Christian: the head of a monastery of nuns (q.v.) of the Benedictine (q.v.) or related orders.

Christian: the head of an independent male monastery of the Benedictine (q.v.) or related orders.
Buddhist: A person in charge of teaching at a monastery who has attained a high degree of Buddhist knowledge. Also refers to someone who gives monastic vows.

The nondualistic school of Vedanta (q.v.) philosophy that affirms the oneness of the individual soul, God, and the universe.

People of the book. (Alternate translation: Followers of an earlier revelation.) The Quranic term for people such as Jews or Christians, who adhered to the earlier scriptures.

Thai word for 'teacher'; often used as the title of the senior monk or monks at a monastery.

Learned man (plural: ulama). Guardians of the legal and religious traditions of Islam.

Amaterasu is a Shinto Sun goddess; she is the mythical ancestress of the royal family of Japan. Her full name is Amaterasu­-mi-kami which means "glorious goddess who shines in the heavens."

Amida (Amitabha, Amita, Amitayus) is the most commonly used name for the Buddha of Infinite Light and Infinite Life. A transhistorical Buddha venerated by all Mahayana (q.v.) schools (T'ien T'ai, Esoteric, Zen...) and, particularly, Pure Land (q.v.). Presides over the Western Pure Land (Land of Ultimate Bliss), where anyone can be reborn through utterly sincere recitation of His name, particularly at the time of death.

No-self. An essential teaching of Buddhism. There is no permanent, enduring substance within any entity.

A solitary monk or hermit; an individual who withdraws from society and lives a solitary life of silence and prayer.

Apophatic theology explores the position that human categories are not capable of describing the mystery of God. Apophatic prayer is prayer without words or concepts.

Derived from the Greek word 'apostolos' meaning a sent one or a messenger. Twelve men, chosen by Jesus, are named apostles in the New Testament, but the same twelve names are not always used. In addition four other men and one woman are referred to as apostles (Mathias, Paul, Barnabas, Andronicus, and Junia). Jesus himself is once referred to as an apostle (Heb 3:1).

The handing on of apostolic preaching and authority from the Apostles (q.v.) to their successors the bishops through the laying on of hands, as a permanent office in the Church.

A Buddhist saint who has attained liberation from the cycle of Birth and Death, generally through living a monastic life in accordance with the Buddha's teachings. The goal of Theravadin (q.v.) practice, as contrasted with Bodhisattvahood (q.v.) in Mahayana (q.v.) practice.

(1) A place where devotees live, often the house of a guru. (2) It can also refer to the four stages of Hindu life: student, householder, retired person, and sannyas (q.v.) .

The divine Spirit in humans, the Self which is one with Brahman (q.v.), the all-pervading divine existence, the Ground of the universe.

In Hinduism, the manifestion of a god in an earthly form, usually that of a human or animal.