ALL FAITH VOCAB WORDS

The extinction of one's sense of separation existence before achieving union with Allah

For the Australian Aboriginal religion, they are the supernatural beings (or deities) who emerged and roamed the earth, they gave shape to the landscape and created various forms of life. When it is lowercased, it refers to the deceased who can assist the living while requiring religious devotion.

One who has become enlightened; the ideal type for Theravada Buddhism

material success and social prestige, one of four goals in life

one who renounces physical pleasures and worldly attachments for the sake of spiritual advancement; common in Hinduism and many other religious traditions, most notably Jainism

The eternal Self, which the Upanishads identify with brahman; the eternal self or soul of tan individual that is reincarnated from one body to the next

Common to many religions, an entity such as a mountain, tree or pole that is believed to connect the heavens and the earth, and is sometimes regarded as the center of the world

A short section of the epic poem Mahabharata in which the god Krishna teaches the great warrior Arjuna about bhakti marga and other ways to God; Hinduism's most popular sacred text

An account holding that the universe was created through an explosion about thirteen billion years ago resulting in the rapid expansion of matter, energy, time, and space

Future Buddhas

The eternal essence of reality and the source of the universe, beyond the reach of human perception and thought.

The highest of the four classes of the caste system, made up of priests

Siddhartha Gautama and all others who have by their own insight attained perfect enlightenment.

The military and political leaders of the Muslim community who succeeded Muhammad after his death

Traditional division of Hindu society into various categories

The understanding of the nature of the universe

believed to be an incarnation of the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara

The evolutionary theory, holding that human life originated from the simplest life- forms, that each generation of life passes on to the next generation the genetic traits that best enabled it to survive and reproduce over time this process has led to a variety of increasingly complex life forms

Ethical duty based on the divine order of reality; one of the four goals of life

The teachings of the Buddha, and one of the Three Jewels of Buddhism

The use of various techniques, such as throwing bones or shells and then interpreting the pattern in which they fall, for gaining knowledge about an individual’s future or about the cause of a personal problem; important among many religions worldwide.

Ritual practitiones who specialize in the art of divination

the basic Buddhist insight that suffering is part of the human condition.

the capacity for seeing things from another�s perspective, and an important methodological approach for studing religions

A dimension of religion that deals with how we are to act while living in the world

Experience of the divine or holy presence sometimes involving intellectual belief and sometimes emphasizing personal trust

Specific religious and ethical requirements for Muslims: The confession of faith, prayer or worship, fasting, wealth sharing, and the pilgrimage to Mecca

The basic moral requirements that are binding for all Buddhists.

The central teachings of Buddhism: to live is to suffer; suffering is caused by desirel the cessation of suffering can be achived

In its strictest sense, and emphasis on a literal interpretation of a religion's sacred texts and primary teachings. In a more general sense, an intensely traditionalist form of religion impelled by reaction against modern forces and the religious reforms they encourage; it tends to reject diversity of interpretation in favor of an authoritarian approach that insists on one "true" interpretation.

The journey to Mecca that all Muslims are to make at least once iin their lifetime, if they can afford it and are physically able.

The emigration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Yathrib in A.D. 622; the founding event of the Muslim community

The leader of the Friday worship service who directs the prayers and delivers a sermon

Sometimes counted as the sixth pillar of Islam, the general spiritual struggle to be a devout Muslim. In a more narrow context, it refers to armed struggle for the sake of Islam

The stone cubical structure in the courtyard of the Great Mosque of Mecca, believed to be built by Abraham and regarded by Muslims as the sacred center of the earth

Pleasure, especially of sensual love; one of the four goals of life

The moral law of cause and effect of actions; determines the nature of one's reincarnation

The moral law of cause and effect of actions; determines the nature of one's rebirth

The second of the four classes of the caste system, made up of warriors and administrators

The largest of Buddhism's three divisions prevalent in China, Japan, and Korea; encompasses a variety of forms, including those that emphasize devotion and prayer

Patterned icons that visually excite

Phrases or syllables chanted to evoke a deity or to enhance meditation

Cosmic illusion brought about by divine creative power

A basic Buddhist teaching that rejexts both the pleasures of sensual indulgence and the self- denial of asceticism, focusing instead on a practical approach to spiritual attainment

Liberation or release of the individual self, atman, from the bondage of samsara; salvation; one of the four goals of life

the doctrine that reality is ultimately made up of only one essence

The Muslim place or building of worship, traditionally including a prayer hall and courtyard, with towers called minarets at the corners

Choreographed hand movements

A category of religious experiences characterized by communing or uniting with the divine through inward contemplation

a story (often recorded in scripture) that tends to answer questions of origins and serves as a source of sacred truth

a relatively recent field incorporating psychological and biological studies of religion, focusing on the brain�s involvement in religious experience and ritual

The ultimate goal of all Buddhists, the extinction of desire and any sense of individual selfhood

defines the basic practices of Buddhism that lead to nirvana

An ancient language of India, similar to Sanskrit but more commonly understood, and used in the writing of the earlies Buddhist texts

the belief that the divine reality exists in everything

The most popular of the three Hindu paths to salvation, emphasizing loving devotion to one's chosen god or goddess.

One of three Hindu paths to salvation, emphasizing knowing the true nature of reality through learning and meditation

One of three Hindu paths to salvation, emphasizing performing right actions according to dharma

Islam's primary sacred text, regarded by Muslims as the direct words of Allah, revealed to Muhammad through the archangel Gabriel.

The ninth month of the Islamic lunar calender, a period during which Muslims fast

The transmission of the divine will or knowledge to human beings, typically through myths or some form of religious experience

A collection of 1,017 Sanskrit hymns composed about 1500 BC or earlier; Hinduism's oldest sacred text

Formal worship practice, often based on the re-enactment of a myth

A trancelike state in which selfconsciousness is lost, and the mind is absorbed into the ultimate reality; the culmination of the eight steps of Yoga

The wheel of rebirth or reincarnation; the this-worldly realm in which rebirth occurs

The Buddhist community of monks and nuns; one of the Three Jewels of Buddhism

A system of Hindu philosophy and one approach within jnana marga, "the path of knowledge," asserting that reality comprises two distinct categories: matter and eternal selves.

a wandering ascetic who has advanced to the fourth and highest stage of life

The worldview that science is the only valid method of acquiring knowledge/ wisdom Scientism

the worldview that ultimate value is grounded entirely in the human realm, not in the divine

The confession of faith, creedal statement of Islam: "There is no god except God. Muhammad is the messenger of God."

The devine law, encompassing all and setting forth in detail how Muslims are to live

A teacher and master in Islam

The division of Islam dominant in Iraq and Iran, originating as a result of an early dispute over leadership

the lowest of the four classes made up of servants and laborers

The form of Islam characterized by a mystical approach to Allah, who is experienced inwardly

Ritual of the Lakota and other tribes of the North American Plains that celebrates the new year and prepares the tribe for the annual buffalo hunt; performed in the late spring or early summer in a specially constructed lodge.

The teachings and actions of Muhammad recorded in writings known as hadith, which provided the model for being Muslim. second most authority

the division of Islam practiced by most Muslims

A system of social ordering that dictates that specific objects and activities, owing to their sacred nature, are set aside for specific groups and are strictly forbidden to others; common to many primal peoples.

selfish desire, which causes dukkha

The mythic time of Australian Aboriginal religion when the Ancestors inhabited the earth

Sri Lanka, and Thailand; focuses on the earliest texts and emphasizes monastic lifestyle

Characteristics that summarize the changing nature of reality

A natural entity, such as an animal or a feature of the landscape, that symbolizes an individual or group and that has special significance for the religious life of that individual or group; a common motif among Australian Aborigines and other primal peoples.

Within religious traditions, a common reaction to rapid changes in the surrounding world, involving the maintenance of older forms of belief and practice regardless of new social norms

Overcoming the normal limitations imposed by the human condition. This gift enables people to live fully in the human condition, with all its joys and sorrows, while maintaining an underlying state of joy and tranquility

A type of supernatural being who tends to disrupt the normal course of life, found among many primal peoples

The community of all Muslims

A collection of over two hundred texts composed between 900 and 200 B.C. that provide philosophical commentary on the Vedas.

the third of the four classes of the caste system, made up of producers, farmers, merchants, and artisans

Named for vajra, the Buddha's diamond scepter prevalent form of Buddhism in Vajrayana

emphasizes the harnessing of sensual energies

A system of Hindu philosophy and one approach within jnana marga, "the path of knowledge," holding that all reality is essentialy Brahmanl most notable advocate is the medieval Hindu philosopher Shankara.

A means of seeking spiritual power through an encounter with a guardian spirit or other medium, usually in the form of an animal or other natural entity, following a period of fasting and other forms of self-denial; common to many primal peoples, including the Lakota and other tribes of the North American Plains

Lakota name for the supreme reality, often referring collectively to sixteen separate deities

A system of Hindu philosophy and one approach within jnana marga, "the path of knowledge," seeeking to free the eternal self from the bondage of personhood, culminating in the experience of samadhi; lowercase: physical and psychological techniques for spiritual advancement.