1. Buddhism
1.1. What is the self
1.1.1. The five skandhas: The Buddha taught that an individual is a combination of five aggregates of existence
1.1.1.1. Form: our physical form
1.1.1.2. Sensation: Made up of feelings, both emotional and physical, and our five senses
1.1.1.3. Perception: takes in what we call thinking-conceptualization, cognition, reasoning
1.1.1.4. Mental Formations: includes habits, prejudices, mental states both virtuous and non virtuous, causes and effects of karma
1.1.1.5. Consciousness: awareness of or sensitivity to an object, but without conceptualization
1.2. Relationship between mind and matter
1.2.1. The self is no self: The individual self, or what we might call the ego, is more correctly thought of as a by-product of the skandhas.
1.2.2. Buddhist dualism
1.2.2.1. States of consciousness
1.2.2.2. Buddhist atoms (the basic building blocks that make up reality)
1.3. The nature of ultimate reality
1.3.1. Reality in Buddhism is called dharma (sanskrit). It is thought that everything is interrelated, and that the phenomenal world follows natural laws.
1.3.2. Three marks of existence
1.3.2.1. Anattā (no-self, without soul, no essence) is the nature of living beings, and this is one of the three marks of existence in Buddhism
1.3.2.2. Anicca (impermanence, nothing lasts)
1.3.2.3. Dukkha (suffering, unsatisfactoriness is innate in birth, aging, death, rebirth, re-death – the Saṃsāra cycle of existence)
1.4. What is the purpose of life
1.4.1. To end suffering and be enlightened at the oneness of the universe; to cleanse and purify in order to achieve full enlightenment.
1.4.2. The four Noble truths (foundations for belief)
1.4.2.1. Life is/means Dukkha (mental dysfunction or suffering).
1.4.2.2. Dukkha arises from craving.
1.4.2.3. Dukkha can be eliminated.
1.4.2.4. The way to the elimination of dukkha is the Eightfold Path.
1.4.3. The eightfold path: a practical and systematic way out of ignorance, eliminating dukkha from our minds and our lifestyle through mindful thoughts and actions
1.4.3.1. 1. Right knowledge 2. Right intention 3. Right speech 4. Right action 5. Right livelihood 6. Right effort 7. Right mindfulness 8. Right concentration
1.5. Key figures
1.5.1. Siddhartha Gautama or also known as Buddha who is the founder of Buddhism.
1.5.2. Bodhidharma: brought Buddhism to China
1.6. Texts
1.6.1. Tripitaka: traditional term for the Buddhist scriptures
1.6.2. Mahayana Sutra: teachings of the buddha
1.7. Karma
1.7.1. action driven by intention which leads to future consequences
1.8. Nirvana
1.8.1. term used to describe the goal of the Buddhist path.The literal meaning is "blowing out" or "quenching." It is the ultimate spiritual goal in Buddhism
1.9. Afterlife
1.9.1. Samsara: cycle of repeated birth, mundane existence and dying again.
2. Taoism
2.1. What is the purpose of life?
2.1.1. To live in accordance with the Tao, the force that flows through all life. To join with the Oneness of the universe, and unify oneself with the ultimate reality.
2.2. Relationship between mind and matter
2.2.1. Dualism: the universe is divided equally in two opposing sides that are equal
2.3. What is the self
2.3.1. Wu wei, non-action, to so orient oneself with the Tao that one's actions go unnoticed and beings that are wholly in harmony with the Tao behave in a completely natural, uncontrived way.
2.4. Nature of Ultimate reality
2.4.1. Tao
2.4.1.1. the absolute principle underlying the universe, combining within the principles of yin and yang and signifying the code of behavior that is in harmony with the natural order.
2.4.2. Yin and Yang Yin: Passive, female principle in nature Yang: Active, male principle in nature
2.4.2.1. seemingly opposite or contrary forced may actually be interconnected and complementary, interdependent in the natural world. A duality that is part of the oneness equated with the Tao.
2.5. Lao Tzu: Founder of Taoism, and a deity in religious Taoism
2.6. Key Figures
2.7. Texts
2.7.1. Tao Te Ching
2.7.1.1. Discusses all about Taoism, written by Lao Tzu
2.8. Afterlife
2.8.1. Taoists believe we are eternal, the afterlife is just another part of life itself. We are of the Tao when we are alive and of the Tao when we die.
2.9. Three treasures
2.9.1. Compassion
2.9.2. Moderation
2.9.3. Humility
3. Hinduism
3.1. The purpose of life
3.1.1. Dharma: Pay all debts
3.1.1.1. debt to the Gods for their blessings
3.1.1.2. debt to parents and teachers
3.1.1.3. debt to guests
3.1.1.4. debt to other human beings
3.1.1.5. debt to all other living beings
3.1.2. Artha
3.1.2.1. the pursuit of wealth and prosperity in one’s life.
3.1.3. Kama
3.1.3.1. enjoyment from life
3.1.4. Moksha
3.1.4.1. Enlightenment. offers such rewards as liberation from reincarnation, self-realization, enlightenment, or unity with God.
3.2. Relationship between mind and matter
3.2.1. Monism. All matter is energy including the mind.
3.3. What is the self
3.3.1. Atma is equated to inner self or soul. It is the true self of an individual beyond identification with phenomena, the essence of an individual: in order to attain liberation (moksha), a human being must acquire self knowledge, which is to realize one’s true self is identical with the transcendent self Brahman.
3.4. Nature of ultimate reality
3.4.1. Brahman
3.4.1.1. the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe. Brahman as a metaphysical concept is the single binding unity behind diversity in all that exists in the universe.
3.5. Key figures
3.5.1. Krishna
3.5.1.1. eighth avatar of the god vishnu, and a supreme god in his own right. The god of compassion, tenderness and love.
3.5.2. Ramakrishna
3.5.2.1. indian preacher and religious mystic
3.6. texts
3.6.1. Vedas
3.6.1.1. a collection of hymns to sing/recite
3.6.2. Mahabharata and Ramayana
3.6.2.1. two major sanskrit (Indo-Aryan language) epics of ancient India
3.7. Afterlife
3.7.1. Samsara
3.7.1.1. repeating cycle of birth, life death and rebirth.
4. Confucianism
4.1. What is the purpose of life
4.1.1. The purpose of life is to fulfill one's role in society, by showing honesty, propriety, politeness, filial piety, loyalty, humaneness, benevolence, etc
4.2. Relationship between mind and matter
4.2.1. Monism
4.3. What is the self
4.3.1. Junzi.
4.3.1.1. The ideal man that can live with poverty; Junzi does more and speaks less. A junzi is loyal, obedient and knowledgeable. Junzi disciplines himself. Among these, ren is the core of becoming junzi.
4.3.2. The Confucian self is not a concept of an independent entity. In the process of self-development, the key is to relating to one's social commitment, rather than isolating oneself from others and society.
4.4. Nature of ultimate reality
4.4.1. Confucius did not deny the existence of a reality beyond the human world, but he said that the nature of ultimate reality and the intentions and expectations of divinities are beyond human capacity to know or understand. Human morals should therefore be based on human relationships, without reference to some higher order.
4.5. Key Figures
4.5.1. Confucius
4.5.1.1. Founder of Confucianism
4.5.2. Mencius
4.5.2.1. described as the "second Sage", that is after only Confucius himself.
4.6. Texts
4.6.1. The Five Classics and Four Books
4.6.1.1. Authoritative book of Confucianism
4.6.2. Hundred Schools of Thought
4.6.2.1. Confucian thoughts and ideas
4.7. Afterlife
4.7.1. Confucius considered death itself a natural and inevitable process but did not go anywhere further than that.
4.7.2. the afterlife is not as important as what a person does in this life.