Final Study Guide Terms Ideas Festivals and Groups Sects Harappa Culture ocated in the Indus Valley area but extends far past the Undus basin itself Atman the individual self held by Upanishadic and Vedantic thought to be identical with Brahman the world soul Anatman no soul the doctrine that the human person is impermanent a changing combination of components Brahman the world soul sometimes understood in impersonal terms Brahma a creator god not to be confused with Brahman Karma action good and bad as it is believed to determine the quality of rebirth in future lives Samsara the continuing cycle of rebirths Brahmins a member of the priestly class Dharma religious and social duty including both righteousness and faith Caste system shorthand term to refer the thousands of social occupational divisions that have developed from the simple fourfold structure laid out in the Hymn to the Supreme Person priests rulers merchants and servants Yoruba tradition or religion in West Africa with some twenty million practitioners on four continents Holi spring festival celebrated by throwing brightly colored water or powder Hindu gurus spiritual leaders Triple Gem of Buddhism what Buddhists take refuge in the Buddha the dharma and the sangha Wheel of Dharma The Four Sights the prince Rahula sees the following three sights on a chariot ride a sick man a suffering old man and a dead man the fourth sight is a monk whose calm detachment from the world suggests a path to overcoming suffering Koan a paradoxical thought exercise used in the Chan Zen tradition to provoke a breakthrough in understanding by forcing students past the limitations of verbal formulations and logic Stupas originally a hemispherical mound built to contain cremation ashes or a sacred relic in East Asia the stupa developed into the tower like pagoda Pagodas a multi story tower characteristic of Southeast and East Asian Buddhism that developed out of the South Asian mound or stupa Tantrism Hindu a esoteric school outside the Vedic and brahminical tradition which emerged around the fifth century and centered on a number of controversial ritual practices some of them sexual Mantra an expression of one or more syllables chanted repeatedly as a focus of concentration in devotion Murti a form or personification in which divinity is manifested Mudras a pose or gesture in artistic representations of Buddha figures by convention each mudra has a specific symbolic meaning Vedanta philosophers who practice this believe that the human soul and Brahman are ultimately separate and not identical in any way Yoga a practice and discipline that may involve a philosophical system and mental concentration as well as physical postures and exercises Tantrism Buddhist became established in Tibet and the Himalayan region and later spread to Mongolia and eventually India vajrayana Dana Ritual a giving ritual in which Theravada families present gifts of Bhakti loving devotion to a deity seen as a gracious being who enters the world for the benefit of humans Syllable Om a syllable chanted in meditation interpreted as representing ultimate reality or the universe or the relationship of the devotee to the deity Naga serpent one of the earliest symbols in the Hindu tradition Linga a conical or cylindrical stone column sometimes considered phallic symbolic of the god Shiva Bindi the red dot traditionally worn by married women Navarati nine night an autumn festival honoring the Goddess Puja ritual household worship of deity commonly involving oil lamps incense prayers and food offerings Sati the self sacrifice of a widow who throws herself onto her deceased husbnd s funeral pyre Shudra a member of the lowest of the four major classes usually translated as servant though some groups within the shudra class could be quite prosperous Parinirvana the ultimate perfection of bliss achievable only on departing this life as distinct from the nirvana with the remainder achievable while one is still in the present existence Nirvana the state of bliss associated with final enlightenment nirvana with remainder is the highest level possible in this life and nirvana without remainder is the ultimate state Four Noble Truths at the core of the Buddha s first sermon Noble Truth of Suffering Noble Truth of Origin Noble Truth of Cessation and the Noble Truth of the Eightfold Path Eightfold Path by following the path it is possible to put a end to desire and suffering right view or understanding right thought right speech right conduct right livelihood right effort right mindfulness and right meditation Sangha the congregation or community of Buddhist monks and nuns some forms of Buddhism also refer to the congregation of lay persons as a sangha Pure Land Buddhism the comfortable realm in the western region of the heavens reserved for those who trust in the merit and grace of its lord the celestial Buddha Amitabha Sutra a discourse attributed either to Shakyamuni himself or to an important disciple Deepvali festival of light in October November when lamps are lit Divali Moksha liberation from the cycle of birth and death one of the three classical aims in life Puja ritual household worship of the deity especially food that has been presented to the god s temple image blessed and returned to the devotee Tilaka a dot or mark on the forehead made with colored powder Vaisya a member of the third or mercantile class in the ancient fourfold class structure North Indian Bhakti loving devotion to a deity seen as a gracious being who enters the world for the benefit of humans Tantra tantrism a esoteric school outside the Vedic and brahminical tradition which emerged around the fifth century and centered on a number of controversial ritual practices some of them sexual Ayurvedic Medicine a system of traditional medicine understood as a teaching transmitted from the sages Ashramas four stages of life of an upper class male student householder Three Ways to Liberation the way of action the way of knowledge and the Theravada teaching of the elders the dominant form of Buddhism in Sri forest dweller and ascetic way of devotion Lanka and Southeast Asia Mahayana Greater Vehicle the form of Buddhism that emerged around the first century in India and spread first to China and then to Korea and Japan Vajrayana the tantric branch of Buddhism that became established in Tibet and the Himalayan region and later spread to Mongolia and eventually India Dana Ritual a giving ritual in which Theravada
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