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71 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Babylonian Exile
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586-539) The Temple is destroyed the first time and the Jews are displaced by the Babylonian invasion. Literature (Psalms, Lamentations) from this time are full of longing for Zion.
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Beit midrash
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"House of Study," semi-formal place of rabbi-student interaction
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Davar
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(Heb. word which came to denote "thing") speech, word, message, report, tidings, advice, request, promise, decision, sentence, theme, story, saying, utterance, business, occupation, acts, good deeds, events, way, manner, reason, cause
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Destruction of the 2nd Temple
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66-70CE by Romans) Had profound consequences for the path of Judaism. Rabbis and not priests conducted rituals, prayer took the place of sacrifice, God is longer was present on Earth/does not give direct directions, Jews spread out around the world.
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Devotional Judaism
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dedication to living a Jewish life according to Jewish law as defined by the rabbinic sages of the Talmud
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Emic
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view of the world that member of a culture accept as real, meaningful, or appropriate
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Etic
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views of a culture that are accepted by a group of scientists (academics) as a valid description of the culture
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Esoteric
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inner meaning, mystic interpretation, confined to a small group
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Exoteric
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public meaning, "regular" interpretation
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Halakhah
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"the path," Rabbinic law
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Hasidism
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Jewish mysticism; founded in 18th century Eastern Europe by Baal Shem Tov the reacted against talmudic learning and maintained that God's presence was in all of one's surroundings and that one should serve God in one's every deed and word
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Imago Dei
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Imitation of God
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Kabbalah
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"tradition," "to receive," the mystical approach to Judaism, started in Medieval Spain/France
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Menuha
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a restfulness (usually associated with the Sabbath)
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Miqveh
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the cleansing bath used by Jewish women after their time of menstruation to regain their purity (refers to ritual, law, and actual place)
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Mitzvah
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commandment of the Jewish law/ the fulfillment of such a commandment; a worthy deed
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Mysticism
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seeks to identify, commune with, or become aware of an ultimate divinity or spiritual truth through a more direct experience, intuition, or insight (as defined by wikipedia). *Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and other religions have mystical traditions
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Ritual
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academic term to describe repeated, formal behavior
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Talmud (or Gemara)
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part of the oral Torah/Rabbinic law
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Scholastic Judaism
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pursuit of the spiritual as intellectual life through textual tradition and the "sacred library", in which study is a goal in itself
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Shekhinah
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the "female" face of God
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Tanakh
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Torah (books of Moses) + Nevi'im (the Prophets) + Hetuvim (the Writings)
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Tree of Life
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mystical symbolic representation of the divine, having male and female elements
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Torah
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"the teaching," 5 books of Moses
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Yeshiva
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talmudic academy, formal and institutional teaching and discussion of law
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Zionism
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A political movement meant to create a homeland for the Jews in Palestine.
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Zionism, anti-Zionism and diaspora Judaism:
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-Ethnocentric religion, not evangelist
-Since destruction of temple and scattering of Jews ~70CE, Jews have occupied many locations around the world and are unified by their traditions and teachings -Tradition of looking towards their promised land (Moses's time, Exilic literature such as Psalms and Lamentations, present day) -Argument against Zionism: need to leave it up to divine intervention/Messiah - 3 Oaths (Song of Songs, do not rouse love until it please) have been broken by other countries, and are therefore no longer binding? |
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Heschel's The Sabbath:
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-Stresses Judaism's emphasis on sanctity in time rather than in space
-Proposes the Sabbath as a temple in time, a remembrance of creation, welcomed as a bride/queen -Jewish God is one remembered by his actions |
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BUDDHISM
2 truths: |
1.Absolute: Transcendence of all ordinary experience and language based on such experience.
2.Convenctional: World of ordinary experience and language used to describe that experience. |
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1.Absolute: Transcendence of all ordinary experience and language based on such experience.
2.Convenctional: World of ordinary experience and language used to describe that experience. Question: Is the distinction between "absolute" and "convenctional" truths an absolute truth or a convenctional truth? |
answer
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3 Refuges: accepted/recited by most practitioners of Buddhism
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1. I take refuge in the Buddha.
2. I take refuge in the Dharma. 3. I take refuge in the Sangha. |
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4 Noble Truths - the core of Buddhist teachings
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1. Life is suffering (inescapable: sickness, old age, death, poverty...)
2. Suffering is caused by craving (wouldn't be a problem if we didn't desire something else) 3 poisons: desire/craving, aversion, delusion 3. Suffering can have an end (nirvana, escape from rebirth cycle) 4. There is a path which leads to the end of suffering (Dharma, yoga, spiritual discipline, letting go of worldly things) |
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8-fold path - describes the way to end suffering
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Right view
Right intention Right speech Right action The first 2 represent wisdom. The next 3 represent ethics/ethical conduct. The last 3 represent the power of the mind or mental strength. Right livelihood Right effort Right mindfulness Right concentration |
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Six Perfections (Paramita) of the Bodhisattva:
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Generosity (dana)-giving alms, offerings (bhakti yoga and karma yoga); staying in world and serving the world
Conduct Forbearance Vigour Meditation Wisdom (prajña) - focus on the knowledge of Sunyata (the "emptiness" of dharmas, of all things) |
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Arhant
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"worthy one" or "slayer of the foe", one who has attained enlightenment
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Buddha
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"Enlightened one." Either the founder alone (Siddharta Gotama/Gautama aka Sakyamuni), or one who has reached and teaches the path to reach nirvana.
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Biksuni and Bhiksu
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nuns and monks; professionally dedicated to the religious life
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Bodhi
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enlightenment, the "complete and perfect state of awakening," and the tree under which Buddha achieved enlightenment
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Bodhisattva
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one who has the intention of becoming a buddha to liberate others from suffering, delays (but doesn't give up) nirvana by extending his enlightened state to aid others; their ultimate goal = "supreme perfect awakening"; "in the world, but not of the world"
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Budhaksetra
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Very long Buddhist unit of space; literally means "Buddha Land"
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Cataphatic and Apothatic
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Cataphatic: affirmative - eg. Brahman is being, consciousness and bliss (saguna brahman)
Apothatic: negative - eg. Brahman is not this and not that (nirguna brahman) |
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Dharma
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the teachings of the Buddha
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Jhana/Dhyana
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meditative state in which the mind becomes immersed and absorbed into a chosen object
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Karma
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"action," a force that repays good or bad actions, in one's lifetime or by rebirth in a different realm. Can be thought of like an elevator, or an external law of physics that moves people. Buddha gives a moral slant to karma, and emphasizes that thought, action, and speech all affect karma.
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Kalpa
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Very long Buddhist unit of unit of time.
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Mara
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the "devil" of Buddhism; tries to tempt Buddha away from enlightenment but Buddha withstands his distraction.
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Orthopraxy
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religious studies term meaning correct practice. This contrasts with "Orthodoxy" which means correct belief. Often there is tension between people who believe that all you need is faith alone to be saved (orthodoxy) while others see the practice of the religion as more important (orthopraxy).
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Meditation
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he practice of disciplining one's mind, by saying mantras, focusing on an object...
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Nirvana
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the release from samsara, like the extinguishing of the candle (if you follow that metaphor)
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"No self"
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the idea that there is no individual soul, that no specific entity travels from one body and life to another
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Parinirvana
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final stage of Nirvana (after death)
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Renunciation
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the ascetic lifestyle, escaping society to live a life of austerity and discipline in an attempt to reach a greater state of being
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Sangha
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the community in Buddhism; can be monks/nuns, lay supporters may also be included
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Samsara
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the cycle of rebirth within the wheel of the 6 realms. The soul is attracted to the realm most like its karma. No one realm is permanent, and all life has suffering (the wheel is in the control of Mara).
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Sramanas
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ascetics
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Suffering
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unavoidable, yet necessary to realize the 4 noble truths and give motivation to reach nirvana.
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Soteriology
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Soteriology- science of soter (Greek word for Savior). A different way to approach a religion. What is it that the religion offers? What is salvation? In short, rather than asking "what do these people believe?" We ask, "what do they want?"
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Sutra
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scripture
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The Threefold Training
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Conduct (control of behavior); Concentration (control of mind); Wisdom (knowledge and insight)
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The Trickster
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part of one of Carl Bielefeldt's Trickster Style, a heuristic or method created to help him communicate the Buddhist texts and concepts to us students. In lecture he describes the trickster figure as the "Court Jester," the tolerated fool or the accepted madman. This figure offers comic relief and voices the doubts that everyone feels at some level, but in a way that does not challenge or disrupt the religious system. He is an iconoclast, brings an antinomianism, an intentional transgression of the religious norms to express religious conviction, and demonstrates "carnivalism" by playing with the accepted rules and values. He tends to give advice that is paradoxical, such "there is no emptiness in emptiness."
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Zen
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Japanese branch of Mahayana which focuses on meditation as a way to achieve enlightenment
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Wheel of Rebirth
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omposed of 6 realms: heaven, human, titans/asuras, spirits/ghosts, animal, hell
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Nirvana vs. Enlightenment:
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Nirvana entails the actual escape from samsara, the freedom from suffering, as attained by knowledge of the "truth." Enlightenment, then, is the cognitive state that allows you to enter nirvana. (In the Mahayana tradition, enlightenment also stands for the fully aware "world savior," the state of the bodhisattva).
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Ascetic Style:
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-emphasizes renunciation and self-discipline, knowledge
-goal is to achieve nirvana -mostly for monks/nuns -you have to search inward in order to gain enlightenment |
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Devotional Style:
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-emphasizes piety and devotion (bhakti)
-goal is to be reborn into Sukhavati (heaven-like, Western pure land) or become a bodhisattva/Buddha -mostly for laypeople, householders |
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Trickster Style
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-style that calls into question the validity of the teachings, practices and institutions of the religion
-seen as the parasite on Buddhism because it feeds on the insights and practices of Buddhism |
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International Style
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-an approach to Buddhism that treats it as a spiritual resource, drawing on but not necessarily bound to Asian Buddhist traditions
-appealing to secular societies because "it teaches the highest goodness without creating a God" |
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Theravada vs. Mahayana:
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Way of the Elders vs. Great Vehicle
Core literature of Buddha vs. diverse, expanded teachings Sri Lanka/SE Asia vs. E Asia + Vietnam, Tibet Pali vs. many native languages Essentially one world vs. countless worlds each with their Buddha |
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"Class Analysis" of Buddhist style:
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- upper class, old money: trickster style
- middle class, nouveau riche: ascetic style - underclass, proletariat: devotional style |
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Maitreya:
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8th Buddha, still to come; often prophesied to be certain people at birth
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Avalokitesvara:
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helper Buddha of empathy; dedicated to helping people on earth who meet trouble and ask for assistance; manifests many forms, including both male and female
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