The History of almost Everything. Practical guide of the eaters of Time. Lim WordЧитать онлайн книгу.

      Confucianism in Chinese is called Pinyin, the «School of Educated People», and does not contain the name of the founder, philosopher and politician of Confucius, that is, Kun-Fu-tzu (the real name is «Teachers of the Kun clan» – Zhong-ni, 551—479 BC). Several secondary Pentateuch, written on fragments of memories that survived the most severe persecutions in the reign of Qin Shi Huangdi, scientists contains descriptions of the rites of veneration of ancestors, temples created in their honor, morals, the history of a fictional ideal country. In general, the idea of the One Creator (Great Sky), hell, paradise, immortality of the soul is present, but not explicitly expressed. Heaven is seen as a resonator, a source of moral senses, reacting to the behavior of people and sending them signs. In a sense, Confucianism coincides with the Chinese people’s religion (also Pinyin), numbering more than 500 million followers. After Heaven, an important component here is the Qi-like energy, as well as the reality of the souls of the ancestors (who, under certain conditions, can be heeded).

      Hinduism, although it was recognized in many European countries and the United States, as an unusual course of psychotherapy, is still localized primarily in native India. There, in fact, this complex of philosophical ideas, ethical norms, traditions is called (in Sanskrit, the ancient language of the higher caste), Sanatana-Dharma («Eternal Law»). The sacred texts – the Vedas, the Upanishads, the epics of the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, like the set of books of the Old Testament in many respects (albeit much less realistically) reflect the history of the formation of the universe, and of the native country. With some caution, as the supreme God of Hinduism, one can define the concept of Brahman (originally – «Prayer»), the soul of the world, the primordial nature of things and phenomena. He can be worshiped as any form that the individual imagines in his mind. Supporters of Vaishnavism serve the Absolute in the guise (avatar) of the Vishnu-Keeper of the Universe, and also whether it is more understandable, humanlike and active reflections – Krishna and Rama. Shivaites worship Shiva, the essence of the static male origin of the universe, the creator of rebirth, sometimes destructive. The general meaning of service, observance of accepted norms – merging with the Absolute, while preserving, however, and some of its individual beginning, the improvement of personal status, including material, with each subsequent rebirth. Brahma (Brahma) – the god of creation, you can say, is the first among equals, together with Shiva and Vishnu is Trimurti (triad), in fact, the spiritual beginning of the All – Brahman.

      Buddhism also claims to be a world religion, a very controversial, but all the more worrying, mind of the continuation of Hinduism. The founder is the Buddha Shakyamuni, ie, in Sanskrit, the «Awakened Sage» (623 – 543 BC). Actually, the buddhas before Shakyamuni, according to sources, there are several, but he is the most famous. The future awakened Teacher of mankind, under the guidance of which people will lead exclusively a holy life – Maitreya (Skt. «Loving», «Benevolent»). The main idea is non-resistance to evil by violence, passive resistance to adversity, acceptance of the world as it is. Because of this behavior, the higher rational being (that is, the Buddhist monk, who received the higher enlightenment in the cycle of his rebirths) must leave the system of the world, more precisely, the captivity of his consciousness, which created such a mosaic image of him. No gods, One Mind, Paradise, Hell, as a natural area of attraction of a religious ascetic, Buddhism does not presuppose (although it does not deny their very existence). The only goal is the «fading of the candle» of consciousness, nirvana in spirit, and not the body (paranirvana), total and final death.

      Shamanism, although not a recognized world religion, was once distributed throughout the Earth. Now it is localized in some tribes of South, North America, Africa, Southeast Asia, Siberia and the Far East. The origin of the term, perhaps, from the Sanskrit scraman (śramaṇa) is a wandering hermit, an ascetic ascetic. The second version is the Tungusic-Manchurian Sam-man, that is, the “lover of knowledge”. The shaman introduces himself into trance by tambourine strikes, dances, special singing, and lays for a long time, not reacting to external influences. In an anxious dream, traveling on the branches or roots of the archetypal World Tree, he visits the middle, higher, or lower worlds. Higher – are inhabited by enlightened good essences, the lowest – by evil creatures. Schemes of other worlds are very individual, therefore can not be reduced to a common, acceptable for the creation of a classical religion, a picture.

      One of the varieties of shamanism is voodoo (Voodoo). Basic beliefs – the world is inhabited by a multitude of spirits, loa (from the French loi – “law”), which can be contacted, and receive some help. Sacrifices are laid out on the altar (sweets, alcohol, killed animals, priest) (a hungan, a mambo (woman)), enters into a trance, opens a conversation with the other world, such cults are untied from high morality, are based on the principle of simple trade: “you to me, and I to you.” Traditional world religions affirm the possibility of having a temporary distance between the act of man and retribution. A believer can endure life all his life, while diligently complying with moral norms – and not gain material prosperity. The award is given in Heaven.

      Not everything is so straightforward. Working people, patience, patient, loving each other, and God’s, parishioners, as a rule, achieve success in their earthly existence. You can compare the standard of living in, built on the Christian principles of Europe and the United States, and, let’s put the Voodoo Haiti, whose inhabitants demand everything at once – there is a difference.

      European Middle Ages

      With the beginning of the Middle Ages, some historians associate changes in the calendar, up to the removal of three centuries from it. It is not so difficult to do this – only the monks could write and read, as well as some responsible persons under the kings. There was a ringing of swords everywhere – the people of philosophy did not indulge. In the seventh century there was only a little to correct the common, complex and incomprehensible Roman figures. So it is or not, it is still unknown, but it is clear that from the middle of the sixth century to the beginning of the tenth, there is a void in the calendar.

      The Eastern Roman Empire flourishes until the thirteenth century, but history and development disappear in it, so