based approach to the study of religions, although valuable, brings problems and questions. Are we genuinely listening to the voices of the practitioners, or are we only paying attention to the experiences of the observer? Can outsiders be truly objective, or are outside observers merely imposing the theories of their own culture? Doesn’t scientific observation contaminate the people and culture being observed? Could informants give deliberately false answers to questions that they think are inappropriate? (They do.)

Moral questions also arise. Does the research arise from respect for a different culture and religion, or is it just a more contemporary form of domination and colonialism? Also, doesn’t research introduce new ideas and new objects—such as cell phones, recording devices, and different clothing? Don’t these objects alter cultures that may have been unchanged for centuries?

Deeper Insight

Whatever their religion, people tend to turn to it with hope. Here a supplicant in Romania crawls under an icon to secure greater attention from the Virgin Mary, who is portrayed. ©Thomas Hilgers

I

Deeper Insight

DO RELIGIONS OPPOSE SCIENCE?

t is common to hear that science and religion are in conflict. The usual suspects are brought out. One is the condemnation that religious leaders made of the astronomer Galileo Galilei (1564â €“1642), who held that the earth revolves around the sun. A second example is the early rejection by ministers and priests of the theory of evolution.

On the other hand, there are examples that show the opposite. For example, the numerical system of dating the years that is now used throughout the world was proposed by a monk. Also, Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543)—the person who argued during the Renaissance that the earth revolves around the sun—was a cleric and cathedral canon. In addition, the modern calendar, which is used today throughout the world, is called the Gregorian calendar. Its name comes from the fact that it was promulgated in 1582 by Pope Gregory XIII.

Some religions, in fact, have been quite open to investigation of the physical world. Confucianists in seventeenth-century China welcomed outsiders who could teach them about astronomy, mathematics, geometry, and clock-making. Daoists showed a similar openness to empirical observation because they based their religious system on the major stars and on the ever-present movement that they saw in the changing seasons, the winds, and the flow of water. Buddhists, especially in China, although they had their own vision of the universe, were open to new conceptions of the world. This is equally true today, when many Buddhists say that there need be no conflict between science and religion.

To resolve the seeming conflict, it has been argued that science and religion rule over two separate domains. Science describes the physical world, while religion tells us about the less-visible world of love and moral rules. There are also, of course, other explanations of the differences. Commentators say that in cases of apparent conflict, we should recognize that religious statements can sometimes be interpreted symbolically, rather than literally. They hope to derive insight from both realms. Increasingly, conversation is taking the place of conflict.

In addition, research has revealed to investigators the enormous variety within major religions. Because some major religions have blended with earlier religions to produce unique hybrids, can we really speak of single great religions, such as “Buddhismâ€​ or “Christianityâ€​? Do they really exist, or are they just useful fictions?

Some scholars also have pointed out that the religious experience of women within a religious tradition may be quite different from that of men. In Islam, for example, women’s religious experience may be centered

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primarily in the home, while men’s may be centered more on the mosque. The religious experience will be quite different, also, for a child, a teenager, or an adult. In addition, the varying meaning of being a Buddhist or a Christian or a Hindu will depend considerably on the culture and the period. Think, for example, of the difference of being a Christian in first-century Rome and twenty-first-century North America, or of being a Hindu in medieval India and modern-day New York City.

Although this book obviously has not abandoned the category of religions, it tries to show that religions are not separate and unchanging. It sees world religions as grand patterns, but it recognizes that we are true to these religions only when we see the great diversity and change within them.

WHY STUDY THE MAJOR RELIGIONS OF THE WORLD? Because religions are so wide-ranging and influential, study of them helps round out a person’s education. It also enriches your experience of many other related subjects. Let’s now consider some additional pleasures and rewards of studying religions.

Rituals and Celebrations

TRAVEL AND PILGRIMAGE

ne of the most universal religious practices is pilgrimage—travel undertaken by believers to important religious sites. You do not have to belong to a specific religion to benefit from this ancient practice.

An intense experience of mystery is what one has to regard as the ultimate religious experience.   —Joseph Campbell1 7

Insight into religious traditions Each religion is interesting in its own right as a complex system of values, relationships, personalities, and human creativity. Insight into what religions share The study of religions requires sympathy and objectivity. While it is true that being a believer of a particular religion brings a special insight that an outsider cannot have, it is also true that an outsider can appreciate things that are not always obvious to the insider. This is particularly true of shared patterns of imagery, belief, and practice. Insight into people Understanding a person’s religious background tells you more about that person’s attitudes and values. Such understanding is valuable for successful human relations—in both public life and private life. Tolerance and appreciation of differences Because human beings are emotional creatures, their religions can sometimes allow inflamed feelings to override common decency. As we see daily, religions can be employed to justify immense cruelty. Examining the major religions of the world helps you to develop tolerance toward people of varying religious traditions. In a multicultural world, tolerance of differences is valuable, but enjoyment of differences is even better. Variety is a fact of nature, and the person who can enjoy variety—in religion and elsewhere—is a person who will never be tired of life. Intellectual questioning Religions make claims about truth, yet some of their views are not easy to reconcile. For example, doesn’t the theory of reincarnation of the soul, as found in Hinduism, conflict with the teaching of several other religions that a soul has only one lifetime on earth? And how can the notion of an immortal soul be reconciled with the Buddhist teaching that nothing has a permanent soul or essence? We must also ask questions about tolerance itself. Must we be tolerant of intolerance, even if it is preached by a religion? Questions such as these arise naturally when we study religions side by side. Such study sharpens our perception of the claims of religions and invites us to examine important intellectual questions more closely.

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Insight into everyday life Religious influences can be found everywhere in modern culture—not just within religious buildings. Politicians make use of religious images, for example, when they speak of a “new covenant†​ with voters. Specific religions and religious denominations take public positions on moral issues, such as abortion and war. Our weekly routines are regulated by the originally Jewish practice of a six-day work week followed by a day of rest, and the European-American school calendar is generally divided into two by the originally Christian Christmas holidays. Even comic strips use religious imagery: animals crowded onto a wooden boat, a man holding two tablets, angels on clouds, a person meditating on a mountaintop. The study of religions is valuable for helping us recognize and appreciate the religious influences that are everywhere.

O Travel to religious sites is a wonderful way to experience directly the varieties of human belief, and it is especially memorable at times of religious celebration. Travel that is not specifically religious can also offer similar benefits, because it allows you to experience religious art and architecture in the places and contexts for which they were created.

Travel programs abound. Many colleges offer study-abroad programs, including summer courses that incorporate travel, as well as semester-and year-long study programs. Scholarships and other financial aid may be available for these programs. Large travel companies also offer summer tours for students, particularly to Europe and Asia. These companies are able to offer affordable tours by using charter flights and affordable hotel accommodations. For students, programs such as these often make an excellent first trip abroad. Younger travelers touring on their own can also join a youth hostel association, such as Hostelling International, and make use of a worldwide network of inexpensive youth hostels. Older travelers can take advantage of organizations such as Road Scholar. These travel programs encompass a wide variety of activities—educational courses, excursions, and service projects—all around the world.

Information on travel, youth hostels, and home exchanges can be found on the Internet, as well as in newspapers and travel books. The Internet is also a good source for the dates of religious festivals in other countries.

Appreciation for the arts If you are attracted to painting, sculpture, music, or architecture, you will be drawn to the study of religions. Because numerous religious traditions have been among the most significant patrons of art, their study provides a gateway to discovering and appreciating these rich works. Enriched experience of travel Study of religion allows you to see cultural forms in new ways. One of the great gifts of our age is the ability to travel. Visiting the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia or a Mayan pyramid in Mexico is quite different from just reading about them. The study of world religions gives you the background necessary to fully enjoy the many wonderful places that they can now experience directly.

Page 28 Insight into family traditions Religions have influenced many cultures so strongly that their effects are readily identifiable in the values of one’s parents and grandparents—even if they are not actively religious individuals. These values include attitudes toward education, individual rights, gender roles, time, money, food, and leisure.

The journey begins. ©Marco Bottigelli/Moment/Getty Images RF

Help in one’s own religious quest Not everyone is destined to become an artist or a musician or a poet, yet each one of us has some ability to appreciate visual arts, music, and poetry. In the same way, although some people may not be explicitly religious, they may have a sense of the sacred and a desire to seek ways to feel at home in the universe. Those who belong to a religion will have their beliefs and practices enriched by the study of the world’s religions, because they will learn about their religion’s history, major figures, scriptures, and influences from new points of view. Others who have little interest in traditional religions yet nonetheless have a strong interest in spirituality may view their lives as a spiritual quest. For any person involved in a spiritual search, it is extremely helpful to study a variety of religions. Stories of others’spiritual quests provide insights that we may draw on for your own spiritual journey.

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THE JOURNEY You now begin an intellectual pilgrimage to many of the world’s important living religions. You will first look at a sample of religions often associated with native peoples across the globe. You will then go on to study religions that emerged on the Indian subcontinent and then to the religions that arose in China and Japan. Next you will travel to the area east of the Mediterranean Sea—a region that has been fertile ground for new religious ideas. Finally, you will encounter some of the newest religious movements and will consider the religious search today.

This journey, although academic and intellectual, may prompt strong emotions in some readers. For some of you, it will be an intellectual pilgrimage that will provoke both doubt and insight. For others, it will be a prelude to an actual physical pilgrimage.

We begin with the knowledge that at the end of every journey people are not quite the same as when they started. This journey is one of discovery, and through discovery, you can hope to become more appreciative of the experience of being human in the universe.

Reading DISCOVERING MYSTERY

The physicist Albert Einstein considered how his search for the principles of nature began. His profoundly personal statement helps us understand the religious roots of his scientific journey.

The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious—the knowledge of the existence of something unfathomable to us, the manifestation of the most profound reason coupled with the most brilliant beauty. I cannot imagine a god who rewards and punishes the objects of his creation, or who has a will of the kind we experience in ourselves. I am satisfied with the mystery of life’s eternity and with the awareness of—and glimpse into—the marvelous construction of the existing world together with the steadfast determination to comprehend a portion, be it ever so tiny, of the reason that manifests itself in nature. This is the basis of cosmic religiosity, and it appears to me that the most important function of art and science is to awaken this feeling among the receptive and keep it alive.18

TEST YOURSELF

1. Religions manifest eight possible elements: belief system, community, central myths, ritual, ethics, characteristic emotional experiences, material expression, and ____________.

a. science

b. sacredness

c. dualism

d. deconstruction

2. The belief that all is divine is called ____________.

a. atheism

b. monotheism

c. pantheism

d. agnosticism

3. ____________ argues that the existence of God cannot be proven.

a. Agnosticism

b. Pantheism

c. Monotheism

d. Polytheism

4. This anthropologist believed that religion was rooted in spirit worship.

a. James Frazer

b. E. B. Tylor

c. Sigmund Freud

Page 30d. Carl Gustav Jung

5. ____________ theorized that belief in a God or gods arises from the long-lasting impressions made on people by their childhood experiences.

a. James Frazer

b. E. B. Tylor

c. Sigmund Freud

d. Carl Gustav Jung

6. Rudolf Otto argued that religions emerge when people experience that aspect of reality that is essentially mysterious; while ____________ believed that religion was a noble human response to the complexity and depth of reality.

a. James Frazer

b. E. B. Tylor

c. Sigmund Freud

d. Carl Gustav Jung

7. Religions express truth ____________. For example, water can represent spiritual cleansing; the sun, health; a mountain, strength; and a circle, eternity.

a. symbolically

b. prophetically

c. mystically

d. structurally

8. In early religions, the most significant female deity was particularly associated with ____________ and motherhood and has been known by many names, such as Asherah, Aphrodite, and Freia.

a. strength

b. wisdom

c. the arts

d. fertility

9. Why do people consider certain places sacred? What are some of the characteristics of a sacred place? What emotions arise in places that are considered sacred?

10. Invent a new religion.

11. Based on what you have read in this chapter, what are some benefits of finding patterns among different religions? What are some possible risks?

12. In this chapter we see attempts by numerous thinkers to answer this question: Why does religion exist? Whose idea do you think presents the most interesting insight into religious experience? Why?

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RESOURCES

Books

Film/TV

Internet

Armstrong, Karen. The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions. New York: Knopf, 2006. An exploration of the evolution of the world’s major religious traditions, written by a popular historian of comparative religion.

Dawkins, Richard. The God Delusion. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006. A book by an evolutionary biologist that argues the case against belief in God.

Feierman, Jay, ed. The Biology of Religious Behavior. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO/Praeger, 2009. Explanations of religion that attempt to bridge the gap between religion and science.

Foucault, Michel. Religion and Culture. Ed. Jeremy Carette. New York: Routledge, 1999. Writings of Foucault that show his lifelong interest in religious topics.

Juschka, Darlene, ed. Feminism in the Study of Religion: A Reader. New York: Continuum, 2001. A discussion by feminist scholars of religion from a multicultural perspective.

Lewis-Williams, David. Conceiving God. London: Thames & Hudson, 2010. A study of the psychological origin of belief in God.

Pals, Daniel L. Nine Theories of Religion. New York: Oxford University Press, 2014. An excellent survey of major theories of the origin and purpose of religion, including theories of Freud, Marx, Eliade, Durkheim, and Geertz, with biographical sketches of the thinkers.

Wright, Robert. The Evolution of God. Boston: Little, Brown, 2009. A tracing of the evolution of the concept of gods and God.

Bill Moyers on Faith and Reason. (PBS.) A seven-part miniseries that explores the tension between belief and disbelief in religion.

Freud. (Director John Huston; Universal International.) A classic film that sees the young Freud as a hero in a painful search for new understanding of unconscious motivations.

In Search of the Soul. (BBC.) An examination of Jung’s vision of reality. Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth. (PBS.) A six-part presentation on mythology. The Question of God: Sigmund Freud and C. S. Lewis. (PBS.) A four-part miniseries that examines

belief in God through the context of the lives of Sigmund Freud and C. S. Lewis, two noted intellectuals who showed divergent views on religious faith.

American Academy of Religion: https://www.aarweb.org/. Information about conferences, grants, and scholarships, presented by the primary organization of professors of religion in

North America. Internet Sacred Text Archive: http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm. An electronic archive of

texts about religion, mythology, and folklore. The Pluralism Project: http://www.pluralism.org/. An excellent resource for studying the many

religions now present in the United States.

KEY TERMS

agnosticism: “Not know†​ (Greek); a position asserting that the existence of God cannot be proven.

animism: From the Latin anima, meaning “spirit,†​ “soul,†​ “life force†​; a worldview common among oral religions (religions with no written scriptures) that sees all elements of nature as being filled with spirit or spirits.

atheism: “Not God†​ (Greek); a position asserting that there is no God or gods. deconstruction: A technique, pioneered by Jacques Derrida, that sets aside ordinary categories of

analysis and makes use, instead, of unexpected perspectives on cultural elements; it can be used for finding underlying values in a text, film, artwork, cultural practice.

dualism: The belief that reality is made of two different principles (spirit and matter); or the belief in two gods (good and evil) in conflict.

immanent: Existing and operating within nature. monotheism: The belief in one God. nontheism: A position that is unconcerned with the supernatural, not asserting or denying the

existence of any deity. pantheism: The belief that everything in the universe is divine. polytheism: The belief in many gods. post-structuralism: An analytical approach that does not seek to find universal structures that

might underlie language, religion, art, or other such significant areas, but focuses instead on observing carefully the individual elements in cultural phenomena.

structuralism: An analytical approach that looks for universal structures that underlie language, mental processes, mythology, kinship, and religions; this approach sees human activity as largely determined by such underlying structures.

transcendent: “Climbing beyond†​ (Latin); beyond space and time.

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CHAPTER 2

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Indigenous Religions

©Piriya Photography/Moment/Getty Images RF

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FIRST ENCOUNTER As it is for most visitors, your first stop in Hawai’i is crowded Waikiki, on the island of O’ahu. After four days of swimming, sightseeing, and viewing the sunsets, you fly to Maui for a few days, and then on to the much less populated island of Hawai’i—called the Big Island by local residents. From the airport in Hilo, you begin to drive upcountry, toward the little town of Volcano. The area around Hilo, on the rainy side of the island, resembles the tropical paradise of fantasy: the leaves of the trees are bright lime-colored flames, and the yards of the houses are planted with vanda orchids and fragrant white-flowered plumeria trees.

As you drive inland and upward, lawns and homes yield to fields of beige grass and clusters of dark brown rock. Banyan trees give way to small, silver-leaved ‘ohi’a lehua bushes, as delicate as their red flowers. Now you are closer to the volcanoes that are still producing the island. The land here is raw and relatively new. You check into the old lava-rock hotel near the volcanic crater and look forward to settling in for the night. After supper you listen to ukulele music in front of the big fireplace in the lobby and watch a man and two women perform a slow hula for the guests.

The next morning, after a good sleep, you walk out to the rim of the crater. You are a bit startled by the steam rising through cracks and holes in the rock. You hike down a trail that leads to a bed of old lava, passing yellow ginger and tiny wild purple orchids on the way. The lava in the crater at this spot is dry; it crunches underfoot. Here and there you see stones wrapped in the broad leaves of the ti plant and wonder why they’re there.

On the way back up the trail, you fall in step with a woman who explains that she was raised on the Big Island but now lives on another island. She is here just for a few days, to visit the volcano area and to see old friends. She tells you about Pele, the goddess of fire, whose place of veneration is the volcano.

“When I was young I learned that Pele came from the island of Kaua’i to Maui, where she lived in Haleakala Crater before she moved to this island. Nowadays, people here are mostly Buddhist or Christian, but

*

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they still respect Pele. I know a man who says Pele once appeared to him. He told me she had long hair and was surrounded by fire. Other people have seen her on the road. Pele gets a lot of offerings—mostly ti leaves and food. But when the lava is flowing toward Hilo, people also bring out pork and gin,â€​ the woman says with a laugh, “and my friends tell me that the offerings work.â€​

The lava, she explains, is active now at the other end of a series of craters, closer to the ocean. She suggests that you drive to the lava flow before dark and adds, “Be sure to have good walking shoes, as well as a flashlight in case it gets dark before you go back to your car. And don’t take any lava rock away with you. They say it brings bad luck, you know.â€​

In midafternoon, you drive down the curving black asphalt road, past old lava flows, to the highway near the ocean. You stop and park near the cars of other lava watchers and then begin hiking with a few people across the fresh lava, toward the ocean. About half a mile in, you encounter yellow caution strips, and you overhear an officer warning one man to stop. “Farther on it’s just too dangerous. It looks solid on top, but you can slip through the crust.â€​ You and the others crowd up next to the barriers and see steam rising on the right up ahead. Through the rising steam you glimpse a bright orange band of molten lava underneath the dry crust as the lava falls into the ocean.

Sunset comes quickly, and even more people arrive, some with blankets around their shoulders. As darkness falls, the flowing lava becomes more visible, and the steam takes on a reddish glow. “Look over there,â€​ someone says. In the distance a bright stream of orange lava slides down a hill, a slow-motion waterfall of fire. You watch at least an hour as the sky becomes completely dark. Now the only light comes from the flowing lava and a few flashlights. It is, you think, like being present at the time of creation: this land is being born.

The next morning in the lobby you see the Hawaiian woman again. “Well, did you see Pele last night?â€​ she asks, smiling. You smile back. For the rest of your stay you wonder about Pele, about what else might remain of native Hawaiian religion. Isn’t hula, you ask as you think back over what you’ve read, an expression of Hawaiian beliefs? Why do people make offerings of ti leaves? How much of the ancient religion lives on?

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DISCOVERING INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS The practice of native religions takes place throughout the world. Among the Ainu of far northern Japan, the Inuit (Eskimo) of Canada, the aboriginal peoples of Australia, the Maori of New Zealand, and the many indigenous peoples of Africa and the Americas, religious teachings have been passed on primarily by word of mouth rather than through written texts. In some areas, the ancient religious ways of traditional peoples may not be easily apparent, but certain characteristics live on in local stories and customs.

There is no agreement on how to speak of these ancient religious ways. Various terms include traditional, aboriginal, indigenous, tribal, nonliterate, primal, native, oral, and basic. Each term is inadequate. For example, although the word native is used frequently in the Americas, that term in Africa—with memories of colonial offices of native affairs—can be offensive. The words oral and nonliterate describe correctly the fact that most indigenous religions were spread without written texts. But there have been exceptions: the Mayans and Aztecs, for example, had writing systems, and even many native religions without writing systems have had their sacred stories and beliefs written down by scholars at some point. The distinction between oral religions and others is also blurred by the fact that religions that have written texts are also, to a large degree, transmitted orally—for example, through preaching, teaching, and chanting. The term traditional would be suitable, except that all religions but the very newest have many traditional elements. Some terms, such as primal and basic, may be viewed as derogatory (like the older term primitive religions). The word indigenous has the advantage of being neutral in tone; however, it means the same thing as native, except that it comes from Greek rather than Latin. There is no easy solution. Although indigenous comes closest to capturing these ancient religions, we will use several of the preceding terms interchangeably throughout the text.

Indigenous religions are found in every climate, from the tropical rain forest to the arctic tundra, and some are far older than today’s dominant religions. Because most of them developed in isolation from each other, there are major differences in their stories of creation and origin, in their beliefs about the afterlife, in their marriage and funeral customs, and so on. In fact, there is as much variation among indigenous religions as there is, for example, between Buddhism and Christianity. In North America, for instance, there are several hundred Native American nations and more than fifty Native American language groups. The variety among indigenous religious traditions is stunning, and each religion deserves in-depth study. Because of the limitations of space, however, this book must focus on shared elements. Regrettably, we can barely touch on the many differences. (You can complement your study of basic patterns by making your own study of a native religion, especially one practiced now or in the past by the indigenous peoples of the area in which you live.)

Past Obstacles to the Appreciation of Indigenous Religions Until about a century ago, scholars focused on religions that had produced written texts. They were less aware of those smaller religions that expressed themselves simply through orally transmitted stories and histories. This lack of attention to oral religions may have been due in part to the relative ease of studying religions that have written records. Religions with written records don’t necessarily require travel or physically arduous research. Moreover, when scholars have mastered reading the necessary languages, they can study, translate, and teach the original writings anywhere.

There has also been a bias toward text-based religions. This perhaps comes from a misconception that they are complex, but that oral religions are not. Greater research into oral religions, however, has dispelled such notions of simplicity. Consider, for example, the sandpaintings of the Navajo people and the ceremonies of which the paintings are a part. “In these ceremonies, which are very complicated and intricate, sandpaintings are made and prayers recited. Sandpaintings are impermanent paintings made of dried pulverized materials that depict the Holy People [gods] and serve as a temporary altar. More than 800 forms of sandpaintings exist, each connected to a specific chant and ceremony.â€​

Indigenous religions have, of course, created much that is permanent, and sometimes even monumental. We have only to think of the Mayan pyramids in Yucatán and the great city of Teotihuacán, near Mexico City. Yet native religions often express themselves in ways that have less permanence: dance, masks, wood sculpture, paintings that utilize mineral and plant dyes, tattoo, body painting, and memorized chant and story. Perhaps we have to begin to see these transitory expressions of religious art as being equal in stature to more permanent sacred writings and artistic creations. In speaking of African art, one scholar has called it the “indigenous language of African belief and thought,â€​ even saying that African art “provides a kind of scripture of African religion.â€​ We also have to see that indigenous religions have sometimes blended with more dominant religions. For example, elements of Mayan religion live on in the Catholicism of Mexico and Guatemala, and elements of belief in nature gods live on in the Buddhism of Myanmar (Burma). This blending has made the existence of indigenous religions less obvious, but sometimes it has also made their continued existence possible.

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The Modern Recovery of Indigenous Religions We know about native religious traditions through the efforts of scholars from a number of disciplines, particularly anthropology. One pioneer was Franz Boas (1858–1942), a professor at Columbia University and curator at the American Museum of Natural History in New York. Other notable contributors to this field include Bronislaw Malinowski (1884–1942), Raymond Firth (1901–2002), Mary Douglas (1921â €“2007), and E. E. Evans-Pritchard (mentioned in Chapter 1).

The ecological movement has also made our study of indigenous religions more pressing. Environmentalist David Suzuki argues that we must look to native peoples and religions for insightful lessons in the relationship between human beings and nature. In his introduction to the book Wisdom of the Elders, he writes that the earth is rapidly moving toward what he calls “ecocrisis.â€​ He quotes the ecologist Paul Ehrlich in saying that

Much religious art, by making teachings visible, helps them to be more easily understood. In contrast, this west African mask leads in another direction. Its horns, startling face, and blue hair lead the viewer into shock and mystery. ©Dietmar Temps, Cologne/Moment//Getty Images RF

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solutions will have to be “quasi-religious.â€​ Suzuki argues that “our problem is inherent in the way we perceive our relationship with the rest of Nature and our role in the grand scheme of things. Harvard biologist E. O. Wilson proposes that we foster biophilia, a love of life. He once told me, ‘We must rediscover our kin, the other animals and plants with whom we share this planet.’â€​

Some of this interest derives, of course, from a sometimes romanticized view of native peoples and their relationship with nature. We should recognize that some native peoples, such as the Kwakiutl of the Pacific Northwest, have viewed nature as dangerously violent, and others have seriously damaged their natural environment. Despite such cases, one finds in many indigenous religions great sensitivity to the natural elements.

The development of photography and sound recording—ironically—has helped the recovery of native religious traditions. Photography captures native styles of life and allows them to be seen with a certain immediacy. Ethnomusicology involves the recording of chants and the sounds of musical instruments that might otherwise be lost. Gladys Reichard, a specialist who pioneered the study of the ritual life of the Navajo (Diné), has written that chanters in the Navajo religion need to memorize an “incalculableâ€​ numberâ €”that is, thousands—of songs. The fact that listeners can replay such recordings has no doubt added to the appreciation of this music.

Artists in many cultures, trying to go beyond their own limited artistic traditions, have found inspiration in native wood sculpture, masks, drums, and textile design. These elements have had profound influence on modern art. For example, Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) often spoke of the strong influence that African religious masks had on his work. A scholar describes the effect of one African work on several artists who were close friends. â €œOne piece. .. is a mask that had been given to Maurice Vlaminck.… He records that [André] Derain was â €˜speechless’and ‘stunned’when he saw it, bought it from Vlaminck and in turn showed it to Picasso and Matisse, who were also greatly affected by it.â€​ French artist Paul Gauguin moved to Tahiti and the Marquesas to find and paint what he hoped was a fundamental form of religion there, and some of his paintings allude to native Tahitian religious belief. Gauguin thereby hoped to go beyond the limited views of his European background. The work of such artists as Picasso and Gauguin helped to open eyes to the beauty produced by indigenous religions. Our own contemporary culture has benefited from this insight. Artists like Jean-Michel Basquiat, Keith Haring, and others who have been close to the world of graffiti and street art have continued this connection to indigenous art.

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Of course, the religious art of native peoples needs no authentication from outsiders. Outsiders also present a problem: they tend to treat native religious objects as purely secular works of art, while people within an indigenous religious tradition do not make such a distinction. Indigenous religions exist generally within holisti c cultures, in which every object and act may have religious meaning. Art, music, religion, and social behavior within such cultures can be so inseparable that it is hard to say what is distinctly religious and what is not. Although we can find a similar attitude among very pious practitioners of the dominant world religions, for whom every act is religious, people in modern, industrial cultures commonly see the secular and religious realms as separate.

Fortunately, the bias that once judged native religions to be “primitiveâ€​ manifestations of the religious spirit—as opposed to the literate, so-called higher religions—is disappearing. It is an inescapable fact that the span of written religions is relatively brief—barely five thousand years—yet scientists now hold that human beings (homo sapiens) have lived on earth for at least 100,000 years, and their ancestors have lived here for several million years. Although we do not know how long human beings have been manifesting religious

In this old photo, we see women in Okinawa undergoing priestly initiation. ©Hitoshi Maeshiro/EPA/Newscom

behavior, we believe it goes back as long as human beings have been capable of abstract thought.

All our histories, traditions, codes were passed from one generation to another by word of mouth. Our memories must be kept clear and accurate, our observation must be keen, our self- control absolute.   —Thomas Wildcat Alford, Shawnee7

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STUDYING INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS: LEARNING FROM PATTERNS The study of indigenous religious traditions presents its own specific challenges. Happily, oral traditions are being written down, translated, and published. Yet our understanding of these religions depends not only on written records, but also on field study by anthropologists, ethnomusicologists, and others.

It would be ideal if we could study and experience each native religion separately. Barring that, though, one workable approach is to consider them collectively as “sacred pathsâ€​ that share common elements. Thus, in this chapter we will concentrate on finding patterns in native religions—while keeping in mind that beyond the patterns there is enormous variety. The patterns we identify in indigenous religions will also enrich our encounter with other religions in later chapters. Three key patterns we will consider are the human relationship with nature, the framing of sacred time and space, and the respect for origins, gods, and ancestors.

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Human Relationships with the Natural World Most indigenous religions have sprung from tribal cultures of small numbers, whose survival has required a cautious and respectful relationship with nature. In the worldview of these religions, human beings are very much a part of nature. People look to nature itself, often interpreted through traditional lore, for guidance and meaning.

Some native religions see everything in the universe as being alive, a concept known as animism (which we discussed briefly in Chapter 1). The life force (Latin: anima) is present in everything and is especially apparent in living things—trees, plants, birds, animals, and human beings—as well as in the motion of water, the sun, the moon, clouds, and wind. But life force can also be present in apparently static mountains, rocks, and soil. Other native religions, while more theistic, see powerful spirits in nature, which inhabit natural objects and manifest themselves there.

In an animistic worldview, everything can be seen as part of the same reality. There may be no clear boundaries between the natural and supernatural and between the human and nonhuman. Everything has both its visible ordinary reality and a deeper, invisible sacred reality. Four Oglala Sioux shamans, when asked about what was wakan (“holy,â€​ “mysteriousâ€​), said, “Every object in the world has a spirit and that spirit is wakan. Thus the spirit[s] of the tree or things of that kind, while not like the spirit of man, are also wakan.â€​ To say that nature is full of spirits can be a way of affirming the presence of both a universal life force and an essential, underlying sacredness.

Among many peoples, particular objects—a specific rock, tree, or river—are thought of as being animated by an individual spirit that lives within. In some native traditions, we find deities that care about and influence a whole category of reality, such as the earth, water, or air. Among the Yoruba of Africa, storms are the work of the deity Shangó, a legendary king with great powers who climbed to heaven (see Chapter 11). The Igbo (Ibo) pray to Ala, an earth-mother deity, for fertility of the earth. Women also pray to her for children, and men pray to her to increase their crops. In the Ashanti religion, Ta Yao is the god of metal. The work of blacksmiths and mechanics is under his charge.

In a world that is animated by spirits, human beings must treat all things with care. If a spirit is injured or insulted, it can retaliate. Human beings must therefore show that they respect nature, especially the animals and plants that they kill to eat. Human beings must understand the existence and ways of the spirit world so that they can avoid harm and incur blessings. We will revisit this spirit world later, when we discuss trance states and the spiritual specialist, the shaman.

Deeper Insights

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A AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL RELIGION

boriginal people came to Australia from Asia, probably via a land bridge, about forty thousand to sixty thousand years ago. From the north of the continent they spread throughout Australia, eventually evolving into many groups and languages. At the time of the first European contact, there were several hundred Aboriginal languages. Now there are fewer than a hundred, and some of these are close to extinction. Although Christianity is currently

the majority religion of Australian Aboriginal people, indigenous religions are still alive and are becoming increasingly significant.

No single Aboriginal religion exists, but there are many similarities among them. Perhaps the best known is belief in the Dreamtime—an early creative period when legendary gods and ancestors created the mountains, rivers, and other features of the earth. Another is belief in the Rainbow Serpent, a divine figure of power that appears in the rainbow and in water and that shaped the rivers and mountains. (The Rainbow Serpent has many indigenous names.) The early creative figures have a prominent place in Aboriginal art and music, which tell their stories.

Because the Aboriginal peoples were nomadic, they did not create great temples. Because of the generally warm climate, the peoples did not need intricate clothing. Yet the Australian Aboriginal peoples told complex stories of their origins that linked elements of nature with the gods. As the people experienced everyday life, they recalled their stories of the gods and ancestors. Dreams also made it possible to be in contact with the gods and ancestors.

Aboriginal art presents many figures from the Dreamtime—particularly the Rainbow Serpent, the lizard, and the kangaroo. These are presented along with dots, geometric figures, circles, and swirls in strong, stylized forms. In the last fifty years, Aboriginal carving, painting, and music have grown in popularity both within and outside the Aboriginal communities. They appear in public places and are now also influencing other religions in Australia.

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Native American religions are noted for their reverential attitude toward the natural world; human beings and animals are often pictured as coming into existence together, and the sun, moon, trees, and animals are all considered kin. Hehaka Sapa, or Black Elk, an Oglala Sioux, although he had become a Christian, explained the sense of relationship to nature that he had experienced when he was growing up among his people in South Dakota. In his autobiography, which he dictated in 1930, he points out that his community, which traditionally lived in tipis (circular tents made of animal skins and poles), arranges itself in a circleâ €”as does all nature, which is constantly making circles, just like the sun, the moon, and the whirlwind.

Native American religions often express in ritual the kinship bond between human beings and animals. (To a lesser extent, some other religions do this, as well.) Ã…ke Hultkrantz, a Swedish scholar, clarifies with an example the meaning of many dances that imitate animals. “Plains Indian dances in which men imitate the movements of buffaloes… are not, as earlier research took for granted, magic rituals to multiply the animals. They are rather acts of supplication in which Indians, by imitating the wild, express their desires and expectations. Such a ritual tells us the Indian’s veneration for the active powers of the universe: it is a prayer.â€​

This photo shows an Aboriginal dot painting of an emu. ©Claire Leimbach/robertharding/Alamy Stock Photo

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In many Native American religious traditions, there is little distinction between the human and animal worlds. Rather, there is a sense of kinship. To exploit nature mindlessly is even thought to be as sacrilegious as harming one’s own mother. As Smohalla of the Nez Perce people said, “You ask me to plow the ground. Shall I take a knife and tear my mother’s breast? Then when I die she will not take me to her bosom to rest.â €​

Native religions also frequently embrace an ethic of restraint and conservation concerning nature’s resources. One is expected to take only what one needs and to use all the parts of an animal or plant. In traditional Hawai’i, for example, fishing in certain areas would be temporarily forbidden (kapu, or taboo) in order to allow the fish population to be replenished. Of course, the ideal is never universally maintained, and even native peoples have sometimes been unaware of the destructive effects of their actions. Consider, for example, the devastation of the beaver by native peoples in North America who sold the pelts to European traders, or the cutting of most sandalwood trees by native Hawaiians for sale in China. Given examples like these, it is clear that native peoples who did not live in harmony with nature could not long survive.

It is difficult, perhaps, for urban human beings today to experience fully the intimate connection with the rest of nature that has been a common aspect of native religions. The predominant contemporary view sees human beings as fundamentally different from other animals. Perhaps this tendency is a result of our modern culture, which emphasizes the skills of writing and reading. We also have little connection with the origins of our food, and we live and work indoors. Electric light diminishes our awareness of day and night and obstructs the light of the moon and stars. Except for insects, rodents, and the most common birds, we seldom see wildlife firsthand. Traffic noise drowns out the sounds of wind, rain, and birdsong.

In contrast, consider the sense of kinship with animals found, for example, among the Haida people of the Pacific Northwest: “the Haida refer to whales and ravens as their ‘brothers’and ‘sisters’and to fish and trees as the finned and tree people.â€​

Another example of contrast is apparent in the way the BaMbuti, forest dwellers of central Africa, perceive their forest. Outsiders might find the darkness and thick foliage frightening. Yet, as one anthropologist has written, for the people who live within it and love it, the forest “is their world.… They know how to distinguish the innocent-looking itaba vine from the many others it resembles so closely, and they know how to follow it until it leads them to a cache of nutritious, sweet-tasting roots. They know the tiny sounds that tell where the bees have hidden their honey; they recognize the kind of weather that brings a multitude of different kinds of mushrooms springing to the surface.… They know the secret language that is denied all outsiders and without which life in the forest is an impossibility.â€​

Birds make their nests in circles, for theirs is the same religion as ours.   —Black Elk, Oglala Sioux1 1

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Sacred Time and Sacred Space Our everyday lives go on in ordinary time, which we see as moving forward into the future. Sacred time, however, is “the time of eternity.â€​ Among the Koyukon people of the Arctic it is called “distant time,â€​ and it is the holy ancient past in which the gods lived and worked. Among Australian Aborigines it is often called Dreamtime, and it is the subject of much of their highly esteemed art.

Sacred time is cyclical, returning to its origins for renewal. By recalling and ritually reliving the deeds of the gods and ancestors, people can enter into the sacred time in which they live. Indigenous religions even tend to structure daily lives in ways that conform to mythic events in sacred time. This creates a sense of holiness in everyday life.

Like ordinary time, ordinary space exists in the everyday. Sacred space, however, is the doorway through which the “other worldâ€​ of gods and ancestors can contact us and we can contact them. Sacred space is associated with the center of the entire universe, where power and holiness are strongest and where we can go to renew our own strength.

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One of the great sacred places is Uluru (Ayers Rock) in central Australia. ©Theo Allofs/Corbis/Getty Images

In native religions, sacred space may encompass a great mountain, a volcano, a valley, a lake, a forest, a single large tree, or some other striking natural site. For Black Elk and his people, after the Lakota had moved west, it was Harney Peak in South Dakota. In Australian Aboriginal religion, Uluru (Ayers Rock) serves as this sacred center. In Africa, Mount Kilimanjaro and other high mountains have been considered sacred spaces.

Sacred space can also be constructed, often in a symbolic shape such as a circle or square, and defined by a special building or by a boundary made of rope or rocks, such as Stonehenge in England. It can even be an open area among trees or buildings, such as the great open space between the temples of Teotihuacán, near Mexico City.

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Respect for Origins, Gods, and Ancestors Origins Most indigenous religions have cosmic tales of their origins that are regularly recited or enacted through ritual and dance. Some tell how the world originated from a supernatural realm. According to other emergence stories, the earth rose out of previous earths or from earlier, more chaotic material forms. Often the land and creatures emerged from watery depths. In a Hopi creation story, the earth, before it took shape, was mist.

Deeper Insights

RELIGION OF THE PUEBLO PEOPLES

ne of the great sights of the world is the group of multistoried buildings hidden high up in the cliffs at Mesa Verde, Colorado. Inhabited for more than seven hundred years, the now-empty buildings give an unparalleled view into the life of the Ancestral Pueblo peoples (also called Hisatsinom and Anasazi). Visitors can walk down from the top of the cliff, via narrow stone paths and stairs, to visit some of the houses and to experience the plazas that were once used

for ceremonial dance. Visitors can then climb down a wooden ladder to enter a kiva, a dark and womb- like ritual chamber beneath the surface. There they can see the sipapu, the hole in the floor that is a symbol of the emergence of human beings into this world. The kiva and sipapu show how thoroughly oriented to the earth was the religion that was practiced here.

Similar cliff dwellings may be seen at Canyon de Chelly in Arizona and at Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. In New Mexico one may also visit the great spiritual center of Chaco Canyon, once a flourishing city. Tens of thousands of pilgrims would come here regularly, and as many as forty thousand would be present at the time of the twice-yearly solstices. This site is sacred to the Pueblo peoples even today.

The religious life of the Ancestral Pueblo peoples is not fully known, but some evidence comes from traces of ancient roads and from archeology, petroglyphs, and paintings. Some of their buildings were oriented to coincide with the solstices and equinoxes. The presence of kivas suggests that ceremony took place there, and in some of the kivas the remains of wall paintings have been found. Remaining petroglyphs show elements from nature, including stars and the moon, and in the period from about 1200 to 1250 CE there was a profuse growth of the cult and imagery of kachinasâ €”benevolent guardian spirits who are believed to appear among the people on ceremonial occasions (and who will be discussed in a moment).*

Page 44When the large settlements, such as the one at Mesa Verde, were abandoned, their people moved to villages—primarily in modern-day northeastern Arizona and northwestern New Mexico (see Figure 2.1). However, they took with them their religious beliefs, images, and ritual, especially the cult of the kachinas. The traditional style of multistoried buildings continued, as well, suggesting to the Spanish colonizers the name by which the peoples are still commonly known: pueblo (Spanish: “villageâ€​).

The kiva is an important ancestral site for the Pueblo peoples. ©Rob Atkins/Photographer’s Choice/Getty Images

FIGURE 2.1 The Pueblo peoples and other Native American tribes of the American Southwest.

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The Pueblo peoples share many features of their architecture, governance, and religious practice, but there are also great differences among them in all these areas. Each of the more than two dozen pueblos governs itself independently, and multiple languages are spoken: Keresan, Zunian, three Tanoan dialects (Tiwa, Tewa, and Towa), and Hopi. The independence of each pueblo may have actually been to its advantage, helping each unique culture to survive. Despite the pressures to change, the Pueblo peoples have kept their identities intact—particularly through fidelity to their religious beliefs and practices.

Each pueblo has its own religious traditions. Here we will touch on just a few. The stories of human origins differ among the peoples and clans, but many tell of human emergence from a lower world, of assistance from supernatural beings in learning to live, of help from animals, and of wanderings before final settlement. Among the seven Keresan-speaking pueblos, for example, the story of origin tells of how people moved upward through four different-colored worlds. Standing in an eagle’s nest on top of a tree, with the help of a woodpecker and a badger, they made a hole large enough to climb up into this world.

Religious symbolism is complex. Among the ZÃ​a, for example, four is a sacred number. It symbolizes the four seasons, four directions, and four stages of life (infancy, youth, adulthood, and old age). It is used in many designs found in ZÃ​a art. (The state flag of New Mexico, which shows a crosslike symbol made of four lines in each of the four directions, is based on a ZÃ​a design.)

Some of the Pueblo peoples, influenced by Christianity, are monotheists, but many retain a belief in the traditional deities, and they sense no disharmony. The Great Spirit, they believe, can take many forms. Among the Hopis, for example, more than thirty gods are recognized. Perhaps the most important are Tawa, the sun god, prayed to each morning; Mu-yao, the moon god, imagined as an old man; Sotuqnangu, god of the sky, who sends clouds and lightning; and Kokyang Wuuti, called Spider Woman in English, who is thought of as a loving grandmother.

Among all the Pueblo peoples there is a belief in guardian spirits, who play a role something like angels and patron saints. These are the kachinas. They are not gods but rather the spirits of ancestors, birds, animals, plants, and other beings. They are believed to have once lived among the people and then to have retreated to their own world; but they return yearly. Human beings represent them when dressed in specific masks and costumes.

One of the most complex systems of belief in guardian spirits is found among the Hopis, whose traditional religion has been least affected by other cultures. From February through the summer, dancers represent the spirits, and more than two hundred different masked figures appear in the dances. In the Hopi language they are called katsinam (singular: katsina). Bird and animal spirits are based on many birds and animals, including the deer, badger, sheep, cow, horse, hummingbird, and eagle; and nature spirits express the rain cloud, rainbow, moon, and fertile earth. Some figures show human

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characteristics, such as warriors, corn-grinding maidens, guards, clowns, and children. There is also a wide variety of ogre-like figures. Each has a name, special costume, and specific mask. The Zuñi recognize similar guardian spirits, whom they call koko.

The Hopi and the Zuñi are also well known for their painted representations of these spirits, called tithu (singular: tihu). (Outsiders know the figurines as “kachina dolls.â€​) They are re- creations in miniature of the masked kachina figures that dance in the villages. The tithu were originally created to be given as gifts from the masked dancers to girls in the villages—a form of religious teaching through images. But they have become collectors’items, cherished by outsiders.

Visitors who have the privilege of observing Pueblo ceremonies come away with a renewed appreciation for the variety of religious paths and a sense of amazement at the persistence through the centuries of such beautiful, ancient ways.

Stories of the origin of a tribe may be connected with its story of the earth’s creation. Among the Ã​coma Pueblo, there is a story of two sisters who lived entirely underground. Eventually they climbed up the roots of a tree and into the sunlight through a hole in the ground, to become the first human beings on earth. One became mother of the Pueblo.

Gods Native religions frequently speak of a High God who is superior to all other deities and is considered to be wise, ancient, and benevolent. The Inuit speak of a Great Spirit living in the sky who is female and to whom all human spirits eventually return. In a few African religions, too, the High God is female, neuter, or androgynous; and in some religions there are two complementary High Gods, characterized as male/female, brother/sister, or bad/good. The BaKuta of central Africa speak of the twins Nzambi-above and Nzambi-below, although in their myths the lower twin disappears and Nzambi-above becomes the High God.

In some African religions, stories of the High God, who is almost always the creator of the world, offer some explanation for the ills of the world or the distance between human beings and the divine. Many African religions tell how the High God created the world and then left it—sometimes out of dismay at human beings or simply for lack of interest. “Many people of central and southern Africa say that God (Mulungu) lived on earth at first, but men began to kill his servants and set fire to the bush, and so God retired to heaven on one of those giant spiders’webs that seem to hang from the sky in morning mists. In Burundi, however, it is said that having made good children God created a cripple, and its parents were so angry that they tried to kill God and he went away.â€​ The High God in African religions, however, is not always remote. The Diola, for example, believe in direct, prophetic revelation from the High God, and the Igbo and Shona have oracles from the supreme being. While monotheism is common in African religions, it can express itself in many ways.

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Although indigenous religions often revere a High God, altars and imagery dedicated to a High God are not common. Large temples, temple ritual, and priesthoods have been found in a few cultures, such as in Mexico and western Africa, but these elements are rare. Instead, in their prayer, ritual, and art many native religions tend to focus on lesser deities, especially those associated with the forces of nature. More commonly, ceremonies in indigenous religions are performed at small-scale shrines or meeting places. Sometimes the religious ceremonies occur indoors, such as in a sweat lodge or kiva (a submerged meeting hall). At other times they occur outdoors, at a riverbank, beside a rock formation, or in a grove of trees.

As part of indigenous New Year’s festivities in northern Thailand, elders in front of an ancestral altar receive homage from family members. ©Thomas Hilgers

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Ancestors Many indigenous religions make little distinction between a god and an ancestor. Both are important, because living people must work with both for success in life. Spirits of ancestors must be treated well out of love for them, but also out of respect for their power. Some native religions, such as that of the Navajo, distance themselves from the spirits of the dead, fearing them. More commonly, though, the dead are venerated. In African religions, ancestor spirits are commonly thought to bring health, wealth, and children if they are pleased, and disease and childlessness if they are not. The way to appease angry ancestors is through ritual, sometimes including sacrifice. The ancestors often are thought to live in an afterlife that is a state of existence much like earthly life. Belief in reincarnation is found sometimes, as in native Tahitian religion and in many African religions, from the Diola of Senegal to the BaKongo of the Congo region. In traditional Hawaiian religion, it was believed that the spirits of the dead went to an underworld, while the spirits of cultural heroes ascended into the sky.

Ancestral spirits and spirits of nature are represented by kachina figures such as this. ©ivanastar/E+/Getty Images RF

SACRED PRACTICES IN INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS In native societies, everyday religious activity and practice are significant because their primary purpose is often to place individuals, families, and groups in “right relationshipsâ€​ with gods, ancestors, other human beings, and nature. Rituals are the basic way in which human beings ensure they are living in harmony with each other and with nature. Rituals are frequently devoted to major aspects of human life: key events in the life cycle, rules concerning certain kinds of behavior, sacrifice, and access to the spirit world. In addition, artifacts such as masks and statues are an essential part of specific rituals.

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Life-Cycle Ceremonies In indigenous societies, the human journey through life is aided and marked by rites of passage. In addition to being important to the individual, these rites also help hold the society together by renewing bonds and admitting new members to the community.

Rites of passage mark an important life event, such as the birth of a child. In some native religions, a woman about to give birth goes off by herself to bear her child at a sacred site or in a house built for that purpose. Birth is considered a powerful time for the mother and child, and the blood associated with it is believed to have dangerous power.

After the birth, the newborn is often celebrated with a public event that may occur immediately or anytime from a week to a year after the actual birth. In some parts of Africa, babies do not become members of the community until they receive their names in a special public ceremony that is accompanied by song, dance, and a meal. A name is chosen carefully because of the influence it is thought to have on the child’s future.

Special rituals also mark a person’s entry into adulthood. They may include a period of instruction in sex, adult responsibilities, and tribal history and belief. They often involve an initiation ritual that may be experienced in seclusion or in the company of other initiates. Rites can include a symbolic deathâ €”painful and frightening—meant to turn a boy into a man. Across Africa, circumcision for boys in their early teens is a common rite for entering adulthood.

Read myths. They teach you that you can turn inward, and you begin to get the message of the symbols. Read other people’s myths, not those of your own religion, because you tend to interpret your own religion in terms of facts—but if you read the other ones, you begin to get the message.   —Joseph Campbell1 9

In western Africa, initiation societies oversee coming-of-age rituals. “The Poro [a secret initiation society] is for boys, controlled by a hierarchy of elders, different in each village, which meets in a sacred grove where the clan founder was buried. The purpose of the initiation is the rebirth of the youths, who are said to be swallowed by the Poro spirit at the beginning and returned to their parents as reborn at the end of the initiation.â €​ A parallel initiation society exists for girls, who receive sexual instruction and training in the skills necessary for marriage.

A girl’s first menstrual period may also be marked publicly. For example, among the Apache, a four-day ceremony marks a girl’s menarche (first menstruation). During the ceremony, which is elaborate, the girl performs a dance, receives a massage from her female sponsor, kneels to receive the rays of the sun, and circles repeatedly around a ceremonial cane.

In Native American religions, a common ritual of early maturity is the “vision quest,â€​ or “dream quest,â€​ which may involve prolonged fasting and some kind of preliminary cleansing, such as washing or undergoing a sweat bath. Details of the construction of the sweat lodge and the attendant ritual can include cutting willow branches, during which tobacco might be offered; gathering sticks, rocks, moss, and sweet grass; making an altar and heating a stone; rubbing smoke over the body; marking the ground; and saying appropriate prayers at each stage.

Some indigenous peoples of western Canada erect totem poles, often in front of their houses, to honor ancestors. Images on the totem pole are related to the ancestor’s life story. ©Dougall_Photography/iStock/Getty Images RF

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For years before the vision quest, the young person may receive training to prepare for the experience. Commonly, a tribal religious specialist will create a sacred space by ritually marking the four directions of the compass and the center. The sacred space, set apart from the community, should be a place of natural beauty. The seeker remains in the sacred space until a vision, or dream, comes. Although the vision quest is often a part of the coming-of-age ceremonies for males, among some peoples it is also employed for females. The vision quest may be used at other times, too—particularly when the individual or the group must make an important life decision.

In indigenous societies, as in many other cultures, marriage is a ritual that not only publicly affirms and stabilizes a union but also cements economic arrangements and, through the ceremony, ensures fertility. In both Africa and North America, however, marriage in tribal cultures often has been primarily a practical arrangement. Among Native American peoples, marriage has frequently been celebrated simply as a social contract that is worked out by the families. Monogamy has been the norm, but divorce is acceptable when a marriage is not successful. In indigenous African religions, marriage is sometimes marked by rituals to unite the two lineages and transfer the power of fertility; but often its religious aspect “is not distinctive. It is regarded as the normal sequel to rites of adolescence, whose purpose was to prepare for this state.â€​21

An eagle’s head, a clan symbol, oversees this Ojibwe meeting house in northern Wisconsin. ©Thomas Hilgers

There, when I was young, the spirits took me in my vision to the center of the earth and showed me all the good things in the sacred hoop of the world.   —Black Elk, speaking of his vision quest at age nine.2 2

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As the final passing from this life, death is accompanied by rituals that serve to comfort close relatives, assist the spirit of the dead person in moving on, and protect the living from bad influences that could come from an unhappy spirit. Because the spirit of the dead person may be sad to leave the family circle, it must be helped to make its trip to the spirit world. Relatives and friends assist by placing clothing, food, money, and favorite objects with the body. In the case of a chief or other notable person, the body may be embalmed or mummified for public display until a large funeral can be arranged. In the past, great African chiefs have had wives, children, and servants buried alongside them. Among Native American tribes, the sacrifice of relatives and attendants to accompany a dead leader has also occurred. For example, after the death of the Natchez leader Tattooed Serpent in 1725, two of his wives and six others, after preparation by fasting, were strangled as a part of the funeral ritual. In Native American religions, bodies of the dead are usually buried, but sometimes they are placed on platforms or in trees.

Deeper Insights

THE IGBO: AN INDIGENOUS RELIGION IN TRANSITION

oday, at least six million Igbo (or Ibo, pronounced ee’-bo) live in western Africa, mostly in the nation of Nigeria. While there are some variations among tribes, traditional Igbo people worship the goddess of the earth (Ala) and various spirits (alusi), such as the spirit of the river, the spirit of the yam, and the spirit of the hearth. Many Igbo worship a High God (Chukwu, or Chineke), conceived of as the creator. They also venerate the souls of ancestors,

who are believed to have power over the lives of their descendants. The Igbo believe that each person has a unique spirit (chi ), which plays a major role in determining the person’s fate.

Within Igbo religion, special rituals mark significant life events. Daily ritual takes place in the home at a central shrine with wooden images of ancestors. These images receive regular offerings of food, drink, and sometimes the blood of sacrificial animals. Religious rites mark the naming of children, marriage, planting, and harvest. The most important and complex rituals occur at funerals, when the Igbo believe they must help the deceased enter the spirit world with contentment. For these ceremonies, the Igbo have developed elaborate masks for use in religious dances and masquerades.

Christian missionaries began to work among the Igbo in the mid-nineteenth century. Throughout the British colonization of Nigeria in the nineteenth and the twentieth centuries, the Church of England, also known as the Anglican Church, sent many missionaries to the region. Catholic missionaries, who arrived after 1880, were also successful with conversions. As a result, Christian belief and practice have strongly influenced Igbo religion. Sometimes Christianity has displaced traditional beliefs and

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practices. More commonly, in varied forms of religious syncretism (blending), the two religions have mixed and sometimes even produced new independent religions.

Many parallels between traditional Igbo faith and Christianity have assisted the blending of the two religions. The High God of the Igbo resembles the Creator Father God of Christianity. Igbo spirits of nature resemble Christian angels, and souls of Igbo ancestors intercede on behalf of the living, as do Christian saints. Igbo belief in an individual’s spirit resembles Christian belief in the soul.

Although Christianity prohibits traditional Igbo polygamy, other elements of older practice remain. Igbo who worship at Christian churches on Sunday sometimes visit traditional priests and shrines during the week. They do this in order to seek the advice and help of the spirits. The souls of ancestors also continue to receive veneration. Traditional masquerades are used—even for celebrating Christmas, which is a major national holiday in Nigeria.

What has happened among the Igbo is quite typical of what has happened throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Christianity is becoming the dominant religion, but its flavor is African.

Rituals and Celebrations

African masks are used, not simply as art objects,, but as a part of festival dances and memorial ceremonies. ©B Christopher/Alamy Stock Photo

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Rituals and Celebrations

THE VISION QUEST

mong the Ojibwe, who live in the northern plains and Great Lakes area of North America, fasting was often expected of children as preparation for a great fast upon reaching puberty. Girls were expected to make a special fast at menarche, but boys were expected, in addition, to undertake a vision quest. Frequently, religious instruction and purification were an introduction. Then the Ojibwe boy “was led deep into the forest, where a lofty red pine

tree was selected. In this tree, a platform of woven sticks covered with moss was placed upon a high branch as a bed upon which the youth was to conduct the fast. Perhaps a canopy of branches would be prepared to shelter him from the wind and rain. Left alone in this place, the youth was strictly warned not to take any kind of nourishment or drink. He was to lie quietly day and night on this platform in a patient vigil for his vision.â€​ He might be checked secretly by elders and would be allowed to go home if he could not continue, but he would have to return the following year. “When visions rewarded the fast, they commonly took the form of a journey into the world of the spirits, a spiritual journey on a cosmic scale. During this journey the visionary was shown the path upon which his life should proceed. He was associated with one or more spirit beings who would serve as his guardians and protectors throughout his life.â€​ The boy would also gather, or later be given, physical symbols of his guardian spirits, which he would keep for the rest of his life to remind him of his quest and the spirits’protection.

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Taboo and Sacrifice A taboo is a rule that forbids specific behavior with regard to certain objects, people, animals, days, or phases of life. Taboos represent a codification of the social and religious order. In our language, taboo means, often negatively, something that is prohibited. This is essentially the viewpoint of an outsider. From inside native religions, a taboo is often better seen as a way of protecting the individual and of safeguarding the natural order of things.

Taboos frequently relate to sex and birth. Blood, too, is always an element of mysterious power—both helpful and dangerous. For example, in some but not all groups, menstruating women are expected to remain separate from everyone else, because menstrual blood is considered powerful and dangerous. In contrast, a few cultures (such as the Apache) hail a girl’s menarche as a time when she has power to heal illness.

Probably because of the blood involved during childbirth, a woman in some native cultures must remain alone or only in the company of women during the birth—not even the woman’s husband may be present. In traditional Hawai’i, for example, women of high rank gave birth in isolation, at the site of special large stones used only for this purpose. Indigenous societies also frequently have forbidden a husband from resuming sexual relations with his wife for some time after childbirth—this period can even last until the child is weaned.

Like birth, death is also surrounded by taboos concerning the spirit of the dead person, who may seek to reward or take revenge on the living because of the way he or she was treated in life. The afterlife can be a shadowy, uncertain realm that the departing spirit is reluctant to enter, especially if the spirit is leaving a happy family circle. Proper rituals must be performed, accompanied by public mourning, to avoid angering the dead person’s spirit.

A number of taboos regulate other social behavior. One common taboo relates to rank: people of high position, such as chiefs, nobility, priests, and shamans, must be treated with extraordinary care because of their special powers; taboos protect them from insult or inappropriate action. In traditional Hawaiian culture, for example, the shadow of a commoner could not fall on a member of the nobility. In a strongly hierarchical native culture, such as in many African groups, the health of the people and the fertility of the land are believed to depend on the health of the sacred king. To maintain his health, the king is protected by taboos—particularly regarding the people with whom he may associate. Because of these taboos and the fear his role inspires, the sacred king may live a life quite separate from his subjects.

Do not kill or injure your neighbor, for it is not him that you injure. Do not wrong or hate your neighbor, for it is not him that you wrong, you wrong yourself. Moneto, the Grandmother, the Supreme Being, loves him also as she loves you.   —Shawnee rules2 6

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Foods and food sources in many cultures are governed by taboos. Among some African peoples, commoners have been forbidden to touch or eat the food of a king. In traditional Hawai’i, women were forbidden to eat certain foods.

Antisocial actions may also be subject to taboo. In Native American religions, taboos and rules encourage a sense of harmony with other members of one’s people. Strong taboos against adultery and stealing within the tribal unit, for example, are enforced by shame, warnings, shunning, and expulsion, often administered by a tribal council. Nevertheless, although harmony is important, warfare against another people has at times been considered justified.

The person or group must atone, often through sacrifice, when a taboo has been broken or a spirit must be placated. The usual offering is food and drink. A libation (the act of pouring a bit of drink on the ground as an offering) may be made or a portion of a meal set aside for a spirit. An animal may be sacrificed and its blood poured out on the ground or on an altar as an offering of the life force to the deity. Sacrificial animals ordinarily are food animals, such as chickens, pigs, and goats. After the sacrifice, all the participants (including ancestral and nature spirits) may eat the cooked animal—thus pleasing the spirits by feeding them and including them in the meal.

Although it has been rare, human sacrifice (and sometimes cannibalism) has occurred in some native cultures. The sacrifice of human beings was practiced, at least for a time, for specific purposes in Aztec religion, Hawaiian religion, and among tribal peoples of New Guinea; it was much less common among native peoples of North America and Africa.

Before leaving the topic of taboos, it might be good to note that taboos exist plentifully in every society, including our own. Many are associated with sex, marriage, and parenthood. In modern societies, for example, taboos exist against polygamy, incest, and marriage between close relations. Such taboos may seem “naturalâ €​ to the society that enforces them but “unusualâ€​ to outsiders. Taboos may not be inherently valid across groups and societies, and they may be culturally determined and reinforced.

Deeper Insights

TRADITIONAL HAWAIIAN RELIGION

he essentials of traditional Polynesian culture and religion were brought to Hawai’i by settlers who came over the sea from islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. Because of the great navigational skills of the Polynesians, their culture spread widely.

Before contact with westerners, the Polynesian people of Hawai’i had a well- developed belief system, made of many strands. Their belief system spoke of a primeval

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darkness (po), in the midst of which a creative separation had occurred. This separation allowed the formation of the sky and the earth. In the space between the two, all the varied forms of life emerged. This emergence is beautifully detailed in the Kumulipo, the most elaborate of the Hawaiian chants of creation. The primal deities of sky and earth were Wakea and his female consort Papa. The Hawaiian religion also spoke of thousands of other deities (akua) who were descendants of the earliest gods.

Of the thousands of deities that eventually were said to exist, several dozen were commonly invoked, and the greatest deities had priesthoods dedicated to their worship. Among the most important deities were Ku and Lono, gods who were in many ways complementary. Ku, with several manifestations, was a god of vigorous action. He was the patron, for example, of digging, bird catching, and fishing. In a darker aspect he was also patron of war.

The second god, Lono, was a god of peace, associated with rain, fertility, love, and the arts. Although a large part of the year was dedicated to Ku, the winter period was a time of truce, and it was under the protection of Lono. During this time the temples dedicated to Ku were temporarily closed. The four-month period dedicated to Lono began when the Pleiades first appeared above the horizon in the night sky—something that happened between late October and late November. This period was called Makahiki (literally, “eye movementâ€​), a term that referred to the appearance and movement of the stars. The time was given over to religious services, dance, sports, and leisure. During Makahiki, priests of Lono collected offerings in his name. To announce the presence of Lono, his priests bore around each island a white banner made of kapa (bark cloth). It was attached to a long pole that had at its top the face of Lono or his birdlike symbol.

Two other gods of importance were Kane and Kanaloa, traveling companions or brothers who came together from their homeland of Kahiki to the Hawaiian islands. The two were said to have introduced and planted all of the bananas in Hawai’i. Kane was protector of the water but was seen in many other aspects of nature—particularly in thunder and the rainbow. Houses often had a shrine to Kane, the heart of which was a phallic stone at which Kane received daily prayer. Kanaloa was associated with the sky and the ocean—particularly with fishponds at the ocean, marine life, the tides, and sailing.

These major gods—with the possible exception of Kanaloa—had their own temples. In the lunar calendar that was followed by the Hawaiians, certain days in each lunar month were sacred to one of these four gods, and some work was forbidden on those days. Fishing and the planting and harvesting of food plants were regulated by this calendar.

The goddess Pele was also a major object of devotion. She was worshiped as a goddess of fire, active in volcanoes. Pele was so important that she also had her own priests and, later, priestesses. Other popular goddesses included Pele’s younger sister Hi’iaka, of whom Pele was sometimes jealous; Hina, a goddess associated with the moon; and Laka, the patron of hula.

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Just as deities had many aspects, they could also manifest themselves in varied shapes (called kinolau, “multiple selvesâ€​). Pele, for example, might show herself as a girl, a white dog, a volcano, fire, or an old woman with long hair. (The Hawaiian botanist Isabella Abbott recounted a characteristic tale of Pele told her by her father. He said that once he gave an old lady a ride in his truck and offered her a cigarette. Before he had a chance to light her cigarette, however, it had lit by itself, and the old lady was smoking it. Then suddenly she disappeared.)

Deceased ancestors were, and are, also thought of as having elements of divinity. Known as â €˜aumakua, they act as powerful family guardians. Like the gods, they might appear in varied formsâ €”the best-known shapes being those of animals such as sharks, dogs, owls, turtles, and giant lizards (mo’o).

Places of worship varied in size—from enormous stone temples to small wayside shrines, temporary altars, and the site of sacred objects in the home. Many temples and shrines were used for specific purposes, such as caring for the sick or requesting good fishing, rain, or an increase of crops. The design of temples, called heiau, was derived from that of temples in Tahiti and the Marquesas, and seems to have become more elaborate over time. The heiau generally were outdoor stone platforms, often enclosed by walls. In the heiau, images of the deities (ki’i) were set up, food offerings were placed on wooden platforms, and priests performed carefully memorized chants.

A complex system of classification came to exist in all traditional Hawaiian society, and religion provided the taboos. Underpinning the entire social system was a notion of spiritual power, called mana. Nobles, who were considered to be representatives of the gods, were believed to have the greatest mana; but their mana had to be protected. Commoners, for example, had to crouch or prostrate

A traditional heiau usually had a wooden platform (lele) on which worshipers left offerings. ©Thomas Hilgers

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themselves when close to nobles. In 1819, King Kamehameha the Great, who had unified the islands, died. In the same year, his son

King Kamehameha II ate with women, an act that represented a clear and public rejection of the old system of prohibitions. (This act was influenced by several decades of Western contact.) Many heiau were destroyed or allowed to fall into ruin, most images of the gods were burned, and the religious priesthoods officially ended. The following year, Protestant Christian missionaries arrived from Boston, and Christianity stepped into the vacuum.

Traditional religion, however, did not entirely die out. Elements of it remain alive even today. Among the clearest are widespread reverence for Pele, veneration of ancestors, and belief in guardian spirits. There have also been theoretical attempts at integrating the traditional native polytheism with monotheism, by stating that the many traditional deities are angels or are just aspects of the one God.

The revival in recent decades of hula, Hawaiian language, and traditional arts has brought about a new interest in ceremonies of the traditional religion. A good number of heiau have been repaired and even rebuilt, including several large ones on Maui and the Big Island of Hawaiâ €™i. Some traditional religious services have been conducted at the reconstructed heiau, and there may be further attempts to restore traditional religious practices.

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Although hula is often thought of as entertainment, much of it tells the stories of Hawaiian gods and goddesses. ©Kyodo/Newscom

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Shamanism, Trance, and Spiritual Powers As we have seen, native religions take for granted that a powerful and influential but invisible spirit world exists and that human beings can gain access to it. A shaman acts as an intermediary between the visible, ordinary world and the spirit world. The shaman can contact this realm, receive visions of it, and transmit messages from it. This is often meant to help or heal others. As one commentator remarks, “The shaman lies at the very heart of some cultures, while living in the shadowy fringes of others. Nevertheless, a common thread seems to connect all shamans across the planet. An awakening to other orders of reality, the experience of ecstasy, and an opening up of visionary realms form the essence of the shamanic mission.â€​ Sometimes the spirits speak through the shaman, who knows entry points to their world. The spirits may be reached in dreams or trances when the shaman experiences climbing a sacred tree, descending through a cave into the underworld, flying through the air, or following a sacred map.

The shaman understands the primordial unity of things, experiencing a shared identity with animals and the rest of nature. Thus the shaman can interpret the language of animals, charm them, and draw on their powers. The shaman gains the powers of animals and the rest of nature by wearing items taken from important animals, such as deer antlers, lion skins, and eagle feathers.

Deeper Insights

TRADITIONAL MAORI RELIGION

bout 1000 years ago, the original Maori people came in large canoes from the South Pacific, and they called their new home Aotearoa (“long white cloudâ€​). Arriving from islands that were probably in the region of Tahiti and the Marquesas, they settled in what is known today as New Zealand.

The people brought with them religious beliefs that are reminiscent of other religions in Polynesia. They believed that, from an original void, darkness and light emerged. From these opposites was born a Sky Father, Ranginui, and an Earth Mother, Papatuanuku. In their close embrace, these

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I enter the earth. I go in at a place like a place where people drink water. I travel a long way, very far. When I emerge, I am already climbing threads [up into the sky]. I climb one and leave it, then I climb another one.… You come in small to God’s place. You do what you have to do there.… [Then] you enter, enter the earth, and you return to enter the skin of your body.   —Bushman trance dancer3 3

original parents gave birth to divine children. Among them was Tane, god of forests. A second was Tangaroa, god of the ocean. A third was Rongo, god of cultivated foods. A fourth was Tawhirimatea, god of lightning and storm. Lesser gods were associated with war, fire, lizards, and sharks. Ultimately from the original parents came the world of seas, rivers, lands, animals, and people.

The traditional Maori view of the world was magical. For the Maori, the world is inhabited by many spirits—invisible beings who can help or hurt. Prayers and chants were used to assist in bringing fertility, avoiding disease, and attracting love. Priests acted as sources of knowledge and as intermediaries between human beings and the spirits. Human beings were categorized hierarchically in a descending order of nobles, commoners, and slaves, and all had their special responsibilities to other human beings. Power and authority, called mana, was especially strong and active in human beings of the highest class, as well as in sacred places and highly venerated objects. To respect and protect these special people, places, and objects, many kinds of taboo (tapu) were instituted. As a result, the special person, place, or object was restricted and had to be treated with reverence. A tapu could be temporary or permanent.

European sailors found their way to Aotearoa in the eighteenth century. Fearing that the French would take possession of the land, the British colonists worked out a treaty with the Maori—the Treaty of Waitangi—in 1840. The treaty, in both English and Maori, was signed by more than 500 Maori leaders. The influx of Europeans brought new values—individualism, property ownership, literacy—and a new religion.

Missionaries—primarily Anglican, Catholic, Presbyterian, and Methodist—came at the same time as the merchants. They put the Maori language into written form, translated the Christian Bible, and opened schools. Although most Maori became Christian, their forms of belief and practice were often influenced by traditional beliefs and practices. Among these, for example, were the importance of blessing new buildings (considered to be a removal of tapu) and funeral chants in praise of the deceased (a form of ancestor veneration). Several new branches of Maori Christianity emerged as well. The most important among them are Ratana and Ringatu—a religion that retains some political power.

In recent decades, a renaissance of Maori culture has begun to take shape. Most communities, for example, have Maori community centers. Some of these centers are even sponsored by Christian churches, as well as by schools, colleges, and city governments. The community centers are rectangular buildings with gabled roofs. The exteriors have traditional carvings on posts near the door and on the roof beams, while the interior beams are painted with traditional motifs—particularly in red, black, and white. This style is now also used in and on Christian churches. Visitors to Maori centers receive the Maori act of welcome, the hongi, in which the host and guest press their noses gently to each other.

Sculpture is a fine art that appears on houses and on canoes—particularly on the figurehead at the

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front and the high stern at the back. A related art is tattoo, which is often created by multiple incisions with a small knife. The motifs come from nature. One of the most engaging is the spiral curve of a young fern—a symbol of life and strength. Others are birds, feathers, lizards, and fish. We may not immediately think of these subjects as religious. However, in the traditional Maori view of the worldâ €”in which the elements of nature are alive with spirit—they are.

Deeper Insights

ISAAC TENS BECOMES A SHAMAN

saac Tens, a shaman of the Gitksan people of northwest Canada, spoke to an interviewer about how he had become a shaman. On a snowy day at dusk, when he was gathering firewood, he heard a loud noise, and an owl appeared to him. “The owl took hold of me, caught my face, and tried to lift me up. I lost consciousness. As soon as I came back to my senses I realized that I had fallen into the snow. My head was coated with ice, and some blood was running out of my mouth.â€​

Isaac went home, but he fell into a trance. He woke up to find medicine men working to heal him. One told him that it was now time for him, too, to become a halaait (medicine man). Isaac refused. Later, at a fishing hole, he had another fainting spell and fell into a trance again. He was carried home. When he woke up, he was trembling. “My body was quivering. While I remained in this state, I began to sing. A chant was coming out of me without my being able to do anything to stop it. Many things appeared to me presently: huge birds and other animals. They were calling me.â€​ Soon Isaac began to treat others.

Part of becoming a shaman involves having one or more encounters with the spirit realm in the form of a psychological death and rebirth. A person may have experienced some great loss—of sight, of a child, or of something equally precious. He or she may have had a mental breakdown, been terribly sick, or suffered a serious accident and come close to dying. Upon recovering from such an extreme experience, this person may have new powers of insight and healing, which can lead to becoming a shaman. Those who have experienced vivid dreams and visions that are thought to be manifestations of the spirit world are also sometimes trained as shamans.

The shaman often blends the roles of priest, oracle, psychologist, and doctor. A common English term for the shaman is medicine man, yet it stresses only the therapeutic role and obscures the fact that shamans are both

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female and male. In Korean and Japanese native religious paths, in fact, shamans are frequently female. The shamanic trance state that brings visions, both to the shaman and to others, can be induced in several

ways. One is by weakening the visual boundaries—for example, by sitting in the darkness of a cave or hut for prolonged periods. Another way is by fasting, going without sleep, and experiencing sensory deprivation. Repetitive sounds and motions aid in bringing on and maintaining trancelike states. Among them are drumming, rattling, bell ringing, chanting, and dancing, especially in circles. The ingestion of natural substances is also common. Peyote cactus, datura, cannabis (marijuana), coca, opium, and the mushroom Amanita muscaria are all used to induce trance states—both by the shaman alone and sometimes by participants in a ceremony.

Some Native American peoples have used a calumet—a long sacred pipe—for smoking a special kind of tobacco that is far stronger than commercial cigarette tobacco; it is so strong, in fact, that it can have a hallucinatory effect. The bowl of the pipe is usually made of clay but sometimes is made of bone, ivory, wood, or metal, and the stem is made of wood. Some pipes are also made of stone. A red stone, popular among Plains Indians and Eastern Woodlands Indians for this purpose, gave its name to Pipestone, Minnesota. The calumet is an object that gives protection to the person who carries it. The pipe is smoked as part of a shared ceremony, and the shared action establishes strong bonds among all the participants. Promises sworn at these ceremonies have the greatest solemnity.

Rituals involving the use of peyote have developed primarily within the past two centuries in some native North American tribes. The practice seems to have moved north from Mexico, where peyote grows easily and has long been used for religious purposes. When the fruit of the peyote cactus is eaten, it elicits a psychedelic experience that lasts six or more hours. It produces a forgetfulness of the self and a sense of oneness with all of nature. Commonly, such ceremonies begin in the early evening and last until dawn.

Among North American tribes, the rituals involving peyote are often mixed with Christian elements. For example, a member of the Native American Church described his preparation for the ceremony: “First we set up an altar—a Mexican rug and on it a Lakota Bible in our own language. We use only the revelations of St. John in our meetings. It’s… full of visions, nature, earth, stars.… Across the Bible we put an eagle featherâ €”it stands for the Great Spirit.… On the left is a rawhide bag with cedar dust to sprinkle on the fire. That’s our incense.â€​ The blending of elements, he says, is intentional, because it illustrates that, at their core, all religions are the same. It is interesting to note that although the ordinary use of peyote is illegal, its religious use by the Native American Church has been legally upheld.

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In native African religions and their Caribbean offshoots, powerful but invisible spiritual forces are believed to be able to do either great good or tremendous evil. Diviners and healers direct these powers through incantations, figurines, and potions in what is sometimes called sympathetic magic. Magic in the hands of certain individuals can be used, as one commentator remarks, “for harmful ends, and then people experience it as bad or evil magic. Or they may use it for ends which are helpful to society, and then it is considered as good magic or ‘medicine.’These mystical forces of the universe are neither evil nor good in themselves, they are just like other natural things at [our] disposal.â€​

Spiritual powers and trance states are believed to make it possible to look into the past and future, a process called divination (from the Latin divus, “god,â€​ and divinare, “to foretellâ€​). Looking into the past is thought to help determine the causes of illness and other misfortune, while looking into the future can guide an individual to act wisely. It is a common belief in African religions that an individual has a predetermined future that can be discovered through divination.

The general worldview common to native religions allows for a number of specialized religious roles. A

The powwow provides opportunities for Indian nations to share their dances and to pass age-old stories to new generations. ©Education Images/UIG/Getty Images

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diviner looks for causes of sickness, depression, death, and other difficulties. A healer works with a person afflicted with physical or mental illness to find a cure. A rainmaker ends drought. Malevolent sorcerers manipulate objects to cause damage. They may bury an object in the victim’s path or take fingernails, hair, clothes, or other possessions of the victim and then burn or damage them in order to cause harm. Witches need only use their spiritual powers. “Another belief is that the spirit of the witches leaves them at night and goes to eat away the victim, thus causing him to weaken and eventually die. It is believed, too, that a witch can cause harm by looking at a person, wishing him harm or speaking to him words intended to inflict harm on him.â€​ Of course, the powers of these sorcerers and witches are also employed for good ends as well.

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Artifacts and Artistic Expression in Indigenous Religions The masks, drums, statues, rattles, and other objects that are important in native religions were once seen as curiosities to be collected and housed in anthropological museums. Today, however, we view them differently; we realize that we must respect both their importance to the cultures that produced them and their inherent artistic value. The arts of native religions are not created by “artistsâ€​ as “artâ€​ but as functional objects to be used in particular settings and special ways. Navajo sand paintings, for example, are often photographed and reproduced in books as though they were permanent works of art. In fact, when used by a healer, they are temporary creations that are made and then destroyed as a part of the ritual. And unlike art in most industrialized cultures, sacred objects and images in native religions are not separate endeavors but an essential part of the religious expression itself. Although modern secular culture does not usually think of dance or tattoo or body painting as religious expression, in many native religions these art forms all fulfill that role.

In religions that do not rely on the written word, artistic expressions take on unique significance because they are filled with meaning and remind practitioners of the specifics of the oral tradition. Statues and paintings, of course, are common in a great many religions, both oral and written. Dance, which takes on particular importance in native religions, incorporates religious objects such as carved and painted masks, headdresses, costumes, ornaments, and musical instruments. In native Hawaiian religion, hula kahiko (ancient hula) is danced in conjunction with chanting to honor the gods. Instruments, like drums, gourds, and sticks, are used for marking rhythm, and lei—wreaths of flowers or other plants—are worn around the head, wrists, and ankles. When used in hula, these objects are considered religious.

Chants, too, are essential, for they repeat the sacred words and re–create the stories of the religious traditions. To be used properly in religious ceremonies, the chants must be memorized carefully. Chanters must

Carved stone discs have been found in Mexico and Guatemala. Some are interpreted as religious stones for the presenting of offerings and others as expressing in visual form the belief in several stages of time. ©EDU Vision/Alamy Stock Photo

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not only have prodigious memories and be able to recall thousands of chants. They must also be able to create special variations on traditional chants and oral texts for individual occasions.

Masks play a significant role in native religions, especially when used in dance. When a dancer is wearing a mask and any accompanying costume, the spirit is not merely represented by the masked dancer. The dancer is thought to actually become the spirit, embodied on earth and can utilize the spirit’s powers. Among the BaPunu in Africa, for example, dancers not only wear masks but also walk on stilts—the overall effect is intense. Particularly complex masks have been produced in the Pacific Northwest by such tribes as the Haida, Tsimshian, and Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka’wakw). Some of their masks, especially those depicting animal spirits, have movable parts, which make them even more emotionally powerful, both for those who wear them and for those who see them.

Besides masks and statues, other forms of wood carving can manifest religious inspiration. Perhaps the most famous of all wood carvings is the carved pole, commonly called a totem pole, found in the Pacific Northwest. The totem pole usually depicts several totems, stacked one upon the other. A totem is an animal figure—such as the bear, beaver, thunderbird, owl, raven, and eagle—that is revered for both its symbolic meaning and its clan symbolism. The totem animals may be memorials to ancestors. They may also act as badges of kinship groups, with specialized meaning for the individual or the family responsible for the totem pole. Some totem poles are a part of the structure of a traditional wooden house or lodge. Others—apparently a later development—are raised to stand alone, frequently in honor of an important event.

Other important art forms that can have religious meaning are weaving, beading, and basketry. These creations may seem to have less obvious religious significance, but the imagery used is frequently of religious derivation, particularly figures from tribal myths, nature deities, and guardian birds and animals.

Feathers and feather work also feature prominently in many native religions. This comes from their powerful association with flight and contact with the world that is above and beyond our own. Richard W. Hill, in an essay on the religious meaning of feathers, remarks that “some cultures associate certain birds with spiritual or protective powers. Birds are believed to have delivered songs, dances, rituals, and sacred messages to humankind. Feathers worn in the hair blow in the wind and evoke birds in flight. For followers of the Ghost Dance religion of the late nineteenth century, birds became important symbols of rebirth.â€​ Feathers are worn in the hair, made into headdresses, and attached to clothing. In Native American cultures, they are also attached to horse harnesses, dolls, pipes, and baskets.

The symbols that appear in myths and in dreams are the basic vocabulary of native religious art. Common symbols include a great mountain located at the center of the universe, the tree of life, the sun and moon, fire, rain, lightning, a bird or wings, death’s head and skeleton, a cross, and a circle. These images, however, often appear in unusual forms. Lightning, for example, may be represented by a zigzag, the sun may appear like a swastika, and the tree of life may look like a ladder. Colors are universally used with symbolic meaning, although the exact meaning differs from culture to culture.

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PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

Meeting Maori People Aotearoa, also called New Zealand, has two large islands—the North Island and the South Island—as well as a multitude of smaller ones. Both large islands are green and beautiful, with rolling hills, farms, and more sheep, cows, and horses than you can count.

Of the two large islands, the North Island is the more populated. Walking down the streets of Auckland gives an immediate sense of the variety there: Sikhs with beards and turbans, Asians of student age, middle-aged people of Indian descent, Maoris, and other people of apparently European origin. Visits to smaller towns, however, give a different sense. There, especially on the east side of the island, many people are Maori, and in quite a few towns in that area, one sees signs of Maori culture. There are meeting halls, and elaborate wood carving surrounds their front doors and windows.

©Thomas Hilgers

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Our small group of visitors is scheduled to meet Maori elders, who will welcome us officially. We are taken to a wide grassy plain just beyond the town. At the farthest end is the community meeting house. It is elaborately carved. Figures of animals, painted red and black, decorate the exterior roof beams. At the left of the meeting house is what looks like a large room for dining. At the right is a building that looks like a small school. Our small group sits in chairs in the shade of a large tree. The men and women sit separately.

The official greeting begins when a man in native clothing, his face painted with zigzag designs, comes forward to dance. He holds a long stick. Although the dance is meant as one of welcome, his dancing reminds you of the movements of a warrior. When the dancing is done, an older man comes to the center of the grass. He welcomes us and our small group. He speaks of the strength of Maori values—family, art, hospitality. He invites us to come up, form a line, and touch our noses to his. When his nose touches mine, his touch lasts for several seconds. I am moved by this gesture of closeness and trust. After everyone has been greeted, the elderâ €™s wife invites us into the dining hall at one side of the large lawn. Inside, we share tea, punch, sandwiches, and cakes as we talk to each other. Some sit; others remain standing.

A gracious older women, dressed in a long black dress, talks with me about the Maori revival. “Many schools now have Maori community centers, where the students can practice traditional dance.

And the students learn about designs that are used in painting, wood carving, and tattoo work. Laws about land and property ownership are more difficult topics, but we are working on them. The Maori people legally accepted the sovereignty of the British monarch, although they generally retained ownership of their land—or at least thought that they did. The Treaty of Waitangi was written in 1840. Although about 500 leaders eventually signed it, not all of them did. This means that the treaty was not unanimous. Also, what the words meant to the native people is not completely certain. The treaty was written first in English and then translated into Maori, but the translation into Maori was not always exact. Luckily, today the government recognizes Maori practices and land rights—at least publicly. Everyone is trying to get things in proper order.â

©Thomas Hilgers

€​ In the evening, back at my hotel, some members of the group were talking at supper about their own

conversations with the elders. “One of them,â€​ a friend said, “told me that in a nearby village an intense debate was going on about

whether to sell off a large piece of land that was owned by the entire village. The elders wanted to do so, since they said that the land would be used to build residences for Maori seniors. Many young people, though, did not. One Maori man told me that some people who were in opposition burned down a public building to show their anger. I think that the debate over land is not over yet.â€​

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INDIGENOUS RELIGIONS TODAY Native religions show many signs of vitality. Some indigenous religions are spreading and even adapting themselves to urban life. For example, religions of the Yoruba tradition are practiced not only in western Africa, their place of origin, but also in Brazil and the Caribbean, and they are growing in cities of North America (see Chapter 11). Awareness of indigenous religions is also becoming widespread, and respect for them is taking many shapes. In some countries—such as Mexico, Brazil, Ecuador, and Peru—you can see a growth in governmental protection of the rights of indigenous peoples. Native peoples themselves are often taking political action to preserve their cultures. In many places—such as Hawai’i, New Zealand, and North America—a renaissance of native cultures is under way. Sometimes this involves primarily cultural elements, but where the indigenous religions are still practiced, those religions are increasingly cherished and protected.

In some places, however, indigenous religions appear fragile. There are four principal threats to their existence: the global spread of popular culture, loss of natural environments, loss of traditional languages, and conversion to other religions.

Television, radio, films, airplanes, and the Internet are carrying modern urban culture to all corners of the earth. (North American television reruns that are broadcast in Mali are just one example.) Change is also evident in the realm of clothing. Traditional regional clothing began to disappear a century ago, as western styles became the standard. Western business wear is now worn in all the world’s cities, and informal clothing—baseball caps and T-shirts—is seen everywhere. Some cultures are trying to hold on to their traditional clothing, especially for formal occasions. This is common, for example, in Korea, the Philippines, and Japan. Architecture, too, is becoming standardized, as the “international styleâ€​—with its plate glass, aluminum, and concrete—takes the place of traditional styles. As modern urban culture spreads across the earth, it tends to dominate everyone’s worldview. It would be hard to convince today’s young people to undergo the deprivation of a vision quest, when all they need to visit other worlds is a television, a computer, or an airplane ticket. Everywhere we go, we find hamburgers, pizza, rap, rock, and casual clothes. Some even believe that popular culture is becoming a religion of its own, displacing all others.

Another great threat to indigenous religions is their loss of traditional lands and natural environment. Because so much personal and group meaning comes from the natural environment, its loss can be devastating to a native people’s identity. Logging interests are a problem almost universally, but especially in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Brazil, Alaska, and western Canada. Much of northern Thailand, where many native peoples live, has already been badly deforested, and the logging companies are now beginning the same process in Myanmar, another home of indigenous peoples. Fights are intense over conservation, land ownership, and governmental protection. Luckily, there have been gains—such as in New Zealand and Australia—where aboriginal rights to land have begun to be recognized.

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A third threat is the loss of native languages. It has been estimated that of the approximately six thousand languages that are spoken in the world today, in a hundred years only three thousand will remain. A comparison of Native American languages once spoken and still in use illustrates well how many languages and dialects have already been lost. In the United States and Canada, only about 500,000 indigenous people still speak their native languages. A single example of this phenomenon is the Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka’wakw) of British Columbia. Although their population has been rising and is now as high as 5,000, only about 250 people can speak the native language. Clearly, the loss of a native language endangers the continued transmission of a religion that expresses itself in that language.

A fourth threat is the spread of proselytizing religions, particularly Christianity and Islam. In the Pacific, native cultures are undergoing a revival, but few elements of the native religions of those cultures remain unchanged from their earlier forms. Christianity, brought since the nineteenth century by missionariesâ €”particularly Methodist, Catholic, and, more recently, Mormon—has replaced some beliefs and reshaped others. Christianity has spread widely in sub-Saharan Africa over the past hundred years, creating both mainstream Western denominations and independent African churches. As a result, there are now more black members of the Anglican Church than there are white members. Islam has also gained many converts in Africa.

Despite the threats to their existence, indigenous religions continue to thrive in several forms throughout the world. In their purest form, they live on in those pockets where modern influence has penetrated the least, such as in Borneo and the Amazon River basin. They may also coexist, sometimes in diluted form, alongside other religions. In Taiwan, Korea, and Japan, for example, shamanism exists side by side with Buddhism, Christianity, and other religions. (Because the shamans there are often female, their native religious practices allow them roles that are not open to them in the adopted religions.) Indigenous religions have also intermixed with mainstream religions. In the Caribbean, the gods of African religions have sometimes been combined with forms of French and Spanish Catholicism in the religions of Voodoo and SanterÃ​a (see Chapter 11). In Central America, people who are otherwise practicing Catholics also worship deities of earlier native religions. We see similar types of synthesis in Mexico and the southwestern United States.

Contemporary Issues

HALLOWEEN: €ŒJUST GOOD FUN€ OR FOLK RELIGION?

any of us think of native religions as having little connection to our everyday life. Yet elements of them persist in modern culture. Their oral nature is apparent when we see how the manner of practice is taught—not in books of instruction, but by word of mouth and by example. Halloween is an excellent example of this, but other festivals also invite examination.

Halloween means the evening before All Hallows (All Saints) Day, which falls on November 1. Although Halloween gets its name from Christianity, the celebration is, in fact, a continuation of Samhain (pronounced sa’-win), the New Year’s festival celebrated in pre-Christian England and Ireland. There is a strong theme of death and rebirth, as winter comes on and the old year disappears. It was believed that spirits of ancestors roamed free at this time and needed to be fed and placated. We see this underlying the practice of children going door to door, receiving food. We also see it in the many Halloween costumes that suggest death (skeletons) and communication with the spirit world (angels, devils, and religious figures).

Although Christmas has a Christian name and purpose, the origins of this festival, too, are pre- Christian. It began as a festival of the winter solstice, when the days are the coldest and shortest in the northern hemisphere. People compensated by celebrating a holiday of extra light, warmth, and abundance. The lighted Christmas tree and the evergreen wreaths and decorations have nothing to do with the story of Jesus’birth; rather, they are clear symbols of fertility and life, which the celebrants hope will persist through a cold winter. The giving of presents is related to this idea of abundance, and the Christian Saint Nicholas has been transformed over the past two hundred years into the grandfatherly Santa Claus. Like a shaman or wizard, Santa Claus flies through the air, carried by his magical reindeer, dispensing presents from his overflowing bag to children all around the earth.

Easter’s Christian meaning is mixed with elements that derive from the Jewish Passover, but underlying this tradition are symbols of fertility and new life—eggs, flowers, and rabbits. (The name Easter comes from an Old English term for a spring festival in honor of Eastre, goddess of the dawn.) Easter has maintained a close tie to nature in that it is always celebrated at the time of a full moon.

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We can see in these examples of contemporary folk religion the “universal languageâ€​ of religious symbols. It is the same language, whether found in folk religion, native religions, or the other religions that we will take up in the chapters ahead.

Contemporary Issues

THE GREEN MOVEMENT: A NEW GLOBAL INDIGENOUS RELIGION?

ll indigenous religions honor nature in some way. These religions sometimes associate natural forces such as wind, rain, volcanoes, and earthquakes with invisible spirits living beyond the earth. Other traditions see these forces as residing more visibly in mountains, trees, rivers, the moon, and the sun. Whatever form it is conceived as, nature commands respect, and people are expected to show their respect by working harmoniously with their

environment.

The costumes of these trick-or-treaters are not unlike those used in some ceremonies of indigenous religions. ©Ariel Skelley/Blend Images/Getty Images RF

In contrast with indigenous religions, major religions have traditionally shown limited concern for nature. However, this is changing. Today, many major religions have begun to display a new sensitivity to the earth. Buddhist religious leaders have begun to speak of the need to show compassion and respect for all living things—not just for human beings. The Catholic pope, Benedict XVI, labeled acts that harm the environment as “sinful.â€​ Increasingly, presidents and prime ministers, whatever their religions, as well as ordinary citizens, are making calls to protect the environment, participating in what has become a worldwide Green Movement.

The first phase of the Green Movement in the United States came more than a hundred years ago, when the federal government began to create national parks. People had become aware that the treasures of the scenic natural world needed protection. Yellowstone was the first national park that was created. The second phase began more than fifty years ago, with the publication of books like Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring. This book warned about the dangers of pesticides. Works like Carson’s gave scientific underpinning to growing ecological concern. The third phase is now under way, as environmentalism gains popular support around the world. Individuals, schools, businesses, and governments deliberately “move from gray to green.â€​ Part of the world’s energy now comes from sunshine, wind, ocean waves, and plants. Construction materials for buildings now include bamboo, reused brick, and recycled wood. A common watchword is sustainability, and a well-known mantra is “reduce, reuse, recycle.â€​ After decades of being considered a fringe movement of flaky â €œtree-huggers,â€​ environmentalism is entering the mainstream. Industries that were once opposed to environmental needs are beginning to realize the commercial benefits of “going green,â€​ and they are at last using their enormous power to make real change.

Indigenous peoples are now also becoming an explicit and vocal part of the Green Movement. For example, in Brazil the Yanomamö (Yanomami) have demonstrated in Brasilia to protect their native

Kenyan Green-Movement activist Wangari Maathai won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 “for her contribution to sustainable development, democracy, and peace.â€​ ©Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images

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lands from roads and mining. In Kenya, Wangari Maathai (1940–2011) was called “Tree Mother of Africaâ€​ because of her work as founder of the Green Belt Movement, which has planted more than 40 million trees. For her efforts, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2004.

Those who espouse the Green Movement most likely don’t see themselves as embracing a religion, but the movement has many hallmarks of religion. Its statements of political principles form a list of commandments and virtues, which include not only sustainability and biodiversity but also consensus, grass-roots democracy, and nonviolence. Its priests are the world’s scientists and environmental experts, and its prophets are environmental activists. It promotes a way of life, and it holds promise of rewards and punishments for all inhabitants of this earth.

Whether or not the Green Movement comes to be seen as a world religion makes little difference. If the multinational Green Movement can change human behavior for the good of all, it will be accomplishing as much as many recognized religions. Somewhat ironically, the Green Movement, by leading the world’s citizens back to a respect for nature, is also leading people to a new appreciation of the indigenous religions that are built on such respect.

In North America, in the Pacific, and in Africa, people have continued or are attempting to restore the practices of their ancestral ways. For example, in Aotearoa (New Zealand), Maori culture is expressing its traditional culture in canoe building, tattooing, dance, and wood sculpture. This attempt at revival is complicated by debates over such issues as the introduction of Maori language into schools and public life. In Hawai’i, a renaissance of Hawaiian culture, language, and hula necessarily means retelling the stories of the gods and goddesses of Hawaiian mythology. A few schools in Hawai’i now teach all their lessons in Hawaiian, and hula schools are flourishing. Citizens of many native nations in North America are instructing their young in traditional dance and other religious practices. Nevertheless, how to deal with a traditional belief in deities in the face of some dominant monotheistic religions presents intriguing questions. One result, as in the Native American Church, is that beliefs and practices now often incorporate both oral and text-based traditions.

Interest in indigenous religions is a potential restorative for cultures that have moved quickly from their traditional rural homes to homes in the city. In native traditions, we see religion before it was compartmentalized. These holistic traditions make us aware of the religious dimensions that can be found in our own everyday life, and they expand our sensitivity to nature. Their remembrance of the sacred past makes holy the present and the future.

Reading THE IMPORTANCE OF DREAMS

North American native people have often placed great reliance on the meaning of dreams. Born and

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raised in Minnesota, Frances Densmore made the study of indigenous North American peoples her life’s work. Here she talks of how, from childhood, young people among the Ojibwe were trained to remember their dreams, which they saw as guides for how to live the rest of their lives.

In order to understand the character of the Chippewa [Ojibwe] we must take into consideration the influence of the dream on the life of the Indian. An aged Chippewa said: “In the old days our people had not education. They could not learn from books nor from teachers. All their wisdom and knowledge came to them in dreams. They tested their dreams, and in that way learned their own strength.â€​ The ability to dream was cultivated from earliest childhood. “Try to dream and to remember what you dream,â€​ was a frequent admonition to children when they were put to bed. Thus the imagination was stimulated, and there arose a keen desire to see something extraordinary in sleep. No significance was attached to these childish dreams, but they prepared the way for the really important dream that the child sought on attaining its maturity. Parents instructed both girls and boys concerning the Importance of this dream and the means of securing it. Purity of life and thought was one essential to the revelation of one’s guardian spirit or tutelary. Fasting, isolation, and medi[t]ation were the principal conditions under which such a dream might be secured.…

The dream thus secured was of greatest importance in the life of the individual, though he or she might have other dreams. We note the confident expectation in the mind of the child, the stimulating of the brain by lack of food, and the unfamiliar waking impressions that may have combined with the child’s own character to determine the subject of its dream. This is a matter of physiology and of psychology. The Chippewa say that in their dreams they often returned to a previous state of existence; also that they saw things which no Indian had seen at that time, but which they themselves saw and recognized in later years, such as sailing vessels and frame houses. It was said the power of the dream was so great that a man had been known to assume the form which had been his in a previous existence, and which had formed the subject of his dream. Thus it was said that a warrior who had dreamed of a certain animal would call on it in time of danger, and if he were wounded, his comrades would hear the cry of that animal and see it run away.43

TEST YOURSELF

1. Although there is no agreement on how to speak of ancient religious ways, they are often inadequately referred to as traditional, aboriginal, indigenous, tribal, ____________, primal, native, oral, and basic.

a. holistic

b. shamanistic

c. nonliterate

d. wakan

2. Indigenous religions exist generally within ____________ cultures, in which every object and act may have religious meaning.

a. holistic

b. sacred

c. symbolic

d. sacrificial

3. In many Native American religious traditions, there is little distinction between the human and animal worlds. These native religions see everything in the universe as being alive, a concept known as ____________.

a. taboo

b. sacredness

c. origins

d. animism

4. Sacred time is “the time of ____________.†​ Among the Koyukon people of the Arctic, it is called “distant time,†​ and it is the holy ancient past in which gods lived and worked. Among Australian Aborigines it is often called Dreamtime, and it is the subject of much of their highly esteemed art.

a. eternity

b. ceremonies

c. life cycles

d. gods

5. ____________ is the doorway through which the “other world†​ of gods and ancestors can

contact us and we can contact them. It is associated with the center of the universe and can be constructed, often in a symbolic shape such as a circle or square.

a. Dualism

b. Sacred space

c. Ceremony

d. Eternity

6. Most indigenous religions have cosmic tales of their ____________. They frequently speak of a High God and make little distinction between a god and an ancestor.

a. life cycle

b. ceremonies

c. taboos

d. origins

Page 697. In native societies, everyday religious activity and practice are significant, because their primary purpose is often to place individuals, families, and groups in “right ____________â € ​ with gods, ancestors, other human beings, and nature.

a. origins

b. relationships

c. ceremonies

d. taboos

8. Special rituals mark a person’s entry into adulthood. In Native American religions, a common ritual of early maturity is the “vision quest,†​ or “____________.†​

a. dream quest

b. trance

c. sacred time

d. symbolic death

9. Many native tribes and clans make use of animal figures in their sculpture, totem poles, painting, and other art and architecture. Besides being decorative, what other meanings could this use have? Can you give three parallels in modern culture?

10. What elements of Halloween seem religious? Please give examples from your own experience. Please speak in detail about the costumes. What are two of the most memorable costumes that you have seen or worn? Would you call either one in some way religious?

11. Think of a major problem facing twenty-first century Western society. How might a holistic perspective that is typical of indigenous religions help in dealing with this problem?

12. Imagine you are assigned a research paper on one of the following topics in indigenous religions: life-cycle ceremonies, taboos, or shamanism. Based on what you have read in this chapter, which one would you most want to investigate and why? What challenges do you think you would encounter while researching this topic?

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RESOURCES

Books

Film/TV

Cowan, James. Aborigine Dreaming. Wellingborough, UK: Thorsons, 2002. An exploration of the spiritual beliefs of the Australian Aborigines.

Ephirim-Donkor, Anthony. African Spirituality: On Becoming Ancestors. Lanham, MD: University Press of America, 2011. A study of the process in West African religions of becoming an elder and then an ancestor.

Fitzhugh, William, and Chisato Dubreuil, eds. Ainu: Spirit of a Northern People. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2001. A well-illustrated collection of essays on Ainu history, religion, and culture.

Grim, John, ed. Indigenous Traditions and Ecology. Cambridge, MA: Center for the Study of World Religions, 2001. Essays on environmental elements in indigenous religions.

Harvey, Graham, ed. Indigenous Religions: A Companion. New York: Continuum, 2000. A collection of essays by many scholars regarding mana, taboo, sacrifice, and other beliefs and practices of indigenous religions.

———. Shamanism: A Reader. New York: Routledge, 2002. Articles and extracts that examine shamanism, exploring issues of gender, initiation, hallucinogenic consciousness, and political protest.

Marcos, Sylvia, ed. Women and Indigenous Religions. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO, 2010. Essays on the roles of indigenous women regarding ritual, kinship, and related topics.

Pijoan, Teresa. Pueblo Indian Wisdom. Santa Fe: Sunstone Press, 2000. A collection of the legends of the Pueblo peoples of New Mexico.

Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. New York: Penguin, 2006. A novel that shows how an emotionally and spiritually wounded Native American veteran, facing a grim future, is healed by a traditional ceremony arranged by the elders of his tribe.

Vitebsky, Piers. The Shaman: Voyages of the Soul; Trance, Ecstasy and Healing from Siberia to the Amazon. London: Duncan Baird, 2001. A colorfully illustrated exploration of the history and practice of shamanism around the world.

Dancing in Moccasins: Keeping Native American Traditions Alive. (Films Media Group.) An examination of how contemporary Native Americans keep their traditions alive.

Earl’s Canoe: A Traditional Ojibwe Craft. (Smithsonian Institution Center for Folklife Programs and Cultural Heritage.) A documentary of Earl Nyholm, a member of the Ojibwe Nation, as he builds a canoe according to traditional Ojibwe methods and explains his tribeâ €™s beliefs concerning the construction and use of canoes.

Music

Internet

Healers of Ghana. (Films Media Group.) An exploration of the traditional medical practices of the Bono people of central Ghana, which involve the use of herbs and spirit possession.

The Shaman’s Apprentice. (Miranda Productions.) A documentary, filmed in the rain forests of Suriname, that shows efforts by Dr. Mark Plotkin to preserve the rain forest and the religious practices of its people.

Walkabout. (Director Nicholas Roeg; Films Inc.) A classic film about two British children abandoned in the Australian outback and rescued by a young Aborigine who is on a walkabout, a sacred initiation intended to convey a boy into manhood.

Whalerider. (Director Niki Caro; Columbia Tristar.) An exploration of the conflict between Maori tribal tradition and one girl’s determination to prove herself as a tribal leader.

The Baoule of the Ivory Coast. (Smithsonian Folkways.) Music from the Baoule tribe of Africa. The Bora of the Pascoe River: Cape York Peninsula, Northeast Australia. (Smithsonian Folkways.)

Stories and songs of the Bora Aborigines. Dogon Music of the Masks and the Funeral Rituals. (Inedit.) A collection of traditional ritual

music of the Dogon people of Mali. The Rough Guide to Australian Aboriginal Music. (World Music Network.) An anthology of music

by various Aboriginal musicians. Sacred Spirit: Chants and Dances of the Native Americans. (Virgin Records.) A compilation of

songs that spans the history and tradition of Native American ritual chant and music. Uwolani. (Mountain Apple Company.) Twenty traditional Hawaiian chants, including creation

chants (ko’ihonua), name chants (mele inoa), chants to honor gods, and chants to recognize the beauty of places, winds, and rains.

Yunupingu, Geoffrey. Gurrumul. (Skinnyfish/Dramatico.) Songs written and sung by a blind Aboriginal man.

Center for World Indigenous Studies (CWIS): http://www.cwis.org. A website devoted to challenges confronting indigenous peoples, research into indigenous topics, conflict resolution, and related conferences.

The Foundation for Shamanic Studies (FSS): http://www.shamanism.org/. Information about a foundation whose goal is to preserve and teach the religious beliefs of indigenous peoples.

Internet Sacred Text Archive: http://www.sacred-texts.com/index.htm. A large electronic archive that contains sections devoted to the tales and folklore of indigenous religions in Africa, Australia, the Americas, and the Pacific Islands.

United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII): http://social.un.org/index/IndigenousPeoples.aspx. The official website of the U.N. advisory body that addresses indigenous issues, including economic and social development, culture, the

environment, education, health, and human rights.

KEY TERMS

calumet: A long-stemmed sacred pipe used primarily by many native peoples of North America; it is smoked as a token of peace.

divination: A foretelling of the future or a look into the past; a discovery of the unknown by magical means.

holistic: Organic, integrated; indicating a complete system, greater than the sum of its parts; here, refers to a culture whose various elements (art, music, social behavior) may all have religious meaning.

Page 71libation: The act of pouring a liquid on the ground as an offering to a god. shaman: A human being who contacts and attempts to manipulate the power of spirits for the

tribe or group. sympathetic magic: An attempt to influence the outcome of an event through an action that has

an apparent similarity to the desired result—for example, throwing water into the air to produce rain or burning an enemy’s fingernail clippings to bring sickness to that enemy.

taboo: A strong social prohibition (Tongan: tabu; Hawaiian: kapu). totem: An animal (or image of an animal) that is considered to be related by blood to a family or

clan and is its guardian or symbol.

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CHAPTER 3

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Hinduism

©Edward North/Alamy Stock Photo

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FIRST ENCOUNTER The plane that you have taken to northern India circles in preparation for landing at the Varanasi airport. Looking down from your window seat, you can see the blue-white Ganges River, quite wide here. Everything else is a thousand shades of brown. Beyond the coffee-colored city, the beige fields spread out, seemingly forever.

At the small airport, a dignified customs inspector with a turban and a white beard asks, “Why have you come to India?â€​ Before you can think of an appropriate response, he answers his own question. “I know,â€​ he says with a smile and a wave of the hand. “You people who come to Varanasi are here for the same reason.â€​ He shakes his head from side to side. “You have come for spirituality.â€​ After pausing briefly, he adds, “Haven’t you!â€​ It sounds more like a statement than a question. It takes you a second to understand his quick pronunciation of that unexpected word—spirituality. In a way, he is right. You have come for that. You nod in agreement. He smiles again, writes something down on his form, and lets you through.

As you take the small black taxi to your hotel, you realize that you have just accepted—willingly or not—the ancient role that the customs inspector has bestowed upon you. You are now just one more pilgrim who has come to Mother India for her most famous product: religious insight. You are now a Seeker.

After unpacking at your hotel, you walk out into the streets. It is dusk. Pedicab drivers ring their bells to ask if you want a ride, but you want to walk, to see the life of the streets. Little shops sell tea, and others sell foods made of potatoes, wheat, beans, and curried vegetables. Children play in front of their parents’stores. Down the street you see a “gent’s tailorâ€​ shop, as a thin cow wanders peacefully past, chewing on what looks like a paper sack. Another shop sells books and notepaper, and others sell saris and bolts of cloth. From somewhere comes a smell like jasmine. As night falls, the stores are lit by dim bulbs and fluorescent lights, and vendors illuminate their stalls with bright Coleman lanterns. Because you will be rising long before dawn the next day, in order to be at the Ganges River for sunrise, you soon return to your hotel. You fall asleep quickly.

You hear the telephone ring. It wakes you out of a dream. The man at the front desk notifies you that it is four

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a.m. and that you had asked for this early wake-up call. You remind yourself that you are in Varanasi. You get up and dress quickly.

At the front of the hotel you wake a driver who is dozing in his taxi. You negotiate the fare, climb in, and head off to the main crossing of town, near the river. As the sky begins to lighten, the driver drops you near the ghats, the stairs that descend to the river. The stairs are already full of people, many going down to the river to bathe and pray. Some are having sandalwood paste applied to their foreheads—a sign of devotion. Others are carrying brass jugs to collect Ganges water.

As you come close to the river, boat owners call to you. You decide to join the passengers in the boat of a man who resembles a Victorian patriarch, with a glorious handlebar mustache. Off you go, moving slowly upstream. Laughing children jump up and down in the water as men and women wade waist-deep and face the rising sun to pray. The boat continues upstream, where professional launderers are already at work. They beat clothes on the rocks to clean them, then lay the wet clothes on the stones of the riverbank to dry.

The boat turns back downstream. You drift past the stairs where you first descended to the river. In the bright morning light you see large umbrellas, under which teachers sit cross-legged, some with disciples around them. Who, you wonder, are these teachers? The area near the shore is crammed with people and boats. On a nearby boat, people shout, Ganga Ma ki Jai—“Victory to Mother Ganges!â€​

The boat continues downstream. On the shore, smoke rises from small pyres, where bodies wrapped in red and white cloth are being cremated. The boatman speaks seriously, “No photos here, please.â€​ A little farther downstream, your boat pulls in to shore, and everyone gets off. Walking up the steps, you see small groups of people, who are quietly watching the cremations upstream. You look back. At the pyres, a man tends the fires with a bamboo pole, and a dog wanders nearby.

As you make your way back to the center of town, you notice an open pedicab with a covered body tied onto the back. It cycles past women sitting beside the road, who are selling plastic bracelets and colored powders. The pedicab must be on its way to the pyres, you think. The blend of opposites fills your mind; on the banks of the very same river, laundry is washed and bodies are burned; in the streets, life and death appear side by side—yet no one seems to notice the contrasts. Here, the two are one.

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THE ORIGINS OF HINDUISM Looking at a map of India (Figure 3.1) you can see that this subcontinent, shaped like a diamond, is isolated. Two sides face the ocean, while the north is bounded by the steep Himalaya Mountains. There are a few mountain passes, but the only easy land entry is via the open corridor in the northwest. It is in the vicinity of the Indus River, where Pakistan now lies. It is the relative isolation of India that has helped create a culture that is rare and fascinating.

India’s climate, except in the mountain regions, is generally warm for most of the year. This allows people to live outdoors much of the time. Indeed, some people may even claim that the climate has helped promote religious values that, at least for some people, minimize the importance of material goods such as clothing, housing, and money.

Although hot and dry in many parts, India has many rivers and streams. Most important is the Ganges, which flows out of the Himalayas and is enlarged by tributaries as it moves east toward the Bay of Bengal. By the time the Ganges has reached the town of Varanasi (also known as Benares), the river is enormous; in fact, after the summer monsoons, the river becomes so wide that often one cannot see to the other side. Because the water of

FIGURE 3.1 India, Bali, and the area of Hindu influence.

the Ganges is regular and dependable, it has enabled civilization to flourish across much of northern India. This river has also given Indian culture a sense of security, protection, and even care. This has led to the popular name for the river, Ganga Ma (“Mother Gangesâ€​).

The religious life of India is something like the river Ganges. It has flowed along for thousands of years, swirling from its own power but also from the power of new streams that have added to its force. Hinduism, the major religion of India, has been an important part of this flowing energy. Many influences—early indigenous religion and influences from later immigrant groups—have added to its inherent momentum. It has no one identifiable founder, no strong organizational structure to defend it and spread its influence, nor any creed to define and stabilize its beliefs. In a way that seems to defy reason, Hinduism unites the worship of many gods with a belief in a single divine reality. In fact, the name Hinduism can be misleading. Hinduism is not a single, unified religion; it is more like a family of beliefs.

Yet the limitations of Hinduism may also be its strengths. It is like a palace that began as a two-room cottage. Over the centuries, wings have been built on to it, and now it has countless rooms, stairs, corridors, statues, fountains, and gardens. There is something here to please and astonish—and dismay—almost everyone. In fact, its beliefs are so rich and profound that Hinduism has greatly influenced the larger world, and its influence continues to grow. This chapter will explore the various elements of this religion’s foundation and the stages in which additions were made to the sprawling house of Hinduism.

The Earliest Stage of Indian Religion In the early twentieth century, engineers who were building a railroad discovered the ruins of an ancient culture in the Indus River valley. Today, most of the Indus River lies in Pakistan, but it traditionally formed the natural border of northwestern India—in fact, the words India and Hindu derive from Indus. The culture that archeological workers uncovered there flourished before 2000 BCE and is named the Harappa culture, after one of its ancient cities (Timeline 3.1).

T I M E L I N E 3 . 1

before 2000 BCE ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Existence of Harappa culture in Indus River valley

Traditional period of early Vedic religion

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ c. 2000–500 BCE

c. 1500 BCE ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Beginning of creation of the Vedas

Beginning of creation of Upanishads; Axis Age

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ c. 800–500 BCE

c. 200 BCE–200 CE

⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Creation of the Bhagavad Gita

Life of philosopher Shankara •⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ c. 750 CE

c. 1200 ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Muslim entry into northern India

Portuguese entry into India •⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ 1498

c. 1750–1947 ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• British

Life of political activist Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ 1869–1948

1947 ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• India achieves political independence

Periodic religion-related acts of •⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ 1965–present

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Archeologists were amazed by the type of civilization that they found. The cities contained regular streets and solid brick houses. Pots and coins were discovered, as well as evidence that running water was used for toilets and baths. As one historian has remarked, “no other ancient civilization until that of the Romans had so efficient a system of drainsâ€​ —a genuine sign of technical development. This complex culture had also invented a writing system. However, because of the limited number of examples, it remains a challenge to scholars.

Property owners marked their belongings with seals bearing the images of animals, such as the bull, tiger, and rhinoceros, as well as images of men and women. Three seals show a male, sitting in a yogic meditation posture, with horns on his head. Small pillars that suggest male sexuality were also found. Because many of these same symbols still appear in contemporary Indian culture, we can assume that some current religious practices have survived from the distant past. For example, the male with the horns on his head may be a deity and an early form of the god Shiva, and the pillars resemble the low columns that some contemporary Indians worship in honor of Shiva. It is also quite possible that the present-day worship of the divine Great Mother and of tree spirits goes back to this early time.

violence involving India and Pakistan

2014 ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Victory of Hindu nationalist party (BJP) in Indian national elections

Timeline of significant events in the history of Hinduism.

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The Religion of the Vedic Period The ancient scriptures of India are called the Vedas. They give a great deal of information about gods and worship during what is often called the Vedic period—generally thought to cover about 2000 to 500 BCE. The origin of the Vedas and of the religion they describe, however, is uncertain.

In the late eighteenth century, Western scholars recognized that Sanskrit—the ancient language of India and the language of the Vedas—was related to Greek and Latin. They also realized that many of the gods mentioned in the Vedas were the same gods who had been worshiped in Greece and Rome. They discovered, as well, that gods of similar names were mentioned in Iranian sacred literature.

Scholars later theorized that a single people, who called themselves Aryans, moved from present-day southern Russia about 2000 BCE in two directions—westward into Europe and eastward into Iran and India. Entering new lands, these people were thought to have carried their language and religion with them. Initially it was thought that in India the outsiders imposed their social order quickly and violently on the older culture. According to this theory, called the “Aryan invasion theory,â€​ the Vedas were believed to be the religious writings of this invading people.

Next, a variant on the older theory arose. Instead of speaking of a single invasion, the newer theory held that there were repeated waves of migrations into Pakistan and northern India, and that from these contacts between foreign and indigenous cultures the religion of the Vedas emerged.

More recently, however, this second theory, called the “Aryan migration theory,â€​ has been questioned. The migration theory is still commonly held, but some scholars view any theory that assumes influence from outside India to be a continued relic of Western cultural imperialism. Archeological, linguistic, and genetic investigations continue to offer more clues, but attempts at interpretation have not resolved the issue.

No matter what its origins, the religion described by the Vedas seems to have consisted of the worship of mostly male gods who were believed to control the forces of nature. The father of the gods was Dyaüs Pitr, whose name means “shining father.â€​ (He is clearly the same god as the Roman god Jupiter and the Greek god Zeus Pater.) The god Indra, god of storm and war, received great attention because of the strength his worshipers hoped to receive from him. He was possibly the memory of a military ancestor, deified by later generations. The god of fire was Agni. (His name is related to the English word ignite and to the Latin word for fire, ignis.) Agni, it was believed, carried sacrificial offerings up to the world of the gods. Dawn and renewal were the charge of the goddess Ushas, one of the few female deities. The god Rudra brought winds. Varuna was the god of the sky and justice. Vishnu was a god of cosmic order. Surya was the major sun god. The god Soma was thought to cause altered states of mind and to expand consciousness. Soma worked through a ritual drink, possibly made from a psychedelic mushroom that had the same name (soma) and allowed contact with the realm of the gods. The god Yama ruled the afterlife.

Worship of the gods took place at outdoor fire altars. Priestly specialists set apart a square or rectangular space, purified it with water, and constructed one to three low altars inside the space for sacrifice. The usual offerings were milk, clarified butter (called ghee), grains, and sometimes animals. A special horse sacrifice, believed to confer great power on a king, occurred on rare occasions.

Sacred chants, which the priests knew from memory, were an essential part of the ceremonies. Because the priests believed that the chants had power of their own, they protected the chants, handing them down orally from father to son. It is these chants, in written form, that make up the core of the earliest Hindu sacred literature, the Vedas. Although some of the Vedic gods are no longer worshiped, elements of the Aryan religion—such as the use of fire and some of the ancient chants by a priestly class—continue to be of great importance to Hindus today.

Vishnu is mentioned in the Vedas, Hinduism’s ancient scriptures, as a god of cosmic order. ©Julian Kumar/Corbis Documentary/Getty Images

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The Vedas The Vedas are the earliest sacred books of Hinduism. Originally they were preserved only in oral form, but eventually they were written. Their name means “knowledgeâ€​ or “sacred lore,â€​ and related words in English are vision and wisdom. Although scholars date the earliest versions of the Vedas to about 1500 BCE, many Hindus consider them to be far more ancient. They say that the Vedas were revealed to rishis (holy men of the distant past), who did not create the Vedas but heard them and transmitted them to later generations.

There are four basic sacred text collections that constitute the Vedas. The Rig Veda (“hymn knowledgeâ €​) is a collection of more than a thousand chants to the Aryan gods. The Yajur Veda (“ceremonial knowledgeâ€​) contains matter for recitation during sacrifice. The Sama Veda (“chant knowledgeâ€​) is a handbook of musical elaborations of Vedic chants. The Atharva Veda (“knowledge from [the teacher] Atharvaâ€​) consists of practical prayers and charms, such as prayers to protect against snakes and sickness.

The Rig Veda, the most important of the Vedas, has an account of the origin of the universe. The universe is said to have emerged from the division and cosmic sacrifice of a primeval superperson, Purusha. Yet the account includes an admission of uncertainty: “Who knows it for certain; who can proclaim it here; namely, out of what it was born and wherefrom his creations issued? The gods appeared only laterâ €”after the creation of the world. Who knows, then, out of what it has evolved?â€​

The term Vedas sometimes indicates only these four collections. In its more common use, it also refers to some later material as well. Detailed ceremonial rules, called Brahmanas and Aranyakas, were added by later generations to each of the four Vedic collections. The Brahmanas, named for the priests who would use them, give details about the proper time and place for ceremonies, the preparation of the ground, ritual objects, and purification rites. The Aranyakas (“forest booksâ€​) allowed the rituals to be understood and practiced in nonliteral, symbolic ways by men who had left society and become ascetics in the forests. The four Vedas end with even later works, called the Upanishads, which express philosophical and religious ideas that arose in meditative traditions.

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THE UPANISHADS AND THE AXIS AGE Around 500 BCE, Indian civilization experienced such widespread and important changes that the period is known as the Axis Age—meaning that everything turned in a new direction at this time. Interestingly, great changes also were taking place in other religions and cultures as well. It was the time of the Buddha, Confucius, major Hebrew prophets, and early Greek philosophers.

After many centuries, questioning of Vedic religious beliefs and practices began to emerge with strength. It is possible that earlier religious disciplines reasserted themselves, and there may have been resentment against the priestly class. Some critics questioned the value of the Vedic sacrifices, and we know from the Aranyakas that certain people abandoned social life to live alone in the forests, giving themselves much time for thought and religious experimentation. Thinkers questioned the ancient belief in many gods, seeking instead a single divine reality that might be the source of everything. Some went even further and saw all things as being mystically united. A few rejected religious ritual altogether.

During this period there seems to have been interest in many techniques for altering consciousness. Among these were sitting for long periods in meditation, breathing deeply, fasting, avoiding sexual activity, practicing long periods of silence, going without sleep, experimenting with psychedelic plants, and living in the darkness of caves. People of any social class—not just priests—could do all of these things. Evidence of this intellectual ferment and the practice of spiritual disciplines is recorded in the Upanishads.

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The Origin of the Upanishads The Upanishads comprise about a hundred written works that record insights into external and internal reality. Although several interpretations of the name Upanishads have been proposed, the name is commonly thought to be derived from words that mean “sitting near.â€​ If the term’s derivation is correct, the word suggests disciples sitting near a master, learning techniques for achieving religious experience. In any case, primary to the Upanishads is the notion that with spiritual discipline and meditation, both priests and nonpriests can experience the spiritual reality that underlies all seemingly separate realities. Unlike much of the earlier Vedic material, which dictates that only hereditary priests can be religious masters, the Upanishads tell us that a person who has the necessary experience can be a spiritual master. The Upanishads thus possibly continue the religious interest of the forest dwellers of the Aranyakas.

The Upanishads are written primarily in dialogue form, appearing both as prose and as poetry. Because they were produced over many hundreds of years, dating them is not easy. It is generally thought that those in prose form—such as the Chandogya, Brihadaranyaka, Taittiriya, and Kena Upanishads—may be earlier works and that than those in poetic form—such as the Katha and Mandukya Upanishads—may be later. About a dozen Upanishads are especially popular.

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Important Concepts of the Upanishads The most important notions in the Upanishads are Brahman, Atman, maya, karma, samsara, and moksha. These primary concepts, which would become essential notions in much later Hindu spirituality, continue to be taught today.

Brahman and Atman The term Brahman originally stood for the cosmic power present in the Vedic sacrifice and chants, over which the priest had control. (The Sanskrit word Brahman is neuter and comes from a stem meaning “to be great.â€​) In the Upanishads the word Brahman was expanded to mean a divine reality at the heart of things. One of the most famous dialogues appears in the Chandogya Upanishad. It involves a priestly father and his son in discussion. The young man, Shvetaketu, has been away, studying with a specialist for many years. He has memorized chants and learned priestly rituals. The young man’s father questions him about what he has learned, and the son proudly recites the formulas that he knows. The father then asks him what he knows about Brahman, the Supreme Spirit. About this, though, the young man knows nothing. Trying to assist his son’s understanding, the father asks his son to fill a glass with water, put salt in it, and leave it overnight. The next day the father asks his son to find the salt:

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“Bring me the salt you put into the water last night.†​ Shvetaketu looked into the water, but could not find it, for it had dissolved. His father then said: “Taste the water from this side. How is it?†​ “It is salt [salty].†​ “Taste it from the middle. How is it?†​ “It is salt.†​ “Taste it from that side. How is it?†​ “It is salt.†​ “Look for the salt again and come again to me.†​ The son did so, saying: “I cannot see the salt. I only see water.†​ The father then said: “In the same way, O my son, you cannot see the Spirit. But in truth he is here. “An invisible and subtle essence is the Spirit of the whole universe. That is Reality. That is Truth. Thou art That.†​8

Many Hindu concepts are complex, and serious Hindus often seek guidance from a priest as they try to improve

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The Upanishads insist that Brahman is something that can be known—not simply something to be believed. The Shvetasvatara Upanishad, for example, says “I know that Spirit whose infinity is in all, who is ever one beyond time.â€​ Brahman, the Divine Spirit, is so real that it may be known directly. As the boy Shvetaketu has learned, knowledge of Brahman can be as immediate as tasting the flavor of salt.

What is it to know Brahman? The Upanishads insist that it cannot be put fully into words. However, the Upanishads give hints. Brahman is the lived experience that all things are in some way holy because they come from the same sacred source. It is also the experience that all things are in some way ultimately one. This is an experience that seems to defy common sense, since the world appears to be divided into many objects and types of reality. Nevertheless, when we consider reality more deeply, we recognize many unities: a piece of wood can become a boat or a house or fire or ash, and water can turn into a cloud or a plant. So, on closer inspection, all apparent separations and divisions blur. To experience Brahman is to know, firsthand, that every apparently individual reality in the world is actually a wave of the same sacred ocean of energy. Brahman, according to the Upanishads, “is the sun, the moon, and the stars. He is the fire, the waters, and the wind.â€​ Brahman is â €œthe God who appears in forms infinite.â€​

Brahman is also referred to by three words that help describe its nature as perceived by the knower: Brahman is sat, reality itself; chit, pure consciousness; and ananda, bliss. And although Brahman can be experienced within our everyday world of time and space, those who speak of their experience say that Brahman is ultimately beyond time and beyond space. Thus the Upanishads often add that experiencing the timelessness of Brahman can bring an end to everyday suffering and to the fear of death.

The notion of Atman is related to Brahman and is an equally important term in the Upanishads. Although Atman is sometimes translated as “selfâ€​ or “soul,â€​ the notion of Atman in the Upanishads is different from the notion of an individual soul. Perhaps the term Atman would be better translated as “deepest self.â€​ In Hindu belief, each person has an individual soul (jiva), and the individual soul confers uniqueness and personality. Hinduism, though, asks this question: At the very deepest level, what really am I? I am clearly not just my body—my height and weight and hair color, all of which are subject to alteration. Am I then my tastes, thoughts, and memories? Or is there more? Is there not in me a reality more fundamental than those changing individual characteristics? According to the Upanishads, at the deepest level of what I am is a divine reality, a divine spirit that everything shares. The Upanishads teach that it is true to say that I am God, because, for the person who understands reality at the deepest level, everything is God. Atman, when experienced fully, is identical with Brahman. Atman, like Brahman, is divine, holy, and timeless. Often the term Brahman refers to the experience of the sacred within nature and the external universe, while Atman refers to the experience of the sacred within oneself. However, the same divine nature simply has two names, and both

their practice and understanding. ©Sergi Reboredo/Alamy Stock Photo

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terms may be used interchangeably.

Maya The Upanishads speak of the everyday world as maya, which is usually translated as “illusion.â€​ This translation, though, needs explanation. Its root suggests illusion and mystery (as in “magicâ€​), but it also has a more positive, objective connotation that suggests the original stuff of which something is made (as in â €œmaterialâ€​). The word maya thus contains both meanings: “magicâ€​ and “matter.â€​ To say that all reality is “mayaâ€​ is not to say that the world does not exist or that the world is a totally false perception. The world is real, but not in quite the way most people assume. For one thing, human beings view the world as consisting of individual things and people, all separate. In reality, the world is one basic holy reality that takes on many different forms. The Shvetasvatara Upanishad advises us to “know therefore that nature is Maya, but that God is the ruler of Maya; and that all beings in our universe are parts of his infinite splendour.â€​

People also assume that the world is solid and permanent. In reality, the outside world is more like the inner world of thoughts and dreams—it shifts and changes, just as thoughts and dreams shift and change. People assume that time is real, that it advances at a regular rate, and that past, present, and future are distinct divisions. In reality, time is relative.

The model of reality set forth by the Upanishads is less like a machine made of individual moving parts. Instead, it is more like a great consciousness. This view also produces a sense of amazement at the forms and shifts that the universe takes—it is all, ultimately, unexplainable magic.

As I look out at reality from my own individual standpoint, I may see the end of my life as the end of everything. The Upanishads see things differently. First, individuals are not as individual as they suppose. Rather, they are all manifestations of the Divine Spirit, which does not end when the individual dies. They are also the continuation of earlier forms of life that have simply taken new forms. Hinduism, from about 500 BCE, generally adopted the belief that everything living has its own life force and that every life force, when it loses one form, is reborn into another. This process is known as reincarnation.

Karma The general Hindu notion of rebirth assumes that human beings have at one or another time existed as a “lowerâ€​ form, such as animal, insect, and possibly even plant. Hinduism also recognizes grades of human life, from limited and painful to exceptionally pleasant and free. Human beings are also capable of achieving â €œhigherâ€​ forms of life, such as superhuman beings and demigods. Rebirth can move in either direction, and the human stage is a dangerous one because each human being must make dramatic choices about how to live. If a human being does not live properly, he or she may be reborn into a very poor or cruel human family—or possibly in a form of life that may be even more limited and difficult, such as a dog, a pig, or an ant. A human being can also make a spectacular leap upward beyond the human level to a superhuman existence or even beyond—to complete freedom.

What determines the direction of one’s rebirth is karma. The word comes from a root that means “to do,â€​ and it implies the notion of moral consequences that are carried along with every act. Karma is the moral

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law of cause and effect, and belief in karma is a belief that every action has an automatic moral consequence. One well-known saying expresses nicely the nature of karma: “What goes around comes around.â€​ Karma does not work because it is the will of God or Brahman, but simply because karma is an essential part of the nature of things. It is the way that things work. Good karma brings “higherâ€​ rebirth, and bad karma brings rebirth in “lower,â€​ more painful forms. In a certain way, this belief allows for upward mobility, since human beings, by their actions, have influence over their future births. Ultimate freedom comes when karma ceases to operate. Then rebirth, whether upward or downward, has entirely ended.

Some teachers say that karma is intrinsically neither good nor bad. Karma only seems so to the person who experiences it. In this conception, karma is like gravity—it works like a force of nature. It is like rain, which can cause a plant to grow, just as it can bring a picnic quickly to its end. Karma helps explain why some people are born with great gifts and others are born with few.

Samsara The term samsara refers to the wheel of life, the circle of constant rebirth, and it suggests strongly that the everyday world is full of change, as well as of struggle and suffering. The Hindu view of human life, because of its belief in reincarnation, is rather different from that commonly held in the West. Think of how often you hear someone say, “You only live once.â€​ This view of life is not shared by Hindus, who believe an individual is constantly being reborn, having come from different earlier forms and going on to emerge in new forms in the future. Because our present human life is so short, we may think that we would like several lives in the future as well. But how many would each of us really like? Ten might sound reasonable, but a hundred? A thousand? Ten thousand? A million? It’s tiring just to think about all those lifetimes! And many of those forms would inevitably be unhappy ones. Sooner or later most of us would want to jump off the merry-go-round of life. We would want escape, release, liberation. This leads us to the next important concept of the Upanishads.

Moksha The term moksha means “freedomâ€​ or “liberation.â€​ It comes from a root that means “to be released.â€​ In the Upanishads, moksha is the ultimate human goal. It has various connotations. Moksha certainly includes the notion of getting beyond egotistic responses, such as resentment and anger, which limit the individual. Furthermore, unlike the modern ideal of seeking complete freedom to satisfy your individual desires, moksha implies liberation even from the limitations of being an individual—from being born as a particular person at a specific time to a unique pair of parents—a person with distinct physical characteristics, emotions, desires, and memories. You can take action to overcome these restrictions—for example, by leaving home. Sometimes this is a way of attaining moksha. Yet a person can also accept life’s limitations, even while living with them. Doing this can bring inner peace and mental freedom.

As you become freer, you look at life less from a selfish and egotistic point of view. You see life more from a perspective that embraces the whole. The unity and the sacredness that everything shares become a part of everyday experience. Kindness to all—to animals as well as to people—is one natural result of this insight,

and kind actions also generate helpful karma. Detaching yourself from pleasure or pain is another practice that leads to freedom from egotism.

Ultimately, with enough insight and ascetic practice, you can go entirely beyond the limited self to know the sacred reality that everything shares. When insight and kindness are perfect, at last the pain of rebirth ends. The limitations of individuality are gone, and only Brahman remains. The Brihadaranyaka Upanishad explains complete freedom in this way: “when all has become Spirit, one’s own Self, how and whom could one see?â€​

The Upanishads, though sometimes obscure, are devoted to promoting an insight into ultimate oneness. Yet the Upanishads do not give detailed instructions for achieving that kind of insight or for living spiritually in the everyday world. Such guidance would have to be developed by later Hindu commentators and practitioners.

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LIVING SPIRITUALLY IN THE EVERYDAY WORLD The Hinduism that guides people’s lives today is a practical mixture of elements. Some of these came from the early stages of religious practice, which have already been discussed, and others developed later. For the ordinary layperson, Hindu practice usually involves devotion to at least one deity. It recommends finding oneâ €™s proper work and then doing it unselfishly. Hindu practice may also include the study of religious texts, meditation, and other specifically religious disciplines. The following section will deal with the elements of this practical synthesis, much of which can be found in the short classic, the Bhagavad Gita.

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The Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (“divine songâ€​ or “song of the Divine Oneâ€​) is part of a very long epic poem called the Mahabharata. The Mahabharata, written some time between 400 BCE and 400 CE, tells how the sons of Pandu (the Pandavas) conquered their cousins, the Kauravas, with the help of the god Krishna. The Bhagavad Gita was inserted at some time into this poem but has its own identity and is often printed separately from the Mahabharata. The Bhagavad Gita, shaped by the priestly class between 200 BCE and 200 CE, has become a spiritual classic. It recalls themes from the Upanishads, but it also tries to strike a balance between mysticism and the practical needs of everyday life. Action and adherence to duty are approved and can even be thought of as a spiritual path. As the Bhagavad Gita says, “the wise see knowledge and action as one.â€​15

Krishna has long been one of Hinduism’s most venerated divinities. Here, a temple’s celebration of Krishna’s birthday includes a child dressed as Krishna. ©Tim Gainey/Alamy Stock Photo

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The Bhagavad Gita, like the Upanishads, is written in dialogue form. It occurs almost entirely between two figures: a prince, Arjuna, and his charioteer and advisor, Krishna. Arjuna’s royal power is threatened by his hundred cousins, called Kauravas, and he must decide whether to fight with his brothers against them to restore his throne or to accept their rule. He is torn. On the one hand, he knows that his rule is correct. On the other hand, he wants to avoid violence. That his enemies are family members makes the matter even harder. Depressed, Arjuna “threw aside his arrows and his bow in the midst of the battlefield. He sat down on the seat of the chariot, and his heart was overcome with sorrow.â€​ In response, Krishna, who later reveals that he is a form of the god Vishnu, explains the need for action. “Now you shall hear how a man may become perfect, if he devotes himself to the work which is natural to him. A man shall reach perfection if he does his duty as an act of worship to the Lord.â€​ This means that Arjuna must follow not merely his own desiresâ €”neither his fears nor his hope for reward—but he must simply do what is right.

Contrary to the teaching of nonviolence—which was at the same time growing strong in India in Buddhism and Jainism—Krishna advises Arjuna to fight to protect both his throne and the structure of society. In fact, to fight is his duty. At a moment of great revelation, Krishna shows Arjuna that a divine reality is at work within everything in the universe—in living and also in dying. Krishna even says that for the warrior “there is nothing nobler than a righteous war.â€​

The recommendation that Arjuna should fight has posed a moral problem for some followers of Hinduism. Mohandas Gandhi is typical of those who have solved this problem by saying that the Bhagavad Gita is religious allegory. Gandhi held that the call to arms is not about real war but rather a call to fight against dangerous moral and psychological forces, such as ignorance, selfishness, and anger. This interpretation, although it seems to go against the literal intent of the text, has been influential.

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The Caste System When Krishna urges Arjuna to do what his position as a warrior demands, he is reinforcing the caste systemâ €”a division of society into social classes that are created by birth or occupation. The caste system, the prevalent social system of Hinduism, had already been mentioned in the Rig Veda: “When they divided Purusha [the first person, a superbeing], in how many different portions did they arrange him? What became of his mouth, what of his two arms? What were his two thighs and his two feet called? His mouth became the brahman [priest]; his two arms were made into the rajanya [warrior-noble]; his two thighs the vaishyas [merchants]; from his two feet the shudra [peasant] was born.â€​

The caste system receives further religious approval in the Bhagavad Gita, which recognizes that there are different types of people and that their ways to perfection will differ, depending on their personality types and roles in society. For example, active people will perfect themselves through the unselfishness of their work, and intellectual people will perfect themselves through teaching and study.

Traditionally, the caste system was based on more than one’s type of work, and in modern times it does not always indicate the type of work a person does. Castes, as the term is commonly used, are really social classes (varna), and these are subdivided into hundreds of subcastes. The caste system dissuades members of different castes, and often subcastes, from intermarrying. It remains strongest in the countryside and in more conservative southern India, but it is weakening in the cities, where people regularly eat together in restaurants and travel together on buses and trains. Although an individual cannot change the caste into which she or he is born, it is believed that a good life in one’s present caste will guarantee rebirth in a higher caste or better circumstances. Thus, from the perspective of Hinduism, upward social mobility is possible—even if it takes more than one lifetime to accomplish!

Members of society are divided into five main social classes:

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1. The priest (brahmin) traditionally performs Vedic rituals and also acts as a counselor.22

2. The warrior-noble (kshatriya) has the role of protecting society. This is the traditional caste of the aristocracy.

3. The merchant (vaishya) class includes landowners, moneylenders, and sometimes artisans. Males of the three upper castes (brahmin, kshatriya, and vaishya) receive a sacred cord during a ceremony in their youth and afterward are called “twice-born.†​

4. The peasant (shudra) does manual labor and is expected to serve the higher castes. The origin of this caste may go back to the subjection of native people, who were forced to do the work of servants. The peasant is called “once-born.†​

5. The untouchable (dalit) traditionally does the dirtiest work—cleaning toilets, sweeping streets, collecting animal carcasses, and tanning animal hides. This class’s low status prompted the Indian reformer Mohandas Gandhi to promote another name for the class—Harijan (â

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€œchildren of God†​)—and he urged their inclusion in regular society. Present-day India has laws and rules to help overcome discrimination against dalits.

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The Stages of Life Just as the individual’s path to “correct actionâ€​ is suggested by caste and subcaste, traditional Hinduism holds that each stage of life also has its proper way of being lived. Every culture recognizes specific life stages through which each individual passes. In modern secular life the stages seem to be childhood, adolescence, the career years, and retirement. (These stages are strongly colored by employment.) In India the notion of life stages is more religious. The conception was shaped by the ancient ideal of the development of the upper-caste male, particularly of the priestly caste:

1. Student (brahmacharin): This first stage is spent laying a religious foundation for life. The young person, between the ages of 8 and 20, studies religious works. Celibacy is a necessary part of the training.

2. Householder (grihastha): Marriage—traditionally, arranged by the parents—occurs at about age 20, and the person fulfills the demands of society by raising children.

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3. Retiree (vanaprastha): When grandchildren arrive, the individual may retire somewhat from ordinary life to spend time once again on religious matters. The ancient ideal was to go into the forest to live, possibly with one’s wife, away from society. In reality, retirees often continue to live with their children and with other relatives in an extended-family setting, but they may eat separately from the rest of the family and spend time on religious pursuits with friends.

4. Renunciate (sannyasin): To enter this last stage is considered to be appropriate only after retirement. It is not expected of everyone but is simply an option. If one wishes to live entirely free from society, one is permitted to leave home. For such a person, the entire world is now his home. A man may leave his wife, although he must ensure that she will be supported. Celibacy is expected, and the sign of this devout, celibate state is an orange robe. The sannyasin, considered to be outside the caste system, is free to wander, begging his food along the way, and many temples have endowments to feed such pilgrims. The sannyasin may remain a constant traveler, making pilgrimage to the sacred sites of India, or he may settle in an ashram (religious community), or even live in a cave. The purpose of this kind of life is to hasten mystical insight, to free oneself of all attachments, to end rebirth, and to attain moksha.

Hindus see life as being lived in stages. Marriage is a significant religious and social step. At this wedding ceremony, a priest blesses a bride and groom with fire. ©FotoFlirt/Alamy Stock Photo

The Goals of Life Although the Hindu spiritual ideal is generally world-denying, Hinduism also exhibits a respect for more worldly goals. In order of increasing value these goals are pleasure (kama), economic security and power (artha), and social and religious duty (dharma). These life goals, which may be pursued simultaneously, are acceptable and even virtuous, as long as they are tempered by moderation and social regulation. Considered highest of the goals, however, is moksha—complete freedom.

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The Yogas Although the Bhagavad Gita endorses quiet contemplation, it also recommends active spiritual paths. It endorses not only meditation but also the work demanded by one’s caste and individual place in society. The various types of yoga are methods that can be used to help people live spiritually. The word yoga means “unionâ€​ and is related to the English words join and yoke. A yoga is a way for people to perfect their union with the divine, and because the yogas suggest roads to perfection, they are also called margas (“pathsâ€​). There is a tolerant recognition in Hinduism that different sorts of people need different spiritual paths, and an individualâ €™s caste and personality type will help determine the appropriate yoga to practice.

Jnana Yoga (“Knowledge Yogaâ€​) This type of yoga brings insight into one’s divine nature by studying the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita and by learning from teachers who have attained insight. Jnana yoga is particularly appropriate for priests and intellectuals.

This yoga was highly refined by a school of philosophy that is still quite vital, the school of Vedanta (â €œVeda endâ€​). The term refers to the Upanishads—which come at the end of the Vedas—and to the fact that the Vedanta school has used the ideas of the Upanishads as its primary inspiration.

The greatest teacher of Vedanta, Shankara (c. 788–820), argued that everything is ultimately one—all is Brahman. According to Shankara, although our ordinary experience leads us to see things as being separate and different, this perception is mistaken. To show that sense perception can be wrong, Shankara used the example of a person who at dusk is frightened by a coil of rope—the observer mistakenly perceives the rope to be a snake. In the same way, Shankara would say, a person who perceives things as being ultimately separate and different from Brahman is mistaken. In the Crest-Jewel of Discrimination, attributed to Shankara, the author likens Brahman to gold, which can take many shapes. Brahman “is that one Reality which appears to our ignorance as a manifold universe of names and forms and changes. Like the gold of which many ornaments are made, it remains in itself unchanged. Such is Brahman, and ‘That art Thou.’Meditate upon this truth.â€​ Similarly, the waves of the ocean and the drops of water in the waves may be considered separate entities. The larger truth is that they are all just the same ocean in varied, changing forms.

Shankara thought that spiritual liberation was achieved when the individual personally came to understand the unity of all things. Shankara so emphasized monism—the oneness of everything—that his branch of the Vedanta school is called Advaita, which, literally translated, means “not-two-nessâ€​ (a-dvai-ta). The significance of the term is very subtle. If I say that all reality is “one,â€​ some “otherâ€​ reality could also exist—something in contrast to the one. But the term not-two makes clear that ultimately there is no other reality.

For Shankara, therefore, any devotion to a god or goddess who is thought to be different from the worshiper is also mistaken. This rejection of devotion, however, posed a great problem for those types of Hinduism that

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emphasized it. As a result, later thinkers of the Vedanta school, such as Ramanuja (d. 1137) and Madhva (active 1240), qualified or denied ultimate monism. They emphasized passages in the Upanishads that seem to speak of Brahman as being separate in some way from the world. They could thereby create systems that made room for religious devotion to a god or goddess.

Karma Yoga (“Action Yogaâ€​) This type of yoga proposes that all useful work, if done unselfishly, can be a way to perfection. (The word karma here is used in its basic sense of “activity.â€​) Much of what we ordinarily do is motivated by money or pleasure or praise, but deeds performed without a desire for reward are the heart of karma yoga. As the Bhagavad Gita says, “Desire for the fruits of work must never be your motive in working.â€​

Bhakti Yoga (“Devotion Yogaâ€​) Most of us have at one time or another fallen in love, and we know that there is something purifying about the experience. It forces us to look outward, beyond ourselves, to another object of affection. Religions utilize this purifying power of love when they promote devotion to a god or saintâ €”who is often made visible in a painting or statue. Hinduism, because of its belief in multiple gods, offers rich possibilities for devotion. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna tells Arjuna, “Regard me as your dearest loved one. Know me to be your only refuge.â€​

Bhakti yoga can involve various expressions of devotion—most commonly chants, songs, food offerings, and the anointing of statues. Bhakti yoga can extend also to acts of devotion shown to one’s guru (spiritual teacher), to one’s parents, and to one’s spouse. The gods who are worshiped in bhakti yoga will be described later.

Rituals and Celebrations

HINDU MEDITATION: MORE THAN EMPTYING THE MIND

ver the past few decades, meditation has become popular in the Western world. From students in elementary schools to executives in corporate offices, all kinds of people take time out to sit quietly, empty the mind, and let stress float away.

Meditation in Eastern religious traditions, however, is more complex, at least theoretically. The Yoga Sutras, often attributed to the grammarian Patanjali, list eight steps

necessary for perfection of meditation:

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Self-control (yama) is the fundamental reorientation of the personality away from selfishness. It involves practicing ahimsa (not hurting living beings), exhibiting sexual restraint, shunning greed, refusing to steal, and embracing truthfulness.

Observance (niyama) is the regular practice of the five preceding virtuous pursuits.

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Raja Yoga (“Royal Yogaâ€​) This type of yoga promotes meditation. The term raja yoga does not appear in the Bhagavad Gita, but it was introduced later to refer to the steps of meditation. (These steps are described in the box “Hindu Meditation: More Than Emptying the Mind.â€​) Nonetheless, chapter 6 of the Bhagavad Gita describes basic meditation—sitting quietly, turning inward, and calming the mind. Done for short periods of time on a regular basis, meditation lowers stress and brings a sense of peace. Done for longer periods of time, meditation can induce new states of consciousness.

There are many types of meditation. Some involve emptying the mind of thought, while others involve focusing on some physical or mental object. Meditation can be done with one’s eyes closed, or open, or focused on a point a short distance in front of the face. A word or brief phrase, called a mantra, is often recited with each breath to help clear the mind of thought. (The short mantra Om—which is sometimes called the sound of creation—is frequently used.) Meditation can be done in silence or to gentle music; it can also be done while gazing at a candle, at the moon, or at moving water. Some advanced types of meditation involve techniques taken from additional yogas. They may have the meditator create symbolic mental imagesâ €”frequently images of a deity. Or the meditator can contemplate a sacred diagram—called a yantra. Or the meditator can repeat sacred phrases. The many techniques of meditation are called sadhanas (“practicesâ€​).

Hatha Yoga (“Force Yogaâ€​) When most of us think of yoga, we think of the physical exercises of hatha yoga. These exercises, which were originally developed to help make long periods of meditation easier, mostly involve stretching and balancing. Breathing exercises are usually considered a part of hatha yoga.

Posture (asana) is an integral aspect of meditation, particularly the “lotus postureâ€​ (padmasana), in which the person meditating is seated with the legs crossed, each foot touching the opposite leg.

Breath control (pranayama) involves deep, regular breathing, holding the breath, and breathing in various rhythms.

Restraint (pratyahara) helps the meditator tune out external distractions.

Steadying of the mind (dharana) teaches the meditator to focus on only one object in order to empty the mind of everything else.

Meditation (dhyana) occurs when the mind is focused only on the object of concentration.

Samadhi is the mental state achieved by deep meditation, in which the individual loses the sense of being separate from the rest of the universe.29

There are many schools of hatha yoga, often named after their founders. Several have gained great popularity. Among them, Iyengar yoga focuses on correct technique and sequence in doing a large number of traditional breathing exercises and yoga postures. Bikram yoga involves a series of twenty-six hatha yoga exercises and two breathing exercises in a heated room. (The heat is used in order to make the muscles limber and to assist circulation.) Ashtanga yoga, named after teachings of the Yoga Sutras, is a demanding series of six sequences of highly athletic yogic postures.

Kundalini Yoga Combining elements of both raja yoga and hatha yoga, Kundalini yoga teaches that there are seven psychic centers, called chakras (“wheelsâ€​). They are thought to exist along the spinal column, one above the other. Meditation and physical exercises help the meditator lift spiritual energy from one center to the next. The spiritual energy is called kundalini and is envisioned as a coiled serpent. (Literally kundalini means â €œshe who lies coiled.â€​) Each chakra is like a gateway through which the kundalini passes, bringing increased insight and joy. When the kundalini reaches the topmost and seventh center of energy at the crown of the head, the practitioner experiences profound bliss. The topmost center of energy (sahasrara) appears in imagery as a lotus flower. Reaching it is compared to the opening of a lotus flower.

In addition to these six yogas, there are others. In fact, any systematic set of techniques that leads to greater spirituality can be considered a yoga.

In recent years, hatha yoga has become a part of daily life for millions of people across the planet. ©Images Bazaar/Getty Images

DEVOTIONAL HINDUISM Indians have been primarily a rural, agricultural people. This is changing, but even today most of the population still lives outside cities. They live, as they have for centuries, in more than a half million villages. Men in the villages spend most of their waking hours working as merchants, craftsmen, and farmers, while women marry when young and spend most of their time preparing food, running their households, and caring for their children. The duties of everyday life leave little time to pursue more philosophical paths.

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For the majority of Hindus, then, some of the spiritual disciplines just mentioned—study, meditation, and special physical exercises—have had limited appeal. Instead, the great majority of Hindus have followed the path of devotion (bhakti) to a god or gods. Hindus worship their gods in village temples and at home altars. Most worship daily, and there are special days dedicated to individual gods. Puja, devotional ritual commonly performed at an altar, involves the offering of flowers, food, fire, and incense to images of a god or gods, as well as the occasional singing of hymns.

The earliest layer of devotional Hinduism, probably traceable to the Harappa culture, seems to have involved the anointing of phallic stones, devotion to female divinities of fertility, and the worship of nature spirits. This type of religious devotion continues in India today.

The Vedic religion introduced its own gods as additional objects of worship. Some of these, such as Indra and Agni, were once highly popular, while others, such as Dyaüs Pitr, lost devotees and moved to the background quite early. In this devotional pattern we can see that a certain fluctuation of interest is natural; throughout history, in all religious devotion, interest in some gods rises and interest in others fades away.

Certain gods and goddesses seem to have emerged separately, not as a part of the Vedic pantheon—of these Krishna is one of the best known. Some animal forms became deified, and all deities were eventually incorporated loosely into what is today a fairly large pantheon.

Although Hinduism is often described as a religion that promotes a belief in many gods, in reality individuals tend to focus their devotion on only one of the gods. Sometimes that god is considered to be the greatest of all divine manifestations. There are also strong tendencies in Hinduism toward both monotheism and even monism, because all gods—and everything else as well—are considered, ultimately, to be expressions of a single divine reality. Devotion to an individual god or goddess is often justified by saying that although the divine is ultimately formless, human beings must worship the divine through its physical manifestations. This belief gives rise to much painting, sculpture, music, and ceremony in honor of many gods. Some of these gods are described in the following sections (Table 3.1). TABLE 3.1 MAJOR HINDU GODS

Brahma god of creation

Vishnu god of preservation

The chakras are centers through which energy rises from the base of the spine to the crown of the head.

Shiva god of destruction and re-creation

Devi goddess, Divine Mother

Durga goddess of perseverance

Lakshmi goddess of success

Kali goddess of destruction and re-creation

Saraswati goddess of music and culture

Krishna loving manifestation of Vishnu

Rama royal manifestation of Vishnu

Ganesha elephant-headed son of Shiva, prayed to for success

This Hindu temple shows the Hindu love of multiplicity and includes many of the popular deities in its design. ©benkrut/Getty Images RF

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The Trimurti: Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva Three gods have been particularly important in the devotional and artistic life of Hinduism. Although of differing origins, they have sometimes been linked together—particularly in philosophy and art, where they represent the three forces of creation, preservation, and destruction. The three gods are Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. When linked together, they are often called the Trimurti, which means “triple form.â€​

Brahma represents the creative force that made the universe. He is considered the personal aspect of Brahman and has been thought of as the special patron of the priestly class, the brahmins. Brahma is commonly depicted as an ancient, thoughtful king sitting on a throne. He has four faces, each looking in one of the four directions, and eight arms, each holding symbols of power. His companion animal is a white goose.

In India, worship of Brahma as a separate deity has declined over the past two hundred years, although he is still frequently represented in art, where he is pictured beside Vishnu or Shiva. Perhaps this decline in interest resulted from the popular view of Brahma in India as grandfatherly, distant, and less powerful than either Vishnu or Shiva. (Ironically, however, devotion to Brahma remains quite alive in Thailand, where local Buddhist practice shows many influences from Hinduism. Statues of Brahma appear frequently there in outdoor “spirit houses,â€​ where food and flowers—and sometimes dance—are offered to him for good luck and protection.)

Vishnu represents the force of preservation in the universe. In the Vedas he is a god associated with the sun, although his role there appears to be small. Thought of as light and warmth that destroys darkness, Vishnu grew in stature until finally becoming a major god of Hinduism. Today Vishnu (in various forms) is the most important object of devotion in India, and about three quarters of all Hindus in India worship him or his manifestations. His followers are called Vaishnavites (or Vaishnavas).

In painting and sculpture, Vishnu is shown in many forms, though usually with a tall crown and a regal manner. Almost always he has four arms, which hold symbols of power. His companion animal is a great eaglelike bird, Garuda, on whom Vishnu flies through the universe.

Because Vishnu is associated with loving-kindness, it is believed that he can appear on earth at different times and in various physical forms to help those in need. Ten major incarnations (or avatars) of Vishnu are commonly listed, of which one is still to appear. Some previous incarnations were in animal form: a fish, a boar, and a tortoise. Another was Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha—an intriguing inclusion, which helped Hinduism partially reabsorb Indian Buddhism (see Chapter 4). The incarnation yet to come will be a savior figure on horseback who will judge the human race. Two incarnations of Vishnu are wildly popular—Rama and Krishna.

Rama may have been a historical figure who later took on mythic proportions. He appears in the great epic the Ramayana, whose stories have inspired dance as well as art. Rama and his wife, Sita, who are thought of as the ideal couple, are often portrayed together. One of the most commonly told stories concerns the abduction of Sita by Ravan (or Ravana), the demon king of Sri Lanka. Rama, a king, gains the help of Hanuman, leader of the monkeys. Hanuman helps Rama in killing Ravan and in locating and returning Sita. Perhaps because of his image

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as a helper, Hanuman is today an immensely popular god in his own right. In northern India, Rama is so revered that the term Ram, or Rama, is really a synonym for “God.â€​

Krishna, another incarnation of Vishnu, may have begun as an object of fertility worship. He is depicted in several forms, which might indicate that he is a coalescence of traditions. In the long epic the Mahabharata, Krishna appears as a mature and solemn god. In later devotional works, the Puranas (“legendsâ€​), he is younger. There he is friendly with gopis—milkmaids who look after herds of cows. He steals butter and plays the flute—aspects that express the playful aspect of the divine. In depictions of Krishna, his face and skin are often blue, the color of the sky and of heaven. This color indicates his true otherworldly nature. His closest milkmaid companion is Radha, with whom he is romantically connected.

Shiva, the third of the Trimurti and the god linked with destruction, is the most complicated of the gods, both in origin and in conception. Sitting in yogic meditation posture, the horned figure that is found on seals from the Harappa period may be an early form of Shiva. This could mean that some aspects of the present-day god may extend back to pre-Vedic India. Another early form is apparently the Vedic god Rudra, a dangerous god of mountains and winds, whom worshipers probably began to call shiva (“luckyâ€​) in order to neutralize the fear that he inspired. In later times, however, his link with destructiveness is often shown in

The power of Shiva is often symbolized by the lingam and yoni, ancient forms that represent fertility. ©Thomas Hilgers

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pictures of Shiva appearing at cremation grounds above a human body that is dissolving in flames.

Shiva’s connection with destruction may be hard for many non-Hindus to appreciate. In some religions, destruction is associated with divine punishment for wrongdoing. In Hinduism, however, destruction is considered to be simply another part of the divine energy at work in the world. Destruction is a type of recycling, the necessary loss of form, which occurs so that new forms may appear—and death is always thought of as leading to new life. We know that the seed disappears when the tree grows, and the flower must die to make the fruit. Thus Shiva is also associated with re-creation.

The destructive side of Shiva is portrayed in the bronze statues called Shiva Nataraja (“ruler of the danceâ€​). As he dances, Shiva is surrounded by a ring of fire, which shows his ability to destroy and transform. His long yogi’s hair flies in the air. He has four arms, which signify his many powers. In his upper right arm is a drum, symbolizing creation and the beginning of time. In the upper left arm is a flame, symbolizing destruction. His lower left arm is pointing to his upraised foot, suggesting that everyone should join him in his dance and be as free as he is. His lower right arm is extended in blessing, which in a symbolic way says, â €œDon’t be afraid.â€​ He dances on a dwarf-demon, representing the ignorance of all those who do not understand that death is part of the divine process. The art historian Heinrich Zimmer explains that “conquest

The elephant-headed god Ganesha, son of Shiva, is believed to help devotees overcome obstacles. People often pause before depictions of Ganesha to ask for success. ©Thomas Hilgers

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of this demon lies in the attainment of true wisdom. Therein is release from the bondages of the world.â€​ The aspect of Shiva that brings re-creation is represented by sexually suggestive forms. We should note that

in nonindustrial societies the bearing of children is crucial—both for the economic survival of the family and for the care of the parents in their old age. Parents pray to have many healthy children. A frequent representation of Shiva is a columnar lingam—often black, which adds to its mystery. It usually rests on a yoni—a circular base that is the female complement to the lingam. The lingam may be a large, natural stone worshiped outdoors; a metal object small enough to be worn around the neck; or a wooden piece of an appropriate size for worship in the home. Shaivites (devotees of Shiva) may pour various liquids, such as milk and rosewater, over the lingam in an act of devotion.

Fertility is further emphasized by Shiva’s companion animal Nandi, the bull, and by Ganesha, the elephant-headed son of Shiva, who has become a symbol of strength and abundance. Both are frequently found in temples dedicated to Shiva. Worship of Shiva is most common in Kashmir and in southern India. Shiva is closely linked with destruction particularly when he is viewed as part of the Trimurti. Among Shaivites, though, he is the sole God and is not exclusively related to destruction.

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Those who have riches build temples for Thee; what shall I build? I am poor. My legs are the pillars; this body of mine is the temple.   —Basavaraja, in praise of Shiva3 2

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Worship of the Divine Feminine: Devi The three gods of the Trimurti are usually portrayed as masculine. Yet of all the great world religions, Hinduism perhaps most strongly recognizes the female aspects of divinity. This may come from a practical interest in fertility. Worship of female divinities, too, seems to have been a part of pre-Vedic religion, and elements of that early worship have lived on into the present.

The Great Mother, also called Devi (“goddessâ€​), is worshiped throughout India but particularly in the northeast. She is portrayed in many forms and can be both loving and cruel. She is especially harsh to those who show themselves unworthy of her love. Devi is frequently worshiped with extreme human feeling. The worshiper may take on the emotions and even the clothing of a child or spouse of the Great Mother. The mystic Ramakrishna (1836–1886), priest at a temple near Kolkata (Calcutta), spoke of his special devotion to her. “I practised austerities for a long time.… My longing for the Divine Mother was so great that I would not eat or sleep. I would lie on the bare ground, placing my head on a lump of earth, and cry out loudly: ‘Mother, Mother, why dost thou not come to me?’I did not know how the days and nights passed away.… When I reached the state of continuous ecstasy, I gave up all external forms of worship; I could no longer perform them. Then I prayed to my Divine Mother: ‘Mother, who will now take care of me? I have no power to take care of myself.’â€​33

The Divine Feminine appears as several goddesses, of which the most popular are Durga and Kali. The goddess Durga (“awe-inspiring,â€​ “distantâ€​) is frequently represented with at least eight arms, full of implements used to destroy evil. Her face is serene, surrounded by a halo, and she wears a crown. She rides a tiger, which helps her fight against all dangerous obstacles.

Kali (“darkâ€​) is more fearsome still. She is often shown wearing a necklace of human skulls, and her fanged teeth drip with blood. Her many arms are full of weapons, which are thought to be dangerous to enemies but protective of her children. Kolkata (possibly “Kali’s stairsâ€​ or “Kali’s placeâ€​) is named after her.

The important role of the Divine Feminine is also seen in the female consorts who accompany many male deities. They are so much a part of the male god that the god cannot be active without them, and thus they are called shaktis (“energiesâ€​), because they allow the male gods to be effective in the human world.

The goddess Saraswati is the consort of Brahma and is far more popular than he is. She is the patron of music, the arts, and culture, and she is often portrayed with a musical instrument in her hand. The shakti of Vishnu is the goddess Lakshmi, who is commonly dressed as a queen and sits on a lotus flower. As the consort

The goddess Saraswati, often shown with a musical instrument, is the patron of music and the arts. ©Dinodia Photo/Passage/Getty Images

of Vishnu, she dispenses good luck and protection. Shiva is portrayed with a variety of shaktis, the best known being Parvati and Uma. Sometimes Shiva is himself portrayed as androgynous: half of his body is masculine, while the other side shows a female breast. This androgyny represents the unity that underlies all the apparent opposites of reality—a unity also spoken of in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.

Divinities of nature are frequently female. The goddess Ganga, who animates the Ganges River, is a good example. Tree spirits, too, are considered female, and frequently it is women who offer them worship.

What we see, from all these deities, is that the female element is an important part of Hindu spirituality. Many deities are female, and women frequently worship a female deity. Women are not priests, but they actually orchestrate much of the religious ritual of the home. Women may also be gurus—spiritual advisors.

As a man may be blindfolded, and led away, and left in a strange place; and as, having been so dealt with, he turns in every direction and cries out for someone to remove his bandages and show him the way home; and as one thus entreated may loose his bandages and give him comfort; and as thereupon he walks from village to village, asking his way as he goes; and as he arrives home at last—just so does a man who meets with an illumined teacher obtain true knowledge.   —Chandogya Upanishad3 4

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The Guru as Object of Devotion Because Hinduism is not organized in a hierarchical fashion, devotion to a guru (spiritual teacher) is a large and ancient component of Hindu spirituality. One etymology of the word guru is possible: “the one who removes darkness.â€​ Anyone who seeks spiritual growth—no matter what his or her caste or station in life—may seek a guru, whom the individual can visit regularly to seek advice. Even gurus who have taken vows of silence can offer advice and insight to their disciples by writing on tablets or simply by looking at them with love.

Although the majority of gurus are men, female gurus are not uncommon. The guru need only be recognized as a person of holiness. Because a guru expects to be surrounded by students and devotees, he or she will frequently set up an ashram. Usually an ashram is a commune of people living in a single compound, separate from ordinary society, but it may also be located in a town and consist of various buildings owned and used by the devotees. Most gurus stay within their communities, but some travel, even outside India, to set up additional ashrams elsewhere. Frequently an aging guru will designate a successor from among his or her closest disciples and those specially trained.

It is common to touch and even kiss the feet of a guru—an act of reverence that is also performed at times for parents and grandparents. To an outsider, such an act may seem excessive. However, many Hindus believe that the guru is both a saint and a living embodiment of the divine. Behind this conception is the recognition that

At the end of some temple services, worshipers may receive blessed food. ©STRDEL/AFP/Getty Images

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although divine reality exists within all human beings, most people manifest their divine nature inadequately. Their ignorance and self-centeredness restrict its expression. Such people may be compared to glass windows that are so dusty that only a little light shines through. However, some people, over many lifetimes of effort, have reached a stage of such achievement that their ego has disappeared and their love has grown immense. In these rare people the innate divine light shines brilliantly. This view explains why Hindus believe that simply being in the presence of the guru allows the disciple to benefit—like a plant in the sunshine—from the guru’s spirituality.

This belief also explains the intriguing practice of darshan (“presenceâ€​). Because people of spiritual accomplishment are thought to radiate their divine nature, disciples find opportunities to be in their presence. Sometimes a holy person will sit or stand silently, allowing devotees to come forward, one by one, to look into the teacher’s eyes and to experience the divine energy that shines out.35

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Devotion to Animals Hinduism is distinctive among world religions for its kindness to animals. A devout Hindu does not kill or eat animals. Cows often wander along Indian streets, and cars and taxis take care to drive around them. Visitors to some Hindu temples may find monkeys and even mice well fed and running free. Several extremely popular gods, such as Ganesha and Hanuman, have animal features; and gods such as Shiva and Vishnu are regularly portrayed in the company of their animal companions. A Shiva temple would often be considered incomplete without a statue of Nandi, the bull who is Shiva’s vehicle.

Rituals and Celebrations

HINDU CELEBRATIONS

eligious festivals are frequent and usually joyous. Some are clearly associated with the seasons, such as a springtime fertility festival and a post-monsoon festival. Others are related to events in a god’s life, such as the site of his birth or places he traveled to. Some festivals are regional, and some are

A renunciate carries water from the Ganges as part of his long pilgrimage. A sacred cow follows, perhaps hoping for food. ©Thomas Hilgers

R national.

Although India is hot during most of the year, winters can be cold, especially in the north. The spring is therefore welcomed with the celebration Holi. It is traditional for boys and girls to playfully throw colored water on each other (nowadays some even use squirt guns), thus evoking images of Krishna’s exploits with the milkmaids.

After the monsoons of the summer months, the land is green, the air is cool, and there is a sense of peacefulness. The season has the feeling of a second spring and a new beginning. People often spend time repairing any damages the rains may have caused. Holidays at this time reenact the power of goodness to conquer evil forces. For example, Divali (Diwali), recalling the return of Rama and Sita, is a time when people clean their houses and illuminate them outside with candles and lights. Ganesha and Lakshmi, who are both associated with good fortune, are particularly honored at this time.

Durga Puja, held in December and particularly popular in northeast India, celebrates the goddess Durga’s ability to overcome dangerous powers. People dance in front of her statues in the street, and in Kolkata the festival ends with the immersion of her statues in the river.

Every twelve years Hindus celebrate the complete Kumbh Mela festival. It recalls a story of Vishnu and other deities churning nectar from a primeval ocean of milk. Celebrated by dance, plays, and joyous bathing in the Ganges, it draws millions of people and is considered the largest religious gathering in the world.

This devotion to animals in Hinduism has several possible origins. One possible source is ancient deification of powerful animals, such as the elephant and tiger. It could also come from the human desire to neutralize dangerous or mischievous animals, such as the snake, rat, and monkey. It might derive, too, from the sense that human beings and animals have the same origin (a belief also common in native religions). Belief in reincarnation has undoubtedly also played a role. When they see animals and insects, many Hindus see prehuman beings who, in their spiritual evolution, will eventually become human themselves. This brings a feeling of closeness to nonhuman forms of animal life.

Among the animals, cows receive special veneration. This tradition may stem from pre-Vedic worship in the Indus River valley of the bull or cow, a symbol of fertility and economic value. In rural India, to have a cow is to have milk and butter, fuel (dried dung), and the warmth and comfort associated with a household pet. With a cow, one is never utterly destitute. Affection for the cow may also arise from the strong thread of ancient devotion to the Divine Feminine—hinted at by the commonly used term gau mata (“mother cowâ€​).

This affection is hard for people outside India to understand. But when one sees an Indian cow, with its gentle face, ambling peacefully along a bustling Indian street, then one experiences clearly why the cow is a powerful symbol in India of all motherliness.

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Other Forms of Religious Devotion Indian thought loves multiplicity. “As many as the sands of the Gangesâ€​ is a description applied to a variety of subjects. One example of multiplicity is the Hindu recognition of immense numbers of gods. Realizing that each god or goddess may have several forms and may be accompanied by divine consorts and animal companions, we gain a dizzying sense of the limitlessness of devotional possibilities. In everyday life, every person is expected to have a religious practice involving at least one of these deities, but the exact form generally is not dictated, and virtually no form of devotion is rejected.

Pilgrimage is a common form of religious expression in Hinduism, as it is in many religions. India is dotted with sites that are held to be sacred to the most popular gods and goddesses, and devotees of a particular deity will often try to visit all the important sites associated with that deity. Pilgrimages can also involve listening to a famous guru’s sermons and meditating with the guru’s followers.

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PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

A Visit to the Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine Temple Hinduism has taken root in unexpected places, many of them far from India. One is southern California. Several Hindu religious orders active there have established homes for monks, nuns, and disciples, and they offer courses, meditation, sermons, and rituals for visitors. One of the oldest is the Vedanta Society Center in Hollywood, which offers public prayer at noon and 6 P.M. daily. It has affiliated centers in Santa Barbara and in Trabuco Canyon in Orange County. The International Society of Krishna Consciousness is in southern California, as well. There are also dozens of Hindu temples and centers for recent immigrant families. Some temples are devoted to one Hindu god, and others allow worship of many. A friend who lives in Pacific Palisades recommended a Hindu shrine near the ocean and recently took me for a visit.

The Self-Realization Fellowship Lake Shrine Temple was dedicated in 1950 by the Indian guru Paramahansa Yogananda. Although born in India, Yogananda came to North America to spread knowledge of the Hindu spiritual path. He also hoped to honor other spiritual traditions, as well.

A memorial court near the entrance sets the tone: Five major world religions are represented. Their emblems represent Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. These symbols show that the shrine sees wisdom in many religions. The main feature of the shrine is a lake that is fed by two waterfalls. Swans glide in the water quietly. A meditation chapel is on the banks of the lake and was the site of a memorial service for George Harrison, whose music and life did much to bring attention to Hinduism. One spot outdoors holds

©David H. Carriere/Photolibrary/Getty Images

some of the ashes of Mohandas Gandhi. The public is invited to come to experience the quiet and peace. Sitting by the lake, I could understand why.

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HINDUISM AND THE ARTS Given Hinduism’s tendency toward multiplicity, it is not surprising that Hindu temples, particularly in southern India, are often covered with statues. Some of the figures have multiple faces and arms. The concept of multiplicity has a purpose. To appreciate this, think of a wheel that begins to turn. At first, each spoke of the wheel is visible. As the wheel turns more quickly, though, the spokes disappear and dissolve into a unity. In Hindu art, the profusion of images can be similarly hypnotic. Yet the experience of multiplicity frequently leads to an overarching sense of unity. Profusion thus fits in well with the mystical orientation common in Hinduism.

Another characteristic of Hindu artistic sensibility is symbolism. One of the clearest examples is the depiction in painting and sculpture of figures with multiple arms and faces. These are symbolic representations of power and wisdom. Specific symbols are associated with individual deities and allow them to be identified. Krishna, for example, is recognized by his flute. Saraswati is recognized by a stringed instrument that represents music and the arts.

Hindu painting can sometimes be disappointing, such as the overly bright devotional art that is sold at temple gates. Many fine paintings of the past, though, have undoubtedly vanished because of the fragility of the paper and cloth on which they were made. Yet some murals that remain demonstrate the heights that Hindu devotional painting has sometimes attained. In fact, some yantras—geometrical paintings used in meditation—are unforgettable.

Hindu sculpture, however, outshines Hindu painting. Fine pieces of sturdy stone and metal are on display in India and in museums around the world. Metal sculpture advanced quite early. The finest generic example of Hindu sculpture is Shiva in his guise as “ruler of the danceâ€​ (Nataraja)—an image that was introduced in southern India more than a thousand years ago but which is still produced today. For many, this sculpture represents the perfection of Hindu art, combining visual beauty with a symbolic meaning that intensifies the visual power.

The power of stone sculpture is often quite sensuous. Given the world-denying aspect of some Hindu thought, one might expect that the great stone sculpture of Hinduism would be ascetic—perhaps elongated and otherworldly. The opposite is true, however. Some of the best-known examples of stone sculpture are the figures of sensuous men and women, enjoying life and each other, on the temples of Khajuraho in central India. This sort of sculpture was influenced by Tantrism, the antipuritanical movement that teaches that everything in the world, including sex, can be used to attain higher states of consciousness.

Popular Hinduism has made use of hymns to many gods as expressions of bhakti yoga. Their regular rhythm and repetition help produce a state of altered consciousness in the worshiper, bringing a sense of selflessness and union with the divine. Instrumental music—especially involving drums and the harmonium, a hand-pumped reed organ—has also been an integral part of religious celebrations for centuries.

Classical Indian instrumental music is less obviously religious, yet much of it has an undeniable mystical quality. It makes use of ragas— elements of Indian music that blend features of both scales and melodies. Frequently these ragas are played and musically developed over deep tones that are played as a drone. The sitar, the best-known Indian stringed instrument, has drone strings on its side. The drone suggests the underlying timeless world of Brahman, against which changing melodies—suggestions of the world of time—move. Musical pieces often begin quite tentatively, then gradually speed up to a very quick pace, and suddenly stop, bringing to the listener and players an experience of release and peace.

Indian classical dance is more obviously tied to religion. It interprets stories derived from the tales of the gods, such as the stories of Krishna and Rama. Much of classical dance also originated as a part of religious ceremony, performed at religious festivals and in or near temples. Dance is meant to produce delicate states of feeling, some of which are thought to assist contact with particular gods.

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HINDUISM: MODERN CHALLENGES India, as we have seen, is isolated from other lands by mountains and ocean. This has meant that its rural culture and ancient polytheism could develop undisturbed for centuries. But invasions did occur, inevitably bringing new beliefs and values. Many of these new elements were adopted, but others were fought.

One early invasion was only partially successful. Alexander the Great (d. 323 BCE) brought his army from Greece and reached the Indus River, where he talked with sannyasins about religion and philosophy. He had hoped to conquer India and then reach China, too. His men, though, sick and discouraged, forced him to turn back. He died in Babylon on the way home to Greece. Had Alexander been able to fulfill his plans, his influence in India would have been immense. Yet despite the failure of his plans for conquest, forms of Greek government and art, brought by the Greek invaders, profoundly influenced northwest India for centuries.

In the past millennium, two additional waves of influence washed across India: Islam and the British. Islam first came into India from Afghanistan, and a sultanate was set up in Delhi in 1206. After invasions from Turkmenistan, the sultanate was supplanted in 1398 by the Mughal dynasty. This dynasty continued on into the eighteenth century, even as the British were consolidating their control over much of India.

There could hardly be two more dissimilar religions than monotheistic Islam and polytheistic Hinduism. The contrast has produced intense conflict, which continues today. The more than five centuries of Islamic rule that began in 1206 were marked by a spectrum of attitudes toward Hinduism, moving back and forth between cruel oppression and complete tolerance. The attitude of the state depended on the opinions of the ruler of the time. For example, Akbar (d. 1605) was so tolerant that he invited members of many other religions to speak at court, and he became convinced that India needed a new religion that would blend the best of all older religions. However, his great-grandson, Aurangzeb (d. 1707), was notoriously harsh in his zeal, destroying Hindu temples and sometimes demanding conversion or death.

Of course, not all conversions to Islam were forced. Islam was very attractive to people who appreciated its monotheistic simplicity, its graceful architecture, its literature, and its way of life. The Mughals created many beautiful buildings, and their buildings could be inspiring. Aurangzeb’s father, for example, built the Taj Mahal. Islam was also appealing because it was the religion of the aristocratic ruling classes. It also was greatly attractive to lower-caste Hindus, who felt oppressed by the Hindu caste system. Consequently, by the end of the Mughal period, Islam was the religion of millions in north India. This fact would later create great problems—particularly when India became an independent state—and it would remain as a major source of religious friction and violence.

European values have also posed a major challenge to traditional Hinduism. This process began after 1500 CE, when European powers took control of parts of India. Goa, on the west coast, became a center of Portuguese culture that remained Portuguese until 1961, when Goa was taken over by Indian army forces. Similarly,

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Pondicherry, on the southeast coast, was at one time a center of French culture. The most significant European influence on India, however, was British. Great Britain controlled most of the subcontinent for about two centuries. Although India became independent of Britain in 1947, British influence is evident in modern Indiaâ €™s law, education, architecture, rail transportation, and military life.

Throughout India today one can find former British churches, mostly shuttered and closed, which only hint at both the positive and negative impact of British Christianity on India. The British were not successful in making many converts, but through their schools and colleges, British Christian missionaries helped challenge and change some traditional Hindu beliefs and practices. Among those elements that were questioned were untouchability, child marriage, prohibition of remarriage for widows, polytheism, the content of education, and the role of women.

One of the earliest British-inspired Indian reformers was Ram Mohan Roy (1772–1833). He was typical of the many reformers who grew up in Calcutta (now Kolkata), which was for a long time the capital of British India and the center of westernizing thought. While remaining a Hindu and even writing articles in defense of Hinduism, his thinking was influenced by both rationalism and Christianity. He began a movement, the Brahmo Samaj, that adopted Christian-inspired elements: the belief in one God, congregational worship, and an ethical urgency that sought to better the lot of the oppressed. The Brahmo Samaj later split into three branches—all of which are still active.

Possibly as a result of contact with European values, one practice that was made illegal in the early nineteenth century was that of sati (or suttee, named after the first wife of Shiva). While there is no evidence to suggest that this practice was common, in sati a woman whose husband had died could volunteer, as a sign of her wifely devotion, to be burnt alive on her husband’s funeral pyre. Unfortunately, she could also be pressured by relatives to do this act of public devotion. Although the British found the notion of sati horrible, at first they were unwilling to intervene. Reform-minded Indians, however, worked with the British to make the practice illegal. Instances of sati still happen today, but they are rare.

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Mohandas Gandhi Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) was born in the seaside town of Porbandar in northwestern India, north of Mumbai (Bombay). At that time Britain controlled the region, and many Indians advocated violence as a response to British domination. This historic turning point became a defining time in Gandhi’s life.

As a young man, Gandhi learned basic ideas of nonviolence from Hinduism and Jainism (see Chapter 5). He was a vegetarian because of his religious upbringing. In his day, though, young Indian boys believed that the British were strong because they ate meat. Young Gandhi tested this theory. He ate meat for a year. But after he had had a dream of a goat crying in his stomach, he felt compelled to give up his experiment. When Gandhi was 13, his family arranged his marriage. His bride, Kasturbai, was also 13.

During his late teen years, family members urged Gandhi to study law in London. Because his pious Hindu mother feared the bad influences that he would be exposed to there, he agreed for her sake to take a vow. He promised that he would not eat meat, drink wine, or touch a woman while abroad. A Jain monk administered the vow. Gandhi left for London in the fall of 1888, when he was 19. His wife and their young son, Harilal, remained with Gandhi’s parents.

Feeling rebellious at the time, Gandhi enthusiastically adopted English clothes and manners, and he even took dancing lessons. However, he also began serious study. He became familiar with the Christian Bible, and he was particularly moved by Jesus’s call to forgiveness and nonviolence, which he found in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. 5–7) in the New Testament. It is fascinating to see the role that the New Testament played in influencing Gandhi’s insistence on the importance of nonviolence.

It was in London, too, that Gandhi first read the Bhagavad Gita. It was outside India that he began to discover the wisdom in Hinduism. He took to heart the ideal of the active but selfless human being. Such a person, Gandhi later wrote, is a person who is “without egotism, who is selfless, who treats alike cold and heat, happiness and misery, who is ever forgiving, who is always contented, whose resolutions are firm, who has dedicated mind and soul to God, who causes no dread, who is not afraid of others.â€​

After obtaining his law degree in 1891, Gandhi returned to India. Soon, though, he decided to accept an offer to practice law in South Africa, where there was a large Indian population. There he experienced the inequalities of racial segregation and legal codes that favored Europeans over non-Europeans, and he began to perfect the ideas that he would later spread in India. His thinking was influenced by writings that advocated simplicity and nonviolence, such as the essay “On Civil Disobedience,â€​ by the American author Henry David Thoreau, and the book The Kingdom of God Is Within You, by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. A farm that Gandhi bought became something of an ashram, while his law office in Johannesburg became a center for nonviolent political action. He began to employ strikes and marches to publicize his goals, and he began to wear Indian clothing (specifically the dhoti, a type of loincloth) as a way of identifying with the Indian cause.

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Gandhi returned to India in 1915 and dedicated his life to seeking Indian independence from Britain. Although he was repeatedly imprisoned, Gandhi insisted that all his followers remain nonviolent. For him, ahimsa (nonviolence) was fundamental. Gandhi not only believed in nonviolence for its own sake, but he felt that it gave a great moral power to its adherents. He believed that nonviolence could sway those who were cruel, thoughtless, and violent. He called this power satyagraha (“reality force,â€​ or “holding onto truthâ €​). Gandhi made use of every possible nonviolent technique—marches, hunger strikes, talks, demonstrations, and, of course, publicity. He argued that violence only begets further violence and brutalizes those who are violent. On the other hand, nonviolence begets admiration from others, spiritual greatness, and ultimate freedom.

One brilliant example of Gandhi’s nonviolent techniques was the Salt March of 1930. At that time the British taxed all salt eaten in India, and they made it illegal to possess salt that had not been bought from the government monopoly. Gandhi cleverly led a three-week march on foot from his ashram to the ocean, nearly 250 miles away. Fewer than a hundred people began the march with him, but thousands joined along the way. Reaching the sea, Gandhi collected the natural salt left on the beach by the waves—thus breaking the law. In seashore communities all around India, people came to do the same, and thousands were put into jail—along with Gandhi. This march was the turning point. Weakened both by the Indian independence movement and by World War II, the British forces at last agreed to leave India in 1947. Perceiving Gandhi’s greatness, the writer Rabindranath Tagore and others had called him Mahatma (“great spiritâ€​). This became his title.

Gandhi believed so much in loving tolerance that he hoped it could keep a newly independent India free of religious battles. Muslim leaders, however, fearful that the Hindu majority would oppress Muslims, worked to create the new separate Muslim state of Pakistan. Some Hindu militants wanted revenge for what they perceived

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Mohandas Gandhi is shown here at the beginning of his career. ©Dinodia Photos/Hulton Archive/Getty Images

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as wrongs done by Muslims to Hindus in the new Pakistan, and one of these Hindu militants assassinated Gandhi early in 1948. Gandhi’s last words were Ram, Ram (“God, Godâ€​).

Gandhi’s example was so powerful that the idea of satyagraha spread to other countries and was adopted in the 1960s by the Baptist minister Martin Luther King Jr. to help protest racial segregation in the United States. King insisted that activists march peacefully and sit in restaurants quietly, without responding to threats or cruelty. Their gentle persistence, magnified by publicity, brought success.

Contemporary Issues The issues that moderate Hinduism faces, as it is evolving today, come from three sources: the conservative social teachings of traditional Hinduism, the centuries-old conflict with Islam, and the challenges of the contemporary world.

Some Hindus find religious justification for preserving the rules of untouchability, keeping strictly the divisions of the caste system, and limiting women to traditional roles. The injustices of untouchability have long been recognized, but legal assistance for untouchables has only been more recent. Untouchables, now legally allowed to enter all temples in India, have made great strides toward some social equality and opportunity. For example, there is a quota system for untouchables to ensure their inclusion in government positions and their admission to universities. The grim reality, however, is that in the villages untouchables still must live separately from others. They do not feel free to use wells and other water sources that are used by higher-caste persons, and they feel threatened by violence should they attempt to go beyond their traditional limits.

The caste system is weakening in large cities, but a glance at a big-city Sunday newspaper reveals its continuing hold on contemporary life. It is common, for example, for Indian parents to place ads seeking a spouse for their child, and these ads frequently detail the son’s or daughter’s caste, educational background, and sometimes even complexion.

The role of women has expanded in modern India, but it remains a focus of heated debate. In India’s distant, pre-Vedic past, it is possible that women played an important public role. The importance of female deities and the fact that there have been many female gurus may be a continuation of this early tradition. The dominant Vedic culture, though, was thoroughly patriarchal. Just as male domination has been canonized in other religions, so it was canonized in India by the law code of Manu (second century BCE). This code made the female subservient to the male and the wife subservient to her husband. A good wife was expected to treat her husband as a god, no matter what his character or treatment of her. Women also were not trained to read and write, as this was thought to detract from their principal roles as wives and mothers.

Nowadays, Hindu women frequently learn to read and write, and many go on to higher education and important public roles. Critics, however, point out that women’s education is often only basic and that women are largely limited to a few career areas—teaching, secretarial work, nursing, and medicine. Critics also point out that in villages women are sometimes confined to traditional domestic roles under threat of violence from their husbands. A related problem involves the dowry payments made by a bride’s family to the bridegroom’s family. Sometimes, if the dowry is deemed insufficient by the in-laws, a new wife is threatened and sometimes even killed by the husband’s family members. This frees the husband to marry again.

In recent decades a women’s movement has been growing in India. It insists on the equality of women, not merely in law and theory but also in everyday life. It is working on several fronts. The first targets

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education; it tries to keep girls in school and thus raise the literacy rate and social capability of women. The second concentrates on the improvement of women’s health through greater self-awareness and more frequent medical testing. A third front addresses issues relating to marriage. It tries to gain acceptance for intercaste marriage and for marriages that are arranged by the couple rather than arranged by the parents. It also tries to stop child marriages, and it promotes the enforcement of laws regulating proper marriage age. It also opposes the persecution of wives who, even after the marriage, are considered unsuitable. A fourth emphasis is the opposition to gender testing of fetuses. Because male children are valued more highly than female children, the ratio of male children to female children is unbalanced. Laws have been made to overcome this situation, but enforcing them is another matter.

Contemporary Issues

THE CHIPKO MOVEMENT

induism teaches that all lives have had previous forms—thousands of them. Because of reincarnation, people were once animals and, according to many, animals were once plants. Thus there is in Hinduism a very strong sense of interconnection with nature. Gods and goddesses are shown both with guardian animals and with their favorite plants. For example, Shiva is often shown with his companion bull, and Lakshmi appears with an elephant and

holds a lotus. This connection with nature is the religious background for a conservation movement that began in

earnest in India in the 1970s, when a sporting goods company announced its plans to log land in the hills of the lower Himalayas. Village women at the village of Reni saw the dangers: deforestation, inability to gather firewood, soil erosion, and flooding. They went out and surrounded the trees, literally hugging them, to protect them. Attracting a great deal of attention, the villagers were successful. They saved their trees, and out of this one act emerged hundreds of similar acts of environmental concern. The movement that arose is called the Chipko Andolan (Hindi: “sticking- together movementâ€​). It is the Indian version of tree hugging.

The Chipko movement has had much additional influence. It has not only encouraged the protection of forests but also the planting of trees, the review of proposed dam projects, the more careful awarding of government contracts, and the growth of local decision making.

Page 111A second issue confronting Hinduism today is interreligious disharmony. Conflict between Hindus and Muslims has been ongoing, particularly since the partition of India and Pakistan in 1947. Gandhi had hoped that India would not have to split into parts along religious lines, but Muslim leaders insisted on separation. Ironically, the partition did not bring peace. Disagreement about the border between India and Pakistan, particularly in Kashmir, has never been resolved. Two wars have already been fought over this matter, and a third is a constant threat. Because both countries possess atomic weapons, the potential horrors of such a war are especially great.

Conflicts between the Hindus and Muslims within India itself have also continually flared up. Old wounds were reopened in 1992, when Hindu activists destroyed a mosque at Ayodhya in northern India. They argued that it was the birthplace of Rama and held that it was the site of a Hindu temple that had been destroyed by the Muslim ruler Babur and replaced with a mosque. Atrocities on each side have been the result. While India claims to be a secular state, Hindus comprise 85 percent of the population, and thus their causes carry undeniable weight; Muslims in India argue that the government has not adequately protected them. Similar

The Chipko movement began with Hindu villagers working to preserve trees, a form of life that deserves respect rather than exploitation. ©Dinodia Photos/Alamy Stock Photo

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conflicts have occurred in Kashmir at the site of a Hindu shrine to Shiva. Just as fundamentalism has risen in several other religions, it is now influential in Hinduism.

The third concern facing modern-day Hinduism is the intrusion of contemporary values, particularly individualism, women’s rights, sexual freedom, modern fashion, and consumerism. Globalization has made instant some of the conflicts that once arose more slowly. There is now quick communication through e-mail and cell phones, and television is an irresistible conduit of new values. The international world of banking and finance has moved some of its operations to India, where English-speaking graduates are plentiful and the costs of employment are favorable. American consumers making routine calls for technical help concerning their computers are often connected with computer specialists in Mumbai or Delhi. These jobs provide greater economic opportunities for women as well as for men, inevitably raising the potential for conflict between traditional values and new freedoms.

Behind this Hindu temple roofline in Varanasi. stands the minaret of a mosque. Peaceful coexistence with other religions, especially Islam, is a major challenge for Hinduism today. ©Thomas Hilgers

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Hindu Influence beyond India Over the centuries, Hinduism has spread to countries near India and afar, often by way of traders and immigrants. In a few places it has remained strong, whereas in others it has surrendered to other religions. Hinduism is the dominant religion of Nepal, where about 80 percent of the population is Hindu. Hinduism was once widespread in Southeast Asia, but today only traces of it remain. In Cambodia, for example, you can see the remains of Angkor Wat, which was originally a Hindu complex. In Thailand, vestiges of a Brahmanical priesthood are particularly active in court ceremony, and images of Brahma, Vishnu, and Ganesha are common. Some forms of ritualistic Buddhism in northern and eastern Asia have kept alive a few Hindu gods, such as Indra, in art and ceremony. Hinduism, of course, continues wherever Indians have migrated.

Hinduism was once widespread in Indonesia, where it was introduced by Indian traders. During the Muslim invasions, however, the Hindu court culture was forced to retreat from the main island of Java and settled to the east on the small island of Bali, where a fascinating example of Hindu culture thrives. Here, Hinduism lives on in a complicated, beautiful form that is mixed with folk religion and Buddhism. Each village has Hindu temples, where dances based on Indian tales (especially about Rama) are performed. Shadow-puppet plays tell Hindu stories, and Balinese wood carvings reproduce images of Hindu gods, goddesses, and heroes. The central temple of Bali, a complex of buildings on the volcanic Mount Agung, is dedicated to the Trimurti. Although the rest of Indonesia is primarily Muslim, some Hindu elements remain in Indonesian dance and puppet plays.

Hinduism has had some influence on the West since the nineteenth century. The earliest impact was intellectual, when translations of the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita became available in Latin, French,

Hindu temples, often in Indian style, now may be found in North America. This temple is in Riverdale, near Atlanta, Georgia. ©CSP_Robhainer/Fotosearch LBRF/age Fotostock RF

German, and English. The translations generated great interest among philosophers, scholars, and poets. In the United States, the New England movement called Transcendentalism owes a good deal to its literary contact with Hinduism. Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882), Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862), and Walt Whitman (1819–1892) all spoke in their writings of the sacredness of nature and the ultimate unity of all things, and they sometimes even used terms that illustrated Indian influence, such as Brahma and Oversoul (another name for Brahman). This literary trend was expressed in different forms in England, where composers such as Gustav Holst (1874–1934) and Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872–1958) put selections from the Rig Veda and Whitman’s Leaves of Grass to music.

The next wave of influence occurred when Indian gurus began to travel to the West. The first of these gurus was Swami Vivekananda (1863–1902), who represented Hinduism at the first World Parliament of Religions, held in Chicago in 1893. He was the successor to Ramakrishna (mentioned earlier), the noted mystic and devotee of the Great Mother. Vivekananda began the Ramakrishna Mission and set up Vedanta societies and

In the heart of Bangkok is the popular Erawan shrine, with an image of the Hindu god Brahma at its center. In much of Southeast Asia, Hinduism is alive within, or alongside of, Buddhism. ©keysersoze27/iStock/Getty Images RF

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Ramakrishna centers across Europe, India, and the United States. A Vedantist center has existed in Hollywood since the 1930s, and British writers such as Christopher Isherwood (1904–1986), Aldous Huxley (1894â €“1963), and Gerald Heard (1889–1971) all practiced meditation there. Isherwood, under the influence of his guru, Swami Prabhavananda, became a Vedantist and translated the Bhagavad Gita into English.

The third wave of Hindu influence in the West occurred in the late 1960s. The American counterculture embraced India as the fount of wisdom. Commercial air travel made it possible for Indian teachers to come to the West and for westerners to travel to India. Some westerners, such as the Beatles, studied in India with the guru Maharishi Mahesh Yogi and became enamored of Hinduism. (George Harrison’s song â €œMy Sweet Lordâ€​ was written to honor Krishna.) The Maharishi eventually came to the United States and established the Transcendental Meditation movement, which promotes regular daily meditation to achieve health and happiness. The North American center of the movement is at Maharishi Vedic City, near Fairfield, Iowa. Some westerners who went to India became disciples of Indian gurus. Some took Hindu names. Western visitors to India adopted forms of yoga, Hindu vegetarian cuisine, Indian clothing, and Indian music and then took them back to Europe, Canada, and the United States, where they entered the Western mainstream.

The movement called the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) was founded in New York in 1967 by Swami Bhaktivedanta Prabhupada (1896–1977). He wished to spread a form of devotional practice among westerners. Commonly known as the Hare Krishna movement, ISKCON has succeeded in attracting westerners to live a traditional form of Hindu religious life. Its practitioners worship Krishna as the highest incarnation of the divine, chant daily, eat a vegetarian diet, and, if celibate, wear the traditional orange robe. The impact of this movement in the West has been particularly strong in the area of cuisine, prompting the opening of vegetarian restaurants across Europe, the United States, and Canada.

What we have just discussed—the impact of Hinduism on Western thinkers, musicians, and poets—was in large measure achieved by non-Hindus inspired by Hindu culture. Now Hindus themselves, in and out of India, are producing internationally acclaimed works, especially novels and films. Their particular points of view result from experiences accumulated across centuries in one of the world’s richest cultures. Those experiences will in time help global citizens, whatever their origins, to see themselves with an understanding that has been enriched by the Hindu worldview.

Reading RAMAKRISHNA AND THE EXPERIENCE OF GOD

Ramakrishna was a unique person. He saw himself as a disciple of the Great Mother and lived at a temple near Calcutta (Kolkata) as her spiritual child. Ramakrishna was prone to ecstasy, a trance- like state that can be highly esteemed in India. He sought continually to have direct experience of the Great Mother, frequently calling out her name.

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Such was the man living in a temple in India at a time when India was madly chasing the Western culture, and this was the man, who, through his yearning, realized God the Mother. He saw Mother and he talked to Her. Following the first experience of God, he wanted to experiment with the other religions of the world. He followed the teachings of the different sects of India; he followed the religions taught by Christ and Mohammed; and by following each one of these religions he came to the realization of the same ultimate reality. Then was it that he proclaimed, with authority, “The many religions are so many paths to God.â€​40

TEST YOURSELF

1. The culture that flourished in the Indus River valley before 2000 BCE is named the ____________ culture.

a. Vedanta

b. Harappa

c. Aryan

d. Indian

2. The ancient scriptures of India are called the ____________. There are four basic text collections: the Rig, the Yajur, the Sama, and the Atharva.

a. Harappas

b. Sanskrits

c. Vedas

d. “Shining Fathers†​

3. Around 500 BCE, Indian civilization experienced such widespread and important changes that the period is called the ____________ Age.

a. Philosophical

b. Prophetic

c. Axis

d. Ascetic

4. In the Upanishads, the term ____________ refers to the experience of the sacred within nature and the external universe, while the term ____________ refers to the experience of the sacred within oneself. Both terms may be used interchangeably.

a. karma; moksha

b. Brahman; Atman

c. samsara; moksha

d. brahmins; samsara

5. The ____________ is part of a very long epic poem called the Mahabharata; it recalls themes from the Upanishads.

a. Maya

b. Bhagavad Gita

c. Pandavas

d. Jainism

6. Hinduism has a(n) ____________ system with five main social classes: brahmin (priest), kshatriya (warrior-noble), vaishya (merchant), shudra (peasant), and dalit (untouchable). This system is called the ____________ system.

a. work

b. education

c. ritual

d. caste

7. The word yoga means ____________.

a. contemplation

b. enlightenment

c. practice

d. union

8. Shankara believed that spiritual liberation is achieved when the individual personally comes to understand the unity of all things. This view of reality is called ____________.

a. devotion

b. jnana

c. monism

d. meditation

9. Hinduism has been often called polytheistic. Yet it has also sometimes called monotheistic. Why do you think both descriptions are used? Which, do you think, is more appropriate?

10. Mohandas Gandhi developed many techniques for passive resistance and affirmation of Indian identity. What were some of those techniques? Which of them were adopted by Martin Luther King Jr., and how did he use them? Please give specific examples.

11. Imagine that you are asked to express in only two sentences the most important ideas of the Upanishads. What would your two sentences be? How would these sentences capture what is most important in the Upanishads?

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12. Choose one of the contemporary challenges facing Hinduism today. According to Hindu belief, which of the following deities do you think would be especially helpful to assist Hindus to overcome this challenge: Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, or Devi? Why?

RESOURCES

Books

Film/TV

Bhagavad-Gita: The Song of God. Trans. Swami Prabhavananda and Christopher Isherwood. New York: Signet, 2002. A justly famous translation, with a valuable introduction by Aldous Huxley.

Chapple, Christopher Key, and Mary Evelyn Tucker, eds. Hinduism and Ecology. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press/Center for the Study of World Religions, 2000. Essays on environmental concerns in Hindu literature, ritual, and culture.

Eck, Diana. India: A Sacred Geography. New York: Harmony/Random House, 2012. A study of India through an Investigation of Its major gods and their places of pilgrimage.

Gandhi, Mohandas. The Bhagavad Gita According to Gandhi. Edited by John Strohmeier. Berkeley, CA: Berkeley Hills Books, 2000. The first book to include Gandhi’s entire text of the Bhagavad Gita and his commentary on it.

———. The Essential Gandhi. Edited by Louis Fischer. New York: Vintage, 2002. Gandhi’s writings on politics, nonviolence, spirituality, and his own life.

Hawley, John S. A Storm of Songs: India and the Idea of the Bhakti Movement. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2015. A scholarly examination of the Indian love of religious devotion, with a focus on modern bhaktism.

Lahiri, Jhumpa. The Lowland. New York: Vintage/Random House, 2013. A novel about the shared values and the differences of two brothers from Kolkata.

The Upanishads. Trans. Swami Prabhavananda and Frederick Manchester. New York: Signet, 2002. A readable translation of twelve basic Upanishads.

Aparajito (Director Satyajit Ray; Merchant-Ivory/Sony.) A depiction of a man’s life in Varanasi and the portrayal of the struggles of his father, a poor brahmin priest.

Gandhi. (Director Richard Attenborough; Columbia Tristar.) An epic rendering of the life of Mahatma Gandhi, which won several Academy Awards.

Ganges: River to Heaven. (Director Gayle Ferraro; Aerial Productions.) A documentary on a hospice in Varanasi, where aging Hindus come to die in the hope that death at this site will improve their karma in the next life.

Hinduism: Faith, Festivals, and Rituals. (Films Media Group.) An examination of devotional ceremonies in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Mahabharata. (Director Peter Brook; Parabola Video.) A modern, English-language production of the great Hindu epic.

Mystic India. (Giant Screen Films.) An epic account of the late-eighteenth-century spiritual awakening of Neelkanth, an 11-year-old yogi who journeys by foot throughout India for seven

Music/Audio

Internet

years and more than seven thousand miles, seeking enlightenment. Short Cut to Nirvana: Kumbh Mela. (Mela Films LLC.) A documentary exploring the Kumbh Mela

festival.

The Bhagavad Gita. (Multimedia and Culture.) An unabridged audiobook of the famed discourse between Krishna and Arjuna (translated into English by Juan Mascaró).

Darshana: Vedic Chanting for Daily Practice. (Mother Om Sounds.) A compilation of Vedic chants for daily practice, as performed by Maya Tiwari (Mother Maya).

Hymns from the Vedas and Upanishads, Vedic Chants. (Delos Records.) Traditional hymns and chants from classic religious sources.

Religious Music of Asia. (Smithsonian Folkways.) A recording of Hindu devotional music. Sounds of India. (Columbia.) Classical devotional music of India, performed by Ravi Shankar. World Hindu Chants. (Times Music.) A variety of religious songs.

HinduNet: http://www.hindunet.org/. A gateway site that allows users to learn about Hindu faith and ritual, visit Hindu temples online, listen to Hindu scriptures, and participate in discussion forums.

Sanatan Society: http://www.sanatansociety.org/. A useful resource for information on Hindu gods, yoga and meditation, Vedic astrology, vegetarianism, and other related topics.

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Virtual Religion Index: http://virtualreligion.net/vri/hindu.html. Individual sections devoted to the Vedas, the Upanishads, the epics, theology and devotion, schools and teachers, and yoga.

KEY TERMS

ahimsa (uh-him’-sa): “Nonharm,†​ “nonviolence.†​ ashram (ash’-ram): A spiritual community. Atman (at’-mun): The spiritual essence of all individual human beings. avatar (ah’-va-tar): An earthly embodiment of a deity. Bhagavad Gita (bhuh’-guh-vud gee’-ta): A religious literary work about Krishna. bhakti (bhuk’-ti): Devotion to a deity or guru. bhakti yoga: The spiritual discipline of devotion to a deity or guru. Brahma (bruh’-mah): God of creation. Brahman (bruh’-mun): The spiritual essence of the universe. brahmin (bruh’-min): Member of the priestly caste. caste (kaast): A major social class sanctioned by Hinduism. Devi (deh’-vee): “Goddess†​; the Divine Feminine, also called the Great Mother. dhyana (dyah’-nah): Meditation. Durga: “Awe-inspiring,†​ “distant†​; a mother-goddess; a form of Devi. guru (goo’-roo): A spiritual teacher. hatha yoga (hah’-tha yoh’-ga): The spiritual discipline of postures and bodily

exercises. jnana yoga (gyah’-nuh yoh’-ga; juh-nah’-nah yoh’-ga): The spiritual

discipline of knowledge and insight. Kali (kah’-lee): “Dark,†​ a form of Devi; a goddess associated with destruction and

rebirth. karma: The moral law of cause and effect that determines the direction of rebirth. karma yoga: The spiritual discipline of selfless action. Krishna: A god associated with divine playfulness; a form of Vishnu. kundalini yoga (koon-duh-lee’-nee yoh’-ga): A form of raja yoga that envisions the

individual’s energy as a force that is capable of being raised from the center of the body to the head, producing a state of joy.

mantra: A short sacred phrase, often chanted or used in meditation. maya: “Illusion†​; what keeps us from seeing reality correctly; the world, viewed inadequately. moksha (mohk’-shah): “Liberation†​ from personal limitation, egotism, and rebirth. monism: The philosophical position that all apparently separate realities are ultimately one; the

belief that God and the universe are the same, that the universe is divine. puja (poo’-jah): Offerings and ritual in honor of a deity. raja yoga: The “royal†​ discipline of meditation.

Rama: A god and mythical king; a form of Vishnu. samadhi (suh-mah’-dhee): A state of complete inner peace resulting from meditation. samsara (suhm-sah’-rah): The everyday world of change and suffering leading to rebirth. sannyasin (san-nyas’-in): A wandering holy man. Shiva (shee’-vah): A god associated with destruction and rebirth. Trimurti (tree-mur’-tee): “Three forms†​ of the divine—the three gods Brahma,

Vishnu, and Shiva. Upanishads (oo-pahn’-i-shads): Written meditations on the spiritual essence of the

universe and the self. Vedas (vay’-duhs): Four collections of ancient prayers and rituals. Vishnu: A god associated with preservation and love. yoga: A spiritual discipline; a method for perfecting one’s union with the divine.

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CHAPTER 4

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Buddhism

©Antonio Busiello/robertharding/Getty Images

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FIRST ENCOUNTER On your way to southern Thailand with a friend, you fly to Bangkok to spend a few days there before traveling north to Chiang Mai. Your hotel is in the old section of town, near the river, not far from the Grand Palace. Your friend has business to do the first day, and you decide to go by yourself to the palace and the temples nearby.

First, you tour the old palace. It is a fascinating blend of Thai and Western architecture. The lower part of the building looks European, but the upper part is distinctly Thai. Then you walk a short distance to visit the Emerald Buddha. Its small temple, Wat Pra Kaew, is full of visitors. The green jade Buddha sits on top of a pedestal and is clothed in robes that are different for each season. The unusual statue holds your attention, but the crowds soon force you out.

The grounds of the temple are decorated with plants in pots, tall statues, round stupas, and stones of intriguing shapes. As you walk among the objects, you are reminded of a Chinese garden. Your meandering brings you to another temple, which is not so obvious.

The sign says that it is Wat Po. You walk through a square door and at first see nothing except the base of a large square pillar on your right. As your eyes adjust to the dimmer light, the outline of a huge Buddha emerges on your left. The building is very long—maybe 100 feet (30 meters)—but the statue barely fits inside. First you see the long reclining body. Then you see the golden face high up. At the far end of the hall, you see two huge feet and ten toes. Only a few people are here. The temple is quiet. All you hear is the sound of metal hitting metal somewhere behind the reclining Buddha figure.

In front of the statue is an arrangement of pink water lilies. One person stands there quietly in prayer. You walk to the same spot and stop to look and absorb. The Buddha’s face is happy. The Buddha is unmoving, and his square feet seem equally at peace. What is he thinking? What story in his life does this image present?

You continue on, walking to the feet of the statue. You notice that the soles of his feet are covered with designs. You see a few people in the back, dropping coins into metal bowls before they leave. Then you go out,

back to the unusual garden. You are full of questions. Who was this person? What important events happened in his life? Why is he still

honored by many people around the world today?

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THE BEGINNINGS OF BUDDHISM: THE LIFE OF THE BUDDHA Buddhism is one of the world’s oldest and most significant religions. It has spread through most of Asia, influencing the many cultures there, and is now gaining followers in the West. But it had its beginnings in India and arose from the experience of one person.

India in the fifth century BCE was in a state of religious ferment. Great enthusiasm for personal religious experience led people to experiment with meditation and deep breathing and to study with gurus. A growing number of schools of philosophy taught new ways of thinking, some of which opposed the growth of the priestly Vedic religion. Into this world came Siddhartha Gautama, who would come to be known as the Buddha, or the Awakened One.

Because so many devout legends have grown up around the story of the Buddha’s life and teaching, it is sometimes hard to separate fact from fiction. Although there is no single, authoritative biography of the Buddha, his legendary life follows these outlines. Siddhartha was born the son of a prince of the Shakya tribe in what is today Nepal, in the lower Himalaya Mountains. Legend says that his mother, Maya, dreamt that a white elephant entered her side—this was the moment of conception of the future Buddha—and that Siddhartha was born miraculously from her side, near her heart. Sadly, Siddhartha’s mother died a week after the birth, and the boy was raised by his aunt.

When a sage inspected the child, he saw special marks on Siddhartha’s body, indicating that he would be an illustrious person. At his naming ceremony, priests foretold that his life could go in one of two directions. One direction was that he would follow in his father’s footsteps, inheriting his position and becoming a great king, a “world ruler.â€​ However, if he were exposed to the sight of suffering, he would move in another direction. He would become a great spiritual leader, a “world teacher.â€​

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Siddhartha’s father, naturally wanting his son to succeed him, took measures to keep the boy from exposure to suffering. Raised in a large walled palace compound, Siddhartha grew up in luxury. At an early age, he was married to a young woman whom his father had chosen, and they had a son. In order to prepare to take over his father’s role, Siddhartha was educated and trained as a warrior.

All was going according to his father’s plan, until Siddhartha disobeyed his father’s command to not leave the royal grounds. Visiting a town outside the royal enclosure, Siddhartha soon witnessed the suffering of ordinary life. He saw—and was moved by—what are called the Four Passing Sights. He came across an old man, crooked and toothless; a sick man, wasted by disease; and a corpse being taken for cremation. Then he saw a sannyasin—a wandering holy man, a renunciate—who had no possessions but who seemed to be at peace.

One devout tradition teaches that the very young Siddhartha Gautama walked upright and took seven steps. At each step a lotus bloomed. ©boonsom/iStock/Getty Images RF

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Paintings in Buddhist temples retell dramatically Siddhartha’s response to what he saw. At 29, he realized that his life up until then had been a pleasant prison, and he saw the same programmed life stretching forward into his old age. The suffering he had just encountered, though, prompted him to question the meaning of human experience. It also threw him into a depression that kept him from enjoying his luxurious and carefree life any longer.

Siddhartha decided to escape. Legend tells how he took a last look at his sleeping family and attendants, then rode on his horse to the edge of the palace grounds. There he gave his horse to his servant, removed his jewels, and cut off his long black hair. Putting on simple clothing, he went out into the world with nothing but questions. This event is called the Great Going Forth.

It is common in Indian spirituality to seek a teacher, and Siddhartha did just that. Traveling from teacher to teacher, he learned techniques of meditation and discussed philosophy. However, he was ultimately unsatisfied.

Seeking food along the way and sleeping outdoors, Siddhartha spent six years seeking answers to his questions—particularly about the troubling facts of suffering and death. His own mother had died young—a death that was apparently without meaning. Why, he often asked, is there suffering? Why do people have to grow old and die? Is there a God or unchanging divine reality behind the surface of things? Is there a soul? Is there an afterlife? Are we reborn? Can we avoid suffering? How should we live?

Seeking answers to his questions, Siddhartha discovered that his teachers agreed on some issues but not on others. So, in the company of five other nomadic “seekers,â€​ he set out to find the answers he needed. To rid himself of distractions and to purify himself spiritually, Siddhartha also practiced great austerity. Living on as little food, drink, and sleep as possible, he hoped that he would find new insight and even gain spiritual powers.

Siddhartha, born a wealthy prince, is here portrayed as the Buddha. This depiction is frequent in the temples of Myanmar. ©Education Images/Universal Images Group/Getty Images

Eventually, Siddhartha collapsed from weakness. He was found exhausted under a sacred tree by a kind woman from the nearby town of Gaya. She had possibly come to worship the spirit of the great tree and Siddhartha was so emaciated that she may have thought him to be the tree spirit. She offered him food, which he accepted gratefully and ate under the shade of the tree, out of the hot sun. Once revived, Siddhartha realized that his austerities had not strengthened him or brought him any closer to the answers he sought. His five companions, having discovered Siddhartha’s rejection of the ascetic life, abandoned him.

Being a practical person, Siddhartha decided to adopt a path of moderation—a middle way between self- indulgence and asceticism. He went to another tree, now called the Bodhi Tree, and sat facing the east. He resolved to remain there in meditation until he had gained the understanding that he needed.

Various traditions give different details, but every version talks of his struggle with hunger, thirst, doubt, and weakness. Some stories describe the work of an evil spirit, Mara, and his daughters, who tempted Siddhartha with sensuality and fear. But Siddhartha resisted all temptation.

During one entire night, as he sat meditating under a full moon, Siddhartha entered increasingly profound

Siddhartha, as depicted here, practiced physical deprivation, hoping to achieve insight. This approach proved to be inadequate. ©Borirak/Shutterstock RF

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states of awareness. Legend says that he saw in his imagination his past lives, fathomed the laws of karma that govern everyone, and finally achieved insight into release from suffering and rebirth.

At last, at dawn, he reached a state of profound understanding, called his Awakening, or Enlightenment (bod hi). He saw suffering, aging, and death in a new way. He recognized them as an inevitable part of life. Yet he also could see the possibility of release.

We might wonder about the influence of the tree and the moon on Siddhartha. The tree overhead, with its thousands of leaves and twigs, despite its appearance of permanence, would change, age, and die. But the full moon, with its brilliant light, was a promise of new understanding. Whatever the cause of his enlightenment, Siddhartha arose and said that he was now a person who had woken up. From this came his new name: the Buddha, the Awakened One, a title taken from a Sanskrit word meaning “to wake up.â€​

The Buddha remained for some time at the site of his enlightenment at Gaya, savoring his new way of looking at life and continuing to meditate. Mythic stories relate that during this time, when a heavy downpour occurred, a cobra raised itself over him to protect him from the rain. This notion is understood in much of Asia, where the snake is not considered a symbol of evil but rather of protection. At last the Buddha traveled west. He explained his awakening to his five former companions, who were at a deer park at Sarnath, near Varanasi. Although they had parted with him earlier for abandoning his ascetic habits, they reconciled with him and became his first disciples.

The Buddha spent the rest of his long life traveling from village to village in northeast India, teaching his insights and his way of life. He attracted many followers, and donors gave land, groves, and buildings to the new movement. The Buddha thus began an order (sangha) of monks and later of nuns. The Buddha’s way was a path of moderation, a middle path, not only for himself but also for his disciples. It was midway between the worldly life of the householder, which he had lived before leaving home, and the ascetic life of social withdrawal, which he had followed after his departure from home. Yet the specifics of monastic community life and its relation to the nonmonastic world—on whom the monks relied for food—had to be worked out over time.

Tradition tells of the warm friendship that the Buddha shared with his disciples and of their way of life, wandering and teaching. The monks remained in one place only during the monsoon months of summer, when the rains were so heavy that travel was not practical. Looking on the Buddha’s lifestyle from a modern vantage point, we can see that it was a healthy one: moderate eating, no alcohol, daily walking, regular meditation, clear air. Probably because of this, the Buddha lived to an old age.

When he was 80, legend says, the Buddha ate food offered by a well-meaning blacksmith named Chunda. However, the food was spoiled and the Buddha became terribly sick. Sensing that he was dying, he called his disciples. To those who were crying over his impending death, he reminded them that everything must dieâ €”even the Buddha himself. He then offered these final words of advice: “You must be your own lamps, be your own refuges. Take refuge in nothing outside yourselves. Hold firm to the truth as a lamp and a refuge, and do not look for refuge to anything besides yourselves.â€​ In other words, the Buddha’s final instruction was this: Trust your own insights, and use self-control to reach perfection and inner peace.

Following this pronouncement, the Buddha turned on his right side and died. The many sculptures and paintings of the so-called Reclining Buddha may often be images of his serene moment of death. Buddhists see the Buddha’s attitude toward death as a model for everyone.

A wonder of the world, this huge statue of the Reclining Buddha in Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka, may be unsurpassed in conveying the serenity that is the core of Buddhist teaching. ©Thomas Hilgers

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THE BASIC TEACHINGS OF BUDDHISM It is impossible to know exactly what the Buddha taught. He did not write down his teachings, nor did his early disciples. The only written versions were recorded several hundred years after his death. This followed centuries in which the teachings were passed on orally, as well as having been interpreted in multiple ways. We must rely on the basic trustworthiness of both the oral traditions and the many written texts that pass on his teachings.

The written teachings that have come down to us are in a number of languages, all of which differ from the language—apparently a variation of Magadhi—that was spoken by the Buddha. One of the most important languages through which Buddhist teachings have been passed down is Pali, a language related to Sanskrit. Another is Sanskrit itself—often called the Latin of India because of its widespread use in earlier years for scholarly works.

At the core of what is generally regarded as basic Buddhism are the Three Jewels (Sanskrit: Triratna; Pali: Tiratana)—that is, the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The Buddha is thought of as an ideal human being whom other human beings should imitate. The image of him, seated in meditation, is a constant model of self- control and mindfulness. He is not usually thought of as being dead, but instead as existing in a timeless dimension beyond the world. The Dharma (Sanskrit), or Dhamma (Pali), means the sum total of Buddhist teachings about how to view the world and how to live properly. The Sangha is the community of monks and nuns.

The Buddha’s teachings are like the Buddha himself—practical. Surrounded in the India of his day by every kind of speculation about the afterlife, the nature of the divine, and other difficult questions, the Buddha concentrated on what was useful. He refused to talk about anything else—a benign neglect that has been called his noble silence. He said that a person who speculated about unanswerable questions was like someone who had been wounded by an arrow but refused to pull it out until he knew everything about the arrow and the person who shot it. The wounded person would die before he could get all the information he wanted.

The Buddha wished to concentrate on the two most important questions about existence: How can we minimize suffering—both our own and that of others? And how can we attain inner peace? The Buddha’s conclusions are not just intellectual solutions; they are also recommendations for a practical way of living. Buddhist doctrines are not meant to be accepted on blind faith. Rather, it is up to each individual to experience them first as truths before accepting them.

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The Three Marks of Reality Common to all forms of Buddhism is a way of looking at the world. Although this view at first may seem pessimistic, it is meant to be a realistic assessment of existence. When understood, this view ultimately helps lead a person to inner peace and even joy. According to this view, reality manifests three characteristics: constant change, a lack of permanent identity, and the existence of suffering. This perspective is the foundation for the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path, which will be discussed shortly.

Change One of the things the Buddha recommended is that we look at life as it really is. When we do, he said, the first thing we notice is life’s constant change, or impermanence (Pali: anichcha; Sanskrit: anitya). We are often surprised by change—and pained by it—because we do not expect it. Yet the fact is that nothing that we experience in life ever remains the same. We get used to things—our own face, family, friends, house, car, neighborhood—and they seem to remain basically the same every time we look at them. That, though, is an illusion. They are changing daily, gradually. We usually only notice the changes over time.

Everyone knows the shock of change, such as seeing an old friend after being apart for many years, or

In Buddhist countries, the Sangha is venerated as one of Buddhism’s Three Jewels. Here, local people make food offerings to monks who leave their temples at dawn to accept alms. ©John Elk III/Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images

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looking at childhood photos. Even old movies on television and old songs on the radio—the performers now aged or even long gone—clearly convey the Buddhist sense of the inevitability of change. A family gathering can have the same effect: the death of a much-loved grandparent may be contrasted by the sight of a great- grandchild playing in a playpen in the corner.

People’s viewpoints also change. Think of what the word “loveâ€​ means to a five-year-old, a teenager, a new parent, or a person who has lost a spouse. Or imagine hearing the news of a divorce between two people you thought were well suited and happily married.

When we truly experience impermanence, we see that all of reality is in motion all the time, that the universe is in flux. As the kaleidoscope of reality slowly turns, its patterns change. However, while old patterns disappear, new patterns are born—all of them interesting. As the Buddha taught, the wise person expects change, accepts it, and even savors it. The wise person might also reflect that just as joys do not last forever, neither do sorrows.

No Permanent Identity We know that the Buddha urged people to abandon egotism and a fixation on material objects. Related to this, he denied the existence of the permanent identity of anything. Thus, the second mark of reality is that each person and each thing is not only changing, but that it is made up of parts that are also constantly changing. This concept is referred to as “no permanent identity,â€​ and in the case of people, it is called “no permanent soulâ€​ or “no self.â€​ The Pali term is anatta, and in Sanskrit it is anatman (“no Atmanâ€​). It describes the Buddha’s refusal to accept the Hindu notion of timeless, unchanging reality (Atman) underlying everything—people, things, essences, and gods.

For the sake of logical convenience, we often talk about each person or thing as if it were a single unified reality. Let us first consider something nonhuman, say, a car. We call it a car as if it were one single reality. Actually, though, it is made up of many things—glass, aluminum, rubber, paint, headlights, belts, pistons, wires, and fluids—many of which are either in need of repair right now or probably soon will be.

Then think of how each human being, although called by a single name, is actually made up of organs, body parts, instincts, memories, ideas, and hopes—all of which are constantly changing. Consider also your self- perception. You naively think you are the same person from day to day, even if you get a haircut or lose weight or see a film. Yet if you recall yourself at age 10 and then compare that person with the person you are now, you now seem to be someone quite different.

To the Buddha, to believe that a person has some unchanging identity or soul is as mistaken as believing that a car has an unchanging essence. The car is not a car because it has a “car soul.â€​ Rather, it is a car because of a social convention that refers to its many related parts by a single word. This tendency is so strong that we sometimes think that a label (car) is the reality. Although the Buddhist view may seem strange at first, it is quite sensible—and it helps eliminate surprise when your car won’t start, when a friend becomes distant, or when a photo reveals the inevitability of aging. All these changes show the same process at work.6

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Suffering The third characteristic of reality, known as dukkha (Pali), or duhkha (Sanskrit), is usually translated as “sufferingâ€​ or “sorrow.â€​ It may also be translated as “dissatisfactionâ€​ or “dis- ease.â€​ It refers to the fact that life, when lived conventionally, can never be fully satisfying. This comes about in life because of its inescapable change. Even in the midst of pleasure, you often recognize that pleasure is fleeting. Even when all the bills are paid, you know that in a few days there will be more. Try as you might to put everything in your life in order, disorder soon reasserts itself. In the midst of happy experiences, you may worry about the people you love. And there are times when ever-changing life brings misery: the death of a parent or spouse or child, divorce, sickness, fire, flood, earthquake, war, the loss of job or home.

Dukkha encompasses the whole range, from horrible suffering to everyday frustration. Someone once compared the inevitability of dukkha to buying a new car. Your new car brings the pleasures of mobility and pride of ownership, but as you go for your first ride you know what lies ahead: insurance premiums, regular maintenance, and expensive repairs.

The Buddha concluded that to live means inescapably to experience sorrow and dissatisfaction. Yet he analyzed the nature and causes of suffering much like a doctor would diagnose an illness—in order to understand and overcome them. Those who say that Buddhism pessimistically focuses on suffering do not see the hopeful purpose behind that focus. Indeed, no one can escape suffering, but each person can decide how to respond to it—as indicated in the Four Noble Truths.

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The Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eightfold Path Perhaps to aid in their memorization, some Buddhist teachings were grouped into fours and eights. The Four Noble Truths are a linked chain of truths about life: (1) suffering exists; (2) it has a cause; (3) it has an end; and (4) there is a way to attain release from suffering—namely, by following the Noble Eightfold Path. Let’s look at each concept more closely.

The First Noble Truth: To Live Is to Suffer To say it perhaps more descriptively, “birth is attended with pain, decay is painful, disease is painful, death is painful.â€​ Having a body means that you can be tired and sick. Having a mind means that you can be troubled and discouraged. You have so many daily duties that your life becomes a list of things-to-do, and you feel like a juggler who is trying to keep too many balls spinning in the air. The past cannot be relived, and the future is uncertain. In addition, every day you have to decide what to do with the rest of your life. (It has been remarked that adults so frequently ask children “What do you want to be when you grow up?â€​ because the adults themselves are still trying to decide what to do with their own lives.)

To live means to experience anxiety, loss, and sometimes even anguish. In other words, “living means sorrow.â€​ Although the message sounds dark, this truth urges us to be realistic, not melancholy; it is also hopeful in the sense that if you recognize why suffering comes about, then you can lessen it.

The Second Noble Truth: Suffering Comes from Desire When he analyzed suffering, the Buddha saw that it comes from wanting what you cannot have and from never being satisfied with what you do have. The word trishna (Sanskrit), or tanha (Pali), which is often translated as “desire,â€​ might better be translated as â €œthirst.â€​ It can also be translated as “cravingâ€​—suggesting both an addiction and a fear of loss.

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The eight-spoked wheel is an ancient symbol of Buddhist teachings.

Some of your desires are obvious: food, sleep, clothing, housing, health. Some desires are more subtle: privacy, respect, friendship, quiet, freedom from stress, security, variety, beauty. And some desires are simply â €œwantsâ€​ that are cultivated by our society: designer clothes, alcohol, entertainment, expensive food. Everyone has desires, but because life is always changing, no matter how much you acquire you cannot be permanently satisfied. Desire is insatiable, and the result is discontent, dissatisfaction, and sometimes misery. Is there a way to be free of suffering?

The Third Noble Truth: To End Suffering, End Desire It is hard to argue with the reasonableness of this truth, yet it goes against modern Western notions. The Western tendency is to strain to achieve every imaginable desire. This tendency seems to thrive in cultures—such as many modern ones—that emphasize individual legal and moral rights, competition between individuals, and individual success in school, in sports, and in oneâ €™s job. Belief in a distinct and permanent self or an immortal soul may be the origin of such individualism. This tendency is rather different from the sense of self that comes from a worldview that values the individualâ €™s membership in the group—a view of self that is more common, traditionally, in tribal and Asian cultures.

To our modern way of thinking, the Buddha’s recommendations may seem rather stark. Nevertheless, he himself left home and family and possessions because he believed—and taught—that any kind of attachment will bring inevitable suffering. The shaven head and special clothing of monks and nuns symbolize their radical detachment from worldly concerns.

Buddhists themselves recognize, though, that not everyone can be a monk or nun. Consequently, this third truth is moderated for laypeople. It is commonly interpreted as a recommendation that you accept peacefully whatever occurs, aiming less for happiness and more for inner peace. You should concentrate on the present moment, not on the past or the future or your desires for them. Because times of happiness are always paid for by times of unhappiness—the pendulum swings in both directions—a certain emotional neutrality is the best path.

Acceptance is a step to inner peace if you recognize that what you have right now is actually enough. Ultimately, you have to accept your body, your talents, your family, and even your relatives. Of course, some adjustments can be made: You can move, have plastic surgery, change your job, or get a divorce. Ultimately, though, much of life simply has to be accepted—and appreciated whenever possible.

Look within. Be still. Free from fear and attachment, Know the sweet joy of the way.  —The Dhammapada8

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The essence of the Third Noble Truth is this: You cannot change the outside world, but you can change yourself and the way that you experience the world.

The Fourth Noble Truth: Release from Suffering Is Possible and Can Be Attained by Following the Noble Eightfold Path The ultimate goal of Buddhism is nirvana (Sanskrit; Pali: nibbana). The term nirvana suggests many things: end of suffering, inner peace, and liberation from the limitations of the world. The word nirvana seems to mean “blown out,â€​ or “cool,â€​ suggesting that the fires of desire have been extinguished. Upon attaining nirvana, a person has self-control. That person is no longer driven from inside by raging emotional forces or from outside by the unpredictable events of life. It may not necessarily imply the elimination of anger (stories tell of the Buddha’s getting angry at disputes within the monastic community), but it does suggest a general inner quiet. Nirvana is also believed to end karma and rebirth after the present life. (More will be said about nirvana later in this chapter.) To reach nirvana, Buddhism recommends following the Noble Eightfold Path.

The Noble Eightfold Path: The Way to Inner Peace The eight “stepsâ€​ of the path actually form a program that the Buddha taught will lead us toward liberation from the impermanence and suffering of reality. Together, they describe three main goals: to face life objectively, to live kindly, and to cultivate inner peace. Although they are often called “steps,â€​ the eight recommendations are not to be practiced sequentially but rather all together. As it is usually translated, the Noble Eightfold Path sounds so old-fashioned that readers may not immediately perceive its practicality. However, keep in mind that the word right in the following list is a translation of a word that might better be translated as “correctâ€​ or “complete.â€​

1. Right understanding You recognize the impermanence of life, the mechanism of desire, and the cause of suffering.

2. Right intention Your thoughts and motives are pure, not tainted by your emotions and selfish desires.

3. Right speech You speak kindly and honestly, in positive ways, avoiding lies, exaggeration, harsh words.

4. Right action Your actions do not hurt any other being that can feel hurt, including animals; You avoid stealing and any sexual conduct that would bring hurt.

5. Right work Your job does no harm to yourself or others.

6. Right effort With moderation, you consistently strive to improve.

7. Right meditation (right mindfulness) You use the disciplines of meditation (dhyana) and focused awareness to contemplate the nature of reality more deeply.

8. Right contemplation You cultivate states of blissful inner peace (samadhi).

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THE INFLUENCE OF INDIAN THOUGHT ON EARLY BUDDHIST TEACHINGS It is uncertain whether the Buddha intended to begin an entirely new religion. Early Buddhist literature rejects certain elements of the common Vedic practice of the time, particularly its ritualism, its reliance on priests, its caste system, and its belief in any permanent spiritual reality.

Some non-Buddhists responded negatively when women and slaves were allowed to enter the Buddhist monastic order. Such evidence leads us to think that early Buddhists saw themselves as outside the mainstream priestly Vedic culture—a fact that may have assisted them in developing their own statements of belief and practice. Nevertheless, we do know that early Buddhist teachings accepted certain elements of Indian thought that contemporary Hinduism, Jainism, and Buddhism all share.

Ahimsa: “Do No Harm†Foremost among the elements adopted from the Indian worldview of the Buddha’s day was the ideal of ahimsa (“non-harmâ€​; see Chapter 3). It is not clear how old this ideal is, and it has not always been followed. We do know that Vedic sacrifice at the time of the Buddha sometimes included animal sacrifice—and animal sacrifice in Hindu practice can still be found, particularly in Nepal and Bali. Yet we also know that the ideal of ahimsa was already prominent in India before the time of the Buddha and may have had ancient and pre- Vedic origins.

For Buddhism, ahimsa is fundamental. The ideal holds that to cause suffering to any being is cruel and unnecessary—life is already hard enough for each of us. Ahimsa discourages causing not only physical pain but also psychological hurt or the exploitation of another. Upon reaching a real understanding that every being that feels can suffer, you gain wider sympathy. It is then natural and satisfying for you to live with deliberate gentleness.

Ahimsa is a high ideal and not always easy to achieve. Furthermore, you must recognize that there will always be a gap between the ideal and actual practice in different Buddhist cultures and among individuals. Nevertheless, however murky the definition of the “best actionâ€​ may be, the ideal is fairly clear. A compassionate person does everything possible to avoid causing suffering: “ashamed of roughness, and full of mercy, he dwells compassionate and kind to all creatures that have life.â€​ This empathetic ideal has been interpreted as recommending, when possible, a vegetarian or semi-vegetarian diet, and it warns against involvement in any jobs or sports that would hurt others, such as being a butcher, hunter, fisherman, soldier, or weapon maker. The result is a way of life that is harmonious and free of remorse.

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The Soul and Karma The Buddha rejected the notion of a soul—an unchanging spiritual reality, but he accepted some notion of rebirth. How, you might then ask, can an individual be reborn if there is no soul? Buddhism holds that while there is no individual soul, the elements of personality that make up an individual can recombine and thus continue from one lifetime to another. Buddhism offers the examples of a flame passing from one candle to another or the pattern caused by a breeze that passes over many blades of grass. The candles are separate, but only one flame passes between each candle. The blades of grass are rooted to separate places, but the pattern of the breeze travels across them and “unitesâ€​ them in movement.

Closely related to the notion of rebirth is karma. As discussed in Chapter 3, karma determines how you will be reborn. In Hinduism and Jainism, karma is like something that clings to the soul as it passes from life to life in reincarnation. It works automatically: good actions produce karma that brings good effects, such as intelligence, high birth, and wealth. Bad actions produce karma that brings the opposite, including rebirth into animal and insect life-forms. Because the Buddha rejected the existence of a soul, explaining how karma works is more difficult in Buddhism. Karma is thought to accompany and affect the elements of personality that reappear in later lifetimes. Regardless of their specific manner of functioning, karma and rebirth were already such powerful ideas in India of the Buddha’s time that they continued in early Buddhism and from there have spread well beyond India. They remain highly influential concepts in Buddhist countries today.

Both Hindu and Buddhist elements can be seen in the temples of Angkor in Cambodia. ©Perfect Lazybones/Shutterstock RF

Nirvana In Buddhism, as in Hinduism, the everyday world of change is called samsara, a term that suggests decay and pain. Liberation from samsara, however, is attained in nirvana. The notion of samsara has many similarities with the Hindu goal of moksha (“liberationâ€​; discussed in Chapter 3). Nirvana is thought of as existence beyond limitation. Many people in the West associate nirvana with a psychological state, because it is described as evoking joy and peace. Perhaps, though, it is better to see nirvana as being indescribable and beyond all psychological states.

Although reaching nirvana may occur rather rarely, it is theoretically possible to attain during one’s lifetime. In fact, the Buddha is said to have “entered nirvanaâ€​ at the time of his enlightenment. Once you have reached nirvana, rebirth is finished, and in a culture that believes that you have already been born many times before this current life, an end to rebirth can be a welcome thought.

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THE EARLY DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHISM Buddhism might have remained an entirely Indian religion, much as Jainism has, if it were not for an energetic king named Ashoka, who flourished about 250 BCE (see Timeline 4.1, p. 133). Ashoka’s plan to expand his rule over a large part of India naturally entailed much fighting. After a particularly bloody battle in eastern India, as Ashoka was inspecting the battlefield, he saw the scene very differently than he had before. The whole experience was so horrifying to him that he converted to the ideal of nonviolence. Although it is uncertain whether Ashoka became a Buddhist, he did make political use of Buddhist moral values. A cynic might note that forbidding violence is a practical move for any ruler who wishes to remain on the throne. In any case, the principle of nonviolence is most effective when it is embraced widely. Otherwise, the few people who are nonviolent will be preyed upon by the violent.

T I M E L I N E 4 . 1

c. 450 BCE ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Life of Siddhartha Gautama, Buddha

Life of Ashoka, Indian king who spread Buddhist values

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ c. 273–232 BCE

c. 50 CE ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Entry of Buddhism into China

Creation of the Lotus Sutra •⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ c. 100 CE

c. 300 CE ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Beginning of the spread of Buddhism in Southeast Asia

Entry of Buddhism into Korea

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ c. 400 CE

c. 520 CE ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Introduction of Bodhidharma’s Meditation school of Buddhism China

Introduction of Buddhism into Japan

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ c. 552 CE

c. 630 CE ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Entry of Buddhism into Tibetan plateau

Page 134To bring a large number of the population around to his new nonviolent way of thinking and acting, Ashoka decided to spread the principles of nonviolence throughout India and possibly even beyond. To do this, he erected many stone columns inscribed with his principles, placing some at sites important in the

Founding of Tendai and Shingon Buddhism in Japan

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ c. 820 CE

c. 845 CE ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Major persecution of Buddhists in China

Revival of Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ c. 1000 CE

c. 1100â €“1500

⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Decline of Buddhism in India

Life of Honen, founder of the Pure Land sect in Japan

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ 1133–1212

1158–1210 ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Life of Chinul, founder of Korean Chogye order

Beginning of the growth of Zen in Japan

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ c. 1200

1222–1282 ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Life of Nichiren, founder of Nichiren Buddhism in Japan

Life of Tsong Kha-pa, Tibetan Buddhist reformer

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ 1357–1419

1644–1694 ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Life of poet Matsuo Basho

Beginning of the World Fellowship of Buddhists

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ c. 1952

1991 ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Emergence of Soka Gakkai as independent lay organization

Timeline of significant events in Buddhism.

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Buddha’s life. A number of these columns still exist today. In the first centuries after the Buddha’s death, in response to widespread and long-standing

disagreements over the Buddha’s teachings, many Buddhist schools and splinter groups arose. Most of these ultimately died out and are only names to us today. A few survived and crystallized into the great branches of Buddhism that we now recognize: Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.

It was once assumed that the three branches of Buddhism emerged in sequence, like three waves of thought that came from India in succeeding centuries. Scholars now recognize, though, that essential elements of all three branches frequently existed side by side—possibly even in the earliest days of Buddhism. Often, too, the boundaries between the branches have been blurred or have even been nonexistent. The branches are more like families that have many shared elements.

In addition, people who follow a specific Buddhist path are often not aware of other branches. The same is not true of some other religions, in which practitioners are quite aware of the division to which they belong. (For example, Muslims define themselves as Sunni or Shiite, and Christians as Protestant, Catholic, or Orthodox.) But Buddhist believers of one branch, even if they know of other forms, generally do not define themselves in contrast to those other branches. Instead, they define themselves more according to Buddhist â €œlineages,â€​ tracing their beliefs and practices back to the great teachers of the past who, in a long chain of masters and disciples, handed on the traditions that they themselves follow.

Thus, before we divide Buddhism into these so-called branches, we must realize that to talk of three â €œbranchesâ€​ is to greatly oversimplify the complex reality of Buddhism. This approach is only meant to enhance the understanding of the richness of Buddhist history, belief, and practice.

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THERAVADA BUDDHISM: THE WAY OF THE ELDERS In the early centuries of Buddhism, several schools claimed to adhere to the original, unchanged teachings of the Buddha. All of them shared the Buddha’s opposition to Vedic ritual and to the brahmin priesthood, and they embraced his appreciation for simplicity, meditation, and detachment. They took a conservative approach, hoping to protect the Buddha’s rather stark teachings and simple practice from being altered. Of all the conservative schools, one has survived to the present day: Theravada. Its name is often used today to refer to the entire conservative movement.

The Theravada school takes its name from its goal of passing on the Buddha’s teachings unchanged. It means “the way (vada) of the elders (thera).â€​ Theravada monks originally passed on the teachings in oral form, but they eventually wrote them down. Although the school’s claim to have kept its teachings relatively unchanged over time is doubtful, it is true that Theravada has a deliberately conservative orientation. Since the nineteenth century, the name Theravada has been commonly used to refer to the forms of Buddhism that are found mostly in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.

The heart of Theravada Buddhism is its community of monks. As a school, it has always stressed the ideal of reaching nirvana through detachment and desirelessness, achieved by way of meditation. (This, of course, is an ideal that some would point out has been contradicted when the Sangha has courted wealth and temporal power.) Although Theravada does accept that laypeople can attain nirvana, the life of the monk offers a surer path. The notion is enshrined in the ideal of the arhat (Sanskrit; Pali: arahat; meaning “perfect being,â€​ “worthyâ€​), a person who has reached nirvana.

At a local festival Theravada monks playfully are doused with water by nearby inhabitants. ©Peter Stuckings/Lonely Planet Images/Getty Images

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The Theravada monastic community had its distant origins in the wandering sannyasins and in the groups of Hindu ascetics who lived in the forests. A sign of this connection is the orange robe; it is used by Hindu ascetics and is also worn by several orders of Theravada Buddhist monks. Yet even during the Buddha’s lifetime, his monks began to live a settled life during the summertime monsoon season. They would then give their time to discussion, and they inhabited caves or groves and parks donated by lay followers.

Theravada spread very early from India to Sri Lanka, where it has gone through several phases of growth and decline. By the fourth century, it had been carried—along with other elements of Indian culture—to Myanmar (Burma) and to Thailand. Theravada did not become predominant in Myanmar until the mid-eleventh century, when Bagan began to flourish as a great Buddhist city and center of Theravada under King Anawratha. Fourteenth-century Thailand, having freed itself of Khmer domination, also adopted Theravada Buddhism. The conservatism of Theravada was politically appealing to rulers for its moral rigor. Today it is the dominant religion in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia.

Theravada monks must go out daily to receive their food. This has meant that they, like the Buddha’s early followers, live close to laypeople. In fact, Theravada monasteries are often in the middle of towns. Many monasteries run schools, meditation centers, and medical clinics, as well as care for stray animals—which sometimes overrun the grounds. In return, monks receive regular donations. When Theravada monks go out on their begging rounds in the early morning, people who wish to donate food to them freely offer them rice and vegetables. Donors believe that they are receiving beneficial karma through their acts of generosity, and people support the monasteries much like other societies give to libraries and various social agencies. At Buddhist festivals monks are given new robes and pails of essential items, such as soap, toothpaste, razors, and canned goods. Donations are especially given at the New Year festival and at the beginning and end of the rainy season. This period, often called Buddhist Lent, begins in late summer and lasts for three months. During this time monks stay in their monasteries for study.

Most weddings, funerals, and other family events are considered incomplete without the presence of monks,

Buddhist nuns in Myanmar often raise the young, who live as novices. ©Scott Stulberg/Corbis/Getty Images

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who are expected to chant from the sutras (recorded sayings of the Buddha), in order to provide merit for the family members. Monks are also an important part of festivals, many of which are organized by monasteries themselves.

In addition to the ordination performed for men who are planning to become monks for life, Theravada Buddhism commonly performs “temporary ordination.â€​ Frequently, temporary ordination lasts for an entire rainy season, but it may also be done for shorter periods. Temporary ordination is considered an effective way to “make meritâ€​ for oneself and one’s family. It is thought to positively influence the formation of young men’s characters, and it is sometimes undertaken by whole groups, such as police officers, for whom it is viewed as a sign of sincerity and goodwill.

Deeper Insights

Here Theravada monks in Thailand preside at a funeral. ©PongMoji/Shutterstock RF

Here Theravada monks use hand-made brooms to sweep their monastery. ©Bjorn Svensson/Alamy Stock Photo

T

Deeper Insights

BUDDHISM IN THAILAND

heravada Buddhism is the state religion of Thailand, and more than 90 percent of Thais are Buddhists. Thai Buddhists, however, practice a religion that blends elements from Buddhism, Hinduism, and folk belief. Perhaps because Buddhism so emphasizes tolerance, Buddhism as it is actually practiced is rich with elements from many sources.

Buddhism’s prevalence in Thailand is evident in everyday life. Thais frequently act publicly on the assumption that doing good deeds will “make meritâ€​—bring good karma for this life and for future lives. To make merit, Thais offer coins to the needy on the street, give food and robes to monks, attend Buddhist services, and help animals. And Buddhist monks can be seen everywhereâ €”walking in the streets and riding in the back of buses (which they ride free), in tuk-tuks (three- wheeled cabs), and on riverboats.

Yet equally visible are “spirit houses.â€​ These look like miniature temples, and they are erected on high posts at the corner of a piece of land, on high-rise rooftops, or under large, old trees. Spirit houses are dedicated to the guardian spirits of the property and to the spirits of former owners. Worshipers offer food and flowers to them daily.

Frequently the Hindu god Brahma is the figure inside the spirit houses, and small images of dancing girls—derived from Hindu temple worship—are left as permanent offerings. In shops a visitor might see a statue of Ganesha, the elephant-headed Hindu god associated with success. Another influence of Hinduism is readily apparent in Thai art and dance, which tell the stories of Rama, Sita, and Hanuman, whose tales are retold in the Ramakien, the Thai version of the Ramayana.

A strong magical dimension is part of Thai Buddhism as well. Thai males often wear a necklace of Buddhist amulets to defend themselves against sickness and injury (the owners will describe in happy detail the origin and power of each of the amulets). Tattoos, often with images of the Buddha, Rama, and Hanuman, are thought to have a similar effect. And taxi drivers—not to mention their often anxious passengers—hope that the multiple Buddhist images on their dashboards will offer needed protection in traffic.

Monasticism, as we can see, permeates society and everyday life in Theravada Buddhist cultures. As mentioned earlier, monasteries exist even in the centers of cities, where monks can be seen everywhere. There is a fluidity to monastic life, too, and Theravada monks may choose to leave monastic life, even after many years. During the time that men are monks, however, they are considered role models, and they are expected to live up

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to strict moral standards. The earliest Western translators and scholars of Theravada Buddhism saw Buddhism through the lens of

their own culture. Key to their conception of what makes a religion was a body of written scriptures. Therefore, the scholars assumed that written scriptures played a central role in believers’lives. More recent scholarship points out that Buddhist teachings have been largely passed on orally. Because the vast majority of Buddhists have been unable to read, they have learned their religious beliefs and practices not from reading books, but from hearing sermons, seeing temple paintings, and listening to older family members. And long before written material existed, certain monks were known as specialists in chanting the words of the Buddha, the rules of their order, and the precepts of right living. Eventually this oral material was indeed written down and codified. Yet, as we learn about the written scriptures, we must understand the primary role that oral transmission has played.

In addition to the so-called canonical scriptures, folktales have been influential. The most famous are the hundreds of Jataka Tales. They are similar to Aesop’s Fables, and early forms of the stories may have influenced those tales and similar collections in other countries. The tales are about human beings and animals, and each tale teaches a moral lesson about a particular virtue, such as friendship, truthfulness, generosity, or moderation. In Theravada Buddhism the tales are often put within a Buddhist context. Typically, the tale begins with the Buddha telling the tale. The tale then ends with the Buddha saying that in a past life he was one of the animal or human figures in the story. The Jataka Tales are frequently the subject of art, plays, and dance in Southeast Asia.

Theravada Teachings and Literature The Theravada collection of the Buddha’s teachings is called the Pali Canon. As a whole, this mass of material is called Tipitaka (Pali), or Tripitaka (Sanskrit), which means “three baskets.â€​ The name comes from the fact that the writings were divided according to their subject matter into three groups.

The first collection—called vinaya in both Pali and Sanskrit—outlines the procedural rules for monastic life. These include rules on receiving donations of food, eating, relations between monks and non-monks, and other disciplines. The second collection comprises sayings of the Buddha in the form of sermons or dialogues. This type of material is called sutta (Pali), or sutra (Sanskrit). A third collection, developed later, is called abhidhamma (Pali) or abhidharma (Sanskrit), meaning “the works that go beyond the elementary teachings.â €​ It systematized the doctrine presented more or less randomly in the sutras.

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Theravada Art and Architecture Images of the Buddha did not appear in the earliest centuries of Buddhism. Instead, artists used symbols to represent him and his teachings. One symbol was the eight-spoked wheel, which derived from the Noble Eightfold Path and represented all the basic Buddhist teachings, the Dharma. The wheel may have been suggested either by the disk of the sun, symbolizing light and health, or by the wheel of a king’s chariot, a symbol of royal rulership. The umbrella, often carried to protect an important person from the hot sun, symbolized the Buddha’s authority. Other common symbols included a set of footprints, a lotus flower, and an empty throne. Many types of stupas, which began as large mounds, also arose over the remains of saintly Buddhist monks and at important Buddhist sites. Symbols may have been used at first simply because artists were struggling with the basic challenge of depicting simultaneously the humanity of the Buddha and his great spiritual attainment, his enlightenment. By the first century of the Common Era, however, images of the Buddha began to appear. Scholars debate the possible influence of Greek sculptural traditions. In Theravada countries we now frequently see statues of the Buddha meditating, standing (with hand outstretched in blessing), walking, or reclining. Some of the most beautiful sculptures are the Reclining Buddhas of Sri Lanka and Thailand.

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Bangkok’s Wat Arun, a temple in Hindu style, is across the Chao

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Phraya River from Wat Po and the Grand Palace. ©Thomas Hilgers

MAHAYANA BUDDHISM: THE €ŒBIG VEHICLE€ The second great branch of Buddhism is called Mahayana, a word that is usually translated as “big vehicle.â €​ It suggests a large ferryboat in which all types of people can be carried across a river, and it hints at the broad scope of the Mahayana vision, which can accommodate a wide variety of people seeking enlightenment. Mahayana emphasizes that everyone, not only monks, can attain nirvana. Mahayana also stresses that enlightenment is a call to compassion, for “the Mahayana tradition maintains that a person must save himself by saving others.â€​

Some critics of Mahayana Buddhism claim that it has allowed ritual and speculation—which was deemphasized by the Buddha—to creep back in. It is possible that the Indian love of ritual and imagery remains alive in a new form in Mahayana. For example, the fire ceremony of some Mahayana sects certainly derives from Vedic practice. Yet this is really to say that Mahayana initially was thoroughly Indian and sought to express its truths in very Indian ways.

It is possible that some practices or attitudes of early Buddhism did not always fulfill the religious needs of the many laypeople who appreciated ritual. Mahayana Buddhism, however, has abundantly met almost every religious and philosophical need. It is the source of some of the most extraordinary creations of the human mind—in its art, architecture, philosophy, psychology, and ceremony.

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New Ideals: Compassion and the Bodhisattva In Mahayana Buddhism, the religious ideal broadened. From the ideal of the monastic person, fairly detached from family life, it expanded to include non-monks, women, and the married. Mahayana began to explore the possibilities of following a religious path that is active in the world. This difference signaled a shift in the notion of what is virtuous. It may have represented a reaction against Indian asceticism and the cult of the sannyasin, or it may have indicated a new form of devotionalism and love of ritual. It may also have come from a widening of the concept of nirvana. Nirvana was now thought to be found within samsara, the everyday world of change. In Mahayana, the human body and the material realm are viewed positively, and there is a great openness toward art and music. Mahayana grew as the senses and emotions were increasingly viewed as means of spiritual transformation.

In Mahayana, wisdom remained an important goal, but the pairing of wisdom and compassion was central to its teachings. Compassion became an essential virtue and the preeminent expression of wisdom. The term for this compassion is karuna, which may also be translated as “empathy,â€​ “sympathy,â€​ or “kindness.â€​ Karuna is somewhat different from the Western notion of kindness, in which one separate human being, out of an abundance of individual generosity, gives to another separate human being. Rather, karuna implies that we all are part of the same ever-changing universe. Deep down, you are not really different from anyone or anything else. To be kind to others is actually to be kind to yourself. Karuna in action simply means living out this awareness of the unity of the universe. With this perception of the interrelatedness of all beings, including animals, compassion comes naturally: if I am kind, my kindness must be shown toward anything that can feel pain. The great prayer of Buddhist compassion is this: May all creatures be well and happy. It is a common Mahayana practice to mentally project this wish out to the world every day.

The esteem for karuna influences the human ideal in Mahayana. Instead of the Theravada ideal of the arhat, who is esteemed for detached wisdom and unworldly living, the ideal in Mahayana Buddhism is the person of deep compassion, the bodhisattva (“enlightenment beingâ€​). Because a bodhisattva embodies compassion, it is often said that a bodhisattva will refuse to fully enter nirvana. This is done in order to be reborn on earth to help others. A person may even take the “bodhisattva vow,â€​ promising to be constantly reborn until all are enlightened.

The same kind of openness to a variety of religious paths that we saw in Hinduism is also typical of Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana recognizes that people differ greatly and find themselves at different stages of spiritual development. For example, a person who would not benefit from study or meditation might be able to achieve a new level of understanding through the use of ritual, imagery, and religious objects. Mahayana is open to anything that can lead to greater spiritual awareness. This concept is known as the ideal of “skillful meansâ€​ (Sanskrit: upaya).

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Mahayana Thought and Worldview Mahayana has encouraged a vision of reality that is imaginative, wide, and often profound. A legendary story tells of a Chinese emperor who began reading certain Mahayana sutras. He then said in astonishment that the experience was like looking out over the ocean. He sensed the vastness of the Mahayana vision, as he experienced both the quantity and the quality of the sutras that he was attempting to understand.

Several key notions must be introduced here. They show a worldview of a universe populated by holy personalities and full of the divine. These notions may seem dry when expressed in words. However, they become very meaningful when expressed as art, which we can experience in temples and museums. These ideas underlie Mahayana sculpture, painting, and belief.

The Three-Body Doctrine (Trikaya Doctrine) In Mahayana, the Buddha nature can express itself in three ways. This is called the trikaya (“three-bodyâ€​) doctrine. The historical Buddha who lived in India came to be considered the manifestation of a divine reality, called “the cosmic Buddha nature.â€​ The Sanskrit term for this is Dharmakaya (often translated as “law body,â€​ “form body,â€​ or “body of realityâ€​). According to Mahayana Buddhism, the cosmic Buddha nature, although invisible, permeates all things. (It is sometimes compared to the Hindu notion of Brahman, which may have influenced it.) In people, the cosmic Buddha nature frequently presents itself as potential. In fact, it is my true nature, which I need to recognize and then make real in everyday life. Dharmakaya also exists in the natural world, for all things are a sacred manifestation of the cosmic Buddha nature. When you experience the mystery of the natural world, you experience the Dharmakaya.

Siddhartha Gautama’s physical body, because it is considered an incarnation of this divine reality, is called Nirmanakaya (“transformation bodyâ€​). In keeping with the notion of many incarnations, many Mahayana schools believe in more than one transformation body of the Buddha. We might recall that both Theravada and Mahayana schools speak of the Buddha’s knowledge of his past lives. Both branches of Buddhism also teach that another historical Buddha, Maitreya (Sanskrit; Pali: Metteya), will appear on earth in the future to inaugurate a golden age. In several Mahayana cultures, this belief has taken on great importance. In China and Vietnam, the Buddha who will come is called Mi-lo-fo and is often shown as an overweight, joyful, “laughing Buddha.â€​ In Korea, the notion of Miruk (as Maitreya is known there) has been especially influential in generating belief in a messianic future. This has prompted the creation of many beautiful statues in his honor. He is often shown seated on a stool or raised platform in the so-called Western style, with one leg down on the floor and the other crossed over it. His head rests thoughtfully on one hand as he contemplates the future.

In Mahayana philosophy, the cosmic Buddha nature has also taken bodily shape in supernatural Buddhas, who live in the heavens beyond our earth. These Buddhas have radiant, invulnerable bodies, and they live in

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constant happiness. In Sanskrit, they are called Sambhogakaya Buddhas (“perfect-bliss-bodyâ€​ Buddhas). Mahayana Buddhism envisions many Buddhas existing simultaneously, each with his own sphere of influence (called a Buddha Land). Particularly important is the bliss-body Buddha who created a Buddha Land in the far west—the direction of the setting sun. There he receives the dying who wish enlightenment after death. His name in India was Amitabha Buddha (Chinese: Amito-fo; Japanese: Amida Butsu). Many devout Buddhists hope to be reborn in his western paradise. After attaining enlightenment there, they can return to the world to save other beings. Their devotion to Amitabha Buddha has inspired a great body of fine painting and sculpture that depicts a large Buddha seated on a lotus flower, surrounded by peaceful disciples in pavilions set in gardens full of flowers.

Heavenly Bodhisattvas Mahayana values the earthly bodhisattva—a saintly person of great compassion. But Mahayana Buddhism also holds that many bodhisattvas who are eager to help human beings also exist in other dimensions beyond the earth. They, too, are beings of great compassion. Some once lived on earth, but have been reborn beyond this world. Nonetheless, they retain great interest in it. They may appear miraculously on earth when needed or can even be reborn to help others.

The most significant of the heavenly bodhisattvas has been Avalokiteshvara, who looks down from a location above in order to give help. In India, Avalokiteshvara was portrayed as male. However, in China this bodhisattva was conceived as feminine because of her close association with compassion and mercy. Her name in Chinese is Guanyin (Kuan-yin, “hears criesâ€​). She first appeared in early depictions as having both male and female characteristics, but eventually she became entirely feminine. (As an object of devotion, she plays a role in Asia similar to that of Mary in Europe.) East Asian paintings and sculpture frequently show her with a very sweet face, dressed all in white, holding the jewel of wisdom or a vase of nectar. The moon is under her feet or in the sky behind her. Other artistic renderings of her, particularly in temple sculpture, show her with a halo of many arms. She is said to have a thousand, which represent her many powers to help. In the palm of each of her hands is an eye, symbolizing her ability to see everyone in need. In China and in Japan—where this bodhisattva became popularly known as Kannon—many temples were dedicated to her.

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Shunyata One Mahayana doctrine asserts that all reality is shunya (“emptyâ€​). This means that everything is empty of a permanent essence. Literally, shunyata may be translated as “emptinessâ€​ or “zero-ness.â€​ Yet what does this mean? The notion is an outgrowth of the basic Buddhist view of reality that everything is constantly shifting, changing, taking new form. If you consider an individual person, you can say that the â €œindividualâ€​ is a pattern, made of parts in continuous change. If you broaden your scope, larger patterns appear, such as the patterns of a family, a city, or a society. Similarly, nature is a combination of smaller patterns making larger patterns, like wheels within wheels. Even the parts themselves ultimately disintegrate as new parts are born. To better understand this concept, think of clouds, which look large and substantial but are forever appearing and disappearing, moving past each other and changing shape and size. Because everything is in constant change, every apparently individual person and thing is actually “emptyâ€​ of any permanent individual identity. The notion of shunyata also suggests the experience that everything is a part of everything else—that all people and things co-exist.

Tathata Literally translated, the word tathata means “thatness,â€​ “thusness,â€​ or â €œsuchness.â€​ This is a rich notion that invites each person’s experience and interpretation. Tathata represents a view of experience that says that reality is revealed in each moment, as we savor patterns, relationships, and change. Because no moment is exactly the same, and no object is exactly the same, each can be observed and appreciated as it passes. Thus, simple, everyday events reveal the nature of reality. We may experience “thatnessâ€​ when two elements come together in an unexpected way—for example, when a small child says something childlike but wise. Sometimes it comes when we notice a moment of change, such as when, after a long string of muggy summer days, we get up to add a blanket to the bed on the first crisp autumn night. Or it might be when we notice elements coming together somewhat unexpectedly—for example, when a bird

The birthday of the Buddha is celebrated in South Korea in springtime. Here participants carry lighted lamps shaped like lotus flowers. ©Park Ji-Hwan/AFP/Getty Images

drinks from a water fountain or a dog joyously sticks its nose outside the window of a car as it passes. It might be when you recognize the uniqueness of a simple object or event, such as the beauty of a particular apple in the supermarket, or the special way that the shadow of a tree falls on a nearby building at this particular moment. The experience can also come from something funny or sad. Although tathata involves the mundane, it is also a poetic moment that will never return in exactly the same way.

The wonder that can be seen in everyday life is what the term tathata suggests. You know you are experiencing the “thatnessâ€​ of reality when you experience something and say to yourself, Yes, that’s it; that is the way things are. In that moment, you recognize not only that reality is wondrously beautiful but also that its patterns are fragile and passing.

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Mahayana Literature Mahayana Buddhism in India developed versions of the Tripitaka in Sanskrit. A host of additional written works also became canonical. Many of the new Mahayana works were called sutras because they purported to be the words of the Buddha. In reality they were imaginative, colorful creations written at least several centuries after the Buddha lived, probably from about 100 BCE to about 600 CE. The teachings of these sutras, however, may be seen as a natural development of basic Buddhist insights.

Primary among these texts are the Prajnaparamita Sutras (“sutras on the perfection of wisdomâ€​), the earliest of which may have been written about 100 BCE. These sutras attempt to contrast ordinary understanding with the enlightened understanding that everything in the universe is interdependent.

The influential Vimalakirti Sutra teaches that it is possible to live a devout Buddhist life without necessarily becoming a monk. The hero of the sutra is the man Vimalakirti, who was, as one historian describes him, “a layman rich and powerful, a brilliant conversationalist, a respected householder who surrounded himself with the pleasures of life, but was also a faithful and wise disciple of the Buddha, a man full of wisdom and thoroughly disciplined in his conduct.â€​ Because the main figure is not a monk but more like a devout gentleman, we can see why this sutra became popular with laypeople. Its purpose, though, was quite serious. It showed that individuals can work successfully amidst the dangers of worldly life, can avoid causing harm, and can actually help themselves and others.

Two works that would have great influence on East Asian Buddhism were the Pure Land Sutras (two versions of the Sukhavati Vyuha Sutra, “sutra of the vision of the happy landâ€​). The sutras speak of a heavenly realm, the Pure Land, established by the merciful Amitabha Buddha, where human beings can be

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This enormous statue of Maitreya was carved from rock about 800 CE. It exists beside a river in Sichuan, China. ©Bim/iStock/Getty Images RF

reborn. All that is necessary for rebirth in the Pure Land is devotion to this Buddha, as shown by repetition of his name as a sign of total trust in him. These sutras would eventually give birth to a wildly successful movement, the Pure Land movement, which remains still popular today. (You will learn more about the Pure Land school of Mahayana later in this chapter.)

One of the most widely loved works of Mahayana was the Saddharma Pundarika Sutra (“lotus sutra of the good lawâ€​), known simply as the Lotus Sutra. In this sutra, the Buddha shows his transcendent, cosmic nature. As he preaches to thousands of his disciples, his light and wisdom extend out into the universe. Using parables, the sutra insists rather democratically that all people have the Buddha nature and that all, therefore, can become Buddhas. Many of its parables talk of the “skillful meansâ€​ that can lead people of differing types and mentalities to enlightenment.

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The Spread of Mahayana in East Asia Mahayana Buddhism spread out of India to central Asia and to China, which it entered in the first century of the Common Era. (See Figure 4.1.) As Buddhism spread to China and its neighboring regions, Sanskrit writings were translated bit by bit into at least thirteen central Asian languages. In China, several Chinese versions of most of the major works appeared. By the eighth century, an enormous number of Buddhist works had been translated.16

The appeal of Mahayana Buddhism in ancient China is worth considering. Mahayana Buddhism had virtues that appealed to a wide spectrum of the population. It accepted local cults and continued their use of rituals that promised magic, healing, and fertility for the large number of ordinary people. It created great temples with beautiful art and ceremony. It promoted peace and family harmony. It answered questions about the afterlife and performed funeral and memorial services for the dead. Its monastic establishments provided a secure way of community life for people not interested in having children or creating their own families. It offered philosophical insights not already present in Chinese culture. And it provided many rulers with prayers and rituals that would help protect the nation and the rulers themselves.

Despite being occasionally persecuted as a dangerous, foreign import, Mahayana spread throughout China. In particular, two forms of Mahayana flourished. The school of meditation (Chan, Ch’an) became highly influential among monks, poets, and artists. The Pure Land movement, with its devotion to Amitabha Buddha, became the primary form of devotion for laypeople. Ultimately, Buddhism was linked with Daoism and Confucianism as one of the officially sanctioned “Three Doctrines,â€​ and it became an essential part of

FIGURE 4.1 The birthplace and traditional home of Buddhism: India, China, Japan, and Southeast Asia.

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Chinese culture. Buddhism and its literature were carried into Korea from central Asia and China as early as 372 CE.

Buddhism was adopted widely for its supposed powers to protect the three kingdoms then ruling the peninsula. Monasteries were thought of as spiritual powerhouses, sending monks’prayers to powerful Buddhas and bodhisattvas and receiving their celestial care in return. The Silla kingdom unified Korea, producing the Unified Silla dynasty (668–918 CE), and this unification led to a blending of religious elements from Daoism, Confucianism, shamanism, and Buddhism. Buddhism became the state religion and primary practitioner of official ritual.

Buddhism in Korea reached its height during the Koryo dynasty (918–1392 CE). During this time, 80,000 wooden blocks were carved for the printing of all Korean and Chinese Buddhist texts of the Korean Tripitaka. After the first set of blocks was burned during a Mongol invasion, another set, which still exists, was finished in 1251. One of the greatest exponents of Korean Buddhism at this time was the monk Chinul (Jinul, 1158–1210). Given to a monastery as a young boy, he began meditation and textual study early. He had three great experiences of insight, all prompted by his reading of Mahayana materials. He founded the Chogye (Jogye) order, which combines textual study with regular meditation. It is still influential today.

Confucianism supplanted Buddhism as the state religion of Korea during the Yi dynasty (1392–1910). Nevertheless, although the aristocracy adopted Confucianism, the common people remained Buddhist.

Rituals and Celebrations

BUDDHIST FESTIVALS

he most important Buddhist festivals focus on the birth of the Buddha, his enlightenment, his death, the

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This serene statue of the Buddha gazes out over Seoul, South Korea. ©Leo Patrizi/E+/Getty Images RF

T celebration of the New Year, and sometimes the commemoration of the dead. The exact dates for these celebrations and memorials differ from culture to culture.

In Theravada Buddhist countries, one great celebration (Vesak) recalls the birth, the enlightenment, and the death of the Buddha. It is celebrated at the time of the full moon in May.

In Mahayana Buddhism, the three festivals of the Buddha’s life are separate. His birth is celebrated on the eighth day of the fourth month; his enlightenment is commemorated in winter on Bodhi Day, the eighth day of the twelfth month; and his death is recalled in early spring on the fifteenth day of the second month. (Chinese and Korean Buddhists follow the lunar calendar, while Japanese Buddhists use the Western calendar.)

Celebration of the New Year often includes a visit to a temple to end the old year and the sharing of a vegetarian meal to welcome the new year. (The Japanese keep the Western New Year, while the Chinese celebrate their lunar New Year in February.)

In Japan the dead are remembered in a midsummer festival called O-Bon, derived from older Chinese practice. It has blended with Shinto elements and a belief in the Mahayana bodhisattva Jizo, who guides the dead back to the spirit world. If possible, the spirits’return is lighted with candles that drift down a stream or out into the ocean.

Buddhism entered Japan in the sixth century ce, where it began to grow, despite some initial resistance. It became so powerful in the early capital of Nara that in 794 the new capital city of Kyoto (then called Heian- kyo) was founded partly in order to be free from the influence of Buddhist clergy. The new capital was designed on a grid pattern, after Chinese models, and Japanese culture imported many elements of the Chinese culture of the time. Because the founding of the new capital coincided with a vibrant period of Mahayana Buddhism in China, Japanese Buddhism also imported Chinese Buddhist practices and teachings.

In South Korea, the Buddha’s birth is celebrated with lights and parades of dancers. ©The Asahi Shimbun/Getty Images

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The history of Buddhism in Japan shows a movement toward increasing the power of laypeople. The first period, when the capital was at Nara, was dominated by essentially monastic Buddhist schools. In the second period, after the capital moved, the dominant schools (Shingon and Tendai; Figure 4.2) were ritualistic and appealed to the aristocracy. Their prominence lasted for about four hundred years. In the thirteenth century, however, two schools (Pure Land and Zen) particularly appealed to commoners and the military. Because Zen was adopted by many in the military, which controlled Japan until 1868, it became enormously influential in Japanese culture in general. (The separate schools are described in the following section.)

FIGURE 4.2 Branches and schools of Buddhism.

Some Major Schools of Mahayana The many ideals of Mahayana Buddhism contain the seeds for a variety of schools of intellectual interpretation and practice. One such ideal—the notion that kindness is the supreme sign of enlightened awareness—has allowed many pre-Buddhist beliefs and practices to continue within Mahayana Buddhism. Thus, old gods receive new names, making them into heavenly Buddhas and bodhisattvas; old beliefs are absorbed; and old practices persist with new meanings. As discussed earlier, Mahayana Buddhism also recognizes that people find themselves at different stages of spiritual evolution. Thus, whatever helps a person move to the next stage of awareness may be religiously acceptable. This is the notion of “skillful meansâ€​: some people need images to look at and deities to pray to; other people need a community of devout friends; a very few need only silence and emptiness. The sects of Mahayana Buddhism thus show a wide variety of attitudes toward the use of art and ritual, toward the acceptance of pleasure, and toward worldly success. In Japan and Hawai’i, the sects have remained rather separate, and their differences may be easily experienced by interested travelers.

As part of the New Year festival at this Vietnamese temple, the head priest distributes fortunes to the congregants. ©Thomas Hilgers

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Shingon The name “Shingonâ€​ derives from Chinese (Chinese: Zhen-yan, Chen-yen). The name means â €œtrue wordâ€​ or “word of truth.â€​ The title refers to the use of sacred chants, called mantras. We might recall that the spread of Mahayana Buddhism in China was due in part to the magical effects that were believed to come from Buddhist ritual. People thought that Buddhist ritual, if carefully performed, would bring security for rulers, children for married couples, and more favorable agricultural conditions for farmers.

Behind Shingon ritual is a focus on experiencing union with the cosmic Buddha nature. This can be accomplished through the chanting of mantras, accompanied by a multitude of rituals and ritual objects. Foremost among these rituals is a fire ceremony, the goma, a continuation of the Vedic fire ceremony. In this ceremony, the priest builds a fire within a square sacred space bounded by colored cords. The priest throws wood and leaves slowly into the fire, symbolically destroying all egotistic hindrances to mystical union.

Shingon uses two mandalas, which are geometrical designs, usually painted on cloth, that present reality in symbolic form. One mandala, the Kongo-kai (“diamond-worldâ€​) mandala, shows the universe from the point of view of the enlightened person, who sees the universe as whole and perfect. It represents the universe seen as nirvana. The other mandala, the Tai-zo (“wombâ€​) mandala, shows the universe from the point of view of the compassionate person. It sees the universe as samsara, a place of suffering and potential growth, which needs our help.

Shingon developed from a type of magically oriented Buddhism that originated in India and was introduced to China. It was established in Japan by Kukai (774–835 CE), a Japanese monk who studied in China. Kukai returned to Japan with new knowledge of ritual and with books, mandalas, and altar implements. After his death, he received the name Kobo Daishi (“the Great Master who spreads the Dharmaâ€​), and under that name he

The bodhisattva Jizo is considered a patron of travelers, pilgrims, and children. His statue may be found throughout Japan, both along trails in forests and along roads in cities and towns. ©B.S.P.I./Corbis Documentary/Getty Images

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has become a venerated cultural hero in Japan. Shingon, because of its love of ritual, has inspired many arts, particularly sculpture and painting. It has similarities with Tibetan and Bhutanese Buddhism, and it thus contains some elements of Vajrayana Buddhism (discussed later in this chapter).

Tendai The Tendai (Chinese: Tiantai, T’ien-t’ai) sect is named for the great Chinese monastic institution in eastern China at Mount Tiantai (“heavenly terraceâ€​), where the sect is thought to have begun. A large complex of monasteries arose there.

By the eighth century CE, there were many varied Buddhist texts, some written as much as a thousand years after the time of the Buddha. When they had been translated into Chinese, the result was some confusion. How could the Buddha have uttered so many sermons, some with apparently contradictory ideas? The solution was to organize the teachings according to levels of complexity. It was taught that the Buddha had revealed his most basic insights to everybody but that he had revealed his more difficult thoughts only to those disciples who could understand them. The Tiantai (Tendai) sect attempted to categorize all the teachings and present them in a meaningful way, as a kind of ladder of steps leading to full enlightenment. Not unexpectedly, its own special teachings were at the top.

Jodo, or Pure Land The Pure Land (Chinese: Jingtu, Ching-t’-u) school created a devotional form of Buddhism that could be practiced by laypeople as well as by monks. The cult of bodhisattvas already existed in India and central Asia, but it had great appeal in China too. Pure Land Buddhism in China can be traced back to

Some sects of Mahayana Buddhism use elaborate rituals. Here, at a Shingon temple, believers participate in a fire ceremony that originated in Hinduism. The ceremony is intended to burn away participants’egoistic attachments. ©Thomas Hilgers

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the monk Tan Luan (T’an Luan, c. 476–542). Legend says that he instituted the devotion to Amitabha Buddha as the result of a vision. Complete devotion to this Buddha, the monk thought, would result in the believer’s rebirth in Amitabha’s Pure Land, the Western Paradise. Devotees regularly would repeat a short phrase, derived from Mahayana scriptures and praising Amitabha Buddha. At first the repetition of the Buddha’s name was a monastic practice, but it then spread to the laity. In Chinese, the phrase is Namo Amito-fo; in Japanese, Namu Amida Butsu. Both mean “Praise to Amitabha Buddha.â€​ Daily repetition and recitation at the moment of death were thought to ensure the believer’s rebirth in the Western Paradise.

In Japan, the Pure Land movement was spread by the monk Honen (1133–1212), who was originally a Tendai monk at Mount Hiei. His movement became a separate sect called Jodo Shu (“Pure Land sectâ€​). Shinran (1173–1262), a disciple of Honen, continued the laicization of the nembutsu, as the chant is called in Japanese. He taught that human actions to attain salvation were unimportant in comparison to the saving power of the Buddha. Convinced that monastic practice was unnecessary, Shinran married. (He has often been compared with Martin Luther, who also married and emphasized simple trust as the way to salvation.) The movement that Shinran began eventually grew into the Jodo Shin Shu (“True Pure Land sectâ€​). Pure Land sects have been extremely popular in China and Japan, and this popularity has made them the largest form of Mahayana Buddhism.

It was once common to think of the Pure Land as a real location somewhere beyond the earth. Today, though, it is often considered a metaphor for a compassionate and joyful way of living in the everyday world.

Nichiren Unlike the other sects discussed thus far, Nichiren Buddhism began in Japan. Its founder was a Tendai monk, Nichiren (1222–1282). After being trained at Mount Hiei, Nichiren sought a simpler path than Tendai, which used many sutras and practices in the search for enlightenment. Out of the thousands of Mahayana texts, Nichiren wanted to find one that contained all the essential teachings of Buddhism. Following the lead of the Tendai tradition, which had already given much attention to the Lotus Sutra, Nichiren asserted that the Lotus Sutra was indeed the embodiment of all essential religious teaching. He thought of himself as a reincarnation of a minor Buddha in the Lotus Sutra (his monastic name Nichiren means “sun lotusâ€​). His sect uses a chant that honors this sutra: Namu Myoho Renge Kyo, meaning “Praise to the mystic law of the Lotus Sutra.â€​ Devout followers repeat the mantra many times a day, especially in the morning and evening. They believe that doing so will connect them with the divine power of the universe.

Nichiren Buddhism has produced several branches. Among the most important are Nichiren Shu (â €œNichiren sectâ€​), Nichiren Sho-Shu (“True Nichiren sectâ€​), and Soka Gakkai (“Value Creation Educational Societyâ€​). The Nichiren Shu treats its founder as a bodhisattva, or Buddhist saint. The Nichiren Sho-Shu elevates Nichiren to the role of a reincarnation of the Buddha, “the Buddha of the present age.â€​ The Soka Gakkai branch was formerly a lay arm of Nichiren Sho-Shu. However, a split occurred between 1991 and

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1992, and Soka Gakkai became fully independent. There is in all of these branches an acceptance of the material world and an attempt to improve it. Soka Gakkai particularly works to reform society through political means, seeking peace through intercultural understanding.

Nichiren Buddhism was little known outside Japan until after World War II. It has now established itself all around the world. The goal-oriented chanting of some Nichiren groups has been very attractive to some Westerners, and several celebrities practice a form of this faith.

Zen Zen Buddhism, a school of Mahayana Buddhism, began in China and was carried to Japan. Its influence has been so significant that it merits discussion in some detail.

Zen takes its name from the seventh step of the Noble Eightfold Path—dhyana (“meditationâ€​). In Chinese the word is chan (ch’an), and in Japanese it is zen. (In the discussion here, Chan refers to the sect in China, and Zen refers to the sect as it developed in Japan.) The complexity that had overtaken Chinese Buddhism helped create a counterbalancing movement toward simplification. For the Chan sect in China, simplification came from looking directly to the enlightenment experience of Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha had become the Buddha, the Enlightened One, through his practice of meditation. Although he did not deny the value of ritual, the Buddha did not think that it necessarily led to enlightenment. Taking after the Buddha, the members of the Chan movement, in their desire for enlightenment, favored the technique of seated meditation, just as Siddhartha Gautama had.

Chan Buddhism traditionally traces itself back to a Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma, who is said to have come to China about 500 CE from India or central Asia. In China he began his Meditation school. Bodhidharma is often shown sitting in meditation. He has Western facial features, swarthy skin, a light beard, and an earring. In paintings, he faces a wall to indicate his strong desire to block out anything that would distract him from his meditation. It has been said that he meditated for so long that his legs became withered. He is the embodiment of patience and persistence.

In the long history of Buddhism, some teachers have emphasized the importance of regular meditation. They promote the effectiveness of meditative techniques, saying that they produce enlightenment gradually but inevitably, like the coming of dawn. Others have stressed that enlightenment can occur as a sudden awakening to your true nature, like a flash of lightning, anywhere and at any time. The enlightenment experience (called satori, or kensho) brings an awareness of the unity of yourself with the rest of the universe. The enlightened person knows that human distinctions and separations—mine, yours; this, that; one, many—are distinctions that societies and individuals’minds create. These distinctions are projected onto other people and things. Such distinctions are not ultimate, though, because all human beings consist of the same basic energy of the universe, which appears in many varied shapes. This experience of ultimate unity brings new insights and emotions to the art of living: less anxiety over attaining goals, less concern about death, and an appreciation for the preciousness of everyday life.

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The most fundamental Zen technique for reaching enlightenment is regular “sitting meditation,â€​ called zazen. In Zen monasteries, zazen is normally done for several hours in the morning and evening. It involves sitting in silence with your back straight and centered, keeping your body still, and taking deep and regular breaths. These are just simple techniques for quieting the mind and focusing on the moment. The mind becomes more peaceful, and ideally, with long practice, a state of simple awareness takes over as your “true natureâ€​ is revealed.

Deeper Insights

BUDDHISM AND JAPANESE ARTS

any people assume that Buddhism has had a role in shaping the arts of Japan. As a matter of fact, what we think of as “Japanese styleâ€​ is a mixture of Shinto (see Chapter 7), Buddhist influences (especially Zen), and traditional Japanese attitudes toward nature. Over the past three hundred years, these arts have taken on a life of their own, carried on by laypeople and practitioners of several branches of Mahayana Buddhism.

HAIKU

A haiku is an extremely short poem. In Japan, longer Chinese poetic forms were telescoped and refined. The model haiku is a short poem written in three lines. The ideal traditional haiku should mention or suggest the season, and, like a good photograph, it should capture the essence of a moment before it passes.

Matsuo Basho (1644–1694) is considered the greatest of Japan’s haiku writers. The following poem is widely quoted and considered to be his masterpiece:

Why, we may wonder, is this poem held in such esteem? On first reading, it seems simple, insignificant. Yet on closer inspection, it reveals intriguing balance and contrast. There are many possible interpretations. The old pond suggests timelessness, while the splash is momentary, representing every daily event when seen against the backdrop of eternity. Or the frog could represent a human being; the pond, the mind; and the splash, the sudden breakthrough to enlightenment. Perhaps the frog signifies the Buddhist monk in meditation, while the pond suggests all of Buddhist teaching. Or maybe the frog symbolizes the poet himself and the splash the poet’s insight. Thus, the imagery may be taken both literally and in several equally valid symbolic ways.

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Old pond: A frog jumps in. Sound of water.

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TEA CEREMONY

The making, drinking, and offering of tea to guests have developed into a fine art in Japan, called chado (or sado, “the way of teaâ€​). Bringing guests together for a ritual tea ceremony in Japanese is called cha no yu (“hot water for teaâ€​). The drinking of tea was first used in Chinese monasteries for medicinal purposes and as an aid for staying awake during meditation. There, tea drinking also developed some ritual elements. Tea drinking was then carried to Japan and was practiced assiduously by both Zen monks and lay disciples. Under the tea master Sen no Rikyu (1522–1591), the tea ceremony took on its current highly stylized form.

The essence of the Japanese tea ceremony is the gathering of a few guests, the preparation of green tea, and the offering of tea and sweets. The tea ceremony normally takes place in a small tea room or pavilion, whose design is inspired by the image of a rustic country hut, often mentioned in Chinese poetry. The purpose of the ceremony is to create and enjoy together an atmosphere of harmony and beauty, where each object, action, and word contributes to the tranquil experience.

CERAMICS

Bowls used in the tea ceremony look deliberately natural, almost as if they were dug up out of the ground. They often appear rough and unfinished, with earth-colored glazes dripping down their sides. The rims sometimes are not quite even, and the colors are not always uniform. Sometimes there are even bubbles and cracks in the ceramic. All this is deliberate. The accidents resulting from firing the bowls in the kiln are appreciated, as are the subtle earth tones that are produced. The aim is, paradoxically, to create pieces that exhibit deliberate naturalness and a calculated spontaneity.

IKEBANA

The word for Japanese-style flower arrangement—ikebana—means “living flower.â€​ Flower

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The formal tea ceremony, which began in monasteries, has become an art. ©Lucas Vallecillos/Alamy Stock Photo

arrangement can be traced back to the offerings of flowers placed on altars in the temples of China and Japan. But ikebana grew into a unique art form of its own, and examples of ikebana now are found in restaurants, offices, and homes.

Ikebana is quite different from Western flower arrangement, which tends to be dense, symmetrical, and colorful. Ikebana is the opposite. The arrangements are airy, asymmetrical, and generally of no more than two colors. Effective ikebana is temporary art, lasting but a few days and changing every day. Thus, some see ikebana as a manifestation of Buddhist insight into impermanence. Ikebana is Buddhist sculpture.

GARDEN DESIGN

In China and Japan, gardens have long been an essential part of architecture, planned along with the buildings they complement. Garden designers are ranked as highly as poets and artists. Some gardens are created for strolling; others for seated contemplation from under an eave. They are not essentially Buddhist, of course, and not all monasteries have gardens. Yet they are found frequently enough in Buddhist environs for us to say that gardens have been used to present Buddhist ideals.

A famous example is the rock garden at Ryoan-ji, in northwest Kyoto. Ryoan-ji garden, enclosed on two sides by a low earthen wall, consists of five clusters of large boulders set in raked white gravel. The rocks and gravel suggest mountain peaks rising through clouds or as islands in a river. The fascination of the garden is the relation between the clusters of boulders. Viewed this way, the boulders seem more like ideas in a great mind. The only vegetation in the garden is the moss at the base of the stones and the trees beyond the wall. Really more like an X-ray of an ideal garden, Ryoan-ji would seem to be unchanging because of its stony nature; but it changes a great deal, depending on the season, the time of day, the weather, and the light.

CALLIGRAPHY AND PAINTING

Calligraphy (Greek: “beautiful writingâ€​) is a highly prized art form in China and Japan. Because the characters used in Japanese and Chinese writing are closer to pictures and to drawing than they are to alphabet letters, they have a great range of vitality and beauty. The Zen ideal is to produce what is spontaneous but also profound, and because writing is done with an inkbrush, great expressiveness in darkness, weight, movement, and style of characters is possible. Furthermore, the ink cannot be erased, and the result is thought to be the immediate expression of the writer’s personality and level of awareness. When fine calligraphic talent is employed to write a striking phrase or poem, the result is doubly powerful. The supreme example of Zen simplicity in art is the enso, a black circle, almost always done in a single, quick stroke on paper or a piece of wood. The empty circle represents the emptiness of all reality.

Elements that are typical of Zen design include simple elegance, asymmetry, the use of stone and

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wood in their natural state, and the near-emptiness that is characteristic of the rock garden. Over the past one hundred years, Zen has had a global impact as well—in architecture, art, interior design, and fashion. It is apparent, for example, in the domestic architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright and his followers, which popularized the use of large windows and natural stone. It seems even to have influenced some retail chain stores, where we see natural wood floors, uncluttered space, and clothing in muted earth tones.

The koan is another technique for attaining awareness. The origin of the name is uncertain, but it seems to derive from the Chinese gong-an (kung-an), translated as “public discussion.â€​ The koan is a question that cannot be easily answered using logic. It demands pondering. Consider, for example, the question, Why did the monk Bodhidharma come from the West? An appropriate answer could be, “The bush in the gardenâ€​—or any response that mentions an ordinary object. The meaning of this apparently odd answer is that Bodhidharma’s whole purpose was to make people wake up to the wondrous nature of even simple objects in everyday life. Sometimes a good answer to a koan need not be a verbal response but rather an appropriate action, such as lifting up a hand, taking off a shoe, holding up a flower, or even raising an

As teachers, monks pass on the traditions they received from their own teachers, including knowledge of the arts. Here a monk in Vietnam teaches calligraphy. ©Thomas Hilgers

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eyebrow. Manual labor is also essential to Zen training. In a Zen monastery, work in the garden and kitchen and the

repair and cleaning of the monastery are techniques to combat the inadequacy of words to describe reality. Zen, influenced here by Daoism, maintains that words are often barriers that keep us from immediate contact with the true nature of things. Silent meditation, when blended with direct experience of the physical world, can take us beyond words and thoughts to experience reality itself.

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VAJRAYANA BUDDHISM: THE €ŒDIAMOND VEHICLE€ Mahayana Buddhism in India developed practices and beliefs that have sometimes been called esoteric (hidden, not openly taught). Among these are the use of special chants and rituals to gain supernormal powers. When some of these traditions entered the Tibetan plateau, Indian Mahayana Buddhism blended with native shamanism to create a complex system of belief, art, and ritual. Although Vajrayana actually includes other forms of esoteric Buddhism, Buddhism that developed in the Tibetan plateau is its most prominent expression.

The word Vajrayana means the “vehicle of the diamondâ€​ or “vehicle of the lightning bolt.â€​ The name suggests strength, clarity, wisdom, and flashes of light, all of which are associated with the enlightened awareness that this vehicle seeks to transmit. Some consider Vajrayana to be simply a special form of Mahayana, but more commonly Vajrayana is considered to be a third branch of Buddhism, both because of its complexity and because of its unique elements.

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Origins, Practice, and Literature of Tibetan Buddhism The pre-Buddhist native religion worshiped the powers of nature. As was the case with many native religions, these powers were often envisioned as demons that had to be appeased. Shamanistic rituals involving animal sacrifice and the use of bones, dance, and magical incantations were intended to control the demonic powers.

This native religion was challenged by a new religion, a special type of Buddhism practiced in northeast India. It is often referred to as Tantric Buddhism because of its many scriptures, called Tantras (“spread outâ €​). Tantric Buddhism opposed the original Buddhist detachment from the world and its negative attitude toward bodily pleasure. The Tantras taught that the body and all its energies could be used to reach enlightenment. For Tantric Buddhism, enlightenment is an experience of ultimate oneness that occurs when a practitioner unites all opposites. Sexual union can be a powerful experience of unity, and Tantric Buddhism uses the imagery and (rarely) the practice of sexual union to help attain enlightenment. In its imagery and belief system, Tantric Buddhism shows influence from Hinduism—particularly in its tendency to pair a male and a female deity and its love of multiple deities. Vajrayana believes the divine Buddha nature expresses itself in a multitude of male and female deities.

A form of Tantric Buddhism first entered the Tibetan plateau in the seventh century and was spread by Indian missionaries. Tradition holds that a king named Song-tsen-gam-po (active c. 630) became a patron of the newly

This stupa is a three-dimensional mandala. It is the Kumbum Stupa at Palkhor Monastery in Gyantse, a town on the Tibetan plateau. ©Goh Chai Hin/AFP/Getty Images

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introduced religion and made it the national religion. In the beginning, native priests fought against this new religion, but a legendary Buddhist monk named Padmasambhava, who came from India in the late eighth century, reconciled the two religions and turned the native demonic gods of Tibet into guardian deities of Buddhism.

The resulting religion blended shamanistic interests, the sexual imagery of Tantric Buddhism, and traditional Buddhist elements, such as the chanting of sutras, meditation, the ideal of nonviolence, and the search for enlightenment. Monks thus were called upon not only as teachers but also as doctors and shamans. Thus, they were expected to bring health, control weather, and magically protect worshipers from death. A Tibetan spiritual teacher is often called lama (a Tibetan translation of the word guru), and this title is thus frequently used as a title of honor for all monks.

Although the Indian ideals of the wandering holy man and cave-dwelling solitary did not die out in their new home, they were not well suited for a climate as severe as that of the cold and barren Tibetan plateau. More compatible, it seemed, were the large monastic complexes that had grown up in late Indian Buddhism. The Tibetan version of such a complex often looked like a fortified hilltop castle and was in effect a complete city for sometimes thousands of monks. These large monasteries contained libraries, prayer halls, kitchens, storage areas, and large courtyards, sometimes used for public performances. A written form of the Tibetan language was created for the translation of Buddhist scriptures that had come from India. This written language also made possible the composition of scriptural commentaries and other treatises.

Over time, the practice of celibacy declined, and the heads of Tibetan monasteries frequently passed control of the monasteries to their sons. The consumption of meat and alcohol was also introduced. A reform movement, however, emerged under the monk Tsong Kha-pa (1357–1419), demanding that monks be unmarried and that strict monastic practice be reinstituted. His sect, as a result, came to be known as Gelug-pa, meaning “party of virtue.â€​ It is also commonly called the Yellow Hat sect because of the tall, crested yellow hats that the monks wear during religious services. This sect grew powerful. It helped create many of the greatest monasteries, full of art and complete sets of Buddhist scriptures, and it provided Tibet with its political leadership for several centuries.

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It became a common belief in Tibetan Buddhism that certain major lamas are reincarnations of earlier lamas, who in turn are considered emanations of Buddhas and bodhisattvas. Belief in reincarnation thus solved the problem of transmission of leadership, which in a celibate monastic order cannot pass to a son. For example, the lineage of the Dalai Lama, the executive head of the Gelug-pa order, traces itself back to a nephew of Tsong Kha-pa, the first of the line of succession. Each Dalai Lama has been considered to be an emanation of Avalokiteshvara, the heavenly bodhisattva of compassion. When a major lama dies, his reincarnation is sought, found, and trained. The current Dalai Lama, for example, was found in eastern Tibet. He now lives in northern India. The movies Little Buddha and Seven Years in Tibet portray well some Vajrayana practices.

The literature of Tibetan Buddhism consists of two large collections of writings. The Kanjur is the core, made up of works from the Tripitaka. It is mostly Mahayana sutras and the vinaya, along with Tantric texts. The second part, the Tenjur, comprises commentaries on scripture and treatises on a wide variety of disciplines, such as medicine, logic, and grammar. The collection exceeds four thousand works.

Long trumpets, bells, and drums often accompany chanting in Vajrayana ceremonies. ©Katie Garrod/AWL Images/Getty Images

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Ritual and the Arts Vajrayana Buddhism is interested in the acquisition of both internal and external powers, and it holds that such powers may be attained through proper ritual. The ritual allows the individual to become identified with a particular Buddha or heavenly bodhisattva, thus giving the individual the power and protection of that heavenly being.

Because correctly performed ceremony brings identification with a powerful deity, ceremonial objects play significant roles. You learned earlier that some devices, such as the mantra and mandala, are used in Mahayana practice. Vajrayana adopted these devices from Mahayana, but in Vajrayana these objects and techniques take on special importance. Among the significant ritual objects is the vajra, a metal object somewhat like a divining rod or scepter. It represents a stylized bolt of lightning. The vajra is associated with diamond-hardness, power, and insight. It is held in the right hand and symbolizes compassionate action. A bell is held in the left hand and symbolizes wisdom. When used together, one in each hand, these objects represent the union of wisdom and compassion. The vajra and bell are essential to Tibetan Vajrayana ritual in a way that other religious objects, mentioned in the following paragraphs, are not.

Another important Tibetan Buddhist object is the prayer wheel, which comes in all sizes—from the very tiny to ones as tall as a two-story building. A prayer wheel is a cylinder that revolves around a central pole. Inside the cylinder are pieces of paper inscribed with sacred phrases. It is believed that the turning of the written prayers creates as much good karma as if you were to recite them. The same principle applies to the wind blowing through prayer flags, which consist of square or triangular pieces of cloth containing religious inscriptions.

The Boudhanath Temple in Kathmandu, Nepal, is one of the largest stupas in the world. Here it is lighted for a religious festival. ©Sitthawit Treesinchai/Shutterstock RF

Music and dance, used by shamans to protect against demons, also play an important role in Tibetan Vajrayana. Drums, long trumpets, bells, and cymbals are used to accompany a deep, slow droning chant. The effect is hypnotic and evokes the sacredness that underlies reality.

In Vajrayana as well as Mahayana, a mantra is chanted or written to bring power and wisdom through repetition. The most highly revered mantra in Tibetan Vajrayana is Om mani padme hum! Literally translated, the words are “Om—the jewel—oh lotus—ah!â€​. One translation employs Tantric sexual symbolism: â €œThe jewel is in the lotus.â€​ The jewel and lotus represent sexual opposites, and the mantra represents sexual union—symbolic of enlightenment. In yet another symbolic translation—“The jewel is the lotusâ€​—the jewel represents the divine Buddha nature, and the lotus represents the everyday world of birth and death. Hence, the mantra means that this world of suffering is the same as the Buddha nature and that the enlightened person sees that they are the same. It is also possible to interpret the mantra as merely a prayer to the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, who may be pictured holding each of the two objects. The mantra then would be â €œHail to the jewel-lotus one!â€​ No matter what the origin and meaning of the mantra, the ordinary believer simply thinks of it as a powerful prayer. In addition to this mantra, there are many others, each of which is believed to be sacred to a particular Buddha or bodhisattva or is believed to be valuable for obtaining a certain result.

An enormous tapestry of Guru Rimpoche, a missionary who spread Buddhism in the Himalayas, is raised once a year in front of a Bhutanese monastery. Viewers believe that seeing the image will release them from the cycle

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Symbolic hand gestures (mudras), seen on statues of the Buddha, are common throughout all forms of Buddhism. For example, the right hand extended with the palm outward and the fingers pointing up is a mudra of blessing; if the palm is open but the hand is turned downward, the mudra symbolizes generosity. In Vajrayana, a large number of mudras have evolved to convey more esoteric meanings, such as the unity of opposites.

The mandalas that are used in some forms of Mahayana takes on great variety and complexity in Tibetan Buddhism. We might recall that a mandala is a sacred cosmic diagram, often used in meditation. It may represent in symbolic form the entire universe, the palace of a deity, a symbolic city, or even the self. A common design is a circle within or enclosing a square, or a series of circles and squares that grow smaller and smaller as they come closer to the center of the design; another form looks like a checkerboard of many squares. A mandala usually appears as a painting on cloth, but it may take many forms. For some ceremonies, monks create a mandala in sand and then destroy it at the end of the ritual, expressing vividly the Buddhist teaching that everything must change.

Any painting on cloth is called a thangka (pronounced tan’-ka). In addition to mandala designs, a wide variety of subjects can appear on thangkas. Common images are Buddhas, bodhisattvas, and guardian deities, painted in both benevolent and terrifying forms. (The terrifying forms are meant both to frighten demons and to chasten the believer). The female deity Tara, who represents mercy, appears in two major forms—white and green—and in several minor forms. We also find frequent representations of the monk Padmasambhava and other noted teachers. The existence of so many celestial beings and saints—with their attendants and symbolic objects—provides artists with a multitude of subjects to paint and sculpt.

of rebirths. ©Ira Block/National Geographic/Getty Images

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PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

New Year’s Day at Wat Saket One of the greatest festivals in Thailand is the New Year’s celebration. The rainy season of autumn has ended, big stores announce “End of the Rainy Seasonâ€​ sales, grass sprouts in unlikely places, and bright new leaves appear on the trees. The weather is sunny but not hot. People flock to the temples, where they pray for a happy year to come.

A small statue of the Buddha can be found in the garden at Wat Saket. ©Aksenovko/iStock/Getty Images RF

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One of the most popular temples to visit is on a hill in Bangkok. The temple is Wat Saket, called the Golden Mount. The grounds are extensive and surrounded by vines and trees. Entering the grounds is quite a contrast to the traffic-filled streets outside. The enclosed area gives you a feeling of connection with the past. The actual temple stands at the bottom of the hill, and people are going inside it to pray. A stairway of more than 300 steps curls around the hill, rising slowly to a golden chedi (tower) at the top of the hill. Around the tall golden tower are four smaller towers. The mount and its towers symbolize the mythic mountain, Mount Meru, which was once thought to be at the center of the universe. It is a symbol of power and stability. The interior of the central chedi contains relics of the Buddha that were long ago brought from Sri Lanka.

Today you are standing in a line of people who slowly are going up the stairs to the chedi to pray for happiness in the year ahead. In front of you, one of the devotees is dressed all in white, with a turban neatly tied around his head. He has a dark beard and appears to be a Sikh. Maybe, you think, he is accompanying his Buddhist wife.

As you enter the chedi at the top, you see people carefully writing petitions. They will leave them there, praying that their hopes will be accomplished during the next few months. Some of the people seem to be quite earnest, taking a long time to write their wishes down.

Several monks in bright orange robes stand beyond the high desks. One smiles and introduces himself. We all look out over the city and begin to talk. The conversation interestingly turns to the question of whether women will ever be able to become fully ordained monks in Thailand. “Maybe,â€​ the monk says. “Nowadays women are ordained as Buddhist monks—but only in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and a few other places. Here in Thailand, women may only take a few vows. They are the women at the temples who are

The sun sets behind the top of Wat Saket in Bangkok. ©Kantapat Phutthamkul/Moment/Getty Images RF

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dressed in white. However, there is increasing pressure to fully ordain women in Thailand. Maybe in a few years it will happen.â€​

Rituals and Celebrations

BUDDHIST MEDITATION

ecause meditation is a core practice of Buddhism, many kinds of meditation have developed. Some of them have made their way to the West, where they have occasionally been modified.

In the Theravada tradition, one approach to meditation is especially significant. It is called Vipassana (“insightâ€​), because it emphasizes being fully attentive to the present moment. This attentiveness, sometimes called mindfulness, is primarily accomplished by

sitting quietly and paying attention to your slow breathing in and breathing out. The same type of meditation may also be done while walking. The meditator walks extremely slowly on flat ground, being aware at each moment of the motion of the right foot, then the left foot, and so on. In Sri Lanka and elsewhere, some monasteries even have special walking tracks for this type of meditation.

Seated meditation, particularly cultivated by Chan and Zen, is the most significant form of Mahayana meditation. Like Vipassana, it begins with a focus on breathing. It may then include reflections on a question given by a master or on the meaning of a line of poetry. It may also involve the silent repetition of a single meaningful word or phrase.

The Vajrayana tradition, with its love of art and ritual, has developed many complex meditations. Vajrayana meditation tends to make use of ritual objects (bells, candles, butter lamps), images, mandalas, Sanskrit words (mantras), hand gestures (mudras), and visualization exercises. Frequently the meditation involves forming a mental image of a favorite deity and then psychologically taking on the identity of that deity for the duration of the meditation. Other meditations involve contemplating the moon, clouds, or water. Some meditations make use of imaginative techniques. For example, the meditator mentally creates a lotus, a moon disc, a written Sanskrit syllable, an altar of deities, colors, or rays of light, often imagining these in a certain order.

All three traditions also have some form of what can be called a meditation of compassion. The person who is meditating reflects on the many different kinds of sentient beings—human, animal, and insect. The next step of the meditation is to recognize that all of these beings are struggling to survive, that all are trying to avoid pain, and that many are suffering. The meditation ends when the meditator projects outward the wish that all sentient beings be well and happy. This wish is sometimes accompanied by a mental image of light and warmth radiating outward.

Beginners who are interested in Buddhist meditation can try simple seated meditation. A quiet spot

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is best, and the meditator should sit on a cushion or sofa, with legs drawn up. If that is not possible, then you may sit on a chair, with the feet flat on the ground. Some people like to face outdoors, looking into a garden. Your back should be fairly straight and the position comfortable. Your breathing should be deep, slow, and regular. Your eyes may be either open or closed, and you should remain as still as possible, focusing on each breath as it goes in and out. Thoughts need not be banished but should simply be “watched,â€​ like seeing clouds passing. You can start by meditating a short amount of time—even as little as five minutes per day. Soon it will be possible to meditate for longer periods once or twice a day. Many report that the exercise leaves them with a greater sense of inner peace and a feeling of oneness with their surroundings.

Then he smiled. “If you want to see it happen,â€​ he said encouragingly, “please write your request down on a piece of paper and leave it up here in front of the Buddha. It may help.â€​

BUDDHISM AND THE MODERN WORLD Although Buddhism originated in India and then spread primarily through Asia, it has now become a worldwide religion. Buddhist temples and meditation centers can be found in many countries, particularly in the industrialized countries of Europe and the Americas. Buddhism is attractive in part because many of its essential teachings seem to agree with modern values. Some people appreciate what they see as its emphasis on awareness, self-reliance, and insight. Others think that Buddhism fits in well with the discoveries of modern science. Still others are attracted to the Buddhist ideal of nonviolence as a standard for civilized behavior in a multicultural world.

Critics point out that the modern world has adopted only what it likes from Buddhism and has ignored the rest. The modern world, for example, has not been quick to embrace the celibacy of the Buddha or of Buddhist monks and nuns—who traditionally represent the core of the religion. The modern world may believe in recycling but not in reincarnation. And the modern world turns a blind eye to the actual practice of many Asian Buddhist believers, whose real-life Buddhist activity is performed in order to “make merit,â€​ gain health or wealth, and have good luck. Critics scorn the modern “cafeteria approachâ€​ to Buddhism. The contemporary world, they explain, has adopted only the elements it likes—meditation, Zen design, and the exoticism of Tibetan art—and with these elements it is now creating a new kind of Buddhism in its own image. Buddhism, they say, is becoming a yuppie supermarket of meditation cushions, gongs, and posters.

All of these complaints have some truth. And yet … Buddhism is forever changing. In its long history, as the ship of its teachings has sailed from one cultural port to the next, some of its goods have been tied to the mast or piled on the deck, while others have been hidden below or tossed overboard. This fact is even truer today, and it makes studying the interrelation of Buddhism and the modern world all the more fascinating.

Buddhism’s first contact with the West occurred in the late eighteenth century, when English colonists and travelers carried translations of primarily Theravada material from Sri Lanka and Myanmar to Europe. Because so many of these travelers were missionaries, they were especially impressed by Buddhist moral teachings. Thus, the view of Buddhism that they spread emphasized the religion’s admirable ethical system.

The opening of Japan to foreigners in the second half of the nineteenth century created a second wave of interest in Buddhism. French, English, and American people began to read about Japanese culture and to see early photographs of Buddhist temples and Buddhist-inspired art. Foreign interest dovetailed with anti-Buddhist government actions in Japan after 1868, which forced many Buddhist temples to sell some of their art. Buddhist art was then collected widely in Europe and North America, both by private collectors and by museums.

Just as Buddhism has influenced Japanese art, so Buddhism has influenced Western art via Japan. There is no doubt that the Japanese influence on Western art has been extraordinary since Japan opened to the West. French art of the late nineteenth century was invigorated by the discovery of Japanese prints and scrolls, which

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flooded into France after 1880. Asymmetry, a love of nature, and an appreciation for the passing momentâ €”features of much Japanese art—began to appear in the work of the Impressionists and Postimpressionists, particularly Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864–1901), and Claude Monet (1840–1926). One of van Gogh’s self-portraits, in fact, seems to have been influenced by pictures of Buddhist monks that he had seen. Monet’s Japanese-style water garden at Giverny, with its pond of water lilies, is a good example of the influence that Japan had at the turn of the century in France.

Contemporary Issues

PEMA CHÖDRÖN

he monk Pema Chödrön at first led a very different life than the life that she later embraced. Born Deirdre Blomfield-Brown in New York City, she first intended to make a career of education. In her early years, she married twice and had two children. At the end of her second marriage, when she was grieving over her loss and confusion, she found a new focus through the help of Buddhist teachers. A major influence on her was the Vajrayana Buddhist monk and

teacher Chogyam Trungpa. She was ordained a monk in the Vajrayana tradition in 1981 and in 1986 became the head of Gampo Abbey in Nova Scotia. She also regularly teaches in California. Pema Chödrön has done much to introduce contemporary westerners to practical Buddhism.

The books of Pema Chödrön have given help to innumerable readers. They focus on the acceptance of grief and of the inevitable changes of life, as well as the need to respond with kindness. She gives many original ideas about holding onto a sense of joy and wonder in everyday life. For example, she says that everyone occasionally has an experience of seeing a beautiful flower or hearing the song of a bird. For at least a few seconds, one should deliberately hold onto that feeling of unexpected joy.

Perhaps the best-known book by Pema Chödrön is When Things Fall Apart. She is also known for No Time to Lose (a commentary on Shantideva’s Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life), Start Where You Are, and The Wisdom of No Escape.

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Haiku and other forms of Japanese poetry began to influence Western poetry at the same time. We see this particularly in the Imagist school, which produced short poems that depend on a few strong images presented in simple language. Poets who exemplified this style include Ezra Pound (1885–1972), E. E. Cummings (1894â €“1962), H. D. (Hilda Doolittle, 1886–1961), and William Carlos Williams (1883–1963).

A third wave of Buddhist influence came in the decades just after World War II, when U.S. soldiers returned from the American occupation of Japan. The great interest of the time was Zen (perhaps only loosely understood), which influenced the poetry of the Beat movement and the lifestyle of the counterculture. The novels of Jack Kerouac (1922–1969) show a Zen-like love of the spontaneous. His book On the Road, about a cross-country trip with friends, inspired readers to make similar explorations. Zen love of the moment is also evident in the jazz-like poetry of Allen Ginsberg (1926–1997) and the ironic poetry of Lawrence Ferlinghetti (b. 1919). San Francisco, where many of the Beat writers were based, became an early Western headquarters of Zen thought and practice in North America, as it still is today.

Zen centers, often under lay leadership, were established at this time in major cities in North and South America and Europe. These centers have allowed Westerners to learn directly about Zen through both instruction and meditation. Some centers have also opened bookstores, vegetarian restaurants, and retreat centers.

A fourth wave of Buddhist influence is more recent and involves several types of Buddhism. Tibetan Buddhism has established communities of immigrant Tibetans and converts in many places in North America (California, Colorado, New York, Hawai’i, Nova Scotia) and in Europe (Switzerland, France, Great Britain). Tibetan and Bhutanese Buddhist art is now regularly acquired and exhibited by museums. Forms of Pure Land and Nichiren Buddhism have made many converts, particularly in large cities of North America. And

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Asian immigrants from Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia have all begun their own temples and celebrations where they have settled.

From the middle of the nineteenth century to the middle of the twentieth century, Buddhism outside Asia was primarily made up of ethnic Buddhists (mostly immigrants) and so-called elite Buddhists (non-Asian intellectuals and academics). These two groups have interacted and been joined by a large middle-class following. A new type of Buddhism is emerging from the interaction of the three groups: engaged Buddhism. This movement comprises a wide variety of people who, as Buddhists, work for social betterment. A broadly based Western Buddhism—in Europe, North America, and Australia—is taking on such a life of its own that it is beginning to be called the “fourth vehicleâ€​ (yana) of Buddhism.

Contemporary Issues

ENVIRONMENTAL BUDDHISM

uddhism grew up with an inherent love of nature. Buddhism teaches human beings that they belong to a larger whole and that they should show restraint in dealing with nature.

The many branches of Buddhism are in the process of working out principles and practices of conservation. Some of the groups rely on their immediate surroundings for inspiration; for example, monks in Mongolia are creating forested zones around their

monasteries. Other groups have more widespread goals. One branch of Vajrayana, the Kagyu, has created a list of principles of ideal action, including:

This woman sews clothing for a Buddhist welfare organization that has its headquarters in Taipei. ©Craig Ferguson/LightRocket/Getty Images

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Ogyen Drodul Trinley Dorje, a Kagyu leader, adds that the challenge of climate change “is far more complex and extensive than anything we alone can tackle. However, if we can all contribute a single drop of clean water, those drops will accumulate into a fresh pond, then a clear stream, and eventually a vast pure ocean. That is my aspiration.â€​

Some Buddhist traditions, particularly the Mahayana traditions in Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam, have always ordained women. In contrast, the Theravada traditions of Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia, although they once ordained women, allowed that practice to die out, and traditional Tibetan Buddhism did not ordain women. Attitudes, though, are changing. Women are now ordained in Sri Lanka, and Thai Buddhists are considering making a similar change.

Women also play a major role in institutional Buddhism. A Taiwanese female monastic, Master Cheng Yen, began the influential Tzu Chi Foundation to help the needy. It has grown to become a worldwide social welfare agency. Western women who have become Buddhist nuns are particularly outspoken in demanding major roles for women in Buddhism. Among these women are Pema Chödrön, Tenzin Palmo, and Karma Lekshe Tsomo. Theoretical acceptance of equality is widespread, and real equality is increasingly the practice.

Ironically, even as it gains followers in the West, Buddhism has been weakened in some countries and regions that have been its traditional home. When Communist governments took over Mongolia (1921) and China (1949), Buddhism was severely repressed. This pattern continued when the Chinese government took over Tibet (1959). The Dalai Lama went into exile, and at least a million Tibetans are thought to have died in the ensuing persecution. Several thousand temples and monasteries were destroyed, particularly during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), causing both human suffering and an incalculable loss to the world of art. In recent years a modest amount of rebuilding has occurred in all these regions, with the financial

Planting native trees to restore forests around monasteries Protecting existing forests from being overharvested Protecting nearby water sources Helping local farmers create vegetation buffers between farm fields and rivers Promoting no-hunting zones Prohibiting the wearing of ornamental fur from endangered animals Discouraging traditional remedies that use illegal animal products Using fewer things—reuse what you have, recycle what you can’t reuse Being models for composting and inspiring others to do the same Designing energy-efficient buildings Eating less meat and encouraging individuals to develop compassion for all living

things22

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support of Buddhists from abroad. While some governments fear that monasteries might become centers of antigovernment activity, they also recognize the importance of Buddhist sites both to the inhabitants and to tourists, whose goodwill (and foreign exchange) they wish to encourage.

In spite of a weakening of Buddhism in many of its traditional areas, relations with the non-Buddhist world have also brought new vigor to Buddhism. For example, we now see emerging what has been called “Green Buddhism.â€​ Although early Buddhism does not mention explicit environmental ideals, it does include principles that fit in well with environmentalism. Among these are harmony, frugality, compassion, reverence, and respect. Trees, in particular, play an important role in Buddhism. The Buddha was born, meditated, was enlightened, and died under trees. For centuries, monks in Southeast Asia have regularly set up meditation huts and small temples in wilderness forests. In Thailand, monks have played leadership roles in protecting forests. Monks use their moral authority to encourage villagers to plant new trees and to limit tree burning. Temples receive small trees from the Royal Forest Department and donations from town-bound

Following his shadow, this lone monk with his eating bowl slowly places one foot in front of the other as he engages in walking meditation. ©imageBROKER/Alamy Stock Photo

supporters who want to earn merit by improving the natural environment. Monks have even temporarily â €œordainedâ€​ trees by tying orange robes around those trees that they hope to save from being cut down.

Buddhism is clearly entering a new phase in its long journey. In part, Buddhism can predict what that phase will bring. The one constant, as always, is change.

Reading APPROACHING THE END

An indomitable attendant to the Japanese empress two hundred years ago found her calling.

The Buddhist nun known as Ryonen was born in 1797. She was a granddaughter of the famous Japanese warrior Shingen. Her poetical genius and alluring beauty were such that at seventeen she was serving the empress as one of the ladies of the court.

Even at such a youthful age fame seemed to await her. However, the beloved empress died suddenly and Ryonen’s hopeful dreams vanished. She became acutely aware of the impermanence of the world. It was then that she desired to study and practice Zen.

Her relatives disagreed, though, and insisted on her marriage. With a promise that she might become a nun after she had borne three children, Ryonen assented. Before she was twenty-five she had accomplished this demand. Then her husband and relatives could no longer dissuade her from her desire. She shaved her head, took the name of Ryonen (which means realize clearly), and started on her pilgrimage. [She traveled and asked a Zen master, Hakuo, to teach her.] … Hakuo then accepted her as a disciple.

* When Ryonen was about to pass from this world, she wrote …: Sixty-six times have these eyes

beheld the changing scene of autumn. I have said enough about moonlight. Ask no more. Only listen to the voice of pines and cedars when no wind stirs.24

TEST YOURSELF

1. Siddhartha’s encounters with an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and a wandering holy man, which prompted him to leave his luxurious and carefree life, are called the ____________.

a. temptations

b. Four Passing Sights

c. Enlightenment

d. Awakening

2. After Siddhartha spent an entire night meditating under a full moon, he finally achieved insight into release from suffering and rebirth. Buddhists believe that he reached a profound understanding, called his ____________.

a. dharma

b. stupa

c. asceticism

d. enlightenment

Page 1713. At the core of what is generally regarded as basic to _______________ are the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.

a. suffering

b. Enlightenment

c. Buddhism

d. existence

4. According to Buddhism, reality manifests three characteristics: constant change, lack of permanent identity, and the existence of _______________.

a. truth

b. suffering

c. death

d. deprivation

5. According to a view common to all forms of Buddhism, reality manifests constant change. This view is the foundation for the _______________ and the _______________.

a. Four Noble Truths, Noble Eightfold Path

b. Tripitaka, Maitreya

c. Vehicle of the Diamond, Dharmakaya

d. Tendai, Jodo

6. In Buddhism, as in Hinduism, ____________ suggest(s) decay and pain.

a. change

b. Four Noble Truths

c. samsara

d. reality

7. Liberation from decay and pain is called ____________.

a. nirvana

b. samsara

c. sangha

d. Awakening

8. The key notions of ____________ Buddhism are trikaya (the “three-body doctrineâ€​), shunyata (â €œemptinessâ€​), and tathata (“thatnessâ€​).

a. Ahimsa

b. Theravada

c. Mahayana

d. Vedic

9. In Theravada countries, the feast of Vesak celebrates several events in the life of the Buddha? What events are they? Why do you think are they celebrated at one time?

10. Do you think that enlightenment is possible? What changes do you think that enlightenment would bring to your views of life? How would it change your way of living and dealing with other people?

11. Think of a social group of which you are a part, such as a family, business, or student organization. How do you think the group dynamic would change if its members lived in accordance with the ideas of anichcha and anatta? Why?

12. Consider the following statement: Buddhism has no real deity. Using what you learned in this chapter, why might you agree or disagree with this statement? Address the different branches of Buddhism in your response.

RESOURCES

Books

Music/Audio

Film/TV

Internet

Batchelor, Stephen. Living with the Devil. New York: Riverhead Trade/Penguin, 2005. A Buddhistâ €™s view of how human beings create illusions of permanence in their lives.

Faure, Bernard. The Power of Denial: Buddhism, Purity, and Gender. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2003. An exploration of the role of gender in Buddhism and the extent to which the religion liberates or limits women.

Gross, Rita. A Garland of Feminist Reflections. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2009. A collection of essays by a foremost expert in both Buddhism and feminist thought.

Lopez, Donald, Jr. Buddhism and Science. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008. A critical analysis of claims that Buddhism and science are compatible.

Nanayon, Upasika. Pure and Simple: The Extraordinary Teachings of a Thai Buddhist Laywoman. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2005. A collection of the writings of a Thai teacher of Buddhism.

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Chants and Music from Buddhist Temples. (Arc Music.) A diverse compilation of recordings, including Buddhist chants from temples in China, India, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and Thailand.

Japanese Traditional Music: Gagaku and Buddhist Chant. (World Arbiter.) A remastered release of an original 1941 recording of Japanese court music and Buddhist chant performed for the Imperial Household.

Mayuzumi Toshiro. Nirvana Symphony. (Denon Records.) Modern classical music inspired by Buddhism.

Tibetan Master Chants. (Spirit Music.) A recording of the deep-voice chanting of one of the worldâ €™s foremost Tibetan chant masters, including the mantra “Om Mani Padme Hum.†​

Buddha Wild: Monk in a Hut. (Director Anna Wilding; Carpe Diem Films.) A film in which a group of Thai and Sri Lankan monks discuss their commitment to Buddhism and its way of life.

Little Buddha. (Director Bernardo Bertolucci; Miramax.) A film that interweaves two stories: the historical life of the Buddha and the modern search in Seattle for the reincarnation of a lama.

BuddhaNet: http://www.buddhanet.net/. A cornucopia of Buddhist information and resources, including a worldwide directory, e-library, online magazine, and notice board.

Virtual Religion Index: http://virtualreligion.net/vri/buddha.html. The “Buddhist Studiesâ

€ ​ page at the Virtual Religion Index site, containing individual sections devoted to general resources, the life of the Buddha, and Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism.

Wikipedia’s Buddhism Portal: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Buddhism. A Wikipedia compilation of links to subcategories such as culture, branches of Buddhism, deities, festivals, history, philosophical concepts, practices, temples, terms, and texts.

KEY TERMS

(Buddhist terms are often anglicized in English pronunciation. For the following terms with two pronunciations, the second is the anglicized version.)

Amitabha Buddha (ah-mee-tah’-buh bood’-huh): The Buddha of the Western Paradise, a bliss-body Buddha in Mahayana.

anatta (un-nah’-tuh): “No self†​; the doctrine that there is no soul or permanent essence in people and things.

anichcha (uh-nee’-chuh): Impermanence, constant change. arhat (ahr’-hut, ahr’-haht): In Theravada, a person who has practiced monastic

disciplines and reached nirvana, the ideal. bodhi (boh’-dee): Enlightenment. bodhisattva (boh’-dee-suh’-tvah, boh-dee-saht’-vuh): “Enlightenment

being†​; in Mahayana, a person of deep compassion, especially one who does not enter nirvana but is constantly reborn to help others; a heavenly being of compassion.

Dharma (dhur’-mah, dar’-muh): The totality of Buddhist teaching. dhyana (dee-yah’-nuh): “Meditation†​; focusing of the mind; sometimes, stages of

trance. dukkha (doo’-kuh): Sorrow, misery. Guanyin: A popular bodhisattva of compassion in Mahayana. karuna (kuh-roo’-nuh): Compassion, empathy. koan (koh’-ahn): In Chan and Zen Buddhism, a question that cannot be answered logically;

a technique used to test consciousness and bring awakening. lama: A Tibetan Buddhist teacher; a title of honor often given to all Tibetan monks. Maitreya (mai-tray’-yuh): A Buddha (or bodhisattva) expected to appear on earth in the

future. mandala (mun’-duh-luh, mahn-dah’-luh): A geometrical design containing deities,

circles, squares, symbols, and so on that represent totality, the self, or the universe. mudra (moo’-druh): A symbolic hand gesture. nirvana (nir-vah’-nuh): The release from suffering and rebirth that brings inner peace. samadhi (suh-mah’-dee): A state of deep awareness, the result of intensive meditation. samsara (suhm-sah’-ruh, sahm-sah’-ruh): Constant rebirth and the attendant

suffering; the everyday world of change.

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Sangha (suhng’-huh): The community of monks and nuns; lowercased, sangha refers to an individual monastic community.

satori (sah-toh’-ree): In Zen, the enlightened awareness. shunyata (shoon’-yah-tah): The Mahayana notion of emptiness, meaning that the universe

is empty of permanent reality. stupa (stoo’-puh): A shrine, usually in the shape of a dome, used to mark Buddhist relics or

sacred sites. sutra (soo’-truh): A sacred text, especially one said to record the words of the Buddha. tathata (taht-hah-tah’): “Thatness,†​ “thusness,†​ “suchness†​; the uniqueness

of each changing moment of reality. trikaya (trih-kah’-yuh): The three “bodies†​ of the Buddha—the Dharmakaya (cosmic

Buddha nature), the Nirmanakaya (historical Buddhas), and the Sambhogakaya (celestial Buddhas).

Tripitaka (trih-pih’-tuh-kuh): The three “baskets,†​ or collections, of Buddhist texts. vajra (vuhj’-ruh, vahj’-ruh): The “diamond†​ scepter used in Tibetan and other

types of Buddhist ritual, symbolizing compassion.

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CHAPTER 5

Page 175

Jainism and Sikhism

©Dinodia Photo/Getty Images

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FIRST ENCOUNTER On a street in Southeast Asia you ask a gentleman for directions. This leads to further conversation, because your accent gives you away and he has relatives in the United States. “Maybe you know them?â€​ he asks. â €œDo you live close to Tennessee?â€​

Even though you don’t know his relatives, you are soon learning all about his family. He has two sons, already married, and a willful daughter who is of marriageable age. He is frightened that she might fall in love with a person of a different religion, and then what will he do? Soon he is taking you into his nearby gurdwaraâ €”the religious center for Sikhs—where he will be doing volunteer work this afternoon and having something to eat.

At the entrance, your new friend takes a piece of orange cloth and makes a turban to cover the top of your head. He does the same for himself. “We do this for respect,â€​ he says. Upstairs, you meet the resident priest, a bright-eyed man in blue, who wears an orange cap.

“Our congregation brought him from India to be our priest,â€​ your Sikh friend explains as you walk to the altar area. Soon the priest is showing you copies of the Adi Granth, the sacred book of the Sikhs. They are housed in a special air-conditioned sanctuary beside the altar. Then you see the sword collection at the side of the room and discuss the kirpan (ritual knife) that the priest wears. “Sikhs had to learn to defend themselves,â€​ your friend explains. “These are symbols of our strength.â€​

Afterward, you are invited downstairs to an enormous kitchen and dining room. Large vats gleam. You and your friend sit at a long table, drinking tea with milk and eating a late-afternoon snack with the kitchen workers.

At the entrance, before leaving, you give back your turban to the Sikh guide and thank him for his kindness. You commiserate about his daughter and take the names and addresses of his relatives in the United States, whom you plan to contact on your very next visit to their state. He helps you find a taxi and, as it stops, invites you to a service three days from now.

“There will be wonderful Sikh music. You must come.â€​ As you are climbing into the taxi, he adds, â €œThere will be much good food, too.â€​

Turbans, you decide as your taxi snakes through the traffic, are fine. But swords? And priests who wear knives? Are these suitable symbols for any religion? How can religions hold such differing attitudes about violence?

SHARED ORIGINS India is home to two religions, Jainism and Sikhism, that are now becoming better known in the West (Figure 5. 1). The first is ancient, and the other is relatively young. Adherents of the two religions can be found in limited numbers around the world, but the majority of them still live in India.

Both religions have some connection with Hinduism, sharing with it certain characteristics, such as a belief in karma and rebirth. Furthermore, both of them, having developed in opposition to Hindu polytheism and

FIGURE 5.1 Jain and Sikh holy sites in India.

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ritualism, strive toward greater religious simplicity. In spite of their similarities, however, Jainism and Sikhism differ in their views of reality and in their

emotional tone. It is interesting, therefore, to look at them side by side. Jainism rejects belief in a Creator and sees the universe simply as natural forces in motion, yet it also recognizes the spiritual potential of each person. Like early Buddhism, Jainism emphasizes the ideals of extreme nonattachment and non-harm (ahimsa). Sikhism, to the contrary, embraces a devout monotheism and accepts meat eating and military self-defense. Regardless of their differences, both religions stress the importance of the individual’s struggle to purify the self, to act morally, and to do good to others.

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Jainism

BACKGROUND As the Vedic religion expanded, it created opposition. As you saw in Chapter 4, some people rebelled against the growing strength of the caste system, and non-brahmins, especially the aristocrats, felt threatened by the power of the priests. Moved by compassion, some people opposed the animal sacrifices that were often a part of the Vedic ritual. Two great religious movements grew out of this opposition. One—Buddhism—is well known because it spread beyond India. The other movement—Jainism—has remained less well known because, until recently, it has not sought converts in other lands. When they arose, both Buddhism and Jainism were influenced by some early Hindu ideas, but they may have also practiced much older ascetic traditions.

It is possible that Jainism has not spread widely because it is uncompromising: in it we find an extremist quality that is fascinating, thought-provoking, and often noble. Tendencies toward nonviolence and austerity apparent in Hinduism and Buddhism are carried to their logical endpoint in Jainism, and the skepticism of early Buddhism is practiced rigorously. The study of Jainism, in fact, gives greater clarity to our understanding of those two other Indian religions.

Although Jainism itself did not spread widely, its strong ideal of nonviolence has attracted interest throughout the world. We see its influence directly in the thought and work of Mahatma Gandhi and, indirectly, in the thought and work of Martin Luther King Jr.

MAHAVIRA AND THE ORIGINS OF JAINISM Jains date the origins of their religion to the distant past. They believe that in the present cycle of the universe, twenty-four great people have reached perfection; and, although living in quite different centuries, these saints have been role models and guides who have shown the way to others. These saints are called tirthankaras, which can be translated as “crossing makersâ€​ or “ford findersâ€​—a ford being a shallow section of a river through which people can wade to the other side. It is notable that the term does not convey the image of a bridge. The point of the term is that people cannot cross to the other side without getting wet and going through the river itself. The historical existence of most of these tirthankaras cannot be proven, but the twenty-third one, Parshva, may have been a real person who lived in India, possibly between 850 and 800 BCE (Timeline 5.1).

T I M E L I N E 5 . 1

c. 850–800 BCE ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Life of Parshva, the legendary twenty-third tirthankara

Life of Mahavira, the twenty-fourth and most recent tirthankara

•⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ c. 599–527 BCE

c. 350 BCE ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Split between Digambara and Shvetambara sects

Life of Nanak •⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ 1469–1539 CE

1563–1606 ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Life of Arjan

Life of Gobind Singh •⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯ 1666–1708

1984 ⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯⋯• Indian troops retake the Golden Temple from Sikh separatists

Timeline of significant events in the history of Jainism and Sikhism.

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The most recent tirthankara is considered to be the greatest of them all and is often thought of by outsiders to be the founder of Jainism. His name was Nataputta Vardhamana, but he is usually referred to by an honorary title: Mahavira, meaning “great manâ€​ or “hero.â€​ When he lived is not entirely certain. An older dating, accepted by Jains, puts his life entirely in the sixth century BCE (c. 599–527 BCE), but some scholars believe he lived a bit later (540–468 BCE), possibly as a contemporary of the Buddha.

Mahavira’s life story is surrounded by legend, although the basic outline—which somewhat resembles the story of the Buddha—seems clear. He was born into an aristocratic family of a noble clan. Luckily, he was the second son and thus had fewer responsibilities to care for his parents than did his older brother. One branch of Jains holds that he never married; another says that he married and had a child. All agree, however, that he left home at about age 30 to live the life of a wandering holy man.

After leaving home, Mahavira embraced extreme asceticism, and legend tells of his harshness toward himself and of the harshness that he received from others. He is said to have pulled out his hair when he renounced the world, and villagers taunted him during his meditations by burning him with fire and pushing pins into his skin. Dogs attacked him, but he did not resist. In order to avoid all attachments to people and places, he moved to a new place every day; and after losing his loincloth, he went entirely naked for the rest of his life. He lived as a wandering holy man, begging for his food along the way. He was so gentle that to avoid causing injury to any living thing, he strained whatever he drank to keep from swallowing any insect that might have fallen into his cup, and he stepped carefully as he walked down a road in order to avoid crushing even an ant.

After twelve years of meditation, wandering, and extreme mortification, Mahavira, at the age of 42, had an experience of great liberation. He felt completely free of all ties to the ordinary world—no

Jain nuns wear cloths in front of their mouths as a way of showing their desire to live in a completely nonviolent way. Their cloths will keep out even insects which might fly nearby. ©Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images

longer being troubled by pain, suffering, shame, or loss. He now felt fully in control of himself, sensing that he had won out over all the forces that bind a person to this world. As a result of his liberating experience, Mahavira is called a jina (“conquerorâ€​). It is from this title that the religion Jainism takes its name.

Mahavira spent the next thirty years of his life teaching his doctrines and organizing an order of naked monks. He died at about 72 at the village of Pava, near present-day Patna, in northeastern India.

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WORLDVIEW Jainism, like Buddhism, rather starkly rejects belief in a Creator God. The Mahapurana, a long Jain poem of the ninth century CE, states that “foolish men declare that Creator made the world. The doctrine that the world was created is ill-advised and should be rejected.â€​ Jainism offers the following philosophical arguments: If God is perfect, why did God create a universe that is imperfect? If God made the universe because of love, why is the world so full of suffering beings? If the universe had to be created, did not God also need to be created? And where did God come from in the beginning?

Jains respond to these questions by denying any beginning at all and asserting instead that the universe is eternal. Although the universe has always existed, it must continually change, and in the process of eternal change, structure arises on its own. Jainism (like Hinduism) teaches that the universe goes through regular great cycles of rise and fall. During the periods when human beings exist, there first is moral integrity. This is followed inevitably by moral decay. Luckily, however, in each human age, tirthankaras appear to point the way to freedom.

According to Jainism, everything is full of life and is capable of suffering. This view of reality, called hyloz oism (Greek: “matter-aliveâ€​), may be quite ancient. In addition, Jain philosophy is dualistic, for Jains teach that all parts of the universe are composed of two types of reality, which are intermixed. There is spirit, which senses and feels, and there is matter, which is not alive and has no consciousness. Jainism calls these two principles jiva (“soul,â€​ “spirit,â€​ “lifeâ€​) and ajiva (“nonsoul,â€​ “nonlifeâ€​). Jains, however, see life and consciousness where others do not—even in fire, rocks, and water. Thus they extend the notion of spirit and feeling beyond human beings, animals, and insects. They are also aware of the minuscule life-forms that live in earth, water, and wood. Their way of looking at reality makes Jains cautious about injuring anythingâ €”even that which does not at first appear to have the capacity to suffer.

Jainism sees the human being as composed of two opposing parts. The material side of the human being seeks pleasure, escape from pain, and self-interest, while the spiritual side seeks freedom and escape from all bondage to the material world and from the limitation of ego. Because other forms of reality are not aware of their two opposing aspects, they can do nothing about the essential incompatibility of the two parts. Human beings, however, have the ability to understand their dual nature and to overcome their limitations. With discipline, human beings can overcome the bondage of the material world and the body, liberating their spirits through insight, austerity, and kindness.

Enriching this vision of the human situation are the Jain beliefs in karma and reincarnation. Like Hindus, Jains believe that spirits are constantly being reborn in various forms. A spirit can move up or down the scale of rebirth, as well as free itself entirely from the chain of rebirths.

What controls the direction of rebirth is karma, which is produced by every action. As discussed earlier,

1

karma is an important notion in Hinduism and Buddhism, but for Jains, karma has a quite physical quality: it is like a powder or dirt that settles on and clings to the spirit. The level of rebirth is determined automatically, according to your state of karma at the time of death of your current body.

Jains traditionally have believed that superhuman beings exist in realms of the universe above the earth. Often these beings are called gods or deities, but such terms can be misleading. We must recall that Jains believe that these superhuman beings are also subject to karma and change. When the karma that has brought them rebirth as gods has run out, they will be reborn in lower parts of the universe. Some Jains, however, do believe that when in their superhuman form, these celestial beings can be of help to people on earth who pray to them. Jains also believe that some beings exist in painful realms below the earth. Jains quite naturally hope to avoid being reborn there.

The great Jain goal is to reach a state of total freedom. Liberated spirits, at last freed of their imprisoning material bodies, live on in the highest realm, which is thought to be at the very top of the universe. Mahavira and other tirthankaras dwell there, and although they cannot assist human beings (as deities might), they are role models whom human beings devoutly recall in order to gain strength and courage.

B

JAIN ETHICS Jainism has five ethical recommendations. Monks and nuns are expected to keep these quite strictly, but laypeople have the flexibility to adjust their practice to their particular life situations. Of course, these high ideals are not always lived out perfectly by individuals.

Deeper Insights

JAINS AND A HOLY DEATH

ecause it so values nonattachment, Jainism defends a person’s right to end his or her own life. (This is also true of Hinduism, but not so for many other religions—although most religions are indeed concerned with a good and holy death.) Jain scriptures even teach that Mahavira and his parents died by self-starvation. We must be cautious here, however, in using the word suicide. Jains do accept ending one’s own life, but we must understand the

practice from the Jain point of view and within that context. Jains see all life as a preparation for the liberation of the spirit (jiva) from the body, and when a person is sufficiently evolved spiritually, that person can make the final choice to no longer create more karma.

The Jain ideal thus allows and esteems ending one’s life only after a long life of virtue and detachment, and it must be done with consideration for others. Gentle methods of ending one’s life are the best, such as walking into an ocean or lake. The most highly esteemed method, however, is self-

The saint, with true vision, conceives compassion for all the world.… The great sage becomes a refuge for injured creatures, like an island which the waters cannot overwhelm.   —Acaranga Sutra 1:6, 52

Nonviolence (ahimsa) A more accurate English translation of ahimsa might be “gentleness†​ or “harmlessness.†​ Ahimsa is the foundation of Jain ethics, and Jains are best known for their extreme measures in this regard. Believing that Mahavira swept the ground in front of him as he walked and before he sat down, Jain monks and nuns sometimes use a small, soft brush to move ants and other insects out of the way, so that no life-form—even the tiniest—will be crushed. Feeling a kinship with the animal world as well, Jains have established hospitals to care for sick animals. They have been known to buy caged animals and set them free. Devout Jains are also strict vegetarians, and some reject the use of animal products such as leather, feathers, and fur.

Page 182 Because Jain laypeople avoid occupations that would harm insects or animals, hunting and fishing are forbidden, as are

slaughtering or selling animal flesh. And although some Jains are farmers, farming is often avoided because the necessary plowing could hurt small animals and insects living in the fields. Jains, instead, have gravitated to careers that ideally cause no harm, such as medicine, education, law, and business. As an indirect result, the Jains in India make up a powerful business class whose reputation for virtue earns them great trust.