Sources of Wisdom and Authority

Question 1

What was the birth name of the Buddha?

Answer 1

Siddhartha Gautama

Question 2

What did the Buddha declare after his birth?

Answer 2

“I am the Chief of the World”

Question 3

What prophecy was made about the Buddha?

Answer 3

He would become a great king or a great religious leader

Question 4

What were the four sights?

Answer 4

Old man, sick man, dead man, ascetic

Question 5

What was the Renunciation?

Answer 5

The Buddha’s decision to leave the palace and become an ascetic

Question 6

What is an ascetic?

Answer 6

A religious person who practices strict physical discipline (e.g. starvation) to achieve spiritual insight

Question 7

What were the three ways Mara tried to prevent the Buddha reaching enlightenment?

Answer 7

1. Sent his daughters to tempt him
2. Offered him his kingdom
3. Sent his armies to attack him

Question 8

What is the message of the Parable of the Burning House?

Answer 8

1) Samsara is suffering and Buddha is justified to use whatever means he can to guide us out

2) The Buddha had to use skilful means because his earliest followers were spiritually immature (like the children of the story)

3) The Mahayana vehicle is superior to all other forms of Buddhism

Question 9

Where is the Parable of the Burning House found?

Answer 9

The Lotus Sutra

Question 10

What happens in the Parable of the Raft?

Answer 10

A man crosses a river with a raft and abandons it when he reaches the other side, symbolising how the Dhamma is a tool for reaching enlightenment

Question 11

What is upaya?

Answer 11

Skilful means; the idea that Buddhists should use the approach that best reduces suffering and helps people reach enlightenment

Question 12

In what way do Mahayana Buddhists believe that the life of Siddhartha Gautama was skilful means?

Answer 12

They believe he was enlightened before his birth and chose to present himself as the role model for how an ordinary human can achieve enlightenment

Question 13

What are the Four Noble Truths?

Answer 13

1) The existence of suffering (Dukkha)
2) The cause of suffering, tanha (craving) (Samudaya)
3) The end of suffering, Nirvana (Nirodha)
4) The way to the end of suffering, the Eightfold Path (Magga)

Question 14

When/where did the Buddha teach the Four Noble Truths?

Answer 14

His first sermon, in Deer Park (found in the Pali Canon)

Question 15

What are the Three Jewels/Three Refuges?

Answer 15

Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

Question 16

What are the Three Marks of Existence?

Answer 16

Dukkha, anicca, anatta

Question 17

What is the Pali Canon?

Answer 17

The accepted scriptures of Theravada Buddhism, written in Pali

Question 18

Explain how it could be argued that Buddhist teachings about Dukkha are NOT pessimistic

Answer 18

They are realistic/pragmatic and lead people to accept suffering and move on; they teach there is an end to suffering

Question 19

Who does the Buddha send in search of a mustard seed?

Answer 19

Kiso Gotami

Question 20

Explain how it could be argued that Buddhist teachings about Dukkha are pessimistic

Answer 20

They suggest that all life is suffering/everything which exists is marked by suffering

Question 21

What are the Three Poisons?

Answer 21

Ignorance/delusion, greed, hatred/ill will

Question 22

Why do Theravada Buddhists believe that Siddhartha Gautama has authority as the Enlightened One?

Answer 22

Because he achieved Nirvana and started the turning of the wheel of Dharma, which had been taught by no previous teachers and which he discovered on his own

Question 23

Why do Theravada Buddhists view Gautama as a role model?

Answer 23

He shows willingness to suffer and persevere (e.g. through the ascetic life), and models qualities such as metta (loving-kindness) and karuna (compassion), e.g. through his response to Kiso Gotami and Angulimala