The Age of the Sages: The Axial Age in Asia and the Near East

Index

Index Achaemenid (Persian) Empire, 30 Afghanistan, 138 afterlife, 4; Buddhism and parinibbana, 125; classical Hinduism, 55–57, 60–61; Indus Valley Civilization, 42; Judaism, 34; Rig Veda, 45–47; Vedic Period, 45–47, 55–57, 60–61; Zoroastrian paradise, 30, 34; Zoroastrianism and bodily resurrection of the dead, 29; Zoroastrianism and individual destiny after death, 27–28. See also heaven; rebirth Agam Sutras, 146 Agni, 45 ahimsa: the Buddha’s Five Precepts, 128–29, 143; Jainism, 143, 149–50; of the mind/of speech, 150 Ahriman, 24–25, 34 Ahura Mazda, 12, 13; and Zoroaster, 22, 23, 25, 31, 227 ahuras, 12, 24–25, 45 Alara Kalama, 104 Alexander the Great, 138 Analects (Lunyu) of Confucius, 171, 172–73, 175–77, 180, 182, 183, 186, 187–88, 193 Ananda, 136, 138 anatta (anatman), 119–22 ancestor reverence: contemporary Taiwan, 161; Shang dynasty, 160–61, 162, 168. See also family/ filial piety anekanta, 149 arahants, 125, 133; female, 135–36 Ardhanarishvara, 91 Aristotle, 89 Arjuna, 94–95 Aryans: the “Aryan question,” 43; the Buddha’s subversion of the word, 134; Hitler and symbols of, 43; “Noble Ones,” 10, 43–44. See also Indo-Aryans; Indo-Iranians asceticism: and Confucian selfcultivation , 186; fasting to death (sallekhana), 150; of Gotama, 104–5, 107; Jain practices, 150; of Mahavira, 146; self-mortification, 86, 105, 107, 146; techniques for disciplining the lower self, 86. See also shramanas asha, 12–13, 14, 17, 21, 27, 166 ashavans, 17 Ashoka, King, 139-140 asuras, 24, 45 atman: Brahman-atman, 80–82, 87–88; Indo-Aryan, 46, 76; as mind, 76–77; Upanishadic human essence/higher self, 76–77, 227 Augustine of Hippo, 34, 82 Avesta, 10; the Gathas of Zoroaster, 21–22, 24–25, 30 Avestan cosmogony, 13–14, 50 avijja, 118 Axial Age, 1–6, 223–32; attitudes about death, 3–4; compassion and mindful virtue, 228–29; defining, 1–6; human freedom and accountability, 226; individual selfhood, 3–4, 6, 225–28; insights for today, 225, 228–32; moral obligation, 25–26; and phenomenon of human religiousness, 223–25; political/social disorder and instability, 3; shift from cosmic maintenance to personal transformation, 5–6, 229–30; theology, 225–28; transcendental 261 consciousness, 4–5, 231; urbanization and mobility, 2–3. See also preaxial period bao, 162, 192 Becker, Ernest, 60 Bhagavad Gita, 89, 94–95, 212 bhikkhus/bhikkhunis, 111, 135–36 al-Bistami, Bayazid, 87 bodhi tree, 108, 137, 138 Bodhisattva, 141 Book of Odes (Shi-jing), 162–63, 168–69, 187, 190 Boyce, Mary, 21 Brahman: Brahman-atman, 80–82, 87–88; nirguna Brahman, 79–80, 90, 93; saguna Brahman, 90; Vedantic school, 78–80, 89, 90, 93; Vedic word for power in ritual, 53–54, 78 Brahmin priests, 52–54, 78; mantras, 53; and the power brahman, 53–54, 78; Vedic shrauta rites, 52–53 Bryant, Edwin, 43n Buddhism, 97–141; Ashoka and development in India, 140; concept of the self, 119–22, 227; contemporary practitioners, 143; death/individual destiny after death, 125; Dhamma, 109–11, 127, 133–35, 138–39, 140; and divine worship, 139; early divisions and separate schools, 141; early doctrinal disputes and Sangha councils, 138–39; Four Noble Truths, 109–32; images of the Buddha, 138, 224; institutionalization, 138–39, 141, 199, 221; and Jainism, 143; karma, 125, 128; Mahayana (Eastern Buddhism), 141, 199, 221; meditation practice, 108, 131, 135; ritual practice, 139; the Sangha (monastic community), 133–36; stupas, 137–38, 139, 140; Theravada, 141; Triple Refuge (creed), 139; Vajrayana, 141; the West’s early negative evaluation, 123; women/ nuns, 135–36; Zen, 125–26, 224. See also Four Noble Truths; Gotama, Siddhattha caste: Brahmin priests, 52–54, 78; and the Buddha’s message, 134; IndoIranian warrior caste, 17–18, 52; and myth of Purusha, 67; and rebirth, 67; shramanas, 69–70, 71 Celestial Masters, 221 change (impermanence): Four Noble Truths, 112, 118–19, 121; the Zhuangzi and Daoist acceptance of, 217–19 Charlie Chan movies, 193 China: Communist rule and Confucianism, 199; contemporary divination practices, 157–58; mythic prehistory and golden age, 156, 175; Period of Warring States, 3, 170, 191, 194, 196, 197, 201, 217; preaxial, 155–63; Shang dynasty religion, 156–63, 168; Spring and Autumn Age, 170, 171; transition to the Axial Age, 165–73; Zhou dynasty, 165–69, 170. See also Buddhism; Confucianism; Daoism; East Asia, preaxial (ancient China); East Asian transition to the Axial Age Christianity: contemporary, 225; human conception and the soul’s creation, 77; Zoroastrian influences, 32–36. See also...