The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (2182 page)

Sefirot
.

Jewish kabbalistic term meaning God's emanations. There are ten sefirot that emerge from
Ein Sof
. Each one points to a different aspect of God's creative nature, and together they compose the world of divine light in the chain of being. All ten together form a dynamic unit, sometimes portrayed as a tree, by which God's activity is revealed. The three highest sefirot are the Supreme Crown,
Wisdom
, and Intelligence. The seven lower are Love, Power, Beauty, Endurance, Majesty, Foundation, and Kingdom. The whole concept is influenced by
gnostic
thought and is an attempt to explain how a transcendent God can interact with the world.

 
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(Jap., ‘House of Growth’). A Japanese religion founded by Taniguchi Masaharu (1893–1985) in 1930. Central to the teachings of this movement, an offshoot from
motoky
, is the belief that all human beings are divine and equal in that they are all children of God. ‘The life of reality’ (
jisso
) involves the realization that sin and illness have no reality in themselves. The movement is eclectic, drawing on many religions and regarding them as preparatory to itself.

 
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see
SHIGUSEIGAN
.

 
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(Jap.). The coming of meaning from the west, the arrival of
Bodhidharma
from India to China, and thus of the buddhadharma with him.

 
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(Jap., ‘sitting in silence’). Zen position of meditation, kneeling on one's heels with straight back. In
zazen
, it is an alternative to the lotus position (
padm
sana
).

 
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