The Encyclopedia of World Religions

TEMPLES, IN WORLD RELIGIONS 339

elixir," involve eating and drinlcing, especially the Significance
eating and dnnking of metals. For the ancient
Chinese, gold symbolized the state that all Tao- In addition to its immense contribution to Chi-
ists sought. It could neither be destroyed nor nese societ\', Taoism attracted the attention of
corrupted. The "external elixir" attempted to Europeans and North Americans in the 20th
synthesize gold from baser substances, especially centur}'. Ideas from the early Taoist texts became
lead and mercuric sulfide (cinnabar). In theory popular. So did physical exercises such as T'ai Chi
one acquired long life either by using vessels and Taoist-influenced martial arts (see MARTIAL
made with synthesized gold or eating and drink- ARTS AND RELIGION).
ing it. These practices are the source of what
came to be known in Europe and North America TARA A Buddhist GODDESS worshiped for
as alchemy.
protection. Tara is die female counterpart of the
Around A.D. 1000 the "external elixir" was
replaced by an "internal elixir." In these prac- BODHISAITVA known as AV.AI.OKITESVARA. Al-
tices Taoists do not eat or drink physical sub- though her cult arose in India, she is most popular
stances. They perform rituals instead. The in Tibetan Buddhism (see TIBETAN RELIGION).
rituals include meditation and breathing and There, monks and laypeople alike WORSHIP her
gymnastic exercises. as a deity who protects them from all sorts of
dangers. It is sometimes said that Tara gives
Like the two "elixirs," the great public rituals protection from eight dangers: elephants, lions,
provide long life to the priests who perform them. serpents, thieves, vampires, sea monsters, fire, and
They also give peace, health, and protection to chains. Artists have been particularly fond of de-
the communit)' as a whole. In these colorfijl picting the eight Taras who save worshipers from
festivals, tiie three "holy ones" are invited to a
feast. Technically, only the Taoist priest offers the these threats.
teast, but members of the community also partici-
pate with rituals of their own. By tradition, traveling troupes of players
acted out tales of Tara and her deliverances. By
Organization tradition, too, the inhabitants of eastern Tibet
held great summer festivals in her honor.
Taoism has had both MONKS AND NUNS. But the
number of nuns has always been extremely small, TATHAGATA A Sanskrit word meaning
and the majorit)' of Taoist priests are not monks
"having gone \jjntn] thus [tathij]." The term is
but live in families. a designation for the BUDDHA. It applies espe-
In Taiwan today there arc two orders of cially to the Buddha after his parinir\ana (see
NIRVANA).
priests. Those with red headbands perform only
rituals of EXORCISM. Those with black headbands In the oldest traditions of BUDDHISM the
also perform the major public festivals. Buddha is not a god whom Buddhists WORSHIP.
He is a human being who is venerated because he
Some Taoist communities, such as "the way blazed the path to ultimate release from SAMS.\RA
of the heavenly masters," have been carefially or rebirth. To achieve release, human beings must
structured. Today the head of the community,
sometimes called a pope, still claims to be a follow him.
descendant of the original founder. At times Tao- As a result, the Buddha was called the Tatha-
ists have also formed secret societies dedicated to
gata, "the one who went that way." The title is
the overthrow of die Chinese government. said to date back to the Buddha himself

TEMPLES, IN WORLD RELIGIONS See

ARCHITECTURE, RELIGIOUS.

-

340 TEN COMMANDMENTS

TEN COMMANDMENTS A set of biblical a complete and suflScient guide on how to act,
these six commandments provide basic guidehnes
precepts, recorded in Exodus 20.1-17 and Deu-
for life in societ)'.
teronomy 5.6-2 1 , sacred to both Jews and Chris-
tians. Jews and CJiristians revere many different The Ten Commandments are an important
symbol of Judaism. They are often depicted in the
guides to behavior, for example, "you shall love form that recalls the t%\'o tablets that MOSES re-
ceived from God (Exodus 31.18): as two rectan-
the Lx)rd your GOD with all \our heart and soul gles, taller than they are wide, with rounded tops,
and might" (Deuteronomy 6.5; cp. Mark 12.30); on which are inscribed in Hebrew the first letters
"you shall love your neighbor as yourself ( Mark of each commandment. In this form, the com-
mandments can often be seen in S^TvlAGOGUES,
12.31); and "do to others as you would have displa\ed above the doors of the ark where the
them do to you" (Matthew 7.12). Indeed, ac- Torah scrolls are kept.
cording to rabbinical tradition there are 613
mitzvot {commmdments) in TORAH, the first five TENRIKYO One of the "new religions" of
books ofthe BIBLE. But the Ten Commandments
Japan. Tenrik\o was founded by Nakayama Miki
are the most important. (1798-1887) as a result of a commission she
received while in trance in 1838 to ser\'e as herself
According to the Bible, the Ten Command- the shrine of "the true and original GOD," also
called Oxagami, "God the Parent." Tenrikyo em-
ments were the first instructions given to the phasizes the stor%' of the creation of the world
people of Israel at Mount Sinai (or Horeb) when received through the Foundress, and sa\'s that
they entered into a COV'ENANT with God. As God is tning to call human beings back to himself
through revealing this ston' to the world through
such, they can be seen as analogous to the stipu- her. The worship is based on attractive dances
lations that rulers in the ancient Near East passed enacting the creation story, and sweeping away
"dusts" that have accumulated since then. It is
down whenever they took charge of a people. For headquartered in Tenri Cit>, a large town near
Nara that is centered on the religion and where
Jews and Christians today, however, they are of one finds a striking temple, universit>', hospital,
hostels for pilgrims, and administrative buildings.
universal significance. The religion is widespread in Japan and has been
brought to other countries, largely within com-
The commandments may be divided into munities of Japanese immigrants.

two "tables" or parts. The first part deals with THEODICY An attempt to ans%\er a theologi-

obligations human beings have to God. They are cal question: If GOD is good, omnipotent, and
ominiscient, why is there EVIL and suffering in the
YHWHnot to WORSHIP any God but ("the
world.' Theodiq- has been one of the most per-
Lord"); they are not to make any images for sistent and troubling questions in rUDAISM and
CHRISTL\NITi'. That is because Jews and Chris-
worship; they are not to use the name YIT\M-I
tians want to say several things about God; God
improperly; and they are to obser\e the Sabbath desires good for creation, including human be-
rest. As a result of the third commandment, it has ings; God is all-powerfiil; and God knows ever\

become common in JUD.\ISM never to utter the thing. If all three of these statements are true, it
name "iTiWH. When the SCRIPTURES are read,

the word Adonai, roughly, "the Lord," is substi-

tuted for God's name. In accordance with the
fourth commandment, obsening the Sabbath is

one of the major practices of Judaism.

The second table or part of the Ten Com-

mandments deals with relationships bet\veen hu-
man beings. It is similar to prescriptions found in

other rehgions, for example, the Five Precepts in

BUDDHISM: Respect your parents; do not mur-
der; do not commit adulter^'; do not steal; do not
testify falsely; and do not covet or desire what
belongs to someone else. Although certainly not

THEOLOGY 341

becomes difficult to explain why evil and suffering ing up," what good is God in the midst of evil

exist. Archibald Macleish expressed this difficult}.- and suffering?
Faced with the question "why?" in the midst
cleverly in his play, J.B.: "If God is God he is not
good; if God is good he is not God; take the even, of human tragedy, many RABBIS, priests, and
take the odd." The same difficult)' confronts a ministers simply answer, "We do not know."
child whose mother or father is killed in an auto- ^\nother option says that God is good but cannot
do everything. Rabbi Harold Kushner took this
—mobile accident: "WTiy did God let Mommy or position in his popular book, Wljen Bad Tiiitijjs
—Daddy die?"
Happen to Good People ( 1981 ). A third view em-
One response says that, despite our experi- phasizes that God suffers with people and sustains
ences of suffering and evil, God has in fact made
the best world possible. This was the position them. Christians look to lESUS suffering on the
of the German philosopher G. W. Leibniz cross; Jews speak of God suffering along with his
(1646-1716). But this position is not without its people. During the 20th centun-, the HOLO-
critics. In his book Candide the French writer CAUST raised the issue of theodicy ver>' forcefiilly.
Some found that in the face of such immense e\il,
Voltaire mercilessly attacked the idea that "all is they could no longer believe in God. The Nobel
arranged for the best in this best of all possible Prize-winning novelist Elie Wiesel expressed this
position in his moving novel, Ni^ht.
worlds."
Theodic)' has not been so large a problem
Many have tried to show, however, why e\Tl outside Judaism and Christianitv'. Most Muslims
and suffering must exist in the best possible insist that human beings should not question
world. Manv lews and Christians have explained God's judgments. Zoroasuians, Gnostics, and
e%Tl and suffering in terms of fi-ee will (see FREE other dualists see the universe as a battieground
WTLL AND DETERiNUNISM). God wanted, they say, benveen the forces of good and evil. Hindus,
to create human beings, not robots. Therefore, Buddhists, and Jains attribute evil and suffering
he gave them the opportunit)' to make choices. It to K.\R.\L\, that is, acts done in a previous life.
is inevitable that some people choose to do evil.
The traditional objection to this \iew is that not THEOLOGY A subject of study, especially
all suffering results fi-om human actions. WTiat
about a child who dies of cancer? The ancient within CHRJSTUNTTi'. The word "theologv"
Christian thinker, AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, had an comes fi-om a Greek word that means "talk about
answer. He said that natural catastrophes and GOD." As a definition of theologv', this phrase is
hardships entered the world when human beings too narrow. Theologv' talks about many other

first sinned. topics, too. Classical theological topics include
Another explanation says that evil and suffer-
the nature of God, God's relation to the world
ing are actually good for people. The\' help people and to human beings, and SALVATION.
grow and mature. If people li\ed in paradise, the\'
would remain childish and ne\er develop their In general, theologv' tries to state the truths
fiill potential. The ancient Christian thinker, of a particular religion, most often Chrisrianitv',

Irenaeus, developed this view. from the perspective of someone who practices
There is, however, a problem with the re-
that religion. But theologv' does not simply assert
sponses given above. They basically tell people basic beliefs. CREEDS and confessions do that.
that they cannot expect God's help when they Theologv' tries to state a religion's truths in wavs
most desperately want it. If evil and suffering that stand up to carefiil examination.
are an inevitable part of the world, or a neces-
sary' consequence of free will, or part of "grow-

,

342 THEOLOGY

Do All Religions Ua\t. Theology? historical, systematic, and practical. BibHcal the-
ology deals with the BIBLE. Historical theolog\'
Theolog)' has been extremely important for deals with the historx- of the religious communit)',
Christians. During the medieval period, western for example, the church. Systematic theology
Europe developed universities. In these universi- deals with the communit\''s beliefs and moralin,'.
ties theologi,' was the most important subject of Practical theolog\' teaches people how- to meet the
study. People called it "the queen of the sci- needs of a community', for example, PREACHING,
ences." Today theologi,' no longer holds this teaching, WORSHIP, and pastoral care.
position. But the Christian heritage has strongly
influenced what the word "theologi." means. In a narrow sense, theolog)- refers to the
study of systematic theolog\', especially to the
Many cultures have developed traditions of study of beliefs. (The study of moralit\' is called
"ethics.") Here again, there is no standard Hst of
thinking that use abstract propositions. In such topics that all theologians address. Theologians
cultures some people try to state the truths of choose and arrange topics in ways that will best
their religion in rigorous and sophisticated ways. allow them to express their \iews and insights.
But it is questionable whether these efforts are Some topics, however, are fairly common.
"theolog)'."
Theologians often identify' the sources of
It is possible to speak of Jewish and Islamic knowledge that they consider valid or binding.
theolog)'. But one must be careful. Christianit)' Protestant theologians usually depend upon the
has tended to define itself in terms of beliefs.
By contrast, JUD.MSM and ISL\.\1 have tended Bible. Roman Catholic theologians depend upon
to define themselves in terms of practice. Rigor-
ous, intellectual thinking in these v.vo traditions traditional teachings of the church as well as the
has often had a different focus from theolog>': Bible. Orthodox theologians see their task as
in Judaism the study of the TOR,\H, both writ- explaining the Bible as understood by the Fathers
ten and oral, and in Islam the study of jurispru- of the church.
dence (fiqh).
Theologians also take up many particular
Hindu traditions of thought about the self topics. They often discuss what God is like, how-
and the world are usualh' called "philosophy." people can know about God, and, in Christianity
"Orthodox" schools accept the authorit\' of the the TRINITi' and INCARNATION. Other topics in
sacred books known as the NTD.^; other schools elude God's relationship to the world (COSMOL
reject it. Some schools of both varieties are actu- OGY), God's relationship to human beings
ally atheistic. Others give God or the gods little
or no anention. BUDDHISM has sophisticated (anthropologN'), how- salvation takes place (sote-
traditions of thought, but it is better to call them riolog\-), and what will happen at the end of time
philosophy or even buddhalogs' than theolog\'. (esch.atology).
To label Confiician, Taoist, and SHINTO thinkers
"theologians" would be odd. Theology in the Twentieth Centl'ry

Topics in Theology After World War I, the dominant school of the-
olog\' was Neo-orthodox\-. Its primar\- spokesper-
Christians and others use the word "theologx" in sons were two Swiss theologians, Karl Barth and
both a broad and a narrow sense. In the broad
sense, theolog)' includes any and ever\' subject Emil Brunner. According to this school, a theo-
taught in a school of theolog>' or a seminar^'.
logian's task is to expound the Word of God. But
Different schools organize their curricula differ- for Barth and Brunner the Word of God meant
ently, so there is no single List of such subjects. something different fi-om the Bible. It meant the
self-revelation of God, especially in JESUS. Influ-
Some identif\' four areas of theoloK\-: biblical.
ential thinkers related to this school but not
strictlv N'eo-orthodox include Paul Tillich and

TIBETAN RELIGION 343

the American brothers Reinhold and H. Richard tribution to their religions. They state those re-
Niebuhr. ligions in ways that thinking people find both
religiously and intellectually compelling.
Beginning in the 1960s, other currents of
THEOSOPHY A modern spiritual move-
theolog\- became extremely influential. One of
them was "liberation theologs'." It addressed the ment. The word, meaning di\ine wisdom, refers
generally to schools of religious thought that
situations of oppressed peoples, especially Latin emphasize mystical knowledge of the inner work-
ings of the di\ine. More specifically, however, it
American peasants, women (see FEMINISM), and is the name of a modern spiritual mo\ement

»\frican Americans. Other theologians became founded as the Theosophical Society in New York
acutely aware of religious pluralit\'. Some of them
entered into DL\LOGUE with representati\e in 1875 by a Russian woman, Helena P. Blavat-
thinkers of other religions. Some also began work sky, and an American, Henry Steel Olcott. This
on comparative or global theologies. movement has spread throughout the world, and
has been particularly instrumental in introducing
Before World War II, American schools, col- Eastern religious and spiritual ideas to the West.
leges, and universities that taught about religion
generally taught theolog\-. They offered courses Its basic premise is that there is an "ancient
wisdom" underlying all existing religions as well
in Bible, in the histon,- of Christianitx', in theolog\-
narrowly concei\ed, in ethics, and in "compara- as much of science and philosophy, and its object
tive religion." Schools affiliated with a religion is to recover and study that wisdom. The ancient
wisdom teaches the oneness of all things, the
often still teach religion this way. Many Catholic PILGRIAUGE of the soul through many lives and
schools are good examples. worlds, and the coming and going of lives and
universes according to great cycles. The head-
After World War II some American schools,
colleges, and universities began to teach religion quarters of the largest theosophical society is in
in a different way. This approach has come to be
Adyar, India. It has had an influence on modem
called "religious studies." Theolog\- recognizes art and the Xew Age movement.
special, religious sources of knowledge (revela-
tion, tradition); religious studies does not. The- THOR A god of ancient Germanic and Scan-
ology also attempts to state religious truth tor
dinavian mythology. Thor was associated with
members of a religious communitN'; religious thunder, rain, and farming, and was a champion
studies attempts to state truths about religion that warrior. He personified the \alues of the warrior
do not require membership in a specific religious
community. class: He was hospitable, a defender of the wxak,

At the end of the 20th century', there was no and quick to respond to any slights to his honor.
agreement on whether theology should have a
place in religious studies. In addition, some con- He rode a chariot drawn by goats through the
ser\ative religious people felt that religious stud- sky, and wielded the hammer that was his symbol.
ies did in fact state religious truth for a specific Rough and redbearded, Thor was robust though
"religious" community-. It stated truths for a not as profoundly wise as WOT.AN ( Odin ); perhaps
secular community that rejected religion.
for this reason he was the most popular of gods
Significance among ordinary people w ho saw in him a divine
figure more like themselves. His name is perpetu-
Past theologians—AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, ated in our day Thursday.
Thomas AQUIN.-\S, Martin LUTHER, and John
TIBETAN RELIGION The religions tradi-
—C.\L\1N have produced masterpieces of Euro-
tionally practiced in the cultural expanse of Tibet.
pean thought and literature. Even theologians

who are not so famous make an important con-

344 TIBETAN RELIGION

Besides the political territon," known as Tibet longed to one of four schools: Kadampa,
Kagv-upa, Sak\'apa, and Nvingmapa. Tibet also
today, this area includes territories to the east became a repository for a large number of Bud-
annexed by China in the 1950s along with adja- dhist texts. The two groups of texts became
cent regions in Bhutan, Mongolia, and the former known as Kanjur and Tenjur. The Kanjur (Word
of the BUDDH.^) contain canonical texts. The
SoNiet Union. BUDDHISM is the dominant Ti- Tenjur ( "Translation of Teachings" ) contain later
betan religion, but BON and popular practices are commentaries and other works. Bon texts, too,
were di\ided into these two groups.
also important.
During the 14th centur,', the important
History Gelukpa school of Buddhism arose as a reform
movement within Kadampa. It is known as the
Little is known of Tibetan religion before the ">ellow hat school," because its members wear
yellow hats, as distinct from the red hats of their
eighth century .^.D. Tradition calls this early relig- early political rivals, the Karmapa (a sect of
KagT,-upa) and the black hats of Bon priests. Even-
ion Bon, but if that is right, the Bon religion has tually the leader of the Gelukpa sect received the
clearly changed bet%\een then and now. tide D.\L\1 L*UL\.

At least from the sixth centurv' AD. the an- In the mid- 1 7th cenrun', the fifth Dalai Lama
cient Tibetan religion glorified kings as the sons acquired fijU political control of Tibet. He did so
of god. The first king was said to ha\e descended because his patron, a Mongol leader, defeated the
from HE-WEN. Early kings were thought to have patron of the rival Karmapa school in battie. The
renamed bodily to heaven. Later kings most defi- fifth Dalai Lama built Potala Palace in Lhasa.
nitely died. They received elaborate flineran' From there subsequent Dalai Lamas ruled Tibet
RITUALS that included the SACRIFICE of horses, until 1 9 5 . In that year, the Chinese took control
sheep, and yaks. The ancient Tibetans believed in of Tibet. In 1959 the Dalai Lama fled to exile in
sacred beings who dwelled in the sk\'. They also
knew less kindh' beings of the underworld. They India.
thought the underworld consisted of water.
From the 1950s to the 1970s, Tibetan monks
In the seventh centuri' AD. Tibet was unified and their institutions suffered tremendously at the
for the first time. In the next centur\' Tibetan hands of the Chinese government. The Chinese
kings imported Buddhism, presumably to pro- forced many monks to leave the order and de-
vide their new ly unified realm with a "world class" stroyed their monasteries. From the 1960s on,
religion. In the battle for supremacy that fol- Tibetan Buddhist centers have been active in
lowed, the Tantric Buddhism of India, known as North America and Europe. In the 1980s, re-
Vajrayana, won out o\er the Chinese Ch'an tra- building began in Tibet itself on a small scale.
dition, known in Japan as Zen (see TANTRISM and
ZEN BUDDHISM). Tibet became the leading cen- BUDDHISM AND BON
ter of Vajrayana Buddhism.
Tibetan Buddhism and Bon share many charac-
In the middle of the ninth centmy the Ti- teristics. Both are centered on large monasteries.
betan monarchy collapsed. Tibetan Buddhism Both revere teachers who revealed the truths of
collapsed along with it. But within a hundred
years a Buddhist revi\al began. Another hundred —KARAL\, rebirth, enlightenment, and release for
years later Bon was beginning to take the form
that it has today. Perhaps because it w-as a minor- Buddhists the Buddha, for Bon, Tonpa Shenrap.
ir\' religion, it developed teachings and practices Both religions possess scriptures divided into otvv
that closely resemble Buddhism. collections, Kanjur and Tenjur. Both also make
heaw use of Tantric features such as \L\ND.\L\S
Tibetan Buddhism modeled itself on the In-
dian Buddhism of the time. That is, it developed
large monastic institutions. Tibetan monks be-

TORAH 345

and .\L\NTRAS. T\pical Tibetan paintings known region evoked images of magic, mystery, and a
m\thical paradise. During the 20th centur\', a
Aas thanjjkas illustrate the use of mandalas. com- more realistic image of Tibetan religion began to
mon Buddhist thangka shows a circle di\ided into emerge. There are still aspects ofTibetan religion,
however, that scholars know little about.
the various worlds into which one may be reborn.
Clutching the circle on all sides is a hideous TORAH Hebrew meaning "teaching"; the
demon with long, fang-like teeth.
most revered part of the Hebrew BIBLE. The first
Tibetan religion also includes popular or five books of the Hebrew Bible, traditionally said
"unnamed" practices. These are RITU.ALS that all to have been written by MOSES, are known as the
Torah. The first book. Genesis, tells the story of
la^people as well as Buddhist and Bon monks the creation of the world and the lives of .\BR.V
obser%e. For example, it is common for Tibetans HAM and his immediate descendants in Canaan.
to write PRATCRS on the perimeters of wheels or The last four tell of the freeing of the people of
on flags. WTien worshipers spin the wheels or the Israel from bondage in Eg>pt (see EXODUS) and
wind blows the flags, each revolution or move- their wanderings in the wilderness. Moses is the
ment is equivalent to sa\ing the prayer. Tibetans central figure of the last four books.

—also work to acquire merit spiritual credit that Torah scroll. (Courtesy of thclma^c Bank.)

will benefit them in fliture births. One important
way to do so is for la\people to give gifb to

monks. This important act sustains the monastic

institutions.

Another common Tibetan practice is PIL-

GRLVL\GE. Worshipers traditionally traveled to
destinations such as Lhasa, the seat of the Dalai

Lama, and Mount Kailasa, the most sacred Ti-
betan mountain. There they circumambulated
the sacred places and objects, Buddhists in a
clockwise direction, Bon-pos counterclockwise.

In addition to worshiping Buddhist or Bon
deities, Tibetans have preserved from pre-Buddhist
dax-s the idea that aquatic spirits live beneath the
Earth. UTien human acri\it\- disturbs these spirits.
the^• must be pacified. Tibetan legends tell of an
earthly paradise in the snowy regions to the north,
hidden by the mountains and known as Shambhala.
The)' also tell of a mythical king named Geser.
Tibetans locate him in the past, present, and future,
all three. In the remote past, Tibetans say, Geser
descended fi-om hea\en to Earth to restore order
In the present he protects his worshipers fi-om
danger and pro\ides ad\ice. Tibetan Buddhists say
that he will come in the fiiture to drive out enemies
and institute a golden age.

SlGXinC\KCE

In earlier years, Europeans and North Americans
found it difficult to travel to Tibet. As a result the

346 TOTEMISM

The Torah received its name because it con- whole\'el of a zoologist [classifies] whales with
tains instructions on how to live. The most fa-
mous instructions are the TEN COMMANDMENTS, fishes, and bats with birds."
which God gave to Moses on Mount Sinai. In all,
the R.\BBIS identifv' 613 mitzvot or command- TRENT, COUNCIL OF A councU of the
ments in the Torah.
Roman CathoUc Church convened in the 1 6th
These commandments always require inter- centun- in reaction to the Protestant REFORAW-
pretation. For example, when exactly does the
Sabbath begin.' As a result, rabbinical tradition TION. In CHRISTLANm:' a council is a meeting of
holds that there is an oral Torah, which was also bishops from all over the world to make decisions
received by Moses on Mount Sinai. It was codi- on teaching and practice. From 1545 to 1563
fied in books known as the TALMUD.
bishops of the Roman Catholic Church met in
The Torah that is used in WORSHIP is written council at Trent, a town in northern Italy. The
by hand on scrolls of parchment. The precious
scrolls are kept in the front of the S\'NAGOGL'E in a purpose was to respond to the threats posed by
chest known as an ark. In more liturgical congrega-
tions, the Torah scrolls are removed and paraded the Protestant Reformation. The Holy Roman
through the congregation when they are to be read. Emperor also hoped that the council would re-
unite Catholics and Protestants. The most influ-
TOTEMISM A religious complex that man\-
ential participants were Spanish and Italian.
once thought was the earliest form of religion. Even before the Protestant Reformation
Late 19th-century anthropologists "identified"
totemism. It was allegedly found among the peo- Catholics like Erasmus (I466-I536) had criticized
ples of Australia, Oceania, and North America. But many of the practices of the Catholic Church. The
they could never agree on what totemism was. bishops took steps to rectify these abuses.

Common characteristics included: a society organ- At the same time, the bishops stood by Catholic
tradition on the points to which Protestants had
ized into exogamous groups (people could not
marry within the group), the notion that each objected. Among other points, the council defined
group descended from a "totem" or animal ances-
tor, a prohibition on eating or using one's totem, which books Catholics considered to be part of the
and a ritual in which the group ate the totem. BIBLE. It also insisted that the bread and wine of the
EUCHARIST changed into lESUS' body and blood,
Two scholars made the idea of totemism that priests could not marry, that the church deter-
popular: William Robertson Smith, who saw it as mined the cor-rect interpretation of the Bible, and
that a person needed to perform good works in
the earliest form of SACRIFICE, and James George order to be saved.
FRAZER. The sociologist Emile DURKHEIM and
the psychologist Sigmund FREUD used the idea TRICKSTERS Amusing, anti-heroic heroes.
in developing their theories of reUgions. Later,
the anthropologist Claude LE\T STR.\USS trans- Tncksters are comic figures in traditional stories.
formed totemism as he developed his own ideas They are called tricksters because they often attempt
about social classification. to gain advantage by tricking others. As often as not
the tricks backfire upon the tricksters themselves.
American anthropologists took the lead in show- People most often see tricksters in stories told by
ing that totemism (but not totems) was a figment of indigenous Americans and Africans.
the scholarly imagination. In 19 1 2 Robert Lowie
wrote: "any ethnologist u ho identifies . . . totemism Tricksters take a variet)' offorms. They are often
[in America] vsith totemism in Melanesia, sinks to the
animals. Common animal tricksters include Coyote
and Raven among indigenous North Americans,
Rabbit and Spider among indigenous Afiicans, and
Fox among indigenous South Americans. Trick-

sters may also take human form. South American
stories tell about tricksters who are n\ins. Both

TRINITY 347

human and animal tricksters may have exagger- Africans who came involuntarily to North

ated or incongruous features. In keeping with the America as slaves brought elements of their tradi-
tional culture with them. One element seems to
light-hearted nature of trickster stories, these are have been trickster stories with a rabbit as a central
often features that would appear indecent in a character. That would appear to be the ultimate
more serious context. For example, in some sto- origin of stories Joel Chandler Harris published
ries the North American Coyote has a male sexual
in the late 19th centur)'. He attributed them to
organ so large that he must carrv' it in a backpack.
Tricksters are characterized by excess. They an old African-American stonteller he called
"Uncle Remus."
—are extremely clever so clever that they often
TRINITY The Christian teaching of one GOD
outwit themselves and appear incredibly stupid.
As already noted, their physical features may in three persons. The BIBLE presents JESUS as
exceed what is generally considered proper. having a particularly close relationship with God,
These features may be too large, of the wrong
shape, or attached at the wrong place. Above whom he called "Father." It also speaks of God's
all, tricksters violate the conventions of proper
"spirit," and according to the GOSPEL of Matthew
behavior. Sometimes they wear clothes prop-
the risen Jesus instructed his followers to baptize
erly reserxed for the other sex or another spe-
cies. Sometimes they make public, creative use "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of
the Holy Spirit" (28.19). The word "trinirv',"
— —of bodily substances feces, flatulence that however, never appears in the Bible.

are properly disposed of privately. Tricksters Later, in the fourth and fifth centuries. Chris-
often mock the activities of more proper RIT- tians formulated with great precision the teaching
UAL specialists. They may change shape, eat to
of one God in three persons: Father, Son, and
—excess, engage in acts of incest, steal, boast do Holy Spirit. ( In earlier English the Holy Spirit was
called the Holy Ghost. Some now prefer the term
just about anything that is ludicrous, outland- Creator for the first person of the trinity.) They

ish, or ofTensive. In behaving in this way, trick- asserted that these three were distinct persons,
equal in glory and majesty and alike in being
sters are not EVIL; they are funny. Indeed, uncreated, unlimited, eternal, and omnipotent.
At the same time, these ancient Christians insisted
trickster tales often contain messages about that there was only one God, not three. The\' used
the metaphors of "begetting" ( fathering a child)
how one ought to act. and "proceeding" (coming out of) to describe
At times tricksters are involved in creating the
how the three persons related to one another.
—world and human culture precisely because they The Son, they said, is "begotten" by the Father,
while the Holy Spirit "proceeds" from the Father.
violate convention (see M'iTH AND MYTHOLOGY). Roman Catholics and Protestants, but not East-
ern Orthodox Christians, add that the Spirit also
This is true of both Raven and Coyote in indige-
nous North American stories. According to one proceeds from the Son.

common story Raven manages to steal the sun In the 1 8th centun-, some people began to
from a chief who had been hiding it. He returns adopt a "unitarian" view of God. These Chris-
tians denied the teaching of the trinit)' and taught
it to the world and restores light. In California that God is one. Other Christians admit that the
notion of a trinit\' strains logic, but they feel that
stories Coyote often creates the world in conjunc- the logical difficulties reflect the mvsterx' of God.
tion with a creator whose behavior and demeanor
are more socially acceptable and admirable, for

example. Eagle or Wolf He may provide a hu-

morous counterpart to the activities of the other

creator, as he does for example in an Earth-diver
story once told by the Yokuts of California. Or he
may be responsible for the creation of sickness
and death.

u

UPANISHADS Sanskrit for "sit at the feet operate with a rich and complex series of classifi-
cations and draw numerous correlations between
of"; the name given to more than a hundred
separate texts that make up the last part of the the self and the world. They also construct series
VEDA, the most sacred of Hindu writings. Their in which each item presumably requires or de-
most important themes are two notions central pends upon the next; the eventual goal is to work
to HINDUISM, the self or ATM.\X and the BR.\H back to what all items require. Another technique
MAN or universal realit^^ is to de\elop special interpretations of sacred

The Upanishads are also known as the VE- formulae and syllables. For example, the relatively
DANTA, Sanskrit for "the end of the Veda." They
preserve esoteric knowledge, originally shared with brief Mandtikya Upanishad contains reflections
only selected groups of gifted students. E\entuall\'
these writings became the foundational texts for the —on the parts of the sacred syllable "om" in
most significant schools of orthodox Indian phi-
losophy, the Vedanta schools. Sanskrit, a-m-fm. The first element is the state of

The Upanishads may be seen as records of being awake, the second the state of dreaming,
conversations and discussions about the most basic
questions of existence. To judge fi-om the texts and the third the state of deep, dreamless sleep.
themselves, these discussions were not limited to Beyond these three is a fourth state, pure atman
or self, which is the word "om" in its entiret)'.
priests but included both nobles tor whom the
Because the Upanishads are compilations,
priests performed RJTL".\I.S and prominent women. they support many different points of view. Dif-
Given their origin, the texts cannot be expected to
have a tight structure or a uniform perspective. ferent schools of thought have tried to give a

As Vedic literature, the Upanishads were oc- systematic presentation of Upanishadic teachings,
casioned by the performance of Vedic rituals.
They stand in a tradition that sought to explain but in doing so they have given opposite inter-

how Vedic sacrifices could affect the world and Apretations of even the very same verse. good

thus benefit the sponsor of the sacrifice. But most example is the famous sa\ing, tattvam asi ( Chan-
Upanishads have vers' little concern for the actual dojjya Upanishad 6.8-16). For non-dualists, such
rituals themselves. They concentrate instead on
the topics of the self and the world, or rather, the as the philosopher S.\NK.AR.^, this saying has three
realities that underlie the self and the world that
we consciously perceive, atman and brahman re- namwords, tat asi, "you are that." The realit)'

spectively. that underlies the self that we e.xperience (the

The sages of the Upanishads use several dif- atman) and the world that we experience (brah-
ferent methods in exploring these topics. They
man) are the same. For duahsts, however, this

verse has only two words, tattvam asi, "Indeed,

Onyou are." their reading, the verse asserts that

a self or soul (atman) exists distinct and inde-

pendent of universal reality (brahman). The most

common view interprets the Upanishads fi-om a

non-dualist perspective.

348

V

VATICAN COUNCILS Two councils of the EPICS and PURANAS, usually play a much larger

Roman Catholic Church held in Vatican Citi,' role in their religious lives.
about a hundred years apart. In CHRISTL-VNITl' a
HiSTORi'
council is a meeting of bishops from all over the
world to make decisions on teaching and practice. The Veda is known as sruti, "what is heard."
Vatican City is a small, independent state that the
Traditional Hindus believe that it contains the
Pope rules within the cit>- of Rome. The Roman sounds that arose at the ver)' moment of creation,
Catholic Church has held two councils in the
Vatican. They contrast sharply. heard, remembered, and repeated by the sages.

—The first Vatican Council (1869-70) Vati- The Veda as we know it is an entire library'
—can I rejected much of the social, political, and
of literature that rose in conjunction with the
philosophical thinking of modern Europe. Its
most imponant single act was to establish the practice of public sacrifices in ancient India. Its
doctrine of papal infallibility. According to this
doctrine, when the Pope makes religious pro- oldest portions are written in a distinctive lan-
nouncements, he cannot be mistaken.
guage, Vedic, which is an older relative of clas-
The second Vatican Council (1962-65)
Onsical Sanskrit. some interpretations the
—Vatican II took just the opposite approach. It
oldest portions of the Veda reveal evidence of
emphasized the need for the Catholic Church to
modernize. For example, Vatican II encouraged migration and conquest. European and Ameri-
Catholics to say the Mass in the language that
they used in ever\'day life. Until that time Catho- can scholarship has tended to associate these
lics had said the Mass in Latin. Vatican II also
encouraged congregations to participate in the passages with the "Aryan invasion" of India
Mass rather than simply observing it. Catholics
around the world ha\e widel\- adopted these rec- around 1500 B.C.
ommendations.
The Vedic texts were preserved orally for
VEDA (OR VEDAS) Sansknt for "wisdom"; centuries. Indeed, they were written down for

the collection of the most sacred texts in HINDU- the first time only within the last 500 years.
ISM. The position of the Veda is unlike that of the
BIBLE in JUDAISM and CHRlSTL^Nm' or the Indian scholars developed very elaborate meth-
QUR'AN in ISLAM. Although all Hindus respect
the authoriD,' of the Vedas, other texts, such as the ods for preserving the texts unchanged. The

rehabihty of these methods seems to have been

confirmed by modern scholarship. For genera-

tions students memorized certain Vedic phrases

that seemed to be meaningless. Historical lin-
guists have now recovered their meanings by

coming to understand the processes of linguis-

tic development. The Veda has been preserved

by several different sakhas or schools of priests,

each of which looks to a sage as its founder. As

a result, there are different versions of the major

texts.

349

350 VEDANTA

Contents VEDANTA A Sanskrit word meaning "the

Leaving aside the many kinds of supplementan' end of the Veda." Vedanta is the most important
literature, we may say that there are four main of the six "orthodox" philosophical schools in
strata or chronological layers of Vedic literature. HINDUISM.
The oldest texts are the samhitas (roughly
1500-1000 B.C.). They are collections of RJTUAL Actually, there are several different Vedantas.
formulae that were used b\' the priests in perform-
All of them rely upon the same sources: the
ing the public sacrifices. Because different priests UP,\NISHADS, the Vedantasutras, in which an an-
had different ritual tasks, there are four major cient author named Badarayana systematized the
samhita collections. The oldest of all, the Rig- teachings of the Upanishads, and the BHAGAVAD-
Veda(-samhita), is a collection of hymns in praise
GITA. Vedanta thinkers concentrate on two top-
of the gods who were in\'ited to anend the sacri- ics: the BRAHMAN, which is the reality that
fice. The Sama-veda is a collection of songs. The underlies the universe, and the ATMAN, which is
Yajur-veda is a collection of ritual formulae. The the realit)' that underlies human beings.

Athar\'a-veda is actually a collection of spells and The most widel)- known form of Vedanta is
chants used for domestic purposes, since its
priests had nothing in particular to say at the called Advaita, "nondualist." It was developed by
public sacrifices. The later parts of this literature,
especially the reiatixely late last book of the Rig- the great Indian thinker SAXK.\R.\ ( eighth centur\'
Veda, contain hymns that begin a tradition of
profound speculation on the nature of the uni- A-U). Advaita Vedanta maintains that there is

verse. ultimately no distinction bet^veen the brahman

The next layer of Vedic literature consists of and the atman. The reality' that underlies the
the Brahmanas (roughly 1000-800 EC). These
are commentaries on each of the Vedic samhitas. universe is the realit\' that underlies the human
They explain the meaning of the rituals, give
instructions on how to perform them, and relate person. On the other extreme is the Dvaita or
stories that were loosely inspired by sacrificial
practices. In general, they explain the effect of the "dualist" school of Madhva (13th centun- AD.).
sacrifice as resulting from intimate connections
between the sacrifice and the universe at large. Madh\a argued that brahman and atman arc two
The Aranyakas (roughly 800-600 B C ) and the
UP.\NISI-L\DS (600 BC.-A,D, 200) continue the Hedistinct realities. also taught, unlike Sankara,
tradition of commentan' that the Brahmanas be-
gan. But especiallv in the Upanishads the sacrifi- that each person has a separate atman.
cial ritual has withdrawn into the background,
and reflection concentrates on the nature of the The other Vedanta schools occupy positions
self (ATM,\N) and the world (BRAHMAN). somewhere bersveen these two extremes. The

Significance most important is the Visishtadvaita or "qualified
non-dualism" of Ramanuja (11th centur\' AD).
The Veda is a splendid, ftill collection of ancient
religious literature that includes moments of pro- The name comes from Ramanuja's disagreement
found insight. All Hindus respect its authorit)', with Sankara. Sankara says tliat we can know
and Hindu priests still occasionally perform large
Vedic SACRIFICES. brahman apart from any qualities or charac-
teristics. But Ramanuja insists that we know brah-
man only as "qualified" or haWng characteristics.
That is, we know brahman only as GOD.

VENUS .^n ancient Roman GODDESS. The

most ancient Romans did not WORSHIP Venus,
but their "cousins," the Latins, did. Some schol-
ars sav she was originally a goddess of fertile fields.
In the 200s B.C., the Romans identified Venus
with the Greek goddess Aphrodite. In later my-
tholog\', she became the goddess of the sexual
attracti\ eness and fertility of women. She often
assumed this form in Renaissance art. At the same

VIRGIN BIRTH 351

rime, the Romans worshiped Venus as "Verti- nating Cao Dai religion WORSHIPS a GOD (Cao
cordia." In this personiticarion, Venus "diverts
the hearts" of young women from illicit sexual Dai, which means "high tower") of sectarian
Taoist background, employs spiritualistic medi-
acti\it\'. umship, embraces Confiician moralit)- and Bud-
dhist concepts like K.\R\L\ and REINCARNATION,
According to the Greek poet Homer, Aph- and has a fc)rm of organization with a pope and
rodite was the mother of the Trojan hero Aeneas. cardinals obviously modeled on Roman Catholi-
At Rome, the Julian family claimed that it de- cism. Its pantheon of deities includes both East-
scended from Aeneas and therefore from Venus.
Julius Caesar built a temple to Venus as his em and Western figures: the great religious
ancestress. This \'enus appears in Vergil's famous
epic poem, the Acncid. founders like CONFL'CIUS, the BUDDH.A, JESUS,
and MUHAALVL\D, and later heroes like JOAN' OF
VIETNAMESE RELIGION The religions ,\RC and Victor Hugo. During the 35 years ofwar
and crisis beginning in 1940, when complicated
of the countn.- of N'letnam, chiefly BUDDHISM, struggles erupted involving French forces, Japa-
CONFUCL-VNISM, CHRJSTL^NITi', and native tradi- nese occupation, various Vietnamese factions,
tions. Situated in southeast Asia where Indian and
Chinese cultural influences meet, Vietnam has and later American intenention, both Hoa Hao
been touched by both of these great religious and Cao Dai sometimes controlled whole prov-
societies, but in Vietnam the Chinese influence inces and fielded their own armies.
has been predominant. Despite Vietnamese resis-
tance, large parts of Vietnam were ruled by China Peace of a sort finally came to Vietnam with
from 111 B.C. to -VD. 939. During this time communist %ictor\' in 1975. Since then the situ-
Buddhism was introduced in Chinese form, ation regarding religion in Vietnam itself has not
largely Chan (Zen; "Thien" in Vietnamese), as been entirely clear. Catholicism, Buddhism, and
was Confticianism. In traditional Vietnamese so- Cao Dai, however, continue to flourish in Viet-
ciety', moral values and the ruling class were namese immigrant communities around the
largely Confucianized, while the main popular world.
religion was Mahayana Buddhism.
VIRGIN BIRTH Birth from a woman who
Like other societies in east Asia, Vietnam
suffered severe shocks in the 19th and 20th cen- has never had sexual relations. It is especially
turies. It was brought under French colonial important in CHRISTLANITi'.
government in the mid- 19th century, and with
that rule came not only massive and disruptive Virgin birth is a special form of a very com-
change, but also missionary RO\L-VN CATHOLI-
CISM, which was relatively successfiil. Colonia- mon m\th (see M\TH .AND MYTHOLOGY): birth
lism brought spiritual confiision bet\veen a from mothers who have become pregnant by
Confiician order that was clearly passing away, a
moribund Buddhism, and a Catholicism often supernatural means. Indigenous Americans tell
benign but associated with alien rule. In this several virgin birth stories. For example, the Inuit
situation it is not surprising that new, highly
nationalistic religions arose (see X.ATIONALISM, tell how Raven was conceived when his virgin
RELIGIOUS).
mother swallowed a feather. In the Mabnbhnrata,
These included Hoa Hao, a Buddhist mo\e- a Hindu EPIC (see HINDUISM), a virgin named
ment with Theravada leanings, and Cao Dai, a Kunti has a son, Kama, after Surva, the sun,
group that drew from various sources. The fasci- impregnates her and then restores her virginitv*.
Although the BUDDRA's mother, NLAYA, was not
technically a virgin, she is said to hav-e had no
sexual relations at the time when she became
pregnant with the Buddha.

The virgin birth of JESUS is a central dogma
( see DOGMA.AND DOCTRINE ) for most Christians.

352 VISHNU

For them Jesus' mother, MARY, became preg- GODDESSES of prosperity and wealth. Their sym-
nant through the agency of the Holy Spirit. This bol is the LOTUS. Bhu is the Earth. Vishnu's

activity is not thought of as sexual. The New vehicle or animal counterpart is Garuda, a mythi-

Testament sees the virgin birth of Jesus as fulfill- cal bird. His sacred plant is tulasi, a variety of basil.
ing a prophecy of ISAL\H (Matthew 1.23), but
only the Greek text of Isaiah refers to a virgin. The AWorshipers offer its leaves to the god. kind of

Hebrew text simply refers to a "young woman" black stone is also sacred to Vaishnavas. It is called

(Isaiah 7.14). Salagrama, fi-om the name of the village where
many specimens have been found.
Roman Catholics have deduced that Mar>'
There are several ways to portray Vishnu.
remained a virgin all of her life. Protestants gen-
erally reject this idea and say that Mary had One common image shows him standing. His
children through ordinary means after Jesus was
born. In the last two centuries more liberal Chris- skin is dark-blue. His four arms hold a conch, a
tians have taken the virgin birth not as a biological discus, a mace, and a lotus, symbols of his power
fact but as a metaphorical expression of the special to protect and govern. In addition, Vishnu wears
character of Jesus.
an age-old jewel known as Kaustubha. He also
VISHNU One of the most important gods of sports a twist of hair on his chest known as the

HINDUISM. In Hinduism, BRAHMA, Vishnu, and sri-vatsa. It attests to the presence of Sri or Lak-
SIVA are thought of as the gods of creation,
preservation, and destruction, respectively. The shmi.
BHAGAV.^D-GITA captures Vishnu's character
well. It states that whenever DHARMA wanes and Another common image of Vishnu shows
EVIL waxes, Vishnu takes form on Earth to restore
order. Vishnu's large number of worshipers are him asleep on the cosmic serpent Sesha. Accord-
known as Vaishnavas.
mg to m>tholog>', Vishnu sleeps on Sesha during
The name Vishnu appears as early as in the
XTDA. Worshipers also call upon Vishnu under the time between the end of one universe and the
several other names, such as Narayana, Vasudeva,
and Hari. Today scholars think that these names beginning of the next. When he awakes, a lotus
probably refer to non-Vedic gods who were once
independent. Later these gods were brought into Onsprouts from his navel. it sits the god Brahma,
the Vishnu cult. Vishnu is said to take form on
Earth in several AVATARS, meaning "descents." creator of the world.
The standard number of avatars is 10, but tradi-
tions vary on the identity of the 10. The two most There are several different subgroups of
prominent avatars are the well-known heroes
RAMA and KRISHNA. These two have become Vaishnavas. The most encompassing classification
objects of WORSHIP in their own right. Indeed,
some worshipers of Krishna see him, not Vishnu, divides them into Bhagavatas and Pancaratrins.
as the supreme GOD.
On some accounts, Bhagavatas stress the avatars
Vishnu's special abode is the HEAVEN known
as Vaikuntha. He has several consorts or female of Vishnu, while Pancaratrins speak instead of
counterparts, among whom the most important
are Sri, LAKSHMI, and Bhu. Sri and Lakshmi are four vynhas or emanations from Vishnu. A group

known as the Sri- Vaishnavas is especially promi-
nent in South India. They take their name fi-om

the emphasis they place on Vishnu's consort Sri.
The prominent VEDANTA philosopher Ramanuja
belonged to this sect. Other prominent Vedanta
philosophers have also worshiped Vishnu, among

them Madhva.
Vaishnavas have produced many master-

pieces of Indian religious literature. Their writ-
ings include India's two major EPICS, the
Malmbharata and the RAMAYANA, the philo-

sophical poem known as the Bhagavad-Gita,
several collections of myths, especially the Bha-
^/frti'/iffl-PURANA, and poems by important devo-

VOODOO 353

tees such as NammaJvar, Kabir, Surdas, Tulsidas, paniola in the Caribbean. The Dominican Re-
Mirabai, and Tukaram.
public occupies the other tvvo-thirds.
VISIONS Visual images, generally of gods,
The name comes from vodun. This word
S.'U NTS, and other religious beings. Visions appear means spirit in a language spoken in the nation of
suddenly before the eyes and seem to have no Benin, West Africa. Outsiders coined the name.
natural explanation. Visions have been reported They have also spread many rumors about the
in virtually all ages and within all religious tradi- religion. The origin of the name does, however,
indicate something important. Voodoo preserves
tions. In the West, Roman Catholic visions of the and adapts many Afiican religious beliefs and
practices. Those who practice the religion say they
Blessed Virgin M'VRY, as at Guadalupe, Lourdes,
are "serving the spirits." Indeed, they are.
or Fatima, or of the .\NGEL who showed himself Haiti was a French colony (established in
to Joseph Smith, the founder of the LATTER- DAY
SAINTS (Mormonism), are well known. WTiatever 1 697 ) that produced sugar. It was home to a large
number of slaves originally from West Africa.
their explanation in religion or in psychology,
visions have had a profound impact on religious Inspired by the French Revolution (1789), the
histoPi'. Like the visions of Mar\', they have often slaves revolted. In 1804 they established their
ser\'ed to confirm the FAITH of those within a
tradition. But like Smith's vision, they have also

ser\ed as impetus for the \'isionary to found a new
reUgion (see SHAKERS). For many religious per-

sons, seeing is believing.

\TVEKANANDA (I863-I902) The chief

disciple of the Indian S.AIXT, RAALAKRISHNA
Paramahamsa, Vivekananda founded the W.-

n.\NT.\ Society and the Ramakrishna Mission. He
was also the first advocate of HINDUISM to have
a major impact on North America and Europe.

Vivekananda taught the Adxaita school of
\'edanta combined with devotion and social con-

cern. He gained wide attention in 1893 when he

addressed the World's Parliament of Religions in
Chicago. The address brought Vivekananda

speaking engagements, much media attention,
and man\' Western followers.

Vivekananda's influence was not limited to

spreading Hinduism abroad. When he returned

to India, he founded the Ramakrishna Mission.
In doing so, he did much to advance the cause of
social reform at home.

VOODOO A religion practiced by people of A close-up of a voodoo love charm nailed to a tree.

African descent in Haiti, and by people who have (Courtesy of the Itnajje Bank.)

emigrated from Haiti. Haiti is a country- that
occupies the western third of the island of His-

354 VOODOO

own countA', the first republic e\er established by dancing, and singing. The goal of the drumming,
dancing, and singing is to bring about spirit-pos-
Africans. Records fi-om this time are scarce. Nev-
ertheless, it seems that Voodoo played a part in Asession. spirit takes control of a human body,
the sla\e revolt. The religion combines African
spirit worship with aspects of RO.VIAN CATHOLI- uses it as its "horse," and in that way communi-
CISM, the official religion of Haiti. cates with human beings. Major spirits have their
counterparts among the Catholic SAINTS, and
Those who practice \'oodoo believe in a Voodoo festi\als often take place in conjunction
supreme GOD. They call that God Boudye, from with Catholic festivals. At times the Catholic
the French phrase for "good God." But Voodoo Church has attempted to suppress Voodoo, be-
practitioners consider Bondye distant and inac- cause it found the mingling of Afiican spirits and
cessible. Their religious life centers instead on
various spirits. These spirits are above human Christian saints offensive.
beings, but not so high as Bondye. Some spirits
Although it is possible to ser\e the spirits on
are ancestors; others are associated with natural one's own, Voodoo also has its own religious
phenomena. They are organized into "nations."
Aspecialists. male priest is called a houn^an; a
One common system speaks of two nations of
female priest is called a mambo. They oversee
spirits; sweet spirits, which are kindly, and hot festivals, practice divination, bless, and heal. Voo-
ones, which are powerfiil and energetic. People doo also has its anti-social side. Those who prac-
ser\ e spirits that their mothers and fathers sened. tice Voodoo call that side the "work of the left
They also serve the spirits of the areas where they hand." It involves ser\ing spirits that one has
bought and using the bodies of the recendy
live.
deceased for slave labor (zombies).
At its simplest, one serves spirits by lighting Toward the end of the 20th century eco-
candles, sa\ing PRATCRS, and gi\ing offerings.
But Voodoo knows larger observances, too. The nomic deprivation and political instability' forced
RITUALS at major festivals include the sacrifice of many people to flee Haiti for North America. As
an animal (often a chicken), feasts, drumming.
a result, Voodoo spread to Miami, New York

Cit\', and other places in the United States.

Ul

VVALDENSIANS A group of Christians ex- meanings, not all consistent: Water can be chaos,
pelled from the Roman Catholic Church in the destruction, life, purity, and rebirth.

12th centur\-. The Waldensians originated from Water first of all can represent the primordial
the teachings of a man named Peter Valdes or chaos before the world completely took form: "In
Waldo. In the 1170s Waldo began preaching at the beginning," the first chapter of Genesis tells
the town of Lyons in southern France. His us in the BIBLE, "the earth was without form and
preaching resembled that of Francis of Assisi in
stressing simplicity' and poverty (see FRANCIS OF void . . . and the Spirit of GOD was moving over
ASSISI .\XD FIL\NCISC\NS).
the face of the waters." In Japanese mythology-
Waldo and his followers got into trouble with
the church authorities. That was because they the primal parents first came down upon an end-
used the BIBLE in the ordinar)- language of the
people, rather than Latin, and preached even less ocean, and out of it congealed the first island
though they were not priests. The Waldensians
were excommunicated in 1184. In 1211 80 of (see IZANAGI AND IZ.AN'.AMI). Water is the raw
them were burned to death in Strasbourg, now
in France. After these events, many Waldensians material, or the formless context, out of which
became highly critical of practices in the Catholic real creation commences. Returning to the wa-
C:hurch and of a few Catholic beliefs. ters, then, as in RITU.AL bathing and BAPTISM, can
be like a return to the beginning so that one can,
The Waldensians settied in the Alps at the as it were, start off life again fresh, as though
border of France and Italy. During the time of newly made.
the REFORAUTIOX they adopted many Reforma-
tion beliefs. Beginning in the mid-1800s mem- Because it is shapeless and spreads out to
bers of the communin,' immigrated to South cover everything, water can also be destructive.
.\merica, especially Uruguay. Some also immi- In the Bible, the Great Beast in the book of
grated to the L'nited States. Most Waldensians in
the United States have been accepted into the RE\'EL,\TION came out of the sea. When God
Presbyterian Church (see PRESB'iTERL\N AND
REFORMED CHURCHES). wished to destroy what he had made, he sent a
great flood. Many flood stories can be found in
WATER AND RELIGION The religious
worid mythology- (see M\TH AND MYTHOLOGY).
symbolism and significance of water. Water is one But the flood is not truly the end. The stories also
of the richest and most prevalent of religious contain an account of SALVATION out of the
symbols. Like most symbols, it can have many- waters: NOAH's Ark, for example, and the great
Hindu sage \L\NU who, by means of power

gained through rR,-\reR and fasting, was able to
survive a universal flood and, in the form of a great
fish, rescue other beings.

Thus life can come out of water, as it does in
rain, a great gift of HEAXTN. Water is also in the

womb and so is a symbol of birth. The Christian

rite of baptism, consisting of washing or immer-

355

356 WEBER, MAX

sion with water, represents new birth by a sym- find Weber's ideas significant tools for studving

bolic return back to the womb and the primordial religions.

chaos in order that one may come out again, clean One powerful set of ideas concerns the author-
and renewed (see SYMBOLISM, IN RELIGION). In- ity on which religions depend. Weber identified
deed, water is widely spoken of as a source of
immortality. The River of Life was said to water three dift'crent kinds of authority: charismatic (the
the Garden of Eden, and the QUR'AN speaks of
the rivers of paradise. The prophet Jeremiah personal authority' of particularly striking individu-
called GOD "the fountain of living waters," and
the book of Revelation says that the new, heav- Heals), traditional, and legal -rational. also identi-
enly JERUSALEM contains "the river of the water
of life, bright as crystal." Ponce de Leon sought fied a t\pica! historical progression fi'om one type to
for the Fountain of Youth in Florida, and the
quest for an elixir of life based on water has been another. Man\' religions, he suggested, begin v\ith
a staple of MAGIC and ALCHEMY everywhere.
striking individuals, that is, they depend at first upon
Water is also purifying, as the flood of Noah
purified the world, and rites of purification in- charismatic authority. Think of the BUDDHA for
volving water are very common. After ritual or
other pollution, bathing is recommended as a BUDDHISM, JESUS for CHRISTIANITY, and MUHAM-
sacred as well as practical act. SHINTO priests
bathe before a sacred ceremony, and shrines are M-^D for ISLAM. When these figiu-es die, authority
often located by the purifying waters of a rapid
stream. In the Catliolic mass, the priest ceremo- whomshifts. It may shift to people tradition recog-
nially washes his hands.
nizes as authoritative, for example, Jesus' APOSTLES.
Symbolically, water is ofi:en linked with the Or it may shift to certain legal-rational procedures

moon because of the tides, and with women for ordering the communit)-, such as councils or
because of their related cycles (see MOON AND
meetings of bishops. Each type of shift to another
RELIGION, THE). In psychology, it is also often
taken to represent the unconscious out of which authority is called "routinization."
come dreams and intuitions. Water is thought to
be as pen'asive and mysterious as God, and the WESLEY, JOHN (1703-1791) A mmister
prophet Isaiah foresaw a time when die glory of
in the Church of England who founded
God would cover the Earth, "as the waters cover METHODISM. John Wesley was the son of a priest
of the Church of England (see ANGLICANISM).
the sea." He studied for the ministry' and was himself or-

WEBER, MAX (1864-1920) German scholar dained a priest in 1728. At the time he was also a
fellow of Lincoln College, Oxford.
who helped to found the area of study known as
John's brother Charles had started a study
sociology'. Weber's contributions to the stud\' of group among Oxford students. Members of this
religion were immense. His most famous book is group met regularly to sttidy Christian devotional
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. literature; they took communion frequendy; and
There he argued that PROTESTANTISM and its they fasted on Wednesdays and Fridays. In time
values were responsible for the rise of capitalism. they also took an interest in working among the
As capitalist structures had begun to arise before poor. Other students labeled them "Methodists,"
the Protestant REFORMATION, this particular the- because they went about their religion so me-
sis is probably wrong. Nevertheless, many still thodically. The name was meant to be a put-
down. John Wesley eventually became leader of
the group.

In 1735 Wesley was appointed to minister to

setders in the colony of Georgia. He spent almost
two years there, but his ministry was not effective.
He discovered that the settlers had litde interest
in his own "high church Anglicanism." At the

same time, Wesley became impressed by mission-
aries of the Moravian Brethren. The Brethren

WISDOM LITERATURE 357

emphasized a personal experience of the certaint)' ist Conference split from the Church of England.
of salvation. Methodism became one of the dominant forms
of CHRISTI.\Xin' in the United States after the
Back in England in 1738, Wesley had such Revolutionary' War. It also gave rise to offshoots
like the Holiness Churches (see PENTECOSTAL
an experience. He was listening to a reading from CHRISTL\XIT\' and the SAL\'.\TION.\RMY).

Martin LUTHER's writings, and he became con- WISDOM LITERATURE Sacred literature
\inced of Luther's fundamental teaching that
people arc justified by GR.\CE through FAITH that emphasizes how to live one's daily life. Schol-
apart from an\thing they might do. At the same ars generally consider three books in the Hebrew
time, his heart was touched by the feeling that BIBLE to be wisdom literature: Proverbs, Job, and
lESL'S had indeed died for him. Wesley traveled Ecclesiastes. Two apocryphal or deuterocanonical
to the continent to confer with the head of the books (books found in the Greek Old Testament
Brethren, Nikolaus von Zinzendorf. Then he but not in the Hebrew Bible) belong to this class,
started out on his own mission. too: the Wisdom of Solomon and Ecclesiasticus,
also known as Sirach.
Wesley's religious outiook differed from the
Cal\Tnism that was dominant in England at the During the 1 9th and 20th centuries, scholars
time (see CALMN, JOHN). Calvinists taught that unearthed and deciphered massive amounts of

GOD elected some people for S.\L\'.'\TION and literature from the ancient Near East. Among

others for damnation. Wesley taught that God's other writings, they found works similar to the
biblical books of Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes.
grace had the power to save all human beings. He Parts of the Bible's wisdom literature seem to be
based on these other works. For example, a sec-
also taught that it was possible to be certain that tion in Proverbs called the "Words of the Wise"
one was saved. (22.17-24.34) reflects teachings of an EgN-ptian

Wesley's religious practice also differed from wise man named Amenemope.
It is difficult to say who wrote the wisdom
common practice. Wesle\' refijsed to acknow-
books or when. The books talk about ever\'day
ledge the boundaries of the parishes within which life, so they make little reference to historv'. Some
portions claim to derive from King Solomon
ministers were supposed to preach. He traveled ( Proverbs I.I); one collection claims to ha\-e been
from place to place preaching. He often preached gathered by scribes working for King Hezekiah
among industrial workers who had no reUgious (Proverbs 25.1 ). Modern scholars suggest several
different sources for wisdom literature; royal
home. Although Wesley hoped to win other or- courts, famihes, and schools (Sirach 51.23). Most
dained ministers for this tvpe of ministry, the wisdom literature seems to have been written
demand was greater than the supply, so he en- after the Babylonian exile (586-539 B C ). If it
listed the help of lay preachers. was written for use in schools, the students seem
to have been male. That is because wisdom is
Wesley's teaching, his traveling, and his use personified as female, and they are urged to pur-
of lay ministers aroused considerable opposition.
sue her.
It also won followers. In 1784 Wesley incorpo-
Each wisdom book has its own character.
rated a Methodist Conference that was inde- Proverbs contains many brief sa\ings known as
pendent of the Church of England. It was to earn'
on his work after his death. Wesley also left aphorisms. It takes a generally positive attitude
behind many influential writings, including his
toward life in the world: GOD rewards those who
Sermons and his Journal. He also wrote, trans-

lated, and published hymns.
Wesley never wanted to found a new church.

He always wanted to renew the Church of Eng-

land. Nevertheless, his innovations and his man-
ner of working placed him squarely outside the
established church. i\fter his death, the Method-

358 WITCHCRAFT

are prudent and work hard; those who are fool- three parts: witchcraft in pnmal and ancient rehg-
ish and lazy suffer. The book personifies Wisdom ion (see PRIAL^L RELIGION); alleged witchcraft
and the witch persecutions in medieval and early
as the first of God's creations. Indeed, it says modern Europe; and witchcraft today.

she helped God create the entire universe ( Pro\- In early, ancient, and peasant societies every-
where, there is much use of simple magic and
YHWHerbs 8). It also teaches that "the fear of sorcer\', such as charms and humble offerings to
produce rain or fertilit\', assure successfiil child-
["the Lord"] is the beginning of wisdom" ( Prov- birth, or ward off'enemies. Such practices are like
the well-known burning of candles of different
erbs 9.10). auspicious colors by some people today, or the
use of "love potions." Performed independentiy
Job is much less complacent about prosperity' of the official religion by ordinan,- people or by
and suffering. SAT.\N, the accuser (not the de\il), local specialists like a \illage "wise woman," these
appears in God's heavenly court. He questions practices are sometimes called witchcraft. In pri-
whether Job is simply praising God because he is mal societies, disasters also are often blamed on
rich and enjoying life. God and Satan decide to the work of malevolent witches, known or un-
known, and their E\1L spells can be countered by
check this out. Job loses his wealth, his children other specialists, sometimes called witch doctors.
and grandchildren, and his health. The book then
relates speeches by Job, se\eral of his fiiends, and In Europe, with die rise of CHRISTL^NITi',
eventually God. These speeches raise the classic such practices continued, but at a fairly low level.
Often thev were regarded tolerantiy by the Chris-
problem of THEODICY: Why do good people tian church. But around the 1 5th centun, in an
atmosphere of anxiet\' engendered by the rise of
suffer? The book does not answer this question. modernit\% and, in the 16th centur\r, by the REF-
It simply shows that when Job is confi-onted with ORAL\TION, a wave of hysteria about witchcraft
the majestx' of God, he is struck speechless. swept over Europe, lasting till about 1700. In
both Catholic and Protestant countries, persons
Ecclesiastes is even more pessimistic. It
teaches that all is vanit>', all must die. But this — —almost all women were accused of witchcraft,
pessimism makes many passages in the book pro-
found. Probably the most famous passage begins: unjustiv tried, and killed, most commonly by
"For everything there is a season, and time for burning (see IO.\N OF ARC). Children were en-
ever>' matter under heaven: a time to be born, and couraged to inform against parents, husbands
a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck against wi\-es, relatives and neighbors against one
up what is planted . . ." (Ecclesiastes 3.1-2 ). another. Witnesses were paid to testify, and pro-

Images and concepts in the wisdom books fessional witchfinders received fees for each sus-
influenced IUD,\ISM and CHRISTL-\NITi'. They pect they brought in. Then the alleged witches'
also influenced GNOSTICISM. For Gnostics, So- confessions were obtained through horrible tor-
phia (Greek for "wisdom") was no longer a crea- tures. Witches were accused of making pacts with
ture who helped the creator god. She was his the devil, fl\ing through the air on broomsticks,
superior. She also pro\ided the di\ine insight that gathering in diabolic covens, ha\ing animal "fa-
would undo the mess that the creator had made miliars," and the like. .-Umost all of this, though
it li\es on in the popular imagination about
of the world. witches, was undoubtedly a figment of the witch-
finders' imaginations. The whole dreadfirl witch-
WITCHCRAFT The use of .\L\GIC or sorcer\- hunting mania, which ma\- ha\e numbered a

by persons or groups outside the mainstream of
societ\'. But the term "witchcraft," like "witch,"
has been used in different ways in different times
and places. V\'itchcraft has often been regarded
with suspicion by the social mainstream. But in
modern times, it has also referred to a religious
movement. Here the topic will be discussed in

WORSHIP 359

million or more Wctims, was certainly the result ZAZEN). Furthermore, the term "worship" seems
of serious social sickness and mass delirium. One to imply a certain serious, concentrated attitude
of the last major outbreaks was the famous witch- of mind. But people often perform religious ac-
trials in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1692. Nineteen tions as a matter of rote. For example, a baseball
persons were executed after a group of yoimg or Softball player may make the sign of the cross
girls became hysterical while plaxing at magic, when she or he comes up to bat. It would be
and the suggestion was made that they had been difficult to talk meaningfully about that action as
bewitched. worship, but it is religious.

Turning to modem witchcraft, we may note As a result, scholars of religion often avoid
the term worship. They prefer to speak of RITU-
that belief in traditional witchcraft in the sense of ALS instead. But for many who practice religions,
ancient magic remains alive in many parts of the worship is the best word to describe the most
world, including India, Aftica, and Latin Amer- intense and intentional form of reUgious action.
ica. Occasionally there are still accusations of e\il
witchcraft, associated with Satanism or de\il Who Worships?
WORSHIP, e\en in the United States.
People worship privately as indi\iduals. They also
At the same time, a re\i\al of Paganism has worship in a variet\' of communities. In North
grown remarkably as a new religious movement America, Jews and Christians form special con-
in the United States, Europe, and elsewhere in gregations that meet on a weekly basis. In many
the last half of the 20th century. One important times and places, worship has been largely a family
wing of this movement is called Wtchcraft or, in acti\ity, for example, in ancient Greece and Rome
a term many of its adherents prefer, "VVicca." It and in HINDUISM today. In some countries, relig-
is a benign movement having nothing to do with ious obser\ance has been a matter of the state;
Satanism or anything e\il. It is centered on belief these are countries with established or official
in the spiritual importance of nature, the equalit)' religions. For Muslims, the w orshiping commu-
of men and women, and the power of magic nity is the House of ISLAM, which goes beyond
(often interpreted as good thoughts). It has col- any political boundaries.
orfiil RITUALS for the seasons and for getting in
touch with nature's gods and GODDESSES. Being Most worship conmiunities have leaders:
closely aligned with the ecological and feminist RABBIS, cantors, priests, ministers, deacons,
movements, TOcca has found a place in the spiri-
tual world of the late 20th centun,-, and many of —L\L\MS in family worship, fathers or mothers.
its adherents identift' with the persecuted witches
of three or four centuries ago. Many worship communities also have subcom-
muniries that perform special tasks. Many congre-
WORSHIP Religious acti\ities directed to- gations in North America have choirs. The
structure ofworship communities may also reflect
ward or done in the service of a superior being, gender and racial exclusiveness, sometimes de-
such as GOD. Some ha\e defined worship as the
human response to an encounter with the "holy" spite an egalitarianism in the general societ\-. In
or "sacred." Orthodox JL'D.\IS.\I, a worshiping communit\'

Worship is an idea and practice that is limited must have at least 10 men (males). In Catholic
and Orthodox CHRISTLVNITi', only men may be
in its application. To start with, some religious priests. Hindus do not allow non-Hindus to enter

acts are not directed toward a superior being, so certain temples.

they are not forms of worship. A good example Wr\t is Worshiped?

is Buddhist MEDIT.ATION. It simply seeks to cul- ReUgions often resers^e the term "worship" for
tivate an awareness of the way things are (see acti\ities done in relation to the supreme being or

360 WORSHIP

beings. Other worshipful acti\ines may be called .AND NUNS perform a series of daily ser\ices: vigils,
matins, prime, tierce, sext, nones, vespers, and
"veneration."
compline.
Some Christians \enerate \L\RY, the mother
In addition, many religions have calendars of
of JESUS. Buddhists often venerate accomplished special festivals. The Islamic calendar is strictly
beings known as BODHISATTVAS. Christians, lunar. .\s a result. Islamic obsenances, such as the
Ramadan fast, move throughout the year. The
Muslims, and Jains, among others, venerate Jewish calendar is partly lunar, partly solar. As a
SAINTS. Especially Christians and Buddhists ven- result, PASSOVER and Sha\Taot occur in the spring,
erate RELICS, .\ncient Romans were required to Rosh ha-Shanah and the DAY OF ATONEMENT in
venerate the emperor. These acts may resemble the fall. Other festivals, such as CHRISTMAS, occur
on specific dates in a solar year. Finally, some
worship strictly speaking, but they often differ festivals take place only after several years. For
from it in subtle ways.
example, the Aztecs performed the New Fire
Many religions also identify- certain forms of
Ceremony after ever>' 52 years.
worship as improper. In Judaism and Cfiristian-
In What Ways do People Worship?
it)', the first commandment forbids the worship
of any god but "iHWH ( "the Lord" ). The second There is practically no limit to the actions that
commandment forbids the use of cult images. In worship can include. Worshipers speak to relig-
Islam, shirk is a cardinal SIN. It means gi\'ing any ious beings in PRAYER. They sing to them in songs
created object the respect and adoration that onl\- and h\'mns. The\' offer them gifts. They kill ani-
mals and sometimes people in SACRIFICE. Relig-
the creator desenes. ions that use images often treat the images as
honored guests: They wake them, bathe them,
Where do PEorLE Worship? clothe them, perflime them, feed them, entertain
them, and put them to bed. Some worshipers eat
Some forms of indi\idual worship can take place and drink; consider the EUCRARIST in Christian-
an\'where. But human beings often set aside spe- it\-. Some worshipers preach and teach (see
PREACHING). Ordinary life may also be seen as
cial areas for the performance of rituals, including worship. In Judaism study of the TORAH is a
profound act of worship. Many Christians see a
worship. Some speculate that the European caves life li\ed in service to others as a life of worship.
painted in prehistorv were areas where ancient
SIGNIFICANCE
initiation rites took place ( see INITL\TION, RELIG-
IOUS). Roughly in 6000 B C. a communit\' at A worshiper ma\' give different reasons for wor-
Catal Hu\iik in modern Turkey apparenti)' dedi-
cated many rooms to the worship of a GODDESS. ship than someone obsening it from the outside.
Sacrificial worship often takes place at an ALT.\R. Worshipers ma\- sa\- that the\' worship because
Ancient Greeks, like other peoples, performed the\' will get some reward in return or because it
some acts of worship in sacred gro\es or woods. refreshes them. They may worship to give visible
expression to their inner feelings. They may also
—Much worship has taken place at temples places say that they worship to give God, for example,
the honor and praise that God deserves. Others
where a di\inity is present, often in the form of a ma\' worship simply because they feel it is the right
statue. Congregations often meet in special thing to do.
buildings for worship, such as SYNAGOGUES,
churches, and MOSQUES.

When do People Worship?

Some worship activities take place every day.
Muslims formally pray five times a day in the
direction of MECCA (see SALAT). Some traditional
Hindu householders perform rituals at the "twi-
lights," dawn and dusk. Some Christian MONKS

WOTAN 361

Outside obseners may note how worship mav well be the most important activiu- in human

helps create and maintain the identit\- and soli- life.

darin,- of a group. They may talk about how WOTAN The father and chief of the gods in

worship contributes to psychological integration Germanic and Scandinavian m\tholog\'. Also

and well-being. They may suggest that worship called Odin, Wotan represented fate. He presided
reinforces basic beliefs and values. They may also over Valhalla, the home of the gods, and rode
see worship doing less admirable things, for ex-
ample, reinforcing the superior status of a specific through the sla- gathering the souls of the dead.
In many ways he was like a great shaman (see
class, gender, or race.
SHA.\L\NISM^ magician, and poet. He was wor-
The w ord "worship" e.\cludes many impor- shiped with S.\CRIFICES. The name of the day
tant religious activities. But for religious people Wednesday is derived fi-om Wotan.
who interact with superhuman beings, worship

y

YAMA The god of death in Hindu mythology'. YIN-YANG THEORY A specific philosophi-

In tjie VEDA Yama is known as the first person cal school in China, but more broadly a manner
who died. In the PURANAS his mytholog)' takes of conceiving of the world in terms of the harmo-
on full form. There Yama rules the underworld nious interaction of complementary opposites.
from his palace Subhavati. He is also the judge of This article discusses the latter.

the dead. Prehistoric Chinese used various techniques
of divination that may have influenced the devel-
Artwork often shows Yama holding a noose opment of the yin-yang theor\'. In one technique,
and a mace. M)ths say that he has two four-eyed hot iron rods were applied to the shoulder
dogs, Syama and Sabala. The water buffalo is his blades of deer and tortoise shells. The cracks
vehicle; the crow and pigeon are his messengers.
Yama is also associated with the south, the direc- that resulted revealed how the forces of nature
tion of the dead.
were disposed at the time of the test. In another
YANTRA A sacred diagram in India. Hindus technique, diviners would cast sticks and notice
which sticks broke and which did not. Originally,
and Buddhists who practice TANTRISM use yan- though, yin and yang referred to the weather.
tras as objects of MEDITATION. Yin was a cloud-covered sky; yang was a clear,

In Tantrism yantras provide emblems of sunlit sky.
sakti, the divine, creative energy. They are two
dimensional diagrams, made up of lines, primary According to the developed yin-yang theon,-,
shapes, and arcs organized around a central point. the v\'orld results from the harmonious interac-
Yantras are associated with MANTRAS, sets of tion of opposites. Neither opposite can exist by
powerflil sounds. Large, elaborate yantras are also itself; for example, the word "black" would be
known as MANDALAS. meaningless without "white." Moreover, neither
opposite is ever encountered in pure form; and
Perhaps the most famous yantra is the Sri-
yantra. It consists of nine triangles of gradated Athe opposites are constandy intermingling.
size, arrayed around a central point. Five triangles
point downward; they symbolize the feminine well-ordered world, as opposed to chaos, results
power of sakti. Four triangles point upward; they
symbolize the masculine power of SIVA. The tri- when yin and yang intermingle harmoniously. An
angles are surrounded by concentric LOTUS pet- example would be the relationship between black
als, which are surrounded in turn by concentric and white in the words on this page.
circles. The whole complex is set within a more
or less square border. It symbolizes four walls It is possible to see the opposition between
with gates at the cardinal directions. yin and yang in a wide variety of contrasts: black
and white, blue and orange, cold and hot, moist
and dry, valley and mountain, earth and sky,
female and male, even and odd, passive and active,
receptive and aggressive, soft and rigid. It would
be wrong, however, to view good and E\TL as a

362

the interaction of ym and yang. Confiacianism is

—a "rigid" and active tradition yang. It empha-

sizes the careful observance of the rules of propri-

ety vvdthin the bounds of social relationship.

—Taoism is a softer, more passive tradition yin . It

emphasizes lack of deliberate intention and har-

mony with natural processes. Thus, the central
Taoist text, the Tao te ching, advises: "Know the

male, but keep to the way of the female" (1.28).

Yin-yang symbol. YOGA Literally, Sanskrit for yoke; by exten-

similar opposition; both yin and yang are good. sion, any of a number of spiritual disciplines and
Evil results from a disruption in their harmony.
religious paths in India, especially the "royal
As a way of ordering the world, the yin-yang yoga" of Patanjali. In its broadest usage, the term
theory is supplemented by the theory of the five "yoga" becomes virtually synonymous with relig-
elements (wu hsin^): wood, fire, earth, metal, and
water. For example, in classifying the cardinal ion. For example, the BHAGAVAD-GITA uses yoga
directions east is associated with wood, south
with fire, west with metal, north with water, and for several spiritual paths that are often said to
the center with earth. The five elements relate to define the options available to Hindus. It identi-
each other in se\eral ways. For example, they give fies jiiana-yoga, the yoga or path of insight,
rise to each other (for example, wood produces KARMA-yoga, the yoga or path of RITUAL and
fire); they also overcome each other (for example, ethical action, and BHAKTI-yoga, the yoga or path
water overcomes fire). of devoting oneself and one's actions to a god.

A common way to represent the yin-\ang Usually, however, yoga refers to any number
of different psychophysical exercises designed to
theory is as a circle divided in half by an S-shaped achieve some ultimate end, such as liberation
line, one side dark, the other light, but with a disk from continuous rebirth. Hatha-yoga is the yoga
of the opposite color in the thickest part of each most commonly practiced outside of India. Its
half The diagram represents the continuous in- focus is on maintaining various physical postures,
terpenetration ofyin and yang and their perpetual combined with breath control. Its goal is physical
admixture. Yin and yang can also be seen under- health and mental relaxation.
lying many Chinese cultural products, such as
paintings and drawings, gardens, and literary Tantric yoga is a set of meditative practices
works. characterized by a distinct set of ideas (see TAN-
TRISM). Practitioners of Tantric yoga conceive of
China's two major, indigenous religious tra- the energ>' of the universe as a serpent resting at
ditions, CONFUCIANISM and TAOISM, also reflect the base of the spine (KUND.ALINI). Through their
practices, the adept practitioners seek to awaken
this energ)' and steer it through the six C.AKRAS or
regions through which the spine passes. Ulti-
mately the aroused energy enters the cakra of the
skull, and a blissftil enlightenment ensues.

Yoga was systematized as a philosophical
school in the Yoga-sutras of Patanjali (probably
second century .\D.). The practices with which
Patanjali worked may be age-old. Engravings on
seals found at sites of the Indus Valley civilization

—

364 YOGA

( fl. 2500-1 500 B.C. ) seem to show a figure sitting extremely important, because Indian tradition
in a meditative posture (see INDUS VALLEY RE- thought that at this point the breath circulated
LIGION). In any case, Patanjali gave the royal throughout the body and animated it. The goal
yoga its ultimate form as a path with eight of breath-control is twofold: first, to regulate the
"limbs" or stages. breathing so that it is rhythmical, that is, so that
the three phases of breathing each take the same
The basic idea behind the royal yoga is con- amount of time; second, to prolong these equal
centration. The practitioner concentrates succes- phases, so that the retained breath can circulate as
sively on different elements of the personality,
calming them until they are at a state in which much as possible.
they require no attention. The process of con- When one's posture is stable and one's
centration moves progressively inward, until
the practitioner reaches the very core of his or breathing is rhythmic, one's sense of awareness of
one's surroundings is heightened. The next stage
her being. addresses these heightened senses. Using the
metaphor of a turde, Patanjali suggests that we
An extended metaphor helps make sense of must withdraw our senses fi"om the world. This

applying the term "yoking" to these practices. In Cdkutl.i, India, a >uung niysUc vuth his head
The self is envisioned as a passenger in a chariot buned in a sidewalk hole practices a form of yoga
running out of control. The driver of the chariot, while a curious crowd looks on. (Courtesy of
the intellect or ego (there is no good translation) Retiters/Corbis-Bcnmann.)
takes hold of the reins of the mind and uses it to
bring the chariot to a halt. Then the self may step
off and be in isolated purir\'.

The first two limbs of Patanjali's yoga yatna

—and niyama deal with what is most external to

the self; the way in which it acts in the world.

—These "restraints" and "observances" like not

injuring, not stealing, studying the SCRIPTURES,
and turning over the fruits of one's actions to

—GOD prepare the practitioner for the steps to

come. It is said that they must not be observed
simply in waking consciousness but in every form
of consciousness that a person experiences,
dreams included.

The next two limbs deal with the body:
posture [asana) and breath-control (prana-
yama). The stage of posture does not aim at
contorting the body into manelous shapes.
Rather, a practitioner should adopt a posture that
is stable and that can be maintained for a long
period of time with a minimum of discomfort. In
traditional India, where European-style chairs
were not used, the well-known LOTUS position
met these goals perfectly.

As concerns the act of breathing. Yoga theory

identifies at least three phases: inhaling, retaining

the breath, and exhaling. The second phase is

YOGA 365

involves more than simply closing one's eyes. pure self (ATMAN), without distinctions. This state,
Rather, one must learn how to turn one's senses known as samndhi, is the goal of yoga practice. It
on and oft, so that, for example, one can turn oft"
one's sight e\en though one's eyes are open. is equivalent to ultimate release (moksbn).

The goal of the sixth stage is to dissoK'e the The state of samadhi does not at first persist
mind. The practitioner learns to concentrate the indefinitely. Those who have attained samadhi
mind solely on a single point. He or she meditates but remain in the body are icnown as jivan-
on a M\NTR.\ (saying) or YANTR.^ (diagram) that mukta, liberated but still living (see jrVAN-
has been given by one's teacher, analyzing its MUKTI). They teach others who wish to achieve
constituent parts and the role of the mind in the same results.
conceiving the object.
When liberated persons die, there is no need
The seventh stage moves beyond the analyti-
cal mind to a continuous awareness of the object to cremate their bodies. Cremation signals puri-
of MEDITATION as a whole. At this stage practi- fication in preparation for rebirth, which the
tioners are said to receive special powers. An hberated do not experience. Indeed, it is ques-
example is the abilit\' to project a lotus, have it tionable whether one should describe these liber-
levitate in the air, and to sit upon it. Practitioners ated beings as being dead at all. Throughout their
are urged to tr\' these powers to test the qualif\' careers as teachers liberated beings go into medi-
of their meditation. tative states as a lesson to their students. In some
views, what we take as death may simply be a
Finally, practitioners enter a state in which
consciousness of a distinction between subject —prolonged lesson in breath-control a lesson in
and object disappears. VVTiat is ultimately left is
liberation that lasts an eternit\'. In any case, the
bodies of the jivanmuktas are buried, and their
tombs become places of PILGRIMAGE.

ZARATH U STRA ( first half of first millen- There are two major traditions of Zen. The
Soto school stresses zazen more. In the Soto
nium B.C.) The founder of ZORO.\STRL\XISM. tradition meditators sit around the perimeter of
As a historical personage, Zarathustra ( also known an enclosure, facing the outside wall. They adopt
as Zoroaster) remains shrouded in myster\'. He a comfortable posture with spine straight, shoul-
was Persian, but the time when he lived and his ders hanging, and the hands resting in the lap,
precise activities are known only vaguely. Scholars palms up and the tips of the thumbs touching.
generally date him sometime between 1000 and Ideally, the knees touch the floor and the feet rest,
500 B.C. His religious poems, known as Gnthas, soles up, on the opposite thighs. (Other leg posi-

provide the major ex idence for his teachings. tions are available for the less limber.) Practitio-
ners are encouraged to attend to their posture and
In contrast to the then dominant pohtheism,
Zarathustra attributed the creation of the world breathing. DOGEN, the founder of Soto, consid-
to a single being, Ahura Mazda, the "wise lord." ered zazen more than a means of achieving en-
lightenment. He considered just sitting, if done
He is attended by seven lesser spirits, the Amesha
Spentas. These in turn are opposed by EML spirits properly, to be enlightenment.
known as daevas. The world in which human
The other school of Zen, known as Rinzai,
beings live is the site of the struggle between these
two forces, but Zarathustra taught that in the end uses riddles called KO-\X as well as seated medita-
good would triumph and the current world tion. In the Rinzai tradition, meditators face the
would be destroyed by fire. interior of the room and thus each other. During
meditation, thev attend to their koan.
Iranian religion derived from the same heri-
tage as the VEDA in India. Prior to Zarathustra it ZEN BUDDHISM A variet\' of BUDDHISM
had focused, as Vedic religion cLd, on animal
sacrifice. Zarathustra may have eliminated the found especially in Japan. It attempts to recover
sacrifice of animals as defiling and therefore un- a person's "original mind" through MEDITA-
worthy of Ahura Mazda and replaced it with a TION. The word Zen is the Japanese version of
pure SACRIFICE of fire. At least that was later the Chinese word Ch'an, which in turn repro-
duces the Sanskrit word dhyana, "meditation."
Zoroastrian practice.

ZAZEN Seated MEDITATION in ZEN BUD- History

DHISM. Zen Buddhism cultivates an awareness of The "founder" or first patriarch of Zen was an
things as they are. Many activities can foster this Indian Buddhist named BODHIDELARMA. An ex-
awareness. The most specifically religious is sit- pert in a scripture known as the Lankavatara
ting in meditation. It is the Zen practice that Sutra, Bodhidharma was brought to China
people li\ing in North America are most likely to around the si.xth centun,' as part of a campaign to

encounter. Anurture Buddhism. stor\- from his life illustrates

366

ZEN BUDDHISM 367

the Zen emphasis on meditation. It tells how, In the 20th century, Zen spread to North
upon anixing in China, Bodhidhanna spent nine America and Europe, where it found devoted
years in meditation facing the wall of a cave. followers. An important early figure in this
movement was the lay writer D. T. Suzuki
Another important figure in early Ch'an was (1870-1966). In the second half of the 20di
Hui Neng (638-713). The Platform Sutra of the century, Japanese businesses found it helpftil for
their employees to attend retreats at Zen monas-
SLxth Patriarch tells how Hui N'eng defeated a
rival for the position of sixth patriarch. He did so teries.
in a contest to w rite a poem that most exhibited
the mind of enlightenment. Beliefs

For years the Ch'an school was divided be- It violates the spirit of Zen to talk about Zen
tween partisans of the two rival patriarchs. Even- beliefs. Zen believes that words, thought, and
reason always distort reality. They distort reality
tually Hui Neng's branch won out, but it, too, because they anempt to "grasp" it instead of
split. Its uvo forms were icnown in Chinese as simply observing and accepting it. Zen practice
helps one relinquish this mental grasping.
Lin-chi and Ts'ao-tung.
The experience of relinquishing or release is
Lin-chi used enigmatic riddles (in Japanese, known as satori. Satori is not a state of "no
KOAN) in the hopes of provoking a sudden en- thought," which is achieved by deliberately
lightenment. Ts'ao-tung cultivated a gradual en- forcing the mind to cease. It is simply the not-so-
lightenment through the practice of sitting in simple act of "not thinking," the recovering of
meditation without any purpose or goal (in Japa- one's original mind.
nese, ZAZEN). In the early 13th century two
monks brought these schools to Japan. Eisai re- Given these attitudes, Zen could hardly have
a set of beliefs or propositions to which its prac-
ceived training in Lin-chi, known in Japanese as titioners subscribe. Instead, Zen tries to use
Rinzai, while DOGEN recei\ed training in Ts'ao- words and ideas to subvert the way we ordinarily
tung, known in Japanese as Soto. In Japan both use words and ideas. One t\pical Zen strateg)' is
to pose a riddle that can have no solution. This is
schools flourished. the strateg)' of the koan. The most famous koan
reads, "Show me the sound of one hand clap-
During the Middle Ages the aristocratic-
Aping.' second Zen strategy is to write poetry
military classes who ruled Japan took a particular
that exhibits simplicit)' and a profound, aesthetic
interest in Zen. Warriors were especially fond of acceptance of things as they are. This is the strat-
the attitude of mind that Zen cultivated. As a egy of the haiku, such as Basho's famous poem:
result, Zen contributed to the strict martial ethic
known as bushido. Somewhat later, the great Zen "The old pond, ah! / A fi'og jumps in, / The
master Hakuin (1686-1769) s\stematizcd the
koan or riddles that Rinzai Zen uses. water's sound." Yet a third strategy is to tell

Eventually the influence of Zen extended to stories that somehow illustrate Zen mind. D. T.
many Japanese arts. That is because, according to Suzuki tells of a father who taught his son the
Zen, the original mind can be cultivated in any
human acrixity. Zen arts of swordsmanship and —family business thieving. He took his son out
archer)' recall the special relationship between
Zen and the military class. The poet Basho one night and, deceiving him, locked him in a
(1644—94) developed haiku, a type of poem now nobleman's safe. The son's creative mental effort
well-known in North America, as a means of in escaping from the locked safe is similar to the
cultivating Zen mind. Other prominent Zen arts efforts of a Zen practitioner in cultivating the
include gardening, especially waterless gardens of mind of Zen.
rock and gravel, the tea ceremony, Noh drama,
calligraphy, and flower arranging.

368 ZENDAVESTA

Pr,\ctices manage Zen temples. Besides meditating and
working, disciples in a monaster)' must also beg.
The most distinctive Zen practice is zazen, seated In keeping with the Buddha's insistence on a
meditation. The preferred position is to sit with middle way, they also enjoy periods of exuberance
both legs crossed, the soles of the feet pointed up, and relaxation.
the hands resting one on top of the other in the
lap, the rips of the thumbs gendy touching. In In North America and Europe most Zen
the Soto school, meditators face a wall and strive practitioners are laypersons rather than resident
for a mind devoid of purpose. In the Rinzai monks and nuns. Ideally they visit meditation
school, they face one another and contemplate centers on a regular basis, including weekend
koan. Zen practice supplements zazen with kiii- retreats of intense meditation and work. Tradi-
hin, a walking meditation that helps to circulate tionally, Zen has been male-oriented, but espe-
the blood. At intenals of, say, twice a year, com- cially in North America and Europe women, too,
munities hold intense periods of meditation, per- have assumed prominent roles.
haps a week long, known as sesshiii.
Significance
In the Rinzai school zazen is punctuated by
visits to one's master (roshi). These stricdy pri- .Although Zen is not the most popular form of
vate, one-on-one inteniews are a sort of mental Buddhism in Japan, its influence on Japanese life
wrestling match. The disciple must answer the has been profound. During the 20th centur\' Zen
assigned koan in a way that shows insight but that was also one of the most popular schools of
Buddhism in North America.
is spontaneous and unpremeditated. Upon hear-
ZENDAVESTA .\lso called simply the Av-
ing an inadequate answer, the master curtiy dis-
misses the disciple by ringing a bell. esta; the sacred collection of writings in
ZORO.^STRIANISM. The texts of the Zend Avesta
Although the above are Zen practices, Zen
does not recognize a hard and fast distincrion are very old. Some seem to go back to
between religious and non-religious practices. As Z.^RATHUSTRA himself But the written collec-
already noted, it is possible to realize the original tion did not come into existence until the mid-
mind through various arts. In addition, all Zen dle of the first millennium (1-1000) A.D. The
practitioners must work. Indeed, in monasteries Zend A\esta that we have today preserves only
kitchen work is said to be more important than
zazen. Zen mav also characterize a manner ot a portion of the original.
living. That way of living definitely does not The most important part of the Zend Avesta
involve incessantiy puzzling over koan.
is a collection of poems know n as Gathas. Many
Organization sav that Zarathustra himself wrote them. They
resemble the hymns of the Rig VED.A in India.
The basic relationship in Zen Buddhism is the
relationship between the master and the disciple. The Gathas mike up part of a section known
Stricdv speaking, masters are not teachers, be- as the Tasna, "Sacrifice." When a Zoroastrian
cause Zen cannot be taught. They are more like priest performs the SACRIFICE, he recites this
experienced guides. Masters put their disciples in
situations in which the disciples may spontane- section.
ouslv experience the mind of Zen.
Other sections of the Zend Avesta include the
Traditionally, master and disciples live in a Yashts, hymns to different ahitras (good spirits),
monastery or, less commonly, a convent. Nov- and the Vendidad, laws that someone who wishes
to remain pure must obsene.
ices, known as unsiii, include both those who are
pursuing satori and those who are training to ZEUS In Greek religion the most powerful of

the Olvmpian gods. Zeus seems to be descended

ZIONISM 369

Altar of the god Zeus. (Counesy ofthe Image Bank.) lenic festivaJ. According to tradition, the Olympic
games held e\ery four years in conjunction with
from a god of the sk)' whom Indo- Europeans this festival began in 776 B.C.

worshiped. At least his name is related to a San- Artwork showed Zeus as a bearded man, v\ith
skrit name for a sk\' god, Dyaus. Zeus's weapon bulging muscles and at times unclothed.
is the thunderbolt. He looks after those who
require special protection: suppliants and travel- ZIONISM A Jewish movement in the late 19th
ers. He also punishes those who break oaths.
and 20th centuries. Its goal was the founding of
According to Homer, Zeus is "the father a Jewish state.
of gods and men." His dwelling is on Mount
Olympus. There he presides over a somewhat In late 19th-centun,- Europe many judged the
dysfunctional divine family. Hesiod tells how worth of a people by whether or not the\' had their
Zeus came to power by deposing his father own nation-state. Theodor Herzl (1860-1904),
a newspaper reporter, wanted Jews to receive flill
Kronos. A few myths hint that Zeus himself may respect among Gentiles and escape the dangers of
European .\NTI SEMITISM. He argued that these
one day be deposed. Zeus's adventures in marital goals required Jews to ha\e their own state. In
infidelity became, quite literally, legendary'. 1897 he founded the World Zionist Congress to
work for a Jewish state.
In classical times (600-350 B.C ) Zeus was
the highest god of the Greek states. His major
sanctuar\' was at Olympia. There the Greeks cele-

brated their common identity' in a great Panhel-

a

370 ZOROASTRIANISM

Zionists overwhelmingly favored the ancient i\fter the conquests of Alexander the Great
homeland of Israel as the proper site for a Jewish (356-323 EC), Zoroastrianism adopted a ver\'
state. In the early 20th centur)' Zionists began low profile. Little was heard of it again until the
settling in Palestine, which was then part of the Sassanids came to power in Persia (ruled, AD.
224—636). At that time, Ahura Mazda became
Ottoman Empire. During World War I Great known as Ormazd; the evil spirit opposing him
became Ahriman. Several offshoots of Zoroastri-
Britain's Balfour Declaration promised that, if anism also appeared. These included MANI-
the Allies won, territory would be set aside for CH.AEISM, a once prominent religion whose
adherents were spread from the Adantic coasts of
a Jewish state. But it was only after World War Europe and North Africa all the way to the Pacific
II, the murder of millions of European Jews in coast of China.
the HOLOCAUST, and considerable Zionist agi-
tation that the state of Israel was established on Beginning about AD. 635 Muslim armies
May 14, 1948. invaded and then conquered Persia. The vast
majorirs' of Persians converted to Islam. As a
At first many Jews were sceptical of Zionism. result, perhaps onlv 25,000 Zoroastrians, known
The sceptics included ultraconservative Hasidic as Gabars, remain in Iran today. They are concen-
Jews as well as ver\' liberal Reform Jews. After the trated in the remote cities of Yazd and Kerman.
Holocaust, Zionism became common in all forms
of IUD.\ISM except HASIDISM. By AD 1000 Zoroastrians from Persia began

ZOROASTRIANISM A religion begun in settling in the western Indian region of Gujarat.
There they are known as PARSEES, because they
Iran by the prophet ZAR-\THUSTR.'\. Its followers came from Persia. For centuries the Parsees prac-
WORSHIP only one GOD, .\hura Mazda. Zoroas- ticed agriculture, but under British rule in the
trianism teaches that the v\orld is the site of a 19th centur)' they entered business, education,
struggle ber^veen good and F.\'IL. It also main- and the professions and became very influential.
tains that there will be a final judgment after In the 19th centur\' Parsees began to leave India
death. and settle in trading outposts of the British Em-
pire. In the period after Indian independence in
History 1947 significant Parsee communities were estab-
lished in London and Toronto.
No one knows when Zarathustra lived. Some
Beliefs
date him close to 1000 B.C Others date him in
the sixth century EC In any case, he lived in The sacred collection of writings of the Zoroas-
trians is known as the Avesta or ZEND AVESTA.
eastern Iran and reformed the traditional Iranian Among other writings it contains hymns by
Zarathustra known as Gathas. Because Zoroastri-
religion. He advocated the worship of Ahura anism has suffered throughout its history, only
part of the Avesta survives today.
Mazda (Lord of Wisdom) as the one true God.
The central figure of Zoroastrian worship is
—He also conceived of the traditional daevas Ahura Mazda, also known as Ormazd. He is
—word related to the English word "deity" not eternal and uncreated and is said to have seven
heavenly anendants, led by Spenta Mainyu,
Heas gods but as evil spirits. eliminated the sometimes translated as "Holy Spirit." Opposed
to Ahura Mazda is Angra Main^Ti, "Evil Spirit,"
SACRIFICES that the daevas originally received. also known as Ahriman.

Zoroastrianism flourished under the Persian
emperors known as the Achaemenids. The em-

perors Darius (ruled, 522^86 BC ) and Xerxes
(ruled, 486^65 EC ) made it the official religion
of their empire. The precise relations between

Zoroastrianism and the traditional Persian priests
known as MAGI are disputed.

ZOROASTRIANISM 371

Zoroastrians think of the world as a battle- The Zoroastrian practice best known to out-
ground between these u\o sides. The hea\enly
attendants otWhura Mazda have chosen to follow siders is probably the fianeral, although it is simply
Truth. Angra Main^u and the daevas have chosen one facet of a rich religious life. Zoroastrians
believe that it is wrong to pollute any of the four
to follow the Lie. Human beings are now called elements, earth, air, fire, or water. Therefore, they
ha\e traditionally not buried or cremated their
upon to choose Truth over the Lie, goodness dead. Instead, they have placed the corpses in
over evil.
specially constructed wells known as "towers of
Zoroastrians also teach that there will be a
final battle at the end of time. In that battle Ahura silence." Relatively quickl)', vultures eat the fleshy

Mazda will defeat Angra Main\-u once and for all. parts of the corpse. The bones are then dried by
They also teach that human beings are judged the sun and gathered into special holding areas or
after death. They must walk across the Bridge of
Recompense, which tra\erses an abyss. For a ossuaries.
deceased person who has followed the Truth, the
Bridge is wide. He or she crosses easih- and enters In the late 20th centuni' this practice has been
the presence of Ahura Mazda. But if the deceased the subject of some discussion within Zoroastrian
has followed the Lie, the Bridge becomes as
narrow as a razor's edge, and he or she falls into communities. Those who live in areas where there

the abyss. is not a large concentration of Zoroastrians find
it difficult to maintain the tradition. Some bury
the dead. Others ad\ocate electric cremation as a
viable altemati\e to exposure.

PRACTICES Organization

The most common symbol of Zoroastrianism is One can be a Zoroastrian only if one's father is a

fire, for Zoroastrians think that fire is supremely Zoroastrian. The community' does not accept
pure. Indeed, Zoroastrian temples are known as
converts. Parsees say that they had to agree not
fire temples. They contain fires that bum con-
to accept converts in order to gain permission to

tinuously in large metal vessels. Five times a day live in India.

priests tend the fires. The\' add fuel and recite A man may become a priest if his father was

prayers fi'om the A\esta. Hea priest. receives special instruction, tradition-

Observant Zoroastrians bathe ritually for ally from his father. He also undergoes special

purposes of purit\'. Their daily life is also divided RTTU.ALS to invest him with the office of the

into five different PR_\\T.R periods. The most priesthood.

Newimportant Zoroastrian festixal is Year's.

Known as No Ruz or "New Day," it is a joyous Significance

celebration held around the time of the spring The number of Zoroastrians in the world is not
large, perhaps 150,000. Nevertheless, Zoroastri-
equinox. anism is a major and ancient religion. In addition,
significant elements of JUDAISM, CHRISTIANm',
At the age of seven for Parsees, 10 for Gabars, and ISLAM may be of Zoroastrian origin. These
elements include beliefs in ANGELS, in the devil,
boys and girls become members of the commu- in a final judgment, and in a RESURRECTION of

nit>' through a ritual known as tiavjot, "new- the dead.

Onbirth." this occasion they receive a white shirt

and a sacred thread. They wear them for the rest

of their lives.



APPepDfX



copfcAL oucLfne

The outline that follows groups the entries in The Encyclopedia of World Religions under these main
headings. iAll headings are also entries, except for headings in square brackets [].)

[Ancient Religions] [East and Central Islam Sikhism
Buddhism .\sian Religions] Jainism The Study of
Christianit\- Judaism
[Comparative Topics] Hindui sm Religions
Confucianism [Indige nous and New Religions Taoism

Hybrid Religions] Shinto

[Ancient Religions 1 [Northern European Buddhism in America
Religions] Dalai Lama
Aztec Religion Celtic Religi on Diamond Sutra
Canaanite Religion Druids Dogen
Loki Four Noble Truths
Baal Thor Koan
Eg\ptian Religion VVotan Lotus Sutra
Mappo
Akhenaton Prehistoric Relig on Mara
Nichiren
Amon Prima! Religion Nirvana

Hathor Roman Religion Prajna

Ptah Juno Pure Land Buddhism
Gnosticism Jupiter Samsara
Greek Religion iMars Sangha
Venus Soka Gakkai
Adonis Zoroastrianism Stupa
Apollo Parsees Tara
Artemis Zarathustra Tathagata
Athena Zend Avesta Zazen
Zen Buddhism
Hermes BUDDHISM
Zeus Christlvnity
Inca Religion Amida
Indus Valley Religion Arhat Amish
Manichaeism Asoka Anglicanism
Maya Religion Anselm
Mesopotamian Religions Avalokites\ara
Gilgamesh Bardo Thodol Antichrist
Inanna Bodhidharma Apostles
Mysten- Religions Bodhisatt\'a
Mithra
Buddha, The

375

376 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD RELIGIONS

Aquinas, Thomas Lord's Prayer Architecture, Religious
Armenian Church Luther, Martin Art, Religious
Augustine of Hippo Lutheranism Asceticism
Baptism Magi Astrology
Baptist Churches Atheism
Mary Bible, Biblical Literature
Benedictines Mennonites Birth Rituals
CalWn, John Methodism Cannibalism and Religion
Canterbur\' Ordination Cats and Religion
Cardinals Papacy, The Celibacx'
Carnival
Cathedral Paul, the Apostie Charms and Amulets
Christ Pentecostal Christianity Children, Religion of
Christian Science Pentecostalism Church and State
Christianit)' in America Peter, the Apostie Clothing, Religious
Christmas Presb\terian and Reformed Clowns, Religious
Congregationalism Cosmogony
Coptic Church Churches Cosmologies
Creeds Protestantism Cults and Sects, Religious
Cross Protestantism in America Dance and Religion
Crusades Puritanism Death and Religion
Quakers Denomination
Dogma and Doctrine Reformation, Protestant De\-ils and Demons
Revelation, Book of Devotion, Devotionalism
Dominicans Diet and Religion
Easter Roman Catholicism Dreams and Religion
Eastern Orthodox Christianit\' Drugs and Religion
Eucharist Sacraments
Evangelical and Fundamental- Epics, Religious
Salvation Army Eschatolog)-
ist Christianir\' Seventh-Day Adventism
Eternit)-
Fall, The Shakers
Francis of Assisi and Francis- Trent, Council of Ethics and Religion
Trinip,'
cans Vatican Councils E\il
Gospels Virgin Birth
Grace Waldensians Evolution and Religion
Halloween Wesley, John Exorcism
Heresy
Incarnation [comparatfv^ Fairies
Topics] Faith
Inquisition, The
Abortion and Religion Family and Religion, The
Jesuits Afterlife in World Religions
Alchemy Fasting
Jesus Altar Fire and Religion
Joan of Arc Ancestor Veneration
Justification Angels Flood, The
King, Martin Luther, Jr. Animals and Religion Folk Religion
Apocal\ptic Literature Free Will and Determinism
Kingdom of God Archaeolog)- and Religion Games, Play, and Religion
I^ner-Day Saints Ghosts
God
Lent God, the Existence of

Liturg>'

TOPICAL OUTLINE 377

Goddesses Reincarnation HINDUISM
Healing, Religious Relics
Heaven Religious Experience Agni
Hell Resurrection Ahimsa
Heroes and Hero M\Ths Rites of Passage Atman
Holy, Idea of the Ritual A\atar
Homosexuality and Religion Sacrifice Banaras
Humanism, Religious Saints Bhagavad-Gita
Salvation Bhakti
Humor and Religion Satan Brahma
Science and Religion Brahman
Images, Icons, Idols in Scripture Brahmin
Religion Sexualin.' and Religion Cakras
Sin Caste, in Hinduism
Incense Soul, Concepts of Dharma, in Hinduism and
Initiation, Religious Suicide and Religion
Buddhism
Judgment ot the Dead Sun and Religion, The Durga
Kingship and Religion Symbolism, in Religion Gandhi, Mohandas
Lotus Taboo Ganesa
Magjc Ganges River
Marriage and Religion Theodiq,' Gunas
Martial Arts and Religion Theosophy Hindu Festivals
Manyrdom Visions Hinduism in ^\merica
Masks and Religion Water and Religion Indra
May Day Jivanmukti
Meditation Wisdom Literature Kabir
Messiah Karma
Witchcraft Krishna
Millenarianism Worship Krishnaism in the West
Miracles Kundalini
Missionaries Confucianism Lakshmi

Monks and Nuns Analects of Confucius Lila
Monotheism Confiicius
Mountains and Religion I Ching Mandala
Music and Religion Mantra
[East and Central
Mysticism Manu
aslan religions] Maya
M\th and Mythology
Bon Mudras
Nationalism, Religious
Nature and Religion China, Religions of Par\ati
Japanese Religion Prana
New Year Festivals Korean Religion Puja
Tibetan Religion Puranas
Occultism and Esotericism Vietnamese Religion
Persecution, Religious Yin-Yang Theory Rama, Ramayana
Pilgrimage Ramakrishna
Pohtheism Sadhu, Sadh\i
Prayer Sankara
Preaching
Priests and Priesthood
Prophecy-
Purification, Religious

378 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD RELIGIONS

Saraswati Mosque Joseph
Muezzin Judaism in America
Siva Muhammad Kabbalah
Tantrism Qur'an (Koran) LUith
Upanishads Micah
Salat Moses
Veda Shi'ite Islam Nehemiah
Vedanta Sufism
Vishnu Sunni Islam Noah
Vivekananda
Yama JAINISM Passover
Yantra Pharisees
Yoga Mahavira Purim
Rabbi, Rabbinate
[INDIGENOUS AND JUDAISM Rebekah
Hybrid Religions] Samaritans
.\aTon Sarah
African Religions Saul
African-American Religions Abraham
Australian Religions Adam Solomon
Cargo Cults Anti-Semitism Synagogue
Indigenous American Religions Baal Shem To\- Talmud
Babel, Tower of Ten Commandments
Ghost Dance Bar/Bat Mitz\ah Torah
Sweat Lodge Circumcision Zionism
Islam, Nation of Covenant
Kwanzaa New RELIGIONS
Daniel
Malcolm X David Baha'i
Pacific Ocean Religions
Day of Atonement Konkokyo
Santeria Dead Sea Scrolls
New Religions in the United
Shamanism Elijah
Spirit Possession Essenes States
Esther
Tricksters New Religions of Japan
Eve
Voodoo Exodus Rosicrucianism
Ezekiel Scientology
ISLAM Ezra Tenrikyo
Halakhah
Aga Khan Hanukkah Shinto
Hasidism
Allah Holocaust, The Amaterasu
Assassins Hosea
AyatoUah Isaac Ise

Druze, The Isaiah Izanagi and Izanami
Hadith Jacob Kami
Imam Jerusalem
Islam in America Jewish Festivals Sekhism
Jonah
Jihad Adi Granth
Kaaba Gobind Singh
Mecca, Pilgrimage to Nanak

The Study Eliade, Mircea TOPICAL OUTLINE 379
Feminism
OF Religions Frazer, James George Religion, Definition of
Freud, Sigmund Theolog\'
(see under Functionalism Totemism
Religion, Study of) Jung, Carl Gustav
LeviStrauss, Claude Weber, Max
Animism Malinowski, Bronislaw
Archeupe Marx, Karl Taoism
Dialogue Ono, Rudolf
Durkheim, Emile Chuang-tzu
Dynamism Lao-tzu
Tao te Ching

seLecceo BfBlfoQRAPby

Although the writers and editors of this Encyclopedia and the members of the editorial board are all
original scholars in their own right, the ideas in this book are not entirely original or new. The writers
have regularly consulted a variet\' of basic sources in preparing this volume, and we list them here.

Encyclopedias and Tlie Tlmtecn Principal Upanishads. Trans.

Dictionaries Robert E. Hume. London: Oxford Univer-

Crim, Keith, ed. Abingdon Dictionary of Living sit\' Press, 1971.
Religions. Nashville: Abingdon, 1981.
Electronic Texts
The Encyclopaedia Britan>iica, 14th ed. Chicago:
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1967, 1985 (15th The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. James
ed.).
Fieser ( http://\\\\"w.utm.edu/research/iep/).
Encyclopaedia Jiidaica. New York: Macmillan,
MSA- use Hadith Database; searchable. Com-
1972.
The Encyclopedia of Philosophy, ed. Paul S. Ed- plete collection of Sahih Biikhari and
Malik's Muwatta, partial collection of
wards. New York: Macmillan, 1967. Sahih Muslim and Sunan Abu-Dawud
(http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/reference/
Tlje Encyclopedia ofRclijjion, ed. Mircea Eliade et searchhadith.html).
Translations of the Qur'an; indexed, searchable.
al. New York: Macmillan, 1987. (http://www.usc.edu/dept/MSA/quran/).

HarperCollins Dictionary of Religion, ed. General Surveys
Jonathan Z. Smith et al. San Francisco: Har-
perSanFrancisco, 1995. Capps, Walter H. Ways of Understanding Relict-

Oxford Classical Dictionary^ 2nd ed., ed. N. G. L. ion. New York: Macmillan, 1972.

Hammond and H. H. Scullard. Oxford: Eliade, Mircea. Cosmos and Histoiy. New York:

Clarendon Press, 1970. Harper Torchbooks, 1959.

Electronic Texts A. From Primitives to Zen: Thematic

The New Grolier Multimedia Encyclopedia. Re- NewSourcebook in the History of Religions.

lease 6. Grolier, 1993. York: Harper, 1978.
Microsoft Encarta. Microsoft Corporation, 1995.
. Tlje Sacred and the Profane. New York:
Sacred Texts
Harper Torchbooks, 1961.
New Oxford Annotated Bible, New Revised
Ellwood, Robert, ed. Introducin/t Religion: From
Standard Version, ed. Bruce M. Metzger and
Roland E. Murphy. New York: Oxford Uni- Inside and Outside. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.:
versity Press, 1991.
Prentice Hall, 1993.

. Mant Peoples, Many Faiths: An Introduc-

tion to the Religious Life of Humankind, 5th
ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall,

1996.

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HarperSanFrancisco, 1993. Aion: Historical Introduction, 3rd ed.

Smith, Huston. Tlje Religions ofMan. New York: Belmont, Calif: Wadsworth, 1982.

Harper and Row, 1958. Rudolph, Kurt. Gnosis: The Nature and History of
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Carrasco, Da\'id. Religions of Mesoamerica: Cos-
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382 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD RELIGIONS

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nell L'niversitv' Press, 1977.

roDex

This index is designed to be used in conjunction with the many cross-references within the A-to-Z
entries. The main A-to-Z entries are indicated b\' boldface page references. The general subjects are
subdi\ided by the A-to-Z entries. Italicized page references indicate illustrations.

.^aron 1, 240 Amos 46, 281 Athena31, Ji, 142. 145
abolitionists 3, 282 amulets and charms 67 Athirat (Ashcrah) 60
aborigines 33-34 .Anabaptists 40, 76, 222, 228, 252, 293 atman 32, 348, 350
abortion and religion 1, 7, 42. 283 Analects of Confiicius 11-12, 69, 80, 82, atonement see sahation
.\brahinl (Ibrahim) 2, 78, 175, 309 Augsburg Confession 214
.Abu Bakr 320 208 Augustine of Canterbury 43—44
.^u Hamfah 330 .Anas, .Malik ibn 330 Augustine of Hippo 17, 32-33, 60, 120,
.Abulalja, Abraham 200 .Anat 60. 61
actjiTsm, Protestant 282-283 ancestor veneration 12 129, 198. 268. 324
Acts, book of 47, 124,271 angeU 12-14. 178 Aurclian (Roman emperor) 75
.Anglicanism 14-15, 62. 210, 278, 279 .Australian rebgions 33-34, 85. 245
ariherents to all religions worldwide. .Autobindo. Sri 161
adherents worldwide ix .Avalokitcs\'ara 34-35, 50
.\di Granth 2-3, 252. 323 animals and religion 15, 160, 308-309 see avatar 35, 352
.Adonis 3, 147 Avesu 368. 370
Advaita Vedanta 225, 313, 350. 353 also prehistoric rebgion Avolokitessara 143
Advent 73 .Animism 15-16, 104 ayatoUah (ayatullah) 35, 321
virncii (Virgil 110.351 anointing of the sick 305. 307 Ayurveda 153, 154
.Anouilh. Jean 62 Aztec reUgion 35-36, 51. 125. 143,
I .Anselm 16,138. 140
.Anthony. Susan B- 287 308-309
.Aincan-Amencan religions 3—4, 205. 231
.African religions 4-5, 152, 245, 246 .Antichrist 1 B
Afro-Brazilian religions «r African-American Antichrist, The ( Nietzsche) 17
Baal 37, 60
religions anii Semitism 17-19, 18, 180, I9i set also Baal Shem Tov 37, 151
Holocaust, the Babel, tower of 37-38
afterlife 5-6 Babylonian religion see Mcsopoiamian rclig-
Against the Jews and Their LUs (Luther } 18 .Aphrodite j^r Venus (.Aphrodite)
Aga Khan 6-7, 169,321 .Apocalyptic literature 19-21, 47. 91 Bach, Johaim Sebastian 246
Agni 7, 123 .Apocnpha 45 Bachofen, J J 141
agricultural and pastoral sodedcs 15, 277 .A(X)Uo21, 66. 147. 152, 157 Baha-i 38, 121,236,280
ahimsa7, 15. 101.183 Apology I Plato 197
.Ahura .Mazda 366. 370, 371 adherents woridwide ix
.Ainu of northern Japan 5 i Baha'ullah 38
Akheruion 7
.Akiba ben Joseph, Rabbi 222 aposdes 21 Bakker. Jim and Tammy 269
.Albcrtus .Magnus 102 .Aposdes' Creed 14, 86 Banaras. India 39, 272
.Albigensians 156 apostolic succession 15. 279 baptism 39, 39-W, 48-49, 73, 83, 136,
alchemy 7-8 .Aquinas. Thomas 16. 17.21-22, 102. 141.
alcohol consumpnon 100. 101. 282 173, 247, 260, 282, 301, 305, 307
.Alexander the Great 370 307. 324 Baptist churches 3, 40-i2, 278, 286
.Ali 222. 320 archaeology and religion 22-24, 48, 60. 170
.AUahS archetype 24, 197 separation of church and state 40, 42.
altars 8, 147 architecture, religious 24-26 76. 252
.Amar Das 2 arhat 26
.Amaterasu 8, 142 .Aristodc 21. 145 bar/bat mitzvah 42-^3, 173, 195, 301
American Anthropologist, The 23 Bardo Thodol ( Tibetan "Book of the
.Amida 8-9, 145. 284 .Arjan2
Amidism sec Pure Land Buddhism .Armenian Church 26, 76, 106 Dead")43, 93, 294
Amish 9-11, 10, 76. 78, 245 .Arminius. Jacobus 278 Ear Kokhba 333
Amitabha 284 an. reUgious 15, 27-28, 197, 224 Barth, Kari 278. 342
Amman. Jakob 9 .Artemis 28, 147 Basilides 136
Amon (Amun) 11 Becket 62
1 of Christ 190 Bcckct, St. Thomas 62
128-29, 111 Beethoven. Ludwig van 246
Asoka 29, 276 Benares. India 39
assassms 29-30, 169,321 Benedictines 43—44, 237
assumption, the 224 Bergcr. Peter 130-131
.Astane 142. 159
astrology 30, 30-31
Athanasian Creed 86
atheism ix, 31

383

384 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD RELIGIONS

Bcnuni, Giovanni 65 Theravada see Theravada Buddhism s43-t4,71,72, 74, 188,
Bhagavad-Gita 35, 44, 45, 159, 151, 201, Tibetan «f Tibetan Buddhism 204, 231, 235, 236, 254, 278
Zen see Zen Buddhism New Testament see Bible (biblical lit-
204. 284. 3.50. 352 al-Bukhan 149 erature). New Testament
Bhakn 44-4S, 56, 220, 227, 245-246 Bunjiro, Kavvate (Konko Daijin) 203 Christian Reformed Church 114
Bhakdvcdanta Swami Prabhupada. A- C. Burkcn, Walter 309 Christian Science 255. 255
Burton, Richard 226 Christian Science Monitor 71
162. 205 Christmas 73, 75-76, 121
Bible ( bibUcal Utcraturc ) 45-48 CaiUois, Roger 132 Chry^ostom, John 17
Caitanj-a 245 Chuang-tzu 69, 76, 208, 337
Hcbrov Bibie (Old Testament) cakras 59 church and state 40, 42, 76-78, 228, 252
45-47, 46,92, 120, 137, 155, Calvert, CccU 304 churches. Christian 25-25
230 Call-in, John 33, 59, 59-60, 120, 129, 234, Church of Christ 255
Church of England 14, 285-285, 293
interpretation of 48 245, 268, 277, 278, 279, 286,292-293 Church of Religious Science 255, 255
Ne«- Testament 47-18, 73, 137, Calvinism 50, 86-87, 129, 245, 278, 281, Cicero 234, 296
circumcision 48, 78, 174, 195, 301
143.233.267 292-293, 308, 357 City of God, The (Augustine) 33
BillofRights7. 309 CampbeU, Joseph 142, 157, 158, 197 cii-ii rights movement 283
bimah 332 Canaanite religion 37, 60-61, 143 CUnlon, Bill 42
birth rimals 48-19 Caiirfi*(Voltau-e)341 clitorideaomy 78, 122, 174
Candomble 3 clothing, rehgious 78-79
bishops 15 cannibalism and religion 61-62 clowns, rebgious 79, 167
al-Bistami 328 Canterbury' 62 confession of sin (penance) 305, 307
Black Death 18 Corr/rcrwir (Augustine) 33
Bhci Elk Speaks 21 archbishop of 14, 16. 52, 264 confinnadon 173, 305. 307
Black Muslims set Nation of Canterbury Tales {Chuicctj 62 Confucianism 6, 12, 69, 70, 79-81, 82, 90,
Cao Dai 351 155, 168,221,310,329,337,351,353
Blavatsb-. Helena P 57. 343 cardinals 62, 305 adherents worldwide ix
Bodhidhaima ( Diruma I 49, 222, 366 cargo cults 62-63, 232, 254. 264 Confiicius 59, 79-80. 81-82, 168, 336
Bodhisama 49-50 Cami\^ 63, 79 Analects 11-12, 69, 80, 82, 208
Bon 50, 344-345 Caro, Joseph 150 Congregationalism 74, 82-83, 278, 282,
Bonaventure 128 CarroU.John 188.304 285
Bonheoffcr. Dietrich 138-139 Caner. limmv 114 Conservative Judaism 194, 196, 291
Boniface \T1 (pope) 265 caste, in Hinduism 63-64, 133, 285 Constantine (Roman emperor) 40, 71
Bon-pos 50 cathedral 64-65 Consnturion, US. 76-77, 100, 309
Book ofClmn^cs 69 cats and religion 65 Copernicus 315
Book of Common Prayer 14 cave paintings 276. 277 Coptic Church 83, 106
Book of History 69 ceUbacy 65-66, 221, 280. 318 Cortes, Hcman 36
Book ofMormon 14, 208. 209 Celtic religion 66-67 cosmogony 83-84
Book of Poem b9 Chalcedon. Council of 171, 190, 265 cosmologies 84-85
Book of Rites 69 Charlemagne. Emperor 234, 304 CouncU of Chalcedon 171, 190, 265
Booth. William 311 charms and amulets 67 Council of Nicaca 171, 190
Bosch, Hieronjinus 156, 197 Chaucer, Gcot&e>' 62 Council of Trent 213, 293, 304, 346
Brahma 50 children, rehgion of 67-68 Counter- Reformation 292, 293, 304
Brahman 50-51, 124, 313, 348, 350 China. reUgions of lv. 12, 68-70, 79-81, covenant 85-86, 260
Brahmin ( Brahman ) 51-52, 308 -creation saencc" 84
Brahms. Johannes 246 171, 297 see also individual religions, creeds 7i, 86
Brethren 228. 356-357 e.jf- Buddhism; Confucianism cross 86-87
Brunner, Emil 278. 342 chortens, see stupas Crusades 18, 86. 87-88, 188
Bnmo, Giordano 164 chrismarion, see confirmation cults and secu. rcUgiaus 88, 255
Buddha 211-212. 233 Christ 70, 70. 230, 329
Buddha, the 52-54, 53, 124, 157 Chnstianitv- 6, 13,70,71-74,94, 101, 113, D
Buddhism 6. 14. 15, 26, 27. 29, 49. 54-57, 116, 120, 121, 122. 143. 145. 154.
155, 156, 165. 171. 173, 197,202, dagobas see stupas
55,95.97-98.99.111, 123-124, 210. 221. 222. 233. 234. 237.238. Daiai Lama 58, 89, S9, 344, 345
126-127, 129. 153. 154, 156, 165, 247, 248, 254, 260, 267. 280. 296, Dalits (untouchables) 63, 64
169.173-174. 196.200,208,211, 297, 299, 324, 327, 329, 340, 341, dance and religion 89-90, 90
219, 220, 221, 227, 232. 234, 237. 342, 35 1 , 357 see also specifle branches, Daniel 90-91
238, 239, 242, 245. 248, 254, 258, writings, figures, beliefs, and practices of Daniel, book of 19. 20, 90, 9 1 , 299
261, 262, 273, 280, 294, 309, 310, Christianity Dante Ahghieri 156
311, 312-313, 315, 316, 325, 327. Dao de jing sec Tao te ching
329, 334-336. 337, 339, 341, 342. 351 adherents worldwide ix Darius ( Persian emperor) 370
in America 74-75 Daruma see Bodhidharma
see also speeifie figures, writings, beliefs, anti-Semitism and 17-18 Daruin. Charles 116-117, 139,315
David 91, 186,245
and praetiees of Buddhism m Egypt 108 Day of Atonement 91, 121, 122, 191, 194
adherents worldwide ix Day of Judgment 197
in America 57-58 history of 71-72
in China 69-70 in Japan 186
dietar\' rules 100. 101 in Korea 204
history' of 54-55
in Japan 101, 120, 184, 186,211,
220, 297
in Korea 204
Maha\'ana sec Mahayana Buddhism
Pure Land see Pure Land Buddhism

INDEX 385

Dead Sea Scrolls 91-92 ancient, religion of 5. 7. 11. 15. filialplety 12, 121
death and religion 92-94, 93, 195, 301 107-109, lOS, 143, 154, 169, fire and religion 123-124
deists 295 196-97
dc las Casas, Banolomc 102 Flood, die 23. 124-125, 259. 355
Delphi, oracle at 21 Coptic Church in 83 folk rehgion 125-126
demons and devils 95-96, 95 El 60, 61
denomination 94-95 Ekmcntan Forms of rise Religious Life (Durk- Fosdick, Harry Emerson 41
determinism and free wtJI 129-130, 341 Four Noble Truths 54, 1 19. 126-127
de\-ils and demons 95-96, 95 heim) 104 Fox, George 287
dc\'otion, do-orionaiism 97 Eleusinian mmcries 247
dharma 29 Eliade, Mircea 8, 24, 109-110, 125, 152, Fra .tagelico 102

Buddhist 97-98 164, 173,295,297 Franciscans 127, 128, 237
Hindu 97 Eliczcr, Israel ben (Baal Shem Tov) 37, 151 Francis de Sales 227
Dhikr 328-329 Elijah 110, 281 Francis of .teisi 76. 127-128, 12S
tiialogue 98 Elijah Muhammad 4, 179, 180, 181. 218 Frazcr. James George 3. 16. 99, 1 17.
Diamond Sutia 99, 102 Eliot, T. S. 62, 129
"Diamond Vehicle" (Vajravana) 334 Elizabeth 1 (queen of England) 14, 293 128-129,130.216.346
Diana 99 Emerson, Ralph Waldo 57, 161 free will and determinism 129-130, 341
Di«nrt«:/(Hubbard) 316 Enlightenment 76, 213, 296, 299 Freud. Sigmund 16. 130, 139, 197, 218
diet and leligion 99-101, 285 Enoch 20
Din Rumi, Jalal al- 328 Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding 297, 333, 346
disciples set aposdes
Disciples of Christ 255 (Hume) 234 Friends. Sodetv- oisee Quakers
dispensadonalism 2^ epics, rehgious 110 luncrionalism 130-131, 218
Divali (Dipa\-ali) lesnval 158, 207 Epiphany 73 Fundamentalist Christianitv 20. 41. 48, 84
divination 170
Di\ine, Father 4 Episcopal Church 3, 14, 122 113,115,117
Dhinc Science 255 Episcopal model 74, 82
doctrine and dogma 101 Erasmus 129, 346 Gabriel, archangel 13, 13
Dodds, E. R. 324-325 Esau 182, 291, 292 Galileo 164
Dogen 101, 366 eschatolog)- 110-111
dogma and doctrine 101 esotcridsm and occultism 261 games, play, and reUgion 132
Dome of die Rock 188 Essenes92, 111-112, 236 Gandhi, Alohandas K. 44, 64, 122,
Dommicans 101-102, 174, 237, 275 Esther 112, 285
Donation of Conslantine 265 etemit>- 112 132-134, 133. 159. 161. 183, 201
Donatists 33 ethics and religion 112-113 Ganesa(Gan3pti) 15,44,134, 134,233
Doon offeruption, 7»r(Huile>') 103 Euchaiist60, 73, 83, 107, 113, 113,121 Ganges River 134-135, 142, 272, 301
dreaming in Australian religions 34 Garvey, Marcus 4
dreams and religion 102 189, 247. 282, 292, 305, 307, 309 Gathas 368
drugs and reUgion 102-103 Euhemertis 296
Druids 66-67, 103-104 Euripides 28 Geertz. Clifford 233
Dmze, the 104 EvangeHcal Christianity 41, 113-115 al-GhazaU 328
Durga 104, 143 Evangelical Lutheran Church 113, 165 Ghost Dance 34. 135, 172
Durkheim, Emile 16, 104, 130, 139, 218 ghosts 135
295, 297, 333, 346 214.215 GUgamesh 124. 135
Dussehra 158 Eve 115 Gimbutas. Marija 23, 143
Dutch Reformed Church 277, 278 evil 33.96, 115-116 Guard, Rene 309
d>-namism 16, 104-105 evolution and religion 16. 116-117
existence of God 16. 22, 139-141, 296 Gnosticism 19-20, 115, 116, 120,
Easter 73. 106, 239 Exodus 117-118, 240,266, 311 136-137, 155, 156, 223, 253-254,
Eastern Orthodox Chrisnanit)- 27, exorcism96, 118, 328 261.311.341,357
Ezekielll8,281,299
106-107, 113, 122, 143, 145, 169. Ezra 118, 254 Gobind Singh 2, 137-138, 323
171, 210, 224. 236, 237, 262. 279. God 138-139
280, 307-308. 309. 310 fiines 119
faith 119 existence of 16. 22. 139-141, 296
adherents worldwide Lx Fall, the 119-120 goddesses 141-143, 277 see also individual
the Great Schism 71, 265
in the United Sutes 75 Falwell, Icrry 42, 115 goddesses
Ecdcsiastes 357, 358 Fama Fratemitatts 306
Ecclcsiasbcus 357 family and religion 120-121 Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von 137
Eckhardt. Meister 102 Fard. Wallace D. 4. 179-180, 181 GoUen Bough, TSr (Frazerl 3. 99. 128. 130
ecumenical councils 73 Farrakhan, Louis 180 Good Fnday 73
ecimicnical movement 72. 282 fasting 3B, 121-122 see also Diet and leUgio
Edwards. Jonathan 83 fatwas 321 gospel music 3
Egypt i€t also individualgods and^oddesia Faure. Gabriel 246
Fear and Tremhling ( Kierkegaard) 2 gospels 47. 143-144, 1 89 see also mdivid-
feminism 122-123, iZ3,210 ualgospels
festivals see also specific festivals
government and religion see Church and
Hindu 158-159, 207
Jewish 191-192, 194 grace 145
New Year 257
Feuerbach, Ludwig 139 Graham. Billy 42. 114

Grand Shrine of Ise 8

Greek religion 143, 145-148, 169, 308
map 146

Gregorian chants 246

Gregory I (pope 265, 304
I

Gregorv- \1 (pope) 265

Griinewald, Slatthias 8

guardian angels 13

gunas 148

Guru Granth, see\di Granth

386 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD RELIGIONS

H Honen 184,220,284 s 235, 236
Nation oisec Nation of
Hadith 149-150, 177,321 Hoover, Herbert 287
Hagia Sophia 64 pUlars of 178-179
haiku 367 Horus 166 Shi'ite see Shi'ite Islam
Haitian voodoo sec Voodoo Sunni see Sunni Islam
Hoseal66, 281 Israel 19, 164, 188, 194, 195, 290, 370 j
Hajj see Mecca, pilgrimage to
Hakum 203, 367 AHouse for Mr. Biswas, Naipaul) 162 Independence Day 191
Halakhah 150,290 Izanagi and Izanami 181
{
al Halla|314
HaUowecn65, 150,224 Hsun Tzu 69
Haman 112,285
Hanbal, Ahmad ibn 330 Hubbard, L, Ron 316
Handel, Georg Fnednch 246
Hamfah,Abu"330 Hui Neng 367
Hanukkah 150-151, 192, 195
Hare Knshna movement 45, 162, 205 Huitzilopochtli 36
Harris, loci Chandler 347
Hasidism 37, 90, 151, 164, 196, 200, 310, humanism, rehgious 48, 166-167, 297

370 Hume, David 117,234,296
Lubavitch community 151, 231
humor and religion 167
Hathor 151-152
Hawaiian religion, see Pacific Ocean religions Hus, John 164 Jacob 2, 182,291-292
Havdn, Franz Joseph 246 Husayn (grandson of Muhammad I 222, 321
healing, reUgious 4-5, 124, 126, 152-154,
Hutchinson, Anne 286 Jaimsm7, 15,99, 101, 121-122, 129, 153,
iSJ, 233,319 155, 156, 174, 182-183, 182, 196,
heaven 5, 6, 154-155 Huxley, .•Mdous 103, 162
heU5, 6, 155-156
Helw\s, Thomas 41 200, 207, 217, 236, 237, 244-245,
Henrv.CarIF, H, 114
Henry Vlll (king of England) 14, 62, 285 309, 311, 313, 325, 329, 334, 341 see
Hera 142, 147 also specific figures, writinjjs, beliefs, and
heresy 76, 156
Hermes 147, 156-157 Ibrahim jfc Abraham (Ibrahim) practices ofjainism
Herod(Roman kingofjudea) 187, 189 /CAi>i/7 69, 80, 168
heroes and hero myths 157-158 icons see images, icons, and idols in religion adherents worldwide ix
Herzl, Theodor 369 Idea of the Holy. The (Otto) 164, 262
Hesiod 145 idols see images, icons, and idols ui rchgion James, William 282
Hildegard of Bingcn 44 /;i«<<(Homerl28, 110, 152
Hinduism 6, 12,'l4, 15,27,44-45,48, images, icons, and idols in religion 107, Janmashtami 205

50-52, 89-90, 93, 95, 97, 99, 1 1 1, 168-169 Japanese reUgion 183-186, 185, 256-257,
121, 122, 123, 129, 143, 153, 154, unam 35, 169, 240, 241. 275
156, 159-161, 160. 165, 169, 173, immaculate conception 224 297 see also individual religions, e.g. Bud-
192, 196,200,207,210,211,219, Inannal42, 169-170, 229
220, 22 1 , 224, 236, 238, 239, 242, Inan 318 dhism; Shinto
245-246, 254, 261, 272, 273, 280, Inca religion 143,170-171
283, 291, 294, 297, 301, 302, jatis 64
309-310, 311, 312-313, 325, 327, 171
334-336, 341, 348, 349-350, 362 see incense 171 ].B. (play) 341
also speetfie fyiires, writings, beliefs, and indigenous American religions 153,
Jeiferson, Thomas 295
practices of Hittdtiism 171-172, 224-225, 224, 245, 351 see
adherents worldwide ix also Aztec religion; Inca religion; Maya Jehovah's Witnesses 154, 233
in Amcnca 161-162 religion; Native Americans
eastern 63-64, 133,285 Indra 172, 205 Jensen, Adolf 309
dietary rules 100 Indus Valley reUgjon 172-173
festivals 158-159, 207 /«/iTOO(Dante) 156 Jeremiah 281
imtiation, religious 5, 34, 173-174, 263,
history of 159 Jerusalem 186-188, 187, 171,172
Vedanta sec Vcdanta .301
Jcsuitsl88, 237, 293,304
Hinduism Inquisition, the 18, 101, 174-175, 192
HoaHoa351 btslittites of the Christian Relijjion (Calvin) Jesus 70, 71, 138, 152, 154, 171, 187,
Hob 167,205 189-190, 233, 299-300, 347, 351-352
Holocaust, the 19, 151, 162-164, 194, 341 60
International StKicty for Krishna Con,scious- Jewish festivals 191-192, 194 see also indi-
European Jews killed in, by countr\'
ness(ISKCON) 162,205 vidualfestivals, e.g. Passover; Shavuot
163 Isaac 2, 175, 291-292, 309
Yomha-Shoah 191, 195 Isaiah 20, 175, 175-176, 230, 281, 352 Jews see Judaism
Holy, idea of the 164-165 Ise 176
jihad 192
Homer 110, 145, 147,157,351 Isenhcim altarpiece 8
ualityand religion 165-166 Ishmael (Ismail) 2, 175 jjivanmukti 192
Ishtar 142, 169
Isis 108. 142, 166, 247 Joan of Arc 164,192,252
Islam 8, 13,28,48,78,94,96,116, 121,
Job, book of 357, 358
122, 129-1.30, 143, 149-150, 152, Jodo Shinshu sec Pure Land Buddhism
155, 156, 165, 169, 174, 176-179, Jodoshu sec Pure Land Buddhism
192, 197,221,222,234,238,239,
240-244, 246, 248, 254, 260, 280, Johannan ben Zachai 47
288-289, 297, 299, 309, 310-311,
316, 327, 329, 341, 342 see also specific John, gospel of 47, 144, 223 see also Bible
figures, beliefs, and practices of Islam
New{biblical literature). Testament
adherents worldwide ix
in America 180-181 John of Capistrano 128
dietary restrictions 99, 285
history of 176-177 John Paul II (pope) 264, 265
map 178
John the Baptist 136

John XXIII (pope) 266

Jonah 193

Josei, Toda 326

Joseph 193

Joseph (son of Isaac) 102

Joseph (spouse of Mary) 102. 189

Josephus 271

Judah ha-Nasi 333
Judaism 5-6, 12, 13, 28, 40, 48, 78, 93-94,

96, 116,121, 122, 124, 143, 154,
155-156, 165, 169, 174, 193-195,

199-200, 221, 222, 227. 233. 234.

236, 238, 239, 245, 246, 248. 254.
260, 261, 280, 290-291. 297, 299,

309, 311, 315, 324, 327, 329,
333-334, 340, 341, 342, 358 see also

INDEX 387

specific figures, writin£i, beliefs, and prac- Kramrisch, Stella 8 Malcolm X 4, 180, 181, 217-218, 2W. 227
tices ofJudaism Krishna 27, 44, 45, 204-205, 210
Krishnaism in the West 45, 162, 205 Malinowski, Bromslaw 129, 130,218-219
adherents worldwide ix Kuan-\Tn see Avalokitcsvara
Airican Americans and 4 kundalini 205 mana 105,263,333
in Amenca 195-196 Kushner, Rabbi Harold 341
anri-Scmitism 17-19, IS, 180, 194 Kwanzaa 4, 205-206 Manchaeism 219-220
bar/bat mitzvah 42-43, 173, 195,
Lakshmi 143,207,211 Mandacans 39-40, 136
301 Lama 1 Lamaism ) sec Dalai Lama; Tibetan re-
Conservative 194, 195, 291 adherents worldwide ix
dietai>- laws 99-101 Lamarck, lean Baptiste 117
Lao-Tzu 207-208, 337 rtrc also Tao te ching mandala 24, 219, 335
festivals sec Jevnsh festivals last rites 94
Halakhah 150, 290 Laner-Dav Saints, Church of Jesus Christ of Mani 136.219,281
Hasidism see Hasidism
Hebren Bible sec Bible ( biblical litera- 13-14, 208-210, 255, 256, 353 Manichacism 33,99, 100. 120. 136,
Lee, Ann 318
nirc). Old Testament (Hebrew Uibni2,G, W. 341 219-220, 253,280, 311. 370
Lent73, 79, 121,122,210
Bible Leo 1, Pope 265 Manjusri 50
1 "Lener from Birmingham Jail" 201-202
Levi-Strauss, Claude 210, 297-298, 346 Man, Play, and &n.»«(Callois) 132
hrstorv' of 193-194 liberation theology 343
the Holocaust 19, 151, 162-164, Lila210 mano-as 220, 261,335
Lilith 96, 210
163, 341 lingam 158, 326 Mantravana ( "Mantra Vehicle" ) 334
messiahin 19,91, 151, 175,230,231 Uturgi- 210-211 Manu 124, 220
Orthodox 1, 101, 122, IS; 194, Loki211
Lombard, Peter 307 Maon religion see Pacific Ocean religions
196,285 Long, Charles H. 84
Reconstructionism 196, 291 lord of the animals see prehistoric religion mappo 120, 220
Reform 122, 151, 194, 196,299, 370 Lord's Pravcr 211
Sabbath 121,124,194 lotus 211 Mara 95, 220-221
IudasIscanot21 Lotus Sutra 211-212, 258
judgment of the dead 178, 196-197 Loyola, Ignatius 175, 188, 227 Marcion47, 136, 137
Jung, Carl Gustav 8, 24, 102, 137, 141, Lubavitch communit>' 151, 231
197, 234, 297 Lucifer 13 Marett, R,R. 16. 104, 117
Juno 197-198 Luci s296
Jupiter 11,66, 198 Luke, gospel of 47, 144. 189, 223, Mark, gospel of 47, 144, 223, 271 see also
justification 198,212,268
270-271 see also Bible (bibUcal Utera- NewBible (biblical literature). Testa-
K turc). New Testament
Luria. Isaac 199-200 marriage and religion 221, 305, 307
Kaaba 2, 199, 226, 227, 243 Luther, Martin 18,33,60,86,113,129, Mars 65, 221-222
Kabbalah 199-200, 227, 261 198, 212-213, 234, 245, 268, 275, martial arts and rehgion 222, 339
Kabir 200 278,279,281,292.357 MartiT, Justin 86
Kaddish 275 Lutheran Church-Missouri Svnod 114, 214, martyTdom 222
Kah 142, 143 215 Martyr's Mirror, Thetvin Braght)222
kami 200, 322 Lutheranism 213-215, 245, 292, 308 Marx', Karl 131, 139, 222-223, 297
Kane, P, V. 158 Mary 142, 189, 223-224, 223, 233-234,
Kanjur 344 M
Kannon see Avalokitcsvara 272, 352, 353
Kant, Immanuel 16, 140 Macleish, Archibald 341 masks and religion 224-225, 224
Kaplan, Mordccai 196 Macombo 327 Matthew, gospel of 47, 143, 144, 189, 223,
karma 6, HI, 129, 160, 196,200-207 McPherson. ,\imee Semple 269
.Madhva51,350. 352 271, 347 see also Bible (biblical litera-
HKcUogg, J. 318 magi 216 ture). New Testament
magic 16. 128-129. 216-217, 218. 263 Matthews. Shailer 41
KeUogg,W. K.318 Magus, Simon 17 Maundy Thursday 73
Kennedy, John F 305 Mahabharata 23. 44. 159, 204, 284, 351 Maurus, Rabanus 44
Kcpel.GUlcsllS Maharshi, Ramana 161 Maya 225, 351
Ketupim (the Wntingsj 46, 46, 91 Mahavira 182, 217 MayareUgion 124-125, 143, 154,225-226
Khomeini, AyatoUah Ruhollah 35, 321 Mahav^ana Buddhism 49-50. 54. 55. 57. May Day 225
Kierkegaard, Soren 2 meat, dietarv laws regarding 99-100
Kimbangu, Simon 258-269 97-98. 99. 154. 211. 259. 273 Mecca, pilgrimage to 179, 199, 226-227,
King, Reverend Martin Luther, Jr. 3, 141, Maimonides 299 243. 272. 309
Maimonides, Moses 231 meditation 101, 227, 248. 362. 367
201-202, 20;, 217 Maiti-eva 50, 232 Melanesian reUgion see Pacific Ocean
kingdom of God 155, 202
kingship and religion 202-203 Memphite thcolog)- 283
Knox, John 278 Mcncius 69
koan 203 Mennonites 228, 245
KojiiitnO
Konkokyo 186, 203-204, 256-257 Amish see Amish
Kook, Abraham 231 Mercury 66
Koran see Qur'an Merton, Thomas 238
Korean religion 204 Mesopotamian religions 143, 228-230
kosher foods 99-101 Messiah 70, 190,230-231
Kramer. Samuel Noah 229
m Judaism 19, 91,151, 175, 230,

231
Messianic Jews 115
Metamorphoses {Ovid) 3
Methodism 3, 14, 231-232, 268, 278,

281,357
Methodist Church 231
Mcvlcvis 329
Micah 232
Michelangelo 197
Micronesian religion sec Pacific Ocean

religions

1

388 THE ENCYCLOPEDIA OF WORLD RELIGIONS

MUu, Nakayama 340 "New Age" religion 255 Patriarch of Constantinople 71, 106, 107,
Mikvch 40 new religions 254-255 see also names of in- 265
millcnanamsm 232-233, 282, 283
dividual relifftons patnarchv 121
millennialism sec millenarianism of Japan 186, 256-257 Paul, the aposde 21, 60, 120, 129, 136,
Miller, William 233, 281, 317 in the United States 255-256
222,267-268,299,310
Milton, John 13,83, 156 New Testament see Bible (biblical literature). lenersof47, 267, 271
Miner, Horace 23 New Testament
Miner\'a 66 Peachey Amish 10
miracles 126, 233-234 Newton, Isaac 7 Pelagians 33
Mishnah 150,333-334 New Year festivals 257 Pelagius 324
missionaries 234-236 Nicaea, Council of 1 71 , 190 penance (confession of sins) 305, 307
NiceneCreedl4,86,223 Penn, William 287
Buddhist 234-235 Nichircn 57. 184, 186, 212. 258, 280 Pentecostal Christianity 3, 90, 268-269,
Christian 43-44, 71, 72, 74, 188, Nichiren Buddhism 57-58, 184, 211. 212.
280, 282
204,231,235,236,264,278, 257,258 Pcntecostalism 167,255, 256, 269-270
304,351 Nichiren Shoshu 58, 326 Perfect Uberty 257
Hindu 159,236 Pcrgamum ,\ltar to Zeus 8
Muslim 235, 236 HNiebuhr. Richard 278. 343 persecution, religious 270
Mithra 236, 247, 329 Persephone 3
Mithras 247 Niebuhr. Rcinhold 278, 343 Pesach 117, 191, 194,239,266-267
modernism 41, 48 Nietzsche. Fnedrich 17, 21, 139 Peter, the apostle 222, 270-271
monasticism sec monks; nuns Ni^Ar(Wiesel) 164,341 Pharisees 271, 290
monks 78-79, 236-238, 262, 305, 339 nirvana 6, 258-259 Pictism213
monotheism 7, 16, 129, 238-239 Nixon, Rjchard 288 pilgrimage 161, 271-272, 345
Moon, Sun Mvoing 204 Nizan Ismaih commumt\' 29-30, 169, 321
moon and reUgion. the 239-240 Noah 259-260, 259 to Mecca sec Mecca,
Mormon Church sec Latter- Day Saints, nomiolent resistance 132, 134, 159, 201 pilgrimage to
Church of lesus Christ of Northern Baptists 4
Moroni 13-14,208 nuns 78-79, 236-238, 262, 305, 339 Pirsig, Robert 58
Moses 78, 239-240, 240, 333 nyaya school 141 Plato 33, 145, 197, 294
mosques 25, 240-242, 241 play, games, and religion 132
Mot 61 O Plotinus 33
mountains and religion 242 Polynesian religion see Pacific Ocean religions
mudras 242, 261,335 occultism and esotericism 261 polytheism 272-273
muezzin lil-lii Oceanic religion see Pacific Ocean religions Pontius Pilate 71, 189
Muhammad 17, 65, 149-150, 176-177, Odin 361 pope see papac>'. the
199, 233, 243-244, 281, 288 Odori Shukvo (the "Dancing Religion") 90 prajna 273
Mtiiler, Fricdrich Ma\ 117 Odyssey (Hotnct) 110, 156-157 prana 273
Murder in the Cathedral 62 Olcott, Henr\- Steel 57, 343 prayer 248, 273-275
music and religion 244-246, 329 01dOrder.\mish9, 10-11,228 preaching 275-276
Muslims 272 see also Islam; Nation of Islam Old Testament sec Bible I biblical literature ), preanimism see dynamism
mystery religions 122, 246-247 predestination 60
mysticism 138, 199, 227, 247-249, 328 Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)
AfymcisiB (UndcrhUI) 248 Omoto 257 "double" 73, 129
myth and mythology 250-251, 250 Oi the Bondage of the lVi« (Luther) 129 prehistoric reUgion 276-277
ordmation 262, 279, 305, 307
N Origen 156 archaeological evidence of 23
origmal sm 33, 60, 324 Presbnenan churches 60, 277-279, 282,
Nag Hammadi Codices 20, 136, 137 Oriyin of Species. Tile lib
Orthodox Catholic Church see Eastern Or- 286
Naip3ul,V. S. 162 priests and pnesthood 279-280
thodox Christianity primal religion 169, 280, 327
Nanak 2. 45, 200, 245, 252, 323 Orthcxiox Judaism see Judaism, Orthodox Primitive Culture (Tylor) 16
Osiris 166, 247 prophecy 280-281
DCNational Cathedral, Washington, 65 Otto, Rudolf 117, 245, 262, 295, 297 Prophets, the Nefi'im) 46, 46
Ovid 3
nationalism, religious 252-253, 351 Oxford Movement 14 (

Nation of Islam 4. 19, 100, 179-180, 181, Pacific Ocean religions 245, 263-264 proselytizing see missionaries
pagodas see stupas
217,218,252 Palm Siindav 73 Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism.
papacy, the 71, 106, 174, 264-265, 264. The (Weber) 356
Native American Church 103
270, 305 Protestantism 28, 90, 121, 143, 145, 169,
Native Americans 5, 79, 121, 135, Paradise Lost (Mikoti) 156 171, 173, 198,210-211,238,249,
Paramahamsa 161 271 , 275-276, 281-282 see also specifie
171-172, 224-225, 224 see also indige- Parham, Charles Fox 268 churches, tpritings. figures, beliefs, and
Parsecs 234, 26S, 301, 370 see also Zorois-
nous a'Wencan religions adherents worldwide ix
adhcrents worldwide l\ in .\merica 282-283
"Natural religjon" 296 Parian 143, 265-266 Reformation see Reformation, Protcs-
nature and religion 253-254 Passover 118, 191, 194, 239. 266-267
Proverbs, book of 357-358
Nazi Holocaust see Holocaust, the Psalms, book of 91, 245
Ptah283
Nehemiah 254 puja 161,283
Puranas 50, 283-284
Neo-Nazis 18, 19 Pure Land Buddhism 6, 8-9, 27, 57, 69,

Nco-Paganism 255 145, 155, 184,220,249, 284-285 «f

Nero (Roman emperor) 271

Neumann. Erich 24

Ncusncr, Jacob 333

Nevi'im (the Prophets) 46, 46