Glossary
The words of the world’s religions, from ahimsa to Yijing, each explained in a sentence or two.
A
- Advent
The four weeks of preparation before Christmas.
- ahimsa
Non-violence: not harming any living being in thought, word or deed. Central to Jainism.
- Ahura Mazda
The “Wise Lord”, the one supreme God of Zoroastrianism.
- amrit
Sweetened water stirred with a double-edged sword, used in the Khalsa initiation.
- Analects
The collected sayings of Confucius and his disciples.
- arati · aarti
A rite in which a lamp is waved before an image of a god, then offered to the worshippers.
- ase · ashe, àṣẹ
Àṣẹ: the power to make things happen, the life force that flows through gods, people and words.
- asha
Truth and right order, the principle Zoroastrians uphold against the lie.
- atman
The self or soul. Many Hindu schools teach that atman is ultimately one with Brahman.
- avatar · avatara
A “descent” of a god into the world in bodily form, such as Rama and Krishna, avatars of Vishnu.
B
- babalawo
A priest of Ifá, trained to perform divination: “father of secrets”.
- bhakti
Loving devotion to a god, expressed in song, prayer and service.
- bodhisattva · bodhisattvas
In Mahayana Buddhism, one who seeks awakening for the sake of all beings and delays final nirvana to help them.
- Brahman
The ultimate reality in Hindu thought, the ground of all that exists.
D
- Dao · Tao
The Way: in Daoism, the nameless source and flow of all things; in Confucianism, the right way of living.
- Daodejing · Tao Te Ching
The classic of the Way and its power, attributed to Laozi, the foundational text of Daoism.
- dharma
Duty, law and the right order of things. For Hindus it is the moral order and one’s duties in life; for Buddhists, the teaching of the Buddha.
E
- Eucharist · Holy Communion
The rite of bread and wine recalling the Last Supper; also called Holy Communion, the Mass or the Lord’s Supper.
G
- Gathas
Seventeen hymns attributed to Zarathustra, the oldest and holiest part of the Avesta.
- Gospel · Gospels
The “good news” of Jesus; also each of the four books, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, that tell his life.
- gurdwara · gurdwaras
A Sikh place of worship, where the Guru Granth Sahib is kept and the langar served.
- guru · gurus
A spiritual teacher. In Sikhism the title of the ten Gurus and of the scripture, the Guru Granth Sahib.
H
- hadith
A report of what the Prophet Muhammad said or did; collections of hadith guide Muslim life.
- Haggadah
The text read at the Passover seder, telling the story of the Exodus.
- hajj
The pilgrimage to Mecca, required once in a lifetime of every Muslim who is able.
- harae · harai
Purification rites that remove impurity, central to Shinto worship.
- haumai
Self-centredness or ego, which Sikh teaching sees as the root of separation from God.
- hukam
The divine order or will of God, to which Sikhs seek to align their lives.
I
- iftar
The meal that breaks the fast at sunset during Ramadan.
- imam · imams
One who leads the prayer. In Shia Islam the Imams are the divinely guided successors of the Prophet.
- incarnation
The belief that God became human in Jesus.
J
- jiva
The soul, of which Jains believe every living being has one, bound by karma.
- junzi
The “gentleman” or exemplary person, who cultivates virtue through learning and ritual.
K
- ka
The life force of a person in ancient Egyptian belief, which lived on after death and received offerings.
- Kabbalah · Kabbala
The mystical tradition of Judaism, which explores the hidden life of God and the soul.
- kami
The gods or sacred powers of Shinto, present in nature, ancestors and great people.
- karma
Action and its consequences. Good and bad deeds shape a person’s future, in this life and in lives to come.
- kashrut · kosher
The Jewish dietary laws; food that meets them is kosher.
- kegare
Impurity or pollution, which purification removes.
- kevala jnana
Perfect, all-knowing knowledge, attained by a soul freed from karma.
- Khalsa
The community of initiated Sikhs, founded by Guru Gobind Singh in 1699.
- kirtan
The singing of hymns in praise of God, central to Sikh worship.
- kushti · kusti
The sacred cord, woven of 72 threads, tied around the waist and retied in daily prayer.
L
- langar
The free communal kitchen of every gurdwara, where all eat together as equals.
- Lent
The forty days of fasting and penitence before Easter.
- li
Ritual propriety: the rites and right conduct that order family and society.
M
- ma’at · maat
Truth, justice and cosmic order in ancient Egypt, upheld by the king and personified as a goddess.
- makoto
Sincerity, a sincere and pure heart, prized in Shinto ethics.
- Manifestation of God · Manifestations of God
In Bahá’í belief, a messenger who reveals God’s will to humanity, such as Abraham, Moses, the Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, the Báb and Bahá’u’lláh.
- mantra · mantras
A sacred word or phrase repeated in prayer or meditation, such as Om.
- matsuri
A shrine festival, often with processions carrying the kami through the streets.
- mihrab
The niche in a mosque wall that shows the direction of prayer.
- mitzvot · mitzvah
The commandments of the Torah; traditionally 613. A single commandment, or a good deed, is a mitzvah.
- moksha · mukti
Liberation from the cycle of rebirth, the highest goal of life in Hinduism and Jainism.
N
- nirvana · nibbana
Literally “blowing out”: the end of craving and suffering, and release from rebirth, in Buddhism.
- norito
Prayers addressed to the kami by Shinto priests.
O
- odu
One of the 256 signs of Ifá divination, each with its body of verses.
- ori · orí
The inner head or personal destiny that each person chooses before birth.
- orisa · orisha, orishas, òrìṣà
The deities of Yoruba religion, such as Ọ̀ṣun, Ṣàngó and Ọ̀rúnmìlà.
P
- pietas
Dutiful respect towards the gods, the state and one’s family, a central Roman virtue.
- pratityasamutpada
Dependent origination: the teaching that everything arises in dependence on other conditions.
- puja
Worship: offerings of flowers, food, light and incense to a deity, at home or in a temple.
Q
- qi · chi
Vital energy or breath that flows through the body and the universe.
- qibla · qiblah
The direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, which Muslims face in prayer.
R
- rabbi · rabbis
A teacher and scholar of Jewish law who often leads a congregation.
- ratnatraya
The three jewels of Jainism: right faith, right knowledge and right conduct.
- ren
Humaneness or benevolence, the highest Confucian virtue.
S
- sacrament · sacraments
A rite believed to convey God’s grace, such as baptism and the Eucharist.
- salat · salah
The ritual prayer, said five times a day facing Mecca.
- samsara
The cycle of birth, death and rebirth, from which the Indian religions seek release.
- sangha
The Buddhist community, especially the order of monks and nuns.
- seder
The ritual meal on the first night or nights of Passover, at which the Exodus story is told.
- sefirot
In Kabbalah, the ten powers through which the hidden God becomes known and acts in the world.
- seva
Selfless service to others, a core Sikh duty.
- Shabbat · Sabbath
The Sabbath, the day of rest from Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall.
- shahada
The declaration of faith: there is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God.
- shakti
Divine power or energy, often personified as the goddess.
- shintai
The sacred object in which a kami is present at a shrine, usually hidden from view.
- sudreh · sedreh
The white cotton undershirt worn by initiated Zoroastrians.
- Sufism · Sufi, Sufis
The mystical path of Islam, seeking direct experience of God through love, remembrance and discipline.
- suhur · sahur
The meal eaten before dawn during Ramadan.
- sunna · sunnah
The example of the Prophet Muhammad, in his words and actions, recorded in the hadith.
- sutra · sutras, sutta, suttas
A scripture or discourse; in Buddhism, a teaching attributed to the Buddha.
T
- Talmud
The great collection of rabbinic law and discussion, completed around 500–600 CE, studied alongside the Bible.
- tawhid
The oneness of God, the central teaching of Islam.
- Tipitaka · Tripitaka, Pali Canon
The “three baskets”, the Pali canon of Theravada Buddhism: monastic rules, discourses and higher teaching.
- Tirthankara · Tirthankaras
A “ford-maker”: one of twenty-four liberated teachers who show the way across the river of rebirth. Mahavira was the last.
- Torah
The five books of Moses; more broadly, the whole of Jewish teaching.
- Trinity
The Christian belief that God is one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
U
- Upanishads · Upanishad
Philosophical texts at the end of the Vedas, exploring the self, Brahman and liberation.
V
- Veda · Vedas
The oldest Hindu scriptures, collections of hymns and ritual texts composed in Sanskrit from about 1500 BCE.
W
- wu wei
Effortless action: acting in harmony with the Dao, without forcing.
X
- xiao
Filial piety: respect and care for parents and ancestors.
Y
- Yijing · I Ching
The Book of Changes, an ancient Chinese classic of divination built on 64 hexagrams.
Z
- zakat
The obligatory giving of a share of one’s wealth to the poor, one of the Five Pillars.
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