Beliefs and Values

Question 1

Identify three examples of moral and natural evil

Answer 1

Moral - cheating, stealing, bullying
Natural - earthquakes, cancer, hurricanes.

Question 2

Outline two characteristics of God

Answer 2

Omnibenevolent means all-loving, and many Christians believe that God loves everyone unconditionally.

Also, many Christians believe that God is omniscient which means that he is all-knowing.

Question 3

Explain why some people believe the world is designed.

Answer 3

DESIGN ARGUEMENT

-rejects big bang theory

-William Paley compared the design of the universe to finding a watch. He argued that if you were walking on a moor (grassland area) and found a watch lying on the grass, by looking at the watch you would see that all the coils, springs and movements all work together so that the watch is able to keep time. Anyone who found this watch, having never seen a watch before, would have to conclude that someone designed it for it to fulfil its purpose of keeping time.
Paley compared this to the design of the world. He argued that just as someone who found the watch would conclude that it was made by someone because of its design, someone who looks at the universe must conclude that there is a designer because of how the universe has been designed.

-Trees take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen.
The Earth is uniquely placed in the solar system so that it can support life - not too close to the sun that we burn up, not too far from the sun that we freeze.

Question 4

Weaknesses of the design argument

Answer 4

-Complexity does not necessarily mean design.

-Even if we accept that the world was designed, it cannot be assumed that its designer is God. And if it were designed by God, then the existence of evil and suffering in the world would suggest the belief that God is entirely good is false.

-The theory of evolution, put forward by Charles Darwin, shows a way of understanding how species develop without reference to a designer God.

Question 5

Strengths of the design argument

Answer 5

-The argument only comes up with probabilities. Therefore, it can continue to develop as new discoveries in science come along.

-The argument fits well with the biblical stories of creation, whether these are understood literally or symbolically.

-Some developments of the argument- eg the anthropic principle
- provide ways for ideas about evolution and belief in the existence of God to work together.

Question 6

Explain why some people believe the world is designed.

Answer 6

-However, there are lots of things that do not work well in the world and make it hard to believe that there is a designer. For example, the Earth’s crust is made up of plates which do not fit together perfectly, these sometimes push into each other and cause earthquakes and volcanoes.

-

Question 7

Non religious beliefs about the origin of the universe

Answer 7

1. Steady State theory
   -Steady State theory proposed that the universe was infinite or eternal and essentially unchanging
2. Big Bang theory
   -The Big Bang Theory said that the universe was finite and began with a big explosion.

Question 8

What does christianity teach about human beings?

Answer 8

Christianity teaches that human beings
have a privileged place in God’s creation
because we are created in God’s image
and are given a very specific role.

Question 9

The purpose of Human Beings

Answer 9

-In Genesis 1 God tells human beings to ‘Go forth and
multiply’ (Genesis 1:28) which suggests that part of the human
purpose is to have children.

-God goes on to say ‘Fill the earth and subdue it’. In other
words, they are told to rule the world. This gives humans the right to
use creation for their own good. However, the implication is that
they should rule the world as God would want them to.

Question 10

Stewardship

Answer 10

Christianity teaches the idea of STEWARDSHIP. A steward is someone
who looks after something for someone else. If the world and everything in
it ultimately belongs to God, then Christians should look after it in the way
that God intends. This applies to the environment and to animals but it
could also be applied to private wealth and assets.

Question 11

What christianity teaches about women and men

Answer 11

Traditional Christianity teaches that men and women have separate roles. St Augustine believed
that when God created woman he created her specifically as a helper in the task of procreation
(because he thought that a man would have made a better helper for all other tasks). Thus the
main purpose of women is to be wives and mothers.

Question 12

Identify three religious beliefs about the creation of the world [3]

Answer 12

in the beginning - God started
creation

the first day - light was created

the second day - the sky was created

the third day - dry land, seas, plants and trees were created

the fourth day - the Sun, Moon and stars were created

the fifth day - creatures that live in the sea and creatures that fly were created

the sixth day - animals that live on the land and finally humans, made in the image of God were created

by day seven, God finished his work of creation and rested, making the seventh day a special holy day

Question 13

Outline non-religious beliefs about the creation of human beings [4]

Answer 13

1. Steady State theory
   -Steady State theory proposed that the universe was infinite or eternal and essentially unchanging
2. Big Bang theory
   -The Big Bang Theory said that the universe was finite and began with a big explosion.

Question 14

Choose one religion. Explain its beliefs about the purpose of human beings [6]

Answer 14

-In Genesis 1 God tells human beings to ‘Go forth and
multiply’ (Genesis 1:28) which suggests that part of the human
purpose is to have children.

-God goes on to say ‘Fill the earth and subdue it’. In other
words, they are told to rule the world. This gives humans the right to
use creation for their own good. However, the implication is that
they should rule the world as God would want them to.

-Christianity teaches the idea of STEWARDSHIP. A steward is someone
who looks after something for someone else. If the world and everything in
it ultimately belongs to God, then Christians should look after it in the way
that God intends. This applies to the environment and to animals but it
could also be applied to private wealth and assets.

Question 15

“Non-religious and religious views about creation are incompatible.” [12]

Answer 15

Non - religious views:
-Evolution
-Steady State Theory
-Big bang theory

Religious views:
-Design argument - William Paley compared the design of the universe to finding a watch.
-Genesis creation story
-

Question 16

Religious beliefs about the origin of the Universe and of human beings differ from non-religious
views. Christians would argue that

Answer 16

1. The Universe and human beings are created deliberately;
2. God is the creator of both humans and the Universe;
3. The Universe and human beings have a God-given purpose.

Question 17

buddhist + hindu views

Answer 17

Hindus believe that when a person dies the atman (soul) is reincarnated into a new body on the basis of past karma.

 Good karma (gained from morally good voluntary actions) leads to a positive rebirth whereas bad karma can lead to a negative reincarnation.

 According to traditional Hindu teaching the best form of reincarnation would be to be born into a Brahmin (priestly) caste as that rebirth would make it most likely that you would go on to gain good karma in your next existence.

Question 18

human nature

Answer 18

Your ‘nature’ refers to your character; what
makes you, you. Everyone has their own specific
character that is individual to them.

Question 19

Fallen

Answer 19

However, equally important for the traditional
Christian view of human nature is the idea that we are
‘fallen’. This means that humans are inclined to sin.

Question 20

Augustines view

Answer 20

According to Augustine, human beings have two parts, a body and a soul. Both of these are
necessary for us to be human and both are created by God. The soul is the rational and moral part
whereas the body is more driven by instinct and physical drives.

Question 21

CONCUPISCENCE.

Answer 21

CONCUPISCENCE. When people sin they often go against their
better judgement. I.e. they do wrong even though they know they should not. This is
concupiscence in action!

Question 22

Thomas Aquinas

Answer 22

He believed that
because everyone is created in God’s image all people are essentially
good. He believed that people never sin deliberately.

He thought that the Fall damaged people’s ability to use their reason
correctly.

Question 23

Jean Paul Satre

Answer 23

Not everyone believes in human nature. Sartre was a philosopher
who argued that there is no such thing as human ‘essence’ or human
nature. Who we are and what we are like comes from the choices we make
and how we live our lives. This way of thinking led to a philosophy called
existentialism.

Question 24

Dualism

Answer 24

The mind (or the soul) is comprised of a non-physical substance, while the body is constituted of the physical substance known as matter.

Question 25

Reasons to believe in a soul

Answer 25

-Some people believe that Near death experiences prove
that consciousness does not come from the brain. They
would argue that consciousness survives death. Thus
consciousness must come from the soul. Remembered
past lives could be used to make a similar point. The
Bible says that humans have spiritual souls

Question 26

To summarise the physicalist, view point we can say:

Answer 26

1. There is no hard evidence for a soul. No hint of a soul has ever been found in operations or
   dissections.
2. Evidence that is put forward for the soul is weak evidence because it is subjective and hard to
   repeat in controlled circumstances.
3. There is usually a clear possible rational explanation for things that are supposed to be evidence for
   the soul (like moral conscience, religious experiences and NDEs).
4. Belief in the soul is likely to just be wishful thinking. Feuerbach argued that religious belief in
   general was wish fulfilment.

Question 27

Greed + selfishness in christianity

Answer 27

In order to understand the parable, you need a certain amount of historical knowledge. At that
time Jews and Samaritans did not get along with one another.

Question 28

parable of the good samaritan

Answer 28

1. washes and binds the wounds of the injured
   man;
2. puts him on his donkey and leads the donkey to
   an inn (by doing so he takes on the role of a servant by
   leading the donkey and puts himself in danger of
   attack);
3. pays for his care at the inn and offers to pay
   whatever else the innkeeper spares.

Question 29

ignorance

Answer 29

Ignorance is not knowing or understanding the
difference between right and wrong or what makes
an action wrong. A person might be morally
ignorant because they have never been taught right
from wrong or because they lack the capacity to
understand the difference between right and
wrong.

Question 30

Greed Case Study – Consumerism

Answer 30

-Most people in the west have far more clothes than they need and there are many shops that sell cut price cheap
clothing.

-for clothes to be available to the consumer at a cheap price they need to be produced as cheaply as
possible.

-The best way to keep prices down is to pay the workers who make the clothes as little as possible.

-It was reported that up to a third of cotton workers in India may be children.

-Most are not paid a fair wage, they do not work in safe
conditions and they do not get an education.

Question 31

Selfishness case study: Apartheid

Answer 31

-also be used to illustrate how selfishness can cause injustice.

A different example would be the way in
which the whites in South Africa (or segregated America) turned a blind eye to injustice that did not directly
inconvenience them. Selfishness leads people to ignore the needs of others if they themselves are fine.

Question 32

Ignorance case study: Edlington brothers

Answer 32

In 2010 two young brothers tortured and attempted to kill two cousins.

their defence lawyer argued that
they had a ‘toxic family life’ with a drug dependent mother and a violent father who beat their mother and them. They watched pornographic violent films.

Child psychologist Dr Eileen Vizard said that they had no apparent ability to empathise. Brought up
without boundaries and with no one teaching them right from wrong the brothers moral ignorance certainly contributed to their
crime.

Question 33

Identify three examples of greedy behaviour [3]

Answer 33

Scavenging and hoarding of materials or objects, theft and robbery, especially by means of violence, trickery, or manipulation of authority

Question 34

free will

Answer 34

we work on the assumption that we do have freewill. We make choices about how we behave and how we act and we think that we could have
behaved in a different way in the same circumstances. When we praise or blame others for how they behave this
implies that we believe that they are free to choose how to act and therefore they are morally responsible for the
consequences. However, there are various reasons why we might argue that people are not free to
choose how to act.

Question 35

Genetic Determinism nature

Answer 35

Your genes determine (cause) things like eye colour, hair colour and so forth.

This is why children often physically resemble their parents. They have inherited certain characteristic via genes passed on through the sperm and the egg. Children obviously have no control over these physical
characteristics.

It is also possible (and some people would argue very plausible) that we inherit certain character
traits from our parents. You might be an adrenalin junkie because your genes make you that way. You might be hot tempered. You might be sarcastic.

Question 36

Psychological Determinism nurture

Answer 36

Genetic determinism is the ‘nature’ argument. You are who you are because you were born that
way.

By contrast, psychological determinism is the ‘nurture’ argument. You are who you are because of how you are brought up.

 Psychological determinists (like genetic determinists) believe that how we act is caused by our character. However, rather than saying our character is caused by our genes they would argue that it is caused (at least in part) by our upbringing.

Children learn by imitation and are very receptive to new influences. As we get older we are still
shaped by our environment but we seem to be a
bit less impressionable.

This means that the influences that we are
exposed to when we are young seem to be very
important in shaping our character.

A child brought up by hard-working parents might develop a studious character because that is
what they have been brought up to believe to be normal.

Therefore, if they work hard at school this is determined by their upbringing not their own free
choice. Likewise, a lazy slacker would be equally able to blame their behaviour on their
upbringing.

Answer 37

Children often differ dramatically from their parents and
from their siblings which implies that they are not fully
determined by either nature or nurture.
 Genes for physical characteristics can be affected by other things. A person genetically predisposed
to grow tall will not reach their full potential height if they are malnourished. Therefore, genes for
character traits can also be affected by other things. Perhaps something like meditation can be
used to control a genetic inclination towards anger.
 Whilst certain genes have been linked to certain types of behaviour it is highly unlikely that there is
one gene for violence (for example). Genetics is a lot more complicated than that.

Question 38

Physical Determinism

Answer 38

Benjamin Libet conducted a neurological experiment in the 1980s which has been used to suggest
that free will is just an illusion. In the experiment he
asked a volunteer to move their finger whenever they
liked but to notice at what time they experienced the
feeling of intention (made the choice).
 What he discovered was that the feeling of intention comes significantly after the action has been
initiated. When Oxford mathematician Marcus du
Sautoy repeated the experiment in the BBC Horizon
Programme The Secret You he was shocked to discover
that a person scanning his brain knew what decision he
was going to make up to six seconds before he knew it!

Answer 39

The Libet experiment does provide some evidence for the idea that the feeling of free will is an
illusion and our choices result from unconscious processes in the brain. However, we could argue
that the experiment is a simplistic test and does not really replicate what happens when we make
choices day to day. In the experiment the volunteer knows that they must make a choice
between one of two options so it is perhaps not surprising that there is a subconscious process
going on which contributes to this choice.

Answer 40

Determinism has profound implications for our understanding of ourselves. It also has obvious
implications for things like crime and punishment. Understanding determinism might give people
ways to reduce the likelihood of criminals reoffending. If ‘nurture’ created a law breaking
personality, then could rehabilitation remould them into a law abiding citizen? More radically, if
certain genes are associated with criminal behaviour then could those genes be switched off or
replaced?

Question 41

Outline the Cosmological Argument [4]

Answer 41

Cosmological arguments start from the observation that everything depends on something else for its existence. For example, you depended on your parents in order to exist, and they depended on their parents, and so on. Cosmological arguments then apply this to the existence of the universe itself.

This argument says that the universe must have come
from somewhere – Christians believe it came from God.

St Thomas Aquinas (1225-74) devised several
arguments to prove God’s existence. One of his
arguments was the ‘First Cause’ argument. He argued
that something cannot come from nothing. Therefore,
the universe must have a cause and everything in the
universe must have a cause – something or someone
must have brought it into existence. He said that
everything can be traced back to a First Cause, and this
is God.

It is just like the first domino in a row toppling that
causes all the rest to fall. Aquinas also said that God is a
necessary being – by this he means that God must exist:
he cannot not exist. He was not created as we are, and
there was no time when he did not exist.

Question 42

infinite regression

Answer 42

Those people on the other side of the discussion, however, argue that infinite
regression is possible. For example, mathematical numbers! There is no limit as
to how far you can count backwards (or forwards).
If this is true for things like numbers, why can’t the same be true of the universe?

Answer 43

Supporters of the Cosmological argument argue that it is not possible for a chain of causes to go back forever (this is called infinite regression) – There must be a first cause, otherwise there is no explanation for how things started off in the first place!

Question 44

David Hume

Answer 44

If everything that exists has a cause, then (as God exists) who caused God? argued that not every event has a cause, but we cannot prove this. Hume argued that we assume that everything has a cause out of bad habit. Because it seems obvious to us from looking at the everyday world, we assume it’s true, and our minds are used to it. Hume says this way of thinking is
wrong.
Hume says it’s wrong as just because the universe seems to have a cause, it
doesn’t mean to say it has one. People who believe it has a cause just because it
seems to are guilty of a mistake in thinking called the Fallacy of Composition.

Question 45

Fallacy of Composition.

Answer 45

Basically, it’s when you think that because something is true of the parts, you
assume it’s true of the whole. For example, every human being (a part of the
human race) has a mother, but the human race (as a whole) does not. Our
individual body parts (e.g. heart, lungs, may have a purpose) but our complete
bodies might not.

Question 46

Elizabeth Anscombe

Answer 46

another famous philosopher, disagreed with David Hume’s argument.

She argues that although things might seem (according to Hume) to not have a cause, in fact they do.

She uses the example of a magician pulling a rabbit from a hat. It’s nice to imagine that the rabbit comes out of the hat from nowhere

but the reality is that there is a cause (the work of the magician),
even though we (the people watching the trick) might not understand how it
happened.

Anscombe argued that the same is true of the universe. Although we
might not understand how the universe was caused, it almost certainly was, and the evidence in our own world and universe (of things being caused) supports

Answer 47

If God is omniscient, he will know natural evils will cause suffering.
2. If God is omnipotent, he is able to stop natural evil.
3. If God is omnibenevolent, he would want to stop natural evil.
4. But natural evils still happen.
5. So God does not know evil is happening, does not have the power to stop the evil or he doesn’t want
to, in which case God does not exist.

Answer 48

1. Christians believe that God gives people free will.
    They live their lives as they choose. If God intervened every time people did something that would
   cause harm to themselves or others then people would be afraid of God. Without free will there
   would be no point to their lives.
2. God has shown how people should live. Humans decide
   whether or not to follow God’s instructions. They take the
   consequences of their decisions. But that still leaves a problem. Why
   does free will lead to evil? Why don’t humans choose to do good?
3. As if to confirm that suffering is a normal part of being human,
   Christians also point to the suffering of Jesus who, as a man, suffered greatly.

Question 49

THE OG sin

Answer 49

According to one view of evil, ‘the fall’ of Adam and Eve introduced sin into
the world, and since then all people have been born with a tendency
towards evil. This is called original sin. It means the tendency to evil is in
everyone, like a magnetic force within us or within the world.
 Given the choice between good and evil, humans are usually attracted to
do wrong, naturally.

Answer 50

Some people see evil as the work of a person – the Devil , or Satan. Satan
appears at various times through the Bible, as the opposite of God.
 Satan, in the form of the snake, tempts Eve to eat the fruit from the tree of
knowledge. Satan tests Jesus. Satan tempts Jesus to abandon his ministry.
 In the Middle Ages the Devil was presented as an ugly man dressed in red, who
lived in the fires of a place called Hell. Life was pictured as a struggle between God
and Satan with Satan leading people to do evil.
 This view still has influence in the modern world. There are Christians whose
life revolved around ‘resisting Satan’. They ban the music of rock groups whose lyrics
supposedly include Satanic ideas. They hold exorcisms to rid people of Satanic
influence.

Question 51

Absence of god

Answer 51

In the fourth century St Augustine suggested an alternative view. He
compared evil to human disease.

 He argued that just as health is the basic state of human bodies, so good is
the basic state of human experience. He said that disease was just absence
of health and in the same way evil is just absences of good.

 When the body gets better the health returns and the disease disappears. So
in human experience when the good is activated the evil just disappears; evil
does not actually exist.

 What we call evil is just absence of good in one particular part of the human
experience. It follows that if enough people do good, they could remove evil
entirely.

 A modern writer has put it like this: ‘All that is needed for evil to triumph is for
good people to do nothing.’

Question 52

Bodhisattva

Answer 52

For Mahayana Buddhists, someone who has become enlightened but chooses to
remain in the cycle of samsara to help others achieve enlightenment as well.

Question 53

Dukkha

Answer 53

Suffering / dissatisfaction.

Question 54

Mara

Answer 54

A demon that represents spiritual obstacles, especially temptation.

Question 55

Parinirvana

Answer 55

Nirvana-after-death, which occurs upon the death of the body of someone who has
attained nirvana during his or her lifetime.

Question 56

The Three Watches
of the Night

Answer 56

The three realisations that the Buddha made in order to achieve enlightenment.

Question 57

Samsara

Answer 57

“Wandering on”. It is the endless cycle of rebirth.

Question 58

Sangha

Answer 58

In the Pali language it means “association” or “assembly”. It was sometimes called
the “fourfold assembly” - monks, nuns, laywomen, laymen. The Sangha is one of the
three refuges/jewels of Buddhism.

Answer 59

When Queen Maya was due to give birth, she journeyed home to her
parents’ house.
On the way she stopped in the Lumbini Gardens where she went into labour
and gave birth to a son.
According to Legend, he could immediately walk and talk without any
support. He walked seven steps and with every step he took, a lotus flower
sprang up from the earth beneath his feet.

Answer 60

When Prince Siddhartha was a few days old, a holy man made a
prophecy about the Prince.

that the boy would be either a great ruler or a great spiritual teacher.
King Suddhodana preferred the first outcome and prepared his son
accordingly.

He raised the boy in great luxury and shielded him from knowledge of
religion and human suffering.

Suddhodana didn’t want his son to seek religion and become a holy
man. He thought that if his son became attached to a life of luxury, he
would not want to leave the palace.

Therefore, Siddhartha had everything he could want: wearing the finest clothes, eating the best
foods, received an excellent education, and was cared for in every way.
At the age of 16, he was married to his cousin, Yasodhara, who was also 16.

Question 61

The Four Sights

Answer 61

The Prince reached the age of 29 with little experience of the world outside the walls of his opulent
palaces. He was oblivious to the realities of suffering, old age, and death.
One day, overcome with curiosity, Prince Siddhartha asked a charioteer, Channa, to take him on a
series of rides through the countryside to the nearby city.
On these journeys he was shocked by the sight of an old man, then a sick man, and then a dead man.
The stark realities of old age, disease, and death seized and sickened the Prince.
He realised that if someone was born, they would go through a process
which would involve growing older, illness, suffering and death. There
was no escape, even for kings.
Finally, he saw a wandering ascetic. The charioteer explained that the
ascetic was one who had renounced the world and sought release from
the fear of death and suffering.
Siddhartha was inspired by the wandering holy man which was perhaps
the start of his quest to search for the answer to the problem of why
people suffer and how to stop that suffering.

Question 62

Siddhartha’s Renunciation

Answer 62

For a time, the Prince returned to palace life, but he took no pleasure in it.
Even the news that his wife Yasodhara had given birth to a son did not please him. The child was
called Rahula, which means “fetter”.
One night he wandered the palace alone. The luxuries that had once pleased him now seemed
grotesque. He realised then that he could no longer be content living the life of a prince. That very
night he left the palace, shaved his head, and changed from his royal clothes into a beggar’s robe.
Renouncing all the luxury he had known, he began his quest for enlightenment.
By giving up his possessions and symbols of his previous life, Siddhartha was letting go of the things
that he thought were keeping him ignorant and thus resulting in his suffering. Later, he taught that
renunciation, a ‘letting go’, was important in reaching enlightenment.

Answer 63

Siddhartha started by seeking out renowned teachers. They taught him about the many religious philosophies of his day as well as how to meditate. After he had learned
all they had to teach, his doubts and questions remained. He and five other disciples left
to find enlightenment by themselves.
The six companions attempted to find release from suffering through physical
deprivation: enduring pain, holding their breath, fasting nearly to starvation.
Siddhartha fasted for long periods of time, and stories say that his body became so
thin that his legs were like bamboo sticks, his backbone was like a rope, his chest was like
an incomplete roof of a house, and his eyes sank right inside his skull. He looked like a
skeleton.
It is also said that he lived in dangerous and hostile forests, slept on a bed of thorns, and experienced
extreme pain.
Yet Siddhartha was still unhappy. It occurred to him that in renouncing pleasure he had grasped the
opposite of pleasure, which was pain and self-denial.
Now Siddhartha considered a Middle Way between those two extremes.
He remembered an experience from his childhood when his mind had settled into a state of deep
peace. The path of liberation was through the discipline of mind.
He realised that instead of starvation, he needed nourishment to build up his strength for the effort.
When he accepted a bowl of rice milk from a young girl, his companions assumed he had given up
the quest and abandoned him.
His ascetic practices taught him discipline and willpower, but they did not provide a cure for suffering.
Neither luxury nor an ascetic lifestyle has given Siddhartha any real answers.
Therefore, he developed the Middle Way between the two extremes that he had experienced.

Answer 64

After rejecting his ascetic lifestyle, Siddhartha wondered if
meditation was the way to attain the wisdom and
compassion of enlightenment.
Traditional stories say that he made a cushion of grass and
found a suitable place to sit down and meditate. Siddhartha
sat beneath a sacred fig tree, known as the Bodhi Tree
(Bodhi means “awakened”). It was there that he settled into
meditation.

Answer 65

Traditional stories say that, while he was meditating, in Siddhartha’s mind he had a
great battle with the demon Mara. The demon’s name means “destruction” and
represents the passions that tempt and delude us. Mara tried various tactics:
Mara brought vast armies of monsters to attack Siddhartha.
Mara offered Siddhartha control of his kingdom.
Mara himself tried to attack Siddhartha.
Mara sent his daughters to seduce Siddhartha.
Finally, Mara claimed that the seat of enlightenment rightfully belonged to him, and
his soldiers were witnesses to this. He claimed that without anyone to witness his
enlightenment, he would not be believed.
Then, Siddhartha reached out his right hand to touch the earth and called upon the
earth to witness his right to sit under the Bodhi tree in mediation, and the earth itself
roared, “I bear you witness!” Mara disappeared.

Question 66

the three watches of the night

Answer 66

Siddhartha gained knowledge of all of his previous lives.
2. He came to understand the repeating cycle of life, death, and rebirth. He understood that beings were born
depending on their kamma (actions), and he realised the importance of anatta (there is no fixed self).
3. He came to understand why suffering happens and how to overcome it.

Answer 67

At first, the Buddha was reluctant to teach because what he had realised
could not be communicated in words.
Only through discipline and clarity of mind would delusions fall away and one
could experience true reality.
Listeners without that direct experience would be stuck in conceptualisations
and would surely misunderstand everything he said.
Compassion persuaded him to make the attempt. It is said that Mara still
tried to tempt him further to keep his realisations to himself. But the Buddha
was determined to teach about suffering and how to overcome it, to help
others to achieve enlightenment.
He asked anyone who would follow him to reject a life of extremism, which
meant not having too many luxuries nor living a very ascetic lifestyle.
The Buddha left the Bodhi tree and wandered back to the Deer Park in
Isipatana, located in what is now the province of Uttar Pradesh, India. This is
the place where he had left the five ascetics, who then became his first students.
This sermon has been preserved as the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutra and centres on the Four Noble Truths.
Instead of teaching doctrines about enlightenment, the Buddha chose to prescribe a path of practice through
which people can realise enlightenment for themselves.
The Buddha devoted himself to teaching and attracted hundreds of followers. Eventually, he became
reconciled with his father, King Suddhodana.
His wife, the devoted Yasodhara, became a nun and disciple. Rahula, his son, became a novice monk at the
age of seven and spent the rest of his life with his father.
The Buddha travelled tirelessly through all areas of northern India and Nepal. He taught a diverse group of
followers, all of whom were seeking the truth he had to offer.

Question 68

The Parable of the Raft

Answer 68

A man traveling along a path came to a great expanse of water. As he stood on the shore, he realized there
were dangers and discomforts all about. But the other shore appeared safe and inviting. The man looked for
a boat or a bridge and found neither. But with great effort he gathered grass, twigs and branches and tied
them all together to make a simple raft. Relying on the raft to keep himself afloat, the man paddled with his
hands and feet and reached the safety of the other shore. He could continue his journey on dry land. Now,
what would he do with his makeshift raft? Would he drag it along with him or leave it behind? He would leave
it, the Buddha said. Then the Buddha explained that the dharma is like a raft. It is useful for crossing over but
not for holding onto, he said.

Question 69

Different Interpretations of the Parable

Answer 69

This simple story has inspired more than one interpretation. Was the Buddha saying that the dharma
is a kind of provisional appliance that can be discarded when one is enlightened? That is how the
parable often is understood.
Others argue (for reasons explained below) that it is really about how to properly hold, or
understand, the Buddha’s teaching.
Occasionally someone will cite the raft parable as an excuse to ignore the Eightfold Path, the
Precepts, and the rest of the Buddha’s teachings altogether, since you’re going to ditch them,
anyway.
Buddhist author and scholar Damien Keown argues that
dharma is represented in the story by the other shore, not
by the raft. The raft parable is not telling us that we will
abandon the Buddha’s teaching and precepts upon
enlightenment, Keown says. Rather, we will let go of
provisional and imperfect understanding of the teachings.

Question 70

A person becomes a Bodhisattva by perfecting certain attributes in
their lives. There are six of these that Mahayana Buddhists focus on (called the six perfections):

Answer 70

Generosity – to be charitable and generous in all that is done
2. Morality – to live with good morals and ethical behaviour
3. Patience – to practise being patient in all things
4. Energy – to cultivate the energy and perseverance needed to keep going even when things get
difficult
5. Meditation – to develop concentration and awareness
6. Wisdom – to obtain wisdom and understanding

Answer 71

Avalokiteshvara: one of the most popular Bodhisattvas, who is
related to compassion. Visualising the Bodhisattva helps Buddhists
to develop their own sense of compassion, which is considered to
be an important quality to cultivate in order to achieve
enlightenment.

Question 72

Buddhist Scriptures: The Pali Canon (Tipitaka)

Answer 72

The Pali Canon is also known as the Tipitaka (ti = three; pitaka
= basket), meaning the Three Baskets, or Collections, of
teachings. It is made up of:
1. The Vinaya Pitaka, the book of discipline for monks containing
the 227 rules by which they must live.
2. The Sutta Pitaka, the teachings of the Buddha, given to
disciples both lay and monastic.
3. The Abhidhamma Pitaka, contains the core philosophical
teachings that underpin the Buddhist understanding of life. They were intended as a basis of the
Buddhist outlook, which opposed other Indian conceptions of reality.

Answer 73

Of the three Pitakas of the Pali Canon, the Sutta Pitaka has the
most universal significance to Buddhists, in that it is addressed to
listeners both lay and monastic.

Question 74

The Dhammapada (‘Path of Truth’)

Answer 74

The Dhammapada is probably the best-known section of the Pali
Canon. It consists of an anthology of the Buddha’s sayings, collected
between 563 and 483BCE, and acts as a source of guidance for
Buddhists everywhere but especially those in the Theravada
tradition.
It is a small collection of 423 verses concerned with the ‘way’ or
‘footsteps’ (pada), of the truth (Dhamma). It remains the most
common source of inspiration for lay Buddhists.
Its teachings and value are best indicated by quoting from the text
itself.

Answer 75

The Dhammapada is accepted as being the teaching of the Buddha. The Dhammapada generally
teaches Buddhists how to live their lives in the right way and is therefore an excellent source of
authority. For example, the Dhammapada teaches:

Question 76

The Sangha: Why is the Sangha important?

Answer 76

An important part of the Buddhist path is developing spiritual maturity in the dharma and realising
that your practice is for the benefit of everyone, because ultimately self-and-other are not two.
In his book The Heart of the Buddha’s Teaching, Thich Nhat Hanh said that “practicing with a Sangha
is essential. … Building a Sangha, supporting a Sangha, being with a Sangha, receiving the support
and guidance of a Sangha is the practice.”
The second reason is that the Buddhist path is a path of giving as well as receiving. Your participation
in the sangha is a way of giving back to the dharma.

Question 77

three refuges

Answer 77

1. The Buddha
2. The dharma, his teaching
3. The Sangha, the community of Buddhist practitioners

Question 78

When Buddhists take refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma and Sangha, they are saying that
they trust these things as lasing sources of safety from suffering.

Answer 78

They are asking for the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha to guide them in their development of wisdom
and compassion. When Buddhists ‘go for refuge’, they are expressing their commitment to following
the path leading to enlightenment.

Question 79

The aim of the Sangha

Answer 79

The aim of the Sangha is to follow the path that the Buddha taught and to gain help and assistance
from others. It is the gathering of like-minded people for encouragement, each with the common
goal of Enlightenment.

Question 80

The Buddha taught a famous parable about an elephant that belonged to a king

Answer 80

The elephant was
of exceptional character, calm and friendly. However, the king noticed the elephant’s character changing. The elephant became irritable, prone to tempers and more difficult. Eventually the problem was identified. A group of criminals was meeting at the elephant’s stable. The elephant was clearly picking up characteristics of the people it was spending time with. The criminals were removed and, in time, the elephant rediscovered its old character.
The idea of refuge in the Sangha can be compared to this. A person will
develop characteristics from those people with whom they interact. The
Sangha therefore is a place of positive, wholesome activity, with people who
will help and not hinder spiritual progress:

Question 81

Are the three refuges all equally important?

Answer 81

It could be argued that the Buddha is the most important because he provides an example for
Buddhists to follow.
If he had not discovered the Dhamma and then taught it, Buddhists might never have been able to
understand the way out of suffering.
On the other hand, it could be argued that the Dhamma is the most important because it describes
the way things are. This ‘truth’ existed long before the Buddha recognised it (in the same way that
the law of gravity is true whether anyone knows about it or not).
Finally, the Sangha is very important to a Buddhist’s life. For an ordinary person following the
Buddha’s teaching, it is very encouraging to know that other ordinary people have reached the
wisdom and compassion of enlightenment, not just the Buddha.
Nuns and monks are essential as guides to less experienced Buddhists. In Buddhists’ everyday lives,
the Sangha around them can also provide support, encouragement and friendship.

Question 82

The Monastic life

Answer 82

A few months after his enlightenment the Buddha
founded an order of monks, and later on nuns.
The purpose of this order was twofold. Its primary
purpose was to provide a community that would give the
optimum opportunity for its members to practice the
Dharma and attain Nirvana. Its secondary purpose was to
transmit the Dharma and be a witness to its transforming
power.
Since the time of the Buddha, monks and nuns have
expanded their role beyond that of the practitioner and
teacher to become, at different times and places, educators,
artists, social workers, scholars, physicians, and even rulers.
In Tibet, a line of monks called the Dalai Lama’s, ruled
the country from the 16th to the middle of the 19th century.

Question 83

There are more than two hundred and twenty-seven rules governing the conduct of members of the
Order. The first four rules are the most important and they concern the refraining from:

Answer 83

1. sexual intercourse;
2. theft;
3. taking of a human life;
4. false proclamation of miraculous powers.

Question 84

The Role of the Monastic Community in Society

Answer 84

The main task of the Buddhist monastic community is to preserve and practise the Teaching of the
Buddha.
The Buddha Himself had indicated that the survival of the Teaching depended upon the existence of
the monastic community, whose members can devote all their time and energy to this important
task.
Having accomplished this, they can use their learning and wisdom to help society as a whole.
Although the members of the Buddhist monastic community have renounced the worldly life, they
still have an important contribution to make to the welfare of the society. For instance, they help to
solve the problems of the lay followers through counselling.
Not being attached to the worldly conditions such as happiness and pain, gain and loss, they are more
objective and farsighted in their outlook. They are therefore able to advise the lay followers on the
best course of conduct.
They also help lay followers to face the trials and sufferings of life, especially in times of distress such
as when a serious illness or death occurs.
Finally, the members of the monastic community also help to provide various social services for the
lay community.
The Buddhist monasteries have an important role to play in the education of the young and even
today, there are Buddhist schools functioning alongside state schools.
In addition, Buddhist monks and nuns help in the running of free clinics, orphanages, homes for the
aged and the sick, and other welfare organisations.