Religious Studies - Buddhist Beliefs

Buddha

Buddha

Means "Enlightened One." Siddhartha Gautama overcame the three poisons and discovered the Middle Way to eventually achieve enlightenment

Jataka

Stories of the Buddha's past lives

Ascetic

One who leads a life of self-denial and contemplation; absent of luxury

Enlightenment

"Nibbana", overcome the three poisons and or achieve the Six Perfections leading to the escape of samsara

Dhamma

The teachings of the Buddha; universal law; refuge from suffering

Dependent Arising

"Paticcasamuppada", The belief that everything in existence is because other things are; everything is interconnected and that everyone affects everyone else.

Samsara

The cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth

Dukkha

Everything suffers

Anicca

The ever-changing nature of each being

Anatta

No fixed self; we are a named collection of multiple parts

Nibbana

"Blown out", To reach a state of perfect peace where the individual experiences liberation from samsara, gaining wisdom and compassion.

The Five Aggregates

The five skandhas of: form, sensation, perception, mental formation, consciousness; one's being is composed of these five factors.

Sunyata

"Emptiness" refers to the absence of an intrinsic nature/identity in all phenomena [M] "Emptiness is form and form is emptiness"

Bodhisattva

"Enlightenment being", One who has attained enlightenment but has postponed nibbana in order to help others achieve enlightenment [M]

Arhat

One who has become enlightened and escaped samsara [T]

The life of the Buddha

Birth and life of luxury < Sees the 4 sights < Ascetism < Middle way and meditation ---> enlightenment < Teaching < Death from illness

Mahayana

"The Great Vehicle" ,The largest of Buddhism's three divisions, prevalent in China, Japan and Korea.

Theravada

"The Way of the Elders", focuses on the earliest texts and emphasizes monastic lifestyle, prevalent in Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia.

Form

Refers to matter, to the sense organs and the objects they experience

Mental Formation

Our metal activities, thought, opinions which direct us to good/bad/morally neutral actions that produce good/bad kamma

Sensation

Feelings which arise from our sense organs, making contact with other objects e.g. emotion, pain

Perception

Our ability to distinguish between different objects we experience, activating memory e.g. I recognise happiness as I have experienced it before

Consciousness

Awareness of ourselves and our environment and of things without/before recognition

Buddhahood

The process whereby someone achieves enlightenment

Buddha-nature

The fundamental nature of all beings; all beings can attain Buddhahood

Pali Canon

Original Buddhist texts

The Six Perfections

Generosity, morality, patience, energy, meditation, wisdom

The Three Poisons

These trap humans in the cycle of samsara, preventing beings from escaping samsara. The Three Poisons sit at the centre of the Wheel of Life as they are considered to be the forces which keep it spinning and the cycle of samsara turning.

Animal of greed / desire

Cockrel

Animal of anger / hatred

Snake

Animal of ignorance

Pig

1st Noble Truth

Dukkha; suffering

2nd Noble Truth

Tanha; the cause of suffering

3rd Noble Truth

Nibbana; cessation of suffering

4th Noble Truth

Magga; cure for the cessation of suffering

Fire and Tanha

Fire destroys all which is feeds off of; it is endlessly consuming; it spreads easily and requires more fuel to continue burning

Avoid drugs and alcohol

5MP - Avoid d___

Avoid taking from anyone

5MP - Avoid t_ …. a_

Avoid sexual misconduct

5MP - Avoid s_

Avoid wrong speech

5MP - Avoid r_

Avoid taking life

Avoid t_ … l_

Dhamma, Buddha, Sangha

The 3 refuges / jewels

A raft that brings one to safety

The 3 refuges are compared to this

Sangha

Community

Army, Daughters, Insults, Promises

What did Mara send to Siddhartha under the tree?

Kamma

People’s happiness and dukkha depend on this as well as what life one becomes reborn into

On the outside; At the centre

Where is Death around the Wheel of Life; Where is the Buddha on the Wheel of Life?

The 3 Poisons

These keep the wheel of life revolving

Life in the world of samsara

What does the Wheel of Life represent?

A particular feature/aspect of life and their connections

Each image in the Wheel of Life represents?

Dependent Arising

Everything depends on supporting conditions; nothing is independent

By finding the origin of tanha

How does Dependent Arising help Buddhas overcome suffering?

Lakshanas

The Three Marks of Existence

Samadhi; effort, understanding, mindfulness

Meditation

Sila; speech, action, livelihood

Ethics

Panna; intention, understanding, concentration

Wisdom

Amitabha-buddha’s paradise

Sukhavati

Sila, Samadhi, Panna

Threefold Way

Faith in Amitabha-buddha, not efforts of self

Pureland Buddhism requires …

Namo Amitabha-buddha

Pureland Buddhists recite …