The Concise Oxford Dictionary of World Religions (360 page)

Behrends, L.
(prominent Jewish administrator/banker)
:

see
COURT JEWS
.

 
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Beijing
.

Capital of China for most of the last seven centuries under Yüan, Ming, Ch'ing dynasties, and currently under the People's Republic. Built according to ancient cosmic principles, it was oriented to the four directions, bisected by a North-South axial way, and modelled on the capital city of the God (
Shang Ti
) in the Heavens. Religiously, the most important monuments of the capital were the
Altar of Heaven
to the south of the city, the
Altar of Earth
to the north, the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Altar to Land and Grain, and the
T'ai Ho Tien
or Imperial Hall of Audience, where the emperor sat on his ‘dragon throne’.

 
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Being-itself
:

see
TILLICH, PAUL
.

 
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Beit
(house of, as in Beit-Hillel)
:

see
BET HILLEL
.

 
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Bekt
sh
y(y)a
.

Turkish Derwish order, originating in about the 12th cent. CE, of a particularly eclectic kind. The traditional founder was Hajji Bektash Vali, but very little is known of him. They are
Shi‘ite
in so far as they acknowledge the Twelve Im
ms, but different from other Muslims in disregarding such obligations as
al
t
, and in allowing
women
to take part in rituals without the veil.