How to Use This Survey

This survey introduces Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Zen through the vocabulary of the Shambhala Encyclopedia. Hinduism and Buddhism arose in India; Taoism developed in China. Ch'an developed within Chinese Buddhism, in conversation with Chinese traditions, and became known as Zen in Japan. Zen is a Buddhist school, so these four subjects overlap.

Buddhism reached China during the early centuries of the Common Era. Some early Chinese interpreters explained Buddhist ideas through Taoist terms and legends about Lao-tzu. That comparison helped people approach unfamiliar teachings, but it did not make the two traditions identical.

This survey follows the encyclopedia's spelling conventions. For Chinese terms it uses Wade-Giles romanization: Lao-tzu, Tao-te-ching, ch'i, Chuang-tzu and Ch'an. Many newer publications use pinyin, with spellings such as Laozi and qi.

Indian vocabulary appears mainly in Sanskrit, with some Pali equivalents, and Japanese terms appear in the Zen lessons. Recognizing more than one spelling will help you connect this survey with other translations and studies.

The traditions ask overlapping questions about suffering, the self and transformation, but they give different answers. Even within a tradition, schools disagree. For example, Advaita-Vedanta identifies atman with Brahman, while Buddhism rejects a permanent, independent self. Learn each view before comparing it with another.

Treat this as an introductory map. Definitions summarize teachings; they do not ask you to accept every belief or reduce a living tradition to one formula.

The course goes tradition by tradition: first the shared Indian worldview, then Hinduism, then Buddhism in two modules (foundations, then the great vehicles), then Taoism, then Ch'an/Zen, and finally a comparative look at the wisdom literature. Each lesson includes teaching text, a Key Terms vocabulary section, a question to answer in writing, and a short quiz.

Next: the four terms that the Indian-born traditions share.

• Dharma (धर्म): cosmic law, duty, and teaching; the right ordering of things
• Wade-Giles: the romanization system used for Chinese terms in this survey
• Ch'an (禪): the Chinese school of meditation Buddhism that became Zen in Japan

Why does the survey study Zen separately if it belongs to Buddhism? Write your answer before opening the explanation below.