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Siddharta Gautama
A reformer who found a new religion: Buddhism. He was in search of life without death or suffering. Over time he became known as Buddha, the "Enlightened One."
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Moksha
Union with brahman (the belief that the universe is part of an unchanging, all-powerful spiritual force)
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Subcontinent
A large landmass that juts out from a continent.
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Caste
Social groups in which people are born into and cannot be changed.
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The Untouchables
The lowest ranked outcastes that were so unpure and lowly that they couldn't be considered touched.
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Mystics
People who devote their life to finding spiritual truth.
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Clan
Group of families with a common ancestor.
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Brahman/Brahma
The single spiritual power that resides in living things.
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Atman
A person's essential self.
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Dharma
The religious and moral duties of an individual.
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Karma
All the actions of a person's life that affects his or her fate in the next life.
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Shiva
One of the most important Hindu gods; Shiva was call the Destroyer. His wife is Shakti.
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The Ramayana
A book that recounts the fantastic deeds of the daring hero Rama and his bride Sita. Sita is kidnapped by the demon king Ravana. The rest of the story tells how he got her back with the help of the monkey general Hanuman.
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Stupa
Large dome-shaped shrines that housed the sacred remains of the Buddha or other holy people.
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Confucius
Confucius, a brilliant scholar, developed a philosophy that was concerned with worldly goals, especially how to ensure social order and good government.
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The Analects
A collection of verses recorded by Confucius's followers long after his death.
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Nirvana
Union with the universe and release from the cycle of rebirth.
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Tripitaka
"Three Baskets of Wisdom." After Confucius's death, his followers collected his teachings into a sacred text called Tripitaka.
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Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta first gained power in the Ganges Valley; He then conquered northern India. His son and grandson pushed south, adding more to the Maurya Empire/dynasty.
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Asoka
Chandragupta's grandson. Became emperor; fought a long, bloody war to conquer the Deccan region of Kalinga.
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The Gupta Dynasty
United much of India. Under this rule, India enjoyed a golden age. There was peace and prosperity, advances in learning, architecture, had magnificent carvings, paintings at Ajanta, and many fine writers who added to the rich heritage of Indian literature.
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the Symbol for Eternity
A circle.
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Jainism
The teacher Mahavira founded this new religion that formed from Hindu traditions. Jain teachings emphasized meditation, self-denial, and an extreme form of ahimsa
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The Silk Road
A trade route that would link China to the west. Eventually it stretched for 4,000 miles from China to the Fetile Crescent in southwestern Asia.
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Hanfeizi
The founder of Legalism; according to him "the nature of man is evil. His goodness is acquired." Greed was the motive for most actions and the cause of most conflicts. He insisted that the only way to achieve order was to pass strict laws and impose harsh punishments.
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Shi Huangdi
Emperor Shi Huangdi was determined to end the divisions that had splintered Zhou China. Abolished feudalism in China.
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Daoism
Daoism: The Unspoken Way. Sought to live in harmony with nature; rejected strife and conflict.
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Lui Bang
As emperor, he took the name Gao Zu and set about restoring order and justice to his empire, the Han dynasty.
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The Mandate of Heaven
Divine right to rule.
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The Great Wall
Hundreds of thousands worked to build this ajoined brick wall 25 ft. high. It demonstrated the ruler's ability to mobolize the vast resources of China. It became a symbol to the Chinese: dividing and protecting their civilized world from the nomadic, or wandering, bands of the world.
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