The three monkeys are Mizaru, who covers his eyes and sees no evil; Kikazaru who covers his ears to hear no evil; and Iwazaru with a hand over his mouth to speak no evil. They are symbols of the eastern Kōshin faith which is influenced by Shintō, Taoism and Buddhism and the proverb is interpreted [...]
Archive for the ‘Beliefs’ Category
See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil
Posted in Art, Beliefs, tagged Kōshin, Three wise monkeys on October 21, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
Diwali
Posted in Beliefs, Festivals, tagged Diwali on October 20, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Festival of Lights in Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh and Jain religions signifies the triumph of good over evil in each person, it is celebrated all over the world with displays of colour, fireworks, candles and oil lamps. Although one of the five days is often observed as a fast it is also a time of feasting, [...]
Shrine of Bahá’u'lláh
Posted in Beliefs, Places, tagged Bahá'í, Shrine of Bahá'u'lláh on October 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
In the Bahá’í religion the most holy spot is the burial place of the remains of the Prophet Bahá’u’lláh in Acre near Haifa in northern Israel:
This is the direction followers pray towards in their daily prayers, known as their Qiblih. The dead are buried facing the Quiblih also. It is a place of pilgrimage for followers.
All men have been created [...]
The Charter for Compassion
Posted in Beliefs, Current events, tagged Charter for Compassion, Karen Armstrong on October 18, 2009 | 4 Comments »
On November 12 2009 The Charter for Compassion which has been drawn up by a multi-faith, multi-national group of thinkers will be revealed:
Like the Charter of Human Rights, this Charter for Compassion is a yardstick against which the laity as well as religious and secular leaders can measure their behaviour; it can empower congregations to demand [...]
The Druze
Posted in Beliefs, tagged Druze on October 2, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Druze religion officially stopped recruiting adherents to the faith in 1043, no one is allowed to convert or recruit converts today. However communities of Druze persist in the volcanic region of Southern Syria, in Israel and in Lebanon. In these countries the followers are recognised as an independent faith with their own religious legal system.
Their beliefs [...]
Confucianism
Posted in Beliefs, History, Religion, tagged Confucianism on September 27, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
There are 6 million Confucians worldwide today, mostly in China and Asia. The Chinese government recently updated the Confucian Family Tree naming two million people as direct descendents of the ancient Chinese philosopher.
Based on the teachings of Confucius six basic values are promoted:
Li – etiquette
Hsaio – family love
Yi – righteousness
Xin – honesty
Jen – compassion; the [...]
Elevation of the Life Giving Cross
Posted in Beliefs, Liturgy, tagged Eastern Orthodox Church on September 10, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Exultation of the Cross, as it’s also known, is one of the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church ’great feast’ traditions.
It is a day of fasting, penitence and rededication to Christ.
The cross is placed on a tray of flowers and branches to symbolise the tree from which it was made.
Now when they came to Marah, they could not [...]
Sefer ha-Chinuch
Posted in Beliefs, Books, History, Religion, tagged Chinuch, Judaism on May 24, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
ספר החינוך
The Chinuch is a 13 th century book of interpretation of the Torah and Jewish laws. In the 19 th century Rabbeinu Yosef of Galicia wrote a commentary on the Sefer ha-Chinuch, Minchat Chinuch, also used for religious study.
New books continue to be written to update and refine interpretation of mitzvot, the Bible commandments.
You must [...]
Sophia
Posted in Art, Beliefs, History, Imagery, Religion, tagged Christian Mysticism, Eastern Othodox Church, Gnosticism, History of religion, Philosophy, Russian Orthodoxy, Sophiology on May 10, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Sophia is the Greek feminine metaphor for Divine wisdom and is celebrated in many legends and writings as the lowest form of the Holy Spirit, lesser than other parts of God’s ‘family’ because in legends she created the material world.
The word Sophia is Greek for ‘wisdom’: Σoφíα
In the Roman Catholic tradition, Sophia is replaced by Mary, Mother of God, celebrating feminine [...]
Dead Sea Scrolls
Posted in Beliefs, History, Places, tagged Dead Sea Scrolls, Israel on May 6, 2009 | Leave a Comment »
The Dead Sea Scrolls are a collection of ancient writings found in Qumran caves near the Dead Sea in the mid twentieth century. They include some of the oldest texts from the Hebrew Old Testament. All artifacts found in Israel belong by law to the government and are generally overseen by The Israel Antiquities Authority.
And [...]