The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1377 page)

Lindisfarne
.

‘Holy Island’, off the coast of Northumberland in England. It became a missionary centre and episcopal see under
St Aidan
in 635. The Latin manuscript known as the Lindisfarne Gospels was written and decorated
c.
698–9 by Eadfrith (afterwards bishop of Lindisfarne) ‘in honour of St
Cuthbert
’.

 
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see
BUDDHIST SCHOOLS
.

 
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(Chin.). A term used in Chinese religious, literary, philosophical, and medical texts to denote a wide variety of attributes and beings. The closest Eng. approximation is ‘spiritual’ or ‘spirit’.

 
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(Skt., ‘symbol’). Hindu term for a mark or sign, especially the sign or symbol of generative energy. The li
ga and
yoni
, the representations of the male and female sex organs, thus bring the issues of generation and fertility into a religious context. In
aiva
temples, the li
ga stands on a pedestal (which represents the yoni), their union being the quintessential summary of creative energy. Important examples can be found in the Li
gar
j, in the temple dedicated to
iva as the Lord of the Three Worlds (Tribhuvane
var) in
Bhubaneswar
(hence the name of the city in Orissa, the site of many Hindu temples); at
Elephanta
; and at Ellora in the Kail
sa temple, dedicated to
iva. Among the most ancient (still a centre for worship) is that in Gu
imally in S. India. The twelve
Jyotir-li
ga(m)s
, made directly from light without human assistance, are each a centre of
pilgrimage
. The
Li
ga Pur
a