The vocabulary of the sacred.
Forty-five terms, with pronunciation, original script, and etymology where meaningful. Covenant, agape, dharma, tao, jihad, hesed, zazen.
- Agapeἀγάπη Christianity
- The Greek word for a self-giving, unconditional love — the love God has for humanity, and the command Christ gives his disciples. Distinguished in classical Greek from eros (desire), philia (friendship), and storge (family affection).
- Akedahעֲקֵידָה Judaism
- Hebrew for 'the Binding' — the narrative of Genesis 22 in which Abraham prepares to sacrifice Isaac. Read annually at Rosh Hashanah and foundational to Jewish theological reflection on obedience and divine mercy.
- Allahٱللَّٰه Islam
- The Arabic word for God. Cognate with Hebrew Elohim; used by Arabic-speaking Christians and Jews before and after Islam. The Qur'an emphasises His oneness (tawhid) and ninety-nine 'most beautiful names'.
- Arhatअर्हत् Buddhism
- In early Buddhism, one who has reached nirvana and will not be reborn. In the Mahayana tradition, the arhat is a lesser goal than the bodhisattva, who postpones nirvana to help others.
- Avatarअवतार Hinduism
- A 'descent' of a deity into earthly form. In Vaishnavism, Vishnu has ten major avatars including Krishna, Rama, and (often) the Buddha. Not identical to Christian incarnation: avatars are many and episodic.
- Bhaktiभक्ति Hinduism
- Devotional love directed to a personal god — the emotional path to liberation in Hindu spirituality, especially prominent in Vaishnavism and associated with the Bhagavad Gita's twelfth chapter.
- Bodhisattvaबोधिसत्त्व Buddhism
- A being who has attained the awakening needed for nirvana but vows to remain in the cycle of rebirth for the salvation of all sentient beings. Central to Mahayana Buddhism.
- Brahmanब्रह्मन् Hinduism
- The ultimate, unchanging reality that underlies all existence — the ground of being in Upanishadic thought. Not to be confused with Brahma (the creator god) or Brahmin (the priestly caste). In Advaita Vedanta, identical with the individual Atman (self).
- Covenantבְּרִית / διαθήκη / ميثاق Shared
- A binding agreement between God and a people. The Noahic covenant with humanity (rainbow), the Abrahamic (circumcision, land), the Mosaic (Sinai, the Law), the Davidic (dynasty), and the New Covenant (the blood of Christ in Christian theology; the Qur'anic mithaq in Islam) are the great covenantal moments of Abrahamic tradition.
- Dharmaधर्म / धम्म Shared
- A Sanskrit term spanning 'cosmic law,' 'duty,' 'the teachings of the Buddha,' and 'religion' itself. In Hinduism, the moral order to which a given caste or life-stage must conform. In Buddhism, the truth revealed by the Buddha — the middle term of the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, Sangha).
- Elohimאֱלֹהִים Judaism
- One of the names of God in the Hebrew Bible, grammatically plural but used with singular verbs when referring to the God of Israel. Appears in Genesis 1, where God is consistently Elohim until 2:4 where the personal name YHWH enters.
- Enlightenment Buddhism
- The awakening (bodhi) that ends the cycle of rebirth and suffering — the Buddha's experience under the Bodhi tree. Not a permanent state conferred by grace, but the result of the Eightfold Path.
- EucharistΕὐχαριστία Christianity
- The central sacrament of Christian worship: the ritual of bread and wine instituted by Christ at the Last Supper. The name is Greek for 'thanksgiving'. Catholic and Orthodox traditions hold that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ; most Protestant traditions differ.
- Gospelεὐαγγέλιον Christianity
- The 'good news' of Jesus Christ — both the oral proclamation and the four canonical narratives of his life (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John). From Old English godspel, a translation of Greek euangelion.
- Hadithحديث Islam
- A report of something the Prophet Muhammad said, did, or approved of. Hadith are second only to the Qur'an as a source for Islamic law and practice; the two most authoritative Sunni collections are those of Bukhari and Muslim.
- Hajjحج Islam
- The pilgrimage to Mecca, required once in the life of every Muslim who is physically and financially able. The fifth of the Five Pillars. Performed in the last month of the Islamic calendar; Umrah is the non-prescribed 'lesser pilgrimage' made at any time.
- Hesedחֶסֶד Judaism
- The Hebrew word often translated 'lovingkindness' or 'steadfast love'. Stronger than benevolence: the loyal, covenantal love that acts beyond obligation. A defining attribute of God throughout the Psalms.
- Hijraهجرة Islam
- The 622 CE migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina, marking year one of the Islamic calendar. Not the 'flight' — the Prophet departed only after Meccan persecution reached a critical point.
- Incarnation Christianity
- The Christian doctrine that the eternal Son of God took on human nature in the person of Jesus Christ — fully God and fully human. Defined at the Council of Chalcedon (451 CE). Rejected by Islamic theology.
- Jihadجهاد Islam
- Literally 'striving'. Classical Islamic jurisprudence distinguishes the 'greater jihad' — the internal striving against one's lower self — from the 'lesser jihad,' armed struggle, which is itself tightly circumscribed by rules of proportionality and non-combatant immunity.
- Kaabaكعبة Islam
- The cube-shaped structure at the heart of the Great Mosque in Mecca, toward which all Muslims pray. Islamic tradition attributes its original construction to Abraham and Ishmael. Circumambulation (tawaf) is a central rite of the Hajj.
- Karmaकर्म Shared
- Action and its moral fruit. In Hindu and Buddhist thought, the law by which intentional acts shape one's future — in this life or across rebirths. Not fate: karma accrues from chosen action and can be worked out in practice.
- Koan公案 Buddhism
- A paradoxical question or story used in Zen Buddhism to provoke insight beyond rational analysis. Example: 'What is the sound of one hand clapping?' The tradition arose in Chinese Chan Buddhism and is central to the Japanese Rinzai school.
- Logosλόγος Christianity
- Greek: 'word, reason, principle'. In the prologue of John's Gospel, applied to the pre-existent Christ: 'In the beginning was the Word'. Already a technical term in Stoic and Jewish-Hellenistic (Philo) thought before the Gospel used it.
- Messiahמָשִׁיחַ / مسيح Shared
- 'Anointed one' — the expected deliverer of Israel in Jewish tradition. The Greek equivalent is Christos; hence 'Jesus Christ' = 'Jesus the Anointed'. In the Qur'an, al-Masih is a title of Jesus (Isa), but without the divine-messianic theology of Christianity.
- Mitzvahמִצְוָה Judaism
- A commandment. Rabbinic tradition enumerates 613 mitzvot (plural) in the Torah: 248 positive commands and 365 prohibitions. Colloquially, any good deed.
- Nirvanaनिर्वाण Buddhism
- The 'blowing out' of the fires of craving, aversion, and delusion — the end of suffering and the cycle of rebirth. Not annihilation but the unconditioned; the Buddha refused to characterise it in positive terms.
- Omॐ Hinduism
- The sacred syllable of Hinduism (and Buddhism and Jainism), held to be the vibrational ground of the universe. Recited at the opening and close of prayers and meditations. The Mandukya Upanishad is a single-verse meditation on Om.
- Paracleteπαράκλητος Christianity
- An advocate, comforter, helper. Christ's title for the Holy Spirit in John's farewell discourse. Some Islamic scholars identify the Paraclete of John 14 with the prophet Muhammad (via the Syriac Menahem).
- Prophet Shared
- One who speaks for God. Jewish tradition distinguishes the 'former prophets' (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings) from the 'latter' (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the Twelve). Christianity includes John the Baptist as the last and Jesus as greater than any. Islam recognises 124,000 prophets beginning with Adam and ending with Muhammad, the 'seal of the prophets'.
- Qiblaقبلة Islam
- The direction of prayer. For Muslims worldwide it is the Kaaba in Mecca — a direction fixed by Muhammad in Medina after an initial period of praying toward Jerusalem (Qur'an 2:144).
- Qur'anقرآن Islam
- Literally 'the Recitation'. The final, complete, untranslatable scripture of Islam, revealed to Muhammad through the angel Jibril over 23 years. 114 surahs, arranged roughly from longest to shortest (not chronologically).
- Rabbiרַבִּי Judaism
- Hebrew for 'my master'; a teacher authorised to interpret Jewish law. The title emerges in the late Second Temple period; Jesus is addressed as 'Rabbi' in the Gospels.
- Ramadanرمضان Islam
- The ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, during which healthy adult Muslims fast from dawn to sunset. The month in which the Qur'an began to be revealed (Qur'an 2:185). Celebrated at its end with Eid al-Fitr.
- Samsaraसंसार Shared
- The cycle of birth, death, and rebirth in Hindu, Buddhist, Jain, and Sikh thought. Not a reward or punishment but a condition to be escaped (moksha / nirvana).
- Shahadaشهادة Islam
- The Islamic profession of faith: 'There is no god but God, and Muhammad is the messenger of God.' Recitation before two witnesses constitutes conversion to Islam.
- Shalomשָׁלוֹם Judaism
- Hebrew for 'peace' — but more richly, wholeness, completeness, flourishing. Used as both greeting and farewell. Cognate with Arabic salaam.
- Shemaשְׁמַע Judaism
- The central declaration of Jewish faith: 'Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one' (Deuteronomy 6:4). Recited twice daily.
- Sufismتصوف Islam
- The mystical dimension of Islam, emphasising inward purification (tazkiyah) and the direct experience of God. Rumi, Ibn Arabi, and Al-Ghazali are among its canonical figures.
- Sunnahسنة Islam
- The 'path' or 'example' of the Prophet — his sayings, actions, and tacit approvals — preserved in the hadith and used alongside the Qur'an as a source of Islamic law. The Sunni branch takes its name from adherence to the Sunnah.
- Tanakhתַּנַ"ךְ Judaism
- The Hebrew Bible. An acronym for Torah (Law), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings) — the three-fold division of the 24-book canon. Largely overlaps in content with the Christian Old Testament but orders the books differently.
- Tao道 Taoism
- The Way. The underlying principle of the universe in Chinese philosophy — present in Confucianism but central to Taoism, where it is both the source and the pattern of all things. Famously unnameable: 'the Tao that can be named is not the eternal Tao.'
- Torahתּוֹרָה Judaism
- In the narrow sense, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (Genesis through Deuteronomy), attributed to Moses. In a broader sense, all divine instruction — the written Torah plus the oral Torah preserved in the Mishnah and Talmud.
- Yogaयोग Hinduism
- A 'yoking' or discipline directed at union with the divine. The Bhagavad Gita teaches three yogas — of knowledge (jnana), action (karma), and devotion (bhakti). The physical postural yoga of modern practice (hatha yoga) is a narrow and historically late branch.
- Zazen坐禅 Buddhism
- Seated meditation in the Zen tradition — the central practice through which awakening is sought. The Soto school emphasises 'just sitting' (shikantaza); the Rinzai school uses koans.