World Religions Midterm Review

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering midterm exam terms on Indigenous religions, Hinduism, and Buddhism.

Divination

Prediction of future through various ritual means.

Myths

Religious stories often about the dealings of gods with humans.

Rite of passage

Rituals at key transitional points in the life of an individual.

Ritual

Behaviors that people carry out for religious purposes.

Taboo

Cultural or religious rule of avoidance.

Earth mother

Female Earth spirit and personification of nature in Native American religions.

Ghost dance

Ritual and resistance movement of Plains Indians that combined Native American religions, Native American and Christian ideas.

Medicine womenmen

Native American religious specialists who can heal.

Native American church

Religious movement combining elements of Christianity and Native American religions.

Peyote

Small, spineless cactus that can produce hallucinations and visions when ingested; sometimes used in religious rites of Native American church.

Sundance

Summer celebration performed by Native Americans of Great Plains.

Vision Quest

Native American ritual seeking contact with the spirit world.

Wakanthanca

Great and powerful force or spirit of the Lakota people.

Wounded Knee

Massacre of the Lakota Teox people by US Army on 12/29/1890 in what is now South Dakota.

Agni

God of fire who brings offerings to other gods.

Atman

The eternal silver soul.

Brahmin

Priestly caste, highly regarded priest.

Brahman

Impersonal god seen as a total reality in the Upanishads.

Dharma (Hinduism)

The principle that each person should do their proper duties according to their caste and stage in life.

Endra

God of lightning, thunder, and rain, ruler of heaven, who defeated Virgil, the dragon of chaos.

Karma

The principle that every action or thought has a consequence.

Kashatria

Chieftain and warrior class.

Maya

Illusion.

Moksha

Breaking free from the cycle of samsara.

Samsara

The endless cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth.

Shudra

Slaves or servants caste, nonfull members of society.

Baishya

Merchants, farmers, herders, and other communists.

Varna

Social classes.

Avatar

Incarnation of a deity.

Bhakti

Devotion to the gods of Hinduism.

Bhagavad Gita

Song of the blessed Lord.

Brahma

The creator.

DiwaliDiwali

Hindu festival of lights that welcomes the new year.

Ganesha

Son of Shiva Parvati, remover of obstacles.

Kali

Shiva's Concert, goddess of destruction, terrible and fierce.

Lakshmi

Goddess of prosperity and wealth, Vishnu's Concert.

Mirdi

Divine image.

Puja

Ritual act of worship before a deity.

Puranas

Myths containing the exploits and attributes of popular Hindu deities including Vishnu, Shiva, and Devi.

Shiva

The destroyer and god of rebirth and reproduction.

Vishnu

The sustainer and god of love.

Anatman

No eternal soul.

Arhat

A monk or nun that achieved enlightenment.

Asoka

Ruler of India who converted to Buddhism and promoted Buddhist teachings by sending missionaries.

Buddha

Srirhatha Watma, the co enlightened one.

Dharma (Buddhism)

The collective teachings of the Buddha.

Nirvana

Blowing out stingaging of craving in the sire and escape from samsara.

Pali sermons

Early collection of Buddhist teachings, reading in Pali language.

Sangha

Buddhist community of monks and nuns.

Lotus Sutra

Sacred text of Mahayana Buddhists that discusses the eternal cosmics of Buddhahood.

Bodhisattva

Beings who postpone their achievement of Nirvana to help humans in their path to enlightenment.

Avalokiteshvara

The Bodhisiva of Compassion.

Pure Land Buddhism

Buddhist tradition teaching that devotees can be reborn in a paradise called the Pure Land of the West, where they can reach enlightenment.

Amit Baha

A Buddha who presides over the paradise called the Pure Land of the West.

Go on

Riddles of Zen to help achieve enlightenment.

Zen Buddhism

Buddhist tradition teaching that truths of religion don't come through rational thought process but through a sudden flash of insight, requiring practitioners to find truth by themselves through their own experience.

Satori

Flash of enlightenment.

Bhagrayana Buddhism

Quoted as "the diamond vehicle"; another word for Tibetan Buddhism.

Lama

Quoted as "superior one"; leader of Tibetan Buddhism.

Dalai Lama

Leader of Yellow Hat Group of Tibetan Buddhism.