Who Is Wrong?

In Hinduism there is the belief there is only one supreme absolute called Brahman, the Sanskrit word for spirit. The most fundamental of Hindu deities, is the trinity of Brahma, Vishnu and Shiva. Vishnu as the preserver of the cosmos upholds the universal laws. God enters this world as Avatar "one who descends". Krishna is the all prevailing power which maintains the universe and the cosmic order, the Dharma. Shiva is considered the destroyer. It is he who dispels ignorance and grants solace. Hindus also hold a strong belief in reincarnation where the Altman is reborn into another body after the previous one dies. About 600 BC, the idea of reincarnation became more and more common among Hindus. Most people began to think that after you died you would be reborn into another body according to your works and deeds. Gradually people began to hate the idea that you had to be endlessly reborn in different forms. They wanted to get free of the wheel of rebirth. People began to think that sacrificing animals was a burden on your karma, or fate that prevented you from getting free of reincarnation. So animal sacrifice became less popular.

Buddhism began as an offspring of Hinduism; as way of finding peace within oneself. It is a religion that helps us to find the happiness and contentment we seek. The fundamental nature of the human condition is identified in the Four Noble Truths, and these also suggest how best to transcend suffering. The four noble truths are:

1. Existence itself is suffering

2. Suffering comes from craving and attachment.

3. There exists a cessation of suffering, which is called nirvana. One must end personal craving and attachment to attain this.

4. There is a path to nirvana that is eightfold.

The eightfold or middle path can be simply listed as follows: right views, right resolve, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. These Eight are sometimes called the Middle Path" it does require ethical living awareness of one's self and action, avoiding of violence, detachment from issues and things of the material world and meditation.

Taoism is a philosophy or way of life that may have been started by a man named Lao Tsu (or Lao Tzu) who lived a little before Confucius about 600 BC. Tao means the "way" or the "path". According to the traditional story, Lao Tsu worked as a librarian in the emperor's library (this was in the Eastern Chou dynasty). Lao Tsu believed that the way to happiness was for people to learn to "go with the flow." Instead of trying to get things done the hard way, people should take the time to figure out the natural or easy way to do things, and then everything would get done more simply. This idea is called "wu-wei", which means "doing by not doing". Lao Tsu also thought that everything alive in the universe (plants, animals, and people) shared in a universal life-force. There were two sides to the life-force, which are called the yin and the yang. The yin (the dark side) is the side of women, the moon, things that are still like ponds, and completion and death. The yang (the light side) is the side of men, the sun, things that move like rivers, and creation