Buddhism Flashcards
Why did Buddha leave his life of luxury
He gave it up because he saw the 4 sights
- Influence of Bodhisattvas on Buddhists:
Buddhists will want to live their lives following the six paramitas (perfections). (generosity; morality; tolerance or patience, energy; meditation and wisdom)
Sometimes Buddhists use patterns or paintings / to help them visualise Buddha or a Bodhisattva.
- The Pure Land
Amitābha created this paradise out of compassion and love for all beings.
In the Pure Land there is no suffering / there are none of the problems that stop people in our own world from attaining enlightenment, etc.
Pure Land Buddhists can simply call on the name of Amitābha to gain rebirth in the sukhāvatī
- The difficulties of attaining enlightenment: arguments in support of how difficult enlightenment is
In Theravada, you have to be a monk to achieve enlightenment / and those in the monastic communities are expected to lead a life based on the study of Buddhist doctrine / the discipline may prove difficult for some / some Buddhist traditions believe that only males can gain enlightenment
No one can fully overcome suffering / no one can fully extinguish greed, hatred and delusion which is what enlightenment is all about.
Suffering is a fact of life, we just have to live with it / suffering is a major part of human nature so it does not matter about a different mind-set, such as enlightenment, people will always experience hurt and pain.
Difficulties of attaining enlightenment: you can attain enlightenment
The Buddha did, so others can / the Buddha would not have identified a path to enlightenment if he didn’t think people could reach it.
In many branches of Buddhism such as Zen, it is believed all can achieve enlightenment as they already have Buddha nature in them / Pure Land Buddhists through their chanting might suggest that enlightenment is easy to attain.
A Bodhisattva helps in the Mahayana tradition towards enlightenment.
