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[German Version] The Sanskrit word saṃnyāsin (“renouncer”) is one of several terms for an ascetic in the Indo-Brahmanic tradition (Asceticism: VIII). A saṃnyāsin renounces “the world,” especially all forms of ritual. In the classic formulation of the four stages of life (Āśrama: Brahmin student, householder, hermit, itinerant ascetic), saṃnyāsa (“renunciation”) represents the fourth and final stage: having completely fulfilled his duties, the ideal twice-born man – someone who has experienced his “second birth” through initiation, in other words, a member of one of the three upper castes (Hinduism: III, 2) – turns aside from all “worldly” things and seeks to achieve redemption as an ascetic …

[German Version] I. Terminology – II. Religious Studies – III. Church History – IV. Buddhism – V. India …

[German Version] I. Religious Studies – II. Church History – III. Dogmatics – IV. Practical Theology – V. North America – VI. Missiology I. Religious Studies Generally speaking, the term laity (from Gk λαος/ laós, “people”) denotes adherents of a religious tradition who do not act as religious specialists or function within a defined socio-religio…

[German Version] I. Comparative Religion – II. Christianity – III. Buddhism – IV. Monastic Law I. Comparative Religion The term monastery (or cloister) derives from the Christian tradition, where it denotes the living and working quarters, relatively secluded from the outside world, of a monastic community leading some type of ascetic life (Asceticism; see II below). In the broader context of other religions, the term is also tied to the context of monasticism. When certain social structures in non-Christian religions are categorized as “monastic,” it is not difficult to find “monasteries” housing functionaries called by the same analogy “monks” and “nuns.” The monastic life of such religious specialists comprises communal observance of certain ascetic rules of conduct – for example dietary laws, ritual regulations, and celibacy – and preservation of the religious tradition – for example by collecting and copying texts or providing instruction and training. By commonly accepted analogy, monasteries and monasticism are found in several religions, including Buddhis…

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[German Version] The Sanskrit word nirvāṇa (Pāli nibbāna; lit. “extinction”) is one of several terms for the final stage and goal of the path of salvation in Indian religions, especially Buddhism. Early Buddhist texts view nirvāṇa as the state attained through awakening ( bodhi; Enlightenment [Spiritual]) or liberating knowledge ( ājñā, Pāli añña; Redemption: IX). In this state, ignorance, desire, and hate, which lead to suffering and rebirth, are “extinguished,” ending the imprisonment of the individual in the universal, painful cycle of rebirth ( Samsāra ). In the texts, this state of the enlightened individual – even before death – is also called Parinirvāṇa (“complete, final nirvāṇa”); with physical death, the “remainder” – the elements of existence that constitute the personality – is also finally extinguished. Since the state of …

[German Version] Saṃgha (also saṅgha; Sanskrit/Pali; lit. “assembly”) is the monastic community originally founded by the Buddha (I; Buddhism: I, 4); according to the Buddhist rules governing such communities, it consists of ordained bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs (“monks and nuns”; monasticism: IV; monasteries: III). Since monastic Buddhism never developed an overall organizational structure, the idea of the “ saṃgha of the four points of the compass” that includes all monastics must be distinguished from the actual local saṃgha…