Daily political events and the steady inevitability of globalism require that informed students and citizens learn something about religious traditions foreign to their own. Designed for both classroom and general use, these handy Key Words guidebooks are essential resources for those who want clear and concise explanations of common terms and unfamiliar concepts of major world religions. Each pocket-sized volume contains definitions for over 400 terms from religious principles and significant periods to noteworthy figures. It includes a quick sampling of terms from this volume: Bodhisattva; Bhavana; Jaramarana; Kalachakra; Mala; Mantra; Nirvana; Samadhi; and Zen. Sample Definitions: Brahma Viharas: The four sublime states of loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and evenness of mind achieved by the practice of bhavana (see bhavana, metta, karuna, mudita, upekkha). Jaramarana: old age and death. The final link in the causal chain of existence which arises from jati or birth. The Buddha left his palace to search for enlightenment after experiencing the shock of seeing old age, sickness and death (see jati, Siddharta Gotma,. nidanas, samsara).