HINDUISM, TAOISM, and

BUDDHISM
Kindred religions

Common elements
Emphasis on:
Acceptance of things the way they are
Overcoming desire
Humility
Recognizing that a human life is always
extremely short and personal
achievements are strictly limited
Belief in a particular way of life: dharma
Belief in a universal principle of merit:
karma

Common elements
View of good and bad is more like
learning to ride a bicycle than learning
spelling
Rather than a personal god who
metes out punishment for breaking
rules, these religions are based on
universal forces or principles which
lead to pain and discomfort if they are
ignored (like someone who rides a
bicycle recklessly can get hurt)

Hinduism

An ethnic religion of the

Indian subcontinent

HINDUISM
A label that includes a wide range of:
Religious practices
Customs
Beliefs
Sacred places
Deities

Hinduism is tolerant of this variety and

does not condemn certain religious
practices or beliefs as evil

Origins of Hinduism
Indo-Europeans were polytheistic and
worshipped cattle
Brought their beliefs to the Indus Valley by
relocation diffusion from 1,400 BC
Rig Veda (oldest Indo-European document,
written ca. 1,200 BC) is the foundation of
Hinduism
The diversity of religious practice in India
suggests a process of syncretism
(combination of cultures) during a phase of
expansion diffusion

Fundamental beliefs of Hinduism

Reincarnation
Karma
Caste system (4 main castes or
varnas, many sub-castes or jatis)
Brahmin
Kshatriya
Vaisya
Shudra

Sanctity of the cow

Five Major Doctrines

Truth is one, Sages call it by different names
Rig Veda, 1.164.46

All Mankind is One Family

Hitopadesha, Subhashita Ratna Bhandagare

Law of Karma - As you sow, so shall you reap

Mahabharata, Shantiparva 299.42; BG 18.60

That mode of living which is founded upon total harmlessness

towards all creatures or [in case of genuine necessity] upon a
minimum of such harm, is the highest morality
Mahabharata, Shantiparva 262.5-6

Whenever there is a decline of virtue, God incarnates Himself on

earth to uphold righteousness
Bhagavad Gita 4.7, 4.8
www.hindunet.org

Brahman/Paramatman
Brahman is the supreme reality
Brahman has two aspects, transcendent
(impersonal and unknowable) and immanent
(personal and knowable)
In the impersonal aspect, Brahman lies outside the
realm of human description and can only be
sensed as a presence within oneself and the rest
of the universe
God is immanent, the universe is the manifestation
rather than the creation of God

In the personal aspect, Brahman can be known in

various formsthe many Hindu deities and the
rest of creation

Deities (gods/goddesses)
Brahma: creative
force
Vishnu: sustaining
force (incarnated as
Krishna and others)
Shiva: force of
renunciation, release,
self-mastery
Hanuman (incarnation of
Shiva who has Rama in
his heart) : epitome of
devotion
Ganesha (son of Shiva &
Parvati): remover of
obstacles

Saraswati (Brahmas
consort): human
creative force, arts &
sciences
Lakshmi (Vishnus
consort): prosperity,
love, beauty, delight
Kali/Parvati/Durga
(Shivas consort):
power, transformation,
destroyer of evil

Representations of Deities
Hanuman
service,
devotion,
intelligence,
strength

Krishna (an
incarnation
of Vishnu)
divine love

Saraswati
arts and
sciences,
knowledge,
purity

Shiva

Renunciation,
self-mastery

Ganesh
Remover of
obstacles
Source of
knowledge (legend
attributes the
Mahabharata to
Ganesh)
One of the most
commonly-seen
icons

Hindu iconography
Images are meant to
recall the various
aspects or powers of
a god, not to be literal
representations of a
physical form.
For example, four
arms on a god are
not meant literally to
represent a fourarmed god.

He has four hands, elephant's

head and a big belly. His
vehicle is a tiny mouse. In his
hands he carries a rope (to
carry devotees to the truth), an
axe (to cut devotees'
attachments), and a sweet
dessert ball -laddoo- (to reward
devotees for spiritual activity).
His fourth hand's palm is
always extended to bless
people.
A unique combination of his
elephant-like head and a quick
moving tiny mouse vehicle
represents tremendous
wisdom, intellegence, and
presence of mind.
www.hindunet.org

Ganesh
Son of Shiva and Parvati
Was protecting his
mother while she
bathed. His father
returned and cut off
Ganeshs head, not
knowing the person who
kept him from his wife
was his own son.
Shiva solved the
problem by replacing his
sons head with the head
of a passing elephant

Taoism

A spiritual philosophy

TAOISM
A philosophy about how to live life well
Derived mainly from the writings of Chuang Tzu
(ca. 250 BC) and Lao Tzu (6th c. BC)
Teaches a way or path that is beneficial to one
who follows it
Eliminates unhappiness & conflict
Facilitates achievement of goals by abandoning striving
Aligns oneself with universal forces
Teaches that one who lives life well lacks nothing,
because he or she desires nothing that is difficult to
obtain
Encourages people to accept that things need to run their
course, and not to resist the tendency of things to work
out in a certain natural way

Lao Tzu is
conventionally
shown riding
an ox

Quietism
Love of colors bewilders the eye and it fails to see right.
Love of harmonies bewitches the ear, and it loses its true hearing.
Love of perfumes fills the head with dizziness.
Love of flavors ruins the taste.
Desires unsettle the heart until the original nature runs amok.

These five are enemies of true life.

Yet these are what status seekers claim to live for.
They are not what I live for.
If this is life, then pigeons in a cage have found happiness!

Chuang Tzu on humility

If a man is crossing a river and an empty boat collides with his
own skiff,
even though he be a bad-tempered man he will not become very
angry.
But if he sees a man in the boat, he will shout at him to steer clear.
If the shout is not heard, he will shout again, and yet again, and
begin cursing.
And all because there is somebody in the boat.
Yet if the boat were empty, he would not be shouting, and not
angry.
If you can empty your own boat crossing the river of the world,
no one will oppose you, no one will seek to harm you....

Tao
To name Tao is to name no-thing.

Tao is a name that indicates without defining.

Tao is beyond words and beyond things.
It is not expressed either in word or in silence.
Where there is no longer word or silence
Tao is apprehended.
(25:11, p. 226)

Link between Taoism & Hinduism?

Buddhism combines elements of these two
(although in the case of Taoism the
diffusion path and direction is not known)
The transcendent (impersonal and
unknowable) aspect of Hindu religion
Descends from early Hinduism as a kind of spiritual
revival

The quietist aspect of Taoism

Belief that contentment arises when one calms
desires
For sensory stimuli
For wealth and achievement
For power