The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (1814 page)

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

(Heb., ‘Chapter of a Song’). An anonymous Jewish tract containing hymns of praise. It is sometimes recited as a private prayer after the morning service.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Perennial philosophy
:

see
PHILOSOPHIA PERENNIS
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

Perfection
.

A term meaning ‘completeness’, in which sense it is only absolutely appropriate to God, though the Gk. term (
teleiosis
) can also mean ‘consecration’. Whether perfection is possible in this life, even through grace, has been disputed amongst Christians,
Protestants
being mainly doubtful, though
pietists
and
Methodists
see it as the normal consequence of conversion. For the Buddhist perfections see
BH
MI
.

 
Back
  -  
 
New Search

(Prajñ
p
ramit
). This Buddhist literature was composed over a long period, the nucleus of the material appearing from 100 BCE to 100 CE, with additions for perhaps two cents. later. There followed a period of summary and restatement in the form of short s
tras such as the
Diamond
and
Heart S
tras
,
c.
300–500 CE, followed by a period of
Tantric
influence, 600–1200 CE. The oldest text is
A
as
hasrik
-prajñ
p
ramit
-s
tra
(Perfection of Wisdom in 8,000 Lines).
The Prajñ