Unit 1, Lecture 2: Perspectives on Eastern Beliefs

Body Ritual Among the Nacirema (anthropology) Outsider approach: no attempt to speak with the people, but studying and evaluating them from the outside Nacirema is American spelled backwards describing us by spending lots of time in bathroom (makeup), so think human body is dirty - Making assumptions creates distortions to can’t recognize ourselves The Familiar and the Foreign: normally perceive things automatically without critically understanding them based on own world view and assumptions - J Z Smith forces you out of this to make familiar things feel strange - “To make foreign familiar” and “To make familiar foreign” Images of God: different images based on culture and religion; different aspects seem weird to those foreign (ex. Christian beard, Hindu elephant) Zeus: old man with beard from Greek, writings of description, age with wisdom -> created image of Christian figures0 o Ex. Jesus depicted differently looks wise and skin color - Judaism/Islam: can’t depict a god at all - Hindu: many depictions like Vishnu or reincarnations, Shiva, Devi o Formless light to then creating the world Buddhism: don’t believe a god in creator of universe, but believe in miracles and being like buddha that plays a godlike role (different from atheist views) o Amitabha Budda: infinite light to lift from suffering in next life - Daoism: The three pure ones, impersonal and mysterious source of universe Scholastics: Christian Middle Ages Disputed questions: argue both sides (Whether God exists?) started with strong opposing viewpoints Three Enduring Questions: 1. Who am I? 2. What is the nature of ultimate reality? 3. How should we live our lives? Vedas: oldest LIVING recited and studied text -> wasn’t written, passed down orally Insider: unique claim that this text has no author, not even God, has always existed before the beginning of time Recitation: very good and special techniques for faithfulness to memorize correctly even to modern day -> to help not forget or replace to a similar word o Boy children (male dominated) memorized (better memory) spending years, fidelity by not knowing its purpose or meaning as its easier to not mess up if don’t understand so not make similar substitutions India/South Asia: originated but spread Diaspora Hinduism: leaving homeland and taking their culture/traditions with them - Most: East/West Africa, UK, South America, Carribean, North America, Australia - Vast diversity and traditions, no God, no single central text -> difficult to generalize