Study this Flashcards
Siddhartha Gautama
founded Buddhism
enlightenment
an understanding of the cause of suffering in this world
nirvana
a break from reincarnation over and over again, what people also strive to achieve by following the eightfold path
Eightfold Path
the means of attaining Nirvana through Right Views, Right Resolve, Right Speech, Right Conduct, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration
The Four Noble Truths
- the truth of suffering
- the truth of the cause of suffering
- the truth of the end of suffering
- the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering
understanding them leads to enlightenement
Sangha
the Buddhist community of monks, nuns, novices, and laity
Dharma
the universal laws of nature, which are applicable to everyone
Vedas
- The aryans wrote the vedas, ancient stories of their history, those hymns become the origional thinking behind hinduism
- Four collections of prayers, hymns, and ritual instructions
Brahmins
religious leaders for hinduism
Rig Veda
The 1,028 hymns to the aryan gods that are a section of the vedas
Mahabharata
- One of the great epics of india
- supposedly reflects the struggles that took place there, while the Aryans were trying to control the Indian lands.
Karma
- Good or bad deeds
- influences specific life circumstances
Vedic Hymns
religious hymns that are basiaclly prayers to gods
Hinduism
doesn’t have one single creator
Moksha
when a person understands relationship between atman and brahman, they’re released from life in this world
How was the Mauryan Empire ruled under Chandragupta as opposed to Asoka?
war, bureocratic government –> religious tolerance, buddhism, peace
Battle of Kalinga
- killed many during Asoka’s reign
- led to Asoka studying in Buddhism and ruling by its teachings
Andhra Dynasty
dominated the region for hundreds of years during the period of termoil. located in the decan region
Period of Turmoil
- things went bad after Asoka’s death
- “In northern and central India, regional kings challenged the imperial government.”
- kingdoms of central india regained independence
- Beginning on 185 BC, invaders poured into northern india for 500 years, disrupting Indian society.
- In southern India, there were three kingdoms never conquered by the Mauryans that were constantly at war
what year did Chandragupta inherit the throne?
321 BC
what did Chandragupta Maurya do?
unite India
How did Chandragupta rule specifically?
- tough-minded policies to hold an empire together, including spying on the people and employing political assassination.
- a highly bureaucratic government
- divided into 4 provinces
- each one divided into local districts
Who headed the provinces?
royal princes
what did the district officials do?
- enforce the law
- asses taxes
How did Chandragupta Maurya die?
converted to Jainism and then starved to death while fasting
Who was Asoka?
in comparison to Chandragupta
Chandragupta’s grandson
How long was Asoka’s rule?
what years
269 BC - 232 BC
What specifically did Asoka change in the empire after his conversion to Buddhism?
- religious toleration
- gaurenteed fair treatment towards subjects
- nin-violence
- extensive roads built (better communication with subjects)
- improved road conditions (travel easier for officials)
Theravada
any of the older traditional practices of Buddhism
Mahayana
Newer, more modern, practices of Buddhism
Budisatfa
person on the path to nirvana that decides to stay here to teach others
Tamil
located in the South, one of many tribes that exist in the ancient world of India and are still here today, do not want to be taken over by the northern tribes (they have more Aryans in the north), they’ve been pushed to Sri Lanka, prodominateley become Buddhist, the mainland of India remain Hindu
Sangha
a term used for the larger Buddhist community of religious leaders
edicts
all throughout Asoka’s empire, he laid out these buddhist statements (rules) on temples. The idea of an edict is that it’s followed.
The upinshads
a discussion between a student and a teacher
