Final Exam Review Guide – Part 5 – Material From Unit 4

Final Exam Details

• The final exam is worth 25 points out of the total 100 points for the semester grade.
• The exam consists of 75 objective questions.
• The questions are distributed across the major units studied.
  • 15 questions from the Islam material (Part 1).
  • 25 questions from the Judaism unit.
  • 10 questions from each of the first four units (Units 1–4).
• Clarify any unclear concepts before the exam by asking questions during class.

Unit 4 Material

I. Key Terminology

Daoism

• Dao: The fundamental principle of the universe, the way of nature.
• Wu Wei: Non-action, effortless action, acting in accordance with nature.
• Qi: Vital energy or life force.
• Yin and Yang: Complementary opposites that create balance and harmony.
• Ziran: Naturalness, spontaneity.
• Laozi: Founder of Daoism.
• Zhuangzi: An important Daoist philosopher.
• Dao De Jing: The central text of Daoism.
• Farmer and the Horse Parable: Illustrates how what seems bad can be good, and vice versa.
• The Butterfly Dream: Zhuangzi's philosophical reflection on reality and illusion.

Confucianism

• Confucius: Founder of Confucianism.
• Ren: Humaneness, benevolence, goodness.
• Li: Ritual, etiquette, proper conduct.
• Yi: Righteousness, justice, morality.
• Junzi: The superior person, a model of moral excellence.
• Filial piety (Xiao): Respect and obedience to parents and ancestors.
• Five Relationships: Ruler and subject, parent and child, husband and wife, elder sibling and younger sibling, friend and friend; the parent and child relationship is reciprocal.
• Tian: Heaven, the ultimate moral authority.
• The Analects: A collection of Confucius' teachings.

Shinto

• Kami: Spirits or deities in Shinto.
• Shinto: The indigenous religion of Japan, emphasizing reverence for Kami.
• Izanagi and Izanami: Creator deities in Shinto mythology.
• Amaterasu: Sun goddess, a major deity in Shinto.
• Purification: Cleansing rituals in Shinto.
• Torii Gate: Traditional Japanese gate that marks the entrance to a Shinto shrine.
• Misogi / Temizu / Ōharae: Different forms of purification rituals.
• Imperial Shito: Shinto practices associated with the Japanese Imperial family.
• “Kamikaze”: Divine wind, used historically to refer to efforts that rely on a divine intervention.

Buddhism

• Dukkha: Suffering, unsatisfactoriness.
• Tanhā: Craving, thirst, desire.
• Anattā: Non-self, the absence of a permanent self.
• Anicca: Impermanence, the changing nature of reality.
• Nirvāṇa: Liberation, the cessation of suffering.
• The Four Noble Truths: The foundation of Buddhist teachings.
• The Eightfold Path: The path to liberation.
• The Three Poisons: Ignorance, greed, and hatred.
• Bhavacakra: The wheel of life, a symbolic representation of saṃsāra.
• Theravāda / Mahāyāna / Vajrayāna: Major branches of Buddhism.
• Bodhisattva: A being who delays their own enlightenment to help others.
• Śūnyatā: Emptiness, the lack of inherent existence.
• Upāya: Skillful means, adapting teachings to the audience.
• Ekayāna: The idea that all paths lead to Buddhahood.
• Zen: A school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing meditation and direct experience.
• Koan: A paradoxical riddle used in Zen practice to provoke enlightenment.
• Pure Land: A branch of Mahayana Buddhism focused on devotion to Amitābha Buddha.
• Nembutsu: Chanting the name of Amitābha Buddha.

II. Siddhartha’s Hero Journey

• Siddhartha's early life was surrounded by illusion (Maya).
• He saw the Four Sights: old age, sickness, death, and a renunciant.
• He pursued extreme asceticism but failed to find enlightenment.
• He discovered the Middle Way under the Bodhi Tree.
• He was “tempted” by Mara.
• He awakened and became the Buddha; his first sermon revealed the Four Noble Truths.
• He formed the Sangha: a community not based on conversion, but shared awakening.

Key Lessons from the Life of the Buddha

• Awakening requires seeing through illusion, not fleeing the world.
• Liberation is possible for all, not just elites.
• The sacred is rooted in experience, not in divine command.

III. Buddhist Core Doctrines

The Four Noble Truths

1. Dukkha – Life contains suffering.
2. Tanhā – Craving causes suffering.
3. Nirodha – Suffering can cease.
4. Magga – The Eightfold Path is the way to end suffering.

The Eightfold Path

• Grouped into three domains:
  • Wisdom: Right View, Right Intention
  • Ethics: Right Speech, Right Action, Right Livelihood
  • Mental Discipline: Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, Right Concentration

The Three Marks of Existence

• Anicca – Everything is impermanent.
• Dukkha – Nothing brings lasting satisfaction.
• Anattā – There is no permanent self.

IV. The Symbolism of the Bhavacakra

A symbolic diagram used in Buddhist monasteries to teach the nature of saṃsāra driven by ignorance, craving, and aversion.

Structure

• The Center: The Three Poisons
  • Pig – Represents Moha (Delusion): spiritual dullness, misperception, inertia.
  • Rooster – Represents Lobha (Grasping/Greed): compulsive attachment.
  • Snake – Represents Dosa (Aversion/Hatred): reactive rejection and hostility.
  • These Three Poisons keep the wheel turning.
• The Second Layer: Karma in Action
  • One half shows beings rising through virtuous action.
  • The other half shows beings falling due to unwholesome deeds.
  • This visual emphasizes that our choices shape our future, both spiritually and psychologically.
• The Third Layer: The Six Realms of Rebirth
  • Each realm represents a possible mode of existence—both cosmic and psychological.
  • We may be reborn here literally, but also live in these states in this life depending on our mind-states.
    • God Realm – Blissful but blind to suffering; represents spiritual pride and complacency.
    • Demi-God Realm – Jealousy and competition; always grasping, never content.
    • Human Realm – Most balanced; rare and precious, the best realm for seeking liberation.
    • Animal Realm – Instinctual life; ignorance, fear, and survival dominate.
    • Hungry Ghost Realm – Endless craving; beings with huge stomachs and tiny mouths.
    • Hell Realm – Torment and rage; caused by intense hatred or harmful actions.
• The Outer Rim: The Twelve Nidānas (Links) of Dependent Origination
  • Show the process by which suffering arises, beginning with ignorance and ending in old age and death.
  • Viewed as a chain reaction that can be interrupted at any link through insight.
• The Whole Wheel Is Held by Yama (The Lord of Death)
  • Yama is the guardian of impermanence
• The Moon and the Buddha
  • Outside the wheel stands the Buddha, pointing toward the moon of liberation.
    • This symbolizes that freedom from saṃsāra is possible.
    • The teachings are not meant to trap you, but to wake you up.

V. Mahāyāna and the Bodhisattva Ideal

• Śūnyatā – Emptiness; all things arise dependently.
• Upāya – Compassion shapes how truth is presented.
• Bodhisattvas – Compassionate beings who delay their own nirvāṇa
  • Avalokiteśvara / Guānyīn – Compassion
  • Mañjuśrī – Wisdom
  • Jizō – Protector of children and travelers
• Ekayāna – All paths ultimately lead to full Buddhahood

VI. Upāya and the Burning House (Lotus Sūtra)

• World = burning house; children unaware
• Father offers three carts (truths adapted to each child)
• One cart (the White Ox Cart) represents full awakening
• Truth is provisional—tools for liberation, not rigid dogmas

VII. Zen and Pure Land

Zen

• Emphasizes direct experience over doctrine
• Zazen (sitting meditation) is central
• Koans provoke awakening by shattering dualistic thought
• Awakening = sudden insight into one’s true nature

Pure Land

• Focus on faith and devotion to Amitābha Buddha
• Nembutsu: Chanting his name with sincerity brings rebirth in paradise
• Contrast between Tariki (other-power) and Jiriki (self-power)
• Response to spiritual exhaustion in the “degenerate age” (mappō)