Buddhism beliefs and teachings Flashcards
(49 cards)
1
Q
What are the two main divisions of Buddhism?
A
Mahayana Buddhism and Theravada Buddhism
2
Q
What is Theravada Buddhism often referred to as?
A
The traditions of the elders
3
Q
What is the goal of Theravada Buddhism?
A
-To become an arhat (a perfected being) and leave the cycle of samsara and reach nirvana.
4
Q
What does it mean to become an arhat?
A
- you have followed the eightfold path
- you have blown out the 3 poisons of greed, hatred and ignorance
- you have become enlightened
5
Q
What is the goal of Mahayana Buddhism?
A
to achieve enlightenment (same way) by following the teachings of the Buddha but it not quite as strict as Theravada Buddhism.
6
Q
What is the goal of Mahayana Buddhism?
A
- to become a Bodhisattva- someone who attains enlightemnent but chooses to stay in the cycle of samsara and help others become enlightened.
- driven by the idea of compassion
7
Q
What is the threefold way?
A
ethics, meditation and wisdom
8
Q
What is the purpose of the Eightfold path?
A
It is the path to achieve liberation from suffering and reach nirvana, escaping samsara.
9
Q
What is the Dhamma?
A
The truth- it is made up of anicca, anatta, and dukkha. It was created by the Buddha.
10
Q
What is the core of Buddhism?
A
We all have the potential to achieve enlightenment if we overcome our desires and craving. We all have Buddha-nature.
11
Q
What is Dukkha?- 1st noble truth
A
Life is suffering because of desire, craving,attatchment, ignorance,hatred. (like the disease).
12
Q
A
Suffering is caused by craving, desire, attatchment. Believing there is a fixed permanent self.
13
Q
A
The cure to suffering is non-attatchment. There is not actually a permanent self. There is no fixed self. All life is suffering.
14
Q
What is the 4th noble truth?
A
the path
15
Q
What was the birth of the Buddha like?
A
Queen Maya dreamed that a white elephant came down from heaven, entering her womb from the right side
- the elephant told her that she would give birth to a holy child, and that when he was born, he would achieve perfect wisdom.
- about 10 month later, when the baby was almost due, Queen Maya began the journey home to her parents’ house, where she had planned to give birth and on her way she stopped at the Lumbini Gardens to rest where she gave birth to her son.
- the king sought advice from a Brahman priests about this dream and they said Maya would have a holy child who would achieve perfect wisdom
- According to legend, he could immediately walk and talk with no support. With every step he took, a lotus flower sprang up from the earth beneath his feet.
- He then stopped and said, ‘No further rebirths have I to endure for this is my last body.Now I shall destroy and pluck out by the roots the sorrow that is caused by birth and death.’
16
Q
What prophecy was made shortly after the Buddha’s birth?
A
He would either become a great king or a revered holy man.
17
Q
Siddhartha’s life of luxury
A
- His father, Suddhodhana was determined that Siddhartha would grow up to become a great king so he decided to protect Siddhartha from any pain, sadness, disappointment or suffering that he might experience in life
- Suddhdana did not want his son to seek religion and become a holy man
- he also thought that if his son became attatched to a life of luxury, he would not want to leave the palace.
- despite being spoilt and pampered while growing up, traditional stories say Siddhartha was a good and kind person. At the age of 16, he married his cousin Yasodhara.
18
Q
What are the four sights the Buddha saw?
A
Old age, illness, death and a holy man.
19
Q
How did Siddhartha encounter the 4 sights?
A
He decided to leave the palace grounds with Channa at the age of 29.
20
Q
Old age- 1st sight
A
- Siddhartha and Channa may not have gone very far before encountering a frail old man
- he had never witnessed this before in real life
- he was shocked- this was his first real experience of old age.
21
Q
Illness-2nd sight
A
- some stories say that Siddhartha asked Channa to take him back to the palace, and he saw the other 3 sights on separate visits to the city
- others say Siddhartha saw all 4 sights on his first and only visit to the city
- Siddhartha saw someone lying in the road in agony. This disturbed him as he hadn’t seen sickness or illness before, and he began to understand that illness was a part of life.
22
Q
3rd sight: death
A
- Siddhartha then saw a dead man being carried through the streets in a funeral procession
- some say this struck him even more deeply
- first time he had seen death
- realised death came to everyone
- if someone was born, they would grow older, be ill, suffer and die. There was no escape, even for kings.
23
Q
4th sight: a holy man
A
- walking calmly through the city was a man dressed in rags and carrying an alms bowl
- peaceful expression on his face impressed Siddhartha very much
- felt inspired to be like this holy man and become a wandering truth seeker
- this could have been perhaps the beginning of Siddhartha’s quest to search for the answer to the problem of why people suffer, and how to stop that suffering.
24
Q
Determination for meditation
A
“Let only my sin, sinews and bone remain and let the flesh and blood in my body dry up; but not until I attain the supreme Enlightenment will I give up the seat of meditation.”
25
What happened after Siddhartha's ascetic lifestyle?
- He began to meditate
| - traditional stories : Mara, evil one, tried to stop Buddha from achieving his enlightenment.
26
What were the different tactics Mara tried?
- he sent his daughters to seduce Siddhartha
-he sent his armies to attack SIddhartha
- he offered Siddhartha control of his kingdom
Mara himself tried to attack Siddhartha.
27
How is the Buddha regarded by Buddhists?
As the 'enlightened one' or 'awakened one'
28
Where was Siddhartha Gotama born?
In Lambini in 500 BCE to a royal house
29
Who were Siddhartha's parents?
Queen Maya and King Suddhodhana
30
What was his mother's dream?
A white elephant entered her womb and informed her that her child would be holy and achieve perfect wisdom.
31
What did legend state after he was born?
- he could immediately walk and talk
- with each step he took, a lotus flower grew and he stated that he could endure no more rebirths and he would bring an end to the sorrows caused by birth and death,
32
What was the early life of the Buddha like?
- his father wanted Siddhartha to follow in his footsteps and be a great leader but not of the religious kind
- he raised him in extreme luxury and sheltered him from the realities of the world
- he was pampered but it did not quench his curiosity
- he went with his man servant Channa outside the palace and encountered the four sights for the first time in his life
- he saw old age, sickness, death and a holy man
- the holy man, although he wasn't affluent, had such an expression of peace that left a mark on Siddhartha
- He was influenced by this man to become a wandering truth seeker
- Buddha wanted to find out the cause of suffering and to find a solution. He left behind the palace and his wife and son.
33
After trying methods that didn't work for him, what did the Buddha do?
He decided that the best way to obtain the answers was via meditation. (note: when he began to meditate, Mara came)
34
Where did Buddha sit to meditate?
Under a peepul tree
35
What did Siddhartha do in response to Mara's attacks?
- he ignored the temptations of Mara's daughters
- arrows directed at him from the armies turned to flowers before they could hit him
- towards the end of his meditation, Mara claimed that only he had the right to sit in the place of enlightenment and his soldiers were his witnesses.
- he claimed that wihtout anyone to witness his enlightenment, Siddhartha would not be believed. Siddhartha then touched the earth and it shook to acknowledge his right to sit under the peepul tree.
36
What does the story of Mara show?
That Siddhartha remained focused on his meditation, and fear, lust or other negative emotions were overcome with a disciplined mind.
37
What were the three Watches of the Night and what did they lead to?
-During the three periods of the night Siddhartha became enlightened, he came to three realizations:
1, knowledge of his previous lives
2, The cycle of death-rebirth and karma (samsara) and the idea of anatta- that there is no fixed self
3, Why suffering happens and how to overcome it
It was after this that he became known as the Buddha.
38
How does Christianity teach that humans are made up of?
Three part: the body, soul and spirit
39
How does Christianity see the part of a human?
Although they do interact, they are seen as separate or distinct part of the human being each with specific functions.
40
What does Christianity believe about the soul?
The soul is eternal and may end up in one of two places, so in a sense it is a fixed entity with a specific identity.
41
What is the human personality in Theravada Buddhism?
Anatta
- "non-self" or "no self" in Buddhism, the doctrine that there is in humans no permanent underlying substance that can be called the soul.
- No one has a fixed self or permanent soul. There is no permanent essence to the human that is permanent or eternal
- Instead, the individual constituted of five factors or aggregates (skandhas) that are constantly changing
- These five parts interact with each other to make up a person's identity and personality.
42
Nagasena and the cariot
- one day a monk called Nagasena arrived at the court of King Milinda
- the king asked Nagasena what his name was
- the monk replied that he was known as Nagasena, but that was merely his name, without any reference to a real self ir person
- the king was confused by this
- Nagasena asked the king how he had arrived that day
- the king said he had arrived by chariot
- Nagasena asked him to point out what a chariot was and he did
- Nagasena then said that a chariot is not the wheels or the axle or the yoke, but is actually something separate to these things
- Like the term 'chariot', 'Nagasena' is merely a name used to refer to a collection of parts
- a person exists in relation to the parts they are made up of. There is not a separate 'self' that is independent from these parts.
43
What are the five aggregates (skandhas)?
1,Form- things that make up person’s bodies or other objects or people-e.g. my knee
2,Sensation-our feelings or sensations that occur due to contact with things -physical (pain) and emotional-joy at seeing a friend- e.g. my knee hurts
3, Perception-our ways of understanding and perceiving or interpret things are based on previous experiences. My knee hurts because I bashed it against the door. This has happened before
4,Mental formations-ones thoughts and opinions – how they respond mentally to things they experience-likes and dislikes, attitudes to different things- e.g I want my knee to stop hurting; I don’t like the pain.
5,Consciousness –general awareness of the world around them- Awareness of all the above processes
44
What do the five aggregates help Buddhists to understand?
The processes of sense perception, craving and how people may develop habits
45
The four noble truths
- they are said to contain the essence of the Buddha's teachings
- They were discovered while he meditated under the peepul or bodhi tree
- The first teachings he gave to five ascetics during his first sermon
46
How do Buddhists aim to understand the four noble truths?
- through study, reflection and other practices
47
What is the significance of the 4 Noble truths in Mahayana Buddhism?
- For Theravada Buddhists, understanding of these truths leads to enlightenment
48
What is key to understanding the 4 noble truths in Mahayana Buddhism?
The development of compassion
49
What are the four noble truths?
1, the truth of suffering- dukkha (suffering exists)
2, the truth of the cause of suffering- Samudaya (it is caused by something)
3, The truth of the end of suffering- nirodha (suffering can end)
4, The truth of the path to end of suffering - magga (there is a way or means to end it)
