BP Glossary"

BP Library

Ablutions	Islamic practice of removing impurities of body and soul with full body washing, extremities only, by water or using a substitute of earth or sand.
Abraham	Patriarch of Jewish, Islamic, and Christian Religions.
Absolute	One, pure, changeless, eternal consciousness, the ground of all existence; timeless and perfect; preferred by those who conceive of God in abstract or impersonal terms.
Acceptance	acknowledging reality and assuming responsibility for personal obligations.
Accountability	being held responsible for one's own behavior and word of honor.
Action	a practical act or activity undertaken to deal with or accomplish a goal.
Acupuncture / Acupressure	Chinese healing practice of using needles or hand pressure to balance yin / yang by opening chakras allowing chakti or ch'i to flow freely.
Adhan	('call to prayer') Islamic Muezzin calls Umma to prayer five times daily from Minaret.
Adonai	('LORD') Jewish reference to God in substitution for tetragrammaton (YHWH).
Advaita Vedanta	Monist doctrine of Shankara that all realty is fundamentally one and divine.
Adventism	Christian cult that adheres to Sabbath and believes in a physical kingdom on Earth.
Affect	An expressed or observed emotional response; inward disposition or feeling.
Afterlife	Any form of conscious existence after natural death.
Agama	A Buddhist collection of Gautamas sermons; forms a third of the Tipitaka.
Agni	The God of Fire in the Hindu Vedas, carries man's offerings to the gods; inner light in Man.
Agnosticism	A non-religious stance that God's existence cannot can be proven or disproven.
Ahimsa	(Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism) virtue of non-violence or non-injury to living beings.
Ahura Mazda	('Wise Lord') Zoroastrian God, comparable to Varuna : ethical and ritual purity- Sacred Fire is symbol. Judges all in afterlife judgment.
Alchemy	(Taoist) Mystical science of chemical manipulation to change base metals into fold, find universal cures and discover the secret of immortality.
Allah	Muslim name for the one God; the Supreme God proclaimed by Muhammad. Allah is One; No aspect of him can be seen in creation or nature. there are no gods beside him. He is undivided pure spirit, the creator and sustainer of all that is, revealed in Qu'ran.
Alms	Giving of free gifts of money, food, or clothing to the poor or needy. - compulsory in Islam and Hinayana Buddhism, Laity is linked to the Sangha by their provision of food for monks.
Altered states of consciousness	term referring to trances induced by hypnosis, meditation, drugs or guided imagery, allowing for the subconscious to control and guide.
Amaterasu	Japanese sun goddess, the principal deity in Shinto, Power of light, growth and fertility; symbol is mirror. State Shinto Emperors claim her as ancestor.
Ambition	An earnest desire for achievement or distinction; willingness to strive for it.
Amesah Spentas	Benificent immortals in Zoroastrianism who surround Ahura Mazda.
Amida	(Amidabha) Buddha the incarnation of Compassion; spiritual principle of Buddahood.
Amidah	('Standing') Principle Jewish daily prayer including 19 benedictions (originally 18)
Amitabha	Celestial Buddha worshipped in China and Japan (as Amida). He is believed to live in a 'pure land' in the far west where those faithful to him go after death.
Analects	One of the four books of the Confucian canon.
Ananda Margo Yoga Society	New Age Buddhist community in America. Prominent members of the Buddhist Sangha.
Anatta / Anatman	One of three Buddhist marks of existence; The doctrine that since the atman cannot be described, it does not exist; no-self; with annica and dukkha, the three characteristics of existence.
Ancestor Spirits	Underworld Spirits of the dead in primal religions Revered and thought to appear and counsel the living through dreams.
Ancestor Veneration	(Chinese / Primal) The making of offerings, incantations, and/or dances or other rites to the spirits of the dead to derive help or communication through dreams.
Angels	('messengers') Benevolent metaphysical beings in Judaism and Christianity; they have two primary functions: to worship God and to support humans.
Anger	displeasure and belligerence aroused by a real or supposed wrong; wrath.
Angra Mainyu ('Evil spirit')	The chief spirit who is opposed to Ahura Mazda in the Zoroastrian religion. Works continually for evil. Later understood to be the loader of a vast hierarchy of evil spirits;
Anicca	Buddhist term for the impermanence; e/ dukkha and anatta, three characteristics of existence.
Animism	Belief of soul in every animate and inanimate thing with capacity to influence humanity..
Annihilationism	Belief that after final judgment those condemned are destroyed with no punishment.
Anonymity	the quality or state of being unknown or unacknowledged.
Anthropomorphism	The ascription of a human form or characteristics to deity.
Anukampa ('tremble')	Buddhist term for aroused empathy for others enduring dukkha.
Anxiety	condition of disequilibrium; state of uneasiness or apprehension.
APE	Anxiety Provoking Event; instance of internal or external adversity.
Apocalyptic	('revelation of the end') Highly symbolic genre of literature concerned with hidden truths, pointing to the ultimate triumph over and judgment of evil.
Apocrypha	Historical and wisdom writings found in the Greek version (LXX) of the Hebrew scriptures but excluded from the canon of the Tanach fixed at the Synod of Jamnia (AD 90).
Apostle ('envoy')	Name for the twelve original followers of Jesus. The 'apostolic age' is the period of their life as well as others who had that designation including Paul.
Apsharas	Hindu and Buddhist celestial nymphs and willing consorts to humans and gods.
Aquida	Islamic term for creed.
Ardas	Sikh formal prayer that ends and usual begins rituals.
Arhant (Arhat)	(Worthy one') Buddhist term for one who gains enlightenment. by following the discipline of the Sangha but is still present in the world of men - less than full Buddhahood.
Ariya Sacca	Buddhist Four Noble Truths.
Aroma Therapy	belief that diseases or illness are healed by inhalation of scented fragrances or steam.
Asatru (Norse Paganism)	Belief in and homage to the gods of Norse mythology.
Ascended Masters	(New Age) teachers living in astral plane who communicate through channeling.
Asceticism	The view that the body and the physical is an evil detriment to the higher spiritual life. Austere practices designed to lead to the control of the body and the senses. Fasting, meditation, renunciation of possessions, solitude, wearing of heavy chains, flagellation, or self-mutilation.
Ashram	Hindu hermitage or monastery. A communal house for devotees of a Guru. Functions as a center for building commitment of believers and for transmitting the guru's message.
Astral Plane	(New Age) Intermediate world to which the human consciousness passes at death. Some psychics and visionaries claim the ability to project themselves there at will.
Astral projection	New Age teaching that the soul can depart the body and travel in the universe.
Astrology	The study of the influence of the stars on the character and destiny of human beings, Precise measurement of the planets at birth are the key data considered in the astrologer's analysis.
Asura / Ahura	Zoroastrian benevolent spirits at war with the Daevas.
Atheism	Denial of the existence of any deity; Humanity is the source and object of truth.
Atman	(soul or self) Upanishads teach Atman is identical to Brahman; one with the divine / universal soul; The intangible supreme principle, especially as manifested within the human soul.
Atonement	Ritual act which restores harmony between man and the divine, when it has broken by sin or impurity; in Christianity, reconciliation between God and man required because of the absolute holiness of God and the sinfulness of man.. The work of God's Grace through the life and death of Jesus.
Attributes of God	Summarized in Islamic daily recital of ninety-nine Beautiful Names of Allah.
Authority	In a system of priorities, that which cannot be compromised.
Avatar	('One who descends') The descent of a deity to human or animal form at intervals to assert ancient values and destroy illusion; Avatars of Rama and Vishnu most recognized. The main tradition refers to ten descents, nine of which have already happened.
Avesta	The Scriptures of Zoroastrianism; includes the Gathas --a series of poems attributed to Zoroaster himself. Possibly a liturgy to ward off Angra Mainyu and his evil spirits.
Avidya	('ignorance') Hindu and Buddhist term describing humanity's naivete to truth and reality.