Hindustani Religions

Question 1

Arya Stanga Marga

Answer 1

The way leading to the cessation of suffering (dukkha) and the achievement of self-awakening

Question 2

Buddha (man Siddhartha Gautama and teaching)

Answer 2

A sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. He is believed to have lived and taught mostly in eastern India sometime between the sixth and fourth centuries BCE. The word Buddha means “awakened one” or “the enlightened one”.

Question 3

Buddhism (Buddha-Sasana, Buddha-Dhamma)

Answer 3

“Right way of living”, that encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices largely based on teachings attributed to Gautama Buddha, commonly known as the Buddha (“the awakened one”)

Question 4

Dharma

Answer 4

The eternal law of the cosmos, inherent in the very nature of things.

Question 5

The Four Noble Truths

Answer 5

1 Dukkha - all temporary things and states are unsatisfying;
2 The start of dukkha: yet we crave and cling to these things and states; thereby, we’re continuously reborn;
3 The end of dukkha: if we stop craving and clinging, we won’t be reborn;
4 How to end dukkha: by following the Noble Eightfold Path, namely behaving decently, not acting on impulses, and practicing mindfulness and meditation.

Question 6

Hinayana

Answer 6

The “Lesser Vehicle”

Question 7

Hinduism

Answer 7

Hinduism is the dominant religion, or way of life in South Asia. It includes Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism among numerous other traditions, and a wide spectrum of laws and prescriptions of “daily morality” based on karma, dharma, and societal norms. Hinduism is a categorisation of distinct intellectual or philosophical points of view, rather than a rigid, common set of beliefs. Hinduism, with about one billion followers is the world’s third largest religion, after Christianity and Islam.

Question 8

Mahayana

Answer 8

The “Greater Vehicle”

Question 9

Maya

Answer 9

Sanskrit, illusion/magic

Question 10

The Middle Path

Answer 10

In Mahayana Buddhism, the Middle Way refers to the insight into emptiness that transcends opposite statements about existence.

Question 11

Nirvana

Answer 11

A transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism.

Question 12

Tripitaka

Answer 12

The typical word used by Buddhist traditions for their various canons of scriptures

Question 13

Samsara

Answer 13

the material world.

the cycle of death and rebirth to which life in the material world is bound.

Question 14

Sanatana Dharma

Answer 14

The term used to denote the “eternal” or absolute set of duties or religiously ordained practices incumbent upon all Hindus, regardless of class, caste, or sect

Question 15

Theravada

Answer 15

A conservative branch of Buddhism comprising sects chiefly in Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia and adhering to the original Pali scriptures alone and to the nontheistic ideal of nirvana for a limited select number

Question 16

Trimurti

Answer 16

The great triad of Hindu gods comprising Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva.

Question 17

Veda

Answer 17

Any of the four collections forming the earliest body of Indian scripture, consisting of the Rig Veda, Sama Veda, Yajur Veda, and Atharva Veda, which codified the ideas and practices of Vedic religion and laid down the basis of classical Hinduism. They were probably composed between 1500 and 700 BC, and contain hymns, philosophy, and guidance on ritual