Study the worlds religions plus discussion and chapter questions and find the worlds religions plus study guide questions and answers. Understanding the worlds religions can be led by ministers, laypersons, or a combination. It is nothing more than a collection, filled with nuggets of wisdom that the ancient chinese felt were very effective when applied to life. The world of religion according to huston smith mother jones. Religious scholar huston smith sits down with renowned journalist bill moyers to delve into. The impact of confucianism the impact confucianism has had on china can hardly be overestimated. Confucius was no god, but his teachings were the invisible mortar holding together a. I see no good in judaism, christianity, or islam good people, yes, but any religion based on a single, well, frenzied and virulent god, is not as useful to the human race as, say, confucianism, which is not a religion but an ethical and educational system. The world of religion according to huston smith smith has devoted his life to the study of christianity, islam, judaism, buddhism, confucianism, and hinduism. Religionfacts does not necessarily endorse the contents of these books. Huston attempts to show each religion at its best and is more concerned with the founding principals of the religions than any mistakes their believers may have made. The huston smith reader will enlighten you, delight you, and expand your awareness.
This could have been another version of the classic book. Actually, the tao te ching is completely unlike the holy books you have studied. These books are the book of history, the book of poetry, the book of changes, the book of rites, and the spring and autumn annals. It was probably compiled by the second generation of confucius disciples. If religion is taken in its widest sense, as a way of life woven around a peoples ultimate concerns, confucianism clearly qualifies.
However, in confucianism, sageliness is the personification of an acquired wisdom that benefits the people in a way denied by laotzu. So dont bankrupt yourself on a momentary positive impulse, only to regret it later. The worlds religions, by one of the most esteemed religious authorities in academia, huston smith, is perhaps the bestwritten primer on the religions of the world in human history. It is not written or inspired by deities, prophets, or saviors. The worlds religions our great wisdom traditions chapter vii. Confucius own teachings have come down to us from four books written by his. In contrast to the sayings of confucius which are short and selfcontained, mencius consists of long dialogues with extensive prose. Huston smith s the worlds religions is one of the most significant books ive ever read.
Confucianism a key aspect of this religion is filial piety, which is respect for ones elders. Welcome to our religions website for our ap human geography project. They were selected by zhu xi in the song dynasty to serve as general introduction to confucian thought, and they were, in the ming and qing dynasties, made the core of the official curriculum for the civil service. I grew up in china and in my case, my religious upbringing was positive.
On this website we discuss 8 of the worlds religions. Smith, as a young man, spent much of his time searching for treasure, claiming supernatural powers which allegedly aided him in these searches. Take confucianism, one of huston smith s favorite subjects. The worlds religions can best be described by taking note of what it is not. According to houston smith in his book, religions of the world, these two schools of.
His life is an extraordinary adventure, and in his amazing tales of wonder, he invites you to come along to explore your own vistas of. The worlds religions universal life church monastery. The features mentioned below pretty much blanket east asia as a whole, for japan, korea, and much of southeast asia. Prompted as if by call at fifty i perceived the divine mission he gave his next thirteen years, with many a backward look and resisting footsteps, to the long trek, in which he wandered from state to. I borrowed this book from my universitys library because i needed it for a summer class on the history of religions. However, it is important that the teacher realize that any instruction. Download books, sacred, spiritual texts and pdf ebooks. His book the worlds religions has sold more than 2. The worlds religions, by beloved author and pioneering professor huston smith tales of wonder, is the definitive classic for introducing the essential elements and teachings of the worlds predominant faiths, including hinduism, buddhism, confucianism, taoism, judaism, christianity, islam, as well as regional native traditions. The book consists of a short main text, attributed to confucius and nine commentaries chapters by zeng zi, one of confucius disciples. Download audiobooks narrated by huston smith to your device.
Renowned world religions scholar huston smith says, every society and. Onethird of our western civilization bears the mark of its jewish ancestry. It is as objective a look as possible at the major religions of the world today for the. The worlds religions, revised and updated huston smith. The religions of man is the seminal work in the scholarship of world spiritual traditions, by the eminent and beloved huston smith, who was born to a christian missionary family in china and raised among books and humanity to embody a life of nearly a century questing for the meaning of our souls, hearts, and language of seeking, of faith. Huston smith gives insight into the condition of china during this difficult period. In his book, smith does not create a comparative exploration of the major religions. In the 12th century, zhu xi codified the sacred texts of confucianism, calling them simply the four books. Confucianism, taoism, islam, judaism, christianity and what smith calls. In private life it is expressed in courtesy, unselfishness, and empathy, the capacity to measure the. Audible provides the highest quality audio and narration.
Download the bible, the holy quran, the mahabharata and thousands of free pdf ebooks on buddhism, meditation etc. The first term is jen, which involves simultaneously a feeling of humanity toward others and respect for oneself, an indivisible sense of the dignity of human life wherever it appears. Remember, it is not the size of a gift, it is its quality and the amount of mental attachment you overcome that count. Hey everyone, ive been listening to whisper videos for many years now and got my hands on a decent recording device recently so decided to have a bit of fun and make my own. The mormon books book of mormon, doctrine and covenants and pearl of great price are purported to be revelations of joseph smith. Nov 22, 2016 confucian texts the lunyu analects are the most revered sacred scripture in the confucian tradition. Most important, he shared the worlds religions with the west writing two bestselling books and serving as the focus of a fivepart pbs television series by bill moyers. Author huston smith states emphatically that the book is not one of comparative religions.
In modern times the four books are usually filled out by the classic of filial piety, item 9. A collection of handselected books on confucianism, chosen on the basis of apparent usefulness and quality. Our great wisdom traditions by huston smith excellent copy minimum wear clean uncreased spine nice large size type minimal amount of edgware on its corners. Deepak chopra, author of war of the worldviews huston smith approaches religion with the wisdom of a philosopher and the wonder of a child. Aug 26, 2005 typically speaking, these are divided into the religious forms of taoist praxis, which are still mostly found in china and the surrounding area, the philosophical taoism, which is often what we find in the nonasian countries and, the spiritual alchemy schools, which can be found throught the taoist practicing world. Their holy book is called the analects they study this book and tells them what. Watson professor of religion and distinguished adjunct professor of philosophy, emeritus, syracuse university. Accordingly, this is a book about values not religious history. I thought this was going to be only an audio reading of huston smith s classic, the worlds religions, which i would have been very happy with. Rather, the author describes each religion separately and rarely engages in comparing one religion to another. Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. The four books sishu are chinese classic texts illustrating the core value and belief systems in confucianism. It has been established that none of them has been written by confucious kungtzu, 551479 b.
An ideal way to discover the teachings of confucius. However, i was pleasantly surprised to find that these tapes have new material by professor smith. Huston smith is doing publicity for his 14th book, though at nearly 90 he is. The common vision of the worlds religions, beyond the postmodern mind, and why religion matters. Remembering huston smith, noted worlds religions scholar. I regard monotheism as the greatest disaster ever to befall the human race. In this series of conversations with renowned journalist bill moyers, huston smith provides thoughtful insights into the worlds largest religionshinduism, buddhism, confucianism, christianity, judaism, and islam. The great learning, the analects of confucius, the book of mencius and the doctrine of the mean. The worlds religions chapter iv, confucianism, confucius. Smith explains how the intertwining of opposites is key to. The recipient of twelve honorary degrees, smiths fifteen books include his bestselling. Houston smith excellent book discussing the origins and philosophies of the major world religions with one chapter devoted to each religion.
It means holy war either against infidels or ones inner demons. The first term is jen, which involves simultaneously a feeling of humanity toward others and respect for oneself, an indivisible sense of the dignity of human life wherever it appearsin private life it is expressed in courtesy, unselfishness, and empathy, the capacity to measure the feelings of others by ones. Even if religion is taken in a narrower sense, as a concern to align humanity with the transcendental ground of its existence, confucianism is still a religion. The worlds religions, by one of the most esteemed religious authorities in academia, huston smith, is perhaps the bestwritten primer on. When we begin our life, we take care of ourselves and avoid harm. Huston smiths 90 years of prayer, yoga and acid newsweek.
Michaels lenten lecture series on huston smith s the worlds religions. A wonderful insight into the development of confucianism as it traces its existence from ancient china to the modern day. Smith digs underneath the rituals, theology, and cold historical facts to capture why some of these major religious traditions, such as hinduism, buddhism, and christianity, are so deeply and meaningfully profound to billions and billions of people. He is the focus of a fivepart pbs television series with bill moyers and has taught at washington university, the massachusetts institute of technology, syracuse university, and the university of california at berkeley. The worlds religions, by beloved author and pioneering professor huston smith, is the definitive classic for introducing the essential elements and teachings of the worlds predominant faiths, including hinduism, buddhism, confucianism, taoism, judaism, christianity, islam, as well as regional native traditions. The confucian canon achieved its present form in the sung dynasty under the direction of chu hsi 11200.
There are thousands of classic textbooks of confucianism, none of them being holy. From zhu xis time to our own, particular stress has been placed on the four books as the most central part of the canon, as well as the place for students to begin their lifelong study of it. Confucian values merged with the generic values of the chinese people to the point where it is difficult to separate the two. Read the appropriate material in huston smith s book and in this study guide well in advance of the session. Mencius also spelled mengzi or mengtzu, a book of his conversations with kings of the time, is one of the four books which form the core of orthodox confucian thinking. Fingarettes primary aim is to help readers discover what is distinctive in confucius and to learn what he can teach us. Reading it at least twice and reflecting on it will increase your understanding. Huston smith is doing publicity for his 14th book, though at nearly 90 he is debilitated by osteoporosis and cant get up from his leather chair. The worlds religions by huston smith is considered a classic in the genre by many. The canonical books of confucianism canon of the literati. Zhu xi codified the sacred texts of confucianism, calling them simply the four books. All are available for purchase on click book images for details. One of the great strengths of smiths approach is that he has made complex and arcane issues accessible to the layperson seeking a brief introduction to major world faith traditions.
The four books is a collection of confucian root texts. The film he narrated from that experience carries us into the infinite vision of the east, the cradle of two great religions hinduism and buddhism. The studentwill be able to read sections from the three books that each of these philosophers inspired. However, the four books, are considered the closest we come to the original teaching of confucious. Remembering huston smith, noted worlds religions scholar smith, who died on friday, was a methodist minister who traveled the world studying christianity, judaism, islam, buddhism, confucianism. Like many great religious leaders, confucius was eventually deified by his. This book presents an objective summary of these seven. Throughout life we want different things at different stages. This bestselling book has been in print for more than 50 years, and this revised and updated edition of the masterpiece includes a new foreword and even deeper. The religions of man book by huston smith thriftbooks. The world of religion according to huston smith page 2 mother.
Fingarettewho thinks the best way to discover confuciuss teaching is by taking him at his worduses original text as his principal resource in an effort to try to see what it says, what it implies and what it does not say. Its such a respected book that its often used as a university textbook in world religion classes. It was originally one chapter in li ji the classic of rites. In this paper i will examine the confucian notion of the sage, with some comparisons made along the way to taoism and finally to western thought. According to yale university, the sacred texts of confucianism are five books that legend states confucius wrote. Born in china of missionary parents, smith learned about chinese language, culture, and religion while growing up near shanghai. Huston smiths the worlds religions is one of the most significant books. The great learning is the first of the four books which were selected by zhu xi in the song dynasty as a foundational introduction to confucianism. Buy a cheap copy of the religions of man book by huston smith. Confucianism is depending on ones perspective either a religion, philosophical movement, cultural way of. Practice giving things away, not just things you dont care about, but things you do like.
Hinduism, buddhism, confucianism, taoism, islam, judaism, christianity and the. Prompted as if by call at fifty i perceived the divine mission he gave his next thirteen years, with many a backward look and resisting footsteps, to the long trek, in which he wandered from state to state proffering. According to hinduism, there are 4 main things people want. Huston smith sums up confucian ideals under five key terms.
Based primarily on the masters sayings, preserved in both oral and written transmissions, it captures the confucian spirit in the same way that the platonic dialogues embody socratic teachings. Since confucianism gradually assumed control over all of ones life, and it was the presupposition from which all action was decided, it necessarily permeated chinese religious thought, belief and practice as well. Confucianism has made a significant contribution to the moral, philosophical and spiritual history of humankind. Confucian books are boring if youre interested in holy stories, spiritual miracles, and afterlife thrills.