The pious Foundations of the Zoroastrians

Bibliographic Data

ID2806785
AuthorsMary Boyce (corresponding author)
Year1968
Volume31
Issue2
Pages270-289
Publication date1968-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0041-977X • E-ISSN: 1474-0699
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0041977x00146518
OpenAlexW2104649030
LanguageEN
Citations received11

In ancient Iran there was evidently a strong sense of existence after death, which was reinforced by Zoroaster's reform and his teachings about heaven and hell, so the life on earth came to be lived with the hereafter continually in mind. An orthodox Zoroastrian combines an appreciation of the good creation of Ōhrmazd, and an acceptance of his allotted tasks within it, with a conviction that this world is nevertheless only a halting-place, and that true life comes after death. The moral requirements of his faith make him self-reliant, bearing the responsibility for his own conduct and ultimate fate; yet there is also a striking sense of community, of a bond between all those of the 'good religion', united by their common purpose and way of life. This senṣe of community extends to a remarkable degree to the righteous dead, to those souls 'who have overcome for righteousness' (yōi ašāi vaonarə). Religious works from the remote past (notably the Farvardīn Yašt) show that the Irani and Parsi Zoroastrians are at one with their ancestors in being aware of the spirits of the departed, in wishing to please them, and in rejoicing at a sense of their continuing care and protection

Conviction · Environmental ethics · Eternity · Faith · Heaven · Islam · Political science · Righteousness · Sociology · Theology · Zoroastrianism · Byzantine Studies and History · Eurasian Exchange Networks · Islamic Studies and History · Law · Philosophy

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