Eastern Religions

Buddhism

Buddhism was founded in Northern India by the Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. He was born 563 BC in Lumbini which is in modern-day Nepal. At the age of 29, he left his wife, children and political involvements in order to seek truth. In 535 BC, he reached a self-appointed so-called 'enlightenment' and assumed the title Buddha (one who has awakened). He is also referred to as the Sakyamuni. He had many disciples and accumulated a large public following by the time of his death in his early 80's in 483 BC.

Two and a half centuries later, a council of Buddhist monks collected his teachings and the oral traditions of the faith into written form, called the Tripitaka. This included a very large collection of commentaries and traditions; most are called Sutras (discourses).

Buddhism is a religion which shares few concepts with other religions. For example, they do not believe in a transcendent or immanent or any other type of God, the need for a personal savior, the power of prayer, eternal life in a heaven or hell after death, etc. They do believe in reincarnation: the concept that one must go through many cycles of birth, living, and death. After many such cycles, if a person releases their attachment to desire and the self, they can attain Nirvana.

Buddhism is not a single monolithic religion. Many of its adherents have combined the teachings of the Buddha with local religious rituals, beliefs and customs. Little conflict occurs, because Buddhism at its core is a philosophical system to which such additions can be easily grafted! It's a make-up-what-you-like belief system.

After the Buddha's death, splits occurred. There are now three main systems of thought within Buddhism which are geographically and philosophically separate. Each tradition in turn has many sects. Worship involves relics of a Buddha, of items made by a Buddha, or of symbolic relics. As if taken from earlier religions, Festivals - days of the full moon, and three other days during the lunar cycle are celebrated. There is a new year's festival, and celebrations tied to the agricultural year.
Buddhism is the predominant religion in China, Japan, Korea and much of Vietnam.

Northern Buddhism has perhaps 10 million adherents in parts of China, Mongolia, Russia and Tibet. It entered Tibet 640 AD. Conflict with the native Tibetan religion of Bon caused it to go largely underground until its revival in the 11th century. The head of the Gelu school of Buddhist teaching became the Dalai Lama, and ruled Tibet. Ceremony and ritual are emphasized. They also engage in Dana, Sila, Chanting, Worship and Pilgrimage. They developed the practice of searching out a young child at the time of death of an important teacher. The child is believed to be the successor to the deceased teacher.

Buddhism came to the U.S. in the early 19th century, with the arrival of Chinese and Japanese immigrants in Hawaii and in the west coast of the U.S. mainland. The Zen Buddhist tradition of Eastern Buddhism has developed a following, particularly after the "Beat" generation, which began in the 1950's. Today, there are racial and cultural divides in American Buddhism, between nationalities of new immigrants, and between whites and Asians. They exist largely as two solitudes, with little interaction. Buddhism is more a philosophy than a religion.

Overview: Buddhism was developed and promoted entirely by man. There are no references to God. There are no instructions from God. There are no witnesses to any miracles from God. There are no historical documents or archeological finds that support a higher being. This belief system was developed long after other religions. There are interesting structural components that indicate a prior knowledge of Old Testament Festivals based on the agricultural seasons. Some stories actually mimic older Biblical events and Jewish customs.


Hinduism

Hindus believe in the repetitious transmigration of the Soul. This is the transfer of one's soul after death into another body. This produces a continuing cycle of birth, life, death and rebirth through their many lifetimes. It is called samsara. Karma is the accumulated sum of ones good and bad deeds. Karma determines how you will live your next life. Eventually, one can escape samsara and achieve enlightenment. Bad deeds can cause a person to be reborn as a lower level, or even as an animal. The unequal distribution of wealth, prestige, and suffering are seen as natural consequences for one's previous acts, both in this life and in previous lives.

Although the caste system was abolished by law in 1949, it remains a significant force throughout India. Each follower of Hinduism belonged to one of the thousands of Jats (communities) that existed in India. A person's Jat determined the range of jobs or professions from which they could choose. Marriages normally took place within the same Jat. There were rules that prohibited persons of different groups from eating, drinking or even smoking with each other. People were once able to move from one Varna to another. However, at some time in the past (estimates range from about 500 BC to 500 AD), the system became rigid, so that a person was generally born into the Jat and Varna of their parents, and died in the same group.

Overview: Hinduism differs from other religions in that it does not have a single founder, a specific theological system, a single system of morality, or a central religious organization. It consists of thousands of different religious groups that have evolved in India since 1500 BC. Hindus believe in reincarnation... heavily based on 'works'. If you're bad in this life you could come back as a toad or mouse in the next world. No historical documents, no archeological finds, no knowledge of a higher being. This religion is basically what you want it to be. Once again, may I point out that man does not get to make up the rules.

Confucianism
K'ung Fu Tzu (commonly pronounced Confucius in English) was born in 551 BC. He lived during the Chou dynasty, and era known for its moral laxity. Later in life, he wandered through many states of China, giving advice to their rulers. His writings deal primarily with individual morality and ethics, and the proper exercise of political power by the rulers.

In China, and some other areas in Asia, the social ethics and moral teachings of Confucius are blended with the Taoist communion with nature and Buddhist concepts of the afterlife, to form a set of co-existent religions. Confucianism does not contain all of the elements of some other religions, like Christianity and Islam. It is primarily an ethical system to which rituals at important times during one's lifetime have been added. Since the time of the Han dynasty (206 AD) four life passages have been recognized and regulated by Confucian tradition:

Birth: The T'ai-shen (spirit of the fetus) protects the expectant woman and deals harshly with anyone who harasses the mother to be. A special procedure is followed when the placenta is disposed of. The mother is given a special diet and is allowed rest for a month after delivery. The mother's family of origin supplies all the items required by the baby on the first, fourth and twelfth monthly anniversary of the birth.

Reaching Maturity: This life passage is no longer being celebrated, except in traditional families. It takes the form of a group meal in which the young adult is served chicken.

Marriage: This is performed in six stages: Proposal: the couple exchange the eight characters: the year, month, day and hour of each of their births. If any unpropitious event occurs within the bride-to-be's family during the next three days, then the woman is believed to have rejected the proposal. Engagement: after the wedding day is chosen, the bride announces the wedding with invitations and a gift of cookies made in the shape of the moon. Dowry: This is carried to the groom's home in a solemn procession. The bride-price is then sent to the bride by the groom's parents. Gifts by the groom to the bride, equal in value to the dowry, are sent to her. Procession: The groom visits the bride's home and brings her back to his place, with much fanfare. Marriage and Reception: The couple recite their vows, toast each other with wine, and then take center stage at a banquet. Morning after: The bride serves breakfast to the groom's parents, who then reciprocate.

Death: At death, the relatives cry out aloud to inform the neighbors. The family starts mourning and puts on clothes made of a course material. The corpse is washed and placed in a coffin. Mourners bring incense and money to offset the cost of the funeral. Food and significant objects of the deceased are placed into the coffin.

A Buddhist or Taoist priest performs the burial ritual. Friends and family follow the coffin to the cemetery, along with a willow branch which symbolizes the soul of the person who has died. The latter is carried back to the family altar where it is used to "install" the spirit of the deceased. Liturgies are performed on the 7th, 9th, 49th day after the burial and on the first and third anniversaries of the death.

Overview: Are you beginning to see a theme? Yet another religion developed by man. Although based on individual morality and ethics, it worships 'creation' in place of a 'creator'. A deeper study, as in the other main religions, exposes an underlying knowledge that was taken from Old Testament teachings, especially some of the moral issues that come right out of Old Testament. You will also see where the ideas for some of their festivals (like marriage) come from in upcoming topics. Again, no historical documents, no witnesses, no archeological findings, etc. which support God or a higher being.

Although one can respect these first 3 religions in terms of the discipline and sincerity practiced by their believers, they are all made up by man. In fact, there are so many made-up rules in each it is hard to follow any specific structure of core beliefs. There are a lot of educated people in several countries that believe in one of these first religions, but in many of those areas of the world, study of other religions or even exposure to them was forbidden. In addition, a majority of the people lived in extreme poverty. And with advancement in culture and class status comes education and exposure to other forms of thought.

If one really takes the time to study the main religions in depth, there is a common underlying thread that begins to surface. Although each belief system is very different it becomes obvious that individual humans took some common information and changed, added, deleted or manipulated it to their liking. Usually promoting themselves for personal or family gain, for political power, to subdue people, to keep people in bondage and under government rule, to keep women from having equal rights, etc. etc.

The common underlying base of knowledge that has been manipulated, the writings which show up as seeds in every religion known to man, is none other than the Old Testament.

The Roots of True Faith:

The Old Testament contains specific information on the origins of man, the idea of one God. Man is not the center of worship, nor is he a god. The Old Testament is the only religious writing with family lineage that is confirmed in historical and secular documents of non-biblical origin. It is in fact, the most accurate generational document in world existence. The descendants are known up to current peoples in Israel (many of Jewish background). These early writings also contain secular documentation by thousands of witnesses to the works of God and the fulfillment of prophetic signs given thousands of years in advance. Indeed, there are documents by large groups of people that actually testify to the presence of God. There are writings found in every corner of the earth relating back to the original stories and writings found in the Old Testament. Over and over, man has taken these concepts to develop other religions. There are archeological finds from stone tablets to the great pyramids that back up its accuracy. There are also literally thousands of people that witnessed various events of history as documented in Old Testament writings and the secular corresponding documents support them entirely.

There are volumes of information available that show biblical principles were at work long before other religions were created by man. A classic example is in one of the earliest writings on earth. In the Asian world, records have been discovered regarding the beginnings of a working language. Instead of alphabetical letters or characters, small pictures or pictographs were used. These early symbols, found in Asia (a long way from the roots of Biblical teachings) undoubtedly are a reference of the world's first God: The symbol for 'happy' or 'happiness' is an image of two naked people in the garden of Eden. The symbol for 'evil' or 'danger' is the same people in the garden next to a snake or serpent. Symbols also include Noah in the Ark, etc. It is simply amazing.

There is no doubt where these symbols came from. There was an accepted base of knowledge relating to biblical truths l-o-n-g before these symbols showed up in the teachings of Buddah, Confucianism, or other religions that came into being. Only until those religions developed and became popular were the biblical symbols removed from their writings!

Therefore, we now need to turn our study toward the three religions that have the earliest roots and common biblical beginnings. These religions began with an unaltered original text. Interpretation of course has lead to various opinions but the writings remain correlated to the Old Testament.

Even the God of these writings references the origins of these texts, and how they would become divided. This is critically important… they become divided into three peoples and beliefs. The Original Law. The Fulfillment of the Law, and The Deception of the Law. The God of these writings states that there would come a day of conflict due to these divisions. It would come to a head, resulting in the worst time in human history, at which time a specific course of events would occur. But prior to man nearly destroying one another, this God has a plan in place to make it right.

Coming Next: We’ll look at these 3 religions. Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.