Audio Glossary: T

Takhats
Literally 'throne', but in Sikhism five prominent Gurdwaras from which guidance is sought on matters affecting the Sikh panth.
tallit/tallis
A woollen or silk shawl, or cloak worn by Jewish males during morning prayer carrying tassels on the four corners commanded in the Torah.
Talmud
An encyclopedic corpus of Jewish books made up of Mishnah (oral law) and Gemara (rabbinic discussion of the law).
Tantra
Each of a class of Hindu and Buddhist mystical writings dealing with the evocation of deities, the acquisition of magical power and the attainment of enlightenment by means of meditation.
Tawhid
Islamic belief in the unity of Allah.
Tear Fund
An international relief and development agency funded by evangelical Christians and churches in the UK and Ireland.
Tenakh,the
The Jewish Bible, the word is an acronym ‚Torah (the Law, Pentateuch or five books of Moses), Neviim (the Prophets) and Ketuvim (Holy Writings such as the books of Psalms, Proverbs, Esther and Ruth).

Ten Commandments, the
In the Jewish and Christian Bibles, A series of 'God given rules' by which people should live. 10 of the 613 mitzvoh given in the Torah. [For Christians, all the law and everything taught by the prophets was summarised by Jesus in two great commandments, to love God, and to love your neighbour as yourself.]
Theravada
From a Sanskrit word meaning 'doctrine of the elders', applies to the branch of Buddhism in Sri Lanka and South-East Asia.
Three Signs of Being (or 3 marks of conditioned existence)
In Buddhist teaching, the three principal characteristics of everything in the universe, i.e. anicca (non-permanence), anatta (no individual permanent soul) and dukkha (suffering).
Three Jewels (or Refuges, sometimes known as the 'triple gem')
In Buddhist tradition 1) the Buddha 2) the Dhamma (the teaching) and 3) the Sangha (the community). In most Buddhist rituals the formulaic declaration affirms the centrality of these elements.
Torah
'Instruction', a word which usually refers to the first five books of the bible, but sometimes to the whole Jewish bible and sometimes to the whole of Rabinnic literature.
Transfiguration, the
A change in appearance by Jesus, witnessed by three of his disciples, and considered by Christians as one of the manifestations by which God sought to reveal Jesus as his Son.
(Holy) Trinity, the
Christian understanding of God as being essentially one but at the same time three distinct, although inseparable, divine persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Tripitaka
(Three Baskets) The Buddhist scriptural canon, consisting of the basic documents collected, collated and edited by Buddha's disciples.