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Eastern Religions

Select Websites:

• Companion site for our text book 
  Features of this site include:

• internet exercises
• multiple choice questions
• fill-in-the-blank questions
• matching exercises
• web destination exercises

• South and East Asian Traditions: by Gene Thursby, Associate Professor (retired), Department of Religion, University of Florida. Provides information on the major Eastern religions and links to numerous other sites related to these faiths.

Indian Religions:

• Kalmat's Potpourri - The Religions of India
  Lots to explore! Includes Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, Islam in India, Bhakti. Also contains information and images of Hindu deities and
  articles and pictures of Temples in India 

• Exotic India: "the one stop shop for Indian Arts" provides many interesting, illustrated articles related to Hindu and Buddhist legends and symbolic art forms

• The Buddha Garden: provides access to basic information on Hindu deities, the basics of Buddhism and Hinduism, and ideas for practical Buddhist living.

Hinduism:

• The Hindu Universe: Lots of information on Hinduism and the Hindu community on-line and around the world. Includes chat rooms and message board forums

• TempleNet: The Ultimate Source of Information on Indian Temples

• Hinduism for Schools provides basic, introductory info to teach primary and secondary level students about Hinduism

• SanatanSociety.org: provides lots of other interesting information and pictures, including info on gods and goddesses, yoga and meditation, astrology and numerology, epics and stories, vegetarian recipes, music and mantras (sacred sounds), festivals, etc.

Jainism:

• Jainworld.com among the pages here is a really cute (yet  informative) collection of pages set up as sort of an "ABC" dictionary for children with a theme on Jain religion: "A is for Ahimsa"...

• Jain Way of Life a series of PDF pages with practical guidance for living the Jain way of life in today's modern world

• Jainism Resource Center of Harvard's Pluralism Project

• Fundamentals Of Jainism

• Jain Heritage Centres provides basic background information on Jainism and on Jain temples throughout the world

• Jain Guru.com: the basics of Jainism and Jain monastic life

• Tons of links to Jain sites on various topics

Sikhism:

• The Sikhism home page

• The SikhNetwork a virtual Sikh worldwide community (includes areas for on-line discussion and live chats with Sikhs from around the world)

• Search Sikhism by Sikhs to teach both Sikhs and non-Sikhs about the religion. Reviews the basics of Sikhism. Also contains pages on the Khalsa, gurus, Sikh Martyrs, and several articles discussing specific issues, including a review of Sikhism in comparison and contrast with Islam and Hinduism.

Buddhism:

• BuddhaNet (Buddhist Information Network)

  • Buddhist Studies: the basics of Buddhism

• Tricycle: the Buddhist magazine on-line.

• Dharma the Cat A light hearted (but informed) look at Buddhism centered around an original comic strip and including interfaith response to Buddhist teachings

• The Buddha: A PBS documentary (first aired Spring 2010) Explore the life and basic teachings of Gautama Buddha. View the entire 2 hour documentary online, explore events in Buddha's life through an interactive timeline and map, and other resources.

• Mid-Atlantic Meditation Groups List lists Buddhist and other meditation groups in the DC metro area. Also contains some basic information on meditation and Buddhist teachings and links to related sites

China & Japan:

Taoism

• True Tao Home Page

• Taoism and the Philosophy of Tai Chi Chuan Good site, interesting details about Taoism, including religious Taoism

• About the Tao "This site includes images and quotes of Lao Tzu as well as explanations of Taoist philosophy.  Yin & yang, Feng Shui, Taoism, Zen and traditional Chinese design are also covered." Also includes moving panoramas of a Taoist Temple.

Confucianism

• The Confucian Tradition and Confucian Teaching (video discussions with scholars)

Shinto:

• Shinto Guidebook (use the menu in the upper right on this page to explore other topics on Shinto)

• Religion in Japan (from Japan-Guide.com) discusses Shinto, Buddhism, Confucianism as well as Christianity and Islam in Japan

• Jinja Honcho: Association of Shinto Shrines

• Shinto Online Network Association

• Visit a Shinto Shrine on-line: Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America

• Contemporary Japan: Religions (video discussions with scholars)

• Shinto - An Ancient Religion (a brief overview)

Primary Sources online:

Bhagavad Gita:

• The Bhagavad Gita (The American/International Gita Society)

• Bhagavad Gita (As It Is): translation from ISKCON (also provides audio version)

Dhammapada:

• The Dhammapada (from Exploring Ancient World Cultures)

• The Illustrated Dhammapada (from Buddhanet.net)

Chinese Classics and translations provides multiple translations of several Chinese texts, including the I-Ching, Tao Te Ching and Analects of Confucius (Lun Yu). (the I-Ching text allows for divination of a hexagram so as to actually use the text as intended). This site also includes other important texts such as the Book of Odes (one of the Five Classics), the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, Sun Tuz's The Art of War (sort of the Chinese Machiavelli)

Tao Te Ching:

• The Tao Te Ching (translation by Derek Lin at Taoism.net)

• The Tao-te Ching (translated by James Legge at MIT)

• Tao Te Ching (translated by Gia-Fu Feng & Jane English)

The Analects of Confucius:

• The Lun Yu verse by verse

• The Analects (from MIT)

From the Internet Sacred Texts Archive:

• Sacred Texts: Hinduism

• Sacred Texts: Jainism

• Sacred Texts: Sikhism

• Sacred Texts: Buddhism

  • Buddha: The Gospel (containing the story of the Buddha's birth, life, teaching stories and miracles)

  • Buddha: The Word (containing an exposition of the basic teachings of Buddhism)

• Sacred Texts: Confucianism

• Sacred Texts: Taoism

• Sacred Texts: Shinto