Mahayana Buddhism, 141, 199, 221
Malunkyaputta, 125
manas, 46
Mandate of Heaven (tianming), 167–68, 178
mantras, 53
Mao Zedong, 199
Mara, 108
Matthew, Gospel of, 36
maya, 82, 87
Maya, Queen (the Buddha’s mother), 100, 135
Mazda. See Ahura Mazda
meditation: and the Axial Age’s inward turn, 228; Buddhist, 108, 131, 135; Confucian, 186; Gotama’s first teachers, 104; Indus Valley Civilization, 85; Vedantic school, 85–86
Mencius, 194, 195
Mengzi (Mencius), 194–97; on evil/human evil, 196; on filial piety and parental love, 196; and government’s role in promoting the good, 194–95; on heaven, 197; and innate human goodness (ren xing), 194–97; life of, 194; Parable of Ox Mountain, 196
mental discipline: the Buddha’s understanding of the undisciplined mind, 129–31; and Buddhist meditation, 131; Noble Eightfold Path, 129–31
Mitra, 12
Mohists, 181–82
moksha, 69; experience of, 87; shramanas and, 69–73, 85–87
monasticism: bhikkhus/bhikkhunis, 111, 135–36; Buddhist Sangha, 133–36; Jain orders, 146, 150–51; women monastics, 135–36
monotheism, 23
morality/moral obligation and responsibility: Axial Age and, 25–26; Confucianism and moral cultivation, 173, 176–77, 185–92, 197–98; “ethicization,” 28; Noble Eightfold Path (wholesome action and the Five Precepts), 128–29; Zhou theology, 166–68; Zoroastrianism, 25–26, 27–28, 29–30
Mozi, 181
music and the arts, 172–73, 187
Nachiketas’s dialogue with Yama, 55–57, 60, 69
Nanak, Guru, 22-23
Neo-Confucianism, 199
nibbana: and arahants, 125, 133; Fourth Noble Truth and the Noble Eightfold Path, 126–32; negative language of, 124–25; and parinibbana, 125, 136–37; Third Noble Truth, 123–26
Niebuhr, Reinhold, 2–3
Nietzsche, Friedrich, 123
nirguna Brahman, 79–80, 90, 93
Noble Eightfold Path, 126–32; cultivating wisdom, 127; developing moral conduct, 128–29; disciplining the mind, 129–31; right action and the Five Precepts, 128–29; right livelihood, 129; right speech, 129; skillful concentration, 131; skillful effort, 131; skillful intention, 127; skillful mindfulness, 131; skillful understanding, 127, 131–32; Triple Practice, 127–31
nonabsolutism, principle of, 149
not-self (anatta/anatman), 119–22
Nowruz (“New Day”) festival, 31–32
Pali Canon, 98, 99, 101, 105, 109, 138, 141; and the Suttas, 98, 99, 138
paradise, 30, 34
parinibbana, 125, 136–37
Parsis, 31
Period of Warring States (or Period of One Hundred Philosophers), 3, 170, 191, 194, 196, 197, 201, 217
politics and government: Confucian virtue and governance, 191–92, 194–95; Daoist political philosophy, 210, 213–16; Daoist practice of wu wei, 213; Mandate of Heaven, 167–68, 178; Mengzi on, 194–95; noninterference and minimalist governance, 215–16; Period of Warring States, 3, 170, 191, 194, 196, 197, 201, 217; Shang dynasty, 163; Zhou dynasty, 167–68
Prajapati, Queen, 135
prayer: Indo-Iranian, 31; shrauta rites and Brahmin priests, 53; Zoroastrian, 31
preaxial period: East Asia (preaxial China), 155–63; South Asia (Indo-Aryans), 10, 43–57; South Asia (Indus Valley Civilization), 39–42, 43, 52; West Asia (Indo-Iranians), 9–19
Proto-Indo-European (PIE), 9–10
Puranas, 89
purity, ritual: Hindu bathing rituals, 42; Indus Valley Civilization bathing facilities, 41–42; Zoroastrian, 31
Purusha, story of the, 50–52, 78
Qin dynasty, 165, 182, 198–99
quantum physics, 118
Rahula (son of Gotama), 135
Rajchandra, Srimat, 144n
Ramanuja, 88
Ramayana, 89
reality: anekanta (Jainism), 149; and Axial Age recognition of ultimate mystery, 231; impossibility of discussing ultimate reality (Hinduism), 82–83; and maya, 82
rebirth: Ancient Greece, 61–62; Axial India, 61–65, 67–68; Buddhism, 62; “good” or “bad,” 67–68; Jainism, 62; karma and the ethicization of, 64–65, 67–68, 71; metaphors/analogies, 62–63; precursor notion of “redeath,” 61; and samsara, 62, 68–73, 87–88; Sikhism, 62; Upanishadic passages (The Supreme Teaching), 62–64. See also afterlife; death
redeath, 61
reincarnation. See rebirth
religions/religious traditions: Axial Age understandings, 223–28; change and development over time, 223–24; different functions in culture/within a society, 224–25; interreligious encounters and influences, 224; personal transformation of the individual, 226–28; and problem of the self, 226–28; prophets’ transformative experiences at age thirty, 22–23, 99, 101–2, 103, 145–46
ren, 180–82, 194–97
ren xing, 194–97
renunciation: Gotama’s, 104–5, 107; Mahavira’s, 145–46. See also shramanas
Rig Veda, 10, 43, 44, 45–47, 50–52, 88; cosmogony and story of the Purusha, 50–52; hymns concerning death and afterlife, 45–47; on Soma, 15–16, 18; on worship of Indra, 18
rita/asha, 12–13
ritual: Buddhist Sangha councils and question of, 139; Confucian moral development and interior dimension of, 189–91; fire rituals, 15, 31, 52–53; gods of, 12, 15–16; Indo-Aryan, 44; Indo-Iranian, 14–16; li, 189–91; prayer, 31; ritual purity, 31, 41–42; Soma, 12, 15–16, 18, 53; Vedic shrauta rites, 52–53; and the zaotar (Iranian priest), 21–22; Zoroastrian, 30–32. See also sacrifice
sacrifice: and cosmic maintenance, 5–6, 14–16, 50–52; Indo-Aryan, 44; Indo-Iranian animal/blood sacrifices (yasna), 15; and seven-stage Avestan cosmogony, 13–14; story of the Purusha, 50–52; Vedic shrauta rites, 52–53
sage: Confucian ideal, 178; Daoist, 210–12, 216
saguna Brahman, 90
Sakyas, 99
samsara, 62, 68–73; liberation through devotion, 94–95; and maya, 82; and rebirth, 62, 68–73; the reevaluation of the world, 68–69. See also shramanas
Sangha, 133–36; daily meditation, 135; discipline and structure (rules of communal life), 135; dissemination of the Dhamma, 133–34, 135; First Buddhist Council, 138; gatherings to settle doctrinal and practical disagreements, 138–39; local monastic communities, 134–36; question of divine worship, 139; question of ritual practice, 139; women, 135–36
Saoshyant, 29, 35–36
Satan, 34, 108
satya, 143, 150
Schulz, Charles M., 212
Second Noble Truth, 115–19
self, concept of: atman, 46, 76–77, 227; Axial Age and individual selfhood, 3–4, 6, 225–28; the Buddha’s, 119–22, 227; Confucianism on self and community, 227, 230; Daoism and self-effacement, 211–12, 227; the Five Aggregates of Being, 121–22; not-self (anatta/anatman), 119–22; religion and the problem of the self, 226–28; Upanishads, 75–77, 227; Vedantic school, 75–77, 227; Vedic, 46, 76. See also human nature
sexuality: Five Precepts and sexual misconduct, 128–29; Indus Valley Civilization, 40–41
Shang dynasty: concept of virtue, 161–63; divination practices, 157–58; end of, 165, 167; heaven and earth, 158–61; religion of, 156–63, 168. See also East Asia, preaxial (ancient China)
Shangdi (Di), 159, 166
Shankara, 88
Shiva, 41
shramanas, 69–73; and the Daoist sages, 211–12; Gotama and the story of the Four Sights, 101–4; Gotama as, 104–5, 107; and jñana, 73; Mahavira, 145–46; meditation, 85–86; quest for liberating knowledge, 71–73, 85–87; relationship to ordinary householders, 70–71. See also asceticism
shrauta rites, 52–53
shruti, 44
Shvetambaras (the white-robed), 151
Siddhartha, King (father of Mahavira), 145
Sikhism, 23,
62
Soma: and the god Indra, 18; and Indo-Iranians, 12, 15–16, 18; Vedic shrauta rites, 53
Son of Man, 35–36
Song dynasty, 194, 199
soul/souls: Abrahamic traditions’ view of conception and, 77; Confucianism’s little attention to, 176–77; Jainism, 148–49; and Upanishadic atman (higher self), 76–77, 227; Vedic atman, 46, 76
South Asia: advent of Indian Axial Age, 54–57, 60–61; Buddhism, 97–141; classical Hindu era, 54–95; Indo-Aryans, 10, 43–57; Indus Valley Civilization, 39–42, 43, 52, 61n; Jainism, 143–51; preaxial India, 10, 39–57
Spring and Autumn Age (Zhou dynasty), 170, 171
The Spring and Autumn Annals, 170
Sri Lanka, 137, 140, 141
stupas, 137–38, 139, 140
Suddhodana, King, 100–101
suffering: the Buddha and The Four Sights, 101–4; and change/impermanence, 112; Daoist political analysis, 214–15; dukkha, 111–14, 115–19, 123–26; First Noble Truth, 111–14, 115; the Four Noble Truths, 109–32; Second Noble Truth and cause of, 115–19; Third Noble Truth and cessation of, 123–26; Zoroastrianism and, 30
Surya, 45
taijitu symbol, 206–7
Taiwan, 161
tanha (thirst/craving), 116, 123–24
Tatia, Nathmal, 151
Theravada Buddhism, 141
Third Noble Truth, 123–26
Thoreau, Henry David, 215
Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, era of, 156
tian, 166–67, 178
Tibet, 68, 141
Tillich, Paul, 181
time: avasarpini (cycle of decline), 147; cyclical, 33, 47, 144, 147; Jainism and cyclical, 144, 147; religious traditions’ change and development over time, 223–24; utsarpini (cycle of ascent), 147; Zoroastrianism, 33
Tirthankaras, 144. See also Mahavira
Tolstoy, Leo, The Death of Ivan Ilyich, 102–3
Tomb-Sweeping Day (Taiwan), 161
transcendental consciousness, 4–5, 231
Triple Practice, 127–31
Triple Refuge, 139
Trishala, Queen (mother of Mahavira), 145
Uddaka Ramaputta, 104
Upanishads: atman, 76–77, 227; and axial reevaluation of Vedic ritual system, 55–57; Brahman, 79, 80; Chandogya Upanishad, 81, 85; Isha Upanishad, 79; Kena Upanishad, 80; Maitri Upanishad, 82; on meditation, 86; Nachiketas’s dialogue with Yama, 55–57, 60, 69; rebirth metaphors/analogies, 62–64; The Supreme Teaching, 62–63, 86, 87. See also Vedantic school
Ushas, 45
Vajrayana Buddhism, 141
Varuna, 12, 19, 45
Vedantic school, 75–83, 85–88, 89; atman, 76–77, 227; Brahman, 78–80, 89, 90, 93; Brahman-atman, 80–82, 87–88; concept of the self/human essence, 75–77, 227; discussion of ultimate reality, 82–83; the knowing that leads to moksha, 85–87; meditation, 85–86; philosophical problems, 87–88; rebirth, 62–64; three subschools of Hindu philosophy, 88. See also Upanishads
Vedas, 44; cosmogony and story of the Purusha, 50–52; hymns concerning death and afterlife, 45–47; Indo-Aryans, 44, 45–47; Rig Veda, 10, 15–16, 18, 43, 44, 45–47, 50–52, 88; and shruti (revelation), 44
Vedic Period: axial reevaluation, 55–57; brahman, 53–54, 78; caste/stratification of humanity, 52; devas, 12, 44–45, 139; Nachiketas’s dialogue with Yama, 55–57, 60, 69; philosophical turn, 59–60; ritual and religion, 44, 47, 49–54, 72; role of knowledge, 72; shrauta rites, 52–53; story of the Purusha, 50–52, 78. See also Indo-Aryans; Upanishads; Vedas
Vesak (Buddhist holiday), 137
virtue, concept of: ancient Chinese religion, 161–63, 191–92; Axial Age compassionate and mindful virtue, 228–29; Confucian ideal of ren, 180; Confucian moral self-cultivation, 185–92; and filial responsibility, 162–63; Mandate of Heaven given to a virtuous ruler, 167–68
Vishnu, 91, 139
Warren, Robert Penn, 156
water: and the Dao, 207–8; Indo-Iranian deity, 11, 14; and seven-stage Avestan cosmogony, 13–14; and Zoroaster’s prophetic call, 22–23
Wen, King, 165
West Asia: preaxial Indo-Iranians, 9–19; Zoroastrianism, 21–36
Western philosophical tradition, 1
Whitehead, Alfred North, 1n
wisdom: the Confucian gentleman, 182–83; Noble Eightfold Path and cultivation of, 127. See also knowledge
women: arahants, 135–36; bhikkhunis and the Buddhist Sangha, 135–36; Indus Valley Civilization terra-cotta figurines, 40–41; and Jainism, 151
worship: ancestor reverence, 160–61, 162, 168; Bhagavad Gita on, 94–95; Buddhist Sangha gatherings on question of, 139; Confucius on, 176–77, 231; contemporary Hindu goddess worship, 41; Hindu iconography and idolatry, 92–93; Hindu personal devotion, 88–95; Indo-Iranian nature deities, 11, 14; Indo-Iranian worship of Indra, 18–19, 44–45; Indus Valley goddess worship, 40–41; liberation through devotion, 94–95; Zhou worship of Tian, 166–67. See also gods/goddesses
Wu, King, 165–66
Wu Jing (the Five Classics), 187
wu wei, 213
Xunzi, 197–98
Yama (King of Death), 45, 46; Nachiketas’s dialogue with, 55–57, 60, 69
Yashodhara (wife of Mahavira), 145
Yashodhara (wife of Siddhatha Gotama), 101, 135
yazatas, 24
Yeats, William Butler, 205
Yi Jing (book of divination), 165, 187
yinyang, 206–7
zaotar, 21–22
Zarathustra, 19. See also Zoroaster
Zen Buddhism, 125–26, 224
Zhang Daoling, 221
Zhou dynasty, 162, 165–70; Book of Odes and theistic problem of evil, 168–69; early rulers, 165–66; East Asian transition to the Axial Age, 165–70; folk religion, 168–69; and life of Confucius, 171–72; Mandate of Heaven (tianming), 167–68; morality, 166–68; Period of Warring States, 3, 170, 191, 194, 196, 197, 201, 217; political and cultural changes, 165–66; Spring and Autumn Age, 170, 171; theology, 166–69; Western Zhou/Eastern Zhou periods, 170; worship of Tian, 166–67
Zhuangzi, 216–20
Zhuangzi (book), 200, 215–16, 217–20; acceptance of change/impermanence, 217–19; butterfly dream, 220; “Inner Chapters,” 217
Zoroaster, 19, 21–36; and Ahura Mazda, 22, 23, 25, 31, 227; and the Gathas (Verses), 21–22, 24–25, 30; legacy, 27–36; life, 19, 21–26; moral sensitivities, 22; as priest (ritual specialist), 21–22; as prophet, 21–23; rejection by his community, 30; visionary experience and prophetic call, 22–23
Zoroastrianism, 21–36; afterlife and paradise, 30, 34; Ahriman (evil deity), 24–25, 34; bodily resurrection of the dead, 29; celebrations (festivals), 31–32; Day of Judgment, 33; dissemination of, 30; eschatological cosmological drama, 28–29; heaven and hell, 33–34; human beings’ role, 29–30; human moral responsibility, 25–26, 27–28, 29–30; influences on Abrahamic traditions, 32–36; innovations, 27–29; movement toward monotheism, 23; practices/rites, 30–32; prayer, 31; ritual purity, 31; sacred fires, 31; Saoshyant (future redeemer-judge), 29, 35–36; suffering, 30; theistic dualism and moral qualities of the gods, 24–25; theology, 23–25; time and history, 33
The Age of the Sages Page 33