The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (363 page)

Benedictines
:

see
BENEDICT, ST
;

 
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Benediction
(with the Blessed Sacrament).

Catholic eucharistic devotion. As a separate evening service, benediction is first found in the 15th cent. In the modern service in its most solemn form, the consecrated host is exposed to view in a
monstrance
; hymns are sung; the sacrament is censed twice; and the priest blesses the congregation with it. See also
REAL PRESENCE
;
EXPOSITION
.

 
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Benedictions
.

Formulas of blessing. Among Jews, according to the
Talmud
, the formulation of benedictions goes back to the time of
Ezra
. According to R.
Meir
, every Jew has a duty to pronounce one hundred benedictions every day (
B. Men
. 43b). Special benedictions are grouped in three categories:

(i) 
birkhot ha-nehenim
, blessings for enjoyment (e.g. before and after meals, over fragrant odours);
(ii) 
birkhot hamitzvot
, blessings on performance of commandments;
(iii) 
birkhot hoda'ah
, blessings of gratitude (e.g. on witnessing natural phenomena, such as thunderstorms, rainbows, earthquakes, or on ritual occasions). Everything in life, whether it gives rise to sorrow or to joy, has its ultimate source in God.

 
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Benedictus
.

Title of two Christian liturgical hymns. 1. The song of Zechariah (Luke 1. 68–79). 2. The ‘Benedictus qui Venit’, forming the end of the
Sanctus
at the
eucharist
(‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord’).

 
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(Heb. ‘Sons of Israel’). Early Jews (of the biblical period), but more particularly a Jewish community in India. Indian Jews claim their community dates back to the days of the
Maccabees
and survived in complete isolation. By 1969, 12,000 had emigrated to
Israel
, although the religious establishment initially raised questions of personal status and legitimacy: in 1964, the Chief Rabbinate declared them ‘full Jews in every respect’.

 
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Ben'en;
also Enni Ben'en (also known as Shoichi Kokushi
;

1202–80).
Japanese
Zen
master of the Rinzai Yogi school. In 1242, he became abbot of the T
fuku-ji (monastery) in Ky
to. Enni was thus a man of wide education, but while he was prepared to take part in Tendai and Shingon rituals, he believed that Zen was the true way to the goal. In
Jissh
y
d
ki
(Essentials of the Way of the Ten Schools), he claimed that Zen was not simply ‘a school among schools’, but that it was the ‘bowl which carries the Buddha mind’ through history.