Zoroastrianism And Buddhism Research Paper

(1046-256 Bce), they continued to thrive in spite of fighting between them. Various Chinese philosophers offered different solutions as to how to restore social and political order out of the chaos of the times. Those ideas were Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism. Confucianism, Legalism, and Daoism each have a different vision of the ideal ruler. Each school of philosophy was unique and was able to flourish in their own way.

In order to see how the principles and teachings of Confucius influenced the Han Dynasty, we must first look at the history of Confucius. "Kong Fuzi, known in Latin as Confucius, a philosopher and political adviser from the small state of Lu in modern Shandong, sought to reform China by redefining Chinese political and ethical thought" (Spodek 208-209). Confucius dedicated his life to education and philosophy, as he mastered the six Chinese arts: archery, ritual, calligraphy, music, chariot driving, and arithmetic. He went on to be a teacher, government advisor, and author several historical works. Confucius focused on the importance of self-discipline and earning rather than power based on birthright. His teachings eventually grew to impact the region, although most of this transformation took place after his death.

Zoroastrianism and Buddhism, like many other world religions, attempted to answer the big questions that were being asked in Southwest Asia and India in the Axial Age (700 B.C.E - 500 B.C.E) and establish social order. Social order, in this sense, refers to a set of customs and values that create well-behaved citizens and allow a society to exist safely and harmoniously. While both religions tried to make sense of suffering and provide guidance to people on how to live their lives, each differs tremendously in their fundamental beliefs.

Buddhism began in India; it was founded by Siddhartha Gautama, a prince, born in Nepal. Siddhartha Gautama wandered around for awhile acting like a beggar to figure out why it was that

Buddhism was created in the 6th century BCE by Siddhartha Gautama, also known as Buddha. This religion was created in present day Nepal. Lower class, poor people were more likely to convert to Buddhism due to the caste system in India. The caste system organized people into classes and the people at the bottom were more likely to be unhappy than the upper classes.

A prince named Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha) founded “Buddhism” in the sixth century before the birth of Christ. Buddhism is better understood as philosophy rather than a religion and follows the concept of the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Noble path.

Buddhism is a tradition that evolved from the original teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, the Buddha or Enlightened One. Buddha was born a Hindu in about 563 B.C.E. He was of aristocratic birth and grew up in relative luxury and the security of the ruling class of that period. At age twenty-nine, he tired of his comfortable existence and renounced the world and went in search of wisdom. Tradition states that he attained enlightenment on a full moon day in May - under a fig tree.

Buddhism originated from India, and was founded by Prince Siddharta Gautama, who later came to be known as Buddha, or the enlightened one. Born of a princely caste, he later renounced his comfortable life in search for nirvana. In order to do that, he joined a band of ascetic, who was a group of Hindu priests.

has also been suggested that due to the prophet Daniel’s close association with the sovereigns of the Archaemenian period, Zoroastrianism is thought to have influenced Judaism, as the prophet Daniel served as an advisor in court of Darius the Great (Boyce, 89). The intermingling of these two monotheistic faiths eventually gave rise to one of the largest monotheistic religion in the world, Christianity (91). Christianity has even been referred to as a Mithraic cult, due to the amount of Christian beliefs, ideas, practices, and teachings that have been adopted from Zoroastrianism (Min-Ju, 6). However, according to most academic sources, archaeological evidence does not support this claim (Beard & North, 134).

Zoroastrianism is a religion founded by a priest named Zarathustra Spitma or Zoroaster far back in the 1200BCE, with the principle belief of an almighty God or “the One” Ahura Mazda and the context of a cosmic battle between the good and evil forces.

“Zoroastrianism is one of the oldest religions. It is estimated to be around 3000 years old, yet it is one of the smallest religions in the modern world. Approximately 11,000 Zoroastrians remain in Iran” (Nigosian), but most live in Bombay, India. They believe there is only one God, Ahuramazda. They also believe in the idea of preexistence, but do not believe in reincarnation. That fire represents truth, which should never be allowed to die.

In Chinese history, there were three main philosophies: Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism. These beliefs helped shape Chinese culture as well as Chinese history. Not only did people believe in these ideas, but the three helped to govern the mighty Chinese dynasties. These dynasties all provided an impact to each doctrine; the philosophy that had the greatest impact was legalism because it ended the Warring States Period, provided structure, and strengthened agriculture, and the military of China. Although Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism had a few things in common and at times tried to resolve the same problem, they were very different from each other in their beliefs, character, and ways of life.

When the Zoroastrian kings excited the Buddhists from the Parthian Empire about 150 AD, these men and women brought Buddhism north with them to Central Asia, at which time many people became interested in the new religion. Not much later, this same movement brought Buddhism to China. This movement, or just the general trade along the Silk Road, may have also brought Hindu ideas to Central Asia, as shown by this figure of the Hindu god Vishnu found on the banks of the Volga river north of the Caspian Sea. About the same time, Christian missionaries also began to come from West Asia to Central Asia where they succeeded in getting some people, especially in America, to convert to Christianity. Other people in the same area converted to Judaism

Buddhism originated from India, and was founded by Prince Siddharta Gautama, who later came to be known as Buddha, or the enlightened one. Born of a princely caste, he later renounced his comfortable life in search for nirvana. In order to do that, he joined a band of ascetic, who was a group of Hindu priests.

Zoroastrianism was inspired by the titular prophet Zoroaster, who, according to tradition, “spent years in a wandering quest for truth” (Boyce, pg. 19). He witnessed various acts of violence by the worshippers of the Daevas, but concluded that he could not do anything to help by himself. Thus, “he became filled with a deep longing for justice...so that order and tranquility could prevail, and all be able to pursue the good life in peace” (Boyce, pg. 19). The beliefs backed up by the Ahuras would support a gentle community with a more relaxed quality of life, and this inspired the eventual revelation that Zoroaster experienced with Ahura Mazda. Similarly, Confucianism finds a great part of its basis in five books called The Classics, which came about during a point of societal transition and unrest. These books outlined the rites and values of Confucianism, as well as its ultimate goal: “the creation of a harmonious society through careful self-cultivation not for the sake of the self, but for the sake of society” (Woo, pg. 259). While Confucius did not write all of these,