Semester 1 Religions

SAMPLE TOPIC SENTENCES:

A. The beliefs of __________________ religion have had a lasting affect on the lives of followers over time.

B. The beliefs of __________________ religion has affected followers of _____________ by making them more _________________.

C. _________________ is a main belief of ___________________ religion that affects followers by making them more ___________________.

SAMPLE MAIN IDEAS:

A. For Buddhism the following are main ideas, a good essay would discuss each of them in the body paragraphs:

Four Noble Truth's (want causes suffering)
Eightfold Path to End Suffering and Reach Enlightenment (also known as the Middle Way), this is how a Buddhist needs to behave in order to reach their goal Enlightenment. See your handout for more details.
Enlightenment (see your handout for explanation)

ESSAY TASK:

An enduring issue is an issue that exists across time. It is one that many societies have attempted to address with varying degrees of success.

1. Describe in detail the key beliefs or customs of one religion

2. Explain in detail how those beliefs continue to affect the lives of followers over time. (claim task)

In your essay

- Identify and define the enduring issue (Impact of Religion) raised by this set of documents.

- Using your knowledge of Social Studies and evidence from the documents, argue why the

issue you selected is significant and how it has endured across time. Be sure to:

- Identify the issue based on a historically accurate interpretation of three documents.

-introduce the historical background information related to the religion

-Argue that this is a significant issue that has endured by showing: o How the issue has affected people or

been affected by people or How the issue has continued to be an issue or changed over time

- Include outside information from your knowledge of social studies and evidence from the documents.

BUDDHISM TEXT 1: Excerpts from The Dhamma-pada: The practice of being mindful is paramount to understanding Buddhism. When we are mindful, the Buddha teaches, we awaken from our ignorant perceptions about what is real and true….This constant state of wanting creates pain in our lives, because we are never satisfied. To contemplate awareness of our surroundings, it requires that we are physically, mentally, and spiritually present to the people and places around us. Buddhism teaches there is no permanent self, it is silly to say something is mine or yours. Letting go of those things most precious to us, we learn to appreciate all reality and its inherent goodness.

The Dhamma-pada is a collection of the original teachings of Buddha and directly translates to” The Way of The Truth”. The Dhamma-pada is organized into 423 sections and 26 chapters. The excerpt shown above is one of the most popular Buddhist writings in the world and dates back to around 300 B.C.E.

BUDDHISM TEXT 2: Seeing Into One’s Own Nature

By Linji Yixuan

“ Followers of the of the Buddha have no room for elaborate activity; it is only everyday life with  nothing to do. Drink your water, put on your clothes, eat your food... The fool will laugh, but the wise man will understand…. Just what is it that you are seeking in this world that you think will give you emancipation? Go out into the world and, seeking only the barest minimum of food, make do with it...”

Source: Linji Yixuan (d. 867) was a Chan (Zen) Buddhist monk of the late Tang dynasty (618-907). Like all schools of Buddhism, the Chan school taught that everyone has the Buddha nature within them and that Enlightenment is achieved by truly recognizing one’s own true nature

BUDDHISM TEXT 3: The Heart Sutra

When a Buddha was meditating on The Perfection of Wisdom he said…all these things are void in nature, …there is no matter, no feeling, no perception no discrimination and no consciousness; there is no eye, no ear, no nose, no tongue, no body and no mind; there is no sight, no sound, no smell, no taste, no touch and; there is no suffering, no causes of suffering, no end of suffering, and there is no wisdom, nor anything to be gained. As nothing is to be gained, a Buddha becomes free in his mind, and as he is free in his mind he has no fear and ultimate Nirvana [perfect enlightenment].

Source: The Heart Sutra is one of the best known texts of Mahayana Buddhism and is literally translates to the perfection of wisdom. Sutras are texts which are from the original teachings of the Supreme Buddha. The Journey to the West. 4 vols. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1977, 527, note 36)

BUDDHISM TEXT 4: “The Daughter of the Dragon King”

The Lotus Sutra is one of the most popular and influential Buddhist writings. The part of the Lotus Sutra that you will be reading is about Śāriputra one of Buddha’s students. One day Śāriputra asked Buddha if women and children could reach enlightenment. The following story is Buddha’s answer to Śāriputra

… Śāriputra said to the dragon princess, “You suppose that in this short time you have been able to attain true Enlightenment. But this is difficult for me to believe. Why? Because you are a woman. How could you attain the true understanding of things? The road to Enlightenment is long and far-stretching. Only after one has spent an immeasurable amount of time pursuing the right way of understanding things, and practicing all kinds of perfection can one finally achieve success. Moreover, a woman cannot become a Buddha. How then could a woman like you attain Buddhahood so quickly?” ….The girl said, “watch me attain Enlightenment…” At that time Śāriputra saw the girl in an instant change into a man, then into a dragon, then into a woman, immediately afterwards he saw her reach Enlightenment.”

From Sources of Chinese Tradition, compiled by Wm. Theodore de Bary and Irene Bloom, 2nd ed., vol. 1 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1999), 453-454. © 1999 Columbia University Press. Selection from the Lotus Sūtra:

ISLAM TEXT 1: The Qur’an a Sacred Text of Islam

For Muslims, the Qur'an is the eternal and indisputable word of God. The oldest and most sacred text of Islam, it is the cornerstone of every believer's faith and morality. The Qur'an was revealed to Muhammad over a period of about 22 years…

The new scripture was known as the qur'an (recitation) because believers learned it by listening to public readings and recitations. Many of Muhammad's followers committed the passages to memory. But the Prophet also commissioned many scribes to preserve the messages in writing. Muslims do not consider Muhammad to be the author or editor of the Qur'an. Instead, they regard him as a prophet, chosen by God to receive and transmit a divine message. As the word of God, the Qur'an is regarded as sacred and infallible. (infallible: meaning not capable of being wrong)

The Qur'an is the primary source of Islamic belief and practice. The book stresses the existence of the one true God. The Qur'an states that God is the source of all life: “He is the First and the Last, the Outward and the Inward; And He is the Knower of everything.” Moreover, God is transcendent—humans are unable to fully comprehend his glory and essence. Muslims refer to the basic principle of the Qur'an as tawhid, meaning divine unity. The Qur'an also sets forth the duties of humans. A Muslim must submit to the will of God, as revealed in the sacred text.

Source: "Qur'an." In The Islamic World: Past and Present. , edited by John L. Esposito. Oxford Islamic Studies Online, http://www.oxfordislamicstudies.com/article/opr/t243/e275 (accessed 14-Dec-2015).

ISLAM TEXT 2: The Sacred Pilgrimage (Hajj) (This is a pilgrimage that most Muslims make during their lifetime, it is usually done alone and requires a trip from one’s home country to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. It normally takes 5 to 6 days to complete, its purpose ranges from uniting followers to showing worship to Allah.)

In June 1325, at the age of twenty-one, an explorer and Muslim named Ibn Battuta set off from his hometown on a hajj, or pilgrimage, to Mecca, a journey that would take sixteen months. The Hajj caravan was probably several thousand people. Each person was responsible for his own animal to ride, supplies, and money for expenses. “I set out alone, having neither fellow traveler in whose companionship I might find cheer, nor caravan whose part I might join, but swayed by an overmastering impulse within me and a desire long-cherished in my bosom to visit these illustrious sanctuaries. So I braced my resolution to quit my dear ones, female and male, and forsook my home as birds forsake their nests. My parents being yet in the bonds of life, it weighed sorely upon me to part from them, and both they and I were afflicted with sorrow at this separation.”[7]

ISLAM TEXT 3: Unity in Islam In the following passage Malcolm X, an American civil rights activist, describes the atmosphere he experienced at his Hajj in the 1960s as follows:

“There were tens of thousands of pilgrims, from all over the world. But we were all participating in the same ritual, displaying a spirit of unity and brotherhood that my experiences in America had led me to believe never could exist... America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. You may be shocked by these words coming from me. But on this pilgrimage, what I have seen, and experienced, has forced me to rearrange much of my thought patterns previously held.”[83]

ISLAM TEXT 4: Document#4: N.Y. Times Article “Teenage Summer, the Fasting Version”

I can handle it,” said Jay, a narrow line of a teenager. “I feel like God is liking me even more since I started fasting.” Ramadan, in some ways, seems perfectly designed for teenagers’ summer sleeping habits. Since the fast began, both Jay and his friend, who is also 14, have stayed up until the early hours of the morning so they could sleep through many of the hours of want. Jay is still awake when his family rises to eat before sunrise. He plays video games and watches videos until about 6 a.m., then sleeps until 3 p.m. Around the corner, Amela and Dafina, 17 year old cousins, left their air-conditioned apartments at around 5 p.m. on Thursday to sit on a neighbor’s front stoop. Unlike the Jay and his friend, Amela and Dafina said they keep regular hours during Ramadan. “The point is not to sleep all day,” Amela said. “It’s to do it for God — to have to resist.” Also, she added, to foster empathy for those who go without. The young women said they spent their fasting days inside. “With the long hair, and we can’t wear shorts — it’s just too hot,” explained Amela. They pass the hours with family, playing Albanian card games and watching movies. “It’s all about being mad mellow,” Amela said. “It’s cool, too — it lets you find out who you are, too. You have more time to look at yourself.”

Source: A version of this article appears in print on page A14 of the New York edition of the New York Times

follow us: