1.2 Three Marks & Five Khandas - concepts

Question 1

The three marks of existence

Answer 1

anicca - impermanence
anatta - no permanent self or soul
dukkha - suffering

Question 2

nature of the three marks of existence

Answer 2

characteristics of all HUMAN life that are always present

Question 3

purpose of understand the three marks of existence

Answer 3

remove attachment to existence by removing delusions, the misunderstanding that existence is permanent, is pleasant, and has something to do with the self

Question 4

the Buddha’s Deer Park Sermon

Answer 4

birth is suffering, ageing is suffering … association with what is loathed is suffering, dissociation from the loved is suffering … the categories affected by clinging are suffering

Question 5

the idea of anicca and its relationship with dukkha

Answer 5

idea that everything is dependent on causes and conditions, therefore everything changes -
causes dukkha as we become attached to things we expect to remain unchanged, and then struggle to accept when they do change

Question 6

the only permanent rest from change

Answer 6

nibbana

Question 7

The Ship of Theseus

Answer 7

a ship preserved by the Athenians by taking away the old planks as they decayed and replacing them with new planks. If it is fully replaced in this way, is it still the same ship? At what point does it stop being the same ship?

Question 8

anicca represented at Buddhist shrines

Answer 8

flowers in three stages: bud, open flower, dying flower

Question 9

sankhara-dukkha

Answer 9

dissatisfaction with life rather than a distinct problem; sense that life is meaningless; frustration at limits of being human; existential suffering and angst

Question 10

dukkha-dukka

Answer 10

suffering we see around us all the time - things that are directly painful - physical pain, death, watching others suffer

Question 11

viparinmana-dukkha

Answer 11

mental suffering from pleasant situations due to inability to accept change and impermanence

Question 12

theistic criticism of Buddhist doctrine of impermanence

Answer 12

God or other spiritual things such as the soul are permanent

Question 13

materialistic criticism of Buddhist doctrine of impermanence:

Answer 13

point of life is to struggle against changing material things rather than accept it. too much acceptance of death is passive or morbid

Question 14

the Buddha: what are humans

Answer 14

the coming together of the kandhas, all of which are changing

Question 15

anatta

Answer 15

just as things are impermanent, so is the self. denial of a fixed, permanent, unchanging self

Question 16

origination of anatta

Answer 16

based on rejection of the Hindu belief humans have an atman which is permanent and unchanged which moves between lives, but is affected by the karma - the Buddha said this belief does not make logical sense

Question 17

materialist

Answer 17

person who supports theory that nothing exists except matter and its movement and modifications

Question 18

monist

Answer 18

person who supports theory that denies the existence of a distinction or duality in a particular sphere eg between matter and mind or between god and the world

Question 19

why you cannot be enlightened without accepting anatta

Answer 19

belief in a separate self means you seek your own good rather than that of others and remain ignorant of the true nature of existence

Question 20

relationship discovered by the Buddha during period of asceticism

Answer 20

our physical, mental, spiritual aspects all affect one another

Question 21

Buddhist definition of ‘self’

Answer 21

simply a label to describe the current state of our psychophysical unity

Question 22

the order of the 5 khandas

Answer 22

rupa (form) —> vedana (feeling) —> sanna (perception) —> sankhara (mental formulations) —> vinnana (consciousness)

Question 23

rupa

Answer 23

the first khanda - our physical frame as composed of solidity, fluidity, heat, and motion

Question 24

vedana

Answer 24

the second khanda sensations / feeling, as picked up through eyes, ears, nose, tongue, body, and mind

Question 25

sanna

Answer 25

the third khanda -perceptions - picking up and recognising sensations

Question 26

sankhara

Answer 26

the fourth khanda - mental phenomena - thoughts / mental activity such as moods, ideas, etc formed in response to perceptions

Question 27

vinnana

Answer 27

fifth khanda - consciousness, the accumulative element which collects mental formations and is influenced or created by them

Question 28

Nagasena and the chariot

Answer 28

analogy used to explain anatta. the wheels, axels, and all other parts of a chariot are not the chariot. 'chariot' is a designation for something conceptual - a combination of different parts and functions

Question 29

'avidya' as defined in the Dhammacakka Sutta

Answer 29

ignorance, disillusioned understanding of the world and happiness what dukkha stems from

Question 30

shunyata

Answer 30

emptiness of independent existence

Question 31

why Mahayana followers claim there is no suffering

Answer 31

suffering only exists as a product of ignorance to the way things are - it is not a quality of life that exists on its own, but a false idea we create

Question 32

Hindu view of 'atman'

Answer 32

permanent, unchanged, pure soul within us that is independent of the body but affected by the karma & moves from life to life

Question 33

punabhava

Answer 33

renewed becoming / rebirth

Question 34

kusala

Answer 34

wholesome actions with positive karmic outcome

Question 35

akusala

Answer 35

unwholesome actions with negative karmic outcome

Question 36

does the consciousness remain the same between rebirths?

Answer 36

no - the consciousness in the new person is neither identical nor entirely different from that in the deceased. the two form a causal continuum

Question 37

how 'death' is interpreted

Answer 37

the dissolution of the five khandas

Question 38

what is rebirth conditioned by

Answer 38

the nuanced karmas and habits of previous lives (although some believe the consciousness moves from life to life)

Question 39

the buddha: forgetfulness vs awareness quote

Answer 39

the way of forgetfulness is the way of death. and the way of wisdom and awareness is the path to the deathless

Question 40

Hindu idea of kamma

Answer 40

kamma is actions AND their results - all actions you are involved in, even indirectly, and their results, produce good or bad kamma which influences the rest of this life and the next

Question 41

Buddhist view of kamma (in relation to Hindu)

Answer 41

kamma only refers to VOLITIONAL ACTIONS not all actions

Question 42

roots of akusala

Answer 42

greed hatred delusion

Question 43

roots of kusala

Answer 43

generosity (dana) loving kindness (metta) wisdom (panna)

Question 44

kamma vipaka or kamma phala

Answer 44

the ripening of karmic fruit (the results of karmic actions)

Question 45

plant metaphor to explain kamma and kamma vipaka

Answer 45

kamma is the seed we plant based on the nature of the intention, kamma vipaka is like the fruit grown from the seed - the nature of the fruit is conditioned by the seed and conditions nurtured in