INTRO
Nostra Aetate
‘in our time’ written during Vatican II, which was started by John XXIII
1965—Pope Paul VI
Terms
Immanent- remaining within; God is close by
Transcendent- beyond or above; God is out there
Theistic- believe in God, but don’t belong to a particular religion
Deism- believe in God, but left us to our own devices
Monotheistic- belief in one God & single active God or deity
Polytheistic- belief in several active deities that are independent from each other
Incarnation- God in flesh
Atheism- person without God; or didn’t know of God
Agnosticism- people who don’t know if there is a God
Negative theology- what God is not
Orthodox- acceptable teaching; the right voice
Fundamentalist- conservative; more y the book/ by the law; positive nor negative on its own
Liberals- favorable to reform
Heretics- someone who is contrary to the established religious doctrine
Mystics- inner spiritual dimension
Heterodox- wrong teaching to a particular tradition
Religion- group of people who are bound together
Henotheism- many gods, but their god is the best
Theology- study of God
Pantheism- God is in everything
Panentheism- God is in everything
CE- common era
BCE- before common era (before Christ)
Armstrong
We tend to tame and domesticate God’s “otherness”
Mythos- myth
Logos- reason
HINDUISM
Ashramas
Student stage (learning)
Householder stage (family, vocation, community)
Retiring/ Retreating from society (find meaning in the mystery)
Sannyasin (Holy man no ties with society—“one who neither hates nor loves anything lives identified with the eternal self & beholds nothing else)
Caste System
Brahmin- priests
Kshatriya- warriors
Viasya- merchants, landowners
Sudra- commoners, peasants, servants
Untouchables (out of caste)- street sweepers, latrine cleaners
Made illegal in 1948
Ramakrisha
CLOCK
Deities

Texts
Sruti
Sacred
Vedas (4)
Upanishads
To sit beside
108 essays
Smriti
Authoritative
Mahabharata
Consideration of others before oneself is the basis of Dharma
Bhagavad- Gita
Advice of detachment from whom to whom
Ramayana
Rama (7th avatar of Vishnu)
Sita (Lakshmi)
Ravana
Hanuman
Gandhi
Born in India 1869
Nickname: “Mohan”
Means “grocer”
At seven, he became aware of the faults of Indian Caste system
Marries at 13
Wife: Kasturbai Maranji
Goes to London to study law
Returns in India to practice law
Satyagraba (power of truth or love, as a force to create change in the world)
“Man of the Year” in TIME Magazine
BUDDHISM
Eight-Fold Path
Views (see things as they really are)
Intent (what was behind what you were doing)
Speech (say what you mean; mean what you say)
Conduct (lying)
Livelihood (are you living in a way that matches this)
Effort (living intentionally good)
Mindfulness (yelling at parents or mad at friend)
Concentration (too preoccupied with life)
“Buddha” documentary
Siddhartha’s mother died 7 days after his birth.
Everyone experiences suffering; it is something we share with everyone.
When I know the glass is already broken, every moment with it is precious.
The story of his life is a beautiful way of telling the teaching.
There is no knowledge won without sacrifice.
Something new opens up for him, which he calls Nirvana
You’re already enlightened.
Pay attention.
Siddhartha ascended to the highest levels of consciousness but they were impermanent
The shedding of one’s life is essential to being reborn.
Siddhartha didn’t have a solution, but he recognized the problem. Siddhartha experiences extreme luxuries, but then he tried extreme asceticism.
Buddhism is not about being special; it is about being ordinary
You really can be free of suffering by understanding the cause of suffering.
Texts
Lotus Sutra
Holy text
Mahayana
Sutra- teaching
Lotus symbolizes that is has to go through dirt to become a beautiful flower
Pali Canon
Tipitaka
Theraveda
Book of the Dead
Tibetan
49 days in bardo (time after death)
Dalai Lama
Spiritual guide in Tibet
Won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989
Four Passing Sights
Old man
Diseased man