| A | B |
|---|
| Karuna | Compassion, empathy (Buddhism) |
| Ahimsa | "Nonharm," "nonviolence." (Hinduism, Jainism) |
| Bhakti | Devotion to a deity or guru. (Hinduism) |
| Brahman | The spiritual essence of the universe. (Hinduism) |
| Caste | One of the major social classes sanctioned by Hinduism. |
| Devi | "Goddess"; the Divine Feminine, also called the Great Mother. (Hinduism). |
| Dharma | Social and religious duty. (Hinduism) |
| Guru | A spiritual teacher. (Hinduism) |
| Karma | The moral law of cause and effect that determines the direction of rebirth. (Hinduism) |
| Mantra | A short sacred phrase, often chanted or used in meditation. (Hinduism) |
| Maya | "Illusion"; what keeps us from seeing reality correctly; the world, viewed inadequately. (Hinduism) |
| Moksha | "Liberation" from personal limitation, egotism, and rebirth. (Hinduism) |
| Puja | Offerings and ritual in honor of a deity. (Hinduism) |
| Samsara | The everyday world of change and suffering leading to rebirth. (Hinduism) |
| Trimurti | "Three forms" of the divine--the three gods Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. (Hinduism) |
| Vedas | Four collections of ancient prayers and rituals. (Hinduism) |
| Anatta | "No self"; the doctrine that there is no soul or permanent essence in people and things. (Buddhism) |
| Anichcha | Impermanence, constant change. (Buddhism) |
| Arhat | In Theravada, a person who has practiced monastic disciplines and reached nirvana, the ideal. |
| Bodhisattva | "Enlightenment being"; in Mahayana, a person of deep compassion who does not enter nirvana but is reborn to help others; a heavenly being of compassion. |
| Dharma | The totality of Buddhist teaching. |
| Dukkha | Sorrow, misery. (Buddhism) |
| Maitreya | A buddha or bodhisattva expected to appear on the earth in the future. |
| Nirvana | The release from suffering and rebirth that brings inner peace. (Buddhism) |
| Sangha | The community of monks and nuns; lowercased, it refers to an individual monastic community. (Buddhism) |
| Shunyata | The Mahayana notion of emptiness, meaning that the universe is empty of permanent reality. |
| Stupa | A shrine, usually in the shape of a dome, used to mark Buddhist relics or sacred sites. |
| Sutra | A sacred text, especially one said to record the words of the Buddha. |
| Tathata | "Thatness," "thusness," "suchness"; the uniqueness of each changing moment of reality. (Buddhism) |
| Tripitaka | The three "baskets" or collections of Buddhist texts. |
| Bar (Bat) Mitzvah | "Son (daughter) of the commandment"; the coming of age ceremony that marks the time when a young person is considered a legal adult within the Jewish community. |
| Covenant | A contract; the contract between the Hebrews and their God. |
| Diaspora | The dispersion of Jews beyond Israel, particularly to Persia, Egypt, and the Mediterranean region. |
| Kosher | "Ritually correct"; refers particularly to food preparation and food consumption. (Judaism) |
| Midrash | "Search"; rabbinical commentary on the scriptures and oral law. (Judaism) |
| Passover | A joyful spring festival that recalls the Hebrews' exodus from Egypt and freedom from oppression. |
| Prophet | A person inspired by God to speak for him. (Judaism) |
| Rabbi | A religious teacher; a Jewish minister. |
| Sabbath | "Rest"; the seventh day of the week (Saturday), a day of prayer and rest from work. (Judaism) |
| Seder | "Order"; a special ritual meal at Passover, recalling the Hebrews' exodus from Egypt. |
| Talmud | An encyclopedic commentary on the Hebrew scriptures. |
| Tanakh | The complete Hebrew scriptures, made up of the Torah, Prophets (Nevi'im) and Writings (Ketuvim). |
| Torah | "Teaching," "instruction"; the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures. |
| Yom Kippur | Day of Atonement, the most sacred day of the Jewish year. |
| Zionism | The movement that has encouraged the creation and support of the nation of Israel. |
| Caliph | "Successor"; a religious and political leader. (Islam) |
| Hadith | "Recollection"; remembrance of an act or saying of Muhammad. |
| Hijra | "Flight"; Muhammad's escape from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina). |
| Kabah | "Cube"; the square shrine at the center of the great mosque of Mecca. (Islam) |
| Id al-Fitr | The festival at the end of the month of Ramadan during which people fast and visit friends and often the graves of ancestors. (Islam) |
| Jihad | "Struggle"; the ideals both of spreading Islamic belief and of heroic self-sacrifice. |
| Mosque | A Muslim place of worship. |
| Qiblah | The direction toward Mecca; the direction toward which Muslims pray. |
| Qur'an | "Recitation"; God's word as revealed to and recited by Muhammad; an authorized version of the written words that appeared after Muhammad's death. (Islam) |
| Ramadan | The month of fasting; the ninth month of the Muslim calendar. |
| Sharia | "Path"; the whole body of Islamic law, which guides a Muslim's life. |
| Shiite | A minority branch of Islam, which holds that Muhammad's genuine successors descended from his son-in-law Ali. |
| Sufism | A group of devotional movements in Islam. |
| Sunni | The majority branch of Islam, which holds that genuine succession from Muhammad did not depend on hereditary descent from his son-in-law Ali. |
| Sura | A chapter of the Qur'an. (Islam) |
| Mahavira | The founder of Jainism. |
| Moksha (Jainism) | Women cannot attain this in Jainism. |
| Ahimsa (Jainism). | The characteristic mark of Jainism, inherited from Hinduism. |
| Dualist | Jain philosophy believes spirit is good and matter evil. Philosophically, this is the term for that belief. |
| Non-stealing | Jains may not take from others that which is not given. |
| Non-lying | Jains are considered very honest because they are never allowed any falsehood. |
| Chastity | In Jainism, complete sexual fidelity according to one's station in life. |
| Nonattachment | In Jainism, teaching that all possessions and attachments form bondage and so should be discouraged. |
| Guru Nanak | The founder of Sikhism. |
| Kesh, Khanga, Kach, Kirpan, Kara | The five K objects in Sikhism. |
| Hinduism and Islam | The source religions for Sikhism. |
| The True Name | The name for God in Sikhism. |
| Adi Granth | The sacred book of Sikhism. |
| Laozi | The founder of Daoism. |
| Daodejing | The foundational book of Daoism. |
| Yin and Yang | In Chinese religions, opposite but complementary principles are called this. |
| Wujing / Wu-Ching | The Five Classics of Confucianism. |
| Mencius | After Confucius, he is considered the second most important author of Confucian thought. |
| Kami | In Shinto, this is the name for the spirits. |
| Female/ feminine | Unlike most other mythologies, in Shinto the sun deity Amaterasu is considered this. |
| Li | This Confucian virtue is translated as “propriety,” and doing what is correct or appropriate. |
| Ren | This Confucian virtue means kindness and consideration for others. |
| Shu | "Reciprocity"; this Confucian virtue asks one to consider to one's actions in relation to another person's. |
| Xiao | The Confucian virtue of filial piety. |
| Wen | The Confucian virtue that means "culture" and includes all arts associated with civilization. |
| Father/son; Elder brother/ younger brother; Husband/ wife; Elder/ younger; Ruler/ subject. | One of the five great relationships in Confucianism. |
| Temizu | In Shinto, the washing of the hands and mouth is called this. |
