buddhism Edexcel SOWAAs

1.1 buddhavamsa xxvi

• ‘lived the household life for 29 years’

• ‘for six years I engaged in striving’

• ‘I, Gotama, am the self-awakened one’

1.2 nagasena and the chariot

• chariot is a collection of parts coming together; so is nagasena himself

• dependent arising- each part depends on each other part; paticcasamuppada

• no separate soul separate from these parts; anatta

1.3 dukkha dhammacakkapavattana

• ‘the noble truth of stress’

• ‘birth is stressful, aging is stressful, death is stressful’

• ‘the five clinging aggregates are stressful’

1.4 samudaya dhammacakkapavattana

• ‘the noble truth of the origination of stress’

• ‘the craving that makes for further becoming’

1.5 nirodha dhammacakkapavattana

• ‘the noble truth of the cessation of stress’

• ‘letting go of that very craving’

1.6 magga dhammacakkapavattana

• ‘noble truth of the way of practice leading to the cessation of stress’

• noble eightfold path

1.6 noble eightfold path

• right view

• right resolve

• right speech

• right action

• right livelihood

• right effort

• right mindfulness

• right concentration

1.7 khanda sutta

‘five clinging aggregates’, makes up the human existence

• form

• sensation

• perception

• mental formations

• consciousness

link to dukkha (five clinging aggregates are stressful)

1.8 khuddakapatha + metta sutta

theravadan scripture

• ‘with a boundless heart should one cherish all living beings’

• ‘radiating kindness over the entire world’

• ‘pure hearted one’

• ‘being free from all sense desires, is not born again into this world’

1.8 dhammapada 181-187

• ‘to avoid all evil’

• to cultivate good and to cleanse ones mind’

  ‘this is the teaching of the Buddhas’

2.1 sigolavada sutta

five ways a husband should respect a wife:

• honouring

• not disrespecting

• being faithful

• sharing authority

• giving gifts

five ways a wife should respect a husband:

• being well organised

• being kind to in-laws and household

• being faithful

• look after household goods

• be skillful and diligent in all duties

2.2 3rd precept

to refrain from sexual conduct or misuse of the senses

2.2 cunda kammaraputta sutta

skillful and unskillful bodily action

men should not get sexually involved with those protected by

• mothers/fathers

• brothers/sisters

• relatives/dhamma

married women, women serving punishment etc

2.3 sigalovada sutta

the duties that children and parents have to each other

‘ I will support them who supported me; I will do my duty to them’

2.4 the three refuges from the kuddakapatha

• ‘I take refuge in the buddha’

• ‘I take refuge in the dhamma’

• ‘I take refuge in the sangha’

2.5 1st/3rd precepts

use of contraception

• ‘I undertake to abstain from harming any living thing’

• ‘I undertake to refrain from the misuse of the senses’

2.5 Dalai Lama in ‘the natural world’

• ‘family planning is important’

• ‘married couples should have children unless there are compelling reasons not to’

• not having kids bc they want a full life without the responsibility ‘quite mistaken’

• ‘consider the impact our numbers have on the natural enviroment’

2.6 a happily married life

• no law stating a couple cannot separate

• if couples are faithful in fulfilling their duties to each other there should be no need for divorce; Sigalovada Sutta for guidance on duties

2.8 soma sutta

• ‘what difference does being a woman make when the mind’s well-centered, when knowledge is progressing, seeing clearly, rightly, into the dhamma’

• soma ignored distractions of mara, becomes enlightened

3.1 amitayus meditation sutra

• pure land

• contains 13 ‘contemplations’ to help visualise the pure land in order to be reborn there

• trees and ponds there, buddha amitabha, bodhisattva avalokiteshvara

3.2 dhammapada 1-2

• law of karma

• suffering follows the evil-doer

• happiness follows the doer of good

3.2 therevadan- dhammapada 190

chanting the triratna- three refuges

• buddha

• dhamma

• sangha

3.2 Mahayana nichiren- nam myoho renge Kyo

chant ‘devotion to the mystic law of the lotus sutra’

embrace inner buddha nature

3.3 Theravada- ‘namo buddhaya’

mantra paying homage to the buddha, ‘take refuge in the buddha’

3.3 tibetan- ‘om mani padme hum’

mantra- ‘hail to the jewel of the lotus’

3.4 kimsila sutta

imprtance of learning

• ‘should value the opportunity when a talk on dhamma’s in progress’

• ‘delighting in the dhamma’

• ‘understanding’s the heartwood’

3.5 vakkali sutta

‘he who sees dhamma sees me’; ‘he who sees me sees dhamma’

justification for objects of devotion

3.6 mangala sutta

buddha speaks of the greatest blessings, these can be cultivated through puja;

• ‘not to associate with the foolish, but with the wise’

• ‘to reside in a suitable locality’

• ‘to have much learning’

• ‘to support mother and father, to cherish wife and children’

• ‘to be generous in giving’

• ‘to loathe evil and abstain from it’

• ‘to be respectful’ etc

  ‘this is the greatest blessing’

3.7 anapanasati sutta

• buddha extended the rain retreat of vassa for an extra month, as he was happy with the progress

• praises the benefits of meditation (central to Vassa)

3.7 anapanasati sutta- kathina

praising the generosity of kathina

‘sort of assembly that is worthy of gifts, worthy of hospitality, worthy of offerings, worthy of respect, an incomparable field of merit for the world’

3.8 Tibetan book of the dead

• read to help guide the deceased through the transition period between lives

• eases attachments to this life

• deepens bodhisattva wisdom

4.1 ‘the universe in a single atom’ chapter 4- XIV Dalai Lama

• there are ‘definite limits to our scientific knowledge of the origin of our cosmos’

• ‘in buddhism the universe is seen as infinite and beginningless’

• ‘speculate about possible states of affairs’ before the Big Bang

4.2 1st precept- pancha sila, kuddakapatha

sanctity of life- ‘I undertake to abide by the precept to abstain from killing’

4.3 the parable of the arrow, cula-malunkyovada sutta

• ‘remember what is undeclared by me as undeclared, and what is declared by me as declared’

• questions about the cosmos are undeclared- therefore unimportant

• 4 noble truths and dhamma are declared- will lead to enlightenment and overcome suffering

4.4 first precept, Dalai Lama interview

abortion

• ‘do not kill’

• DL- ‘abortion should be approved or disapproved according to each circumstance’

• ‘act of killing, and is negative, generally speaking’

4.5 sahasodgata avadana, divyavadana 21

response to death and afterlife

• Buddha describes the wheel of life, which represents samsara

• represent collection of 38 buddhist stories

• these stories, or avadanas, revolve around individuals and how their actions in past lives affect Karma

4.6 brahmajala sutta

• contains various ideas about life after death

• opinions on perception continuation

• 62 beliefs

• buddha says all are wrong- people should follow the dhamma as it will help end craving and enable enlightenment by not lingering on unsolvable things

4.7 Dalai Lama, 1985

euthanasia

‘prolonging his existence is only going to cause difficulties and suffering for others, the termination of his life may be permitted’ according to buddhist ethics

4.7 vakkali sutta

• vakkali gravely ill- commits suicide

• decision not criticised by the buddha, doesn’t hider chances of enlightenment

• buddha has vision- when vakkali dies he will be liberated from the cycle

4.8 dhammapada 270

‘he who harms living beings is, for that reason, not an ariya (noble one); he who does not harm any living being is called an ariya’

4.8 buddhist declaration at Assisi environment conference 1986

• stresses the need for all to respect wildlife and the environment

• main threat to the world- human indifference to the effects of their actions on other creatures

• when this indifference ends, the world will return to peace and harmony