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The front page article of the New York Times online today was At Least 48 Dead In Storms Across 4 States.
According to the article, a series of tornadoes and heavy rainstorms hit some southern states today. The area hit by the tornados was in the southeast – Tennessee, Mississippi, Kentucky, and Arkansas. The storms destroyed a lot of property, and as well as killing 48 people and injuring about 100 more. An Tennessee police chief said it looked like a “war zone.”
These stories of natural disasters – like the forest fires in the western states, and Hurricane Katrina a few years ago – seem to be increasingly common. It’s a scary reminder that no matter how developed our country becomes, we still live here at the mercy of mother nature. On the other hand, you can compare the death tolls here to those from the tsunami in Southeast Asia and earthquakes in South Asia.
We’re lucky that we can use technology to reduce the impact of these disasters, but we still can’t eliminate them altogether.
Your homework assignment tonight is to write a letter about the two religions we have studied. You should assume the role of either a Hindu or a Buddhist and write a letter to someone of the opposite religion. Your letter should be at least two paragraphs long and identify several similarities as well as several differences between your two religions.
Here is the assignment sheet. It has more directions for writing and organizing your assignment.
Today we examined and discussed some of the major beliefs of Hinduism and Buddhism. Namely, we discussed the meaning of karma, reincarnation, the four Noble Truths, and the Eightfold Path. See the accompanying class handout for a short introduction.
Reincarnation
Reincarnation is the belief, shared by Hindus and Buddhists, that people are reborn in a new form once they die. Although their particular beliefs differ, Hindus and Buddhists both believe that this cycle of death and rebirth continue until someone can reach an enlightened state and be released from an earthly existence. Moreover, the form a person takes when he or she is reincarnated depends on his or her karma.
Karma
Karma is the sum total of a person’s good and bad deeds. If a person has done a lot of good things, he or she will have good karma. If that person has done a lot of bad deeds, he or she will have bad karma. Buddhists and Hindus both believe that karma determines the type of life that you will have once you are reincarnated. They differ, however, on what a person must do to have good karma and what will cause a person to have bad karma.
Dharma
Dharma is a Hindu belief tied to the caste system. Each caste has a specific set of rules to follow, called dharma. If a person lives his or her life according to those rules, he or she will have good karma. Breaking those rules will result in bad karma.
The Four Noble Truths
Buddha tried to reform Hinduism and eventually founded Buddhism because of his discovery of the Four Noble Truths. His beliefs essentially boiled down to these few concepts. All life involves suffering or is in some way unsatisfactory. We can end this suffering. The source of this suffering is our material possessions and the desire for more material possessions. The only way to be genuinely happy and satisfied, and to end suffering, is to break that desire for material goods.
Eightfold Path
The eightfold path was a set of directions by which Buddhists were expected to live. This set out certain rules, such as not harming people, not stealing, and not lying. If a person lived according to these rules, he or she would end his or her life with good karma.
There was a homework assignment accompanying this lesson. Check the next post for more details.
Today we began studying the two major religions of South Asia – Buddhism and Hinduism. Everyone received a guided reading sheet that went along with Chapter 8, Section 1. We broke down into partners, and one partner researched the information on Buddhism while the other partner researched the information on Hinduism. As a review, you should look over that guided reading worksheet and re-read Chapter 8, Section 1. The answers will be on the board tomorrow, because this will serve as a launching point for our discussion of these religions.
In the meantime, here are a few of the concepts we learned today…
- Hinduism has no founder
- Hinduism has several sacred texts, including the Vedas and the Upanishads
- Hinduism involves the worship of many gods, chiefly Vishnu, Shiva, and Krishna
- Some of the major beliefs of Hinduism include karma, reincarnation, the caste system, and dharma
- Buddhism was founded by Siddharta Gautama
- Buddhism is based on Buddha’s teachings, as captured by the Four Noble Truths, the Eightfold Path, and the Three Baskets of Wisdom
- Buddhism does not traditionally involve the worship of any gods, although some Buddhists later worshipped Buddha himself as a god
- Some of the major beliefs of Buddhism include karma, reincarnation, the principles of the Four Noble Truths, and the “Middle Way” (or the way of the Eightfold Path)
Welcome to Mr. Rock’s World History Class!
We will be embarking together on an exciting tour around the world of history, culture, politics, religion, philosophy, and much more. Our World Cultures course will begin with a short introduction to social studies and global studies and then move thematically through each of the major continents or regions of the world – Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia, East Asia, the Middle East, Europe, and the Americas. At each stop along the way we will look at the geography, climate, and early history of the region, its traditional cultures and values, its recent history, and finally any current problems or political issues.
This course website will hopefully be a valuable tool for you and for me. I plan to post a recap of each lesson here, as well as each night’s homework assignment. If you are absent, you should check this website before returning to class to see what you have missed. Where possible, I will upload copies of all handouts and materials. If it is not possible, I will make a note of it on the website and then you should ask me for a copy in class. This procedure will save precious class time for more important and interesting activities.
In the future, I may post trivia, news stories, and other extra information. This extra information may also present you with opportunities for receiving extra credit in the course. I will also place links to extra resources that will help you in studying for tests and when completing research projects.
Remember to check here often, and I’ll see you in class!
- Mr. Rock
