The process was multi- faceted, and still involved myths,
the magical, and rituals. All three-still retraceable in some
parts of the world-were carried over to religion, progressively
forming a coherent system of explanations and prescriptions
meant to optimize human activity. The sequence is known:
Practical experiences conveyed by example from one individual to
another, or orally from one to several.
Where the unknown forces were ritually conjured in new forms of
human practical self-constitution, these practical experiences
were progressively unified and encoded in forms apt to further
support the new scale achieved in the insular communities around
the world. Abraham, accepted almost equally by Jews, Christians,
and Moslems, lived at around 2,000 BCE and proclaimed the
existence of one supreme God; Moses in the 13th century BCE; the
six sacred texts of the Hindus were compiled between the 17th
and 5th centuries BCE; Taoism-the Chinese religion and philosophy
of the path-came to expression around 604 BCE, and Confucius's
teachings on virtue, human perfectibility, obedience to
Providence, and the role of the sage ruler shortly afterwards;
Buddhism followed within decades, affirming the Four Noble
truths, which teach how to exist in a world of suffering and
find the path to inner peace leading to Nirvana. This listing is
meant to highlight the context in which the practical experience
of religious self-constitution was expressed in response to
circumstances of life and work that necessitated a coherent
framework for human interaction.
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