abhiṣeka
(Skt.; Tib., dbang-bskur). Literally ‘sprinkling’, this is an initiatory ritual of consecration in tantric Buddhism based on the classical Indian ceremony of coronation which involved lustration. ...
analytical psychology
A term introduced by Carl Gustav Jung (1875–1961) in 1913, the year he left the psychoanalytic movement, to denote the new approach that he saw as having evolved out of psychoanalysis under his ...
archetypal form
In analytical psychology, an image, motif, pattern, or theme associated with an archetype (2), the archetype itself not being susceptible to direct representation. See God-image, mandala, primordial ...
aureole
Halo or Glory surrounding the figure of Christ, the Virgin, or a Saint. If almond-shaped, it is formed of two interlocking segmental arcs, the whole figure called a mandorla or a vesica piscis. A ...
Borobudur
A Buddhist monument in central Java, built c.800. It consists of five square successively smaller terraces, one above the other, surmounted by three galleries and a stupa.
Buddhism
Western term which became established in popular usage in the 1830s to refer to the teachings of the Buddha. There is no direct equivalent for this term in Sanskrit or Pāli. Instead, indigenous ...
Buddhism in Japan
The dominant religious tradition of Japan, Buddhism first entered Japan c.5th or 6th cent. ce, from the Chinese mainland (traditionally in 538 from Korea). Initially, a few powerful clans opposed ...
cakra
1 A symbol, probably derived from the sun, of the Universal Ruler's (cakravartin's) dominion over the entire earth. As displayed on the palms of his hands (where it may be associated with Viṣṇu's ...
Chen-yen tsung
(Chin.). A school of Chinese Buddhism sometimes referred to in English as the ‘esoteric school’ (see Esoteric Buddhism). It represents an importation of tantric Buddhism from India into China.but ...
Dayak Myths
The Dayak people of Borneo, like many people in the world, see their territory as sacred space surrounded by chaotic foreignness. They are the people of the supreme being, who ...
dhyāna
A general term for meditation across a variety of Hindu traditions. More specifically, one of the aṣṭāṅgas, the eight limbs of (or aids to) yoga, according to the classical, or Rāja Yoga system ...
dhyāni-Buddhas
(Skt.). ‘Meditation Buddhas’, in the sense of Buddhas seen in meditation or used as a subject of meditation practice. It is a generally obsolete term invented and formerly used by Western scholars to ...
First Pointed
First of the Gothic styles of architecture from the end of C12 to the end of C13, known in England as the Early English style. Good examples include much of Wells (from 1180), Lincoln (from 1192), ...
gobutsu
(Jap.). In Japanese esoteric Buddhism.these are the ‘five Buddhas’ who occupy the centre of the maṇḍala. Although the contents of the two fundamental maṇḍalas—the Womb-treasury maṇḍala and the ...
halo
A circle of light round the head or, more rarely, the whole body. In Christian art its use was at first restricted to Christ, but from the 5th cent. it was extended to the BVM, angels, and saints, ...
individuation
The act or process of giving individuality to someone or something. In analytical psychology it is the process occurring by degrees over the lifespan whereby an individual achieves wholeness through ...
Jain mythology
Founded in part by Vardhamana Mahavira in the sixth century b.c.e., Jainism remains an important offshoot of Hinduism in India. It seems likely that Jainism came fully into being with ...
Kālacakra
(Tib., dus.kyi.ʾkhor.lo, ‘Wheel of Time’).Perhaps the most revered tantra in Tibetan Buddhism, which in addition to yogic teachings involves an esoteric world history and eschatology. The ...
Kashmir Śaivism
A Tantric Śaiva tradition which flourished in Kashmir between the 9th and 11th century ce, but which also influenced South Indian Śaivism. The Trika, its ritual system, developed out of the eastern ...
