Term
|
Definition
| The position that holds that the existence of God cannot be proven. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A worldview common among oral religions (religions with no written scriptures) that sees all elements of nature as being filled with spirit or spirits. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The position that holds that there is no God or gods. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A technique, pioneered by Jacques Derrida, that sets aside ordinary categories of analysis and makes us, instead, of unexpected perspectives on cultural elements; it can be used for finding hidden values in text, film, art work, cultural practice, or religious phenomenon. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The belief that reality is made of two different principles (spirit and matter); the belief in two gods (good and evil) in conflict. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Existing and operating within nature. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A position unconcerned with the supernatural, not asserting or denying the existence of any deity. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The belief that everything in the universe is divine. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Approach rejecting the search for universal structures and focused on individual elements in cultural phenomena. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Looks for universal structures underlying language, religion, mythology and other human activities. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Not limited by the physical world. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A long-stemmed sacred pipe used primarily by many native peoples of North America; it is smoked as a token of peace. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A foretelling of the future or a discovery of the unknown by magical means. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Organic, integrated; indicating a complete system, greater than the sum of its parts; here, refers to a culture whose various elements may all have religious meaning. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The act of pouring a liquid as an offering to a god. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A human being who contacts and attempts to manipulate the power of spirits for the tribe or group. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An attempt to influence the outcome of an event through an action that has apparent similarity to the desired result — for example, throwing water into the air to produce rain, or burning an enemy's fingernail clippings to bring sickness to that enemy. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A strong social prohibition. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Animal (or image of animals) that is considered to be related by blood to a family or clan and is its guardian symbol. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The term meaning non-harm or nonviolence. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The spiritual essence of all individual human beings. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An earthly embodiment of a deity. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A spiritual classic in Hinduism that is a conversation between Arjuna and Krishna preserved in the Mahabharata. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The spiritual discipline of devotion to a deity or guru. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Devotion to a deity or guru. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The spiritual essence of the universe. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Member of the priestly caste in Hinduism. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One of the major social classes sanctioned by Hinduism. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Goddess"; the Divine Feminine, also called the Great Mother. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Meditation or the experience of the mind focused only on the object of concentration. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Awe-inspiring,""distant"; a goddess that is a form of Devi. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The spiritual discipline of postures and bodily exercises. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The spiritual discipline of knowledge and insight. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A form of Devi; a goddess associated with destruction and rebirth. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The spiritual discipline of selfless action. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The moral law of cause and effect that determines the direction of rebirth. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A god associated with divine playfulness; a form of Vishnu. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The spiritual discipline of moving energy up through the chakras. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A short sacred phrase, often chanted or used in meditation. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Liberation" from personal limitation, egotism, and rebirth. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Offerings and ritual in honor of deity. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The "royal" discipline of meditation. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A god and mythical king; a form of Vishnu. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A state of complete inner peace resulting from meditation. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The everyday world of change and suffering, leading to rebirth. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A god associated with destruction and rebirth. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Three forms of the divine |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Written meditations on the spiritual essence of the universe and the self. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Four collections of ancient prayers and rituals included in Hindu sacred scripture. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A god associated with preservation and love. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A spiritual discipline; a method for perfecting one's union with the divine. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The Buddha of the Western Paradise, a bliss-body Buddha in Mahayana. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "No self"; the doctrine that there is no soul or permanent essence in people and things. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| This term means impermanence, constant change. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In Theravada, a person who has practiced monastic disciplines and reached nirvana, the ideal. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Enlightenment being"; in Mahayana, a person of deep compassion, especially one who does not enter nirvana, but is constantly reborn to help others; a heavenly being of compassion. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The totality of Buddhist teaching. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Meditation"; focusing of the mind; sometimes, stages of trance. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| This term means sorrow, misery, suffering. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A popular bodhisattva of compassion in Mahayana. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In Zen Buddhism, a question that cannot be answered logically; a technique used to test consciousness and bring awakening. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A Tibetan Buddhist teacher; a title of honor often given to all Tibetan monks. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A Buddha (or bodhisattva) expected to appear on earth in the future. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A circular design containing deities, geometrical forms, symbols and so on that represent totality, the self, or the universe. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The release from suffering and rebirth that brings inner peace. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A state of deep awareness, the result of intensive meditation. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Constant rebirth and the attendant suffering; the everyday world of change. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The community of monks and nuns; lowercased, this term refers to an individual monastic community. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In Zen, the enlightened awareness. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The Mahayana notion of emptiness, meaning that the universe is empty of permanent reality. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A shrine, usually in the shape of a dome, used to mark Buddhist relics of sacred sites. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A sacred text, especially one said to record the words of the Buddha. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Thatness," or "thusness," "suchness"; the uniqueness of each changing moment of reality. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The three "bodies" of the Buddha—the Dharmakaya (cosmic Buddha nature), the Nirmanakaya (historical Buddhas), and the Sambhogakaya (celestial Buddhas). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The three "baskets," or collections, of Buddhist texts. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The "diamond" scepter used in Tibetan and other types of Buddhist ritual, symbolizing compassion. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Original collection"; the primary scripture of the Sikhs. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| matter without soul or life |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The belief that all physical matter has life and feeling. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A poem by Guru Nanak that begins the Adi Granth; the poem is recited daily by pious Sikhs. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Conqueror"; the Jain term for a perfected person who will not be reborn. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Spirit, soul, which enlivens matter. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In Jainism, ritual in honor of the tirthankara. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Holy Death"; death by self-starvation, valued in Jainism as a noble end of a long life of virtue and detachment. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Clothed in white"; a member of the Jain sect in which monks and nuns where white clothing. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Disciple"; a follower of the Sikh religion. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Building person"; a member of the Jain sect, that rejects the use of statues and temples. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A member of the newest Jain sect. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Crossing maker"; in Jainism, one of the twenty-four ideal human beings of the past, Mahavira being the most recent. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The book of sayings of Confucius. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The mysterious origin of the universe that is present and visible in everything. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The classic scripture of Daoism. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The classical literature of the time preceding Confucius, including poetry, history, and divination. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The major Confucian books, which include sayings of Confucius and Mencius. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Noble person," the refined human ideal of Confucianism. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The legendary founder of Daoism. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The strictest of Chinese philosophical schools, which advocated strong laws and punishments. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Appropriate action, ritual, propriety, etiquette. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A Chinese school of philosophy that taught universal love. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Empathy, consideration for others, humaneness; a Confucian virtue. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Reciprocity; a Confucian virtue. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Cultural refinement; a Confucian virtue. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "No action," "no strain"; doing only what comes spontaneously and naturally; effortlessness. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Family devotion, filial piety; a Confucian virtue. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The active aspect of reality that expresses itself in speech, light, and heat. |
|
|
Term
| Yijing (Yi Jing, I Ching) |
|
Definition
| An ancient Confucian book of divination, one of the Five Classics, still in use today. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The receptive aspect of the universe that expresses itself in silence, darkness, coolness, and rest. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Author of a book of whimsical stories that express themes of early Daoist thought. |
|
|
