Buddhism: Sources Of Wisdom And Authority

Question 1

What is the Buddha

Answer 1

The enlightened one

Question 2

Who is the Gautama Buddha?

Answer 2

Siddhartha Gautama

Question 3

Why is the life of the Gautama Buddha significant for Theravada Buddhists?

Answer 3

• he has achieved enlightenment and uses the dharma to help Buddhists to reach enlightenment

Question 4

Why does the Buddha have authority as the ‘enlightened one’?

Answer 4

He left the dharma for Buddhists to use in order to achieve enlightenment.

Question 5

What does the Mahayana view that the life and teaching of the Buddha was ‘skilful means’ mean?

Answer 5

The Buddha adapted the dharma so that it could help Buddhists reach enlightenment in a way that is the easiest for them.

Question 6

What does the parable of the Burning House in the Lotus Sutra say?

Answer 6

• old, wise man comes home to find his house on fire with his many sons trapped inside.
• he tells his sons to come outside, but they were too busy playing.
• the father tells his sons that he has presents outside.
• the children come outside looking for the small gifts, but find something bigger and better than the proposed gifts

Question 7

What are the presents the children are promised in the Parable of the Burning House?

Answer 7

Carts pulled by goats, deer and oxen

Question 8

What do the sons in the parable of the burning house find instead of the promised carts?

Answer 8

A magnificent cart drawn by white oxen

Question 9

What does the parable of the burning house teach about the Mahayana view that the Gautama Buddha’s life was skilful means?

Answer 9

The Buddha is the father in the story and uses upaya to get the children outside in a way that they will understand

Question 10

What did the Buddha teach about Dukkha?

Answer 10

• It’s a universal experience - story of Kiso Gotami
• caused by craving

Question 11

What are the three poisons?

Answer 11

1. Moha- delusion/ignorance
2. Raga- greed
3. Dvesha- hatred

Question 12

How does craving cause suffering?

Answer 12

1. Kama-tanha (craving pleasures of the senses, wealth and power)
2. Bhava-tanha (craving for a fixed identity/existence —> not accepting anicca
3. Vibhava-tanha (craving to avoid pain and suffering or to avoid the reality of rebirth)

Question 13

What are the three types of dukkha?

Answer 13

1. Dukkha-dukkha
2. Viparinama- dukkha
3. Sankhara-dukkha

Question 14

What is dukkha-dukkha?

Answer 14

Suffering of suffering
- physical and emotional pain/discomfort all humans experience in their life

Question 15

What is viparinama-dukkha

Answer 15

Suffering of change
- suffering that arises from an inability to accept change

Question 16

What is sankhara-dukkha?

Answer 16

Suffering of existence
- background suffering
- profound unsatisfactory news of existence caused by existence

Question 17

Is Buddhism pessimistic? (Reasons for)

Answer 17

• First NT -> all conditioned things are in a state of suffering
• idea of sankhara-dukkha - suffering is caused simply by existence
• concept of anicca - everything is impermanent, pleasures don’t last

Question 18

Buddhism is pessimistic (reasons against)

Answer 18

• the Buddha taught that there is an end to suffering and the way to the end of suffering through the eightfold path
• the Buddha influenced Buddhists to live ‘the middle way’ to prevent them from experiencing the extreme suffering of an aescetic lifestyle, but also from suffering from the delusion of the lifestyle that the Buddha lived in the palace