Hinduism and Buddhism Terms PDF

Hinduism Terms to Know: Moksha: Leading the soul toward salvation through honest and moral actions. Dharma: Code of moral and religious duty. The concept of Dharma relates to the responsibilities and duties of the individual and is essential to the welfare of the individual, family, and society....

Hinduism Terms to Know: Moksha: Leading the soul toward salvation through honest and moral actions. Dharma: Code of moral and religious duty. The concept of Dharma relates to the responsibilities and duties of the individual and is essential to the welfare of the individual, family, and society. Atman: The human soul or spirit, is eternal and immortal, it is part of our innermost self that is identical to Brahman. Atman = Brahman Brahman: The Supreme Being, is without form or quality, it is a soul of the universe from which all existing things arise and into which they all return. It is everything and everywhere. The essence of Brahman is divine, unlimited, and indescribable. Brahma: Creator God, he is responsible for the creation of the universe and all living things. Shiva: the Destroyer God, is responsible for the destruction of the universe. Vishnu: Preserver God, maintains and protects the universe and is often depicted with incarnations, known as avatars, such as Krishna. Ganesha: The elephant-headed god of wisdom, remover of obstacles, and patron of new beginnings. Monotheism: Belief in one God Polytheistic: Belief in more than one God Monistic: God is an impersonal and unknowable entity Smriti: Human-made literature, or knowledge that is remembered. For example: Ramayana and Mahabharata. Shruti: Knowledge revealed by the rishis, or seers of Hinduism, this knowledge is contained in the Vedas. Karma Yoga: Path of action and the key to the path is good deeds and thoughts, which will lead to the accumulation of good karma. Good deads are unselfish actions that are done not only for a reward but because they are morally right or the duty of the individual (dharma). Vedas: The oldest and most authoritative Hindu scriptures. There are four Vedas: - Rig Veda: Has 1028 hymns that praise the ancient deities - Yagur Veda: A priest's handbook for the performance of fire sacrifices - Sama Veda: Consists of melodies, chants, and tunes for the singing of hymns - Atharva Veda: Contains magical formulas, charts, spells, and charms Buddhism Terms to Know: Siddhartha Gautama: Born a Hindu in 563 BCE and became a Buddha. There was a prophecy that Siddhartha would either be a great king or a teacher. He was married at 16 and had a son. Siddhartha had everything but he was not fulfilled. He left everything behind and became a monk. He practiced deep meditation under a Bodhi tree until he reached enlightenment. Buddha: The awakened, originally known as Siddhartha Gautama, was the founder of Buddhism. It is the path to enlightenment and liberation from suffering. Enlightenment: the experience of true reality, an awakening through which one could comprehend the true nature of things. Dalai Lama: Both the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan Buddhist clergy Bodhisattva: A being who has attained enlightenment but chooses to remain in the cycle of samsara to help all living beings attain liberation. Mahayana: Known as the “Greater Vehicle”, it emphasizes the Bodhisattva path, where individuals seek salvation through trust in a Bodhisattva. The Buddha is divine, and the Buddhists pray to the Buddha to receive something. This religion is found in Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. Tripitaka: Main written source of the Buddha’s wisdom (sacred texts) Tripitaka includes the three baskets: - The Vinaya Pitaka: Basket of Discipline - The Sutta Pitaka: Basket of Discourse - The Jakarta Pitaka: Basket of Further Discourses Dharma: Teachings of the Buddha that is composed of: - The Three Marks of Existence - The Four Noble Truths - Eightfold path - Precepts The Three Marks of Existence: - Amica (Impermanence): The world is in constant flux, nothing stays the same. - Annata (No permanent self): Nobody stays the same, looks change, personality changes, etc - Dukkha (Suffering): All life involves suffering. Suffering would be an illness and pleasure is short-lived. Individuals must deal with the fact that their bodies will grow old and eventually die. Four Noble Truths: - All life involves suffering: From the moment we are born to the moment we die we suffer physically and emotionally. - The origin of suffering is craving: We suffer because we crave things. The causes of suffering are greed, ignorance, and attachment. - If craving ceases then suffering will also cease: If we wish to stop suffering, then we must get rid of what causes craving. - Follow the eightfold path Five Precepts: Guidelines for people to follow - I will avoid taking life - I will avoid taking what is not given - I will avoid saying what is not true - I will avoid harmful sexual activity - I will avoid clouding my mind with drugs and alcohol Four Sights: Reality of life that Siddhartha witnessed that demonstrates suffering: - Old age - Sickness - Death - Ascetic (way out) Judaism Terms to Know: Abraham: Patriarch of the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim people. God called upon Abram (Abraham) to leave home and go to the Land of Canaan. God made a covenant with Abraham, promising that he would father the Israelites and that his descendants would inherit the land of Canaan. Messiah: A ruler that God will send to the world who will bring harmony and peace. The Jews characterize the time of the Messiah to be a period of “divine kingship” wherein the reign of God will be evident. Synagogue: Meeting place and a communal place of worship. It is a place of gathering, of prayer, and of study. Tanakh: Hebrew Scriptures or the Bible Exodus: The liberation of the people of Isreal from slavery in Egypt under the leadership of Moses. Rabbi: A Jewish teacher Shema: The Jewish creed of faith. “Hear, O Israel, The Lord is Our God, the Lord is One.” Found in the Torah - Deuteronomy 6:4-9 Torah: Known as the law, revelation, teaching, or instruction, it contains the five books of the law. These scrolls are of utmost importance and essential to Jewish worship. It is kept in a place of honor in the synagogue. Isreal: Meaning “God preserves” is derived from the Hebrew name Yisra’el and Jacob was the one who received it after wrestling with an angel Covenant: A solemn and binding agreement between two parties, God always indicates the conversation. In Judaism, it refers to the agreement God made with the Israelites. Covenant with Abraham: God would offer protection and will be a father to many nations but they must follow the path of God and in return his descendants were to only worship the one true God and follow his commandments. God commanded Abraham and his future generations to be circumcised as a symbol of the covenant. Abrahams Encounter with God: Took place in the Land of Canaan Moses Mission and What He Received: Moses meets God at the top of Mount Hareband and receives two important messages. “I am who I am.” is sending Moses to free the Hebrew slaves, God’s chosen people, so that they may worship him. Moses objects but ends up going to Eygpt and makes the demand to the Pharoah to let the Hebrews go. Out of this experience, the Ten Commandments are created to guide the Hebrews on proper and righteous behavior. Covenant with Moses: Before Moses, the covenant meant that God would love humanity and humanity agreed to love God. The Mosaic Covenant gave the Hebrews how to keep God’s Covenant through the Ten Commandments. Shabbat: Considered both as a religious practice and a religious festival. Shabbat is based on the creation stories found in Genesis, it is a time to put aside work. The Shabbat starts on Friday at sundown and ends on Saturday at sundown. This is a time for rejuvenation and spending time with family. Passover: Celebrates the Jewish identity as people of God. This is the event in which God acts to free his Chosen People from slavery. During the week of Passover, Jews do not eat leavened bread, so that they remember the haste by which the Hebrews had to flee from their compressions. All first-born males are to fast on the first day of Passover to remember all those first-born Egyptian males who died so that the Hebrews can be set free. This marks history and humility. Day of Atonement: Also known as Yom Kippur is the most solemn religious day of the Jewish Year, marked by a twenty-five-hour fast and prayers of repentance. Regular activities are suspended and several relations between the husband and the wife are not permitted. Conservative Judaism: Holds the middle ground between the Orthodox and Reform positions. They recognize the human element in revelation, that God revealed the Torah both to the people and through the people. Conservative synagogues maintain the traditional order of services and conduct them mostly in Hebrew. Prophets: Have a divine message; they are spokespersons for God. They criticize the ruler, point to injustices, and demand the people to return to the covenant. Patriarch of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam: Abraham King David: Second king of Israel and the most important king. David unified the tribes into a nation and made Jerusalem the capital of the nation. Solomon’s Temple: David’s son, Solomon would build the temple, the house of the Lord. The Romans then destroyed it and it was never rebuilt. Judges: As the Twelve Tribes of Israel faced times of crisis, Judges rose to lead, protect, and establish a sense of Jewish identity. Some famous judges are Ruth and Samson. Christianity Terms to Know: Disciple: The twelve followers of Jesus during his life Schism: A division/split between strongly opposed sections caused by differences in opinion or belief. Apostles: Messengers or the ones who is sent out, the apostles are the twelve disciples chosen by Jesus to be his closest followers and share his message after his death and resurrection. Nicean Creed: It was created in Nicea in 325 AD (CE) at the request of Emperor Constantine, affirming the divinity of Jesus Christ and the doctrine of the Trinity. The beliefs of Christianity can be found in the Nicene Creed. Christian Easter: Two months after Christmas, Christians begin the season of Lent, ending it on Easter Sunday. Lent lasts forty days and begins on Ash Wednesday. The birth of the Christian Church is due to the belief that Jesus was resurrected on the Third Day. Protestant Reformation: In 1957 a German monk named Martin Luther caused a dramatic change in the Roman Catholic Church by challenging many of its practices. Luther called for a simpler inner faith, free from long-established rituals and outward signs of devotion. The Lutheran Church is then created. Gospels: The four Gospels are: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Mark is the first Gospel written. Eastern Schism: The Catholic Church grew throughout the Roman Empire. In the year 313, Constantine took control of the Roman Empire and officially ended state persecution of Christians. Constantine moved the capital city from Rome (West) to Byzantium (East), creating two focal points. Disagreements developed as the Pope claimed authority over the whole church. Additionally, the Pope added a Latin word in the Nicene Creed, the word was “and the sun”, in which in 1054, the Pope in Rome and the Patriarch in Constantine excommunicated each other. Islam Terms to Know: Allah: Arabic word for “God”, the supreme and only deity in Islam. Allah is believed to be the creator of all things and omniscient. Muslim: A person who follows the religion of Islam, the religion founded on the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad. The word Muslim comes from the Arabic term “Islam”, which means submission, reflecting the act of submitting to the will of Allah. Arabic: Language Muslims speak and the written language of the Qur’an Mosque: A Muslim place of worship Ka’bah: A cube-shaped building that Abraham built to honor God was filled with idols. Shahada: Muslims' belief is surrounded by their creed. “There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is the messenger of Allah.” Qur’an: Meaning recitation and is the holiest book in Islam. Muslims believe that the revelations of Muhammad received over a twenty-three-year period form the “word” of Allah. Ramadan: The ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar and is observed as a month of fasting, prayer, and reflection. During Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn until sunset, it serves to draw Muslims closer to God and to develop spiritual piety, patience, and perseverance. Hijrah: Means migration Mecca: City in Saudia Arabia and is the holiest city in Islam. It is located in the western part of the Arabian Peninsula, it is the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad. Hajj: Pilgrimage to Mecca that Muslims must undertake at least once in their lifetime if they can perform specific rites and rituals in the holy city. The last day of the Hajj commemorates the day God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Ismael at Mina. Pilgrims throw seven pebbles at three tall stone pillars that represent Satan. Jihad: Oneseek with the will of Allah is part of one’s inner struggle Muhammed Life Story: Born in 570 CE and born into the tribe of Quraysh, the most respected tribe in Mecca. His father died before he was born and his mom died when he was six years old. He enjoyed isolation and saw idolatry as a posion that was inhibiting the spiritual growth of humanity. Khadijah is a wealthy fifty-year-old who proposes to be Muhammad and he becomes her business manager. In the year 610, Muhammad was meditating when he felt a presence which was Angel Gabriel, and commanded him to read a passage. For the next twenty-three years, he received revelations from Allah through the angel Gabriel, which were assembled to form the Qur’an. Muhammad was preaching against idolatry with little success, until his wife and uncle, Abu Talib died the same year. He emigrated north to the city of Yathrub when he realized his life was in danger. Sunnis: The name is derived from the word “Sunna”, meaning well-trodden path and they focus on following the Prophet’s example and his closest of friends, Abu Bakr. They believe in building consensus within the community to arrive at a just and equitable society. Shi’ahs: They believe that before the death of Muhammad, the prophet chose his son-in-law, Ali, as his successor. Shi’ahs believe that leaders called Imams were to take charge of Islam and guide the community.