Buddhism: practices

Question 1

Temple

Answer 1

a place where Buddhists come together to study, meditate, and worship

Question 2

Shrine

Answer 2

an area with a statue or image of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. It provides a focal point for meditation and devotion.

Symbolic offerings:
- Light (candles) - wisdom and enlightenment
- Flowers - impermanence
- Incense - purity

Question 3

Stupa (pagoda)

Answer 3

a tiered tower or mound-like structure that sometimes contains remains or relics of an important Buddhist (e.g., Buddha’s ashes).

Question 4

Monastery

Answer 4

a place where a community of Buddhist monks or nuns lives.

Question 5

Death

Answer 5

when kammic energy leaves one body and is reborn in another; a transition from one life to the next.

Question 6

Theravada funerals

Answer 6

inexpensive, simple ceremonies. Money is donated to worthy causes to transfer merit to the deceased. Shrines may show a portrait, monks may attend, and cremation is common.

Question 7

Tibetan funerals

Answer 7

may involve a sky burial, where a body is left in a high place as a gift to the vultures (impermanence, non-attachment). However, cremation is more common nowadays. Ceremonies involve prayers and offering yak-butter lamps to symbolise wisdom and light of knowledge and the eradication of darkness or ignorance

Question 8

Japanese Pure Land funerals

Answer 8

the coffin is processed while Amitabha’s name is chanted. The head is then place facing west, towards Sukhavati. Relatives may gather to pick out bones from the ashes with chopsticks to honour the deceased.

Question 9

Festivals

Answer 9

traditional times that allow Buddhists to celebrate important events in the history of Buddhism

Question 10

Wesak

Answer 10

a Theravada festival that celebrates the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment and passing away.

Celebrations include:
- Lighting up of homes with candles, lamps or lanterns
- The making of offerings and giving of gifts at local monastery
- Worshipping and meditating at their local temple

Question 11

Parinirvana day

Answer 11

a Mahayana festival that commemorates the Buddha’s passing away.

Buddhists may:
- Read and study the Mahaparinirvana Sutra, a scripture on the Buddha’s last days
- Meditate or study at home or at a temple
- Go on a retreat and meditate
- Go on a pilgrimage to places such as Kushinagar, where the Buddha is thought to have died

Question 12

Types of Buddhist worship

Answer 12

• Rituals and ceremonies carried out in groups
• Private worship at home
• Making offerings
• Meditation
• Chanting sacred texts, such as the three refuges, reflecting that these used to be passed on orally
• Reciting mantras, such as “Om mani padme hum”, perhaps using a mala

Question 13

Meditation

Answer 13

the spiritual practice of calming and focusing the mind, and reflecting deeply on specific teachings to develop an insight into the nature of reality

Question 14

Samatha meditation

Answer 14

a type of meditation that involves the ‘mindful’ use of breath to focus the attention, helping buddhists calm their mind and develop deeper concentration. Kasinas may be used as an alternative focus of attention.

Question 15

Vipassana meditation

Answer 15

a type of meditation that focuses on developing understanding of the nature of reality. It is called ‘insight meditation’. The meditator may change their focus between different objects, emotions and experiences.

Question 16

Enlightenment

Answer 16

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

Question 17

Gompa

Answer 17

a hall or building where Tibetan Buddhists meditate

Question 18

Kamma (karma)

Answer 18

the idea that skilful actions motivated by generosity, compassion and understanding result in happiness and unskilful actions motivated by craving, hatred and ignorance end in suffering

Question 19

Karuna

Answer 19

compassion - feeling concerned for the suffering of other people and wanting to relieve their suffering. It is also one of the four sublime states

Question 20

Mantra

Answer 20

a short sequence of sacred syllables

Question 21

Mala

Answer 21

108 prayer beads used to count the number of recitations of a mantra

Question 22

Metta

Answer 22

loving-kindness - showing a benevolent, kind, friendly attitude towards other people. It is one of the four sublime states taught by the Buddha and reduces the tendency to act out of negative emotions.

Question 23

Puja

Answer 23

an act of worship

Question 24

Retreat

Answer 24

A period of time spent away from everyday life in order to focus on meditation. For example, Vassa is an annual Theravada retreat taken during the wet season where monks dedicate more time to meditation and study.

Question 25

Rupa

Answer 25

statue of the Buddha

Question 26

Visualisation

Answer 26

Practices that allow Buddhists to connect with the spiritual qualities of a Buddha or Bodhisattva. They may visualise a Buddha or Bodhisattva or use Thangkas or Mandalas.

Question 27

Thangka

Answer 27

a detailed painting of a Buddha or Bodhisattva

Question 28

The Five Moral Precepts

Answer 28

A Buddhist ethical code that purifies the mind of greed, hatred, and ignorance.

1. To abstain from taking life
2. To abstain from taking what is not freely given
3. To abstain from misuse of the senses or sexual misconduct
4. To abstain from wrong speech
5. To abstain from intoxicants that cloud the mind

Question 28

Mandala

Answer 28

An intricate, colourful circle-shaped pattern. It is a sacred diagram that represents Buddhist principles or teachings that may symbolise the universe, paradise etc.

Question 29

The Six Perfections

Answer 29

Six qualities Mahayana Buddhists try to develop in order to become a Bodhisattva

1. Generosity - give freely without expecting anything in return (e.g. material goods, Dhamma)
2. Morality - Following the five precepts willingly and adding further rules
3. Patience - tolerance, endurance, compassion
4. Energy - putting effort and enthusiasm into their study of the Dhamma and looking after their health
5. Meditation - developing concentration and awareness for wisdom
6. Wisdom - developing a full understanding of the nature of reality

Question 30

The Four Sublime States

Answer 30

1. metta - loving-kindness
2. karuna - compassion
3. mudita - sympathetic joy (being happy for others)
4. upekkha - equanimity (being calm and composed)

Question 31

Meditation quotes

Answer 31

“Breath is the bridge which connects life to consciousness, which unites your body to your thoughts.”
- Thich Nhat Hanh

“From meditation springs wisdom. From lack of meditation, loss of wisdom.”
- The Dhammapada

Question 32

The Five Moral Precepts quotes

Answer 32

“If one, longing for sexual pleasure, achieves it, yes, he’s enraptured at heart” + “But if for that person…the pleasures diminish, he’s shattered”
- Pali Canon

“All tremble at violence; all fear death… one should not kill nor cause to kill.”
- Dhammapada

“By not harming living beings one is called noble.”
- Dhammapada

Question 33

Metta + Karuna quotes

Answer 33

“The key to a happier and more successful society is the growth of compassion”
- Dalai Lama

“Just as a mother would protect with her life her own son, so should one cultivate an unbound mind towards all beings.”
- Pali Canon

Question 34

Kamma quotes

Answer 34

“The time and effort required to keep the shrine clean… is a skilful activity to focus one’s mind in the spiritual practices.”
- Lama Choedak Rinpoche

“To be selfish, greedy and unwilling to help the needy gives rise to future starvation and clothlessness.”
- The Buddha

Question 35

The Six Perfections quotes

Answer 35

“You will not be punished for your anger, you will be punished by your anger.”
- The Buddha

“If with an impure mind a person speaks or acts, suffering follows him like the wheel that follows the foot of the ox.”
- The Dhammapada