003 Self, death and Afterlife - Buddhism Flashcards
What is the Buddhist perspective on rebirth according to Harvey?
“it is not pleasant”
Who is reborn?
All unenlightened beings
Does the process of life and rebirth have a purpose?
No as it was not designed by anyone
What is a sensible purpose of life for Buddhists?
A better rebirth
What do most buddhists aim for?
A better rebirth
What is an arhat?
A being who has reached enlightenment and is no longer reborn
Finish this quote by the Buddha: “I am the teacher …
supreme”
What is a bodhisattva
someone who sees their own enlightenment as being bound up with the enlightenment of all beings
What is the Bodhisattva vow?
“However innumerable sentient beings there are: I vow to save them”
Who can be an arhat according to TBs?
A monastic
What did Bhikku Bhodi argue were the buddha’s teaching on the ultimate goal?
we should guide others to liberation
What is the parable of the jewel in the robe?
we all possess the buddha nature but are unaware
What did Snelling describe Bodhisattvas as?
spiritual heros
What did Bhikkhu Bodhi argue about the bodhisattva goal?
Mahayana elitism is the reason they believe in a better goal
What is an atman?
A soul
What did the Buddha argue about the atman?
He argued there is nothing that can be found in experience which points to the existence of a soul
What is anatta?
No-self
What are the 5 aggregates (DEFINITION)
The 5 elements that someone is made up of
What does skhandas mean?
heaps
What happens if the 5 skhandas are subtracted from a person?
nothing remains
What are the 5 skhandas?
- forms
- sensations
- perceptions
- impulses
- consciousness
What is the Form skhanda?
The physical elements which make up a body
What is the sensations skhanda?
feeling of senses contacting the outside world
What is the Perceptions skhanda?
What we become aware of through sensations
What is the Impulses skhanda?
from our internal will
What is the consciousnes skhanda?
basic awareness of being alive through thoughts and feelings
What analogy is used by Nagasena to describe anatta
chariot
What is the chariot analogy?
Chariot is used to refer to a collection of parts that form it
What is the importance of rebirth?
Everything transforms at rebirth
What is the Buddhist term for dependent origination?
Paticcassamuppada
How can life be described as a chain?
One event causes the next event and so on
what are the 3 marks of existence?
- anicca
- dukkha
- anatta
What does Samsara refer to?
The perpetual cycle of birth, death and rebirth which binds all sentient beings
Is samsara a place?
no - it referes to a process
What is the wandering through realms driven by?
Volitional actions of individuals
What is the role of the arhat in crossing samsara?
an individual who has reached the shore of liberation
What is the role of the bodhisattva in crossing samsara?
bodhisattvas are like ferrymen who vow to guide all sentient beings across
How does Samsara link to anicca?
all conditions are ever changing which highligts the impermenant nature of all beings in samsara
What is the bhavachakra?
The wheel of becoming
What is depicted in the inermost ring of the wheel of life?
The 3 poisons; greed, hatred, delusion
What is depicted in the second inermost ring of the wheel of life?
bodhisattvas guided higher beings to the upper realms and lower beings decending to the lower realms
What is depicted in the third ring of the wheel of life?
The 6 realms
What are the three higher realms?
- Devas - gods
- Ashras - demi, gods
- human
What are the three lower realms?
- Ghosts
- animals
- hell
What is depicted in the outermost ring of the wheel of life?
12 links of dependent origination which shows how suffering arises
What does the Buddha on the wheel of life depict?
The Buddha is outside the wheel showing how he is liberated from suffering
Who holds the wheel of life?
Yama - lord of death
Define karma
action
Finish the Buddha’s quote: “It is karma that differentiates beings …
into low and high states”
What things did the Buddha say were karmically determined (4)
- family
- social status
- personality
- looks
What is karma not?
A system of reward and punishment determined by a god
What is the buddhist term for skilful actions?
kusala
What is the buddhist term for unskilful actions?
akusala
What must a good moral choice be guided by?
Intention
Finish the quote: ““it is choice, O monks …
that I call karma.”
How does karma influence Buddhists? Hint: actions
Helps Buddhists understand their own agency to shape their destiny by cultivating kusala (skilful or wholesome) actions
How does karma influence Buddhists? Hint: 3 posions
Helps to blow out the three poisons of craving, greed and ignorance
Why is rebirth in the human realm better?
Humans have a higher chance of attianing nirvana
What are the three ways in which samsara can be described?
- literally
- metaphorically
- psychologically
What is the literal interpretation of samsara?
the realms of samsara are literal places which beings can be reborn into
What is the metaphorical interpretation of samsara?
the realms are not literal but are symbolic of emotional and mental states
What is the psychological state of samsara?
realms are not literal but reflect the mental states of humans
Who is the Avalokiteshvara
the bodhisattva of compassion
where is the avalokiteshavara believed to be?
at end of his bodhisattva career so has unlimited punya to share
Who is the deemed to be the current avalokiteshvara?
The 14th Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso
What is the Avalokiteshavara also called?
Bodhisattva of the world’s sounds
Why is Avalokiteshvara called the Bodhisattva of the World’s Sounds?
because he perceives the sounds of suffering from living beings and delivers them from their trials when they call upon his name.
How might Buddhists treat the Dalai Lama
They might worship him in order to gain punya
