ollowing order: priests/Brahmans, warriors, landowners/ merchants/ herders, servants/ peasants, and the untouchables. Each had its’ own set of rules regarding cooking, diet, marriage, home, clothing, employment, contact, and much more. For example, you could only marry members of the same class, and a higher Varna could not come into contact with a person of a lower Varna. The highest caste was considered spiritually clean, so when they came in contact with the lower, they were no longer considered pure. This is also why Brahmans/ priests had to be the cooks. Each caste had different jobs that were determined at birth. In 1947, Gandhi rejected the caste system, when India became independent.Beliefs of the religion of Buddhism are the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. The four parts to the Four Noble Truths are: (1) Life is suffering (Dukka). This recognizes that there is always suffering in life, may it be aging, death, sickness, grief, or separation from loved ones. (2) Desire causes suffering (Samudaya), because when you crave things, you become greedy, and can’t always get what you want. (3) Suffering can be ended (Nirodha), because once you stop craving things, you stop suffering. (4) Following the Eightfold Path leads to rejection of desire/suffering (Magga), and reaching nirvana, which is perfect peace. The Eightfold Path says that you have right: view and thought which is the quality of wisdom (panna); speech, action, and livelihood which is the quality of morality (sila); and effort, mindfulness, and concentration which is the quality of meditation (samadhi). All are important in order to reach nirvana.In art, the Buddha is very special, and each part of it has a meaning. His hands are always in one of several positions (mudras). When his hand is on his knee (bhumisparsha), he is calling early beings to be witnesses for his Enlightenment. His hand in his lap represents the physical world. An open hand (abhaya...
