Key Terms (Week 4)

Question 1

Sangha

Answer 1

Buddhist community of monks and nuns

Question 2

Novice

Answer 2

a monk or nun who only takes the first ten vows

Question 3

Vinaya

Answer 3

Monastic code; rules developed out of problems that arose in past to prevent them from happening again

Question 4

4 supports of monastic life

Answer 4

Rags for robes, alms bowl, sleeping outdoors, herbs for medicine

Question 5

Rahula

Answer 5

The Buddha’s son, name literally translates to “bondage”

Question 6

Mahaprajapati

Answer 6

Buddha’s stepmother, the first Buddhist nun; story reveals misogyny in Buddhism; has two children, Nanda and Nanda

Question 7

Ananda

Answer 7

Buddha’s cousin and assistant, persuades Buddha to ordain females into nuns

Question 8

Nanda

Answer 8

Buddha’s half brother; Buddha convinces him to become a monk, has trouble staying celibate, Buddha takes him to heaven to show him the rewards of staying celibate as a monk, decides to stay celibate only to get to that heaven, Buddha takes him down to hell to see his punishment for only staying celibate to get into heaven, recognizes that there is no point in pursuing pleasure because it will eventually become a source of pain, becomes an arhat; story based on impermanence

Question 9

Nandaa

Answer 9

Buddha’s half sister; becomes a nun because she’s kinda bored, not fully committed to being a nun, very beautiful, goes to hear Buddha speak, Buddha creates an illusion of a decaying woman only she can see, recognizes the futility of the physical body, becomes an arhat; story of impermanence

Question 10

Bhikshuni

Answer 10

Literally “female monk”; nun

Question 11

Angulimala

Answer 11

Literally “finger necklace”’; a murder who becomes an arhat, still suffers karmic punishment for his deeds even as someone who has destroyed all seeds of future rebirth

Question 12

Gurudharma

Answer 12

8 rules nuns must follow; top three include:

1. A 100 year old nun is immediately outranked by a new monk; never outrank a monk
2. Never scold a monk
3. Never criticize a monk

Question 13

3 rules for nuns

Answer 13

1. Never outrank a monk
2. Never scold a monk
3. Never criticize a monk

Question 14

Maya

Answer 14

Mother of the Buddha; tells an elaborate story of how the Buddha came into her womb, white elephant dream, Buddha emerging at her right side, says she is the mother of all Buddhas in the past, present, and future

Question 15

Rupyavavti

Answer 15

Gives up her breasts just to feed a starving mother and her baby; story of the impermanence of body

Question 16

Kisagotami

Answer 16

A Buddhist nun; came to the Buddha with the body of her dead child, asked him to revive her child for a mustard seed from a family that has faced no suffering, realizes the universality of suffering, lays her child to rest and becomes a nun

Question 17

Seniority in the sangha

Answer 17

Determined by the time and date of ordination, not age (forgoes age for the sake of acknowledging that the life of the home has been left behind)

Question 18

Can women become arhats in Buddhism?

Answer 18

YES - one of the things that sets Buddhism apart from other religions in terms of their treatment of women - says that women can be elevated to the same spiritual level as men