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Key
(B) Buddhism
(C) Christianity
(D) Daoism and other
Chinese religions
(H) Hinduism
(I) Islam
(J) Judaism
(Jn) Jainism
(S) Sikhism
(Sh) Shinto
(Z) Zoroastrianism
Adi Granth (S) See Guru
Granth Sahib.
Advaita Vedanta (H) A school of
Hindu philosophy developed in the
9th century, which gives a unified
explanation of the Vedas, and
focuses on the idea of Brahman.
Ahadith (I) See Hadith.
Ahimsa (B, H, Jn) A doctrine
of nonviolence of both thought
and action.
Akhand path (S) A complete and
uninterrupted oral rendition of the
Guru Granth Sahib.
Allah (I) The name of the one God.
Amrit (S) Sweetened holy water
used in religious ceremonies; the
specific Sikh ceremony of initiation.
Analects (D) The collected sayings
of Confucius and his contemporaries,
written by his followers.
Ananda (H) A state of bliss.
Anata (B) A state of freedom from ego
to which Buddhists aspire.
Anicca (B) The impermanence
of existence.
Arhat (B) A perfect being who has
attained nirvana.Artha (H) The pursuit of material
wealth, one of the duties of a person
in the “householder” stage of life, the
second phase of the ashrama.Ashkenazim (J) Jews from
Eastern and Central Europe, and
their descendants around the world.Ashrama (H) The stages of life, of
which there are four, in the Hindu
social system: student; householder;
retiree; and ascetic.Atman (H) The individual self.Avatar (H) An incarnation of a
Hindu deity; especially the various
incarnations of the god Vishnu.Avesta (Z) The principle sacred
texts of Zoroastrianism.Ayat (C) The smallest entries in
the Qu’ran, which are short verses
or “signs.”Baptism (C) The sacrament that
admits a person to the Christian
Church in a ritual that involves being
sprinkled with, or immersed in, water.Bar/bat mitzvah (J) The ceremony
marking a Jewish boy’s or girl’s
admission to the adult religious
community; the state of having
reached religious adulthood.Bhakti (B, H) An active religious
devotion to a divinity leading
to nirvana.Bible (C) The collection of books
that constitute the sacred text of
Christianity. The Christian Bible
comprises the Old Testament, whichincludes the Jewish books of the law,
Jewish history, and the prophets; and
the New Testament, which deals
with the life and work of Jesus, his
followers, and the early Church.
See also Hebrew Bible.Bodhisattva (B) Someone on the
path to becoming a buddha, who
puts off final enlightenment to help
other people to reach the same state.Brahma (H) The creator god, one of
the Hindu Trimurti.Brahman (H) The impersonal and
unchanging divine reality of the
universe. All other gods are aspects
of Brahman.Brahmin (H) A priest or seeker of
the highest knowledge; the priestly
class and custodians of dharma.Buddha (B) An enlightened being.Canonization (C) The process by
which the Christian Church declares
that a person is a saint.Charismata (C) Spiritual gifts
conferred by the Holy Spirit of God
on believers, manifesting in forms
such as the ability to heal, or speak
in tongues.Christ (C) Literally, “anointed one”;
title given to Jesus.Confirmation (C) A ritual in which
those who have been baptized
confirm their Christian faith.Covenant (J) An agreement
between God and the Jewish people
in which the Jews are identified as
the group he has chosen to play
a special role in the relationship
between himself and humanity.GLOSSARY