RSOC 10 Midterm Two Terms

Ancestor -- The belief in ancient Chinese traditions that ancestors lived after death. They
believed in worship of ancestors as a central part of their traditions. This term belongs to the
ancient chinese tradition.
Shang Dynasty -- (1700 - 1100 CE). A bronze age civilization dismissed as mythical by Western
Scholars that was located in the Yellow River valley (heartland of ancient Chinese civilization).
They built extensive cities and developed a sophisticated bronze age culture as well as a
system of writing. They worshipped the spirits of their ancestors, and particularly deities who
were believed to be the progenitors of their clan lineages.
Shang-di () -- Shang-di was an important deity considered by the Shang Dynasty and was
thought to be the foremost ancestor of the Shang king. Shang-di ruled over the heavens in the
ancient Chinese tradition just as the king ruled over the kingdom.
Shen () -- Refers to the spirit or soul of the human, which everyone supposedly had in the
Chinese Folk Religion. The term also designated the spirits of the dead.
Oracle Bones -- Bones from animals which were used for pyromancy in the ancient Chinese
tradition. This was used to connect with the ancestors by means of scapulimancy where
someone would place hot metal on the bone and depending on the cracks, a message was
created which was supposedly an answer from an ancestor.
Yi-jing -- Means book of changes. It is an ancient divination manual which was created during
the Shang Dynasty. This method involves someone asking a question to the ancestors and
casts coins to bring up one of 64 oracles.
Female shamans () -- Shamans, particularly women, were believed to be able to
communicate with the spirit world in ancient Chinese traditions. They were called Wu and were
common during the Han Dynasty but their actions were prohibited. Shamanic practices included
music, dance, and intoxicants to reach a conscious level to communicate with the spirits.
Confucius -- He is the founder of Confucianism and his name is Kong Qiu who worked at a
government post as a police commissioner and was devoted to the ruling Zhou Dynasty.
Confucius wanted to reform a split society through virtues such as filial conduct and upholding
the five relationships, as well as respecting one another to maintain order in society.
The Analects -- It is a challenging piece of work that does not have a clear argument and is
rather a series of anecdotes about Confucius and short dialogues between him and the people
he interacted with. The work gives an idea of the values that Confucius taught to his students.
The Five Relationships -- The relationships between certain figures in society in the hierarchical
system of Confucianism that was meant to bring social harmony. The five relationships are:
Parent-Child, Husband-Wife, Elder-Young Sibling, Ruler-Subject, Friend-Friend.
Filial conduct -- Also known as xiao, is the fundamental value of Confucianism. This virtue holds
that children respect their parents and that it is their responsibility to respect and take care of

them. This is extended in that all citizens of the state must be loyal to the emperor who is the
father of the state.
Humaneness -- Those people who are higher in the hierarchy must treat the people below them
with respect according to Confucianism. This virtue is described by Confucius as loving others.
Propriety -- Propriety is the good manners and proper social protocol that people display in
public as a sign of respect towards one another. Confucius took propriety as an outward display
of inner values such as filiality and humaneness. This term is related to Confucianism.
The gentleman -- One who portrays good behavior in Confucianism. He is well-cultivated, has
fully internalized the moral virtues, and is well-educated in the intellectual sciences and arts.
Mandate of Heaven -- A mandate, according to Confucianism, that held the rulers authority was
a gift from Heaven, and that it can be taken away if the ruler did not set a good example.
Confucius asserted that the leaders right to rule is based on his moral standing.
Legalism -- Legalism formed because of Confucianisms impractical approaches and asserted
that people were controlled by greed and the only way to keep order and control is to place a
series of harsh laws. Legalism became the main philosophy in the Qin Dynasty.
Lao-zi -- Old Master, is the founder of Daoism. He is the author of Dao-de-jing, and is believed
to be the senior contemporary of Confucius.
Dao-de-jing -- It is the best known and beloved Daoist scripture that was written by Lao-zi. It
was written as Lao-zi was leaving China and it includes two sections.
The Dao -- Dao is the source of everything that exists according to Daoists. All things exist in
and through the Dao. It is the understanding or knowing of life which cannot be grasped easily.
Yin and Yang -- These are dynamic forces of the cosmos which represent male and female, light
and dark in the Daoist tradition. They are opposites but are inseparable. You cannot have one
without the other.
Spontaneity (Wu-wei, ) -- After one reaches a mode of intuitive knowing through
meditation, he or she unlocks spontaneity which refers to action that follows right after someone
has realized the Dao. These actions are not of self-interest or greed, rather they are done
because one has realized the Dao. This term relates to Daoism.
Immortals -- It is believed that once someone realizes the Dao and concentrates on their spirit,
he or she can live forever. These immortals achieve a divine state and serve as the divinities of
the Daoist tradition.
Vital energy (Qi, ) -- The force of life that manifests in all of our actions in the Daoist belief. It
is the focus of Daoist meditation beliefs that allow one to be healthy by balancing this vital
energy.

Mahayana -- Buddhist tradition originating in India that sought to expand the reach of Buddhism,
by advocating a path open to everyone, including groups often excluded from serious Buddhist
practice, such as laypeople and women. This term belongs to East Asia Buddhism.
Bodhisattva -- An ideal advanced by Mahayana Buddhists. The term means hero/heroine of
awakening and originally referred to Gautama Siddhartha. It refers to a person devoted to
complete awakening. This term belongs to East Asia Buddhism.
Emptiness -- The Mahayana Buddhist doctrine that all things lack any sort of intrinsic reality, and
instead are deeply interrelated. This term belongs to East Asia Buddhism.
Compassion -- The recognition that there is no distinction between the self and others, and that
everything is interrelated, in the Mahayana Buddhist tradition. This term belongs to East Asia
Buddhism.
Pure Land -- A Chinese school of Buddhism based on the belief that the original teachings of
Buddhism are declining, and it is no longer possible to achieve enlightenment by following them.
The school believes in devotion to the Amitabha Buddha. This term belongs to East Asia
Buddhism.
Amitabha Buddha -- A buddha in the Pure Land practice that made a vow to save anyone who
merely says his name with faith, by causing her or him to be reborn in his Buddha land,
Sukhavati. This term belongs to East Asia Buddhism.
Sukhavati -- The land of Amitabha Buddha in which people that devoted themselves to the
Amitabha Buddha were reborn with the opportunities for spiritual practice that are no longer
available in this world. This term belongs to East Asia Buddhism.
Zen -- Buddhist tradition focusing on the practice of mediation in the East Asian Mahayana
Buddhism. This term belongs to East Asia Buddhism.
Bodhidharma -- Legendary figure that brought the Zen tradition from India to China according to
the Zen tradition. This term belongs to East Asia Buddhism.
Rinzai School -- A form of East Asian Zen Buddhism that follows the teachings of the Chinese
master Linji Yixuan, infamous for his teaching style, which involved shouting and hitting.
Focuses on riddles or enigmatic statements attributed to the great Zen masters of the past. This
term belongs to East Asia Buddhism.
Zazen -- A technique of meditation that is central to the Zen Buddhist tradition. It focuses on
attention on breathing. This term belongs to East Asia Buddhism.
Vajrayana -- Part of Mahayana Buddhism that claims to have secret techniques of practice and
ritual that allow one to obtain enlightenment in as short of a period as ones lifetime. This term
belongs to East Asia Buddhism.
Padmasambhava -- An Indian saint who established the Vajrayana Buddhist tradition in Tibet.
He established the first order of monks in Tibet, and is believed to have converted the gods of
the indigenous Tibetan religion to Buddhism. This term belongs to East Asia Buddhism.

Lama -- A spiritual teacher in Tibetan Buddhism that is believed to be a bodhisattva who

reincarnates again and again to serve as teachers for their communities. This term belongs to
East Asia Buddhism.
Shinto -- The indigenous tradition of Japan that focuses on deities associated with the natural
world, known as kami. This term belongs to Shintoism.
Kami -- Deities associated with the natural world, which are the main focus of the Shinto
tradition. Many are said to be the founding ancestors of human families. This term belongs to
Shintoism.
Izanagi and Izanami -- The primal couple of the Shinto tradition who are said to have created
Japan. This term belongs to Shintoism.
Amaterasu -- She is considered the chief of the kami in the Shinto tradition, and the ancestress
of the imperial family. She is associated with the sun. This term belongs to Shintoism.

Neo-Shintoism -- Shintoism was made the national religion in Japan in the 19th century. This
reform was focused on weakening Buddhism and giving powerful ideology support to the
imperial family. This term belongs to Shintoism.
Yasukuni Shrine -- A shrine established to commemorate the Japanese who died in the civil war
and WWII by the Meiji emperor in the Shinto tradition. This term belongs to Shintoism.