The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2421 page)

BOOK: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions
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through devotion rather than knowledge (

na
) is prominent.
Tammuz, fast of
(17 Tammuz)
.
A Jewish fast day (see
FESTIVALS AND FASTS
). The fast of Tammuz commemorates the breaching of the walls of
Jerusalem
by the Babylonian Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BCE, and the Roman Titus in 70 CE.
Tammuz/Dumuzi
(deities associated with death and the return of life):
Tan
.
1. Chin., ‘cinnabar’, the most important element in religious
Taoism
, in the pursuit of immortality. In Outer
Alchemy
,
wai-tan
, effort was devoted to purifying tan and converting it to gold, to prolong life. In Inner Alchemy, tan is understood to be the interactive energy of
yin-yang
produced by appropriate breathing.
2. The slip of paper which designates the sitting-place of a Zen monk for
zazen
.
3. Earth-bound component of the body in Zoroastrianism: see
FRAVASI
.
Tanabata
(Jap. star festival)
:
Tanach
or Tanakh
.
Hebrew scriptures. Tanakh is an acronym for
Torah
(
Pentateuch
), Nevi’im (
Prophets
), and Ketuvim (
Writings
, Hagiographa).

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