Eastern religions

Eastern religions
Name	Eastern religions
Type	Diverse religious and philosophical traditions originating in Asia
Main regions	South Asia; East Asia; Southeast Asia; Central Asia
Scriptures	Vedas; Upanishads; Pali Canon; Mahayana sutras; Jain Agamas; Guru Granth Sahib; Tao Te Ching; Analects
Languages	Sanskrit; Pali; Prakrit; Punjabi; Chinese; Japanese; Korean; Tibetan

Eastern religions Eastern religions comprise a set of interrelated religious and philosophical traditions that originated primarily in South Asia and East Asia, including major systems that shaped cultures across the Indian subcontinent, China, Japan, Korea, and Southeast Asia. These traditions influenced political formations, literary canons, legal codes, and artistic movements associated with states, empires, and institutions such as the Maurya Empire, Gupta Empire, Tang dynasty, Song dynasty, Mughal Empire, and Tokugawa shogunate. They continue to inform contemporary debates in fields connected to figures and movements like Mahatma Gandhi, Dalai Lama, Rabindranath Tagore, Sun Yat-sen, and Mao Zedong.

Overview and Definitions

Scholars define Eastern religions by shared geographical origins and intertextual linkages among traditions such as those preserved in the Vedas, Pali Canon, Tibetan Book of the Dead, Tao Te Ching, and the Analects of Confucius. States and polities—examples include the Maurya Empire, Gupta Empire, Tang dynasty, Heian period, and Silla—institutionalized variants through royal patronage, monastic networks, and legal codes like those associated with the Arthashastra and imperial edicts of the Qing dynasty. Comparative studies reference movements and institutions such as Theravada Buddhism, Mahayana Buddhism, Zen (Chan) Buddhism, Nichiren, Shinto, Shaivism, Vaishnavism, Jainism, Sikhism, and schools of Daoism and Confucianism.

Historical Development

Origins trace to formative texts and founders tied to distinct eras and polities: the composition of the Rigveda and Upanishadic developments in the late Vedic period; the licentious and reformist activities during the life of the historical Buddha under patrons like King Bimbisara and Ajatashatru; the codification of Jain doctrines associated with figures such as Mahavira; the compilation of the Guru Granth Sahib under the Sikh gurus and the militarization under Guru Gobind Singh linked to conflicts with the Mughal Empire. East Asian trajectories include the propagation of Confucian classics under reformers like Han Yu and recuperation under the Song dynasty's Neo-Confucianism led by Zhu Xi; the development of Daoist alchemical and religious movements associated with texts attributed to Laozi and communities such as those centered at Mount Qingcheng; and the transnational spread of Buddhism via transmission routes exemplified by the Silk Road, the pilgrimages of Xuanzang, and the missionary activities linked to the Chola dynasty and Srivijaya maritime networks.

Major Traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Taoism, Confucianism)

Hinduism encompasses diverse schools—Vedanta, Samkhya, Yoga, Mimamsa, Nyaya, and Vaisheshika—with canonical references to the Bhagavad Gita, Brahma Sutras, and epics like the Mahabharata and Ramayana tied to regional courts such as the Chola dynasty and cultural patrons like Krishna Deva Raya. Buddhism divides into lineages such as Theravada centered in regions associated with the Anuradhapura Kingdom, Mahayana prominent in Nara period Japan and Tang dynasty China, and Vajrayana closely tied to the courts of the Pala Empire and Tibetan institutions associated with the Dalai Lamas. Jainism retains canonical collections like the Jain Agamas and monastic orders connected to communities in Girnar and Patan. Sikhism, founded by the ten gurus culminating in the compilation by Guru Arjan and the militarization under Guru Gobind Singh, crystallized within the Punjab polity and resistance to the Mughal Empire. Daoist traditions range from philosophical treatises attributed to Laozi and Zhuangzi to ritual orders like the Tianshi (Celestial Masters), while Confucianism includes canonical texts—the Four Books and Five Classics—and institutional embodiments such as the Imperial examination system established by the Sui dynasty and expanded by the Song dynasty.

Core Beliefs and Practices

Belief systems articulate doctrines of cosmology, soteriology, ethics, and social order across texts and teachers like Adi Shankara, Nagarjuna, Bodhidharma, Huineng, Basava, and Kabir. Concepts of rebirth and karma appear in traditions with roots in the Upanishads, practical disciplines such as Patanjali's Yoga and monastic codes like the Vinaya Pitaka inform ethical and meditative practices, while devotional bhakti movements associated with saints like Tulsidas, Meera Bai, and Ramanuja emphasize personal devotion within temple networks patronized by dynasties such as the Vijayanagara Empire. Confucian ethics, exemplified by Mencius and Xunzi, inform familial and bureaucratic norms upheld by courts of the Han dynasty and Ming dynasty, whereas Daoist cultivation and alchemical pursuits influenced scholarly circles in the Tang dynasty and later literati such as Wang Yangming.

Rituals, Festivals, and Social Institutions

Ritual systems include Vedic soma rites preserved in priestly lineages like the Brahmins and temple rituals performed at sites such as Varanasi and Jagannath Puri; monastic ordination and ritual schedules as in the Theravada sangha of Myanmar and Thailand; Jain purification rites observed in pilgrimage centers like Palitana; Sikh rites at gurdwaras exemplified by the Harmandir Sahib; Daoist liturgies in clergy organizations such as the Quanzhen School; and Confucian ancestral rites practiced in temples across Korea's Joseon dynasty. Festivals—examples include Diwali, Holi, Vesak, Loy Krathong, Nagasaki Kunchi, and Lunar New Year celebrations tied to courts and merchant networks such as those of the Yuan dynasty and Southeast Asian sultanates—serve civic and religious functions within urban centers like Kathmandu, Kyoto, Hangzhou, and Istanbul's historical connections to Asian trade routes.

Spread, Interactions, and Modern Transformations

Transregional spread occurred through protagonists and institutions such as Ashoka's missionary dispatches, the pilgrimages of Faxian and Xuanzang, trade contacts involving the Srivijaya and Chola navies, and diasporic communities in colonial and modern contexts exemplified by migrations to East Africa, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Malaysia. Encounters with Islam and Christianity—seen in conflicts involving the Mughal Empire, dialogues with Jesuit missionaries like Matteo Ricci, and anti-colonial movements associated with Raja Ram Mohan Roy and Swami Vivekananda—produced reformist currents exemplified by organizations such as the Brahmo Samaj, Arya Samaj, and modernist scholars connected to Peking University and Banaras Hindu University. Twentieth-century transformations involved figures and events like Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian independence movement, the Chinese revolutions under Sun Yat-sen and Mao Zedong, diasporic reinterpretations in communities around the United States and United Kingdom, and global exchanges through institutions such as the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and contemporary academic programs at Oxford University, Harvard University, and University of Tokyo.

Category:Religions