1.
4 noble truths: important buddhist principle.
1. Life is suffering.
2. Suffering comes from desire.
3. To end suffering, end desire.
4. To end desire, follow the 8 Fold Path.
2.
8 fold path: way to end desire.
3. Right speech (don't lie, be mean)
4. Right action (don't kill, steal)
5. Right profession (not selfish. like monk, farmer, teacher, etc.)
8. Right concentration
3.
260 BC: Asoka's conversion to Buddhism
4.
321-185 BC: span of Mauryan Dynasty
5.
483 BC: death of Buddha
6.
900-500 BC: writing of the Upanishads
7.
1500 BC: start of Hinduism, arrival of Arya in India
8.
1500-1200 BC: writing of the Vedas
9.
Alexander the Great: Macedonian who conquered Persian Empire
10.
aristocracy: ruled by the best
11.
Asoka: grandson of Chandragupta, converted to Buddhism
12.
atheistic: not believing in god
13.
atman: individual part of the soul
14.
bodhisattva: (Buddhism) enlightened helper
15.
brahman: world's soul, transcendent reality
16.
brahmin: priests, highest in the Caste System
17.
buddha: title, 'englightened one'
18.
caste: Indian hierarchy
19.
Chandragupta Maurya: founder of Mauryan Dynasty
20.
dharma: (Hinduism) one's duty/responsibilities, based on caste. (Buddhism) the teachings of Buddha.
21.
dravidian: a people/language in India (pre-Aryans)
22.
guild: club of people with the same profession
23.
karma: (Hinduism) results that build up from following/not following Dharma
24.
kshatriya: warriors, second-highest in the Caste System
25.
mahayana: 'greater raft,' New Buddhism, lets more people reach Nirvana
26.
metaphysical: beyond physics/natural world
27.
nirvana: 'flame being blown out,' free from suffering
28.
secular: non-religious
29.
syncretic: something that combines different things
30.
theocracy: a system of government in which priests rule in the name of God or a god
31.
theravada: 'way of the elders,' Old Buddhism, more difficult to reach Nirvana
32.
upanishads: commentaries on the Vedas
33.
vedas: religious texts of the Arya. about gods, stories, sacrifice.