Buddhism Beliefs Flashcards
Explain what is meant by Arhat.
Theravada Buddhists believe you become an Arhat (perfected person) by following the Eightfold Path to overcome suffering and reach enlightenment.
What is samsara?
It means the cycle of life: birth, life, death and rebirth
Define Anatta
The idea of no self and no fixed soul. There is no unchanging essence to us.
What was the Buddha’s birth name?
Siddhartha Gautama
What is Asceticism?
A lifestyle of strict self-denial (rejected by Siddhartha for the Middle Way)
List 4 of the sights Siddhartha saw on his trip outside the palace (The Four Sights)
An old man (we age); an ill man (we get ill); a dead man (we all die) and a holy man (the only answer to these problems)
Which word describes the Buddhist belief that the soul doesn’t have a physical existence?
Anatta
Explain what is meant by Buddhahood.
Buddha nature is the idea that everyone can attain Buddhahood. Mahayana Buddhists believe that everyone has the essence of a Buddha within them.
What is Nirvana?
Nirvana is complete enlightenment outside the cycle of samsara.
Explain what the concept of Dukkha means for Buddhists.
Dhukka is the belief that there are 3 types of suffering (Three Marks of Existence). These are: Ordinary Suffering, Suffering through change and Suffering through dissatisfaction/attachment.
What is Dhamma (Dharma)?
Dhamma (Dharma) is the Buddhist doctrine that includes the teaching of the Buddha about the nature of existence.
Give three examples of the five aggregates.
Form, Mental Formation, perception, consciousness and sensation
What is anicca?
Annica means impermanence. It encourages Buddhists to accept death and suffering as part of life and the samsara cycle of life.
What word is used to describe an enlightened person who chooses to remain in samsara?
Bodhisattva
What is dependent arising?
Dependent arising is the idea that everything happens depending on certain conditions.
What is the term for the immaterial part of you that gets tranferred from life to life?
Atman
Name 2 types of Buddhism.
Theravada and Mahayana
List 3 aspects of the Threefold Way
Ethics (sila); Meditation (Samadhi); Wisdom (Panna)
Give 3 of the Four Noble Truths.
There is suffering. Suffering has a cause. Suffering can come to an end. There is a way to end suffering.
List 3 aspects of the Eightfold Path
Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood, Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration, Right Understanding, Right Intention
Which type of Buddhists attept to become Bodhisattvas?
Mahayana Buddhists
In which country is Pure Land Buddhism the most commonly practised form of Buddhism?
Japan
List 3 events that happen in the Buddhas life.
He grew up in a life of luxury as the son of a Queen. He was inspired to leave this life by the Four Sights. After he left his life of luxury, he lived an ascetic life of self-denial and pain. He wasn’t able to become enlightened so he left it for the Middle Way - between pain and luxury.
List the 3 poisons.
A pig (ignorance), a snake (hatred) and a cockerel (greed); Buddhists see this as the start of all human problems.
