NAME 

    DATE      CLASS    

Ancient India
Lesson 2 Religions of Ancient India
Terms to Know
ESSENTIAL QUESTION Hinduism major religion that developed in ancient India; main
How do religions develop? belief: all souls are part of one universal spirit
Brahman the universal spirit worshipped by Hindus
GUIDING QUESTIONS reincarnation the idea that the soul is reborn into many
What are the basic beliefs of Hinduism? How did different lives
Hinduism develop? dharma a person's personal duty, based on the individual's
Why did Buddhism appeal to many people in various place in society
parts of Asia? karma a good or bad force created by a person's actions; it
What are the teachings of Jainism? determines whether a person's soul will be reborn into a higher
or lower form of life
Buddhism religion founded by Siddhartha Gautama; main
belief: inner peace comes from ending desire
nirvana a state of perfect happiness that is achieved after
giving up all desires
Jainism religion that does not believe in a supreme being; it
emphasizes nonviolence and respect for all living things

When did it happen?

What do you know?

Put a check mark( )next to each term that you know. For every word that you check, write a
short description or definition.
Sanskrit
the Vedas
varnas
guru
Untouchables

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Lesson 2 Religions of Ancient India, Continued

Origins of Hinduism
Hinduism is one of the oldest religions in the world. It grew
from the faith of the Aryans. Hinduism has no one founder Sequencing
and no one holy book. 1.Fill in the blanks with words
Hindus believe in one great spirit called Brahman. They from this section.
also believe that all living things and even the gods are part
of Brahman.
Hindus believe that the soul
Hindus believe that a person’s soul will eventually join goes through
Brahman. Before that can happen, however, a soul must
. A person is born into a. If
live many lives—even some as an animal. The idea of living
many lives in different forms, one after another, is called they follow the _______ of
reincarnation. According to Hinduism, if people do the their jati, they make good
duties of their jati, they will get a better next life. They must _______ and the cycle
follow dharma, or their personal duty. If a person follows starts again.
dharma, then they have good karma.
Do your duty to
your jati
Describing
Be reborn into 2.How do Hindus believe
Follow dharma
a better life/ their souls will eventually
Born into a jati join Brahman?

Create good
karma

Karma is the result of how a person lives. If you live a

good life and do your duty, you have good karma and
eventually, you will reach Brahman. If you have bad karma,
you will be reborn into a lower jati or as an animal and will
remain in the cycle of reincarnation. Reading
This belief in dharma and karma mean that people have Check
to obey the rules of their jati because that is where they
3.How did Hinduism affect
have to stay until their next lifetime. The idea of
reincarnation gives them their only hope. the way ancient Indians lived
day to day?
Rise of Buddhism
Prince Siddhartha Gautama was born about 563 B.C.
Siddhartha was wealthy, married, and had a son. One day
he left the palace and was shocked to see that most
people were poor. He asked himself why people suffered.
 Lesson 2 Religions of
Ancient India, Continued

Identifying To search for answers, he left his family and lived alone.
Legend says that Siddhartha meditated under a tree.
4.Who was the founder of
Finally, he came to understand the meaning of life. This is
Buddhism? called “Enlightenment.”
Siddhartha spent the rest of his life teaching people about
his discovery. People called him the Buddha, which means
“Enlightened One.” His lessons about life and suffering are
Explaining called Buddhism.
5.How does a Buddhist get The Buddha taught that everyone should stop wanting
fame, money, and worldly things. Then they would reach
to nirvana?
nirvana, a feeling of perfect peace and happiness. The
Buddha said that the only way to stop desiring things was to
follow the Eightfold Path—the Buddhist rules for right living.
The Buddha did not agree with the jati system. He taught
that all people could reach nirvana. This made Buddhism
Defining very popular among the lower jati and the Untouchables.

6.What
The is the Eightfold
Eightfold Path
Path? the Four Noble Truths.
1. Know and understand
2. Give up worldly things and do not harm others.
3. Tell the truth, do not gossip, and do not speak
badly of others.
4. Do not commit evil acts, such as killing,
stealing, or living an unclean life.
5. Do rewarding work.
6. Work for goodContrasting
and oppose evil.
7. Make sure your mind keeps your senses under
control. 7.What is the difference
between Theravada
8. Practice meditation to see the world in a new way.
Buddhism and Mahayana
Buddhism? The Buddha taught his ideas for more than 40 years.
When he died, his disciples could not agree about what his
message really meant. They split into two groups. One was
Theravada Buddhism. Theravada means “teachings of the
wise men.” It says that the Buddha was a great teacher, but
not a god. Theravada Buddhism spread south and east. It
also became popular in Indochina.
The other kind of Buddhism is Mahayana Buddhism. It
says that the Buddha is a god. Mahayana Buddhists also
honor bodhisattvas. Bodhisattvas are enlightened people

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 who choose not to go to heaven even though they could.
Instead, they stay on Earth to help others reach nirvana.

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Lesson 2 Religions of Ancient India, Continued

In Tibet, Mahayana Buddhism mixed with Hinduism and

Tibet’s own religions. Buddhist leaders called lamas led the
government. Tibetans believed lamas were reincarnations of Reading
the Buddha. Check
Today, very few Buddhists live in India. Buddhism is 8.Where is Buddhism
widely practiced in Southeast Asia and East Asia. There practiced today and in
are about 376 million Buddhists in the world today.
what forms?

BUDDHISM

Theravada Buddhism Mahayana Buddhism

• Buddha was a great • Buddha was a god.
teacher. • People who worship
• Buddha was not a god. Buddha can go to heaven.

Jainism Reading
Another religion also came to India at this time. It is called Check
Jainism. Its main teacher was Mahavira. Mahavira’s title 9. What is the belief of
was “the Jina,” or “the Conqueror.” His followers are called
ahimsa?
Jains. Much of Jainism is like Buddhism. Both taught that
people should stop wanting worldly things. Their goal was
to stop the process of being reborn and reach nirvana.
Jainism has one main teaching: Never harm any living
creature. The name of this teaching is ahimsa. Ahimsa means
that a person should not kill even insects or worms.
Centuries later, in the early 1900s, an Indian man named
Mohandas Gandhi led a movement to free his nation from the
rule of the British. Instead of using weapons, Gandhi 10.Place a three-tab
followed the example of ahimsa. He and his followers used Foldable along the dotted
nonviolent ways of protesting. Through peaceful ways, the line to cover the Check for
nation of India gained its independence. Understanding. Label the
anchor tab How did they
develop?
Check for Understanding Label the three tabs
List one important belief or practice of each religion.
Hinduism, Buddhism,
1. Hinduism Jainism. On the back of the
2. Buddhism tabs, write a sentence
about each religion based
3. Jainism upon what you remember.