Ancient Western Religions

1. It began in the fourth or fifth century due to the influence from the Persian Empire

2. It spread due to the Persian Empire being conquered by Alexander the Great.

3. An angel named Good Thought brought him before Ahura Mazda, and Zarathrusta recognized him as the one true god.

4. The most sacred part of the text is called Avesta.

5. Ahura Mazda is eternal and is the universal goodness.

6. The belief in forces are good and evil.

7. The lie is an evil cosmic force.

8. Humans must choose between the truth and the evil.

9. It discuses resurrection and judgment of the dead and if you go to heaven or hell.

10. Caring for Livestock and fields.

11. Followers of Zoroastrianism and most live in India.

12. Illiad and Odyssey.

13. gods have human attributes as in talents and limitations.

14. He introduced divine justice. An example is he shows suffering is part of the divine plan of Zeus.

15. Oracle is a sanctuary in which revelations of god are received.

16. Individuals went through an initiation ceremony, they encounter an experience with a deity, and gains spiritual renewal.

17. Eleusinian religion.

18. The god of fertility, with wine and grapes.

19. Lead a pure life.

20. We know things in are life because we have experience with them in past lives.

21. The truth of the world is independent from any bodily or material ideas in reality.

22. They both were refereed as saviors.

23. Supernatural beings in charge of specific functions.

24. Jupiter.

25. Mercury, Saturn, Venus, Jupiter, Neptune and Mars.

26. SO they would never anger gods, and they would be at peace.

27. Mithraism and the Cult of Iris

28. Osiris was killed and cut to pieces by his brother.

29. Augustus said to worship the Roman State and his guardian spirit.

30. Romans believed in worshipping the state, and Catholics believed it should be God.

Judaism

1. The three functions of the synagogue are to sever as a house of assembly, study and prayer.

2. The synagogue is a worship place for Jews. In a synagogue, there are three things. The ark, Ten Commandments, and torah scrolls. The ark is in the front of the room, the scrolls are in the ark, and the Ten Commandments are on the wall.

3. A rabbi preaches and teaches the whole Jewish community. To become a rabbi a person has to be Jewish, a scholar of Jewish law, fluent in Hebrew, and hired by other rabbi's to lead a congregation. A rabbi does not have the authority like a clergyman.

4. The day of rest

5. Torah is the five books of Moses. Talmud is the explanation of what the Torah means

6. Orthodox: Follow exactly what the Torah says. Reformist: Concentrates on moral law. Zionist: There should be a Jewish state in Palestine.

7.  The language by the early Jews.

8. The modern language of Jews

9. Mazal Tov: Congratulations Shalom: Hello, Peace, Goodbye Mitzvah: A commandment.

10. Brit Milah is a circumcision ceremony. Bar Mitzvah is a ceremony for a boy when he reaches 13 and he takes responsibility of commandments. Jewish marriage says a husband and wife a sanctified to one another.

11. Rosh Hashanah is the new year. Yom Kippur, the most important as they reflect on sins committed during the year. Hanukkah is like Christmas but they light candles signifying a Jewish story, Passover is a response to the exodus.

12. I knew about boys having a Bar Mitzvah.

13. I though Zionism had more to it than just getting a homeland.

14. They also have a new year.

15. The language

Buddhism Packet

1. Siddhartha Guatama
2. He saw an old man, he thought that is everybody's fate, a sick man, he didn't think people could enjoy life with sickness, a dead body, he thought what is the reason to live if we all die, and a homeless religious man, he thought that there is a way to salvation.
3. A Buddhist teaching that focuses on practical approach to spiritual attainment.
4. Siddhartha was sitting under a tree for 40 days waiting to be enlightened. The god of Mara tried to tempt him to stop, but it didn't work and he became enlightened.
5. A Buddhist community of Monks and Nuns
6. The Three Jewels in Buddhist teachings are the Buddha, Dharma, and the Sangha.
7. Both Buddhism and Hinduism regard time as cyclical and the universe as eternal. 
8. The Buddha did not go along with the religious teachings in his day. He did not believe the human self was important to receive salvation.
9. Anatta, Anicca, Dukka, Anatta means no self, Anicca means constantly changing, and Dukka means suffering.
10. There is no self because we are not attached to the world because we are always changing.
11. A bundle of energy, Karma is the factor of the incarnation of a persons status.
12. The five precepts of Buddhism are do not take life, take what is not given, engage in sensuous misconduct, use false speech, or drink intoxicants. The five precepts for monks and nuns are do not eat after noon, watch dancing or shows, use garlands, perfumes, or ornaments, use a high or soft bed, and accept gold or silver.
13. Dislocation, Frustration, Discomfort. The meaning of this is something that is not in order, and needs to be put back into place.
14. Tanha is the desire, it is related to Dukka because suffering is caused by our desires.
15. The steps in following the eightfold path, one must have the right views, the right intentions, the right speech, the right conduct, the right livelihood, the right effort, the right mindfulness, and the right meditation.
16. The Buddha received enlightenment on his own, and does not need teachings from others.
17. Arhat did not receive Nirvana but did receive enlightenment.
18. Nirvana: Blowing out, The person has blown out all of their desires and suffering.
19. Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.
20. The teachings of Buddhism.
21. The way of the Elders.
22. It uses the energy of desire for good.
23. The Dalai Lama is the leader of Vijrayana Buddhism. The Dalai Lama is chosen by successors. 
24. Theravada Buddhism: Cambodia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burman.
Mahayana Buddhism: China, Japan, Korea
Vijrayana Buddhism: Tibet

Intro to Buddism

The creator of Buddhism is Siddhartha Guatama in Nepal. Buddhism is a path of practice and spiritual development leading to Insight into the true nature of reality. Guatama was sheltered in his life, so he didn't see any of the negatives in the world. One day when he went outside, he saw a old man, a sick man, and a dead man. So he left his palace to search for a meaning of the true reality. After sitting under a tree for 40 days thinking, he became enlightened, the traveled giving out his teachings as the Buddha.

The three jewels are at the heart of Buddhism. The are the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha. The Buddha is the yellow jewel, Dharma is the blue, and Sangha is the red. The first jewel refers to obtaining enlightenment just like the Buddha. The second jewel is the teachings from Buddha. The third jewel is spirtual community.

In Buddhism there is also another teaching that is called the Threefold Way. They are the way of ethics, mediation, and wisdom. Ethics is how one should act, mediation is used to clear the mind, and wisdom gains the person enlightenment.
Next is the four Noble Truths. They are a the characteristics that humanity shares. The four truths are: To live is to suffer, Suffering is caused by desire, Suffering can be brought to cessation, The solution to suffering is the Noble Eightfold Path.

Then there is the Noble Eight Path. The Noble Eightfold path is the practice one must do in order to end suffering and reach a perfect Dharma. The path gets you to obtain:

1. Right Understanding or Perfect Vision, Right Resolve or Perfect Emotion, Right Speech or Perfect Speech, Right Action or Perfect Action, Right Livelihood or Perfect Livelihood, Right Effort or Perfect Effort, Right Mindfulness or Perfect Awareness, Right Meditation or Perfect Samadhi

Hinduism

1. Moksha is the release from reality.
2. The doctrine is called Monism. One analogy is where several individual rivers flow into one ocean.
3. The two terms are basically the same as the deal with the self being connected with the universe.
4. To serve as a connection between reality and the divine reality.
5. The reincarnation of one self until they reach moksha.
6. The most sacred text is the Bhagavad-Gita
7. Karma and Dharma are the two principles. Karma is moral law and Dharma is moral rules of life.
8. The four caste systems are the Brahmin which are the priest, the Kshatriya which are warriors and administrators, the Vaishya which are the farmers, merchants, and artisans, and the Shurdra which are servants and laborers.
9. It is Arujuna's sacred duty to engage in war.
10. The first stage is where you study the Vedas. Second stage is householder where you raise a family. Third is forest dweller, when your on a spiritual journey, then is sannyasin, where you give up all material things. 
11. First is Karma where you try to achieve all pleasures in life, Then is Atman where you try to get material success, Third is Dharma where live a moral life, then is moksha where you try to become an infinite being.
12. The three paths to liberation are the path of works, the path of knowledge and the path of devotion. People who live ordinary go path of the works, people with philosophical talent go path of knowledge, and the emotional go path of devotion.
13. The three most important schools in Hinduism philosophy are Vendanta, Sankhya and Yoga. They are needed to gain knowledge.
14. shiva, god of destruction, vishnu, the preserver, Kali, destroys her enemies.
15. Avatars are incarnations. Two avatars are Kirshnu and Rama.
16. Bhagavad-Gita
17. The three aspects of Hindu devotional life are household and village rituals, pilgrimage to holy places and veneration of cows.
18. Gandhi influenced Hinduism by showing wisdom is the way to be divine.
19. The Indian government made a law to stop discrimination between castes.
20. A sati is the suicidal burning of a widow because her death is seen as a sign of virtue for her love of her husband. Since 1829 sati has been forbidden however it still rarely occurs in some places in India.
21. After the Muslims created Pakistan, many people traveled to which country they wanted to go to. This caused a civil war.