Religions of India’s Classical Age By: Cade Venhuizen

Hinduism People live many lives until they reach spiritual perfection Reincarnation- live on after death in a new body In time, a person can reach moksha- the highest position when no further reincarnation is needed Animals have souls-people were vegetarians

Hinduism Worshipped Brahman-3 parts-Brahma the Creater, Vishnu the Preserver, and Shiva the destroyer Also worshipped many lesser gods Sanskrit-language spoken by gods Veda(knowledge)-written in Sanskrit-holist book to the Aryans

Jainism Founded in India in the 500s and 400s B.C. by an Indian prince named Mahavira Rejected Vedas and Brahman Based on belief that every living thing had a soul-were vegetarians Best way to bring change was through peaceful action (nonviolence)

Buddhism Founded by Siddhartha Gautama, who was born to royal parents in about 563 B.C. The first time he went out of the palace walls, he saw an old person, a sick person, and a dead person For six years, he studied for the knowledge of how to end suffering He also prayed with the Brahman priests After intense thought, he discovered the meaning of life-people should seek love, truth, and the joy of knowledge

Buddhism Gautama(Buddha) spent the rest of his life teaching his message, which centered around the Four Noble Truths: 1. Suffering is a part of life, 2. Wanting things brings suffering, 3. People can find peace by giving up wants, and 4. Following the Eightfold path can end reincarnation and lead to nirvana After his death in 483 B.C., the religion Buddhism was based on his teachings

Confucianism Kong Fuzi, or Confucius(Great Master Kong) lived towards the end of the Zhou dynasty He was a great teacher None of his writings remain, however, his students remember his teachings in the form of short statements They collected them in a book called the Lunyu(Chinese) or the Analects(English)

Confucianism Filial piety- fulfilling one’s duty to one’s parents, following their wishes, and caring for them Confucius said people should use filial piety to honor their king His teachings were mostly ignored during his lifetime, but, his ideas eventually spread throughout eastern Asia

Legalism After establishing the Qin dynasty, the Qin empire changed his name to Shi Huangdi He depended on a way of government now known as legalism It taught that people obeyed their ruler out of fear instead of respect(people who obey are rewarded-those who do not are punished) Shi Huangdi ruled the Chinese people harshly, but brought important changes about

Legalism Shi Huangdi: ended power of nobles and made a strong central government Set up bureaucracy United China and extended its borders Organized building projects Made peasants build more than 4,000 miles of road and Great Wall of China Made sure everything about Confucianism was destroyed Clay soldiers guard his tomb

Daoism Han dynasty supported Confucianism and Daoism Happiness is key to long life Han dynasty had many important innovations such as: Seismograph and paper Silk Road-overland trade route that connected China and Europe

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