BP Glossary"

BP Library

Tabernacle	Movable sanctuary or tent in early Jewish history.
Taboo	A prohibition of an object, place, person or activity because of holy or dangerous nature.
Taharah	('purification') Muslim term referring the state of ritual purity after rites: ghusi (major) after sexual relations or menstruation; wudu (minor) before prayer or other ritual activities.
T'ai Ch'i	('Absolutely transcendent') Chinese great Ultimate; underlying cause of everything.
Talisman	Belief that specific objects contain power; used for love, health and success. or egainst evil.
Tallit	Jewish fringed prayer shall worn in morning prayers and Yom Kippur.
Talmud	Jewish recorded rabbinic interpretation of Tanach; based on Mishna; Two Verions the early Jewish Talmud (400 AD) and a more thorough Babylonian Talmud (500 AD)
Tanach	Hebrew Bible consisting ofTorah ('teaching'); Kethuvi'm (prophets); Nevilim (Writings).
Tanha	('craving') Buddhist term referring to personal desire which causes dukkha.
Tantra	('looms') Hindu or Buddhist texts, and the practice of its instructions.
Tao	('way') Underlying principle of reality: effortlessness, passivity and harmony with nature.
Tao Te Ching	('the way of power') Holy Scripture of Taoism ascribed to Lao-Tzu.
Tariqah	('path') Muslim term referring to the Islamic path or brotherhood.
Tarot Cards	Card deck (seventy-eight) with various symbols; used for divination.
Tathagata	Buddhist term for one who has achieved enlightenment; A condition that transcends death.
Tauhid	('Asserting oneness') Muslim doctrine of the unity of God: without parts or partners.
Temple	Building designated as Holy; Used for worship and sacrifice.
Temptation	Attraction to an object or activity which is detrimental to one's relation with God; The appeal to folly; a inner desire to do an irresponsible act.
Tephillin	('Phylacteries') Jewish boxes w/ Scripture; worn on head and arm during daily prayer.
Termination	To cease moving, progressing, or operating; the condition of being stopped.
Theism	Belief in one personal God who is both distinct from creation and intimately involved.
Theocracy	('Divine Government') A political state with God as King.
Theosophical Society	New Age pantheistic group striving for Christ consciousness and reincarnation.
Three Marks	Buddhist Belief that all existence have anicca, dukkha and anatta.
Tibetan Book of the Dead	Buddhist book of instruction and preparation for death and dying.
Tien	('heaven') Chinese term that refers to the notion of God but in an impersonal sense.
Tipitaka	('three baskets') Buddhist Pali canon of Vinaya, Pitaka, and Abidhamma Pitakas.
Tirthankaras	('Ford-makers') 24 Jain heroes / helpers in crossing stream of consciousness to liberation.
Torah	('teaching') Judaism first five books of the Tanach and their implications for purity and social justice; Includes Ten Commandments given to Moses --total of 609 laws in code.
Torii	Shinto gateway to holy shrine, consisting of two vertical poles supporting two horizontal poles with the uppermost pole curved at each end toward the sky.
Totemism	Belief in primal religions that particular animals, plants, objects, or ancestral spirits have a special relationship with the tribe and act as guardians; normally not hierarchical.
Transcendent	That which is beyond human comprehension or knowledge.
Transcendental Meditation (TM)	Of Hindu origin; self actualization through contemplation.
Transmigration	Hindu belief that souls will attach to another life form dependent on karma.
Trinity	Christian doctrine of God being represented by three persons: God the father and creator, Jesus the son and redeemer, and the Holy Spirit, God's comforting and teaching activity in the world; Manifestation of communality within God's being. and character.
Triple Gem	Buddhist core belief: Buddha/teacher, Dharma/teaching, and Sangha/community.
Truth	An indisputable fact, principle, or fundamental reality apart from and transcending perception.
Tsumi	Shinto term referring to the quality of impurity or misfortune; akin to bad karma.