REPORTING

BUDDHISM

Buddhism began in India in the Ganges River are during the 6 th century BCE. Its
founder was Siddhartha Gautama, who later became known as the Buddha, or the
"Enlightened One."

Basahon: Siddhartha was the son of a wealthy Hindu prince who grew up with many
advantages in life. However, as a young man he did not find answers to the meaning
of life in Hinduism, so he left home to become an ascetic, or wandering holy man.
His Enlightenment came while sitting under a tree in a Deerfield, and the revelations
of that day form the basic tenets of Buddhism:

The Four Noble Truths

1) All of life is suffering;

2) Suffering is caused by false desires for things that do not bring satisfaction;
3) Suffering may be relieved by removing the desire;
4) Desire may be removed by following the Eightfold Path.

https://www.pbs.org/edens/thailand/buddhism.htm#:~:text=The%20Four%20Noble%
20Truths%20comprise,to%20the%20end%20of%20suffering.

Basahon: The Four Noble Truths comprise the essence of Buddha's teachings,
though they leave much left unexplained. They are the truth of suffering, the truth of
the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that
leads to the end of suffering. More simply put, suffering exists; it has a cause; it has
an end; and it has a cause to bring about its end. The notion of suffering is not
intended to convey a negative world view, but rather, a pragmatic perspective that
deals with the world as it is, and attempts to rectify it. The concept of pleasure is not
denied, but acknowledged as fleeting. Pursuit of pleasure can only continue what is
ultimately an unquenchable thirst. The same logic belies an understanding of
happiness. In the end, only aging, sickness, and death are certain and unavoidable.
The Eightfold Path to Enlightenment

The Eightfold Path is composed of eight primary teachings that Buddhists follow and
use in their everyday lives:

 Right View or understanding: The Eightfold Path is composed of eight primary

teachings that Buddhists follow and use in their everyday lives:
 Right Intention: The unselfish desire to realize enlightenment
 Right Speech: Using speech compassionately
 Right Action: Using ethical conduct to manifest compassion
 Right Livelihood: Making a living through ethical and non-harmful means
 Right Effort: Cultivating wholesome qualities and releasing unwholesome
qualities
 Right Mindfulness: Whole body-and-mind awareness
 Right Concentration: Meditation or some other dedicated, concentrated
practice

https://www.learnreligions.com/the-eightfold-path-450067

Basahon: The Eightfold Path is the fourth Truth of the Four Noble Truths. Very
basically, the truths explain the nature of our dissatisfaction with life.

The Buddha taught that we must thoroughly understand the causes of our
unhappiness in order to resolve it. There is no quick fix; there is nothing we can
obtain or hang on to that will give us true happiness and inner peace. What is
required is a radical shift in how we understand and relate to ourselves and the
world.

CONFUCIANISM

Three important belief systems (Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism) emerged in

China during the Warring States Period (403-221 BCE) between the Zhou and Han
Dynasties. Although the period was politically chaotic, it hosted a cultural flowering
that left a permanent mark on Chinese history.

https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/world-history/ancient-medieval/zhou-qin-
han-china/a/the-philosophers-of-the-warring-
states#:~:text=Confucianism%20is%20an%20ethic%20of,centralized%20rule%20an
d%20harsh%20penalties.

BASAHON:

Confucianism- is an ethic of moral uprightness, social order, and filial responsibility.

Confucianism emphasized the idea that people could be made to be good if they
followed moral instruction and performed rituals that venerated the gods and
honored the ancestral dead. In a time of social upheaval and war, the Confucianists
believed only careful maintenance of the old traditions could uphold societal unity.

Daoism- was a philosophy of universal harmony that urged its practitioners not to
get too involved in worldly affairs. Daoism is a kind of anti-activism; it asserts that
the best life is one of willful ignorance, seeking no knowledge and avoiding
involvement in politics or public life.

Legalism- is a theory of autocratic, centralized rule and harsh penalties. The third
belief system that arose from the Warring States Period is legalism, and it stands in
stark contrast to the other beliefs. It had no concern with ethics, morality, or
propriety, and cared nothing about human nature, or governing principles of the
world. Instead it emphasized the importance of rule of law, or the imperative for laws
to govern, not men.

Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism all each played a role during the Warring
States Period. These three philosophies influenced the styles of Chinese
governance throughout the Qin ascendancy, the Han dynasty, and beyond,
becoming more or less influential depending on which dynasty was in power. They
also heavily influenced social structures.

JUDAISM

Judaism was the first clearly monotheistic religion. At the heart of the religion was a
belief in a Covenant, or agreement, between God and the Jewish people, that God
would provide for them as long as they obeyed him.
The Ten Commandments set down rules for relationships among human beings, as
well as human relationships to God. Because they were specially chosen by God,
Jews came to see themselves as separate from others and did not seek to convert
others to the religion.

The Ten Commandments are found in the book of Exodus. They are:

1. Do not have any other gods.

2. Do not make or worship idols.

3. Do not disrespect or misuse God’s name.

4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

5. Honour your mother and father.

6. Do not commit murder.

7. Do not commit adultery.

8. Do not steal.

9. Do not tell lies

10. Do not be envious of others.

God gave Moses a set of ten laws that they should follow in order to please him. God
told Moses that if these rules were not followed, God would punish people who
disobeyed them.

Judaism has remained a relatively small religion. However, its influence on other
larger religions, including Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam is vast, and so it
remains as a very significant "root religion.

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrianism is an early monotheistic religion that almost certainly influenced and

was influenced by Judaism, and it is very difficult to know which one may have
emerged first. Both religions thrived in the Middle East, and adherents of both
apparently had contact with one another.
Zoroastrianism was the major religion of Persia, a great land-based empire that was
long at war with Ancient Greece and eventually conquered by Alexander the Great.
The religion's founder was Zoroaster or Zarathustra, who saw the world immersed in
a great struggle between good and evil, a concept that certainly influenced other
monotheistic religions.

CHRISTIANITY

Christianity grew directly out of Judaism, with its founder Jesus of Nazareth born and
raised as a Jew in the area just east of the Mediterranean Sea.

During his lifetime, the area was controlled by Rome as a province in the empire.
Christianity originated partly from a long-standing Jewish belief in the coming of a
Messiah, or a leader who would restore the Jewish kingdom to its former glory days.
Jesus' followers saw him as the Messiah who would cleanse the Jewish religion of its
rigid and haughty priests and assure life after death to all that followed Christian
precepts. In this way, its appeal to ordinary people may be compared to that of
Buddhism, as it struggled to emerge from the Hindu caste system. Christianity's
broad appeal of the masses, as well as deliberate conversion efforts by its early
apostles, meant that the religion grew steadily and eventually became the religion
with the most followers in the modern world.

ISLAM

Islam, major world religion promulgated by the Prophet Muhammad in Arabia in the
7th century. Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centered on the Quran as
its central text, which is considered by followers, known as Muslims, to be the
verbatim word of God. It is the world's second-largest religion.

The Arabic term islām, literally “surrender,” illuminates the fundamental religious idea
of Islam—that the believer (called a Muslim, from the active particle of islām) accepts
surrender to the will of Allah (in Arabic, Allah: God). . Allah is viewed as the sole
God—creator, sustainer, and restorer of the world. The will of Allah, to which human
beings must submit, is made known through the sacred scriptures, the Qurʾān (often
spelled Koran in English), which Allah revealed to his messenger, Muhammad. In
Islam Muhammad is considered the last of a series of prophets (including Adam,
Noah, Abraham, Moses, Solomon, and Jesus), and his message simultaneously
consummates and completes the “revelations” attributed to earlier prophets.