Sentence:  ...&lsquo;Heaven&rsquo; as we use it throughout the book is only a convenient but inaccurate translation of the Chinese character <WSD>"tian</WSD>". Heaven in Chinese religions as well as in the Confucian tradition has multidimensional implications... In its metaphysical and physical connotation, Heaven... refers to... Nature. Applied in the spiritual realm, it signifies an anthropomorphic Lord or a Supreme Being who presides in Heaven, and rules over or governs directly the spiritual and material worlds. 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  (nodot=a): simultaneously conceived as the Heavens, Nature, and an anthropomorphic supreme God.