Aajiiqatigiinniq
Decision through discussion and consensus.
Read Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit →Concept glossary
Names to begin with.
A curated starting vocabulary; each short definition leads to a full article and its sources.
38 concepts
Spellings and translations can vary. These descriptions are entry points, not complete definitions.
Adab
Refined conduct and ethical etiquette.
Read Sufi traditions →Adinkra
Graphic symbols that convey proverbs, values, and ideas in art and daily life.
Read Akan thought →Ahiṃsā
Non-harm as a demanding ethical commitment.
Read Jaina philosophy →Anattā / anātman
Teachings that challenge a fixed, independent self.
Read Buddhist traditions →Anekāntavāda
An approach to the complexity of reality and the limits of one-sided descriptions.
Read Jaina philosophy →Ataraxia
Mental tranquility sought by the school.
Read Epicurean philosophy →Ayni
Cycles of reciprocal support.
Read Andean Ayni →Bonar
Seasons understood through observed changes in Noongar Country.
Read Noongar knowledge and six seasons →Boodja / Boodjar
Noongar Country or land, understood through relationships and responsibilities.
Read Noongar knowledge and six seasons →Chi
A concept discussed in relation to an individual's life and destiny.
Read Igbo thought and practice →Country
Land and living relationships that carry knowledge and responsibilities, not simply scenery or property.
Read Aṉangu Tjukurpa →Dhikr
Remembrance of God through practices that differ among communities.
Read Sufi traditions →Dikenga
A circular cross or cosmogram associated with the sun's path and, in some interpretations, birth, death, the spirit world, and return.
Read Kongo cosmology →Gadaa
An Indigenous democratic socio-political system organised through generations and responsibility.
Read Oromo Gadaa system →Great Law
A living constitutional and diplomatic tradition.
Read Haudenosaunee Great Law of Peace →Hózhó
A Diné concept discussed in terms of harmony, beauty, and balance.
Read Diné Hózhó →Ifá
A divinatory and literary system built around a large corpus of odu and verses interpreted by trained specialists.
Read Yorùbá and Ifá →Ikigai
What makes life feel worth living; it need not be a career or a single grand purpose.
Read Japanese ways of living →Impermanence
Conditioned things change rather than remain fixed.
Read Buddhist traditions →Ìwà pẹ̀lẹ́
Gentle character, a deeply valued ethical ideal.
Read Yorùbá and Ifá →Jeong / 정
A layered word for affection and attachment formed through relationship and shared time.
Read Korean social concepts →Kaitiakitanga
Care and guardianship exercised with responsibility to future generations.
Read Māori concepts and responsibilities →Langar
A communal kitchen and meal associated with equality and hospitality.
Read Sikh teachings →Ma'at
An ideal of truth, justice, and right order in human and cosmic life.
Read Ancient Egyptian wisdom →Mono no aware
Sensitivity to transience and the poignancy of things passing.
Read Japanese ways of living →Nunchi / 눈치
Attentiveness to social context and other people's cues.
Read Korean social concepts →Oikeiōsis
A theory of developing concern from oneself toward others.
Read Stoicism →Sankofa
A visual and proverbial invitation to retrieve learning from the past.
Read Akan thought →Seva
Service carried out as a religious and ethical commitment.
Read Sikh teachings →Taampha
A carved Woyo vessel lid that could communicate advice, criticism, or a question through images and proverbs.
Read Ngoyo and Woyo proverb wisdom →Tjukurpa
Aṉangu law and knowledge concerning relationships among people, ancestral beings, and the landscape.
Read Aṉangu Tjukurpa →Tri Hita Karana
A Balinese philosophy of related worlds.
Read Balinese Tri Hita Karana and subak →Ubuntu / hunhu
Terms used in discussions of humaneness, character, and social life.
Read Ubuntu and hunhu →Visual proverb
A carved motif could evoke different sayings; its meaning depended on the people and situation in which it was used.
Read Ngoyo and Woyo proverb wisdom →Whakapapa
Genealogy and relationships connecting people, ancestors, places, and other beings.
Read Māori concepts and responsibilities →Wu wei
Action without forced striving, not literal inactivity.
Read Daoist traditions →Ziran
Naturalness or self-so-ness.
Read Daoist traditions →