Mid Term Study Guide

Tillich
Broken Myth; Paul Tillich explains to us that a myth is a story or sacred narrative about life and it’s meaning/purpose. Myths are stories that covey truth and meaning but are still able to relate to the operating modern world. A broken myth, is something that is recognized as a story. Ex. Noah’s Ark and the story of Adam and Eve. the Holy; In Dynamics of Faith Paul Tillich explains to us the dynamics of the Holy. He starts by saying that whatever is the ultimate concern to someone, is what is holy to them. He explains, “It is a presence which remains mysterious in spite of its appearance, and it exercises both an attractive and a repulsive function on those who encounter it”. Rudolph Otto describes in his book, “The Idea of the Holy”, these functions as the “mysterium fascinans et tremendum” or the fascinating and the shaking character of the holy.
Idolatrous faith; Paul Tillich describe Idolatrous faith as a false ultimacy, claiming ultimacy without having it. He explains the dynamics of idolatrous faith is “That it is faith, and as such, the centered act of a personality; that the entering point is something which is more or less on the periphery… the act of faith leads to a loss of the center and o a disruption of the personality.” Tillich also reminds us that is leads to existential disappointment, one that penetrates into the very existence of man.
Myth; Paul Tillich describes faith as a story or sacred narrative about life and it’s meaning or purpose. A story that relays truth and meaning that is still relatable to today’s modern functions. It is a story that points further than its own self.
Symbol; “Symbolic language alone is able to express the ultimate, the language of faith is symbols. In Dynamics of Faith, Paul Tillich gives us 6 characteristics of a symbol. 1. Symbols point beyond themselves. 2. Symbols participate in that to which they point. 3. Symbols open up levels of reality which are otherwise closed to us. 4.Symbols unlock “dimensions of elements of our souls which correspond to the dimensions and elements of reality. 5. Symbols cannot be produced intentionally. 6. Symbols grow and die. They grow with situations as well as die when the situations die.
Ultimate Concern; Ultimate: the best achievable or imaginable of it’s kind. Concerned: aware, worried, alarmed. Ultimate Concern means that there is nothing more important to you. Paul Tillich tells us that our faith is the state of being ultimately concerned. In the Christian life, the ultimate concern is God and our eternal life.

Primal Religions
Animism; A primal religious would say, “God is nature, manifested in myriad ways and forms”. Animism is the belief that all of physical reality is animated by spirit. This is a term that generally be used by someone who practices primal religions when defining their faith. Animism comes from the Latin word anima, meaning soul or spirit.
Mana; Mana is a general feature of Primal religions. It is conveyed as the spiritual power. For Christians, Mana would be the Holy Spirit.
Medicine wheel; The Medicine wheel is an ancient symbol used in Primal/Native Religions, expressed in many different ways. It symbolizes things such as 4 Sacred Colors, 4 Elements and 4 Aspects. The 4 Sacred colors are white (north), red (east), yellow (south) and black (west) representing the four symbolic races being apart of the same human family . The 4 Elements are fire (north), earth (east), air (south) and water (west) represents the powerful and distinctive elements in the world. The 4 Aspects are mental (north), spiritual (east), emotional (south) and physical (west) represent the four aspects of nature, each developed equally.
Primal Religion; In the book, The World Religions, Hutson Smith tells us that we refer to this religion as primal because it was the first of practice, but we refer to it as native.
Rites of Passage; In Primal Religions going through a rite of passage is a primary ritual. It is the process of changing social status. For example, a young man would go through a rite of passage, such as a vision quest, during puberty in order to contact the spiritual world.
Sacred Pipe; In Primal Religions a sacred pipe , also known as a Calumet, is a tool used to offer tobacco to the “One Above”. The Shaman, a usual leader/medicine man in primal religions would hold the sacred piper to the sky so that the “One Above” would be the first to smoke.
Shaman; A shaman is a religious specialist n in the Primal Religions. In other words, a shaman is the medicine man of this religion. He usually holds much respect from others because he is the healer of their religion.
Totem; Totem is one of the general features of the Primal Religions. A totem is any kind of plant or animal that is believed to have supernatural powers. For Primal Religions, tobacco is their totem.
Venus figurines; These figures come from the “Dawn of Religion: the Paleolithic”. This statue represents a form of god to the practitioners of primal religions.
Vision quest; In Primal Religions, when a young man starts to begin puberty they are to start on a vision quest. This is a form of rite of passages that the Primal Religions offers. In a vision quest events such as sweat lodge and offering of tobacco take place. This is a primary ritual in order to connect with the spiritual world.

Hinduism
Atman; This is a term used in Hinduism meaning the individual soul. It is apart of the Hinduism common belief, usually referring to acceptance of one’s inner self.
Avatar; This is a term used in Hinduism meaning one who descends. This comes from the Vishnu image of the Saguna Brahman.
Bhagavand- Gita; Bhagavand-Gita is the sixth book, and most popular text, of the Hindu epic, Mahabharta.. The story consists of a long dialogue between Arjuna, a warrior prince, and Krishna, an avatar of Vishnu.
Brahma; One of the three images of Hinduism’s Brahman. Brahma is the creator image of the Trimurti, the three images of Saguna Brahman. It represents the Sarasvati, the goddess of wisdom.

Brahman; This is the Supreme Reality in the Hindu religion. The Brahman is the one supreme god. There are two types; the Saguna Brahman the god with attributes and the Nirguna Brahman the god without attributes. The Brahman would be the Hindu’s version of the Christian God.
Nirguna Brahman; This is a type of the supreme god in Hinduism. This is the impersonal god, the god without attributes.
Saguna Brahman; This is the type of supreme god in Hinduism. This is the personal god, with many attributes. This translates into the Trimurti, which is the three images of brahman. These images are brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, and shiva, that destroyer.
Brahmin; A Brahmin is a priest or member of the priestly caste in the Hinduism religion. Being a Brahmin means to be in the highest caste of the caste system. Being in this caste means that you have done well in past lives and have received good karma.
Dharma; Dharma is the moral order or righteousness of Hinduism. When translated into English it simply means religion.
Hindu; Hindu is the Persian word for the Sanskirt name for the Indus river, Sindhu. This was used to identify the people that lived around Sindhu, originally used by Muslins in order to distinguish Indian people’s faith from their own.
Kali; The destroying and transforming Mother of the World, in Hinduism.
Karma; The universal law of moral cause and effect. This is used a lot in Hinduism in part with reincarnation. “Acts are spoken of as seeds, which although they may lay dormant for long periods of time, will germinate and bear fruit under the appropriate conditions. The fruits of karma may be produced in this lifetime or in a future incarnation.” (Rodrigues, Introducing Hinduism, p. 51)
Krishna; In Hinduism, this is the image portraying “the dark one” and the eighth avatar of Vishnu.
Lingam and yoni; This is a representation of male and female sexual organs in Hinduism. It shows their compatibility and how they are both equal/need each other to fulfill their purpose.
Mahabharata; This is apart of the sacred scripture in Hinduism. It has 90,000 sanskirt verses dealing with a battle between two branches of the Bharata people. This includes the “The Great Bharata Story" as well as the Bhagavad-Gita, the most popular book of the Hindu scriptures.
Margas; Margas are paths or the 4 acceptable goals of life in Hinduism. You take margas in order to obtain moksha, which there are three margas to take. These are the path or way of desires, usually followed towards the beginning of life; Kama-marga, the path or way of pleasure and artha-marga, the path of power and wealth. Then there is the path or way of renunciation, which is usually followed towards the end of life; Dharma-marga, the path of duty then Moksha, release is obtained.
Moksha; This is a term used in Hinduism. In Living Religions, moksha is referred to as liberation from the limitations of space, time and matter though realization of the immortal Absolute.
Rama; A Hinduism avatar of Vishnu. Written about in the Ramayana, an epic poem of 24,000 Sanskrit verses outlining Rama’s heroic life during the Aryan migrations into India.
Ramayana; Apart of the Hinduism’s Smarti, an epic literature. 24,000 Sanskrit verses outlining Rama’s, an avatar of Vishnu, heroic life during the Aryan migrations into India.
Rig Veda; Apart of the Hinduism religion’s “Vedas”, which is sacred writings and the first of Hinduism writings to be heard by rishis or ancient sages. This is the oldest of the known Vedic scriptures, if not the oldest scripture ever. It is known as the knowledge of hymns, with a collection of 1028 hymns in 10 books. The rigveda’s commentaries are upanished, aranyaka and brahmana.
Saivities; A saivite in Hinduism is a worshiper of Shiva, the destroyer aspect of Brahman.
Saktas; Devotees of the female creative power.
Samhitas; This is the “first collection” of the Hinduism’s Vedas. These are the Rig- Veda, knowledge of hymns, Sama-Veda, knowledge of chants and hymns, Yajur-Veda, knowledge of rites, and Artharva-Veda, knowledge given by the sage Atharva which is the treasury of charms, chants, spells, and incantations used by the common people.
Samsara; Hinduism believes in reincarnation. Samsara is the endless cycle of birth and death, until reaching moksha.
Sanatana Dharma; Sanatana means eternal or timeless and Dharma means religion or truth. This is the Indian name for Hinduism meaning “the eternal religion”. This is also called Vaidika Sharma; the ‘Religion of the Vedas”.
Sannyasin; In Hinduism and Buddhism a renunciate spiritual seeker.
Shakti; The creative, active female aspect of deity in Hinduism. For example, the goddesses.
Shiva; One of the Trimurti images of Brahman in Hinduism, portraying the destroyer or “friendly one”. Shiva’s goddess is Parvati, meaning of the mountains.
Shruti and Smarti; These are the two types of sacred writing in Hinduism.
Shruti is the text considered to be eternal, because it was “revealed” to a rishi and not authored by a person. The Vedas, sacred knowledge, is in this type of sacred writing. This includes
Samhitas: Rig-Veda, Sama-Veda, Yajur-Veda, and Atharva-Veda --- Brahmanas --- Aranyakas--- Upanishads ("to sit close by devotedly") Smarti is the type of text remembered and authored by humans, mainly inspired texts from the Vedas. This includes EPIC LITERATURE; 1. Ramayana 2. Mahabharata a. Bhagavad-Gita b. SHASTRAS
1. Dharmashastras a. Code of Manu 2. Arthashastras C. SUTRAS D. PURANAS E. TANTRAS
Trimurti; 3 images of Saguna Brahman. They are Brahma, the creator, Vishnu, the preserver, Shiva, the destroyer.
Upanishads; To sit close by devotedly – also known as the vendanta “The end/fulfillment of the vedas” Over 200 upanishads, but the 10 principles are Isa, kena, Katha, Prasna, Mundaka, Madukya, Taittiria, aitareta, chandogya, Brahadaranyaka
Vaishnavites; Devotees of Vishnu, the preserver image of Brahamin.
Veda- Sacred Knowledge that comes from the Shruti – What Buddhists use for their scripture.
Vedanta; Also known as the Upanishads – the fulfillment of the Vedas
Varnas; Other known as Castes. There are 4 major castes, kind of like social classes, except these are fixed at birth and the only way to change castes is through the rebirth system. It goes like this, 1 Brahmin, priestly caste 2. Kshatriyas, prince/warrior caste. 3. Vaishyas, skilled laborers caste. 4. Shudras, unskilled labors caste) then there is the untouchables, pretty much the homeless group. Also known as “God’s people”
Yoga; Harnessing oneself to God – seeking union with God – a spiritual discipline that brings one closer to God. 4 types – Bhakti, Jnana, Karma and Raja.
Jhana-yoga; The way to God through knowledge. Better for intellectual and philosophical people. This is the shortest, but steepest path. Requires rationality and spirituality and is open to a very few.
Bhakti-yoga; the way to God through devotion; the most popular of the 4 yogas. Aim to love/adore God with every element of your being. Hutson Smith says, “Christianity is one great brilliantly lit Shakti highway toward God.”
Karma-yoga; the way to God through deeds; finding God through work/service to others. When done for the sake of God, not for the material reward.
Raja-yoga; the way to God through re-intergration; the path to God through psychological exercises. Exirements on one’s body/soul. Goal: train the mind to be completely absorbed in God.
JAINISM
Asceticism; forms of religious discipline, practice and exercises that include renouncing desires or pleasures. This is what Jainisms live by.
Ahimsa; ‘non-injury” the fundamental doctrine of non-violence which prohibits the killing of living beings. 1 of the 5 vows of Jainism
Ajiva and Jiva; Ajiva- no soul Jiva soul! This is apart of the dualistic onotology in the Jain concept/doctrine
Aparigraha – the 5 vow of Jainism – “non acquisition” meaning non possessiveness, no attachment. Giving up all desires and material possessions – for one group of Jains this means their clothes too.
Anekanthwad- non absoluteness. The doctrine of pluralism that holds that reality has many apsects/ one always understands reality from a particular standpoint or perspective. Example – many religions have all these different views on what is “right and wrong” but we are all searching for the same thing. We are just touching different parts of the object.
Jina- “conqueor” other title for Nataputta Vardhamana, “The Great Hero” (Mahavira) aka. Jainism’s version of Buddha – also known as Tirthankara- ford finder.
Mahavira –“The Great Hero” this is Jainism’s version of the Buddha. Born a prince, then renounced his title. Practiced animas ( non injury), sceticism ( renounced pleasure/desires) and indifferent to abuse. Achieved nirvana and became a Jova at 42 – dies at 72 from voluntary self starvation
Materialism- the view that matter is the ultimate reality from which all else ermerges.
Nastika – The 3 Heterodox Schools – Carvaka, Buddhism and Jainism Common Characteristics- 1. Logically rigorous 2. Empirical in method 3. Skeptical systems of thought 4. Gace rise to reforms within Hinduism 5. Univerise is eternal and uncreated; emergent evolution
Naturalism – the view that the universe can be explained in purely natural terms and processes without appealing to any super natural agents
Tirthankara- ford finder – The Jainism version of the Buddha!

BUDDHISM
Anatman/ anatta – no soul// the 3rd great flaw of being // peculiar to Buddhism
Annicca/ anitya- impermanence//2nd great flaw of being // everything changes
Bhikkhu –a male Buddhist monk!
Bohisattva- “enlightenment being” // someone who has attained enlightenment – but postpones Nirvana to aid others to enlightment
Buddha- awakened// given to those who have attained the goal of the Buddhist religious life – Buddhism recognized a host of other Buddhas, unlike Christianity where there is and will only be one Jesus.
Buddha- sasana- how Buddhists refer to themselves, but the meaning is the religion of Buddha. In comparison to Christians referring to themselves as Christians, which means followers or believers of Christ.
Dharma/ dhamma – the moral order, righteiousness of the Buddhist religion. This is to the Buddhist what the bible is to Christians.
Dukka- suffering, the first noble truth, of the “illness” as well as the first flaw of being
Five Skandas- 5 components what makes up a personality – 1. Physical form 2. Senstation 3. Perception 4. Mental formations 5. Consciousness
Mahayana- The Greater Vehicle – 1 of the 2 principals dicisions of Buddhism – this is the majority of Buddhists, 56% approx., people are not alone, salvation by grace of the bodhisattva, the enlightenment being – key virtue; compassion, religion; releveant to life, ideal; enlightenment being, Buddha is their savior, chief goal is enlightment
Metta; KINDNESS LIKE METTA WORLD PIECE
Nirvana – ultimate reality- enlightment. This is what Buddhists are working for, for their entire life(lives, actually). It is compared to the light of a candle blowing out, or a domino falling onto another over and over until it drops, this is what nirvana would be described like.
Non-theistic- no personal god, does not recognize the idea of god, nor heaven/hell
Pratityasamutpada; Dependent Origination- “this being given, that follows” all apart of the process to Nirvana – it leads into 2 of the 3 flaws of being… Ataman and Annica
Sangha- 3rd refuge in buddhism – priesthood!
Shakyamuni- The Sage of the shakyas- the historical Buddha – Siddhartha Gautama
Siddhartha- The original Buddha! Meaning goal attainer
Sunyata- emptiness or voidness
Tanha- craving attachment to things of this world – 2nd of the 4 noble truths—“the cause”
Tathagata- “The Thus come One” A non-descriptive self –reference of the Buddha
Theravada- The lesser vehicle of Buddhism.. this principal form of Buddhism is practiced by approx.. 38% of Buddhist practice this- this is the more intense form – mainly for Monks. People are on their own in the universe, key virtue is wisom, religion is a fulltime job, ideally is to become worthy, Buddha is considered a saint, chief goal would be nirvana.
Tripitaka – the three baskets – Buddhist scriptures A. basket of discipline b. basket of ultimate truth c/ basket of discourses – the teachings of buddhas
3 flaws – Dukkha- suffering Annicca- impermanence Anatman- no soul
Tri-Ratna// 3 Refuges – Buddha, Dharma and Sangha
Undetermined questions – These are questions that Buddha claimed unresolvable – things such as if the world eternal or not, infinite or not, soul identical to body or not, what exists after death, does God exist or not, and God//some ultimate reality as the ground or substance of the universe.