Asian Religions

Please answer the following test questions:

1. In what ways did the Japanese react to the introduction of Buddhism to Japan?
2. In the documentary, Around the World in 80 Faiths, in the East Asia episode, a Tibetan Buddhist festival was going to be part of the program, but it was not. Why wasn’t it and how does that reflect the state of religion in China?
3. How did the arrival of Buddhism affect Shinto in Japan?
4. What is the main difference between the Hindu temples of India and Hindu temples in nations where Hindus are not the majority?
5. In Hinduism, what is moksha and through what means can one achieve it?
6. In the documentary, Around the World in 80 Faiths, in the Indian Subcontinent episode, the narrator, Peter Owen Jones, meets various sadhus and followers of gurus. How do these holy men and women impact the lives of their followers? Give at least one example from the documentary.
7. How were Japanese women involved in establishing Buddhism in Japan?
8. How does Jainism affect the day to day lives of its followers?
9. In the film, Spirited Away, there are two prominent river spirits: Haku and the very malodorous, unnamed river spirit in which Chihiro bathes. In what ways do these two spirits represent specifically Shinto spirits?
10. What was early Chinese religion like (before the arrival of Confucianism or Daoism)?
11. What is the difference between Brahminism and Hinduism according to the book?
12. How can Hinduism be said to be polytheistic and monotheistic?
13. When Buddhism first entered China, how did it interact with the followers of China’s dominant traditions?
14. What are the “Five K’s” of Sikhism and what are their meanings (you do not need to remember the specific names that start with K)?
15. This lesson covers the religions originating in Monsoon Asia, rather than all religions originating in all of Asia. What is meant by Monsoon Asia?