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Location: The religion's traditions began with the Indus valley civilization, in
the region of present-day northwest India.
Theravada Buddhism
Founder:
Sacred Texts: Pali Tipitaka, Jataka
Doctrines: Theravada doctrine is founded on the distinction between
samsara (the cyclic realm of suffering) and nirvana (or nibbana, release). The
ultimate goal of the Theravada is to escape samsara and enter nirvana. This
is accomplished by achieving the status of an arhat, a perfect saint who has
been released from the cycle of samsara and will never be reborn again. The
Theravada is typically understood to be a rigorous monastic tradition;
however, laypeople actively participate in the religion by providing material
support to the monks (which produces positive karma, or merit), meditating,
and following the basic ethical principles of the Buddha's teachings.
God: The concept of a supreme Creator God is rejected or at least
considered irrelevant to Theravada Buddhism. Buddha, "the Awakened One,"
is revered above all--not as "God" but as supreme sage, model of a fully
enlightened person. Siddhartha Gautama, known to history as Gautama
Buddha
Issues: ddhist radicalism is on the rise in countries like Myanmar and Sri
Lanka. Since 2012, both countries have witnessed severe violence against
their Muslim minorities. Attacks take place in an atmosphere of strong antiMuslim rhetoric put forward by certain monk-led nationalist groups, and the
(largely unknown) orchestrators and perpetrators of these attacks operate
with impunity.
What we are witnessing now is a new form of Buddhist revivalism similar to
those seen in both countries during their colonial and early independence
periods. But in the sense that Buddhist radical groups in Myanmar and Sri
Lanka see their own challenges not only from a local point of view, but also
understand it within regionaleven globalframeworks, this new Buddhist
radicalism is transnational.
Sharing with its prior manifestations a concern for state protection of
Buddhism, this political Buddhism resists what it understands to be the
Founder: Kong Qiu (K'ung Ch'iu), who was born around 552 B.C.E. in the
small state of Lu and died in 479 B.C.E.
Sacred Texts: Analects (Lunyu), the Five Classics (Wujing), the Four Books
(Sishu)
Doctrines: Theory and theology
Further information: Confucian theology
Confucianism revolves around the pursuit of the unity of the self and Tin
(Heaven, or the traditional high god of the Zhou), and the relationship of
humankind to the Heaven.[19][20] The principle of Heaven (Tin l or
Do ), is the order of the creation and divine authority, monistic in its
structure.Individuals can realise their humanity and become one with Heaven
through the contemplation of this order. This transformation of the self can
be extended to the family and society to create a harmonious fiduciary
community.[20]
The moral-spiritual ideal of Confucianism conciles both the inner and outer
polarities of self-cultivation and world redemption, synthesised in the ideal of
"sageliness within and kingliness without".[20] Rn, translated as
"humaneness" or the essence proper of a human being, is the character of
compassionate mind; it is the virtue endowed by Heaven and at the same
time the means by which man can achieve oneness with Heaven or return to
Heaven, or comprehend his divine nature. In the Dtng sh (/
) it is defined as "to form one body with all things" and "when the self
and others are not separated ... compassion is aroused".[11]
God: There is no god in Confucianism, but rather a force called the Tao, also
known as the Great Ultimate.
Issues: The Issue of Gender Equality in Confucian Culture
The issue of gender equality has long been raised in South Korea, and this
problem turns out to be especially prominent in the current job market.
Despite the number of female graduates employed bypassing male
graduates, according to the survey recently published by the Ministry of
Education in South Korea, women still linger behind men in the employment
rate 65.2% for women as opposed to 69% for men. By the end of 2015,
there are 494, 214 male employees in the top 10 largest chaebols, family
business conglomerates such as Samsung, Hyundai, LG etc., while female
staff are only 130, 930. Employers are reluctant to take on women as they
are often deemed incompetent and inefficient compared to men. In marriage,
Many who might admit this are confused by the (true) notion that a embryo
is a "potential human being". They forget that "potential" is the opposite of
"real". A pile of bricks, mortar and lumber might be a "potential house", but it
is not a real house until after it is built, and that might never happen if no
one decides to undertake the labour. Similarly an embryo might be a
"potential human being", but will become a real human being only if a
woman has decided to give it womb space and undergo the rigours of
pregnancy and childbirth. If she chooses not to do so, it will never become a
human being, and she is thus not violating the right to live of any human
being, present or future, if she choses not to give an embryo the resources to
bring it to a human state.
Not to recognise this right of a woman is an act of cruelty; human beings
have the primary right to determine both what is to be done or not done to
their bodies, and to determine if they wish to reproduce or not (at least
within limits determined by the population crisis).
Euthanasia
Voluntary euthanasia is simply to determine that one wishes to die and to
bring that about or have that brought about. In Taoism we are not the
property of a god, but autonomous beings who live because we want to, not
from any duty. Therefore, voluntary euthanasia or suicide is a natural right.
Forcing a person to live against his will is the ultimate perversity and cruelty.
Involuntary euthanasia is essentially murder if undertaken on a human
being. In the case of the brain dead or confirmed "human vegetables" which
are not capable of human conceptual self-awareness or personality and
never will be, it is not a matter of human beings, of course. In borderline
cases it might be better to assume human status.
Year Founded: c. 550 B.C.E.
Location: China
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Shintoism
Founder:
Sacred Texts: The Kojiki, The Nihongi
Doctrines: Most Japanese citizens follow two religions: both Shinto and
Buddhism. Buddhism first arrived in Japan from Korea and China during the
8th century AD. The two religions share a basic optimism about human
nature, and for the world. Within Shinto, the Buddha was viewed as another
Kami (nature deity). Meanwhile, Buddhism in Japan regarded the Kami as
being manifestations of various Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.
Shinto does not have as fully developed a theology as do most other
religions. Their religious texts discuss the High Plain of Heaven and the Dark
Land which is an unclean land of the dead, but give few details. Shinto
creation stories tell of the history and lives of the Kami. Among them was a
divine couple, Izanagi-no-mikoto and Izanami-no-mikoto, who gave birth to
the Japanese islands. Their children became the deities of the various
Japanese clans. Amaterasu (Sun Goddess) was one of their daughters. She is
the ancestress of the Imperial Family. Her descendants unified the country.
Her brother, Susano came down from heaven and roamed throughout the
earth. He is famous for killing a great evil serpent. The Sun Goddess is
regarded as the chief deity. There are numerous other deities who are
conceptualized in many forms.
God: "Shinto gods" are called kami. They are sacred spirits which take the
form of things and concepts important to life, such as wind, rain, mountains,
trees, rivers and fertility.
Issues: While Japanese society in some respects appears to be very
coherent, its history has frequently been one of internal tension and strife.
Factionalism is strong even today, and takes both political and religious
forms. When the indigenous Shinto religion was harnessed for political and
ideological purposes in the 19th century, during a time of rapid national
development, life was made very difficult for other religions such as
Buddhism. The post-war Constitution of 1946 provided for the equality of all
religions under the law and the separation of religion, in particular Shinto,
from the state. Since then, however, there have been a series of politically
controversial questions, one of the most important being that of the legal
status of Yasukuni Shrine, a Shinto institution, at which the war dead are
commemorated. Various Buddhist and Christian groups have strongly
opposed a movement to reconvert this shrine into a national institution.
Since Yasukuni Shrine is at the centre of such sharp controversy, on which
Chinese and Korean leaders have also recently commented, it will be
introduced in some detail. At the same time Shinto in general, while
ethnically oriented, has other important aspects, and some of its
contemporary leaders seek international dialogue on subjects such as bioethics and environmental issues.
Year Founded: 500 BCE
Location: Japan