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Saivism
Saivite Hindus worship the Supreme God as Siva, the Compassionate One. Saivites esteem self
discipline and philosophy and follow a satguru. They worship in the temple and practice yoga,
striving to be one with Siva within.
Shaktism
Shaktas worship the Supreme as the Divine Mother, Shakti or Devi. She has many forms. Some
are gentle, some are fierce. Shaktas use chants, real magic, holy diagrams, yoga and rituals to
call forth cosmic forces and awaken the great kundalini power within the spine.
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavites worship the Supreme as Lord Vishnu and His incarnations, especially Krishna and
Rama. Vaishnavites are mainly dualistic. They are deeply devotional. Their religion is rich in
saints, temples and scriptures.
Smartism
Smartas worship the Supreme in one of six forms: Ganesha, Siva, Sakti, Vishnu, Surya and
Skanda. Because they accept all the major Hindu Gods, they are known as liberal or
nonsectarian. They follow a philosophical, meditative path, emphasizing man's oneness with God
through understanding.
BUDDHISM SECTS
Buddha died in 486 B.C. Shortly after the Buddhist council was called in an ancient Indian city named
Rajagrha. The reason for this council was to create a doctrine that all Buddhist would follow and agree
on. However, all Buhddist did not agree on believing one doctrine. A century later the a second
Buddhist council gathered to solve issues within the Buddhist religion. Many issue did not resolve so
this debate led to the splitting of Buddhism into several different schools and sects. Below are the five
sects of Buddhism.
Theravada Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism is one of the the largest schools of Bhuddhism. "Theravada" means "teaching
of the elders." In southeast Asian TheravadaBuddhism is the most dominate. Most people that
follow this school of teachings are from, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos.
These Buddhist believe that their for of Buddhism adheres the original teachings of Buddha. These
Buddhist believe that each person must find their way to enlightment and Nirvana. These Buddhist see
Buddha as man alone. They do not worship him or pray to him. Theravada Buddhists, do not pray
during worship. When they give offerings to the statue of Buddha they leave these offerings in the
hope of earning merit in their following life. These Buddhists have not created families of dieties to
Mahayana Buddhism
Mahayana Buddhism is the other largest schools of Buddhism. Many Buddhists didnt agree with the
Theravada Buddhism school so they came to join Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana means "greater
vehicle". This term is used to show us that there are many different ways to attain
Niravana. Mayana Buddhists believe that inorder to attain Nirvana you need guidance from others. As
for where Theravada Bhuddists believe you have to attain Nirvana on your own. Countinuing
on, Mahayana Buddhists believe that all people are related due to reincarnation and the on going on
the birth/death cycle. For this reason all Buddhist must help one another. Mahayana Buddhists also
believe this towards criminals. They believe you have to help criminals find enlightment, thinking of
how that person could have been your mother or father in the pervious life.
Tantric Buddhism
Tantric Buddhism is the third school of Buddhism that exists in the Himalayan nations of Tibet and
Nepal. The word Tantric means Tantra. The word tantra means books dealings with rituals,
discipline, and meditation. Monks and priests in Tibet are knows as lamas, so Tantric Buddhism is
Tantric Buddhism first came to be in Tibet in the 7th century A.D. It mixed together Indian Buddhism
and Tibetean beliefs. This form of Buddhism is totally different from other forms of Buddhism. This
type of Buddhism consists of worshiping by reciting prayers and sacred texts, along with chanting of
hymns. Also, they meditate around mandalas, circular diagrams that represent a universe. There is
also, blowing of trumpets and the playing of drums. Dancing lamas wear masks and perform rituals to
scare away spirits, which comes into magic charms and mystical incantations.
Zen Buddhism
Zen Buddhism has two types of schools. Soto and Rinzai. Soto Zen holds that enlightment can be
attainted gradually. Rinzai Zen teaches that enlightment comes with insight and awareness.
Zen Buddhism derived from China. Then is was called Chan. Chan means "meditation". There is a
legend that tells us that there was once a wise Indian man named Bodhidarma. He sat staring at a
wall of a cave in China for nine years for intense meditation. He cut off his eyelids because they were
causing weight to add on to his weariness. He then lost both his legs for sitting in one positions that
Buddhist usually sit in called the lotus position. Eventually he attained enlightment and this intense
Pure Land is also called Jodo-shu. It helped some Buddhist feel like there was a heaven like Nirvana.
Pure Land is believed to be a Most Happy Land ruled by a Buddha named Amida.
Pure Land is described to be a place where there is no pain. Everything is fun and pleasurable. There
is always heavenly music playing, with beautiful birds everywhere. Lakes are full of gems and ponds
filled with gold dust. When a good Buddhist dies he/she is automatically reborn into Amida's Pure
Land.
Dependant Origination
Right Understanding:
In his book " Old Path, White Clouds" , Thich Nhat Hanh tells
the story of the Buddha. The Buddha says "my teaching is not
a dogma or a doctrine, but no doubt some people will take it as
such." The Buddha goes on to say "I must state clearly that my
teaching is a method to experience reality and not reality itself,
just as a finger pointing at the moon is not the moon itself. A
thinking person makes use of the finger to see the moon. A
person who only looks at the finger and mistakes it for the
moon will never see the real moon."
Right Intent:
Right Speech:
Right Action:
Right Livelihood:
Right Effort:
The Buddha was well ahead of his time on this one, and many
books have been written about the power of the right attitude.
Right Mindfulness:
While Right Effort is a very easy concept for most of us, Right
Mindfulness is somewhat trickier to grasp, and may involve
quite a change of thinking.
I suggest that you take a short break, stand up and walk (or
cruise if you are mobile) around the room or house, and then
come back here before reading on.
Now, having read this, try the same walk as before but with a
focused mind, which now concentrates only on the action of
the walking. Observe your thoughts before reading on.
Right Concentration: