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Confucianism

(Encyclopedia)Confucianism kənfyo͞oˈshənĭzəm [key], moral and religious system of China. Its origins go back to the Analects (see Chinese literature), the sayings attributed to Confucius, and to ancient comme...

Magadha

(Encyclopedia)Magadha mŭˈgädə [key], ancient Indian kingdom, situated within the area of the modern states of Bihar and Jharkhand. Its capital was Pataliputra (now Patna). The kingdom rose to prominence in the ...

Hotan

(Encyclopedia)Hotan kōˈtänˈ [key], city and oasis (1994 est. pop. 75,900), SW Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China, near the headstream of the Hotan River; the name sometimes appears as Ho-t'ien. It is the c...

sun worship

(Encyclopedia)sun worship. Deification and adoration of the sun occurred primarily in agrarian societies. When man became a farmer, and thus dependent upon daily and seasonal changes of weather, he often turned to ...

Snyder, Gary

(Encyclopedia)Snyder, Gary, 1930–, American poet, b. San Francisco. Associated with the beat generation of the 1950s, he lived (1956–68) in Japan, where he trained as a Zen monk. His poetry, influenced by Zen B...

bushido

(Encyclopedia)bushido bo͝oshˈĭdō, bo͞oˈshĭdō [key] [Jap.,=way of the warrior], code of honor and conduct of the Japanese nobility. Of ancient origin, it grew out of the old feudal bond that required unwaver...

Jainism

(Encyclopedia)Jainism jīˈnĭzəm [key] [i.e., the religion of Jina], religious system of India practiced by about 5,000,000 persons. Jainism, Ajivika, and Buddhism arose in the 6th cent. b.c. as protests against ...

Bandaranaike, Sirimavo

(Encyclopedia)Bandaranaike, Sirimavo sērēmäˈvō bändränīˈkē [key], 1916–2000, Sri Lankan political leader, b. Sirimavo Ratwatte. She and her husband, S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, converted to Buddhism from ...

Om

(Encyclopedia)Om ôm [key], [Skt.,=yes, so be it] for Hindus and Buddhists, a mystic word or mantra. Om is regarded as the syllable of the supreme Reality and is sometimes called “the mother of mantras.” It is ...

Gaitonde, V. S.

(Encyclopedia)Gaitonde, V. S. (Vasudeo Santu Gaitonde), 1924–2001, Indian painter, grad. Sir Jamsetjee Jeejeebhoy School of Art, Bombay (now Mumbai), 1948. He became part of the Progressive Artists Group (formed ...