Cultural and Social Differences Between the Chinese and Hindu Societies
In this paper, I will be discussing the cultural and social differences between the Chinese and Hindu societies from an anthropological perspective. In particular, I will be focusing on how each society views death and the afterlife, as well as how these beliefs affect the way they live their lives.
The Chinese believe in a concept called “yin and yang”. This means that everything in the universe is made up of two opposing forces, which are constantly in balance with each other. For example, day and night, light and darkness, life and death. These two forces are in constant flux, and nothing can exist without both of them.
When it comes to death, the Chinese believe that the soul is made up of two parts: the “kuei” and the “shen”. The kuei is the dark spirit, which remains behind in the earthly world after death. The shen is the light spirit, which goes on to reincarnate into another form after death. The kuei is responsible for haunting the living, while the shen watches over them from the afterlife.
The Hindu belief system is a bit different. They believe in a concept called “reincarnation”. This means that after someone dies, their soul is reborn into another person or animal. They also believe in a hierarchy of souls, where some are more evolved than others.
When it comes to death, Hindus believe that there are three parts to the soul: the “sthula-sarira”, the “sukshma-sarira”, and the “karana-sarira”. The sthula-sarira is the physical body, which decomposes after death. The sukshma-sarira is the astral body, which goes on to reincarnate. The karana-sarira is the causal body, which contains the memories and karma of a person’s past lives.
There are some similarities between these two belief systems, but there are also some key differences. Both societies believe in a duality of spirits (light and dark, good and evil), and both believe that the soul goes on to reincarnate after death. However, there are some key differences in how these concepts are viewed.
In China, the kuei is seen as an evil force that haunts the living, while the shen is seen as a good force that watches over them from the afterlife. In Hinduism, however, both the sthula-sarira and sukshma-sarira are seen as equally important parts of the soul. The karana-sarira is also seen as being more important than either of these two bodies, as it contains the memories and karma of a person’s past lives.
Another major difference between these two belief systems is how they view death. For Hindus, death is seen as a natural part of life that should not be feared. It is simply a transition from one life to another. For Chinese people, however, death is seen as something to be feared and avoided at all costs. This is because they believe that when a person dies, their kuei will remain behind to haunt the living.
Finally, there is a difference in how these two societies view ghosts. In China, ghosts are seen as evil entities that should be avoided at all costs. In Hinduism, however, ghosts are seen as benevolent spirits that can be invoked for help or protection.
These are just some of the major differences between the Chinese and Hindu belief systems. There are many other minor differences, but these are the most significant ones. As you can see, these two societies have very different views on death and the afterlife.