Asian Thought and Culture

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State, Society, and the Quest for Salvation in India

Kingdom of Magadha 600-321 b.c.e

Most significant of Central Ganges plain
Agriculture
Trade in Ganges valley, Bay of Bengal
Dominated surrounding regions in north-eastern India

India & the Med World

520 BCE Persian Emperor Darius conquers north-west India
Introduces Persian ruling pattern
What does this mean?
327 Alexander of Macedon destroys Persian Empire in India
Troops mutiny, departs after 2 years
Forced marriages
Art, architecture changes

Art and Architecture: Hellenistic India

Hellenistic – Greek Indian styles

Greek Style Indian Temple

Mauryan Dynasty: Chandragupta Maurya

Took advantage of power vacuum left by Alexander
Overthrew Magadha rulers
Expanded kingdom to create 1st unified Indian empire
Mauryan Dynasty 321-185 b.c.e

Chandragupta’s Government

Recorded in Arthashastra, manual of political statecraft
Domestic policies Persian style
Largest Indian Empire
Expansion of Buddhism
Legend: Chandragupta retires to become a monk, starves himself to death
Jain?

Ashoka Maurya

Grandson of Chandragupta
Represents high point of Mauryan Empire, r. 268-232 BCE
Expanded empire to include all of Indian subcontinent except for south
Positive rulership integrated Indian society

Religions of Salvation in Classical India

Social change generated resentment of caste privilige
e.g. Brahmins free from taxation
6th-5th c. BCE new religions and philosophies challenge status quo
Charvakas: atheists
Jainists, Buddhists

Jainism
A Study in Asceticism

Mahavira’s Manner of Life

Mahavira is an honorary title meaning “great man” or “hero”
raised in the luxury of the ancient courts of India
5TH OR 6TH Century b.c.e. – but as old as 9th
Married and had a daughter
After his parents died he joined the monks who followed the ascetic Parshva

Mahavira’s Manner of Life

Upon joining the monks, Mahavira
removed his ornaments and finery, retaining just one robe
Plucked his hair out in five handfuls
Took the required pledge
Wandered about alone going completely naked

Mahavira’s manner of Life

Mahavira 2 beliefs
Saving one’s soul from evil is impossible without practicing the severest asceticism
Maintaining the purity and integrity on one’s own soul involves practicing ahimsa

Mahavira’s Manner of Life

Meticulous practice of ahisma
Walked so as not to step on any living thing
Swept the path with a soft broom to clear his path
Ate no raw food and accepted only leftover food
Strained water before drinking

Philosophy and Ethics of Jainism

Strict interpretation of the doctrine of karma
Consequences of deeds are literally deposited on the soul
Various types of karma are accumulated in layers
Layers of karma must be worn off through living
Ethically correct activity of the soul is the quickest way to remove karma

Philosophy and Ethics of Jainism

Two-tiered pluralism of oppositions
Soul and flesh
Mind and matter
Two categories
The ajiva
The jiva

Philosophy and Ethics of Jainism

Souls classified according to the number of senses they have

These have five senses: gods, humans, animals, and hell beings

These have four senses: larger insects such as bees, flies, and butterflies

These have three senses: moths and smaller insects

These have two senses: worms, shellfish, leeches

These have one sense: earth, wind, fire, and water bodies; vegetables, trees, seeds, lichens

Philosophy and Ethics of Jainism

Liberated souls are perfect
Souls are indestructible and independent
No supreme ruler of the world
Gods like humans are subject to rebirth
Priests are of no special authority
The Vedas are not especially sacred
Asceticism is the fastest way to reach liberation

Philosophy and Ethics of Jainism
The “Five Great Vows”

I renounce all killing of living beings, whether movable or immovable.

I renounce all vices of lying speech arising from anger or greed or fear or mirth.

I renounce all taking of anything not given, either in a village or town or wood. Either of little or much

Philosophy and Ethics of Jainism
The “Five Great Vows”

I renounce all sexual pleasure.

I renounce all attachments whether to little or much, small or great, living or lifeless things.

Mahavira’s Followers

Since Jainist philosophy places equal value on all souls, monks and laity are not widely separated.
Above all: Ahimsa

Buddhism in Its First Phase

Moderation in World Renunciation

5th century b.c.e.

Introduction

Buddhism refers to a diverse array of beliefs and practices
Like Hindus, Buddhists use the term “dharma” to refer to their religion
Buddhism rejected extreme asceticism

Life of the Founder

Gautama

born to a high station

dissatisfaction

married and had one child

Abandoned home and became wandering mendicant monk

founded monastic sect

denied the special sacredness of the Vedic texts

Life of the Founder

The legend of the “Four Passing Sights”
The Soothsayer’s warning led to his father protecting him from the realities of old age, disease and death
The gods sent four apparitions to awaken the prince to his true destiny

Life of the Founder

Guatama rejected his life and embarked on the “great going forth”
After six years of quest, he abandoned ascetic extremes
The great enlightenment at the knowledge tree: desire leads to suffering
The title Buddha

Life of the Founder

The Buddha delays nirvana and becomes a teaching Buddha
The Sermon in the Deer Park at Benares
The middle path
Avoid a life given to pleasures and lusts
Avoid a life given to mortifications
Founding of the Buddhist order with the conversion of the five ascetics

Teachings of the Buddha

The three marks of existence are flaws vexing one’s existence
Impermanence
The ultimate unreality of the self
Sorrow or suffering

Teachings of the Buddha

The Four Noble Truths address this question:

“…in what way should one live to obtain cessation of pain and suffering, bring to an end the unwise will to live and have, and finally attain the fullness of the joy and liberation?”

Teachings of the Buddha

“…the first Noble Truth of Suffering: Birth is suffering (Dukkha), decay is suffering, illness is suffering, death is suffering. Presence of objects we hate is suffering; separation from objects we love is suffering; not to obtain what we desire is suffering”

Tanha

“…the second Noble Truth of the Cause of Suffering: Thirst, that leads to rebirth, accompanied by pleasure and lust, finding its delight here and there”

Teachings of the Buddha

“…the third Noble Truth of the Cessation of Suffering: [it ceases with] the complete cessation of this thirst—a cessation which consists in the absence of every passion—with the abandoning of this thirst, with the doing away with it, with the deliverance from it, with the destruction of desire.”

Teachings of the Buddha

“…the Fourth Noble Truth of the Path which leads to the cessation of suffering: that holy eightfold Path, that is to say: Right view, Right Belief, Right speech Right Conduct, Right Means of Livelihood, Right Endeavor, Right Mindfulness, Right Meditation

Teachings of the Buddha

The Dharma as Ethics

The negative: avoid attachment

Attachment to family

Attachment to the Buddha or the self

The positive: living toward transcendent bliss

The Eightfold Path

The arahat and Nirvana

The problem of describing Nirvana

Life of the Founder

Refrain from destroying life

Do not take what is not given

Abstain from unchastity

Do not lie or deceive

Abstain from intoxicants

Eat moderately and not after noon

Do not look on at dancing, singing, or dramatic spectacles

Do not affect the use of garlands, scents, unguents, or ornaments

Do not use high or broad beds

Do not accept gold or silver

Monks were to adhere to the Ten Precepts

and the laity to the first five of the Ten Precepts

Life of the Founder

The Buddha’s aunt and foster mother founded the Buddhist order of nuns despite Buddha predicting that doing so would shorten the life of the movement.
Buddha perished of “mortal illness” at the age of 80.
The parinirvana: the moment of death and acceptance of Nirvana

Teachings of the Buddha

Buddha rejected religious devotion
Buddha held to the Hindu doctrines of the Law of Karma and rebirth
Ascribed more flexibility to the Law of Karma than did Hinduism
Buddha taught that rebirth takes place without transmigration of the soul

The Religious Development of Buddhism

Diversity in the Path to Nirvana

Introduction

Interest in Buddha, the man
Seen as compassionate and enlightened
Imbued with superior powers
Balance of compassionate goodwill and self-salvation
Lay interests asserted
A family of religions

The Spread of Buddhism
in India and Southeast Asia

The first two centuries in India
Wide acceptance within the basin of the Ganges
Growth in the body of Monks
Rapid increase in number of lay adherents
Written documentation of the oral traditions

Theravada

Oldest form
Third Buddhist Council under Ashoka ca. 250 b.c.e.
Instantaneous enlightenment
Pali Canon

The Spread of Buddhism
in India and Southeast Asia

Asoka (273 BCE)
The Rock Edicts—35 :
Systematic moral education
Missionaries

The Spread of Buddhism
in India and Southeast Asia

Sri Lanka
Missionaries sent to Sri Lanka by Asoka
Conservation of the oldest Buddhist texts
The nuns of Sri Lanka founded by Mahinda’s sister
Burma and Southeast Asia
Predominantly Theravada
The general character of the Theravada
Monks meditation – spiritual gift to all
Revering the Buddha’s perfection
Devotional life at Wat

The Rise of the Mahayana

The term “yana” means “ a means or method”
Mahayana: the Great Vehicle
Hinayana (Theravada) : the Lesser Vehicle
Westward movement
Emergence of a popular religion

The Rise of the Mahayana

Further glorification of Gautama
The object of bhakti
Destined for enlightenment
Discovery of other Buddhas and bodhisattvas
Many Buddhas before Gautama
Buddhas of the future (the bodhisattvas)

The Spread of Buddhism
in Northern Lands

Arrival of Buddhism in China & Japan
Barriers
The appeal of Mahayana teaching
Cycles of growth and repression
Arrival of Buddhism in Korea
The decline of Buddhism in India

Mahayana Schools of Thought
in China

Pure Land schools of China (dev. In India brought ca. 147 c.e.)
Amitabha Buddha (repetition of name)
Pure Land: beautiful realm
Place of teaching and enlightenment
Reach Buddhahood or reenter 6 realms of existence
Meditative schools in China: Chan
Taoism & Buddhism
Meditation key
Buddha-nature - Tao

Bodhidharma

Zen (Chan) Mahayana in Japan

Zen developed in China and spread to Japan
Zen emphasizes insight into Buddha-nature and the personal expression of this insight in daily life,
it de-emphasizes mere knowledge of sutras and doctrine
Finger pointing at the moon
koans

When the nun Chiyono studied Zen under Bukko of Engaku she was unable to attain the fruits of meditation for a long time.
At last one moonlit night she was carrying water in an old pail bound with bamboo. The bamboo broke and the bottom fell out of the pail, and at that moment Chiyono was set free!
In commemoration, she wrote a poem

In this way and that I tried to save the old pail
Since the bamboo strip was weakening and about
to break
Until at last the bottom fell out.
No more water in the pail!
No more moon in the water!

A Cup of Tea

Nan-in, a Japanese master during the Meiji era (1868-1912), received a university professor who came to inquire about Zen.
Nan-in served tea. He poured his visitor's cup full, and then kept on pouring.
The professor watched the overflow until he no longer could restrain himself. "It is overfull. No more will go in!"
"Like this cup," Nan-in said, "you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup?"

Buddhism in Tibet & Mongolia

Mantras & Mandalas
The reincarnation of head lamas
The Dalai Lama
Search for the new living Buddha

Buddhism Today

Myanmar – 89%
Highest number of monks & money spent on religion
Political activism
Sri Lanka – 70% Buddhism

Buddhism Today

Thailand
Theravada Buddhism is the state religion
Linking of socioeconomic status with karma
Cambodia: Hindu and Buddhist
The Khmer Rouge regime banned Buddhism in 1976
1990s state religion
Vietnam: Buddhism, Taoism, Indigenous.

Buddhism Today

Tibet and China

Withdrawal of the Dalai Lama and other Tibetans to India

Reeducation of monks and nuns

Destruction of religious artifacts

Selection of a successor to the Dalai Lama

Traditional Chinese Buddhism vs Tibetan Buddhism

Women in Buddhism

BACK TO Politics

Indian Mauryan Empire

Economic crisis follows death of Ashoka
High costs of bureaucracy, military not supported by tax revenue
Frequent devaluations of currency to pay salaries
Regions begin to abandon Mauryan Empire
Disappears by 185 BCE

Greeks Again

Greek invasion followed.
Greco-Bactrian king, Demetrius, conquered southern Afghanistan and parts of northwestern India around 180 BCE, forming the Indo-Greek Kingdom

Greek Buddhism

Buddhism flourished, and one of their kings Menander became a famous figure of Buddhism

The Gupta Dynasty 320-550 c.e.

Based in Magadha – N. India
Founded by Chandra Gupta (no relation to Chandragupta Maurya), c. 320 CE
Highly decentralized leadership

Economy: Towns and Manufacturing

Manufactured goods in big demand
Trade intense, capitalizes on trade routes across India to China

Inventions & Developments

Buddhist University
Indian (Arabic) Numerals
Kama Sutra
Round Earth rotating & revolving around sun
Chess

Art

Temple Architecture

Gupta Decline

Frequent invasions of White Huns, 5th c. CE
Gupta Dynasty disintegrates along regional fault lines
Smaller local kingdoms dominate until Muslim Mughal Empire founded in 16th c.

Arabia: Islamic Roots

Muhammad’s Spiritual Transformation

Muhammad caravan leader
Visions c. 610 CE
Archangel Gabriel
Uncompromising Monotheism
Attracts followers to Mecca in what is now Saudi Arabia (Arabia)
Young men and women attracted to the revelations

The “Seal of the Prophets”

Islam as culmination and correction of Judaism, Christianity
Inheritor of both Jewish and Christian texts

The Quran

Record of revelations received during visions
Committed to writing c. 650 CE (Muhammad dies 632)
Tradition of Muhammad’s life: hadith

Conflict at Mecca

Muhammad’s monotheistic teachings offensive to polytheistic pagans
Economic threat to existing religious industry
Denunciation of greed affront to local aristocracy

The Hijra

Muhammad flees to Yathrib (Medina) 622 CE
Year 0 in Muslim calendar
Organizes followers into communal society (the umma)
Legal, spiritual code - sharia
Commerce, raids on Meccan caravans for sake of umma

Muhammad’s Return to Mecca

Attack on Mecca, 630
Conversion of Mecca to Islam
Destruction of pagan sites, replaced with mosques
Ka’aba preserved in honor of importance of Mecca
Approved as pilgrimage site

The Ka’aba

The Five Pillars of Islam

No god but Allah and Muhammad is His prophet
Daily prayer
Fasting during Ramadan
Charity
Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj)
Circumambulate Ka’ba
According to some built by Abraham and Ishmael

Jihad

“struggle”
Against vice
Against ignorance of Islam
Later used as a“holy war”against those who attack Islam

Islamic Law: The Sharia

Codification of Islamic law
Based on Quran, hadith, logical schools of analysis
Extends beyond ritual law to all areas of human activity

The Caliph

No clear to successor to Muhammad identified
Abu Bakr chosen to lead as Caliph
Expansion East and West

The expansion of Islam, 632-733 C.E.

The Shia

Disagreements over selection of caliphs
Ali passed over for Abu Bakr
Served as caliph 656-661 CE, then assassinated along with most of his followers
Remaining followers organize separate party called “Shia”or Shite Muslims – minority group
Traditionalists Majority known as: Sunni

Islamic Expansion Eastward

Islam’s entry into India and Southeast Asia
What is now “Pakistan” by 664 c.e. – silk road trade contact
711 c.e conquest of that region and expansion by Umayyad Dynasty
Missionaries & Traders
10th century Punjab Islamic
12th century Delhi Sultante 1206-1526

Changing Status of Women in Islamic Asian Communities

Quran improves status of women
Outlawed female infanticide
Brides, not husbands, claim dowries
Yet male dominance preserved
Patrilineal descent
Polygamy permitted, Polyandry forbidden
Veil adopted from ancient Mesopotamian practice

Sufis

Sufi missionaries
Asceticism, mysticism
Some tension with orthodox Islamic theologians
Wide popularity
Al-Ghazali - Sufi thinker from Persia
Impossibility of intellectual apprehension of Allah, devotion, mystical ecstasy instead

Cultural influences on Islam

India
Mathematics, science, medicine
“Hindi” numbers
China
Paper, compass

Sikhism

A Study in Syncretism

Introduction

Dates from the 15th Century
Strongly influenced by Hinduism and Islam
Monotheistic
Bhaktic
Syncretism: interweaving of religious traditions
Divine revelation of the founder, Nanak

The Life and Work of Nanak

The historical antecedents of Nanak
Need for a cleansing and purification of Hinduism
Resurgence of the bhakti movement in Hinduism
Severe and militant monotheism of the Muslims
In India by 8th century c.e.

The Life and Work of Nanak

Janamsakhi – sacred biography
Nanak’s youth
Born 1469 CE at the village of Talwandi in present day Pakistan
Hindu parents belonged to a mercantile caste
Rejected sacred thread
Worked at a government job
Married and had two children

The Life and Work of Nanak

Religious awakening
Vision of God
The Japi: “There is but one God…”
“There is no Hindi and no Musalman”
Itinerant campaigning
Success in Punjab
Appointment of a successor - Angad
Died October 1538/9

Nanak’s Teaching

Basic concepts
The sovereignty of one God (the True Name)
Without divisions
World is in Him, but he is beyond the world
Known through experience

“the True Name is manifest in manifold ways and in manifold places and is know by manifold names, but he is eternally one, the sovereign and omnipotent God, at once transcendent and immanent, creator and destroyer.”

Humans

Humans are souls in bodies
Soul devoted/focused on God does not suffer
Self-centered soul suffer
Know God through his word & Hakum (law) God is the essential Guru and is in the human heart
Meditation & grace
Kirtan

5 Stages of Progress toward unity with God

Piety to honor God & see to help others
Knowledge that the world is beyong comprehension
Humility and effort to know God
Receiving the spirit
Experience Truth and enter unity with God

Nanak’s Teaching

The doctrine of Maya
Not pure illusion, but the limited reality of this world…
God dwells within the world and is in the human heart
Reincarnation but can release in one lifetime
Vedas and Qu’ran both wrong

Nanak’s Teaching

Distrust of Ritual
Going through the motions without thinking about God
Belief that rituals are a distraction that turn thoughts away from God
Rejection of Hindu rites
Pilgrimages
Extreme asceticism
Idolatry

Nanak’s Teaching

Social Mission
Religion has a mission to improve the lot of all peoples and classes
Criticism of self-centered escape from social responsibility
The good Sikh
Pure in motive and in act
Prefers the virtuous
Accepts others without regard to caste
Craves the Guru’s word and divine knowledge

The Political History of Sikhism

Nine gurus succeeded Nanak
Establishment of congregations
Primarily for worship
Town meetings
Gurdwaras
Hostels
Community kitchens
Free Common Meals

The Political History of Sikhism

Guru Arjan
The Fifth Guru (1563-1606)
Completed Amritsar
Compiled the Adi Granth
Transition to militant self-defense
Tortured to death by Emperor Jahngir for political conspiracy

The Political History of Sikhism

Guru Har Govind
The Sixth Guru (1595-1644)
Implemented his father’ vision of militant self-defense
Rejected the turban and necklace
Armed bodyguard
Built the first Sikh stronghold
Drew thousands of Sikhs to his military service
adopts 2 swords
Spiritual power
Secular power

The Political History of Sikhism

Guru Govind Singh (Lion)
The Tenth Guru (1675-1708)
Defense of the Truth
Wrote hymns that reinterpreted God as a militant Lord of Hosts in times of peril
Later compiled with other hymns into the Dasam Granth

The Political History of Sikhism

The Order of Singhs
The Khalsa –The Order
The cry of the Sikhs – war cry
The Khhalsa are of God and the victory is to God
The five K’s
The Kesh – long hair
The Kangha - comb
The Kachh – short pants
The Kara – steel braclet
The Kirpan - sword

Later Requirements

Worship only one God
Bathe in cold water at dawn and pray
Renounce alcohol and tobacco
Allowed to eat meat of animals slain by single sword strike
May not abuse any Muslim women

Adi Granth

After death of Gobind Singh no more gurus (assassinated)
Honor only the Adi Granth
Living word – revealed text
Read daily
All caste abolished
Anyone may become a Sikh

Women

Women can find salvation
Women are not an impediment to salvation
No female infanticide
No sati & widows allowed to remarry
No veil

Gurdwara

Remove shoes & cover head
Adi Granth on raised dais
Kirtan
Community meal – eating from common source erases caste distinctions
Free kitchen feeds everyone who comes
Vegetarian, no eggs

The Political History of Sikhism

Life under the British Raj
Division of India and Pakistan in 1947 left the Sikhs in Pakistan at odds with the Muslim majority
2,500,000 Sikhs left Pakistan for India in exchange for the Muslims who left India
Majority of Sikhs are now in India
The Indian constitution does not list Sikhism as a recognized religion

The Political History of Sikhism

Khalsa Dal separatists
Terrorist activities rife in the 1980’s
Indian government arrested 300 separatist leaders in 1982
Indian raided the Khalsa Dal base in 1984
Sikh militants retaliated by assassinating Indira Ghandi (1984) and the leader of the Congress I Party (1987)
Khalsa Dal violence escalated again in 1991, now more peaceful

Islam in China

Introduced in 7th century perhaps by 680s
Grew strong during the Tang Dynasty
More Muslims relocated to China during Yuan Dynasty of Mongols
Muslims ethnic groups are mainly along the borders of modern China in Yunnan, Tibet, Xinjiang, Gansu Province and Henan Province.

Judaism and Christianity on Monsoon Asia

Jewish settlements in India
Retained Hebrew culture
Accepted by Hindus
Jewish settlements in Tang & Song China
.

Christianity pre 15th century Asia

Nestorian Christians
Jesus of two natures
Heretical by mid 400s c.e in West – thrives in East