Term
|
Definition
| the study of religion as an “insider” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the study of religion from the outside |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| one who believes that the essence of religion is real and nonempirical, that it must be experienced first hand to be understood, and that the institutions and wordly trappings of religion are secondary to this essence |
|
|
Term
| Family resemblance definition |
|
Definition
| an approach associated with the philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein that assumes nothing is defined by only one essence or function; therefore, what we call religions are defined by a set of traits that they share to one degree or another |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the view that religious knowledge, like all form of truth claims, can be questioned, it attempts to question all assumptions about religions and their uniqueness |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| one who seeks to determine the social, psychological, or political role played by forces that are called “religious” |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the theory that religion gives meaning to human existence and reality, helping to make sense of what might appear senseless |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the attempt to classify and describe religions in terms of their objects, rituals, teachings, etc |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a reaction to the concept of structuralism, that is, the idea that there is a limited number of structures in myth, language, and the world; it denies that these structures are given or unchanging and focuses on the influence of culture and power in society |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the theory that religions are like products in a global market place |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| religious ceremonial performed according to a set of pattern words, movements, and symbolic actions. Rituals may involve the dramatic re-enactment of ancient myths featuring gods and heroes, performed to ensure the welfare of the community |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| telling the future by reading the signs of nature in the weather, stars, or flight of birds or by the manupulation of objects such as bones or cards |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the adaptation of the Greek language, culture, philosophy and ideas, particularly around the Mediterranean, from the time of Alexander the Great. It was the dominant cultural influence during the rise of Christianity |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| large stone monuments dating from the late Neolithic period. Their original function is uncertain but they mark burial mounds and temples and they may have served as a calendar of times and seasons |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| cults based on ancient myths which flourished in Greece, in Rome throughout the Roman empire. Initiates went through a dramatic and secret ceremony in which they identified with the divinity at the center of the myth and experienced salvation and the assurance of immortality. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the new stone age, from about 10,000 BCE until the early bronze age |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the old stone age, before 10,000 BCE in Europe and the Middle East |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| dating from the period before the development of writing; in the middle east, before about 3000 BCE |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| an ecstatic priest-magician among the tungu people of Siberia. By extension, a similar figure in other indigineous religions and ancient religions. Shamans induce a trance experience in which they are believed to leave the body and visit other worlds. The shaman’s role is to convey sacrifices to the gods, to escort the dead to their destination and return with divine prophecies |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| in Australian indigineous religions, the mythical period in which, according to aboriginal tradition, ancestral beings moved across the face fo the earth forming its physical features. The dreamtime is re-created in art, painting, chanting, dancing, and cult ceremonies |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Polynesian word applied to an object, place, or person prohibited because of its holy or dangerous character. It may include the sense of being marked off and therefore separate from everyday usage |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| term meaning “one who descends”. In popular Hinduism, lord Vishnu appears on earth at intervals to assert ancient values and destroy illusion. The main tradition refers to ten descents, nine fo which have already happened. Krishna is the most famous avatar. Some modern cults claim to worship a living avatar |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| “song of the lord”, a section of the Mahabharata In the form of a battlefield dialogue between the warrior prince Arjuna and Krishna, disguised as his charioteer. Arjuna is unwilling to fight his kinsmen, but Krishna encourages him, teaching him that wisdom requires him to fulfill his proper role while at the same time renouncing the consequences of his actions |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| love of, or devotion to, God. It is one of the Hindu paths to union with god. It is expressed in popular religion in which the worshipper develops a sense of personal relationship to god, responding to him as though to a father, mother, friend, lover or child, and looking to him for grace |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the division of society into groups, reflecting and defining the division of labor. In Hinduism, caste is traditionally seen as the creation of brahma, each caste emerging symbolically from different parts of his body. There are 4 chief groups |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| in Hinduism, cosmic order, the law of existence, right conduct |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Unsatisfactoriness or suffering. Birth, illness, decay, death, and rebirth are symptoms of a restless and continuous "coming-to-be," which marks all existence. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Specifically, a spiritual teacher or guide who, in Indian religion, awakens a disciple to a realization of his or her own divine nature. In Sikh religion, it refers to the ten teachers, from Nanak to Singh, who ruled the community |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sanskrit word for work or action. In Indian belief, every action has inevitable consequences which attach themselves to the doer requiring word or punishment. Moral laws of cause and effect. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Illusion or deception in Hindu thought. Concerned with the diverse phenomenal world perceived by the senses. It is the trick to convince people that this is all that exists and thus blind them to the reality of Brahman and the oneness of existence. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sanskrit word meaning liberation from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Permanent, spiritual perfection experienced by an enlightened soul after the physical body has died. No further incarnations will be endured. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Refers particularly to temple worship in Hiduism and to the keeping of rites and ceremonies prescribed by the Brahmans |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A vast corpus of sacred writings which include mythologies of Hindu deities and avatars of Vishnu, the origins of the cosmos and of humanity, pilgrimage, ritual, law codes, caste obligation, and so on. There are eighteen principle ones each exalting a member of the Trimurti. They are very important in Hinduism. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sanskrit word meaning "stream of existence" which refers to the cycle of birth and death followed by rebirth as applied both to individuals and to the universe itself |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The language of the Aryan people and of the Hindu scriptures. It is an Indo-European language related to Latin, Greek, and Persian |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The last books of the Indian Vedas, which were written in Sanskrit between 800 and 400 BCE. They develop the concept of brahman as the holy power released in sacrifice to the point where it becomes the underlying reality of the universe. The soul, atman, is identified with the holy power, brahman. They include speculation on how the soul can realize its oneness with brahman through contemplative techniques |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Daniel Machado...also, Indians who belong to no caste and are therefore banished from normal social life. Mahatma Gandhi called them "children of God" and worked for their acceptance in Indian society |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Scriptures that express the religion of the Aryan people of India. They compromise hymns, instruction for ritual, and cosmological speculations. There are four divisions: rig veda, hyms to the Aryan gods, who are personifications of natural forces; Sama Veda, verses selected for chanting; Yajur Veda, prose instructions on matters of ritual; Atharva Veda, rites and spells in verse, especially concerned with curing illness |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A way to union with God in Hindu philosophy. It also forms one ofthe six classical systems of Indian thought. Traditionally, there are eight states of yoga. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Members of a major sect of Jains who followed Mahavira in believing in the virtue of total nudity. Numerous in the warm south of India, they tend to wear robes in public |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Festival oflight celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. For Jains, it is the beginning of a new ritual and commercial year and celebrates Mahavira's transcendence to moksha and the enlightenment of his disciple Gautama |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Also called "Tirthankaras," Jinas are Jain religious teachers who have attained enlightenment and omniscience by conquering samsara |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The belief that every action has inevitable consequences which attach themselves to the door requiring reward or punishment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sanskrit word meaning liberation from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Permanent spiritual perfection experienced by an enlightened soul after the physical body has died. No further incarnations will be endured |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Refers particularly to temple worship in Hinduism, and to the keeping of rites and ceremonies presribed by the Brahmans |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sanskrit word that refers to the cycle of birth and death followed by rebirth as applied both to individuals and to the universe itself |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Members of a major Jain sect who rejected the Digambaras' stress on the virtues of nudity. They are numerous in the north of India. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sanskrit word meaning soul or self. The Upanishads teach that atman is identical to Brahman, that is, the soul is one with the divine |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In Mahayana Buddhism a saint or semi-divine being who has voluntarily renounced nirvana in order to help others to salvation. In popular devotion bodhisattvas are worshipped as symbols of compassion |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Religious and political movement which started in southern Vietnam around 1920. It is sometimes called the "Third Amnesty." Firmly nationalistic, its teachings are a mixture of Buddhism and Taoism |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In Buddhism, teachings of the Buddha |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Buddhist term for unsatisfactoriness or suffering. Birth, illness, decay, death, and rebirth are symptoms of a restless and continuos "coming-to-be" which marks all existence |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Offshoot of the Vietnamese Cao Dai movement. It is Buddhist-based and has been strongly nationalistic. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The belief that every action has inevitable consequences which attach themselves to the doer requiring reward or punishment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Mahayana Buddhist scripture in the form of a sermon preached by the Buddha to teach of gods, demons, rulers, and cosmic powers. It contains the essence of Mahayana teachings on Buddha, the universal capacity for Buddhahood and the compassion and power of the bodhisattvas. It is especially revered in Japan and is the basic scripture of the Nichiren Buddhist new religions. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The form of Buddhism practiced in Nepal, China, Tibet, Korea, and Japan. Mahayana accepts more scriptures than Theravada and has developed various forms of popular devotion based on the doctrine of the bodhisattvas |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A visual aid in the form of a series of colored concentric circles used in Tibetan Buddhism. Segments of the circles portray different aspects of the Buddha's compassion. Concentration on the mandala enables the disciple to see himself in relation to the Buddha's compassion and thus to achieve enlightenment |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A symbolic sound causing an internal vibration which helps to concentrate the mind and aids self-realization. In Hinduism the term originally referred to a few sacred verses from the Vedas. It came to be thought that they possessed spiritual power, and that repetition of them was a help to liberation. A mantra is sometimes given by a spiritual teacher to a disciple as an initiation. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| In Buddhism, the state when dukkha ceases because the flames ofdesire are no longer fuelled. It is a state of unconditioned-ness and uncompounded-ness beyond any form of known or imagined existence |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Community of Buddhist monks which started with the Buddha's first disciples. The functions of the sangha are to promote through its own lifestyle the best conditions for attaining individual salvation and to teach the dhamma to all people |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The form of Buddhism practiced in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos; it sticks firmly to the teachings ofthe Vinaya Pitaka and rejects the doctrine of the bodhisattvas |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An expression sometimes used for Tibetan Buddhism, a form of Mahayana Buddhism which has distinctive doctrines and practices |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Japanese Buddhist movement that developed from the Chinese Ch'an school in the thirteenth century CE. It is characterized by the teaching that enlightenment is a spontaneous event, totally independed of concepts, techniques, or rituals. Zen aims at harmony in living and uses secular arts such as tea-making and calligraphy to develop effortless skills. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sacred book of sikhism. It is regarded as the eternal guro for the Sikh community. It is the central focus of the Sikh home and ofthe Gurdwara |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Festival of light celebrated by Hindus, Jains, and Sikhs. For Sikhs, it is a commemoration of the release from prison of the sixth guru and his return to the city of Amritsar. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sikh temple and meeting place, consisting of a worship area which house the Adi Granth, and a cooking and eating area for the symbolic meal which ends Sikh worship. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Originally the militant community of Sikhs organized by Guru Singh in 1699. Now it is the society of fully committed adult members of the Sikh community. Traditional marks of membership are uncut hair, comb worn in the hair, a sword, kneelength breeches, and a steel bracelet |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Sanskrit word meaning liberation from the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. Permanent spiritual perfection experienced by an elightened soul after the physical body has died. No further incarnations will be endured. |
|
|
