Religous studies - Buddhism
Learn
Practice Test
Spaced Repetition
Match
Flashcards1/162
Earn XP
Description and Tags
Religous studies - Buddhism
Name | Mastery | Learn | Test | Matching | Spaced |
|---|
No study sessions yet.
163 Terms
Jakataka Tales
Within the Sutta Pitaka they are stories about the previous life’s of the Buddha, often featuring animals as the main characters, teaching moral lessons through their narratives
The amount of rules the vinaya pitaka has for monks
In the Patimokkha, 227 rules are outlined
The amount of rules in the vinaya pitaka for nuns
There are 311 rules outlined in the Patikmokkha
Nirvana
The ultimate goal in Buddhism, representing the end of suffering and liberation from the cycle of birth and death.
Dharma
The teachings of the Buddha, encompassing the path to enlightenment and the principles guiding ethical conduct.
Karma
The law of moral causation, where one's actions directly influence future outcomes and experiences.
Sangha
The community of monks, nuns, and laypeople in Buddhism who follow the teachings of the Buddha and support one another on the path to enlightenment.
Mindfulness (Sati)
The practice of being aware and present in the moment, which is a key component of Buddhist meditation.
The Four Noble Truths
The foundation of Buddhist belief, outlining the nature of suffering, its cause, its end, and the path to its cessation.
The Eightfold Path
The guide to ethical and mental development in Buddhism, consisting of right understanding, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.
Zen Buddhism
A branch of Mahayana Buddhism focusing on meditation and direct experience as a path to enlightenment.
Buddha-nature
The inherent potential for enlightenment present in all beings, according to Mahayana Buddhism.
Meditation (Dhyana)
A central practice in Buddhism aimed at developing concentration, clarity, emotional positivity, and a calm seeing of the true nature of things.
Impermanence (Anicca)
The fundamental Buddhist concept that all things are in a constant state of change and that nothing is permanent.
Compassion (Karuna)
A significant quality in Buddhism, emphasizing the importance of seeking to alleviate the suffering of others.
Buddha
A title meaning “Fully awakened one”
Enlightenment
Deep understanding or awareness, often associated with profound insight into the nature of existence, reality and self
Ascetic
Someone who renounces family, community and earthly attachments to seek the path to liberation
Renunciation
To renounce, to give up something
The four sights
Old age, sickness, death and the ascetic - All which led Siddhartha Gautama to renounce his life of luxury, as it made him realise the impermanence and dissatisfaction of continued existence
Who was Siddhartha Gautama
The Buddha, born to a Indian royal family of King Suddhodana and Queen Maya around 2500 years ago in Lumbini (Modern day Nepal), he renounced his life of worldly pleasures and became the primary figure in Buddhism, teaching and guiding others
Where the Buddha gained enlightenment
Bodh Gaya
The four sights - The old man
Made him realise the inevitability of aging and the suffering associated with it. Shattering his illusion of eternal youth, leading him to contemplate the nature of existence
The four sights - The Sick man
This confronted him with the reality of suffering and the vulnerability of the human body.
The four sights - A corpse
This made him realise the importance of life itself and the inevitability of death, serving as a reminder of the fragility of human existence.
The four sights - Sadhu / The Ascetic
This planted the seed of renunciation in Siddhartas’s heart, seeing sadhu’s quest for spiritual enlightenment inspired him to follow the path beyond worldly suffering, to attain liberation from the samsara cycle
The great renunciation
Siddhartha wanted to find a way to end all suffering for everyone. He knew his current lavish life wouldn’t bring any answers so he renounced this life, leaving his family and the palace to become a sadhu/ascetic himself.
The ten acts of the Buddha
Conception
Physical Birth
Accomplishment in worldly skills
His youth: life of pleasure and indulgence
Leaving the palace
Life as an ascetic
Victory over Mara
Enlightenment
Spreading the teaching
Death of passing away
Why the Buddha is important
He attained enlightenment, he taught the vital teachings and he is a role model for Buddhists
Why the Buddha is important for Buddhists today
A spiritual guide, helping Buddhists today deal with life’s challenges, his teachings provide values like compassion, non-violence and mindfulness, helping them to live ethically and many Buddhists will participate in rituals, meditation and community activities, which are inspired by the Buddha’s life and teachings, helping them to stay connected to their faith
The 3 Marks of Existence
It’s believed to be the 3 characteristics that are t common across everything in life, understanding them is believed to help Buddhists attain Nirvana/Nibbana.
Nirvana/Nibbana
An indescribable state, held in Buddhism to be the ultimate goal of religious practice, involving breaking of from the cycle of Samsara
The 3 marks of existence - Dukkha
Suffering, frustration or dissatisfaction - Life is filled with some form is dissatisfaction or suffering. This doesn’t mean that life is only about suffering but that suffering is a natural part of the human existence
The 3 marks of existence - Anatta
Nonself / No soul - There’s no permanent, unchanging self. What we considered “self” is actually a collection of changing physical and mental components.
The 3 marks of existence - Annica
Impermanence - Everything in life changes / is always changing. Nothing stays the same as everything is a subject to change
The five skandhas
This concept explains what makes up a person. The Buddha taught that what we think of as “self” is just a collection of these 5 components
The five skandhas - Form (rupa)
Referring to the spiritual body and all physical things. Including not just out bodies but also the things we perceive with our senses
The five skandhas - Sensation (Vedana)
The feelings and sensations that we experience - Can be pleasant, unpleasant or neutral
The five skandhas - Perception (samjna)
Recognising and identifying things. How we make sense of the world. Helping us to identify and label our experiences
The five skandhas - Mental formations
All mental activities and impulses which shape our actions, including thoughts, ideas, attitudes, intentions and habits
The five skandhas - Consciousness
The amount of experience and basic awareness of being alive, allows us to be aware of the four other agreggates
Why the five skandhas are important
They create the experience of life. Buddhist believe that there is no singular permanent form of “self” but rather a constantly changing combination of these elements. This insight is key to reducing attachments and suffering in the path towards enlightenment
The four noble truths
The four principles that the buddha used to explain how we can overcome suffering and gain liberation from the samsara cycle.
The first noble truth
Dukkha - The truth of suffering
The second noble truth
Samudaya - The origin of suffering
The third noble truth
Nirodha - The truth of Cessation of suffering
The fourth noble truth
Magga - The truth to the path to the cessation of suffering
The doctors analogy
This refers to the four noble truths as if going to a doctors, 1 is getting a diagnosis, 2 is finding the cause of the illness, 3 is the end of the illness and 4 is the prescription for the illness, Buddha being the doctor and knowledge of the Dharma being treatment.
The 3 types of suffering
. Suffering
. Change
. Attachment
Tanha
Thirst of craving, its the cause of suffering
The 3 types of Tanha
. Cravings which please the senses
. Cravings to become something
. Cravings to remove something
The 3 poisons
Ignorance, Greed and hatred - Keeps us trapped in the samsara cycle
The threefold way
The 3 sections that the eightfold path is split up into:
. Ethics (sila)
. Meditation (Sandha)
. Wisdom (Panna)
Ethics (Sila)
Comprises of right speech, rights action and right livelihood - Connected with good morals and behaviour
Meditation (Samadhi)
Comprises of Right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration - The idea that effective meditation can help to develop wisdom and calm your mind, so that you can think clearly and notice what’s happening around you and be more aware of your feelings
Wisdom (Panna)
Comprised of Right understanding and right intention - Allowing one to overcome ignorance and gain wisdom so one can truly understand the nature of reality and the Buddha’s teachings.
The eightfold path - Right speech
Speaking truthfully in a helpful, positive way: avoiding lying or gossiping about others
The eightfold path - Right action
Behaving in a peaceful, ethical way: avoiding acts such as stealing, harming others or indulging in sensual ways
The eightfold path - Right livelihood
Earning a living in a way which doesn’t harm others
The eightfold path - Right effort
Putting effort into meditation, in particular thinking positively and freeing yourself from negative emotions and thoughts
The eightfold path - Right mindfulness
Becoming fully aware of yourself and the world around you; having clear sense of your own feelings and thoughts
The eightfold path - Right concentration
Developing a mental concentration and focus that is required to meditate
The eightfold path - Right understanding
Understanding the Buddha’s teachings (particularly about the four noble truths
The eightfold path - Right intention
Having the right approach and outlook to following the eightfold path; being determined to follow the Buddhist path with a sincere attitude
What is used to represent the eightfold path
A wheel
Theravada (summary)
There is only 1 Buddha
The Buddha is a human being
The buddha is an example
Attaining enlightenment is a rare thing
Mahayana (Summary)
There are many Buddhas
There are celestial Buddhas / the buddha’s which represent reality
As well as being examples enlightened beings help others to attain enlightenment
Everybody has the Buddha nature and Buddha hood is a possibility
Bodhisattva
“Enlightenment Being” - Those who postpone their final entry into nirvana in order to help others achieve enlightenment. Some Buddhist may ask them for assistance on their path
What sect of Buddhism recognises Bodhisattva
Mahayana Buddhism does
What is the ultimate goal for Mahayana Buddhists
To become Bodhisattvas
The vow of a Bodhisattva
“However innumerable sentient beings are; I vow to save them”
The Six Perfections
Generosity
Morality
Patience
Energy
Meditation
Wisdom
Types of Bodhisattvas
Earthly Bodhisattva
Transcendent Bodhisattva
Transcendent Bodhisattva
They remain in some region between earth and nirvana as spiritual beings. However they remain active in the world, appearing in different forms to help others and lead them to enlightenment. Mahayana Buddhists will pray to them in times of need
Earthly Bodhisattva
These bodhisattvas continue to be reborn in the world and live on earth
Two important qualities within Mahayana Buddhism
Wisdom and Compassion
How is space and time viewed in Buddhism
That it is infinite
How is the creation and the end of the world viewed in Buddhism
That the Buddha never spoke of a creation nor end to the world, or that the human realm was the only one. Mahayana Buddhism speaks of other realms than this one each of which has its own Bodhisattva or Buddha
Avalokitesara
One of the most popular of the celestial Bodhisattva his name means “He who hears the cries of the world”
Manjusri
A Bodhisattva depicted with a flaming sword, which cuts through ignorance and delusion. He is the Bodhisattva of wisdom
Amida (Amitabha skt)
Was once a king but renounced his life to become a monk, he made a vow to bring all beings to enlightenment. Vowing to assure their rebirth in the Pure land where enlightenment would be instant
What Mahayana Buddhist believe about the Bodhisattva
That these beings are existing in a time and space separate from our own, yet still available to us in the here and now
The amount of verses in the Dhammapada
There were 423 verses which are divided into 26 chapters
The Dhammapada’s influence
Provides Moral conduct
Provides moral discipline
Provides wisdom and insight
Provides community and tradition
Provides daily inspiration
The focus of the Lotus Sutra
Universal potential for Buddhahood
Compassion and Skilful Up means
Eternal life of the Buddha