【院生ゼミ】10月19日
【大学院】
This week we continue to explore the development of Buddhism and Hinduism in India. Topics we covered include:
- Upanishads texts (7th to 3rd c. BCE) in Sanskrit
- Realization of the oneness between the Brahman (ultimate reality, or macrocosmos) and the Atman (the ultimate self, or microcosmos) through yoga.
- The emergence of non-Vedic free thinkers (nastika=atman does not exist), challenging the orthodox Vedic ideas (astika=atman exists) (5th to 6th c. BCE)
- Buddhism advocated by Buddha (Siddhartha Gautama) and Jainism by Jina
- The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path
- Hinduism as Brahmanic response to the popular movements (2nd to 3rd c. BCE)
- Personal gods: Shiva and Vishnu, and their affiliated gods
- Epic mythology: Ramayana (600-400 BCE) and Mahabharata (400 BCE-400 CE)
It must be noted that Buddha was not a Brahmin but came from a Kshatriya family. This reflects the intellectually vibrant and diverse atmosphere of urban lives in the Ganges valley at the time of his life.