Bible III Unit 6 Lesson 1: Hinduism

Learning Goals

Recall how Hinduism answers the following questions:

Who or what is real?
Who are we?
Where are we going when we die?
How do we get there?
What is right and wrong?
How do we know what is true?

Compare and contrast Hinduism with Christianity
Recall the major gods of Hinduism and the 3 main paths that Hindus take

What is Hinduism? Read the article together as a class.

Hinduism is a ________________ of many __________________ that all accept each other

Who or What is Spiritual Reality? What is Real? What exists?

Brahman à

Incarnations of Brahman

_____________________ in some way is an _______________ of Brahman à containing its atman
There are three key gods that relate to the cycle of reincarnation (the trimurti) and countless other gods and goddesses (over 300 million).

3 Key god’s of Hinduism: The Trimurti

Brahma

Vishnu

Shiva

How is it like the Trinity? How is it different?

The Wheel of Life: Reincarnation

Who Are We?  The bodily container of the _________________

Atman =

Where are we going? _____________________

Liberation, release, salvation, Enlightenment

When the atman trapped inside of you and the wheel of life is reunited with the Brahman and does not have to be _______________________.

Where are we?

We are trapped in _____________________ (cycle of reincarnation)  and the goal is to get out ( stop being ____________ and enter Moksha)
To get there you have to go up the ______________ of rebirth (get reborn as something better)
But it is also possible to go down

How do We Get There? __________________

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Why do you suffer when it seems like you have not done anything wrong?

Karma and Reincarnation are the Hindu way of answering these questions.

Karma à

We ____________ because we did something bad in a past life and are now being punished for it
Reaping and Sowing = ______________________________________

Read Galatians 6:1-9

Is this the same as the law of Karma?

How do we get to Moksha?

By generating good Karma we will gain a better rebirth in our next life and slowly climb the ladder of Life and Society

The Cast System = __________________________

Priests
Warriors/rulers
Artisans/craftsmen
Manual workers
Untouchables – dirty work

Paths to Moksha – How to get good Karma

The way of Knowledge:

The way of Action:

·         The way of Devotion:

Hindu Worship

It is called Puja
Most homes have a shrine
Temples can be visited any day (no specific holy day)

The Cast System and how it determines your path

Most will take multiple paths throughout their lives.

Only Priests & Warriors/rulers can take the path of _________________ and usually do it when they are old

Traditionally the Untouchables were not even allowed to worship at temples.

How do we know it’s True? Elephant story

The Sacred Writings

Vedas
Upanishads
And many others

Class work:

How do Hindus answer these questions:

Who or what is real (describe their what they believe exists and in what forms)?
Who are we?
Where are we going when we die?
How do we get there?
What is right and wrong?
How do we know what is true?

What Can Christians learn about worship from Hindus?
Is it OK for Christians to do Yoga? Why or Why not

Things to know

Be able to explain their concept of ultimate reality including the Brahman, 3 major gods, Samsara and Moksha.
Understand karma and know the cast system (Jobs types not Hindi names for them).
Know the 3 main paths to Moksah and be able to explain Hindu worship.
Know the names of their 2 main scriptures and that they are open to all beliefs

Key Terms

Atman
Brahman
Karma
Moksha
Dharma
Yoga
Cast
Brahma
Puja
Vishnu
Path of Devotion
Shiva
Path of Knowledge
Vedas
Path of Action
Upanishads

Bible III Unit 6 Lesson 2 Buddhism

Learning Goals:

•         Recall how Buddhism answers the following questions:

–        Who or what is real?

–        Who are we?

–        Where are we going when we die?

–        How do we get there?

–        What is right and wrong?

–        How do we know what is true?

•         Compare and contrast Buddhism with Hinduism & Christianity

•         Recall the basic story of the Buddha’s life, teachings on suffering and the different types of Buddhism

Ways in which Buddhism and Hinduism are similar:

_______________________________________________________________
Many paths to enlightenment
_________________________________________________________________
This reality is not really real (illusion of the physical world).
Meditation and other forms of yoga.
__________________________________________________________________
Mahayana Buddhism: More like Hinduism – Buddha is seen as a god

Ways in which Buddhism differs from Hinduism:
 

No __________ (Brahmins) – instead have monks (but anyone can become a monk or nun)
Anyone can enter Nirvana, no matter how lowly, whereas in Hinduism only the high Casts could achieve Moksha (in this life).
In Theravada Buddhism: no gods not even Buddha
No _______________________________
As the "middle way" Buddhism rejects _______________ asceticism and great wealth. The ideal in Hinduism is extreme asceticism.

The Story of the Buddha

What were the four sights that changed Siddhartha Gautama’s life?
What lead him to the middle way?
What from the story is like the life of Jesus?
What 3 universal truths did the Buddha come to realize?

Siddhārtha Gautama “The Buddha”

Lived around __________________ B.C.
His teachings and the stories about his life were not written down until 400 to 500 years after he died.
Not all the stories about his life are the ___________________

The Four Noble Truths

1. Life is _________________

2. We suffer because of ___________________

3. If we are not attached we will not _______________________

4. We stop attachment by _____________________ ourselves (8 fold path)

Suffering, Attachment and Karma

We still suffer because of _______________ and our rebirth will also depend on our _______________ but if we let go of our attachment then karma will cease to have an effect on us.

The 8 Fold Path

Right Understanding = Knowing the 4 Truths
Right Thought = Focusing on others rather than yourself
Right ___________ = Telling the truth and saying positive things
Right Action = Being Kind and doing good
Right Work = Having a job that is useful to all
Right Effort = Changing your desires to the right things
Right ____________ = Being mindful of your actions
Right Meditation = Becoming one the immediate moment

Buddha vs. Jesus

Buddha and Suffering

We all ________________________
Suffering is caused by _____________________  (selfish desires)
We can stop desiring 
We must discipline ourselves to stop ______________________

Jesus and suffering

We all suffer
Suffering is caused by __________________ (selfish desires) James 1:13-14
______________ covers sin 1 Peter 4:8
We need to love ___________________ to stop sinning Matthew 22:37-40

Buddhism; the Way to Enlightenment

Who or what is Spiritual Reality?

Mahayana Buddhism: Similar to Hinduism but no Brahman 
Theravada Buddhism: Atheistic in a way

Both see existence as an illusion (not that this world is not real but that it is constantly changing)

Who are we?

A ________________________ self attached to the world through desire

Where are we going?
 

_________________________, a place beyond self
Enlightenment = the realization that nothing is ___________, that everything changes and being content with it.
Nonexistence – complete un-attachment

How do we get there?

Follow the ______________________________________

How do we know this is true?

The ______________________ has revealed it to us.

Many Faces of Buddhism

Theravada; The “little vehicle”

Considers itself to be orthodox Buddhism; the Buddha is not ____________
Only the Sangha (monks) achieve ______________________ in this life  
Kind of Atheistic  

Mahayana; The “big vehicle”

Everyone can achieve _______________________ and be a bodhisattva
More like Hinduism

“Tibetan Buddhism” Varayana = A branch of Mahayana

Mixes Buddhism with ___________________ (mysticism)
Uses _____________________ to gain enlightenment
Lead by lamas; believed to be bodhisattvas that continue to reincarnate to help others. 

Zen Buddhism

Enlightenment only possible through _________________________
They uses __________________________ to aid in meditation
Each student must have a ________________ to lead them

Name: ___________________________ Class: __________ Date: ____________ Score: _____

How are the lives and teachings Jesus and Buddha similar and different?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

How would you respond to someone who says Buddhism and Christianity are the same?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Read Philippians 2: 1-11. What are the key differences between Jesus’ suffering and the Buddha’s?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Read James 4: 1-10. How are the ideas expressed in this passage like the first three Nobel Truths? How are they different?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Read the Article by Douglas R. Groothuis. What are some of the key differences that he points out between Jesus and Buddha?

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