Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Chu Hsi jo͞o shē [key], 1130–1200, Chinese philosopher of Neo-Confucianism. While borrowing heavily from Buddhism, his new metaphysics reinvigorated Confucianism. According to Chu Hsi, the normati...

(Encyclopedia) Hallaj, Hussein ibn Mansur al- ho͞osānˈ ĭbn mänso͝orˈ [key], 857–922, Arabic-speaking Persian Muslim mystic and poet popularly known among Muslims as “the martyr of mystical love.” Born a...

(Encyclopedia) Himachal Pradesh hĭmäˈchəl prədāshˈ [key], state (2001 provisional pop. 6,077,248), 21,629 sq mi (56,019 sq km), NW India, in the W Himalayas, bordered by the Tibet region of China on the east....

(Encyclopedia) White Huns or Hephthalites hĕfˈthəlītsˌ [key], people of obscure origins, possibly of Tibetan or Turkish stock. They were called Ephthalites by the Greeks, and Hunas by the Indians. There is no d...

(Encyclopedia) Soka Gakkai sōˈkä gäkˈkī [key] [Jap.,=Value Creation Society], Japan-based independent lay Buddhist movement. A theological offshoot of Nichiren Buddhism, it was founded (1930) as the Soka Kyoik...

(Encyclopedia) Shinto shĭnˈtō [key], ancient native religion of Japan still practiced in a form modified by the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism. In its present form Shinto is characterized less by religiou...

(Encyclopedia) Taoism däuˈĭzəm [key], refers both to a Chinese system of thought and to one of the four major religions of China (with Confucianism, Buddhism, and Chinese popular religion). Religious Taoism a...

(Encyclopedia) Karens kərĕnzˈ [key], members of a Thai-Chinese cultural group, one of the most important minorities in Myanmar, living in the Kayah State, Kayin State, Tanintharyi, and the Ayeyarwady delta. They ...

(Encyclopedia) Tantra tŭnˈtrə [key], in both Hinduism and Buddhism, esoteric tradition of ritual and yoga known for elaborate use of mantra, or symbolic speech, and mandala, or symbolic diagrams; the importance o...

(Encyclopedia) monasticism mənăsˈtĭsĭzəm, mō– [key], form of religious life, usually conducted in a community under a common rule. Monastic life is bound by ascetical practices expressed typically in the vo...