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Concept 1. ‘Buddhism’ is the term used to denote the religion descending from the ascetic movement founded by Gautama Buddha. To be sure, the teachings of early Buddhism have been developed in very different ways over the course of time. A large number of schools, at times with considerably divergent philosophical systems and corresponding monastic rules, were and are scattered across an immense geographical space (today nearly all of Asia, with the exception of India, Buddhism's land of origin). The three great directions are Tantric ( Tantra), Mahāyāna (Northern), and Hīnayāna (Sou…

The Historical Buddha 1. According to tradition, Gautama Buddha, the founder of Buddhism, was sprung of a noble family of the Śākya people. Presumably he was born in the fifth century BCE (today's research places his life span c. 450–370), the offspring of Śuddkodana and Māyā(devī), in the border region between today's Nepal and India, and given the name Siddhārtha. Shortly after the birth of his son, Rahula, deeply stirred by a meditative experience, he left his family and began to embrace variou…

Definition The expre…

Definition 1. Prayer is one of the typically religious forms of communication. With prayer, a person turns to the gods—aloud or in a whisper, wordlessly or in thought, as an…

Gandharvas and apsarases, often mentioned as being closely associated as either lovers or married couples ( AVŚ. 2.2.5; 4.37.7, 12; AVP. 1.89.2), have been conceived of as a class of semidivine beings throughout the history of Hinduism. According to the Aitareyabrāhmaṇa (3.31), they form a group besides “gods and men, serpents and fathers” (see also JaiUBr. 1.41.1). They are supposed to associate with human beings, but not always without danger for the latter. Especially the Atharvaveda emphasizes their dangerous features, naming them in one breath with piśācas and rākṣasas ( AVŚ.…

Swiss Indologist and a pioneer of Tocharian and Khotanese studies.  LEUMANN, Ernst (b. Berg, 11 April 1859; d. Freiburg, 24 April 1931; Figure 1), Swiss Indologist and a pioneer of Tocharian and Khotanese (qq.v.) studies. Ernst Leumann was born in Berg, a small village in the Swiss canton of Thurgau, on 11 April 1859. While still in school, he developed an interest in comparative linguistics through his Latin teacher Friedrich Haag, later a professor at the University of Berne. In the course of his studies, he relocated – after …

[German Version] I. Bible Hebrew Bible uses violence (חָמָס/ ḥāmās; שׂד/ šōd) to denote the illegal use of physical force (Gen 49:5), false ¶ testimony in court (Exod 23:1; Deut 19:16), economic exploitation (Amos 3:10; Zeph 1:9), especially of the poor (Jer 22:3), and assault on God (Job 21:27) or his laws (Ezek 22:26). All violence against human beings is also violence against God (Gen 6:11, 13). Law (Law and jurisprudence: III) with its fundamental function of settling conflicts and preventing the transgression of norms that provokes …

[English Version] I. ReligionswissenschaftlichEtym. leitet sich der Begriff »Priester« vom griech. πρεσβυ´τερος/presby´teros, »der Ältere«, her; er bez. ganz allg. einen rel. Funktionsträger, insbes. den für den Kult zuständigen Experten. Dem zugrundeliegenden griech. Wort kommt diese Bedeutung urspr. nicht zu. Nach einem zweiten Bedeutungsstrang verwaltet der Priester (griech. ι῾ερευ´ς/hiereu´s, lat. sacerdos) das Heilige (heilig und profan). Die Inhalte, welche heute üblicherweise im Religionsvergleich mit dem Priestertum (Pt.) verbunden …

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