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Introduction to World Religions (College Network)
Lesson 5 Vocab
41
Religious Studies
Undergraduate 1
04/12/2014

Additional Religious Studies Flashcards

 


 

Cards

Term
chai
Definition
A type of ceremony performed at weddings, exorcisms, and funerals where priests write petitions to celestial beings appealing for assistance to the departed.
Term
chiao
Definition
A type of ceremony performed for the renewal of the community and in honor of deities, such as Lao Tzu, or ancestral spirits.
Term
Confucius
Definition
Chinese sage who is believed to have composed the writings and teachings of the philosophies of Confucianism.
Term
divination
Definition
The interpretation of natural signs like the formation or direction of flight of a flock of birds to predict the future or receive divine guidance.
Term
earth
Definition
In Confucianism it is yin and supplies humanity with raw materials for food, clothing, shelter, medicine, and tools.
Term
Eight Immortals
Definition
Seven men and one woman venerated as human beings who attained immortality by perfectly balancing yin and yang.
Term
exorcism
Definition
The casting out of demons.
Term
feng shui
Definition
The practice of using astronomical details and geomancy, the study of the contours of land and the flow of water, to determine the flow of Qi in an environment.
Term
filial piety
Definition
The honor that children owe to their parents.
Term
Five Classics
Definition
Foundational Confucian literature that consists of pre-Confucian texts containing poetry, divination, history, wisdom sayings, epigrams, instructions for ritual performance, art, music, and teachings of Confucian sages.
Term
Five Great Relationships
Definition
A system of relationships created by Confucius that recognizes and sanctions unequal relations of dominance and submission.
Term
Four Books
Definition
Confucian and post-Confucian literature, it constitutes the canonical literature of Confucianism; it is composed of The Analects, The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, and The Mencius.
Term
gentleness
Definition
A virtue similar to the Hindu principle of ahimsa, meaning do no harm.
Term
Golden Mean
Definition
The primary virtue similar to the Buddha's Middle Way; it is the belief that balance and harmony facilitate the perfection of the self and that the best way to live in harmony with the Tao is by carrying out social duties.
Term
heaven
Definition
According to the Book of Changes, it represents the yang principle and refers to the forces of the sky, sun, wind, rain-natural forces from above.
Term
I Ching
Definition
A book produced to assist in the art of divination that contains about 64 hexagrams whose analysis gives directions about life.
Term
junzi
Definition
The Confucian moral ideal of the superior man.
Term
kuei
Definition
Evil spirits that frequented the night and abounded in darkness and dark places.
Term
Lao Tzu
Definition
Man ascribed with founding Taoism in the sixth century B.C.E.
Term
li
Definition
Means proper performance or piety; it represented doing what is right in a given situation and should govern all aspects of life.
Term
Mencius
Definition
Teacher of Confucianism who stressed the goodness of human nature more than Confucius and drew insights from Taoism.
Term
monastic Taoism
Definition
Religious Taoism centered on monks and monasteries, founded by Wang Zhe in the twelfth century C.E. as a synthesis of Taoism, Confuciansim, and Buddhism.
Term
philosophical Taoism
Definition
Taoism concentrated on deep reflection on the mysteries of the way of nature; its basic teachings can be found on the Tao Te Ching and Zhuangzi.
Term
priestly Taoism
Definition
A system of parishes headed by priests throughout China founded by Zhang Daoling.
Term
Qi
Definition
The life impulse related to consciousness.
Term
religious Taoism
Definition
Taoism that demonstrates a keen interest in immortality, magic, elixirs, fantastic feats, longevity, and good fortune,
Term
ren(jen)
Definition
A characteristic of the superior man, it is a sense of compassion and empathy toward others.
Term
shen
Definition
Good spirits that related to the sun, light, and sky that were invoked for prosperity, health, good luck, and deliverance from evil spirits.
Term
shu
Definition
The principle of mutual reciprocity that shows consideration for the feelings and needs of others.
Term
simplicity
Definition
A virtue that follows from actionless action.
Term
T'ai chi
Definition
A slow dance meant to promote harmony and longevity that is widely practiced in China and throughout the world.
Term
Tao
Definition
The mysterious force that guides all reality
Term
Tao Te Ching
(Daodejing)
Definition
The Classic of the Way and its power that purportedly contains the philosophy and teachings of Lao Tzu.
Term
visualization technique
Definition
A mental practice that focuses attention on a mental object such as an imagined image.
Term
Will of Heaven
Definition
A divine moral order; the source of all moral and ethical precepts.
Term
wu wei
Definition
Effortless action that implies that we ought to avoid taking unnecessary action.
Term
Xun zi
Definition
Confucianism teacher who believed that humans were naturally selfish and required training and social rules to learn to behave correctly.
Term
yin and yang
Definition
Opposite but complementary forces in the universe that account for every object and every event.
Term
Zhu Xi
Definition
Teacher and writer that systematized Confucianism.
Term
Zhuang zi
Definition
A Taoist philosopher who expounded on the teachings of Lao Tzu and wrote the second great classic of Taoism, the Zhuangzi.
Term
Zhuangzi
Definition
The second great classic of Taoism that consists of continuing the return to nature advocated by Lao Tzu.
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