AQA Religious Studies A: Buddhism 1.1-1.16

Anatta

No fixed soul or self

Three Poisons

greed, hatred, ignorance (lobha, dosa and moha)

Three Marks of Existence

Anatta, Anicca, Dukkha (no self, impermanence, suffering)

The Five Aggregates

form, sensation, perception, mental formation and consciousness

The Noble Eightfold Path

right understanding, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness; right concentration

The Four noble Truths

1.The truth of suffering ; Dukkha
2. The truth of the cause of suffering ; Samudaya
3. The truth of the end of suffering ; Nirodha
4. The truth of the path leading to the end of suffering ; Magga

The Three Refuges

Buddha, Dharma, Sangha

Dharma

The nature/law of existence

Sangha

The Buddhist community

Ascetic life

living with the bare minimum. Just surviving

Things mara sent to the Buddha

Sent his daughters to seduce him.Sent his armies to attack him.Offered him control of his kingdom.Mara sent himself to attack him

3 watches of the night

Gained knowledge on all his previous lives.Understood the repeating the cycle of life, death and rebirth. That this was dependant of ones kamma and the importance of anatta. Understood why suffering happens and how to overcome it

Kamma

your actions

The four sights

old age, illness, death and the holy man

dependant arising (paticcasamuppada)

everything arises ( and continues ) dependant on conditions. Nothing is permanent and unchanging

Tibetan wheel of life

Illustrates the process of dependant arising in relation to human life. The outer circle is made of 12 nidanas the link together ( showing rebirth ). The type of world a buddhist is born into depends on their kamma from previous lives.

Samsara

cycle of life, death and rebirth. The buddhists want to break free from this

The different types of dukkha

Suffering, change and attachment

The seven stages of suffering

birth, old age, sickness, death, sorrow/despair, contact with unpleasant things, not getting what you wished for

anicca

impermanence

Nagasena and the chariot

are name exists as the relation to all the different parts. A chariot is only a chariot when all the parts are together

The first noble truth: Dukkha

To know that suffering is a problem that everyone faces and not to personalise your suffering as you'll become 'attached'.Whilst happiness does exist it won't fix the root of the problem

The second noble truth: Samudaya

Explores the origins of suffering and concludes that tanha causes suffering whether you are craving for a thing, person or your future. However this isn't possible because of the existence of anicca.Craving is rooted in ignorance. The wheel of samsara is spinning because of the 3 poisons

Third noble truth: Nirodha

Teaches that there is an end to suffering by overcoming ignorance and craving in hopes of reaching nibbana/enlightenment. This does not mean stopping doing the things you enjoy but realising their impermanence and having appreciation for what you have

Ajhan Sumedho's story

Living in America 'the land of the free' he saw how they profit over making a materialistic society and how unhappy he was whilst craving everything. He saw that once he followed the noble truths he was happier

Fourth noble truth: Magga

The cure to suffering, you can eradicate suffering by following the noble eightfold path. Its split into 3 sections: Wisdom ( panna ), Ethics ( sila ) and meditation ( samadhi ). This shapes how a Buddha lives their life

Theravada Buddhism

Buddha is seen as the main commitment, only as a role model not a god.Don't own anything, no sexual relationships and promise never to offend anyone. They believe meditating will give them good merit ( kamma ) to reach nibbana. They think they can transfer their kamma to others especially after death to get them into a good life/ enlightenment. They believe the 5 aggregates make up someones personality

Mahayana buddhism

Umbrella term for overlapping traditions. They believe the Buddha remains active and can influence the world.He can be seen through meditations and visions whilst manifesting into different forms. They believe in sunyata emphasising that nothing is permanent at all and that everything depends on everything else.Realising everything interlinks and nothing is permanent increases their compassion and selflessness and brings them closer to enlightenment.

Buddha-nature and buddhahood in relation to Mahayana buddhism

Everyone has an essence of the buddha within them, deep down everyone is enlightened. However the enlightenment is trapped within our own desires, ignorance and negative thoughts. When you understand the buddhist teachings and realise the nature around them do you experience the buddha nature. They aim to achieve buddhahood: to become a buddha