1.
Charles Sprague Pearce
–
Charles Sprague Pearce was an American artist. Pearce was born at Boston, Massachusetts, in 1873 he became a pupil of Léon Bonnat in Paris, and after 1885 he lived in Paris and at Auvers-sur-Oise. He painted Egyptian and Algerian scenes, French peasants, and portraits, among his best-known paintings are The Decapitation of St John the Baptist, in the Art Institute of Chicago, Prayer, The Return of the Flock, and Meditation. Pearce was also among those who knew and painted the Capri muse Rosina Ferrara and this article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh, ed. Pearce, Charles Sprague
Charles Sprague Pearce
–
Paul Wayland Bartlett (1890)
Charles Sprague Pearce
–
Family (1896)
Charles Sprague Pearce
–
Labor (1896)
Charles Sprague Pearce
–
Recreation (1896)
2.
Religion
–
Religions have sacred histories and narratives, which may be preserved in sacred scriptures, and symbols and holy places, that aim mostly to give a meaning to life. Religions may contain symbolic stories, which are said by followers to be true, that have the side purpose of explaining the origin of life. Traditionally, faith, in addition to reason, has considered a source of religious beliefs. There are an estimated 10,000 distinct religions worldwide, about 84% of the worlds population is affiliated with one of the five largest religions, namely Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism or forms of folk religion. With the onset of the modernisation of and the revolution in the western world. The religiously unaffiliated demographic include those who do not identify with any religion, atheists. While the religiously unaffiliated have grown globally, many of the religiously unaffiliated still have various religious beliefs, about 16% of the worlds population is religiously unaffiliated. The study of religion encompasses a variety of academic disciplines, including theology, comparative religion. Theories of religion offer various explanations for the origins and workings of religion, Religion is derived from the Latin religiō, the ultimate origins of which are obscure. One possible interpretation traced to Cicero, connects lego read, i. e. re with lego in the sense of choose, go over again or consider carefully. The medieval usage alternates with order in designating bonded communities like those of monastic orders, we hear of the religion of the Golden Fleece, of a knight of the religion of Avys. In the ancient and medieval world, the etymological Latin root religio was understood as a virtue of worship, never as doctrine, practice. In the Quran, the Arabic word din is often translated as religion in modern translations and it was in the 19th century that the terms Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, and Confucianism first emerged. Max Müller characterized many other cultures around the world, including Egypt, Persia, what is called ancient religion today, they would have only called law. Some languages have words that can be translated as religion, but they may use them in a different way. For example, the Sanskrit word dharma, sometimes translated as religion, throughout classical South Asia, the study of law consisted of concepts such as penance through piety and ceremonial as well as practical traditions. Medieval Japan at first had a union between imperial law and universal or Buddha law, but these later became independent sources of power. There is no equivalent of religion in Hebrew, and Judaism does not distinguish clearly between religious, national, racial, or ethnic identities
Religion
–
Urarina shaman, Peru, 1988
Religion
Religion
–
The
Yazılıkaya sanctuary in
Turkey, with the twelve gods of the underworld
Religion
–
Confucianism,
Taoism, and
Buddhism are one, a painting in the litang style portraying three men laughing by a river stream, 12th century,
Song dynasty
3.
Old English
–
Old English or Anglo-Saxon is the earliest historical form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers probably in the mid 5th century, Old English developed from a set of Anglo-Frisian or North Sea Germanic dialects originally spoken by Germanic tribes traditionally known as the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. As the Anglo-Saxons became dominant in England, their language replaced the languages of Roman Britain, Common Brittonic, a Celtic language, Old English had four main dialects, associated with particular Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, Mercian, Northumbrian, Kentish and West Saxon. It was West Saxon that formed the basis for the standard of the later Old English period, although the dominant forms of Middle. The speech of eastern and northern parts of England was subject to strong Old Norse influence due to Scandinavian rule, Old English is one of the West Germanic languages, and its closest relatives are Old Frisian and Old Saxon. Like other old Germanic languages, it is different from Modern English. Old English grammar is similar to that of modern German, nouns, adjectives, pronouns, and verbs have many inflectional endings and forms. The oldest Old English inscriptions were using a runic system. Old English was not static, and its usage covered a period of 700 years, from the Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain in the 5th century to the late 11th century, some time after the Norman invasion. While indicating that the establishment of dates is a process, Albert Baugh dates Old English from 450 to 1150, a period of full inflections. Perhaps around 85 per cent of Old English words are no longer in use, Old English is a West Germanic language, developing out of Ingvaeonic dialects from the 5th century. It came to be spoken over most of the territory of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms which became the Kingdom of England and this included most of present-day England, as well as part of what is now southeastern Scotland, which for several centuries belonged to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Northumbria. Other parts of the island – Wales and most of Scotland – continued to use Celtic languages, Norse was also widely spoken in the parts of England which fell under Danish law. Anglo-Saxon literacy developed after Christianisation in the late 7th century, the oldest surviving text of Old English literature is Cædmons Hymn, composed between 658 and 680. There is a corpus of runic inscriptions from the 5th to 7th centuries. The Old English Latin alphabet was introduced around the 9th century, with the unification of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms by Alfred the Great in the later 9th century, the language of government and literature became standardised around the West Saxon dialect. In Old English, typical of the development of literature, poetry arose before prose, a later literary standard, dating from the later 10th century, arose under the influence of Bishop Æthelwold of Winchester, and was followed by such writers as the prolific Ælfric of Eynsham. This form of the language is known as the Winchester standard and it is considered to represent the classical form of Old English
Old English
–
A detail of the first page of the
Beowulf manuscript, showing the words "ofer hron rade", i.e. "over the whale's road (=sea)". It is an example of an Old English stylistic device, the
kenning.
Old English
–
North Germanic
Old English
–
"Her swutelað seo gecwydrædnes ðe" Old English inscription over the arch of the south porticus in the 10th-century
St Mary's parish church, Breamore, Hampshire
Old English
–
The first page of the
Beowulf manuscript with its opening Hƿæt ƿē Gārde/na ingēar dagum þēod cyninga / þrym ge frunon... "Listen! We of the Spear-Danes from days of yore have heard of the glory of the folk-kings..."
4.
Buddhist devotion
–
Buddhist Devotion is an important part of the practice of most Buddhists. According to a spokesman of the Sasana Council of Burma, devotion to Buddhist spiritual practices inspires devotion to the Triple Gem, most Buddhists use ritual in pursuit of their spiritual aspirations. To images chanting, the Three Refuges protective chanting, in the Samyuktagama, the verse is mainly about loving-kindness, compassion, and doing no harm to all beings. The mantra is given to trae in Chinese transcription of the Sanskrit and this episode does not occur in the counterpart sutta in the Samyutta-Nikaya, and may have been added after the Sarvastivada/Vibhajjavada split. A very important form of Buddhist devotion is Pure Land Buddhism and it exists as a group of independent denominations in Japan, the most radical, and largest, of which, Jodo Shinshu, holds to a subtle idea of effortless salvation
Buddhist devotion
–
Lay Buddhist Practices
5.
Puja (Buddhism)
–
In Buddhism, puja are expressions of honour, worship and devotional attention. Acts of puja include bowing, making offerings and chanting and these devotional acts are generally performed daily at home as well as during communal festivals and Uposatha days at a temple. Pūjā is derived from the verbal root pūj In the context of puja, bowing refers to the act of raising ones hands together and lowering ones head in a gesture of homage and humility. As a devotional act, one bows to the Buddhas likeness in a statue, traditionally, one also bows to parents, teachers, the elderly and monastics. When bowing before an object such as a Buddha statue. More formally, one may bow with a series of head-to-floor prostrations, symbolic offerings to the Three Jewels are often made prior to meditation. In front of the Buddha are placed the offerings, which may be just seven bowls of water symbolising the eight hospitalities offered to a guest, another preferred style of offerings contains illumination, flowers, incense, fruit, music and water for washing and drinking. Each represents another aspect of Buddhist teachings and also the five senses, the flowers for example are a symbol of impermanence and saṃsāra, due to their short life span, unless evergreen is used to show eternity. As water is a necessity of life, a sample is also placed on the shrine to show respect. To show the interdependence of all things and gratitude for that fruit is offered—also as a symbol of taste, a bell is used to indicate when to begin and end puja and to stimulate hearing but also demonstrates the belief of cause and effect and karma. It stimulates hearing and is placed on a cushion, once again symbolising enlightenment. Personal devotion usually entails first making an offering to a sacred object, when making the offering, one bows while reciting traditional phrases identifying the offering. Next, the devotee either bows or prostrates three times to the Three Jewels, an introduction to Buddhism, Teachings, history and practices. Vandana, The Album of Pali Devotional Chanting and Hymns, Buddhist Ceremonies and Rituals of Sri Lanka. Kandy, Sri Lanka, Buddhist Publication Society, retrieved 2007-10-23 from Access to Insight at http, //www. accesstoinsight. org/lib/authors/kariyawasam/wheel402. html. Lay Buddhist Practice, The Shrine Room, Uposatha Day, Rains Residence, kandy, Sri Lanka, Buddhist Publication Society. Also transcribed and available on-line at, http, //www. accesstoinsight. org/lib/authors/khantipalo/wheel206. html, lee Dhammadharo, Ajaan & Thanissaro Bhikkhu. Rhys Davids, T. W. & William Stede, the Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary
Puja (Buddhism)
–
Replica of Sanchi gate at
Chaitya Bhoomi has Buddhist
stupa puja scene
6.
Buddhism
–
Buddhism is a religion and dharma that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices largely based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. Buddhism originated in India sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries BCE, from where it spread through much of Asia, two major extant branches of Buddhism are generally recognized by scholars, Theravada and Mahayana. Buddhism is the worlds fourth-largest religion, with over 500 million followers or 7% of the global population, Buddhist schools vary on the exact nature of the path to liberation, the importance and canonicity of various teachings and scriptures, and especially their respective practices. In Theravada the ultimate goal is the attainment of the state of Nirvana, achieved by practicing the Noble Eightfold Path, thus escaping what is seen as a cycle of suffering. Theravada has a following in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia. Mahayana, which includes the traditions of Pure Land, Zen, Nichiren Buddhism, Shingon, rather than Nirvana, Mahayana instead aspires to Buddhahood via the bodhisattva path, a state wherein one remains in the cycle of rebirth to help other beings reach awakening. Vajrayana, a body of teachings attributed to Indian siddhas, may be viewed as a branch or merely a part of Mahayana. Tibetan Buddhism, which preserves the Vajrayana teachings of eighth century India, is practiced in regions surrounding the Himalayas, Tibetan Buddhism aspires to Buddhahood or rainbow body. Buddhism is an Indian religion attributed to the teachings of Buddha, the details of Buddhas life are mentioned in many early Buddhist texts but are inconsistent, his social background and life details are difficult to prove, the precise dates uncertain. Some hagiographic legends state that his father was a king named Suddhodana, his mother queen Maya, and he was born in Lumbini gardens. Some of the stories about Buddha, his life, his teachings, Buddha was moved by the innate suffering of humanity. He meditated on this alone for a period of time, in various ways including asceticism, on the nature of suffering. He famously sat in meditation under a Ficus religiosa tree now called the Bodhi Tree in the town of Bodh Gaya in Gangetic plains region of South Asia. He reached enlightenment, discovering what Buddhists call the Middle Way, as an enlightened being, he attracted followers and founded a Sangha. Now, as the Buddha, he spent the rest of his teaching the Dharma he had discovered. Dukkha is a concept of Buddhism and part of its Four Noble Truths doctrine. It can be translated as incapable of satisfying, the unsatisfactory nature, the Four Truths express the basic orientation of Buddhism, we crave and cling to impermanent states and things, which is dukkha, incapable of satisfying and painful. This keeps us caught in saṃsāra, the cycle of repeated rebirth, dukkha
Buddhism
–
Standing Buddha statue at the
Tokyo National Museum. One of the earliest known representations of the
Buddha, 1st–2nd century CE.
Buddhism
–
The Dharmachakra
Buddhism
–
Relic depicting Gautama leaving home. The Great Departure, c.1–2nd century. (
Musée Guimet)
Buddhism
–
Ascetic
Gautama with his five companions, who later comprised the first
Sangha. (Painting in
Laotian temple)
7.
Skillful means
–
Upaya is often used with kaushalya, upaya-kaushalya meaning skill in means. Upaya-kaushalya is a concept emphasizing that practitioners may use their own methods or techniques that fit the situation in order to gain enlightenment. The exercise of skill to which it refers, the ability to adapt ones message to the audience, is of importance in the Pali Canon. One consequence of this is that it is possible to endorse a form of Buddhist practice as viable while simultaneously critiquing its premises or contrasting it unfavorably to another, higher practice. In this fashion a hierarchical progression of teachings could be constructed, starting with the most elementary, the most important concept in skill in means is the use, guided by wisdom and compassion, of a specific teaching geared to the particular audience taught. The concept of skillfulness is prominent in Mahayana Buddhism with regards to the actions of a bodhisattva. The idea is that a bodhisattva or practitioner may use any expedient methods in order to ease the suffering of people, introduce them to the dharma. In chapter 25 of the Lotus Sutra, the Buddha describes how the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara changes his form to meet the needs of the student, if a monk is needed, the Bodhisattva becomes a monk for example. This doctrine is sometimes used to some of the otherwise strange or unorthodox behavior or crazy wisdom engaged in by some Buddhists. Skillful means may theoretically be used by different buddhist groups to make many seemingly proscribed practices, such as violence, theft, there are a number of other stories of Buddhist saints and bodhisattvas taking part in fairly eccentric and unusual behaviors in the practice of skillful means. The practices and rituals of Vajrayana Buddhism are also interpreted as a process of skillful means. They are understood to be means whereby practitioners use the very misconceptions, Buddhist texts metaphorically explain the upaya concept through illustrations such as a burning house and an empty fist. The Lotus Sutra contains a famous story about using the expedient means of white lies to rescue children from a burning building. Gautama Buddha elucidates upaya to his disciple Shariputra, Shariputra, suppose that in a certain town in a certain country there was a very rich man. He was far along in years and his wealth was beyond measure and he had many fields, houses and menservants. His own house was big and rambling, but it had one gate. A great many people—a hundred, two hundred, perhaps as many as five hundred—lived in the house, the halls and rooms were old and decaying, the walls crumbling, the pillars rotten at their base, and the beams and rafters crooked and aslant. At that time a fire broke out on all sides
Skillful means
–
Components
8.
Guru yoga
–
Tantra techniques in Vajrayana Buddhism are techniques used to attain Buddhahood. Vajrayana partially relies on various tantric techniques rooted in such as tantras. Tantra is defined as a realization that functions to prevent ordinary appearances and conceptions. The practitioner focusses on and identifies with the resultant buddha-form or meditation deity, in order to achieve this self-identification with the yidam, much symbolism, ritual and visualization is used in Buddhist tantric techniques. Secrecy is often a cornerstone of tantric Buddhism, simply to avoid harm to oneself, oral transmissions given by a tantric master. These teachings are only given personally from teacher to student and are secret, otherwise they may have a negative effect. A mature yogi dies in the course of the meditation and comes back again, use of specialized rituals and symbols rooted in Vajrayana cosmology and beliefs, Repetition of mantras and dharanis. Use of various techniques such as Trul Khor, including breath control, yantra. Use of a vocabulary of visual aids, such as cosmic mandala diagrams which teach. Seed syllables in Tibetan and Lendza are also used, the use of ritual objects such as the vajra and bell, phurba, hand drum, and many other symbolic tools and musical instruments. Ganachakra feasts with ritual consumption of meat and alcohol, Deity yoga is the fundamental Vajrayana practice, involving a sadhana practice in which the practitioner visualizes himself or herself as the meditation Buddha or yidam of the sadhana. The purpose of Deity yoga is to bring the meditator to the realization that the deity, the yidam generally appears in a mandala and the practitioner visualizes himself or herself and their environment as the yidam and mandala of their Deity Yoga practice. As His Holiness the Dalai Lama says, In brief, the body of a Buddha is attained through meditating on it. Representations of the deity, such as a statues, paintings, the mandalas are symbolic representations of sacred enclosures, sacred architecture that house and contain the uncontainable essence of a yidam. In the book, The World of Tibetan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama describes a mandala, “This is the celestial mansion, all of these are available in Tibetan form, many are available in Chinese, and some are still extant in ancient Sanskrit manuscripts. The unfolding of the tantric ritual depends on the mandala, and where a mandala is not employed. The dedication of merit is a component in Vajrayāna sādhanās. The guru or spiritual teacher, in Tibetan Buddhism generally the lama, is essential as a guide during tantric practice, without the gurus example, blessings and grace, genuine progress is held to be impossible for all but the most keen and gifted
Guru yoga
–
Statues of Padmasambhava, Buddha and Amitayus at
Namdroling Monastery.
Guru yoga
–
Esoteric practices related to
Cundī have remained popular in
Chinese Buddhism and East Asia.
9.
Mandala
–
A mandala is a spiritual and ritual symbol in Hinduism and Buddhism, representing the universe. In common use, mandala has become a term for any diagram, chart or geometric pattern that represents the cosmos metaphysically or symbolically. The basic form of most mandalas is a square with four gates containing a circle with a center point, each gate is in the general shape of a T. Mandalas often exhibit radial balance. The term appears in the Rigveda as the name of the sections of the work, a yantra is a two- or three-dimensional geometric composition used in sadhanas, puja or meditative rituals. It is considered to represent the abode of the deity, each yantra is unique and calls the deity into the presence of the practitioner through the elaborate symbolic geometric designs. Yantras are not representations, but are lived, experiential, nondual realities, as Khanna describes, Despite its cosmic meanings a yantra is a reality lived. The Rajamandala was formulated by the Indian author Kautilya in his work on politics and it describes circles of friendly and enemy states surrounding the kings state. In historical, social and political sense, the mandala is also employed to denote traditional Southeast Asian political formations. It was adopted by 20th century Western historians from ancient Indian political discourse as a means of avoiding the term state in the conventional sense, empires such as Bagan, Ayutthaya, Champa, Khmer, Srivijaya and Majapahit are known as mandala in this sense. The mandala can be found in the form of the stupa and in the Atanatiya Sutta in the Digha Nikaya, Mandalas are traditionally found in large amounts in Buddhist Monasteries all over the world. One can also buy Mandalas and Thankas/Pauva in places like Thamel, in the Tibetan branch of Vajrayana Buddhism, mandalas have been developed into sandpainting. They are also a key part of Anuttarayoga Tantra meditation practices, the mandala can be shown to represent in visual form the core essence of the Vajrayana teachings. The mind is a microcosm representing various divine powers at work in the universe, the mandala represents the nature of the Pure Land, Enlightened mind. A mandala can also represent the universe, which is traditionally depicted with Mount Meru as the axis mundi in the center. In the mandala, the circle of fire usually symbolises wisdom. Inside these rings lie the walls of the palace itself, specifically a place populated by deities. One well-known type of mandala is the mandala of the Five Buddhas, such Buddhas are depicted depending on the school of Buddhism, and even the specific purpose of the mandala. A common mandala of this type is that of the Five Wisdom Buddhas, when paired with another mandala depicting the Five Wisdom Kings, this forms the Mandala of the Two Realms
Mandala
–
Thangka painting of Manjuvajra Mandala
Mandala
–
A Hindu Maṇḍala
Mandala
–
Painted 17th century
Tibetan 'Five Deity Mandala', in the center is
Rakta Yamari (the Red Enemy of Death) embracing his consort Vajra Vetali, in the corners are the Red, Green White and Yellow
Yamaris,
Rubin Museum of Art
Mandala
–
Sandpainting showing Buddha mandala which is made as part of the death rituals among Buddhist
Newars of
Nepal.
10.
Thanka
–
A thangka, variously spelt as tangka, thanka or tanka, is a Tibetan Buddhist painting on cotton, or silk appliqué, usually depicting a Buddhist deity, scene, or mandala. Thangkas are traditionally kept unframed and rolled up when not on display, mounted on a textile backing somewhat in the style of Chinese scroll paintings, with a further silk cover on the front. So treated, thangkas can last a long time, but because of their delicate nature, most thankas were intended for personal meditation or instruction of monastic students. They often have elaborate compositions including many small figures. A central deity is surrounded by other identified figures in a symmetrical composition. Narrative scenes are common, but do appear. Thangka serve as important teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, various influential lamas and other deities, one subject is The Wheel of Life, which is a visual representation of the Abhidharma teachings. The term may sometimes be used of works in media than painting, including reliefs in metal. Today printed reproductions at poster size of painted thangka are commonly used for devotional as well as decorative purposes, many thangkas were produced in sets, though they have often subsequently become separated. Images of deities can be used as teaching tools depicting the life of the Buddha, describing historical events concerning important Lamas. Devotional images act as the centerpiece during a ritual or ceremony and are used as mediums through which one can offer prayers or make requests. Overall, and perhaps most importantly, religious art is used as a tool to help bring one further down the path to enlightenment. The thanka form developed alongside the tradition of Tibetan Buddhist wall paintings, the early history of the form is more easily traced through these murals, which survive in greater numbers than the portable paintings which certainly once existed. Most thanka were commissioned by individuals, who were believed to acquire merit by doing so and they might then be given to a monastery or another individual, or retained for use by the commissioner. Some thangka have inscriptions on their back recording that they were the personal image of a notable monk. Most artists were probably monks, although lay artists seem to have existed, the commissioner would provide the materials, which were often valuable, and by tradition the compensation to the artist was regarded as a gift rather than a fee. The word thangka means thing that one unrolls in Classical Tibetan, Thangka are very rarely signed, but some artists are known, more because they were important monastic leaders than famous as artists. Painting was an accomplishment in a monk
Thanka
–
Thangka Depicting
Vajrabhairava, c. 1740
Thanka
–
Large thangka hung on a special wall at
Gyantse in Tibet in 1938
Thanka
–
11th or early 12th-century thangka of the
Amitayus Buddha, with
donor portraits at bottom.
Thanka
–
The
mahasiddha Ghantapa (below), from
Situ Panchen 's set of thangka depicting the Eight Great Tantric Adepts. 18th century, with Chinese influence
11.
Yantra yoga
–
Tsa lung Trul khor, known in short as Trul khor magical instrument or magic circle is a Vajrayana discipline which includes pranayama and body postures. From the perspective of Dzogchen, the mind is merely vāyu breath in the body, thus working with vāyu and the body is paramount, while meditation on the other hand is considered contrived and conceptual. Namkhai Norbu, a prominent proponent of trul khor, prefers to use the Sanskrit equivalent term, Yantra Yoga, Trul khor derives from the instructions of the Indian mahasiddhas who founded Vajrayana. Trul khor traditionally consists of 108 movements, including bodily movements, incantations, pranayama, the flow or vinyāsa of movements are likened to prayer beads. Trul khor asanas are depicted on the walls of the Dalai Lamas summer temple of Lukhang, lung is equivalent to the Sanskrit vāyu. Namkhai Norbu was the first to discuss Trul Khor in English with his book on Yantra Yoga, Chaoul has begun discussion of Bon traditions of Trul Khor in English with his thesis from Rice University. In his work, Chaoul makes reference to a commentary by the famed Bonpo Dzogchen master, Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoches text Awakening the Sacred Body presents some of the basic practices of trul khor according to the Tibetan Bon tradition. Spinning the Magical Wheel in Snow Lion Magazine, Tibetan Yoga from the Bon Tradition in Snow Lion Magazine. Into the Mystic in Yoga Journal, translation, Des Barry, Nina Robinson, Liz Granger, Carol Chaney. Cited in, Yoga Journal, May 1987, No.74, source, p. 46-49 Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche. Chogyal Namkhai Norbu, Trans. by Adriano Clemente, yogic practices in the Bon tradition and possible applications as a CIM therapy. Presented at the Tenth Seminar in 2003 for the International Association for Tibetan Studies, literature from the Tibetan Tradition Relevant to Six Yogas of Naropa Practitioners - An Annotated Bibliography and Selected Excerpts Yantra Yoga The website dedicated to Yantra Yoga
Yantra yoga
–
Trul khor
12.
Shaolin Monastery
–
The Shaolin Monastery, also known as the Shaolin Temple, is a Chan Buddhist temple in Dengfeng County, Henan Province, China. Dating back 1,500 years when founded by Fang Lu-Hao, Shaolin Monastery and its Pagoda Forest were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010 as part of the Historic Monuments of Dengfeng. The name refers to the forests of Shaoshi mountain, one of the seven peaks of Song mountains, the first Shaolin Monastery abbot was Batuo, a dhyāna master who came to China from India or from Greco-Buddhist Central Asia in 464 AD to spread Buddhist teachings. Yang Xuanzhi, in the Record of the Buddhist Monasteries of Luoyang, the Kangxi Emperor of the Qing dynasty was a supporter of Shaolin Temple, and he wrote the calligraphic inscriptions that still hang over the Heavenly King Hall and the Buddha Hall today. Traditionally Bodhidharma is credited as founder of the arts at the Shaolin Temple. However, martial arts historians have shown this legend stems from a 17th-century qigong manual known as the Yijin Jing, the authenticity of the Yi Jin Jing has been discredited by some historians including Tang Hao, Xu Zhen and Ryuchi Matsuda. Tiantai, and falsely attributed to Bodhidharma, forged prefaces, attributed to the Tang general Li Jing and the Southern Song general Niu Gao were written. The Shaolin monks have made some fame for themselves through their fighting skill, based on this, Bodhidharma was claimed to be the ancestor of Shaolin martial arts. This manuscript is full of errors, absurdities and fantastic claims, the oldest available copy was published in 1827. The composition of the text itself has been dated to 1624. d and this story first appeared in a popular novel, The Travels of Lao T’san, published as a series in a literary magazine in 1907. As a result, it has enjoyed vast oral circulation and is one of the most “sacred” of the narratives shared within Chinese, other scholars see an earlier connection between Da Mo and the Shaolin Monastery. Scholars generally accept the historicity of Da Mo who arrived in China from his country India around 480, Da Mo and his disciples are said to have lived a spot about a mile from the Shaolin Temple that is now a small nunnery. In the 6th century, around 547, The Record of the Buddhist Monasteries says Da Mo visited the area near Mount Song, in 645 The Continuation of the Biographies of Eminent Monks describes him as being active in the Mount Song region. Around 710 Da Mo is identified specifically with the Shaolin Temple and it also speaks of Huikes many trials in his efforts to receive instruction from Da Mo. In the 11th century a work embellishes Da Mo legends with great detail, a stele inscription at the Shaolin Monastery dated 728 reveals Da Mo residing on Mount Song. Another stele in 798 speaks of Huike seeking instruction from Da Mo, another engraving dated 1209 depicts the barefoot saint holding a shoe according to the ancient legend of Da Mo. A plethora of 13th- and 14th-century steles feature Da Mo in Various roles, one 13th-century image shows him riding a fragile stalk across the Yangtze River. In 1125 a special temple was constructed in his honor at the Shaolin Monastery, the monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt many times
Shaolin Monastery
–
Shaolin Monastery
Shaolin Monastery
–
A mural painting in the temple (early 19th century)
Shaolin Monastery
–
Shaolin Monastery Stele on Mount Song (皇唐嵩岳少林寺碑), erected in 728 AD
13.
Ganacakra
–
A ganacakra is also known as tsog, ganapuja, cakrapuja or ganacakrapuja. As a tantric practice, forms of gaṇacakra are practiced today in Hinduism, Bön, professor Miranda Shaw summarises the experience of a gaṇacakra, The feast is an esoteric ritual that unfolds in many stages. The sacred space for the ceremony is demarcated by geometric designs drawn on the ground with powdered pigments, the participants don special insignia like bone ornaments and crowns and use musical instruments of archaic design. The feast culminates in the performance of dances and music that must never be disclosed to outsiders. The revelers may also improvise songs of realization to express their heightened clarity, samual holds that, erious Tantric practice is generally seen as appropriate for a small minority only. The ancient Indian gaṇacakra, the circle ritual. discussed earlier, is far in the past, in Tibetan practice it has long been replaced by the gaṇapuja, a considerably tamer affair, still involving a sacramental meal but normally performed indoors and without possession or dancing. A Lord of the Cakra presides sitting with his Shakti in the center, during the Cakra, there is no distinction of caste, but Pashus of any caste are excluded. There are various kinds of Cakra—productive, it is said, of differing fruits for the participator therein, the ganachakra, or tantric feast, can be seen as a mandala of sacred space. The community is that experience, and ceases to exist without it, a place that elicits reverence should be sacred, and wherever the Jewels are found, the pieties of lay and ordained Buddhists are bound to be expressed. In Hindu tantra, a ganachakra typically consists of five known as panchamakara or the five Ms, madya, mamsa, matsya, mudra. These included the use of sexuality, although it is not clear how far this was performed literally. The gaṇacakra involved possession, dancing and singing, and also magical procedures and it was seen as an occasion to enter a non-ordinary state of consciousness. At the very least the two would force a monk to break his vows. Although there is a deal of ritual in the Yoga Tantras. One did the practice only in visualization, not in actuality. In this way the practices of the Higher Tantras could be taken into the monasteries and incorporated into the congregations practice, generally, participants are required by their samaya vow to partake of meat and alcohol, and the rite tends to have elements symbolic of coitus. Traditions of the Ganachakra liturgy and rite extends remains of food and other offerings to alleviate the insatiable hunger of the hungry ghosts, genius loci. In the twilight language of correspondences and substitutions there is no inconsistency, although, when modern tantric apologists and scholars employ the term symbolic as though no external practices were engaged in literally, they mislead and perpetuate an untruth
Ganacakra
–
Tantric Feast, India, Himachal Pradesh, Nurpur, circa 1790
14.
Buddhist meditation
–
Buddhist meditation refers to the meditative practices associated with the religion and philosophy of Buddhism. Core meditation techniques have been preserved in ancient Buddhist texts and have proliferated and diversified through teacher-student transmissions, Buddhists pursue meditation as part of the path toward Enlightenment and Nirvana. The closest words for meditation in the languages of Buddhism are bhāvanā. Buddhist meditation techniques have become popular in the wider world. Buddhist meditation encompasses a variety of techniques that aim to develop mindfulness, concentration, supramundane powers, tranquility. For those seeking school-specific meditation information, it may be appropriate to simply view the articles listed in the See also section below. While there are some similar meditative practices — such as meditation and various recollections — that are used across Buddhist schools. Most classical and contemporary Buddhist meditation guides are school specific, only a few teachers attempt to synthesize, crystallize and categorize practices from multiple Buddhist traditions. The earliest tradition of Buddhist practice is preserved in the nikāya/āgamas, Right Concentration – culminating in jhanic absorptions through the meditative development of samatha. And implicitly in regard to, Right View – embodying wisdom traditionally attained through the development of vipassana founded on samatha. Classic texts in the Pali literature enumerating meditative subjects include the Satipatthana Sutta, in the Satipatthana Sutta, the Buddha identifies four foundations for mindfulness, the body, feelings, mind states and mental objects. Meditation on these subjects develops insight, in the Four Ways to Arahantship Sutta, Ven. In the Pali canon, the Buddha never mentions independent samatha and vipassana meditation practices, instead, samatha, nonetheless, some meditation practices favor the development of samatha, others are conducive to the development of vipassana, while others are classically used for developing both mental qualities. Buddhaghosas forty meditation subjects are described in the Visuddhimagga, almost all of these are described in the early texts. Buddhaghosa subsequently elaborates on the forty meditation subjects as follows, ten kasinas, earth, water, fire, air, blue, yellow, red, white, light, and limited-space. Ten kinds of foulness, the bloated, the livid, the festering, the cut-up, the gnawed, the scattered, the hacked and scattered, the bleeding, the worm-infested, and a skeleton. Ten recollections, Buddhānussaṭi, the Dhamma, the Sangha, virtue, generosity, the virtues of deities, death, the body, the breath, Four divine abodes, metta, karuṇā, mudita, and upekkha. Four immaterial states, boundless space, boundless perception, nothingness, according to Pali commentaries, breath meditation can lead one to the equanimous fourth jhanic absorption
Buddhist meditation
–
Monk meditating beside
Sirikit Dam in Thailand.
Buddhist meditation
–
Lord
Buddha meditating
15.
Noble Eightfold Path
–
The Noble Eightfold Path is an early summary of the path of Buddhist practices leading to liberation from samsara, the painful cycle of rebirth. The Eightfold Path consists of eight practices, right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, in the earliest Buddhism these practices started with insight, culminating in dhyana/samadhi as the core soteriological practice. In later Buddhism insight became the central instrument, leading to a different concept. The Noble Eightfold Path is one of the teachings of Theravada Buddhism. In the Theravada tradition, this path is also summarized as sila, samadhi, in Mahayana Buddhism it is contrasted with the Bodhisattva path, which culminates in full Buddhahood. In Buddhist symbolism, the Noble Eightfold Path is often represented by means of the dharma wheel, the Pali terms ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo is typically translated in English as Noble Eightfold Path. This translation is a convention started by the translators of Buddhist texts into English. However, the phrase does not mean the path is noble, the term maggo means path, while aṭṭhaṅgiko means eightfold. An alternate rendering of ariyo aṭṭhaṅgiko maggo is eightfold path of the noble ones, all eight elements of the Path begin with the word samyañc or sammā which means right, proper, as it ought to be, best. The Buddhist texts contrast samma with its opposite miccha, according to Vetter, the description of the Buddhist path may initially have been as simple as the term the middle way. In time, this description was elaborated, resulting in the description of the eightfold path. Vetter and Bucknell both note that descriptions of the path can be found, which can be condensed into the eightfold path. Such an environment aids contemplation of impermanence, suffering, and non-Self, Right samadhi, practicing four stages of meditation culminating into unification of the mind. That is the ancient path, the ancient road, traveled by the Rightly Self-awakened Ones of former times, following it, I came to direct knowledge of birth. Consciousness, direct knowledge of the origination of consciousness, direct knowledge of the cessation of consciousness, yet, Majjhima Nikaya 117, Mahācattārīsaka Sutta, describes the first seven practices as requisites for right samadhi. According to Vetter, this may have been the original practice in early Buddhism. Moral virtues group consists of three paths, right speech, right action and right livelihood, the meditation group of the path progresses from moral restraints to training the mind. These two factors fall under the category of wisdom, the Noble Eightfold Path, in the Buddhist traditions, is the direct means to nirvana and brings a release from the cycle of life and death in the realms of samsara
Noble Eightfold Path
–
The
Dharma wheel, often used to represent the Noble Eightfold Path
16.
Christian worship
–
In Christianity, worship is reverent honor and homage paid to God. In the New Testament various words are used for worship, the word proskuneo to worship means to bow down to God or kings. In Evangelicalism, worship is viewed like an act of adoration of God, the term liturgy is derived from the Greek leitourgia meaning public service and is formed by two words, laos and ergon, literally work of the people. Responsorial prayers are a series of petitions read or sung by a leader with responses made by the congregation, according to this view, alterations in the patterns and content of worship would necessarily reflect a change in the faith itself. Each time a heresy arose in the Church, it was accompanied by a shift in worship for the heretical group. Orthodoxy in faith also meant orthodoxy in worship, and vice versa, thus, unity in Christian worship was understood to be a fulfillment of Jesus words that the time was at hand when true worshipers would worship in spirit and in truth. The theme of worship is taken up by many of the Church Fathers including Justin Martyr, the Holy Eucharist was the central act of worship in early Christianity. The early Christian use of incense in worship seemed first to originate in Christian funeral rites, Worship as singing underwent great changes for some Christians within the Protestant Reformation. Martin Luther, a lover, composed hymns that are still sung today. John Calvin, in Geneva, argued that instrumental music had its time with the Levites of the Old Testament. This was expanded upon by John Knox, only Psalms were sung, furthermore, in the Genevan and Scottish Reformed tradition, man-made hymns are not sung, being seen inferior to the God-inspired psalms of the Bible. The Calvinist Regulative Principle of Worship distinguishes traditional Presbyterian and Reformed churches from the Lutheran or other Protestant churches, current Christian worship practices are diverse in modern Christianity, with a range of customs and theological views. Three broad groupings can be identified, and whilst some elements are universal, style and content varies greatly due to the history, in many Christian traditions, regular public worship is complemented by worship in private and small groups, such as meditation, prayer and study. While differing considerably in form, the following items characterise the worship of virtually all Christian churches and it also includes the Oriental Orthodox churches, the Eastern Orthodox churches, the Lutheran churches, and most branches of the Anglican Communion. Churches in this group understand worship as a participation in the death and resurrection of Christ, through which they are united with him. Services are structured according to a liturgy and typically include elements such as prayers, psalms, hymns, choral music the reading of Scripture. In the theology of the Catholic Church, the Mass takes on another dimension, that of a sacrifice, which is a ritualistic re-presentation of the Body and Blood of Christ to God the Father. The liturgy is led by a priest who wears vestments, a form of sacred clothing, and includes the usage of sacred liturgical vessels, incense, candles
Christian worship
–
An altar (shown above) is a solid stone or wooden table used for the celebration of the Eucharist in some Christian worship rites
Christian worship
–
A
Catholic Procession in
Salta,
Argentina
Christian worship
–
Worship at a
Byzantine Catholic altar
Christian worship
–
Children at a
Gospel presentation
17.
Anglican devotions
–
Anglican devotions are private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians to promote spiritual growth and communion with God. Among members of the Anglican Communion, private devotional habits vary widely, depending on personal preference, private prayer and Bible reading are probably the most common practices of devout Anglicans outside church. Some base their private prayers on the Book of Common Prayer, devotional practices among people and parishes who self-identify as Anglo-Catholic will naturally be different from those Anglicans who are Evangelical. Anglo-Catholics are likely to follow devotional customs familiar to the majority of Christians that have roots in the early, increasingly, Anglo-Catholics are discovering the spiritual riches of Eastern Christianity, e. g. praying with icons and the use of the Jesus Prayer. Evangelical Anglicans have been influenced by the Protestant Reformation and, in some cases. The Book of Common Prayer was a prayer book of Anglicanism when printed in 1549. The original was one of the instruments of the English Reformation, most Anglican churches, however, use contemporary alternatives to the Various editions of the Book of Common Prayer, such as Common Worship, or the Book of Alternative Services. The liturgies of the Episcopal church in the United States and the Church of Ireland use modern books each of which is named after the Book of Common Prayer. Some Anglo-Catholics use forms of the Roman Catholic Daily Office, such as the Divine Office, the Litany in the Book of Common Prayer, or litanies from other sources, is also a devotion used for private or family prayer by some Anglicans. Quiet Time, a time of prayer and Bible reflection is common among evangelical Anglicans, while Lectio Divina. Although direct prayer to the saints is a practice that was continued in the first Litany in English and it is, however, an important part of Anglo-Catholics public and private spiritual practices. In Anglo-Catholic theology, veneration is a type of honour distinct from the due to God alone. High church theologians have used the terms latria for the sacrificial worship due to God alone. They base this distinction on the conclusions of the Seventh Ecumenical Council, Prayer is directed to God, one prays with and for the saints as they pray with and for us through Christ to God. One example of Anglo-Catholic veneration is the procession in honour of Our Lady of Walsingham. It was suspended in 1538 and revived in 1922 by some clergy, the use of Anglican prayer beads by some Anglicans and members of other Christian denominations began in the 1980s. This bead set is used in a variety of ways, commonly, the beads are used in tandem with a fixed prayer format, but they are also used merely to keep count of whatever prayers the user has chosen for the occasion. Almost all Christians use sacramentals, whether they are so called or not, sacramentals among Anglo-Catholics may include images of Christian saints, a cross or crucifix, votive candles, Mary garden and holy water
Anglican devotions
–
The lighting of a
votive candle
Anglican devotions
–
The 1596
Book of Common Prayer
Anglican devotions
–
The Anglican National Procession to the shrine of the
Virgin Mary at
Walsingham in the county of
Norfolk,
England, proceeds through the ruined abbey, May 2003.
Anglican devotions
–
Anglican prayer beads
18.
Church service
–
A church service is a formalized period of communal worship in Christian tradition. It often but not exclusively occurs on Sunday, or Saturday in the case of those churches practicing seventh-day Sabbatarianism, the church service is the gathering together of Christians to be taught the Word of God and encouraged in their faith. Technically, the church in church service refers to the gathering of the rather than to the building in which it takes place. In most Christians traditions, services are presided over by clergy wherever possible, quakers and some other groups have no formal outline to their services, but allow the worship to develop as the participants present feel moved. The real evolution of the Christian service in the first century is shrouded in mystery, similarly, the liturgical year from Christmas via Easter to Pentecost covers roughly five months, the other seven having no major services linked to the work of Christ. However, this is not to say that the Jewish services were copied or deliberately substituted, today a wide variety of church services exist, from the long and elaborate services of Eastern Christianity to the very basic Evangelistic sermon. Though the majority of services are conducted in church buildings designed specifically for that purpose. For those unable to attend a service in a building a burgeoning televangelism. A number of Websites have been set up as cyber-churches to provide a worship space free to anyone on the Internet. Church services are planned and led by a single pastor or a small group of elders or may follow a format laid out by the dictates of the denomination. Some churches are lay led with members of the congregation taking turns guiding the service or simply following format that has evolved over time between the active members, a few begin their church services with the ringing of a bell. The service usually involves the singing of hymns, reading of scripture verses and possibly a psalm, if the church follows a lectionary, the sermon will often be about the scripture lections assigned to that day. Eucharistic churches have usually Holy Communion either every Sunday or several Sundays a month, less liturgical congregations tend to place a greater emphasis on the sermon. Vocal music is sung by a choir or the congregation. Sometimes other instruments such as piano, classical instruments, or modern band instruments may be part of the service, some churches are equipped with state-of-the-art multi-media equipment to add to the worship experience. The congregation may sing along in hymnals or words to hymns, more liturgical denominations may have the words to specific prayers written in a missalette or prayer book, which the congregation follows. Many churches will take up a collection during the service, the rationale for this is taken from 1 Corinthians 16, 1-2,1 Corinthians 9, 9-11, and 1 Timothy 5, 16-18. Some churches offer Sunday school classes, some churches have adult Sunday school either before or after the main worship service
Church service
–
A
Communion Sunday service at a
United Methodist church in the United States.
Church service
–
A Roman Catholic
Mass in
Sehnde, Germany
19.
Seventh-day Sabbatarianism
–
The seventh-day Sabbath, observed from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset, is an important part of the beliefs and practices of seventh-day churches. They hold that the Old and New Testament show no variation in the doctrine of the Sabbath on the seventh day, Saturday, or the seventh day in the weekly cycle, is the only day in all of scripture designated using the term Sabbath. The seventh day of the week is recognized as Sabbath in many languages, calendars and it is still observed in modern Judaism in relation to Mosaic Law. Catholic, Orthodox, and most Protestant denominations believe the Mosaic Law to be superseded, Seventh-day Sabbatarians are Christians who seek to reestablish the practice of some early Christians who kept the sabbath according to normal Jewish practice. The sabbath was first described in the account of the seventh day of creation. Observation and remembrance of the sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments and this rule also applies to strangers within their gates, a sign in respect for the day during which God rested after having completed creation in six days. According to Justin Martyr, Christians also worshiped on Sunday because it possessed a certain mysterious import, According to R. J. Bauckham, the post-apostolic church contained diverse practices regarding the sabbath. Emperor Aurelian began a new Sun cult in 274 A. D and pagan ordinances were instituted in order to transform the old Roman idolatry, emperor Constantine then enacted the first Sunday Laws, for the venerable Day of the Sun in 321 A. D. So that the advantage given by heavenly providence may not for the occasion of a short time perish, early Christian observance of both the spiritual seventh-day sabbath and a Lords Day assembly is evidenced in Ignatiuss letter to the Magnesians ca. The Pseudo-Ignatian additions amplified this point by combining weekly observance of spiritual seventh-day sabbath with the Lords assembly, if Pseudo-Ignatius dates as early as 140, its admonition must be considered important evidence on 2nd-century sabbath and Lords Day observance. According to classical sources, widespread seventh-day sabbath rest by gentile Christians was also the mode in the 3rd. But while many God-fearing Christians were gradually led to regard Sunday as possessing a degree of sacredness, Bauckham also states some church authorities continued to oppose this as a judaizing tendency. In the 5th century, Sozomen, referencing Socrates Scholasticus, added to his description, Assemblies are not held in all churches on the same time or manner. The people of Constantinople, and almost everywhere, assemble together on the Sabbath, as well as on the first day of the week, which custom is never observed at Rome or at Alexandria. The Sabbath in Africa Study Group, founded by Charles E. Bradford in 1991, taddesse Tamrat has argued that this practice predates Saint Ewostatewoss advocacy of observing both Saturday and Sunday as days of sabbath, which led to his eventual exile from Ethiopia around 1337. Emperor Zara Yaqob convened a synod at Tegulet in 1450 to discuss the sabbath question, in Bohemia, as much as one quarter of the population kept seventh-day the sabbath in 1310. This practice continued until at least the 16th century, when Erasmus wrote about the practice, the Unitarian Church condemned Sabbatarianism as innovation in 1618. Sabbatarianism also expanded into Russia, where its adherents were called Subbotniks, and, from there, some of the Russian Subbotniks maintained a Christian identity doctrinally, while others formally converted to Judaism and assimilated within the Jewish communities of Russia
Seventh-day Sabbatarianism
–
A Seventh-day Adventist church.
20.
God
–
In monotheism, God is conceived of as the Supreme Being and principal object of faith. The concept of God as described by most theologians includes the attributes of omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, divine simplicity, many theologians also describe God as being omnibenevolent and all loving. Furthermore, some religions attribute only a purely grammatical gender to God, incorporeity and corporeity of God are related to conceptions of transcendence and immanence of God, with positions of synthesis such as the immanent transcendence of Chinese theology. God has been conceived as personal or impersonal. In theism, God is the creator and sustainer of the universe, while in deism, God is the creator, in pantheism, God is the universe itself. In atheism, God is not believed to exist, while God is deemed unknown or unknowable within the context of agnosticism, God has also been conceived as the source of all moral obligation, and the greatest conceivable existent. Many notable philosophers have developed arguments for and against the existence of God, there are many names for God, and different names are attached to different cultural ideas about Gods identity and attributes. In the ancient Egyptian era of Atenism, possibly the earliest recorded monotheistic religion, this deity was called Aten, premised on being the one true Supreme Being and creator of the universe. In the Hebrew Bible and Judaism, He Who Is, I Am that I Am, in the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, God, consubstantial in three persons, is called the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. In Judaism, it is common to refer to God by the titular names Elohim or Adonai, in Islam, the name Allah is used, while Muslims also have a multitude of titular names for God. In Hinduism, Brahman is often considered a concept of God. In Chinese religion, God is conceived as the progenitor of the universe, intrinsic to it, other religions have names for God, for instance, Baha in the Baháí Faith, Waheguru in Sikhism, and Ahura Mazda in Zoroastrianism. The earliest written form of the Germanic word God comes from the 6th-century Christian Codex Argenteus, the English word itself is derived from the Proto-Germanic * ǥuđan. The reconstructed Proto-Indo-European form * ǵhu-tó-m was likely based on the root * ǵhau-, in the English language, the capitalized form of God continues to represent a distinction between monotheistic God and gods in polytheism. The same holds for Hebrew El, but in Judaism, God is also given a proper name, in many translations of the Bible, when the word LORD is in all capitals, it signifies that the word represents the tetragrammaton. Allāh is the Arabic term with no plural used by Muslims and Arabic speaking Christians and Jews meaning The God, Ahura Mazda is the name for God used in Zoroastrianism. Mazda, or rather the Avestan stem-form Mazdā-, nominative Mazdå and it is generally taken to be the proper name of the spirit, and like its Sanskrit cognate medhā, means intelligence or wisdom. Both the Avestan and Sanskrit words reflect Proto-Indo-Iranian *mazdhā-, from Proto-Indo-European mn̩sdʰeh1, literally meaning placing ones mind, Waheguru is a term most often used in Sikhism to refer to God
God
–
"God the Father", a representation of the theistic version of God, by
Ludovico Mazzolino (1480 –
c. 1528)
God
–
Detail of
Sistine Chapel fresco Creation of the Sun and Moon by
Michelangelo (c. 1512), a well-known example of the depiction of
God the Father in Western art
God
–
Depiction of God in the Catholic Church, Latin America
God
–
St. Thomas Aquinas summarized
five arguments which he believed were proof for the existence of God
21.
New Testament
–
The New Testament is the second major part of the Christian biblical canon, the first part being the Old Testament, based on the Hebrew Bible. The New Testament discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christianity, Christians regard both the Old and New Testaments together as sacred scripture. The New Testament has frequently accompanied the spread of Christianity around the world and it reflects and serves as a source for Christian theology and morality. Both extended readings and phrases directly from the New Testament are also incorporated into the various Christian liturgies, the New Testament has influenced religious, philosophical, and political movements in Christendom and left an indelible mark on literature, art, and music. In almost all Christian traditions today, the New Testament consists of 27 books, John A. T. Robinson, Dan Wallace, and William F. Albright dated all the books of the New Testament before 70 AD. Others give a date of 80 AD, or at 96 AD. Over time, some disputed books, such as the Book of Revelation, other works earlier held to be Scripture, such as 1 Clement, the Shepherd of Hermas, and the Diatessaron, were excluded from the New Testament. However, the canon of the New Testament, at least since Late Antiquity, has been almost universally recognized within Christianity. The term new testament, or new covenant first occurs in Jeremiah 31,31, the same Greek phrase for new covenant is found elsewhere in the New Testament. Modern English, like Latin, distinguishes testament and covenant as alternative translations, John Wycliffes 1395 version is a translation of the Latin Vulgate and so follows different terms in Jeremiah and Hebrews, Lo. Days shall come, saith the Lord, and I shall make a new covenant with the house of Israel, for he reproving him saith, Lo. Days come, saith the Lord, when I shall establish a new testament on the house of Israel, use of the term New Testament to describe a collection of first and second-century Christian Greek Scriptures can be traced back to Tertullian. In Against Marcion, written circa 208 AD, he writes of the Divine Word, by the 4th century, the existence—even if not the exact contents—of both an Old and New Testament had been established. Lactantius, a 3rd–4th century Christian author wrote in his early-4th-century Latin Institutiones Divinae and that which preceded the advent and passion of Christ—that is, the law and the prophets—is called the Old, but those things which were written after His resurrection are named the New Testament. The canon of the New Testament is the collection of books that most Christians regard as divinely inspired, several of these writings sought to extend, interpret, and apply apostolic teaching to meet the needs of Christians in a given locality. The book order is the same in the Greek Orthodox, Roman Catholic, the Slavonic, Armenian and Ethiopian traditions have different New Testament book orders. Each of the four gospels in the New Testament narrates the life, death, the word gospel derives from the Old English gōd-spell, meaning good news or glad tidings. The gospel was considered the good news of the coming Kingdom of Messiah, and the redemption through the life and death of Jesus, Gospel is a calque of the Greek word εὐαγγέλιον, euangelion
New Testament
–
Books of the New Testament
New Testament
–
Evangelist Mathäus und der Engel, by
Rembrandt.
New Testament
–
Saint Paul Writing His Epistles, 17th-century painting. Most scholars think Paul actually dictated his letters to a secretary.
New Testament
–
Papyrus Bodmer VIII, at the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, showing 1 and 2 Peter.
22.
Anglicanism
–
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising the Church of England and churches which are historically tied to it or hold similar beliefs, worship practices and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to the Magna Carta and before, adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans. As the name suggests, the churches of the Anglican Communion are linked by bonds of tradition, affection and they are in full communion with the See of Canterbury, and thus the Archbishop of Canterbury, in his person, is a unique focus of Anglican unity. He calls the once-a-decade Lambeth Conference, chairs the meeting of primates, Anglicans base their Christian faith on the Bible, traditions of the apostolic Church, apostolic succession, and writings of the Church Fathers. Anglicanism forms one of the branches of Western Christianity, having declared its independence from the Holy See at the time of the Elizabethan Religious Settlement. Many of the new Anglican formularies of the mid-16th century corresponded closely to those of contemporary Protestantism, the word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English Church. Adherents of Anglicanism are called Anglicans, as an adjective, Anglican is used to describe the people, institutions and churches, as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the Church of England. As a noun, an Anglican is a member of a church in the Anglican Communion, the word is also used by followers of separated groups which have left the communion or have been founded separately from it, although this is sometimes considered as a misuse. The word Anglicanism came into being in the 19th century, although the term Anglican is found referring to the Church of England as far back as the 16th century, its use did not become general until the latter half of the 19th century. Elsewhere, however, the term Anglican Church came to be preferred as it distinguished these churches from others that maintain an episcopal polity, as such, it is often referred to as being a via media between these traditions. Anglicans understand the Old and New Testaments as containing all necessary for salvation and as being the rule. Reason and Tradition are seen as means to interpret Scripture. Anglicans understand the Apostles Creed as the symbol and the Nicene Creed as the sufficient statement of the Christian faith. Anglicans celebrate the sacraments, with special emphasis being given to the Eucharist, also called Holy Communion. Unique to Anglicanism is the Book of Common Prayer, the collection of services that worshippers in most Anglican churches used for centuries and it was called common prayer originally because it was intended for use in all Church of England churches which had previously followed differing local liturgies. The term was kept when the church became international because all Anglicans used to share in its use around the world, in 1549, the first Book of Common Prayer was compiled by Thomas Cranmer, who was then Archbishop of Canterbury. The founding of Christianity in Britain is commonly attributed to Joseph of Arimathea, according to Anglican legend, Saint Alban, who was executed in 209 AD, is the first Christian martyr in the British Isles. A new culture emerged around the Irish Sea among the Celtic peoples with Celtic Christianity at its core, what resulted was a form of Christianity distinct from Rome in many traditions and practices
Anglicanism
–
Jesus depicted in a stained glass window in
Rochester Cathedral, Kent.
Anglicanism
Anglicanism
–
Shrine of Saint Alban at the
Anglican Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban
Anglicanism
–
Richard Hooker (1554–1600), one of the most influential figures in shaping Anglican theology and self-identity.
23.
Oriental Orthodoxy
–
Oriental Orthodoxy has approximately 84 million adherents worldwide. Oriental Orthodox Churches uphold their own ancient ecclesiastic traditions of apostolic succession and these Churches rejected the definition of the two natures of Christ, known as the Chalcedonian Definition, which was issued by the Council of Chalcedon in 451. The Eastern Orthodox maintain numerous theological and ecclesiological similarities with the Oriental Orthodox, the Oriental Orthodox Churches are in full communion with each other, but not with the Eastern Orthodox Church, despite the similar name. The schism between Oriental Orthodoxy and the Great Church was based on differences in Christology, the First Council of Nicaea, in 325, declared that Jesus Christ is God, that is to say, consubstantial with the Father. Later, the ecumenical council, the Council of Ephesus, declared that Jesus Christ, though divine as well as human, is only one being. Thus, the Council of Ephesus explicitly rejected Nestorianism, the Christological doctrine that Christ was two distinct beings, one divine and one human, who happened to inhabit the same body. The Churches that later became Oriental Orthodoxy were firmly anti-Nestorian, and those who opposed Chalcedon saw this as a concession to Nestorianism, or even as a conspiracy to convert the Church to Nestorianism by stealth. As a result, over the decades, they gradually separated from communion with the Great Church. Monophysitism was condemned as heretical alongside Nestorianism, and to accuse a church of being Monophysite is to accuse it of falling into the opposite extreme from Nestorianism, however, the Oriental Orthodox themselves reject this description as inaccurate, having officially condemned the teachings of both Nestorius and Eutyches. They define themselves as Miaphysite instead, holding that Christ has one nature, the schism between the Oriental Orthodox and the rest of Christendom occurred in the 5th century. They would accept only of or from two natures but not in two natures and it is not entirely clear that Nestorius himself was a Nestorian. The Oriental Orthodox churches were often called Monophysite, although they reject this label, as it is associated with Eutychian Monophysitism. It was not until 518 that the new Byzantine Emperor, Justin I, Justin ordered the replacement of all non-Chalcedonian bishops, including the patriarchs of Antioch and Alexandria. The extent of the influence of the Bishop of Rome in this demand has been a matter of debate, Justinian I also attempted to bring those monks who still rejected the decision of the Council of Chalcedon into communion with the greater church. The exact time of event is unknown, but it is believed to have been between 535 and 548. St Abraham of Farshut was summoned to Constantinople and he chose to bring with him four monks, upon arrival, Justinian summoned them and informed them that they would either accept the decision of the Council or lose their positions. Abraham refused to entertain the idea, theodora tried to persuade Justinian to change his mind, seemingly to no avail. Abraham himself stated in a letter to his monks that he preferred to remain in exile rather than subscribe to a faith which he believed to be contrary to that of Athanasius of Alexandria
Oriental Orthodoxy
–
Christ feeding the multitude, a Coptic icon
Oriental Orthodoxy
–
Coptic icon of
St. Anthony the Great
Oriental Orthodoxy
–
Etchmiadzin Armenian Apostolic Cathedral in
Armenia
24.
Eastern Orthodoxy
–
The Eastern Orthodox Church teaches that it is the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church established by Jesus Christ in his Great Commission to the apostles. It practices what it understands to be the original Christian faith, the Eastern Orthodox Church is a communion of autocephalous churches, each typically governed by a Holy Synod. It teaches that all bishops are equal by virtue of their ordination, prior to the Council of Chalcedon in AD451, the Eastern Orthodox had also shared communion with the Oriental Orthodox churches, separating primarily over differences in Christology. Eastern Orthodoxy spread throughout the Roman and later Eastern Roman Empires and beyond, playing a prominent role in European, Near Eastern, Slavic, and some African cultures. As a result, the term Greek Orthodox has sometimes used to describe all of Eastern Orthodoxy in general. However, the appellation Greek was never in use and was gradually abandoned by the non-Greek-speaking Eastern Orthodox churches. Its most prominent episcopal see is Constantinople, there are also many in other parts of the world, formed through immigration, conversion and missionary activity. The official name of the Eastern Orthodox Church is the Orthodox Catholic Church and it is the name by which the church refers to itself in its liturgical or canonical texts, in official publications, and in official contexts or administrative documents. Orthodox teachers refer to the Church as Catholic and this name and longer variants containing Catholic are also recognized and referenced in other books and publications by secular or non-Orthodox writers. The common name of the Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, is a shortened practicality that helps to avoid confusions in casual use, for this reason, the eastern churches were sometimes identified as Greek, even before the great schism. After 1054, Greek Orthodox or Greek Catholic marked a church as being in communion with Constantinople and this identification with Greek, however, became increasingly confusing with time. Missionaries brought Orthodoxy to many regions without ethnic Greeks, where the Greek language was not spoken. Today, many of those same Roman churches remain, while a large number of Orthodox are not of Greek national origin. Eastern, then, indicates the element in the Churchs origin and development, while Orthodox indicates the faith. While the Church continues officially to call itself Catholic, for reasons of universality, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in a letter written about 110 AD from one Greek church to another. Quote of St Ignatius to the Smyrnaeans, Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people be, even as where Jesus may be, thus, almost from the very beginning, Christians referred to the Church as the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. The Orthodox Church claims that it is today the continuation and preservation of that same Church, a number of other Christian churches also make a similar claim, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion, the Assyrian Church and the Oriental Orthodox Churches. The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church, not directly from the Orthodox Church, the depth of this meaning in the Orthodox Church is registered first in its use of the word Orthodox itself, a union of Greek orthos and doxa
Eastern Orthodoxy
–
Orthodox liturgy
Eastern Orthodoxy
–
An
icon of
John the Baptist, 14th century, Macedonia
25.
Adoration
–
Adoration is respect, reverence, strong admiration or devotion in a certain person, place, or thing. The term comes from the Latin adōrātiō, meaning to give homage or worship to someone or something, the devotee had his head covered, and after the act turned himself round from left to right. Sometimes he kissed the feet or knees of the images of the gods themselves, by a natural transition the homage, at first paid to divine beings alone, came to be paid to monarchs. In Eastern countries, adoration has been performed in a still more lowly. The Persian method, introduced by Cyrus the Great, was to kiss the knee and fall on the face at the feet, striking the earth with the forehead. This striking of the earth with the forehead, usually a number of times, was a form of adoration sometimes paid to Eastern potentates. The Jews kissed in homage, as did other groups mentioned in the Old Testament. Thus in 1 Kings 19,18, God is made to say, Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. And in Psalms 2,12, Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, in Western Europe, the ceremony of kissing the sovereigns hand, and some other acts which are performed while kneeling, may be described as forms of adoration. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that Adoration is the acknowledgement of God as God, creator and savior, Adoration is homage of the spirit to the King of glory, respectful silence in the presence of the ever greater God. Adoration is prompted by the Holy Spirit, in the strict sense, adoration is an act of religion offered to God in acknowledgment of His supreme perfection and dominion, and of the creatures dependence upon Him. The rational creature, looking up to God, whom reason and revelation show to be perfect, cannot in right. In Luke 4, 7-8, Jesus tells the tempter, Scripture has it, You shall do homage to the Lord your God, Him alone shall you adore. The worship called forth by God, and given exclusively to Him as God, is designated by the Greek name latreia, which is usually translated Adoration. The primary and fundamental element in adoration is an act of mind and will, the mind perceiving that Gods perfection is infinite. Adoration is a submission of self to God expressed interiorly as well as exteriorly by ones actions. It is an act of mind and will where the mind humbly admits that Gods perfection is infinite. An acknowledge of Gods right as God to be Lord of ones life, thomas Aquinas says, Adoration is primarily an interior reverence for God expressing itself secondarily in bodily signs of humility, bending our knee and prostrating ourselves
Adoration
–
Adoration 1913, by
William Strang
26.
Veneration
–
Veneration, or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions, philologically, to venerate derives from the Latin verb, venerare, meaning to regard with reverence and respect. Veneration of saints is practiced, formally or informally, by adherents of some branches of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam. The practice of veneration is deemed heretical by iconoclastic denominations, Hinduism has a long tradition of veneration of saints, expressed toward various gurus and teachers of sanctity, both living and dead. Branches of Buddhism include formal liturgical worship of saints, with Mahayana Buddhism classifying degrees of sainthood, other sects, such as Wahhabists etc. abhor the practice. In Judaism, there is no classical or formal recognition of saints, in some regions, for example within Judaism in Morocco, there is a long and widespread tradition of saint veneration. Both main branches of Buddhism, Theravada and Mahayana, recognize those who have achieved a degree of enlightenment as an Arhat. Mahayana Buddhism particularly gives emphasis to the power of saints to aid ordinary people on the path to enlightenment and those who have reached enlightenment, and have delayed their own complete enlightenment in order to help others, are called Bodhisattvas. Mahayana Buddhism has formal liturgical practices for venerating saints, along with specific levels of sainthood. Tibetan Buddhists venerate especially holy lamas, such as the Dalai Lama, veneration towards those who were considered holy began in early Christianity, with the martyrs first being given special honor. Official church commemoration of saints in Rome beginning as early as the third century, over time, the honor also began to be given to those Christians who lived lives of holiness and sanctity. Various denominations venerate and determine saints in different ways, with some having a formal canonization or glorification process, in Roman Catholic and Orthodox theology, veneration is a type of honor distinct from the adoration due to God alone. It is the manifestation of submission, and acknowledgement of dependence, appropriately shown towards the excellence of a divine person. It is the worship of the Creator that God alone deserves, veneration, known as dulia in classical theology, is the honor and reverence appropriately due to the excellence of a created person. Excellence exhibited by created beings likewise deserves recognition and honor and we see a general example of veneration in events like the awarding of academic awards for excellence in school, or the awarding of olympic medals for excellence in sports. There is nothing contrary to the adoration of God when we offer the appropriate honor. We must make a further clarification regarding the use of the term “worship” in relation to the categories of adoration and veneration, historically, schools of theology have used the term “worship” as a general term which included both adoration and veneration. They would distinguish between “worship of adoration” and “worship of veneration. ”The word “worship” was not synonymous with adoration, hence Catholic sources will sometimes use the term “worship” not to indicate adoration, but only the worship of veneration given to Mary and the saints
Veneration
–
Veneration in Noto
St Conrad of Piacenza (San Corrado)
27.
Dulia
–
Veneration, or veneration of saints, is the act of honoring a saint, a person who has been identified as having a high degree of sanctity or holiness. Angels are shown similar veneration in many religions, philologically, to venerate derives from the Latin verb, venerare, meaning to regard with reverence and respect. Veneration of saints is practiced, formally or informally, by adherents of some branches of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, Islam. The practice of veneration is deemed heretical by iconoclastic denominations, Hinduism has a long tradition of veneration of saints, expressed toward various gurus and teachers of sanctity, both living and dead. Branches of Buddhism include formal liturgical worship of saints, with Mahayana Buddhism classifying degrees of sainthood, other sects, such as Wahhabists etc. abhor the practice. In Judaism, there is no classical or formal recognition of saints, in some regions, for example within Judaism in Morocco, there is a long and widespread tradition of saint veneration. Both main branches of Buddhism, Theravada and Mahayana, recognize those who have achieved a degree of enlightenment as an Arhat. Mahayana Buddhism particularly gives emphasis to the power of saints to aid ordinary people on the path to enlightenment and those who have reached enlightenment, and have delayed their own complete enlightenment in order to help others, are called Bodhisattvas. Mahayana Buddhism has formal liturgical practices for venerating saints, along with specific levels of sainthood. Tibetan Buddhists venerate especially holy lamas, such as the Dalai Lama, veneration towards those who were considered holy began in early Christianity, with the martyrs first being given special honor. Official church commemoration of saints in Rome beginning as early as the third century, over time, the honor also began to be given to those Christians who lived lives of holiness and sanctity. Various denominations venerate and determine saints in different ways, with some having a formal canonization or glorification process, in Roman Catholic and Orthodox theology, veneration is a type of honor distinct from the adoration due to God alone. It is the manifestation of submission, and acknowledgement of dependence, appropriately shown towards the excellence of a divine person. It is the worship of the Creator that God alone deserves, veneration, known as dulia in classical theology, is the honor and reverence appropriately due to the excellence of a created person. Excellence exhibited by created beings likewise deserves recognition and honor and we see a general example of veneration in events like the awarding of academic awards for excellence in school, or the awarding of olympic medals for excellence in sports. There is nothing contrary to the adoration of God when we offer the appropriate honor. We must make a further clarification regarding the use of the term “worship” in relation to the categories of adoration and veneration, historically, schools of theology have used the term “worship” as a general term which included both adoration and veneration. They would distinguish between “worship of adoration” and “worship of veneration. ”The word “worship” was not synonymous with adoration, hence Catholic sources will sometimes use the term “worship” not to indicate adoration, but only the worship of veneration given to Mary and the saints
Dulia
–
Veneration in Noto
St Conrad of Piacenza (San Corrado)
28.
Saint
–
A saint, also historically known as a hallow, is a term used for a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness or likeness to God. Depending on the context and denomination, the term also retains its original Christian meaning, as any believer who is in Christ and in whom Christ dwells, whether in Heaven or on Earth. Depending on the religion, saints are recognized either by official ecclesiastical declaration, the English word saint comes from the Latin sanctus. The word translated the Greek ἅγιος, which derives from the verb ἁγιάζω, the word ἅγιος appears 229 times in the Greek New Testament, and its English translation 60 times in the corresponding text of the King James Version of the Bible. In the New Testament, saint did not denote the deceased who had recognized as especially holy or emulable. Many religions also use similar concepts to venerate persons worthy of some honor, the anthropologist Lawrence Babb in an article about Sathya Sai Baba asks the question Who is a saint. These saintly figures, he asserts, are the points of spiritual force-fields. They exert powerful attractive influence on followers but touch the lives of others in transforming ways as well. In the Bible, only one person is called a saint, They envied Moses also in the camp. The apostle Paul declared himself to be less than the least of all saints in Ephesians 3,8, in the Catholic Church, a saint is anyone in Heaven, whether recognized on Earth or not. There are many persons that the Church believes to be in Heaven who have not been formally canonized, sometimes the word saint also denotes living Christians. They remind us that the Church is holy, can never stop being holy and is called to show the holiness of God by living the life of Christ, the Catholic Church teaches that it does not make or create saints, but rather recognizes them. Proofs of heroicity required in the process of beatification will serve to illustrate in detail the general principles exposed above upon proof of their holiness or likeness to God. On 3 January 993, Pope John XV became the first pope to proclaim a person a saint, on the petition of the German ruler, before that time, the popular cults, or venerations, of saints had been local and spontaneous. Pope John XVIII subsequently permitted a cult of five Polish martyrs, walter of Pontoise was the last person in Western Europe to be canonized by an authority other than the Pope, Hugh de Boves, the Archbishop of Rouen, canonized him in 1153. Thenceforth a decree of Pope Alexander III in 1170 reserved the prerogative of canonization to the Pope, one source claims that there are over 10,000 named saints and beatified people from history, the Roman Martyrology and Orthodox sources, but no definitive head count. Alban Butler published Lives of the Saints in 1756, including a total of 1,486 saints, the latest revision of this book, edited by Rev. Herbert Thurston, SJ and British author Donald Attwater, contains the lives of 2,565 saints. Monsignor Robert Sarno, an official of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints of the Holy See, expressed that it is impossible to give an exact number of saints
Saint
–
In traditional
Christian iconography, saints are often depicted with
halos, a symbol of holiness; note how
Judas Iscariot at the forefront is the only apostle without a halo.
Saint
–
A portrait depicting
Saint Francis of Assisi by the Italian artist
Cimabue (1240-1302)
Saint
–
(
The Ninety-Five Theses)
29.
Folk religion
–
The precise definition of folk religion varies among scholars. Sometimes also termed popular belief, it consists of ethnic or regional religious customs under the umbrella of a religion, the term folk religion is generally held to encompass two related but separate subjects. The first is the dimension of folk culture, or the folk-cultural dimensions of religion. Chinese folk religion, Folk Christianity, Folk Hinduism, and Folk Islam are examples of religion associated with major religions. Don Yoder argued that there were five separate ways of defining folk religion and this definition would view folk religion in Catholic Europe as the survivals of pre-Christian religion and the folk religion in Protestant Europe as the survivals of Medieval Catholicism. The fourth definition provided by Yoder stated that folk religion represented the folk interpretation and expression of religion and his fifth and final definition represented a practical working definition that combined elements from these various other definitions. Yoder described folk religion as existing in a society in relation to. Its relatively unorganized character differentiates it from organized religion and this term was first employed by a German Lutheran preacher, Paul Drews, in a 1901 article that he published which was titled Religiöse Volkskunde, eine Aufgabe der praktischen Theologie. Although developing within an environment, the term came to be adopted by German academics in the field of folkloristics. Over the coming decades, Georg Schreiber established an Institut für religiöse Volkskund in Munich while a department was established in Salzburg by Hanns Koren. Throughout the 20th century, many studies were made of folk religion in Europe, paying attention to such subjects as pilgrimage. In the Americas, the study of folk religion developed among cultural anthropologists studying the syncretistic cultures of the Caribbean and Latin America. The pioneer in this field was Redfield, whose 1930 book Tepoztlán, Yoder later noted that although the earliest known usage of the term folk religion in the English language was unknown, it probably developed as a translation of the German Volksreligion. One of the earliest prominent usages of the term was in the title of Joshua Trachtenbergs 1939 work Jewish Magic and Superstition, A Study in Folk Religion. Courses on the study of religion came to be taught at various universities in the United States, such as John Messengers at Indiana University. Although the subject of folk religion fell within the remit of scholars operating in both folkloristics and religious studies, by 1974 Yoder noted that U. S. He also lamented that many U. S. -based folklorists also neglected the subject of religion because it did not fit within the standard genre-based system for cataloguing folklore, the term folk religion came to be increasingly rejected in the 1990s and 2000s by scholars seeking more precise terminology. Yoder noted that one problem with the use of the folk religion was that it did not fit into the work of those scholars who used the term religion in reference solely to organized religion
Folk religion
–
Botánicas such as this one in
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts,
USA, sell religious goods such as statues of
saints and
candles decorated with
prayers alongside
folk medicine and
amulets.
30.
Judaism
–
Judaism encompasses the religion, philosophy, culture and way of life of the Jewish people. Judaism is an ancient monotheistic Abrahamic religion, with the Torah as its text, and supplemental oral tradition represented by later texts such as the Midrash. Judaism is considered by religious Jews to be the expression of the relationship that God established with the Children of Israel. With between 14.5 and 17.4 million adherents worldwide, Judaism is the tenth-largest religion in the world, Judaism includes a wide corpus of texts, practices, theological positions, and forms of organization. Modern branches of Judaism such as Humanistic Judaism may be nontheistic, today, the largest Jewish religious movements are Orthodox Judaism, Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism. Major sources of difference between groups are their approaches to Jewish law, the authority of the Rabbinic tradition. Orthodox Judaism maintains that the Torah and Jewish law are divine in origin, eternal and unalterable, Conservative and Reform Judaism are more liberal, with Conservative Judaism generally promoting a more traditional interpretation of Judaisms requirements than Reform Judaism. A typical Reform position is that Jewish law should be viewed as a set of guidelines rather than as a set of restrictions and obligations whose observance is required of all Jews. Historically, special courts enforced Jewish law, today, these still exist. Authority on theological and legal matters is not vested in any one person or organization, the history of Judaism spans more than 3,000 years. Judaism has its roots as a religion in the Middle East during the Bronze Age. Judaism is considered one of the oldest monotheistic religions, the Hebrews and Israelites were already referred to as Jews in later books of the Tanakh such as the Book of Esther, with the term Jews replacing the title Children of Israel. Judaisms texts, traditions and values strongly influenced later Abrahamic religions, including Christianity, Islam, many aspects of Judaism have also directly or indirectly influenced secular Western ethics and civil law. Jews are a group and include those born Jewish and converts to Judaism. In 2015, the world Jewish population was estimated at about 14.3 million, Judaism thus begins with ethical monotheism, the belief that God is one and is concerned with the actions of humankind. According to the Tanakh, God promised Abraham to make of his offspring a great nation, many generations later, he commanded the nation of Israel to love and worship only one God, that is, the Jewish nation is to reciprocate Gods concern for the world. He also commanded the Jewish people to one another, that is. These commandments are but two of a corpus of commandments and laws that constitute this covenant, which is the substance of Judaism
Judaism
–
Judaica (clockwise from top):
Shabbat candlesticks,
handwashing cup,
Chumash and
Tanakh,
Torah pointer,
shofar and
etrog box
Judaism
–
Silver case containing a handwritten
Torah (
Museum of Jewish Art and History, Paris)
Judaism
–
Glass platter inscribed with the Hebrew word zokhreinu – remember us
Judaism
–
A 19th-century silver
Macedonian Hanukkah menorah
31.
Sunni Islam
–
Sunni Islam is the largest group of Islam. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the behavior of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. According to Sunni tradition, Muhammad did not clearly designate a successor and this contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad intended his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib to succeed him. Political tensions between Sunnis and Shias continued with varying intensity throughout Islamic history and they have been exacerbated in recent times by ethnic conflicts, as of 2009, Sunni Muslims constituted 87–90% of the worlds Muslim population. Sunni Islam is the worlds largest religious denomination, followed by Catholicism and its adherents are referred to in Arabic as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah or ahl as-sunnah for short. In English, its doctrines and practices are sometimes called Sunnism, while adherents are known as Sunni Muslims, Sunnis, Sunnites, Sunni Islam is sometimes referred to as orthodox Islam. The Quran, together with hadith and binding juristic consensus form the basis of all traditional jurisprudence within Sunni Islam, sunnī, also commonly referred to as Sunnīism, is a term derived from sunnah meaning habit, usual practice, custom, tradition. The Muslim use of this term refers to the sayings and living habits of the prophet Muhammad, in Arabic, this branch of Islam is referred to as ahl as-sunnah wa l-jamāʻah, the people of the sunnah and the community, which is commonly shortened to ahl as-sunnah. One common mistake is to assume that Sunni Islam represents a normative Islam that emerged during the period after Muhammads death, and that Sufism and Shiism developed out of Sunni Islam. This perception is due to the reliance on highly ideological sources that have been accepted as reliable historical works. Both Sunnism and Shiaism are the end products of centuries of competition between ideologies. Both sects used each other to further cement their own identities and doctrines, the first four caliphs are known among Sunnis as the Rashidun or Rightly-Guided Ones. Sunni recognition includes the aforementioned Abu Bakr as the first, Umar who established the Islamic calendar as the second, Uthman as the third, Sunnis believe that the companions of Muhammad were the best of Muslims. Support for this view is found in the Quran, according to Sunnis. Sunnis also believe that the companions were true believers since it was the companions who were given the task of compiling the Quran, furthermore, narrations that were narrated by the companions are considered by Sunnis to be a second source of knowledge of the Muslim faith. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center in 2010 and released January 2011 found that there are 1.62 billion Muslims around the world, Islam does not have a formal hierarchy or clergy. Leaders are informal, and gain influence through study to become a scholar of Islamic law, according to the Islamic Center of Columbia, South Carolina, anyone with the intelligence and the will can become an Islamic scholar. During Midday Mosque services on Fridays, the congregation will choose a person to lead the service
Sunni Islam
Sunni Islam
–
Malaysian Sunni Muslims in a
Mawlid procession in capital
Putrajaya, 2013.
Sunni Islam
–
The
Great Mosque of Kairouan (also known as the Mosque of Uqba) was, in particular during the 9th, 10th and 11th centuries, an important center of Islamic learning with an emphasis on the
Maliki Madh'hab. It is located in the city of
Kairouan in
Tunisia
32.
Chasidism
–
Hasidism, sometimes Hasidic Judaism, is a Jewish religious sect. It arose as a revival movement in contemporary Western Ukraine during the 18th century. Today most affiliates reside in the United States, Israel, Israel Ben Eliezer, the Baal Shem Tov, is regarded as its founding father, and his disciples developed and disseminated it. Current Hasidism is a sub-group within Ultra-Orthodox Judaism and is noted for its religious conservatism, Hasidic thought draws heavily on Lurianic Kabbalah and to an extent is a popularization of it. Hasidim, the adherents of Hasidism, are organized in independent sects known as courts or dynasties, each headed by its own hereditary leader, a Rebbe. Reverence and submission to the Rebbe are key tenets, as he is considered an authority with whom the follower must bond to gain closeness to God. The various courts share basic convictions but operate apart and possess unique traits, there are several courts with many thousands of member households each, and dozens of smaller ones. The terms hasid and hasidut, meaning pietist and piety, have a history in Judaism. The Talmud and other old sources refer to the Pietists of Old who would contemplate an entire hour in preparation for prayer, the phrase denoted extremely devoted individuals who did not only observe the Law to its letter but performed good deeds even beyond it. Adam himself is honored with the title in tractate Eruvin 18b by Rabbi Meir, Adam was a great hasid, the title continued to be applied as an honorific for the exceptionally devout. In the 16th century, when Kabbalah spread, the title became associated with it. Jacob ben Hayyim Zemah wrote in his glossa on Isaac Lurias version of the Shulchan Aruch that one who wishes to tap the hidden wisdom, the movement founded by Israel Ben Eliezer in the 18th century adopted the term hasidim in the original connotation. But when the sect grew and developed specific attributes, from the 1770s and its common adherents, belonging to groups each headed by a spiritual leader, were henceforth known as Hasidim. Yet eventually, the sect gained such a mass following that the old connotation was sidelined. In popular discourse at least, Hasid came to someone who follows a religious teacher from the movement. It also entered Modern Hebrew as such, meaning adherent or disciple, one was not merely a hasid anymore, observed historian David Assaf, but a Hasid of someone or some dynasty in particular. Originally denoting an observant, moral person, in Hasidic literature Tzaddiq became synonymous with the often hereditary master heading a sect of followers, as noted by Joseph Dan, every attempt to present such a body of ideas has failed. The difficulty of separating the movements philosophy from that of its inspiration, Lurianic Kabbalah
Chasidism
–
Hasidic Jews praying in the synagogue on
Yom Kippur, by
Maurycy Gottlieb
Chasidism
–
Mystical movements appealed outside Rabbinism. The heresies of
Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676) and
Jacob Frank (1726–1791) distorted
Lurianic Kabbalah and led to the
Emden-Eybeschütz Controversy. Their
Sabbatean legacy contributed Rabbinic opposition to legitimate
Hidden Mystics and emergent Hasidism
Chasidism
–
Ohel over the grave of the
Baal Shem Tov in
Medzhybizh
Chasidism
–
Wooden synagogue in
Zabłudów, Poland, from the late 17th century. Rabbi Eliyahu
Baal Shem of Worms founded the 17th-Century "Macheneh Yisrael-Nistarim" Hidden Mystics movement to bring encouragement to the Jewish masses. Tradition records the young Israel ben Eliezer joining their ranks under Rabbi Adam Baal Shem and guiding their outreach. The circle of Hasidism grew from its members.
33.
Protestantism
–
Protestantism is a form of Christianity which originated with the Reformation, a movement against what its followers considered to be errors in the Roman Catholic Church. It is one of the three divisions of Christendom, together with Roman Catholicism and Orthodoxy. The term derives from the letter of protestation from German Lutheran princes in 1529 against an edict of the Diet of Speyer condemning the teachings of Martin Luther as heretical. Although there were earlier breaks from or attempts to reform the Roman Catholic Church—notably by Peter Waldo, John Wycliffe, Protestants reject the notion of papal supremacy and deny the Roman Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, but disagree among themselves regarding the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. The Five solae summarize the reformers basic differences in theological beliefs, in the 16th century, Lutheranism spread from Germany into Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Baltic states, and Iceland. Reformed churches were founded in Germany, Hungary, the Netherlands, Scotland, Switzerland and France by such reformers as John Calvin, Huldrych Zwingli, the political separation of the Church of England from Rome under King Henry VIII brought England and Wales into this broad Reformation movement. Protestants developed their own culture, which made major contributions in education, the humanities and sciences, the political and social order, the economy and the arts, some Protestant denominations do have a worldwide scope and distribution of membership, while others are confined to a single country. A majority of Protestants are members of a handful of families, Adventism, Anglicanism, Baptist churches, Reformed churches, Lutheranism, Methodism. Nondenominational, evangelical, charismatic, independent and other churches are on the rise, and constitute a significant part of Protestant Christianity. Six princes of the Holy Roman Empire and rulers of fourteen Imperial Free Cities, the edict reversed concessions made to the Lutherans with the approval of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V three years earlier. During the Reformation, the term was used outside of the German politics. The word evangelical, which refers to the gospel, was more widely used for those involved in the religious movement. Nowadays, this word is still preferred among some of the historical Protestant denominations in the Lutheran and Calvinist traditions in Europe, above all the term is used by Protestant bodies in the German-speaking area, such as the EKD. In continental Europe, an Evangelical is either a Lutheran or a Calvinist, the German word evangelisch means Protestant, and is different from the German evangelikal, which refers to churches shaped by Evangelicalism. The English word evangelical usually refers to Evangelical Protestant churches, and it traces its roots back to the Puritans in England, where Evangelicalism originated, and then was brought to the United States. Protestantism as a term is now used in contradistinction to the other major Christian traditions, i. e. Roman Catholicism. Initially, Protestant became a term to mean any adherent to the Reformation movement in Germany and was taken up by Lutherans. Even though Martin Luther himself insisted on Christian or Evangelical as the only acceptable names for individuals who professed Christ, French and Swiss Protestants preferred the word reformed, which became a popular, neutral and alternative name for Calvinists
Protestantism
–
(
The Ninety-Five Theses)
Protestantism
–
The Memorial Church in
Speyer, Germany
Protestantism
–
Key figures of the Protestant Reformation: Martin Luther and John Calvin depicted on a church
pulpit. These reformers emphasised preaching and made it a centerpiece of worship.
Protestantism
–
The Bible translated into
vernacular by Martin Luther. The supreme authority of
scripture is a fundamental principle of Protestantism.
34.
Patriotism
–
Patriotism is an attachment to a homeland. This attachment can be viewed in terms of different features relating to ones own homeland, including ethnic and it encompasses a set of concepts closely related to those of nationalism. An excess of patriotism in the defense of a nation is called chauvinism, the abstract noun patriotism appears in the early 18th century. The general notion of virtue and group dedication has been attested in culture globally throughout the historical period. For the Enlightenment thinkers of 18th-century Europe, loyalty to the state was considered in contrast to loyalty to the Church. It was argued that clerics should not be allowed to teach in schools since their patrie was heaven. One of the most influential proponents of this notion of patriotism was Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Enlightenment thinkers also criticized what they saw as the excess of patriotism, in 1774, Samuel Johnson published The Patriot, a critique of what he viewed as false patriotism. On the evening of 7 April 1775, he made the famous statement, however, there is no direct evidence to contradict the widely held belief that Johnsons famous remark was a criticism of patriotism itself. Patriotism is the will of the members of a country to support the country, Patriotism may be strengthened by adherence to a national religion. This is the opposite of the separation of church and state demanded by the Enlightenment thinkers who saw patriotism and faith as similar and opposed forces. Michael Billig and Jean Bethke Elshtain have both argued that the difference between patriotism and faith is difficult to discern and relies largely on the attitude of the one doing the labelling. Wellman calls this position patriotist rather than nationalist to single out the members of territorial, political units rather than cultural groups, marxists have taken various stances regarding patriotism. On one hand, Karl Marx famously stated that The working men have no country, the same view is promoted by present-day Trotskyists such as Alan Woods, who is in favour of tearing down all frontiers and creating a socialist world commonwealth. On the other hand, Stalinists and Maoists are usually in favour of socialist patriotism based on the theory of socialism in one country. Several surveys have tried to measure patriotism for various reasons, such as the Correlates of War project which found some correlation between war propensity and patriotism, the results from different studies are time dependent. For example, patriotism in Germany before World War I ranked at or near the top, since 1981, the World Values Survey explores peoples national values and beliefs and refer to the average answer for high income residents of a country to the question Are you proud to be. Charles Blatberg, From Pluralist to Patriotic Politics, Putting Practice First, craig Calhoun, Is it Time to Be Postnational. in Ethnicity, Nationalism, and Minority Rights, Stephen May, Tariq Modood and Judith Squires
Patriotism
–
Allegory of Patriotism at the
Monument to the Fallen for Spain in
Madrid (1840), by sculptor Francisco Pérez del Valle.
Patriotism
–
An American poster with a patriotic theme (1917), issued by the U.S. Food Administration during World War I
35.
Flag
–
A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or as decoration. National flags are patriotic symbols with varied wide-ranging interpretations, often including strong military associations due to their original, flags are also used in messaging, advertising, or for other decorative purposes. The study of flags is known as vexillology, from the Latin word vexillum, due to the use of flags by military units, flag is also used as the name of some military units. A flag is equivalent to a brigade in Arab countries, and in Spain, in antiquity, field signs or standards were used in warfare that can be categorized as vexilloid or flag-like. During the High Middle Ages flags came to be used primarily as a device in battle. Already during the medieval period, and increasingly during the Late Middle Ages. Regimental flags for individual units became commonplace during the Early Modern period, flags also became the preferred means of communications at sea, resulting in various systems of flag signals, see, International maritime signal flags. One of the most popular uses of a flag is to symbolize a nation or country, some national flags have been particularly inspirational to other nations, countries, or subnational entities in the design of their own flags. Some prominent examples include, The flag of Denmark, the Dannebrog, is attested in 1478, the flag of the Netherlands is the oldest tricolour. Its three colours of red, white and blue go back to Charlemagnes time, the 9th century, the coastal region of what today is the Netherlands was then known for its cloth in these colours. Maps from the early 16th century already put flags in these colours next to this region, a century before that, during the 15th century, the three colours were mentioned as the coastal signals for this area, with the three bands straight or diagonal, single or doubled. As state flag it first appeared around 1572 as the Princes Flag in orange–white–blue, soon the more famous red–white–blue began appearing, becoming the prevalent version from around 1630. Orange made a comeback during the war of the late 18th century. During World War II the pro-Nazi NSB used it, any symbolism has been added later to the three colours, although the orange comes from the House of Orange-Nassau. This use of orange comes from Nassau, which today uses orange-blue, not from Orange, however, the usual way to show the link with the House of Orange-Nassau is the orange pennant above the red-white-blue. It is said that the Dutch Tricolour has inspired many flags but most notably those of Russia, New York City, the national flag of France was designed in 1794. As a forerunner of revolution, Frances tricolour flag style has been adopted by other nations, examples, Italy, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ireland, Haiti, Romania and Mexico. The Union Flag of the United Kingdom is the most commonly used, british colonies typically flew a flag based on one of the ensigns based on this flag, and many former colonies have retained the design to acknowledge their cultural history
Flag
–
ASEAN members'
national flags in
Jakarta
Flag
–
Setting up a flag could also possess the meaning of conquering something.
Jaan Künnap with the
flag of Estonia in the top of
Lenin Peak (7134 m) in 1989.
Flag
–
Bronze flag found in
Iran, 3rd millennium BC
Flag
–
Sujagi of
Eo Jae-yeon, captured in 1871
36.
Puja (Hinduism)
–
Pūjā or Poojan is a prayer ritual performed by Hindus to host, honour and worship one or more deities, or to spiritually celebrate an event. Sometimes spelt phonetically as pooja or poojah, it may honour or celebrate the presence of special guest, the word pūjā comes from Sanskrit, and means reverence, honour, homage, adoration, and worship. Puja rituals are held by Buddhists, Jains and Sikhs. In Hinduism, puja is done on a variety of occasions, frequency and settings. It may include daily puja done in the home, to temple ceremonies and annual festivals, to few lifetime events such as birth of a baby or a wedding. The two main areas where puja is performed are in the home and at temples to mark certain stages of life, events or some such as Durga Puja. Puja is not mandatory, it may be a daily affair for some Hindus, periodic ritual for some. In some temples, various pujas may be performed daily at various times of the day, in other temples, Puja varies according to the school of Hinduism. Puja may vary by region, occasion, deity honored, in formal Nigama ceremonies, a fire may be lit in honour of deity Agni, without an idol or image present. In contrast, in Agama ceremonies, an idol or image of deity is present, in both ceremonies, a diya or incense stick may be lit while a prayer is chanted or hymn is sung. Puja is typically performed by a Hindu worshipper alone, though sometimes in presence of a priest who is well versed in procedure, both Nigama and Agama puja are practiced in Hinduism in India. In Hinduism of Bali Indonesia, Agama puja is most prevalent both inside homes and in temples, Puja is sometimes called Sembahyang in Indonesia. Puja is an ancient culture or way of life, with unclear origins, joshi claims the word puja was first used in vedic times when Sūtra were composed, to describe prayers and worship before yajna or homa – fire deity, Agni. Charpentier suggests the origin of the word Puja may lie in the Dravidian languages, two possible Tamil roots have been suggested, Poosai to smear with something and Poochei to do with flowers. According to scholars, one of the earliest mentions of pūjā is in the Grihya Sutras and these Sutras, dated to be about 500 BC, use the term puja to describe the hospitality to honor priests who were invited to one’s home to lead rituals for departed ancestors. As Hindu philosophy expanded and diversified, with such as the bhakti movement. As with vedic times, the concept of puja remained the same. The Puranic corpus of literature, dating from about 6th century CE, deity puja thus melds Vedic rites with devotion to deity in its ritual form
Puja (Hinduism)
–
Individual puja
Puja (Hinduism)
–
Sunrise puja
Puja (Hinduism)
–
Prayers to Kali in
West Bengal
Puja (Hinduism)
–
Prayers to Sri Malai Perumal in
Tamil Nadu
37.
Yajna
–
Yajna literally means sacrifice, devotion, worship, offering, and refers in Hinduism to any ritual done in front of a sacred fire, often with mantras. Yajna has been a Vedic tradition, described in a layer of Vedic literature called Brahmanas, as well as Yajurveda, the tradition has evolved from offering oblations and libations into sacred fire to symbolic offerings in the presence of sacred fire. Yajna rituals-related texts have been called the Karma-kanda portion of the Vedic literature, the proper completion of Yajna-like rituals was the focus of Mimansa school of Hindu philosophy. Yajna have continued to play a role in a Hindus rites of passage. Modern major Hindu temple ceremonies, Hindu community celebrations, or monastic initiations may also include Yajna vedic rites, the word yajna appears in the early Vedic literature, composed in 2nd millennium BCE. In Rigveda, Yajurveda and others, it means worship, devotion to anything, prayer and praise, an act of worship or devotion, a form of offering or oblation, and sacrifice. In post-Vedic literature, the term meant any form of rite, a Yajna included major ceremonial devotions, with or without a sacred fire, sometimes with feasts and community events. It is derived, states Nigal, from the Sanskrit verb yaj, the Sanskrit word is related to the Avestan term yasna of Zoroastrianism. Unlike the Vedic yajna, the Yasna is the name of a religious service, not a class of rituals. Yajna has been a part of an individual or social ritual since the Vedic times, when the ritual fire – the divine Agni, the god of fire and the messenger of gods – were deployed in a Yajna, mantras were chanted. The hymns and songs sung and oblations offered into the fire were a form of hospitality for the Vedic gods, the Vedangas, or auxiliary sciences attached to the Vedic literature, define Yajna as follows, Definition of a Vedic sacrifice — Apastamba Yajna Paribhasa-sutras 1. The Shvetashvatara Upanishad in verse 1.5.14, for example, uses the analogy of Yajna materials to explain the means to see ones soul and God, with inner rituals and without external rituals. Vedic yajnas are performed by four priests of the Vedic priesthood, the hotar, the adhvaryu, the udgatar. The functions associated with the priests were, The Hotri recites invocations, the Adhvaryu is the priests assistant and is in charge of the physical details of the ritual like measuring the ground, building the altar explained in the Yajurveda. The Udgatri is the chanter of hymns set to melodies and music drawn from the Samaveda, the udgatar, like the hotar, chants the introductory, accompanying and benediction hymns. The Brahmin is the superintendent of the performance, and is responsible for correcting mistakes by means of supplementary verses. There were usually one, or three, fires lit in the center of the offering ground, oblations are offered into the fire. Among the ingredients offered as oblations in the yajna are ghee, milk, grains, cakes, the duration of a yajna depends on its type, some last only a few minutes whereas, others are performed over a period of hours, days or even months
Yajna
–
A yajna being performed.
Yajna
–
A Yajna Vedi (square altar) with Samagri (offerings) on left, and a Yajna in progress (right).
Yajna
Yajna
–
A miniature illustration of a
falcon bird Athirathram yajna altar built using the
square principle.
38.
Bhajan
–
It also refers to any song with religious theme or spiritual ideas, in a regional Indian language. A Bhajan has no prescribed form, or set rules, is in form, normally lyrical. It belongs to a genre of music and arts developed with the Bhakti movement. It is found in the traditions of Hinduism but particularly in Vaishnavism, in Jainism. Ideas from scriptures, legendary epics, the teachings of saints and it is usually a group event, with one or more lead singers, accompanied with music, and sometimes dancing. A bhajan may be sung in a temple, in a home, under a tree in open and its genre such as Nirguni, Gorakhanathi, Vallabhapanthi, Ashtachhap, Madhura-bhakti and the traditional South Indian form Sampradya Bhajan each have their own repertoire and methods of singing. The Sanskrit word bhajan or bhajana is derived from the root bhaj, the word also connotes attachment, devotion to, fondness for, homage, faith or love, worship, piety to something as a spiritual, religious principle or means of salvation. In Hinduism, Bhajan and its Bhakti analog Kirtan, have roots in the ancient metric and musical traditions of the Vedic era, the Samaveda samhita is not meant to be read as a text, it is like a musical score sheet that must be heard. Other late Vedic texts mention the two scholars Shilalin and Krishashva, credited to be pioneers in the studies of ancient drama, singing, the art schools of Shilalin and Krishashva may have been associated with the performance of vedic rituals, which involved story telling with embedded ethical values. This supreme truth is, states Guy Beck, considered as full of bliss and rasa in the Hindu thought, Devotional music genre such as Bhajan are part of a tradition that emerged from these roots. A Bhajan in Hindu traditions is an informal, loosely structured devotional song with music in a regional language, a Bhajan may be sung individually, or more commonly together as a choral event wherein the lyrics include religious or spiritual themes in the local language. The themes are loving devotion to a deity, legends from the Epics or the Puranas, compositions of Bhakti movement saints, some Bhajan songs are centuries old, popular on a pan-regional basis, passed down as a community tradition, while others newly composed. They are sung in open air, inside temples such as those of Swaminarayan movement, in Vaishnava monasteries, during festivals or special events, a Bhajan is closely related to Kirtan, with both sharing common aims, subjects, musical themes and being devotional performance arts. A Bhajan is more free in form, and can be singular melody that is performed by a singer with or without one. A Bhajan, in contrast, is experienced in silence or a sing along. Stavan is a form of popular and historically pervasive genre of music in Jainism. The subject of a Stavan varies, ranging from praise of Jina, Jain religious ideas and its philosophy, Jainism rejects any Creator god, but accepts protector deities and rebirth of souls as heavenly beings, and its devotional singing traditions integrate these beliefs. Stavan may include dancing and worship rituals, known as Bhajan in north and west Indian regional languages, a Stavan is typically sung as folk melodies by groups of Jain women, and are formal part of ceremonies and celebrations within Jainism
Bhajan
–
Bhajan in
Coimbatore,
Tamil Nadu during
Navratri Golu
Bhajan
Bhajan
–
Hanuman, the perfect devotee of
Rama, visualised as a singer of bhajan
Bhajan
–
A Lady Playing the Tanpura, ca. 1735 (Rajasthan)
39.
Fasting
–
Fasting is a willing abstinence or reduction from some or all food, drink, or both, for a period of time. An absolute fast is normally defined as abstinence from all food and liquid for a period, usually a period of 24 hours. Water fasting allows drinking water but nothing else, other fasts may be partially restrictive, limiting only particular foods or substances. A fast may also be intermittent in nature, Fasting practices may preclude intercourse and other activities as well as food. In a physiological context, fasting may refer to the status of a person who has not eaten overnight. Several metabolic adjustments occur during fasting, and some tests are used to determine a fasting state. For example, a person is assumed to be fasting after 8–12 hours from their last meal, metabolic changes toward the fasting state begin after absorption of a meal, post-absorptive state is synonymous with this usage, in contrast to the postprandial state of ongoing digestion. A diagnostic fast refers to prolonged fasting conducted under observation for investigation of a problem, many people may also fast as part of a medical procedure or check-up such as a colonoscopy. Fasting is also a part of religious observances. Fasting is often practiced prior to surgery or other procedures that require general anesthetics because of the risk of aspiration of gastric contents after induction of anesthesia. Additionally, certain tests, such as cholesterol testing or certain blood glucose measurements require fasting for several hours so that a baseline can be established. In the case of a panel, failure to fast for a full 12 hours will guarantee an elevated triglyceride measurement. Fasting is of no help in preventing or treating cancer. Fasting can help alleviate symptoms of depression. However the psychological effects may include anxiety and depression. Fasting will lead to weight loss, using fasting for weight loss is considered dangerous. It has been argued that fasting makes one better appreciate food, Fasting is often used as a tool to make a political statement, to protest, or to bring awareness to a cause. A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance in which participants fast as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt, a spiritual fast incorporates personal spiritual beliefs with the desire to express personal principles, sometimes in the context of a social injustice
Fasting
–
The Buddha emaciated after undergoing severe ascetic practises.
Gandhara, 2 – 3rd century CE.
British Museum.
Fasting
–
Ending the fast at a mosque
40.
Kirtan
–
It also refers to a genre of religious performance arts, connoting a musical form of narration or shared recitation, particularly of spiritual or religious ideas. It may include dancing or direct expression of bhavas by the singer, many Kirtana performances are structured to engage the audience where they either repeat the chant, or reply to the call of the singer. A person performing kirtana is known as a kirtankara and it is a major practice in Vaisnava devotionalism, Sikhism, the Sant traditions and some forms of Buddhism, as well as other religious groups. Kirtana is sometimes accompanied by story-telling and acting, texts typically cover religious, mythological or social subjects. Kirtana has Vedic roots and it means telling, narrating, describing, enumerating, reporting, the term is found as Anukirtana in the context of Yajna, wherein team recitations of dialogue-style and question-answer riddle hymns were part of the ritual or celebratory dramatic performance. The Sanskrit verses in chapter 13.2 of Shatapatha Brahmana, the Vedic sacrifice is presented as a kind of drama, with its actors, its dialogues, its portion to be set to music, its interludes, and its climaxes. The root of Kirtana is kirt, the root is found in the Samhitas, the Brahmanas and other Vedic literature, as well as the Vedanga and Sutras literature. Kirt, according to Monier-Williams contextually means, to mention, make mention of, tell, name, call, recite, repeat, relate, declare, communicate, commemorate, celebrate, praise, glorify. Kirtana, sometimes referred to as sankirtana, is a call-and-response chanting or musical conversation, Kirtan is locally known as Abhang, Samaj Gayan, Haveli Sangeet, Vishnupad, Harikatha. In regional languages, Kirtana is scripted as Bengali, কীর্তন, Nepali & Hindi, कीर्तन, Kannada, ಕೀರ್ತನೆ, Marathi, कीर्तन, Punjabi, ਕੀਰਤਨ, Tamil, கீர்த்தனை, Telugu, కీర్తన. Musical recitation of hymns, mantras and the praise of deities has ancient roots in Hinduism, as evidenced by the Samaveda, Kirtana relates to the bhakti marga tradition of Hinduism. References to Kirtana as a musical recitation are also found in the Bhagavata Purana, Kirtana is often practiced as a kind of theatrical folk song with call-and-response chanting or antiphon. The ancient sage Narada revered as a genius, is called a kirtankar in the Padma Purana. The so-called Naradiya Kirtana divides kirtana into five parts, naman, purvaranga, chanting, katha or akhyan and a final prayer for universal welfare. Kirtan as a genre of music has been a major part of the Vaishnavism tradition. The Varkari saint Namdev used the form of singing to praise the glory of god Vithoba. Marathi kirtana is typically performed by one or two performers, called kirtankar, accompanied by harmonium and tabla. It involves singing, acting, dancing, and story-telling and it is usually based on poetry of the seven famous saints of Maharashtra, Nivruttinath, Dnyaneshwar, Sopandev, Muktabai, Eknath, Namdev and Tukaram
Kirtan
–
A kirtan performance with traditional instruments - the late Giani Harjit Singh in Kenya around the 1960s
Kirtan
–
A painting of Lord Sri
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and
Nityananda Prabhu, shown performing 'kirtana' in the streets of
Nabadwip,
Bengal.
Kirtan
–
Annamacharya
Kirtan
–
The Hare Krishna Tree in
Tompkins Square Park, New York City under which
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada led his first public chanting of the
Hare Krishna mantra in the U.S.
41.
Hinduism
–
Hinduism is a religion, or a way of life, found most notably in India and Nepal. Hinduism has been called the oldest religion in the world, and some practitioners and scholars refer to it as Sanātana Dharma, scholars regard Hinduism as a fusion or synthesis of various Indian cultures and traditions, with diverse roots and no founder. This Hindu synthesis started to develop between 500 BCE and 300 CE following the Vedic period, although Hinduism contains a broad range of philosophies, it is linked by shared concepts, recognisable rituals, cosmology, shared textual resources, and pilgrimage to sacred sites. Hindu texts are classified into Shruti and Smriti and these texts discuss theology, philosophy, mythology, Vedic yajna, Yoga, agamic rituals, and temple building, among other topics. Major scriptures include the Vedas and Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, prominent themes in Hindu beliefs include the four Puruṣārthas, the proper goals or aims of human life, namely Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, karma, samsara, and the various Yogas. Hindu practices include such as puja and recitations, meditation, family-oriented rites of passage, annual festivals. Some Hindus leave their world and material possessions, then engage in lifelong Sannyasa to achieve Moksha. Hinduism prescribes the eternal duties, such as honesty, refraining from injuring living beings, patience, forbearance, self-restraint, Hinduism is the worlds third largest religion, with over one billion followers or 15% of the global population, known as Hindus. The majority of Hindus reside in India, Nepal, Mauritius, the Caribbean, the word Hindu is derived from the Indo-Aryan/Sanskrit word Sindhu, the Indo-Aryan name for the Indus River in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent. The term Hindu in these ancient records is a geographical term, the Arabic term al-Hind referred to the people who live across the River Indus. This Arabic term was taken from the pre-Islamic Persian term Hindū. By the 13th century, Hindustan emerged as an alternative name of India. It was only towards the end of the 18th century that European merchants and colonists began to refer to the followers of Indian religions collectively as Hindus. The term Hinduism, then spelled Hindooism, was introduced into the English language in the 18th-century to denote the religious, philosophical, because of the wide range of traditions and ideas covered by the term Hinduism, arriving at a comprehensive definition is difficult. The religion defies our desire to define and categorize it, Hinduism has been variously defined as a religion, a religious tradition, a set of religious beliefs, and a way of life. From a Western lexical standpoint, Hinduism like other faiths is appropriately referred to as a religion, in India the term dharma is preferred, which is broader than the western term religion. Hindu traditionalists prefer to call it Sanatana Dharma, the study of India and its cultures and religions, and the definition of Hinduism, has been shaped by the interests of colonialism and by Western notions of religion. Since the 1990s, those influences and its outcomes have been the topic of debate among scholars of Hinduism, Hinduism as it is commonly known can be subdivided into a number of major currents
Hinduism
–
Swami Vivekananda was a key figure in introducing
Vedanta and
Yoga in Europe and USA, raising interfaith awareness and making Hinduism a world religion.
Hinduism
–
Temple wall panel relief sculpture at the
Hoysaleswara temple in
Halebidu, representing the
Trimurti:
Brahma,
Shiva and
Vishnu.
Hinduism
–
The
Rigveda is the first and most important Veda and is one of the oldest
religious texts. This Rigveda
manuscript is in
Devanagari.
Hinduism
–
A wedding is the most extensive personal ritual an adult Hindu undertakes in his or her life. A typical
Hindu wedding is solemnized before Vedic
fire ritual (shown).
42.
Bhakti
–
Bhakti literally means attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith or love, devotion, worship, piety. Bhakti, in Hinduism, refers to devotion and the love of a god or a representational god by a devotee. Bhakti in Indian religions is emotional devotionalism, particularly to a god or to spiritual ideas. The term also refers to a movement that arose between the 7th century and 10th century CE in India, focused on the gods Vishnu and Shiva, the Bhakti movement reached North India during the Delhi Sultanate era and grew throughout the Mughal era. It evolved the characteristics of Hinduism as the religion of the population as dhimmi under the Islamic rulers in parts of the Indian subcontinent. Bhakti-like movements also spread to other Indian religions during this period, the term bhakti, in the modern era, is used to refer to any tradition of Hindu devotionalism, including Shaivism, Vaishnavism, or Shaktism. The Bhagavata Purana is a associated with the Bhakti movement which elaborates the concept of bhakti as found in the Bhagavad Gita. Along with Hinduism, nirguni Bhakti is found in Sikhism, the Sanskrit word bhakti is derived from the root bhaj, which means divide, share, partake, participate, to belong to. The word also means attachment, devotion to, fondness for, homage, faith or love, worship, piety to something as a spiritual, the meaning of the term Bhakti is analogous to but different from Kama. Kama connotes emotional connection, sometimes with sensual devotion and erotic love, Bhakti, in contrast, is spiritual, a love and devotion to religious concepts or principles, that engages both emotion and intellection. Karen Pechelis states that the word Bhakti should not be understood as uncritical emotion, one who practices bhakti is called a bhakta. It may refer to devotion towards a teacher as guru-bhakti, or to a personal god. The term Bhakti also refers to one of several alternate spiritual paths to moksha in Hinduism, the other paths are Jnana marga, Karma marga, Rāja marga. The term bhakti has been translated as devotion in Orientalist literature. The colonial era authors variously described Bhakti as a form of mysticism or primitive religious devotion of lay people with monotheistic parallels, however, modern scholars state devotion is a misleading and incomplete translation of bhakti. Bhakti in Indian religions is not a ritualistic devotion to a god or to religion and it involves, among other things, refining ones state of mind, knowing god, participating in god, and internalizing god. Increasingly, instead of devotion, the participation is appearing in scholarly literature as a gloss for the term bhakti. David Lorenzen states that bhakti is an important term in Sikhism and Hinduism and they both share numerous concepts and core spiritual ideas, but bhakti of nirguni is particularly significant in Sikhism
Bhakti
–
Bhatti (Bhakti in Pali) at a Buddhist temple, Tibet. Chanting during
Bhatti Puja (devotional worship) is often a part of the Theravada Buddhist tradition.
43.
Islam
–
Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion which professes that there is only one and incomparable God and that Muhammad is the last messenger of God. It is the worlds second-largest religion and the major religion in the world, with over 1.7 billion followers or 23% of the global population. Islam teaches that God is merciful, all-powerful, and unique, and He has guided mankind through revealed scriptures, natural signs, and a line of prophets sealed by Muhammad. The primary scriptures of Islam are the Quran, viewed by Muslims as the word of God. Muslims believe that Islam is the original, complete and universal version of a faith that was revealed many times before through prophets including Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses. As for the Quran, Muslims consider it to be the unaltered, certain religious rites and customs are observed by the Muslims in their family and social life, while social responsibilities to parents, relatives, and neighbors have also been defined. Besides, the Quran and the sunnah of Muhammad prescribe a comprehensive body of moral guidelines for Muslims to be followed in their personal, social, political, Islam began in the early 7th century. Originating in Mecca, it spread in the Arabian Peninsula. The expansion of the Muslim world involved various caliphates and empires, traders, most Muslims are of one of two denominations, Sunni or Shia. Islam is the dominant religion in the Middle East, North Africa, sizable Muslim communities are also found in Horn of Africa, Europe, China, Russia, Mainland Southeast Asia, Philippines, Northern Borneo, Caucasus and the Americas. Converts and immigrant communities are found in almost every part of the world, Islam is a verbal noun originating from the triliteral root s-l-m which forms a large class of words mostly relating to concepts of wholeness, submission, safeness and peace. In a religious context it means voluntary submission to God, Islām is the verbal noun of Form IV of the root, and means submission or surrender. Muslim, the word for an adherent of Islam, is the active participle of the verb form. The word sometimes has connotations in its various occurrences in the Quran. In some verses, there is stress on the quality of Islam as a state, Whomsoever God desires to guide. Other verses connect Islām and dīn, Today, I have perfected your religion for you, I have completed My blessing upon you, still others describe Islam as an action of returning to God—more than just a verbal affirmation of faith. In the Hadith of Gabriel, islām is presented as one part of a triad that also includes imān, Islam was historically called Muhammadanism in Anglophone societies. This term has fallen out of use and is said to be offensive because it suggests that a human being rather than God is central to Muslims religion
Islam
–
The
Kaaba, in
Mecca,
Hejaz region, today's
Saudi Arabia, is the
center of Islam.
Muslims from all over the world gather there to
pray in unity.
Islam
–
The dome of the
Carol I Mosque in
Constanța,
Romania, topped by the
Islamic crescent
Islam
–
Medallion showing "
Allah " (
God) in
Hagia Sophia,
Istanbul,
Turkey.
Islam
–
An
angel presenting
Muhammad and his companions with a miniature city. In the
Topkapi Palace Library,
Istanbul.
44.
Allah
–
Allah is the Arabic word for God in Abrahamic religions. In the English language, the word refers to God in Islam. The word is thought to be derived by contraction from al-ilāh, which means the god, and is related to El and Elohim, the word Allah has been used by Arabic people of different religions since pre-Islamic times. More specifically, it has used as a term for God by Muslims. It is now used by Muslims and Arab Christians to refer to God. It is also often, albeit not exclusively, used in this way by Bábists, Baháís, Indonesian and Maltese Christians, similar usage by Christians and Sikhs in West Malaysia has recently led to political and legal controversies. The etymology of the word Allāh has been discussed extensively by classical Arab philologists, grammarians of the Basra school regarded is as either formed spontaneously or as the definite form of lāh. The majority of modern scholars subscribe to the theory. Cognates of the name Allāh exist in other Semitic languages, including Hebrew, the corresponding Aramaic form is Elah, but its emphatic state is Elaha. It is written as ܐܠܗܐ in Biblical Aramaic and ܐܲܠܵܗܵܐ in Syriac as used by the Assyrian Church, Biblical Hebrew mostly uses the plural form Elohim, but more rarely it also uses the singular form Eloah. Regional variants of the word Allah occur in both pagan and Christian pre-Islamic inscriptions, different theories have been proposed regarding the role of Allah in pre-Islamic polytheistic cults. Some authors have suggested that polytheistic Arabs used the name as a reference to a god or a supreme deity of their pantheon. The term may have been vague in the Meccan religion, according to one hypothesis, which goes back to Julius Wellhausen, Allah was a designation that consecrated the superiority of Hubal over the other gods. However, there is evidence that Allah and Hubal were two distinct deities. Some inscriptions seem to indicate the use of Allah as a name of a polytheist deity centuries earlier, some scholars have suggested that Allah may have represented a remote creator god who was gradually eclipsed by more particularized local deities. There is disagreement on whether Allah played a role in the Meccan religious cult. No iconic representation of Allah is known to have existed, muhammads fathers name was ʿAbd-Allāh meaning the slave of Allāh. The Aramaic word for God in the language of Assyrian Christians is ʼĔlāhā, arabic-speakers of all Abrahamic faiths, including Christians and Jews, use the word Allah to mean God
Allah
–
Allah
Jalla Jalālah in
Arabic calligraphy
Allah
–
Allah script outside Eski Cami (The Old Mosque) in
Edirne, Turkey.
45.
Five Pillars of Islam
–
The Five Pillars of Islam are five basic acts in Islam, considered mandatory by believers and are the foundation of Muslim life. They are summarized in the hadith of Gabriel. The Shia and Sunni both agree on the details for the performance and practice of these acts, but the Shia do not refer to them by the same name. They make up Muslim life, prayer, concern for the needy, self-purification, shahada is a declaration of faith and trust that professes that there is only one God and that Muhammad is Gods messenger. It is a set statement normally recited in Arabic, lā ʾilāha ʾillā-llāhu muḥammadun rasūlu-llāh There is no god but God Muhammad is the messenger of God and it is essential to utter it to become a Muslim and to convert to Islam. Salat consists of five daily prayers according to the Sunna, the names are according to the times, Fajr, Dhuhr, ʿAṣr, Maghrib. All of these prayers are recited while facing in the direction of the Kaaba in Mecca, Muslims must wash before prayer, this washing is called wudu. The prayer is accompanied by a series of set positions including, bowing with hands on knees, a Muslim may perform their prayer anywhere, such as in offices, universities, and fields. However, the mosque is the more preferable place for prayers because the mosque allows for fellowship, Zakāt or alms-giving is the practice of charitable giving based on accumulated wealth. The word zakāt can be defined as purification and growth because it allows an individual to achieve balance, the principle of knowing that all things belong to God is essential to purification and growth. Zakāt is obligatory for all Muslims who are able to do so and it is the personal responsibility of each Muslim to ease the economic hardship of others and to strive towards eliminating inequality. Zakāt consists of spending a portion of wealth for the benefit of the poor or needy. A Muslim may also donate more as an act of voluntary charity, There are five principles that should be followed when giving the zakāt, The giver must declare to God his intention to give the zakāt. The zakāt must be paid on the day that it is due, after the offering, the payer must not exaggerate on spending his money more than usual means. This means if one is then he or she needs to pay a portion of their income. If a person does not have money, then they should compensate for it in different ways, such as good deeds. The zakāt must be distributed in the community from which it was taken, three types of fasting are recognized by the Quran, Ritual fasting, fasting as compensation for repentance, and ascetic fasting. Ritual fasting is an act during the month of Ramadan
Five Pillars of Islam
–
An artwork depicting the 5 pillars
Five Pillars of Islam
Five Pillars of Islam
–
Afghan politicians and foreign diplomats praying (making salat) at the
U.S. Embassy in Kabul,
Afghanistan.
Five Pillars of Islam
–
Muslims traditionally break their fasts in the
month of Ramadan with
dates (like those offered by this date seller in
Kuwait City), as was the recorded practice (
Sunnah) of
Muhammad.
46.
Muhammad Asad
–
Muhammad Asad was a Jewish-born Austro-Hungarian journalist, traveler, writer, linguist, thinker, political theorist, diplomat and Islamic scholar. Asad was one of the most influential European Muslims of the 20th century, by the age of thirteen, young Weiss had acquired a passing fluency in Hebrew and Aramaic, other than his native languages German and Polish. By his mid-twenties, he could read and write in English, French, Persian, in Mandatory Palestine, Weiss engaged in arguments with Zionist leaders like Chaim Weizmann, voicing his reservations about some aspects of the Zionist Movement. After traveling across the Arab World as a journalist, he converted to Islam in 1926, during his stay in Saudi Arabia, he spent time with Bedouins and enjoyed close company of Ibn Saud—the founder of modern Saudi Arabia. He also carried out a mission for Ibn Saud to trace the sources of funding for the Ikhwan Revolt. Due to these activities, he was dubbed in a Haaretz article as Leopold of Arabia—hinting similarity of his activities to those of Lawrence of Arabia and he also spent five years in internment by the British Government at the outbreak of World War II. In the West, Asad rose to prominence as a writer with his best-selling autobiography, later, after seventeen years of scholarly research, he published his magnum opus, The Message of the Quran—an English translation and commentary of the Quran. The book, along with the translations of Pickthall and Yusuf Ali, is regarded as one of the most influential translations of the modern era, an ardent proponent of Ijtihad and rationality in interpreting religious texts, he dedicates his works to People who Think. In 2008, the square to the UN Office in Vienna was named Muhammad Asad Platz in commemoration of his work as a religious bridge-builder. Asad has been described by his biographers as Europes gift to Islam, Leopold Weiss was born on 2 July 1900 to a Jewish family in Lemberg, Galicia, then part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Weiss was a descendant of a line of Jewish rabbis, however, his father, Akiva Weiss, broke from tradition. Leopold received an education and was proficient in Hebrew from an early age. He studied the Jewish Bible or Tanakh, the text and commentaries of the Talmud, the Mishna and Gemara, also delving into the intricacies of Biblical exegesis, at the age of fourteen he made an escape from school and joined the Austrian army under a false name. After a week or so, his father traced him with the help of the police, after abandoning university in Vienna, Weiss drifted aimlessly around 1920s Germany, working briefly for the expressionist film director Fritz Lang. By his own account, after selling a jointly written film script, he splurged the windfall on a party at an expensive Berlin restaurant. In 1922 Weiss moved to the British Mandate of Palestine, staying in Jerusalem at the house of his maternal uncle Dorian Feigenbaum at his invitation, Feigenbaum was a psychoanalyst, and a disciple of Freud and later founded the Psychoanalytic Quarterly. He picked up work as a stringer for the German newspaper Frankfurter Zeitung, one of the most prestigious newspapers of Germany and Europe and his pieces were noteworthy for their understanding of Arab fears and grievances against the Zionist project. Weiss made the trip, which lasted two years, Asad spoke of Islam thus, Islam appears to me like a perfect work of architecture
Muhammad Asad
–
Muhammad Asad محمد أسد
Muhammad Asad
–
The Berliner Gedenktafel (
Berlin Memorial Plaque) for Muhammad Asad.
Muhammad Asad
–
Muhammad Asad (seated right) and his wife Pola Hamida Asad (seated left) at the residence of
Chaudhry Niaz Ali Khan in
Jauharabad, Pakistan. Circa 1957
Muhammad Asad
–
Muhammad Asad Square in
Donaustadt, Vienna
47.
Jewish services
–
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations and Jewish meditation traditions that form part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, however, if the Talmud mentions tefillah, it refers to the Shemoneh Esreh only. Prayer—as a service of the heart—is in principle a Torah-based commandment and it is not time-dependent and is mandatory for both Jewish men and women. You shall serve God with your whole heart, further additional prayers, Musaf are recited by Orthodox and Conservative congregations on Shabbat, major Jewish holidays, and Rosh Chodesh. A fifth prayer service, Neila, is recited only on Yom Kippur, the language of the prayers, while clearly from the Second Temple period, often employs Biblical idiom. However the differences are compared with the commonalities. Most of the Jewish liturgy is sung or chanted with traditional melodies or trope, synagogues may designate or employ a professional or lay hazzan for the purpose of leading the congregation in prayer, especially on Shabbat or holidays. According to the Talmud Bavli, tefillah is a Biblical command, what service is performed with the heart. Prayer is therefore referred to as Avodah sheba-Lev and it is not time-dependent and is mandatory for both Jewish men and women. Mentioning tefillah, the Talmud always refers to the Amidah, that is also called Shemoneh Esreh, the noted rabbi Maimonides likewise categorizes tefillah as a Biblical command of Written law, as the Babylon Talmud says. The Oral law, according to the Talmud Bavli gives two reasons why there are three basic prayers, According to Rabbi Jose b, Hanina, each of the Patriarchs instituted one prayer, Abraham the morning, Isaac the afternoon and Jacob the evening prayers. This view is supported with Biblical quotes indicating that the Patriarchs prayed at the times mentioned, however, even according to this view, the exact times of when the services are held, and moreover the entire concept of a mussaf service, are still based on the sacrifices. Each service was instituted parallel to an act in the Temple in Jerusalem, the morning Tamid offering, the afternoon Tamid offering. Therefore, the Anshei Knesset HaGedola based their Takkanah that Jewish men were required to pray three times a day from hints to personal habits of the forefathers in the tanach. Additional references in the Hebrew Bible have been interpreted to suggest that King David, moreover, it is generally accepted by Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, and Sephardic religious authorities that women are exempt from the evening prayer. Conservative Judaism regards the halakhic system of daily services as mandatory. According to halakha, all prayers and virtually all communal prayers may be said in any language that the person praying understands. Maimonides relates that until the Babylonian exile, all Jews composed their own prayers, the differences are quite minor compared with the commonalities
Jewish services
–
Morning Prayer, 2005.
Jewish services
–
Jews praying in Jerusalem (Ha
Kotel HaMaaravi), 2010.
Jewish services
–
Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaCohen Kagan —the "
Chofetz Chaim "—at prayer towards the end of his life.
Jewish services
–
An Israeli soldier lays
tefillin at the Western Wall (
Kotel) prior to prayer.
48.
Temple in Jerusalem
–
These successive temples stood at this location and functioned as a site of ancient Israelite and later Jewish worship. The Hebrew name given in the Hebrew Bible for the complex is either Beit YHWH, Beit HaElohim House of God, or simply Beiti my house. The term hekhal hall or main building is often translated temple in older English Bibles, in rabbinical literature the temple is Beit HaMikdash, The Sanctified House, and only the Temple in Jerusalem is referred to by this name. The Hebrew Bible says that the First Temple was built in 957 BCE by King Solomon and this temple was sacked a few decades later by Shoshenq I, Pharaoh of Egypt. The First Temple was totally destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE, according to the Book of Ezra, construction of the Second Temple was authorized by Cyrus the Great and began in 538 BCE, after the fall of the Babylonian Empire the year before. It was completed 23 years later, on the day of Adar, in the sixth year of the reign of Darius the Great. However, with a reading of the Book of Ezra and the Book of Nehemiah, there were four edicts to build the Second Temple. Cyrus in 536 BCE, which is recorded in the first chapter of Ezra, next, Darius I of Persia in 519 BCE, which is recorded in the sixth chapter of Ezra. Third, Artaxerxes I of Persia in 457 BCE, which was the year of his reign. Finally, by Artaxerxes again in 444 BCE in the chapter of Nehemiah. Moreover, the narrowly avoided being destroyed again in 332 BCE when the Jews refused to acknowledge the deification of Alexander the Great of Macedonia. Alexander was allegedly turned from his anger at the last minute by astute diplomacy, further, after the death of Alexander on 13 June 323 BCE, and the dismembering of his empire, the Ptolemies came to rule over Judea and the Temple. Under the Ptolemies, the Jews were given many civil liberties, however, when the Ptolemaic army was defeated at Panium by Antiochus III of the Seleucids in 198 BCE, this policy changed. Antiochus wanted to Hellenize the Jews, attempting to introduce the Greek pantheon into the temple. Moreover, a rebellion ensued and was crushed, but no further action by Antiochus was taken. However, his policies never took effect in Judea, since he was assassinated the year after his ascension, Antiochus IV Epiphanes succeeded his older brother to the Seleucid throne and immediately adopted his fathers previous policy of universal Hellenisation. The Jews rebelled again and Antiochus, in a rage, retaliated in force, considering the previous episodes of discontent, the Jews became incensed when the religious observances of Sabbath and circumcision were officially outlawed. When Antiochus erected a statue of Zeus in their temple and Hellenic priests began sacrificing pigs, when a Greek official ordered a Jewish priest to perform a Hellenic sacrifice, the priest killed him
Temple in Jerusalem
–
Herod's Temple as imagined in the
Holyland Model of Jerusalem. It is currently situated adjacent to the
Shrine of the Book exhibit at the
Israel Museum, Jerusalem.
Temple in Jerusalem
–
Remnants of the 1st century Stairs of Ascent, discovered by archaeologist
Benjamin Mazar, to the entrance of the Temple Courtyard. Pilgrims coming to make sacrifices at the Temple would have entered and exited by this stairway.
Temple in Jerusalem
–
Model of Second Temple made by Michael Osnis from Kedumim.
Temple in Jerusalem
–
The
Trumpeting Place inscription, a stone (2.43×1 m) with
Hebrew writing "To the Trumpeting Place" uncovered during archaeological excavations by
Benjamin Mazar at the southern foot of the
Temple Mount is believed to be a part of the complex of the Second Temple.
49.
Jewish prayer
–
Jewish prayer are the prayer recitations and Jewish meditation traditions that form part of the observance of Rabbinic Judaism. These prayers, often with instructions and commentary, are found in the siddur, however, if the Talmud mentions tefillah, it refers to the Shemoneh Esreh only. Prayer—as a service of the heart—is in principle a Torah-based commandment and it is not time-dependent and is mandatory for both Jewish men and women. You shall serve God with your whole heart, further additional prayers, Musaf are recited by Orthodox and Conservative congregations on Shabbat, major Jewish holidays, and Rosh Chodesh. A fifth prayer service, Neila, is recited only on Yom Kippur, the language of the prayers, while clearly from the Second Temple period, often employs Biblical idiom. However the differences are compared with the commonalities. Most of the Jewish liturgy is sung or chanted with traditional melodies or trope, synagogues may designate or employ a professional or lay hazzan for the purpose of leading the congregation in prayer, especially on Shabbat or holidays. According to the Talmud Bavli, tefillah is a Biblical command, what service is performed with the heart. Prayer is therefore referred to as Avodah sheba-Lev and it is not time-dependent and is mandatory for both Jewish men and women. Mentioning tefillah, the Talmud always refers to the Amidah, that is also called Shemoneh Esreh, the noted rabbi Maimonides likewise categorizes tefillah as a Biblical command of Written law, as the Babylon Talmud says. The Oral law, according to the Talmud Bavli gives two reasons why there are three basic prayers, According to Rabbi Jose b, Hanina, each of the Patriarchs instituted one prayer, Abraham the morning, Isaac the afternoon and Jacob the evening prayers. This view is supported with Biblical quotes indicating that the Patriarchs prayed at the times mentioned, however, even according to this view, the exact times of when the services are held, and moreover the entire concept of a mussaf service, are still based on the sacrifices. Each service was instituted parallel to an act in the Temple in Jerusalem, the morning Tamid offering, the afternoon Tamid offering. Therefore, the Anshei Knesset HaGedola based their Takkanah that Jewish men were required to pray three times a day from hints to personal habits of the forefathers in the tanach. Additional references in the Hebrew Bible have been interpreted to suggest that King David, moreover, it is generally accepted by Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, and Sephardic religious authorities that women are exempt from the evening prayer. Conservative Judaism regards the halakhic system of daily services as mandatory. According to halakha, all prayers and virtually all communal prayers may be said in any language that the person praying understands. Maimonides relates that until the Babylonian exile, all Jews composed their own prayers, the differences are quite minor compared with the commonalities
Jewish prayer
–
Morning Prayer, 2005.
Jewish prayer
–
Jews praying in Jerusalem (Ha
Kotel HaMaaravi), 2010.
Jewish prayer
–
Rabbi Yisrael Meir HaCohen Kagan —the "
Chofetz Chaim "—at prayer towards the end of his life.
Jewish prayer
–
An Israeli soldier lays
tefillin at the Western Wall (
Kotel) prior to prayer.
![[icon]](/wiki/File:Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg){kind=small}
