Buddhism: beliefs and teachings

Question 1

Arhat

Answer 1

A ‘perfected person’ who has overcome the main sources of suffering and reaches nibbana

Question 2

Asceticism

Answer 2

A lifestyle of strict self-denial. Rejected by Siddhartha for the Middle Way

Question 3

Bodhisattva

Answer 3

An enlightened person who chooses to remain in Samsara to teach others

Question 4

Dependent Arising

Answer 4

The idea that everything is dependent on everything else

Question 5

Dhamma

Answer 5

The Buddha’s teachings - how to reach the state of enlightenment

Question 6

Eightfold Path

Answer 6

Eight aspects of life Buddhists live by to try and reach enlightenment
1. Ethics - right speech, right action, right livelihood
2. Meditation - right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration
3. Wisdom - right understanding, right intention

Question 7

Enlightenment

Answer 7

A state of spiritual wisdom which arises from understanding the nature of reality

Question 8

Four Noble Truths

Answer 8

Four truths the Buddha taught about suffering and how to overcome it
1. There is suffering (Dukkha)
2. Suffering has a cause (Samudaya)
3. Suffering can come to an end (Nirodha)
4. There is a way to end suffering through the Eightfold Path (Magga)

Question 9

Four Sights

Answer 9

Four things Siddhartha saw that inspired him to leave his life of luxury - old man, the ill man, the dead man, the holy man (the only answer to these problems)

Question 10

Jataka

Answer 10

A book of popular tales about the life of the Buddha

Question 11

Meditation

Answer 11

The practice of focusing or calming the mind and reflecting on teachings

Question 12

Nibbana

Answer 12

A state of complete enlightenment which lies outside the Cycle of Samsara

Question 13

Samsara

Answer 13

The cycle of life, death and rebirth

Question 14

Three Marks of Existence

Answer 14

Three fundamental Buddhist beliefs about the truth of existence - Dukkha, Anicca, Anatta

Question 15

Three Watches of the Night

Answer 15

Three realisations Siddhartha made in order to become enlightened
1. Gained knowledge of all previous lives
2. Understanding Samsara and how there is no fixed self
3. Understanding of why suffering happens and how to overcome it - all beings suffer due to desire

Question 16

Three Refuges

Answer 16

Central values in Buddhist life
1. Buddha
2. Dhamma - the Buddha’s teachings
3. Sangha - The Buddhist community

Question 17

Dukkha

Answer 17

Suffering or dissatisfaction is inevitable in life - something Buddhists seek to overcome

Question 18

Anicca

Answer 18

Impermanence - everything constantly changes and we suffer when we resist it

Question 19

Anatta

Answer 19

No self - there is no fixed soul nor permanent, unchanging self

Question 20

Tanha

Answer 20

Wanting or desiring something

Question 21

The Three Poisons

Answer 21

Trap people in samsara and prevent them from reaching enlightenment

• Greed or desire (cockerel)
• Hatred or anger (snake)
• Ignorance (pig)

Question 22

Theravada Buddhism

Answer 22

• The ‘lesser vehicle’
• Only male monks can achieve enlightenment
• Found in Southern Asia (e.g. Thailand, Myanmar)
• Oldest form of Buddhism

Question 23

Mahayana Buddhism

Answer 23

• The ‘greater vehicle’
• Anyone can become enlightened
• Sunyata - emptiness

Question 24

Pure Land

Answer 24

Mostly found in Japan - a form of Mahayana Buddhism. Based on faith in Amitabha Buddha and his paradise.

Question 25

Sunyata

Answer 25

Nothing has a fixed, independent, unchanging nature. Everything exists in relation to, or because of, other things.

Question 26

The Four Noble Truths quotes

Answer 26

• “Attachment is the root of suffering” - Pali Canon
• “The moment you know how your suffering came to be, you are already on the path of release from it.” - Sariputta
• “If you walk the path, you will arrive at the end of suffering” - Pali Canon

Question 27

The Three Marks of Existence quotes

Answer 27

• “A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.” - Dogen
• “The world is afflicted by death and decay. But the wise do not grieve” - The Buddha

Question 28

The Four Sights quote

Answer 28

“if one is born one would undergo the process of ageing, sickness, death and all kinds of suffering”
- Jataka

Question 29

Bodhisattva vow

Answer 29

“However innumerable sentient beings are, I vow to save them.”

Question 30

Pure Land quote

Answer 30

“I vow that when my life approaches its end… I will see Amitabha Buddha, and be born in his land of ultimate bliss and peace.”
- The Avatamsaka Sutra