The Age of the Sages

by Mark W Muesse

  Jambudvipa (Jambudvīpa): “the island of the rose-apple tree”; a term used by Jains, Buddhists, and Hindus to refer to the earthly realm.

  Jaspers, Karl,1883–1969: German philosopher; often associated with Existentialism; coined the term die Achsenzeit, or Axial Age, to designate the period 800–200 bce.

  jina:a spiritual victor in Jainism.

  jivanmukta:in Hinduism, a living, liberated soul.

  jñana(jñāna):Sanskrit word for knowledge; related to the Greek gnōsis.

  jñana-marga:the path of liberation from samsara based on the quest for wisdom and the dissolution of illusion. The jñana-marga usually requires ascetic practice and great discipline.

  junzi:the gentleman or noble man in Confucianism; the most important ideal type for Confucius.

  karma: action and its consequences; a principle of justice, ensuring that the effects of one’s actions return to the agent. Karma is what binds the self to the cycle of endless existence and determines the self’s station in future existences.

  Kisagotami:a young woman who begs the Buddha to bring her dead son back to life; the Buddha instructs her to find a mustard seed from a home that has never been touched by death.

  Krishna:one of the principal avatars or manifestations of the Hindu god Vishnu; Krishna instructs Arjuna on devotion to god in the Bhagavad Gita.

  Kshatriyas (Kśatriyas): the caste of warriors and administrators.

  Kushinagara:northeastern Indian village near the site of the Buddha’s parinibbana, or final liberation.

  Laozi:the legendary founder of Daoism and the traditional author of the Daodejing, which is sometimes known as the Laozi.

  Legalism:the Chinese philosophical school opposed to Confucianism; embraced by the Qin Dynasty, Legalism advocated a strict law-and-order approach to maintaining social stability.

  li:originally, the Chinese term for religious rituals and ceremonies. Confucius broadened the term to include everyday behavior and manners.

  lingam: aniconic symbol of the god Shiva.

  Magi:term for the “wise men from the East” who visited Jesus as an infant; derived from magus, a priest.

  Mahavira (Mahāvīra) c. 599–527 or 540–468 bce: the “Great Hero”; a traditional title for Vardhamana (Vardhamāna), the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of Jainism.

  Mahayana (Mahāyāna):Sanskrit for the “Great Vehicle”; a branch of Buddhism that developed in the early centuries ce and brought a new understanding of the Buddha and the nature of liberation.

  manas:Vedic word for that which animates the body; translates as mind, heart, or life-force.

  Mandate of Heaven:the moral authority by which the ruler rules. The concept—believed to have been first articulated by the Dan, the Duke of Zhou—was used to justify the Zhou overthrow of the Shang Dynasty; Chinese: tianming.

  mantra:Sanskrit word for a sound or phrase embodying sacred power.

  Mara:the tempter in Buddhism; as Siddhattha Gotama approached awakening while sitting under the bodhi tree, Mara attempted to thwart attainment of his goal.

  maya(māyā): illusion; the veil over reality that prevents the unenlightened from seeing the world as it truly is. Maya causes us to see multiplicity where there is in reality only unity.

  Maya, Queen:wife of King Suddhodana and mother of Siddhattha Gotama. Queen Maya died seven days after the birth of Siddhattha, who was then raised by Queen Prajapati, Maya’s sister.

  Mazda:an ahura of early Iranian religion; according to Zoroaster, Mazda was the principal (and perhaps sole) benevolent deity, locked in combat with the Evil One until the end of time.

  Mencius (Mengzi, Master Meng), c. 385–312 bce: Chinese philosopher who was one of first and most influential interpreters of Confucius. He was especially interested in the question of human nature and argued that human beings were fundamentally good.

  Middle Way: the course of life promoted by the Buddha in which one avoids the extremes of indulgence and deprivation.

  Mitra:one of the major gods of Indo-Iranian religion initially associated with promise keeping.

  Mohism: school of Chinese philosophy developed by Mozi. In contrast to Confucianism, Mohism advocated universal love of humanity.

  moksha(mokśa): release or liberation from the wheel of samsara. Pursued and conceptualized in a variety of ways, moksha is the ultimate goal of dharmic religions.

  Mozi, c. 470-390 bce: Chinese philosopher who advocated “impartial caring” or “universal love” and criticized Confucius’s belief that one should love others in proportion to the benefit one receives from them.

  Nachiketas:young Brahmin in the Upanishads who engaged Yama, the King of Underworld, in a dialogue about death.

  Nanak, Guru,1469–1539: the founder of Sikhism.

  nibbana(nibbāna):Pali term for the end of suffering and rebirth; Sanskrit: nirvāna.

  Nietzsche, Friedrich, 1844-1900:German philosopher; author of Thus Spoke Zarathustra.

  nirgunaBrahman: Sanskrit term for ultimate reality without qualities. This term is used to describe the aspect of Brahman that is ineffable.

  Noble Eightfold Path:the Buddha’s prescription for realizing nibbana; includes right understanding, right intentions; right speech; right action; right livelihood; right effort; right concentration; and right mindfulness.

  no-self, not-self:the Buddha’s denial of a permanent, substantial self or soul; Pali: anatta; Sanskrit: anatman.

  Nowruz: Persian for “New Day”; the celebration of the new year in Iranian religion.

  Odes, Book of:a collection of over three hundred poems from the early Zhou to the Spring and Autumn Periods; perhaps the earliest such collection in Chinese literature; considered part of the Wu Jing, the Five Classics of Confucianism; Chinese: Shijing.

  One Hundred Philosophers, Period of:the Chinese era of the late Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, during which many schools of philosophy were established, including Confucianism and Daoism.

  oracle:a communication from the spirit world or the medium of that communication.

  pairi-daeza:ancient Iranian term meaning “enclosed garden”; the basis for the word “paradise.”

  Pali (Pāli):a simplified vernacular form of Sanskrit in which the discourses of the Buddha were first written.

  Pali Canon: the earliest collection of Buddhist scriptures, comprising the Suttas (discourses) the Vinaya (monastic rules), and Abhidhamma (the codification of the Dhamma).

  parinibbana(parinibbāna):the final liberation of a fully realized person.

  Parsis:the Zoroastrians (and their descendants) who fled to India to escape the Islamic conquest of Iran.

  Prajapati, Queen:aunt and foster mother to Siddhattha Gotama; sister of Queen Maya; the first Buddhist nun.

  prophet:one who speaks for the god, often urging people back to an authentic form of religious practice at a time when religion has become corrupt.

  puja(pūjā): Sanskrit word for the ritual worship of a god, goddess, or object representing sacred reality.

  Purusha:the primordial human who was sacrificed and dismembered to create the parts of the cosmos, society, and the ritual according to the Veda.

  Qin dynasty:the period of Chinese history between the Zhou and Han Dynasties; from to 221 to 206 bce; during the Qin, China was unified and Legalism was the dominant philosophy.

  Rahula (Rāhula):son of Siddhattha Gotama and his wife Yashodhara; in later life, Rahula became a Buddhist monk.

  Ramanuja (Rāmānuja),c. 1077–1157 ce: Indian philosopher; founded the school of the Vishishtadvaita Vedanta, or qualified non-dualism.

  redeath:the Vedic belief that the soul may ascend to heaven at death, live there for a while until it exhausts its karma, and die again to be reborn on earth.

  ren:Chinese word for humaneness.

  renunciation:in the South Asian context, giving up home, possessions, social standing, and family ties to “go forth” into the world to seek liberation from samsara.

  Rig Veda: the oldest and m
ost important of the Vedas, compiled between 2300 and 1200 bce. The Rig Veda comprises over 1,000 hymns to various Vedic deities; rig means “praise.”

  rishis:Sanskrit term for “seers,” individuals with extraordinary insight into the nature of reality.

  rita: the Vedic principle of order and harmony.

  ritual purity: the state of cleanliness that is necessary for being in the presence of the sacred.

  rose-apple tree:a South and Southeast Asian tree with small, edible fruits. It was under this variety of tree that Siddhattha Gotama had his first meditation experience as a boy.

  sagunaBrahman: that aspect of ultimate reality that can be conceptualized and discussed.

  Sakya:the clan of Siddhattha Gotama.

  samsara(samsāra): the phenomenal world of change and transience. Samsara denotes the situation in which the self, according to Hinduism, sequentially incarnates in different bodies at different levels of existence.

  Sangha:the order of monks and nuns in Buddhism.

  Sanskrit:Indo-European language in which the Vedas were composed.

  Saoshyant: a savior or judge who appears at the end of time, according to Zoroaster; literally, “one who brings benefit.”

  satya:Sanskrit word for truth and, specifically, the higher truth.

  satyagraha(satyāgraha): literally, “grasping for the truth”; Gandhi’s term for his philosophy and practice of nonviolent resistance to injustice.

  Shang dynasty: c. 1500–1045 bce; the earliest Chinese dynasty for which there is historical evidence.

  Shangdi:term for the high god of early Chinese religion; also known as Di.

  Shankara (Śankara),c. 788–820 ce: Indian philosopher; founder of the school of Advaita Vedanta, or nondualism, based on the Upanishads.

  shaykh:Sufi master.

  Shiva (Śiva):one the great cosmic gods of Hinduism and the center of one of Hinduism’s largest and most important religions.

  shramana:Sanskrit term for a wandering ascetic. Pali: samana.

  shrauta(śrauta) ritual: ordinarily complex Vedic ceremonies using the verses of the Vedas for the purpose of maintaining divine-human relations.

  shruti(śruti): sacred literature of the highest authority in Hinduism; believed to have been revealed to the ancient rishis, or seers. Shruti includes the Vedas and the Upanishads.

  Shudras (Śudras): the lowest of the four varnas in India; the caste of peasants and servants.

  Shvetambaras (Śvetāmbaras):one of the two orders of monastics in Jainism; the “white-robed.”

  Siddhartha (Siddhārtha), King:the father of Vardhamana Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of Jainism.

  Siddhattha:the given name of the one who became the Buddha; Siddhattha means “he who attains the goal.”

  Sikhism: an indigenous Indian religion inspired by Kabir, a mystic-poet from Banaras, and founded by Guru Nanak, a Hindu from Punjab. Both men condemned Hindu and Muslim sectarianism and sought to establish authentic worship of the one true god.

  Soma:the Sanskrit name for the god whose manifestation as a particular plant produced visions and a sense of well-being in those who ingested it. Avestan: Haoma.

  Son of Man:Jewish concept of the individual who appears at the apocalypse as a divine judge; the title Jesus most often applies to himself in the Gospel of Mark.

  Soul of the Bull:the divine being in ancient Iranian religion who sustained and nurtured animal life.

  Spring and Autumn Periodc. 722–481 bce: the first of two eras of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in China.

  stupa(stūpa): a Buddhist reliquary; also known as dagoba and pagoda.

  Suddhodana, King:ruler of the Shakya Kingdom; husband of Queen Maya and Queen Prajapati; father of Siddhattha Gotama.

  Suttas:the discourses of Buddha.

  swastika:ancient Indo-Aryan symbol for the sun.

  sympathetic magic: the practice of attempting to affect realities by manipulation of objects or words representing those realities.

  taijitu:the Chinese diagram representing the relationship of the yin and yang principles.

  tanha:Pali term for craving; literally, “thirst.”

  Theravada (Theravāda):the “way of the elders”; the oldest extant variety of Buddhism; also called “Southern Buddhism” because of its prominence in South and Southeast Asia.

  Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Era of the:mythic period of early Chinese history preceding the Xia Dynasty.

  tian:Chinese word for heaven.

  tianming:see Mandate of Heaven.

  Tirthankara:according to Jainism, one who teaches the truth and the way to liberation; literally, a bridge builder or ford maker.

  transcendental consciousness:term used by S. N. Eisenstadt to refer to the Axial Age’s thrust to gain a larger and deeper understanding of the nature of reality.

  transmigration of the self:reincarnation.

  Triple Practice:the traditional division of the Noble Eightfold Path into Moral Behavior, Concentration, and Wisdom.

  Triple Refuge:a statement of Buddhist identity: “I take refuge in the Buddha; I take refuge in the Dhamma; and I take refuge in the Sangha.”

  Trishala (Triśala), Queen:wife of King Siddhartha and mother of Vardhamana Mahavira, the twenty-fourth Tirthankara of Jainism.

  Upanishads (Upaniśads): collection of early Hindu writings in which the ideas of transmigration of the soul and the identity of Brahman and atman are first proposed; considered shruti, the highest form of authority in Hinduism.

  Vaishyas (Vaiśyas): the caste of farmers, cattle herders, artisans, and businesspeople.

  Vajrayana (Vajrayāna):the third major form of Buddhism, practiced mainly in Tibet and Mongolia; literally, the “diamond” or “thunderbolt” vehicle.

  Varuna:Indo-Iranian god associated with promise keeping.

  Vedanta (Vedānta): the “end of the Veda.” Vedanta is one of the most important and influential of the Hindu philosophies. Deriving inspiration particularly from the Upanishads, the last part of the Vedas, Vedanta emphasizes unity of the self and the Absolute.

  Vedas: sacred wisdom believed to have been revealed to ancient rishis, or seers. The Vedas are now the most sacred of Hindu scriptures.

  Vesak:festival that celebrates the birth, awakening, and parinibbana of the Buddha.

  via negativa:the way of negation; a theological technique of referring to ultimate reality by saying what it is not.

  Vishnu:a minor Vedic god who ultimately became one of Hinduism’s most important gods and the object of a large Hindu religion; according to tradition, Vishnu has assumed ten principal manifestations, including Krishna, Rama, and the Buddha.

  Warring States, Period of:the second of the two eras of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty in China; 475 or 403 until 221 bce; a time in which the warlords of small feudal kingdoms sought to annex other states to extend and consolidate their power.

  Wen, King:the symbolic first ruler of the Zhou Dynasty.

  Western Zhou: see Zhou Dynasty.

  Wu: the man who led the overthrow of Shang rulers and established the Zhou Dynasty of China; son of King Wen.

  Wu Jing:the “Five Classics”; used by Confucianism as a basis for study; includes the Book of Odes (Shī Jīng), the Book of Changes (Yì Jīng), the Book of Rites (Lǐ Jīng), the Book of History (Shū Jīng), and the Spring and Autumn Annals (Lín Jīng).

  wu wei:actionless action; one of the fundamental virtues of Daoism.

  Xunzi, c. 310–219 bce: early Confucian thinker who opposed Mengzi’s position on human nature. A native of the state of Zhao in north-central China, Xunzi provided a rigorous explanation and defense of Confucian thought in the work that bears his name, the Xunzi.

  yajña: sacrifice. Avestan: yasna.

  Yama:the Vedic/Hindu god of death and ruler of the underworld. Avestan: Yima.

  Yashodhara (Yaśodhara):wife of Siddhattha Gotama; mother of Rahula; later a Buddhist nun.

  yazatas:class of divinities in Zoroastrianism associated with the principle of
good; perhaps the prototype for angels in the Abrahamic religions.

  yin and yang:the Chinese principles accounting for change; yin is associated with the feminine, and yang with the masculine; the Chinese ideal is to maintain a balance between yin and yang.

  yoga: a discipline for the purposes of enlightenment and liberation. Yoga literally means “yoke.” In a narrower sense, Yoga refers to a specific school of orthodox philosophy.

  zaotar:an Iranian priest. Literally, the “libation pourer.”