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| Lutheran theologian, Paul Tillich's definition of religion |
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| "ultimate concern" that is what concerns us ultimately |
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| what is experienced as Ultimate reality (that which people expericne as being of ultimate significance or ultimate concern) the ground of ultimate value and meaning |
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| in religious traditions, a story that relfects something true about human exerience of Ultimate Reality, to take a myth literally is to miss the truth to which it points; myths often express the deepest, most pressing questions of human existence; used to explain the unexplainable |
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| formulized and symbolic actions that point to and make present the sacred; they connect the infidivdual to the sacred and bring together members of the faith community |
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| a religious community's shared vision of what is good for individuals, communityies, and the world; being a responsible person in the community requires participation in this shared vision; this vision is said to be the foundation for moral living |
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| religio influcence and is influenced by social forces; a religion may reflect the class distinctions of a socitey; it may be interwoen with a society's norms for family life; it may support or undermine a political system |
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| "to describe the phenomenon of religion as it actually exists and as it is interpreted by its pracitioners, whithout imposing value judgements or explaining it on the basis of theories taken from the other human sciences |
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| the intuitive perception of spiritual truths beyon the limits of reason |
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| the understanding that the sacred is beyond, above, or outside of the material universe |
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| the understanding that the sacred is present in the world |
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| inerpretation of texts, ideas, images |
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| chinese idea that all things- gods, ancestors, spirits, ghosts, human beings, animals plants - are interconnected. Human responsiblity entails learning how to live in harmony with all things within this cosmic unity |
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| the Way of all things; the source or origin of all things; the Dao gives rise to a field of energy (qi) out of which comes the first movement (yang) followed by a complimentary settling (yin) |
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| an impersonal, self-generating energy, said to come out of the Dao |
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| two dynamic, ever-changing aspects of qi, everything in the universe is said to be a combination of these two forces |
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| the shadowed side of a mountain, moist, cold, feminine, winter, yeilding |
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| the sunlit side of the mountain, dry, hot, masculine, summer, firm |
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| supernatural deities such as Di( or Shang Di) or Tain (heaven); seen as somewhat impersonal and distant from the common people |
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| pantheistic understanding that the natral world is sacred; nature deities include the sun, moon, earth, wind, rain, grass, trees, grain; worshiping these nature dieities is a way of showing appreciation for the gifts given from nature |
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| gods who had once been human: parents, grandparents, ancestors; culture heros; people who have died tragically and have been transformed after death by the prayers of the community |
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| through the worship of one's ancestors, one helps to maintain harmony and balance in the family and the community. the ancestors' happpiness is said to be dependent on ritual observances by the living family. honoring the ancestors brings their blessings, while neglecting them brings threat of calamity, disturbances, disharmony |
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| (aka "clear and Bright festival") sweeping the ancestor's graves; held at the beginning of spring (around april 4th); festival to honor the ancestors by sweeping the gravesite, offering food, prayers, incense, and having a picnic at the gravesite, renewing ties between living family and departed ancestors |
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| a person who acts as a bridge between the human and divine realms (both men and women can be shamans); can funcition through trance state as spirit-journey or trance state through possession |
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| the search for information about the causes of present conditions or about what to expect in the future; oracle blocks thrown in front of god's shrine, divination chairs, spirit-writing, consulting a divination text such as the I Ching, feng shi.... |
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| Book of Changes: Divination text that eventually replaced oracle bone and tortoise shell divination; held in high regard by Confucius who added commentaries to the original text; confucian classic |
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| "wind and water" divination practice originally used to situate houses, villages, and gravesites harmoniously within the surrounding energy of a particular area; today used to bring auspicious, healing energy into a home |
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| a person is chosen by the god or goddess of a particular temple to interpret the writings of the god or goddess for the community of worshippers; includes ethical and moral teachings of the particular deity |
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| earth god; local village deity who watches over the village on a supernatural level, protecting the inhabitants from malevolent forces. worshiped as long as he is efficacious or helps |
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| prosperity, longevity, posterity |
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| three popular chinese gods who represent the hope for enough money, a long life, and healthy children |
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| historical person (552-479 BC) who sought to develop an ethical system of government and a harmoious social order in china; believed in the perfectibility of human beings through learning; his teachings have influenced all of east asia |
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| humaneness; human-heartedness; said to be Confucius' central teaching |
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| ritual propriety; confucian principle of performing rituals with sincerity and a sense of the sacred |
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| confucian principle for the conduct of life: "never do to others what you would not like them to do to you" |
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| "predates Confucius but is central to his social vision) respect that children should have for their parents (and that subordinates should have for their superiors) |
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| confucian social structure related to the ideas of reciprocity and filial piety 1) ruler-minister or subject 2) father-son 3) husband-wife 4) elder- younger brother 5) friend-friend |
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| mencius (mengzi, meng ko) |
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| follower of confucius who believed in the innate goodness of human nature |
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| follower of confucius who believed that human nature is innately evil, but that people can (and desire to be) taught goodness and virtue |
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| the right of the emperor to rule as a representative of heaven (tian); if the emperor were just, he was said to have Heaven's mandate, but an unjust rulere was said to have lost the Mandate of Heaven |
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| religious tradition said to be based on the tenets of the Tao Te Ching; three schools of Daoism: "philosophical" Daoism (represented by Laozi & Zhuangzi);"church" Daoism (represented by priests who serve the community through rituals such as funerals); "alchemical" or "magical" Daoism that is concerned with various meditations, exercises, elixirs that may help one to attain immortality |
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| legendary founder ofDaoism; said to have written the Tao Te Ching |
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| The Book of the Way and Its Power; book of Daoist philosophy attributed to Laozi |
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| 4th century BCE Daoist known for famous account of a dream in which he dreamed he was a butterfly (said to exemplify "the transformation of things) |
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| the Way of all things; the "unnameable" the "eternally real" the "inexhaustibilie" |
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| literally, wood-not-cut; usually translated as the Uncarved Block; Daoist principle that there is a power that resides in people an things in their "original simplicity" |
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| actionless action; Daoist principle that when one acts in harmony with the Dao, things can be accomplished effortlessly and naturally |
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| Daoist ideal of the person who is living in complete harmony with the Dao; such a person is said to be lived by the Dao; the ideal Daoist sage (both men and women can become Daoist sages) |
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| syncretistic sect founded in the 1950's in Taiwan' also under the protection of the eternal venerable mother; faith-healing sect that relies on spirit-writers (both male and female) |
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| "buddhist Law" movement; has become popular in china in the face of sometimes extreme government prosecution;combines moral, spirtual, philosophical tenets of Buddhism, Daoism, and folk traditions; members of Falun Gong practice meditation and yogic exercises and stress non-violence |
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| particularly repressive Chinese communist movement(1966-76)which attacked the hierarchical social structure of Confucianism as well as all religious practices and traditions |
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| leader of the chinese communist regime established in 1949 and of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) |
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| leader of the chinese communist regime established in 1949 and of the Cultural Revolution (1966-76) |
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| chinese daoist association |
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| government-sanctioned Daoist group in China |
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| energy-training practice developed in China in the 18th century; popular martial arts practice in china that has spread to Europe and america |
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