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Religion in ancient civilizations
Traditions and rituals of Buddhism
Religion in ancient civilizations
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Ancient civilizations have a lot of similarities and differences. Ancient civilizations had many different kinds of religious attitudes and traditions. The ancient civilizations had similarities and differences in the beliefs of death, culture, and religion.
Ancient civilizations have many similarities and differences in the beliefs of death. Death is the end of living creatures and somehow everyone has to die once in their lifetime. “And if death is the absence of sensation,..., it will be a wonderful gain… but if death is a journey to another place…(Doc 2). Death could be described as two things, which is that death is when you lose all sensation or feeling, or it might be the migration of your soul to another place. This explains how they have different believe in the afterlife. From the section of the Hindu epic poem the Mahabharata, It explain that sometimes life comes to an end, which we call it death. All creature will experience death through their life time. Tzu-lu asked about how should he serve ghosts and the master told him that he have to serve a men before serving the
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Ancient civilizations have many cultures and and traditions that are still remains today. This sculpture shows the Buddhist legend and it is Buddhist cultural remains. It existed in now what is Pakistan and Afghanistan(Doc 7). Sorrow arises from the wishing for continued life or power, that leads to the stopping of sorrow. To stop the sorrow, you have to stop wishing. This is just like the four Noble truth. The stopping of sorrow will leads to the Noble Eightfold Path.This explains that people have to stop desiring more power or material, so that they will leads them the Eightfold Path. This was from the Buddha’s first sermon(Doc 3). The sculpture represent the Hindu god, Vishnu. It also shows that the sea representing the Hindu god, Vishnu, with a worshipper. This shows how the tradition of
Guanyin (Bodhisattva) (See Fig. 1 in Appendix) is an artefact, with Object Number of 2400, in the Honolulu Museum of Art. The medium, or material, of this sculpture of Guanyin is painted wood, and traces of pigment can still be seen on the sculpture. Its height is approximately 67 inches, or 170.2 centimeters. The origin of this sculpture is China, Northern Song (960-1126) or Tangut Xia (1038-1227). According to the museum, this sculptural art piece was purchased, or acquired, in 1927 from a renowned collection of Matsukata Kojiro, who passed away in 1950.
The statue that will be the focus of this paper portrays the figure “Amida, the Buddha of Infinite Light.” Like many other statues of the Buddha, this Amida Buddha was portrayed to be deep in meditation, sitting cross-legged. A viewer could observe that the Amida Buddha is making a hand gesture while in deep meditation. These gestures, also known as “mudras,” are symbolic in the Buddhist religion, and they are used to convey certain ideas (O’Riley 70). In this case, the Amida Buddha is making the mudra of appeasement (“Amida”). More physical observations could be made by pointing out the “balanced form, divine features, and flowing drapery” (“Amida”) of the Amida Buddha. Those qualities represent the nature of the Buddha, revealing him as “transcendent, graceful, and compassionate” (“Amida”). Features common to other Buddha sculptures show up on this Amida Buddha, like the elongated earlobes, the mole on his forehead, and patterned hair. At first glance, the Am...
The first civilization to rise was the Mesopotamia, located in present day Iraq, between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and Egypt, along the Nile River. It’s split in two ecological zones. In the south Babylonia (irrigation is vital) and north Assyria (agriculture is possible with rainfall and wells). By 4000 B.C.E., people had settled in large numbers in the river-watered lowlands of Mesopotamia and Egypt. Archaeologists have shown that large-scale irrigation appeared only long after urban civilization had already developed, meaning major waterworks were a consequence of urbanism (population). Mesopotamia cities were made of people called the Summerians in the land of Sumer located on the south of Babylonia. The Summerian city was one of
Was it a gift or a curse? The Nile is the world's longest river at 4,160 miles. Of that total, approximately 660 to 700 miles of the Nile are actually in Egypt. It is one of the four most important river civilizations in the world. Land in Egypt was called Black Land (representing life) and Red Land (representing danger). For Egyptians, the Nile meant the difference between life and death. Today, we know that the Nile influenced ancient Egypt in many areas of life such as providing food, shelter and faith to the people. Specific areas dealing with settlement location, agricultural cycle, jobs, trade, transportation and spiritual beliefs will prove the case.
Walking into the Hall of the Buddhas, there was a sense of peace and guidance lingering inside me. The seated Bodhisattva, of the Northern Wei dynasty (386-534), CA.480, from the Yungang, Cave xv, Shani Province, made of sandstone, guarded the entrance. At first, I thought it was a time to be disciplined, but the transcending smile from the statue was a delicate fixed gesture that offered a feeling of welcome. It was not a place to confess your wrongdoings; neither was it a place for me to say, “Buddha I have sinned.” It was a room to purify the mind, the mind that we take for granted without giving it harmony. There was a large mural decorating the main wall called “The Paradise of Bhaishajyaguru”(916-1125). I sat down wandering if the artist of the portrait knew that his work would one day be shared on this side of the world, in my time. Much like Jesus Christ and his followers, the mural is a painting of healers and saviors. It was a large figure of the Buddha of medicine, (Bhaishajyaquru) surrounded by followers of Bodhisattvas, Avalokiteshvara, and Mahosthamaprapta with twelve guardian generals who have pledged to disseminate the Buddha’s teaching (Tradition of Liao 916-1125, Metropolitan Museum wall plaque).
These civilizations present many resemblances that were once part of the foundations of their society. Although both of these civilizations were at one point enemies of one another, they had similar correlations that shaped and formed their cultures and societies. The main difference between these two civilizations is religion. Without its differences, each civilization had governed its people in manners that it could not be differentiated among each other. Overall, these civilizations presented different methods of leading a civilization and still had similarities among one another.
The five Eastern religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Daoism, and Shinto have some similarities when it comes to the their beliefs on death. Hinduism and Buddhism both believe in karma and reincarnation, while Daoism and Shintoism revolve their beliefs around nature. Confucianism chooses not to focus on things we do not know, so their beliefs on death are limited. In deciphering the different beliefs on death associated with each religion, it is important to understand the different belief systems and their origins. While some religions merged the views of the other religions, some came from the views of an originating founder. Each religion has their own view on life after death and whether or not their followers should be concerned
In conclusion, there were some beliefs and customs that the Egyptians and the Sumerians shared. They were both polytheistic and they both relied on the surrounding rivers for agriculture/life support. Yet their attitudes and prayers towards the gods and goddesses differed as well as their views on the afterlife. As explained, these views differed due to their location, climate and yield in agriculture.
There are multiple views on death and the afterlife and each view is different depending on the religion or belief that someone practices. Some religions believe in a heaven but not a hell, some believe in both and others do not believe in either. The religions that are practiced today were created by our ancient ancestors who had the ability to think beyond themselves. Practicing a religion and having an idea of death and an afterlife back in ancient times laid a foundation on how religion is seen and practiced today. Mesopotamians, Egyptians and Hindu’s created the concept of death and life after death through what they believed and practiced in ancient times.
The Western culture has evolved over a span of several years with various civilizations specializing in specific aspects of life or nature. In essence, Western civilization dates back to the BCE periods when Ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, and Ancient Rome reigned. Each of the Western civilizations came with a clear lineage that portrayed such attributes as property rights, free market economy, competition, personal freedoms, and innovation (Perry, 2013). Besides, the western civilizations came at different periods with some of the attributes evolving or remaining unchanged throughout the lineage. However, the non-western civilizations contributed towards such attributes to a given extent, primarily because of the interactions among
Of the first civilizations, Mesopotamia and Egypt left behind the most widely available documented look at the past (92). Interestingly enough, the basis for societal rank was comparable between these two civilizations. But despite similarities in social stratification, Mesopotamian and Egyptian civilization had very dissimilar views on life and the afterlife.
Christians, for example, believe that souls that have lived by the words of their God will exist eternally in heaven as divine beings themselves. This conception of an afterlife is generally what we people who are residents of the Unitied States hold to be true. For American culture has its roots in Europe and European culture was and is still influenced by Christian faiths. Similar to Christianity, the Hinduism also eases the fear of death by presenting a life after death. Disimilarities present themselves in the two faiths concerning exactly what kind of afterlife is lived. Believers of the Hindu faith expect to be reincarnated after their demise, either as an animal or human being depending on the manner in which their lives were carried out.
Ancient Aztec Civilization: Life and Afterlife The ancient Aztec civilization had a perspective on life and afterlife that is remarkably different from the perspectives of many modern cultures. It was largely shaped by their religion, which permeated nearly every aspect of ancient Aztec life. Background on Ancient Aztec Civilization The term Aztec can refer to certain native ethnic groups that have lived in what is today Mexico.
Tibet, with its isolated, harsh geographical location and history of political and social remoteness would seem an unlikely place to provide a “cradle for creative art” (Bailey 22). Yet it is in this desolate section of the world that one of the most intriguing artistic cultures has been cultivating over hundreds of centuries. One facet of what makes Tibetan art so unique and interesting is its interdependency on its religious beliefs.
For thousands of years, people all over the world have developed, progressed, and eventually formed civilizations. A civilization is a community characterized by elements such as a system of writing, a development of social classes, and cities. Early civilizations such as ancient Greece, classical Rome, Mesopotamia, and classical China have made many contributions to society that still affect people in the modern world. The inventions, progress, and contributions of the people of these ancient civilizations and others have shaped the world that we all live in today.