World Religions and Belief Systems

1. Theology An intellectual exposition of a religious tradition from within

its community of adherents.
2. Spirituality The human beings capacity to search for the meaning and
ultimate values of ones life.
3. Monotheism Believing in the existence of only one supreme God.
4. Plythesim Acknowledging the existence of multiplicity of deities.
5. Nontheism A religious belief system that does not explicitly mention
of any personal deity.
6. Cult Practices that nourish the believers inner life and their union
with ulimate realities.
7. Code The norms or behavior every adherent of a religion is expected
to observe.
8. Creed The fundamental beliefs and assumptions of a religious
tradition
9. Religion An institutionalized system of beliefs and practices from
which an individual or community derives meaning and significance.
10. Vedas The oldest sacred books in Hindu Dharma that contain
descriptions and mythologies of pre-Aryan and Aryan deities.
11. Upanishads Collections of philosophical writings attached to the
Vedas that go beyond ceremonial actions by seeking the meaning of
human existence.
12. Ramayana An epic of almost twenty thousand verses narrating the
love story of the seventh avatar or incarnation of the god Vishnu, and
his wife Sita
13. Bhagavad-Gita The most popular part of the Mahabharata that has
been described as the essence of the Vedas
14. Namaste Literally means I bow to you.
15. Moksha The ultimate goal of Hindu Dharma, which is the liberation
from the endless cycle of birth and death.
16. Samsara The wheel or cycle of rebirth, which is more populary
known as the doctrine of reincarnation or transmigration of souls.
17. Bharma A rich complex term that refers to duty, law, virtue, ethic,
and as a principle right action, may also refer to rules governing human
activity.
18. Varna The sanskrit term for caste or social class.
19. Om The fundamental sound of the universe and often introduces
sacred chanting.
20. Brahman A reality that makes everything that can be experienced
possible but which cannot be perceived by the senses; the all-knowing
source of consciousness.
21. Trimurti - Three images representing the three primary natures of
Brahman.
22. Brhma Known as the creator among the Hindu Gods.
23. Vishnu A Hindu God who sas the power of preservtion.
24. Sarasvati Wife of Brahma, the goddess of knowledge, wisdom,
speech, and poetry.
25. Shiva A Hindu god whose function is that of a destroyer and
transformer.
26. Ganesha The elephant-headed Hindu god who is known to be a
powerful remover of obstacles.
27. Durga The Hindu goddess of darkness, sickness, and death; a fiercer
form of Parvati.
28. Parvati Known as the Divine Mother in Hindu gods
29. Atman The essence of Brahman present in individual human beings.
30. Siddhartha Gautama Regarded as the founder of Buddhism.
31. Upali The Vinaya Pitaka was derived from this devoted bhikkus
recitation of Buddhas teaching.
32. Vinaya Pitaka The first part of the Tripitaka that comprises lists of
disciplonary rules for Buddhist monastic life.
33. Abhiddhama Pitaka A collection of pure and highly advanced form of
the Buddhas teaching revealed only after his death.
34. Sutta Pitaka The heart of the Tripitaka that contains over ten
thousand sayings attributed to the Buddha.
35. Tripitaka A collection of sermons preached by the Buddha to
assemblies of bodhisattvas and other cosmic beings on a transhistorical
level of reality.
36. Ananda The cousin and personal assistant of Siddhartha who
bacame one of the bhikkus known for having exceptional memory.
37. Daodejing It is the most influential piece of Chinese literature which
is consists of slightly more than five thousand words contained in 81
chapters and usually translated in poetic forms. It focuses on the
harmony of opposites within the peaceful flow of the Dao.
38. Zhuangzi (or Chuang-tzu) an anthology of often humorous or even
irrelevant accounts, epitomizing the carefree Daosit sage. Emphasizing
freedom from the pointless convention and spontaneity in action, its
stories exhibit the pointlessness of differentiating between good and
evil, death and life, human and natural.
39. Yang the positive force in nature manifested in light, warmth,
dryness and maleness.
40. Yin the negative opposite of yang which is seen in darkness, cold,
dampness, and femaleness.
41. Dao harmonious union of yin ang yang; the ultimate source of all
being, lies behind the basic unity underlying the universe.
42. Wu wei a central principle of Daoism; a lifestyle that emphasizes
quietism and pacificm. It designates nonpurposive or nonmanipulative
action, non-interference, taking no artificial action, letting things take
their own course; spontaneous transformation, non-aggressive
manipulation.
43. Feng shui a Chinese metaphysical system of achieving harmony with
the surrounding environment; also used in the setting and construction
of homes.
44. Laozi (or Lao-tzu) consided to be the founder of Daoism.
45. Confucianism the general term for the religious and ethical ideals,
values, and bahaviors that have shaped chinese culture for the previous
three to four millenia. It aims toward the ultimate transformation of
individual and society and provides the means for achieving that ideal.
46. Confucius A Chinese sage attributed as the founder of Confucianism.
47. Analectics (Lunyu) a collection, written by disciples, of speeches by
Grand Master Kong and his disciples as well as discussions with him.
48. Mencius (Mengzi) a collection of conversations between the
Confucian scholar and Lord Meng and kings of his time.
49. Great learning (Da xue) an essay expressing many themes of
Chinese philosophy and political thinking.
50. Doctrine of the Mean (Zhong Yong) an essay concerning the
relationship between haven and earth, demonstrating the usefulness of
the Dao to gain perfect virtue.
51. Book of Changes (Yijing) a complex manual of divination, which
grew over the centuries as a uniquely Chinese combination of practical
wisdom and esoteric lore, where the future could be predicted by
studying patterns in nature; contains 64 hexagrams used for
interpreting patterns from casting coins or plant stalks.
52. Book of Historical Records (Shujing) a record of events that
supposedly goes all the way back to three million years before the
Common Era.
53. Book of Odes (Shijing) an anthology of poetry written between 1000
and 500 BCE.
54. Book of Rites (Lijing) a record of about 300 years of the social forms,
administration, and religious practices of the Zhou dynasty from eight
to fifth centuries BCE.
55. Annals of Spring and Autumn (Chuanqui) a vast detailed and well-
organized collection of subject matter, which includes music,
agriculture, the conduct of rulers, and even divination.
56. Tian (Heaven/Sky) the key Confucian concept.
57. Zhengming the knowledge and use of the proper designations of
people and things in the web of interrelationshis that generates
meaning, a community, and appropriate behavior in order to ensure
harmony in society.
58. Li literally means ritual, is the correct formal way to behave in
religious rites or in ceremonies of the imperial court.
59. Junzi a model human being who always acts from the internalization
of li, and will behave appropriately in any situation.
60. Ren humanness; the quality of being a ganuine human being in other
human beings.
61. Shinto original native religion of the people of Japan; a set of
traditional rituals and ceremonies rather than a system of domatic
beliefs or a definite code of ethics.
62. Amaterasu Shinto sun goddess.
63. Nihongi the most comprehensive surviving historical record of the
ancient Land of the Rising Sun
64. Kojiki collection of myths concerning the origin of Japanese people
and the kami, tracing a path from mythology into historical records.
65. Jimmu the first human emperor of Japan.
66. Jinja shrines that can be found in groves of trees all over Japan.
67. Torii sacred gates of Jinja in the form of distinctive Japanese
archway.
68. Hara-kiri Japanese practice of atonement through ritual suicide to
preserve or restore honor.
69. Kami spiritual beings or forces belonging to nature that animate
everything in the world.
70. Ise Grand Shrine a world-renowned structure dedicated to
Amaterasu.
71. Judaism the religious beliefs and practices of the peole of Israel,
traces its heritage to the divine covenant made between Adonai and
their ancestor Abraha.
72. Messiah The Anointed One
73. Jacob the patriarch who was named Israel.
74. Rabbi An ordained religious professional who is more teacher than a
priest.
75. Moses The patriarch to whom the Torah is traditionally attributed.
76. Moses Maimonides The north African philosopher and phsysician
who set down the Thirteen Articles of Faith of Judaism in the twelfth
century.
77. Abraham the great ancestor from whom the covenant with Adonai
arose the religious beliefs and practices of the people of Israel.
78. David the warrior king of Israel from whose lineage the Messiah is
to come.
79. Tanakh the written Torah which is the entire collection of Hebrew
Scriptures.
80. Adonai the God of Israel.
81. Canaan the Promised land of Israel.
82. Torah instructions or teachings of Adonai contained in the entire
collection of Hebrew Scriptures. Also called Pentateuch.
83. Neviim the second section of Tanakh which is a continuous
historical narrative about the wavering fidelity of the people of Israel to
the Covenant with Adonai.
84. Ketuvim collection of eleven books comprising a variety of materials
that were most likely compiled by the time of destruction of the Second
Temple in Jerusalem by the the Romans.
85. Talmud fundamental text of rabinic Judaism, only ribbis and scholars
are able to use it due to its level of reading difficulty.
86. Midrash a collection of biblical interpretation where one can read
rabbinic stories that aim to explain specific verses in the scriptures.
87. Elohim Hebrew term for gods.
88. Mitzvah Hebrew term for commandment; the action performed with
heartfelt devotion by an adherent of Judaism in response to Adonai,
with whome he/she is in covenant-relationship.
89. Sabbath weekly day of rest which begins at the sunset on Friday
evening and ends on Saturday evening.
90. Synagogue the meeting place where people solemnly assembled in
the presence of God to sustain each other in affirming their belief in
this God.
91. Passover Annual commemoration of the deliverance of the people of
Israel from slavery in Egypt narrated in the Book of Exodus.
92. Jesus of Nazareth born in a turbulent period of history in an
explosive place, filled with poverty, exploitation, greed, class division,
repeated bloodshed, and massive unrest.
93. Pharisees lay people who strived for holiness by a strict observance
of the Law of Moses.
94. Essenes religious sect who strived for holiness by observing
community life and asceticism, and were likely ones who preserved
what we are now known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
95. Catholic a term which means universal.
96. Constantine the Great granted the toleration of Christianilty in the
so-called Edict of Milan.
97. Theodosius the Great brought Constantines policy of uniting the
Empire with the church to its conlusion by emperial decree making
Christianity the official religion of the Roman empire.
98. Trinity Three persons, one God (Father, Son and Spirit)
99. Islam Arabic term which means surrender; particularly putting faith
in and instructing oneself totally to the will of the one God.
100. Quran a written records of the words of Allahspoken through the
divine messenger (or Angel Gabriel) to the prophet Muhamad that must
be recited and heard unfailingly as Allahs final, flawless message to
humanity.