Buddhist teachings

Question 1

When and where was Siddhartha Guatama born?

Answer 1

2,500 years ago in lumbini Gardens, nepal

Question 2

What was the first of the four sights?

Answer 2

old man

Question 3

What was the second of the four sights?

Answer 3

sick man

Question 4

What was the third of the four sights?

Answer 4

dead man

Question 5

What was the last of the four sights?

Answer 5

holy man

Question 6

How did he feel when he saw the old man?

Answer 6

shocks him - he has never seen this before

Question 7

How did he feel when he saw the sick man?

Answer 7

disturbed him - realises illness is a reality of life

Question 8

How did he feel when he saw the dead man?

Answer 8

realises even kings will die

Question 9

How did he feel when he saw the holy man?

Answer 9

confuses and inspires him to learn more about suffering

Question 10

Where is the story of the four sights recorded?

Answer 10

Jatakas 075

Question 11

Why did Siddhartha leave the palace?

Answer 11

because he knew if he stayed at the palace he would find no answers, so he left in search of an answer

Question 12

When did Siddhartha eave the palace?

Answer 12

It is said that on the night of own son Rahula birth he left

Question 13

What is an ascetic lifestyle?

Answer 13

a life of barely the essentials

Question 14

Why did he want to live an ascetic life?

Answer 14

to learn how to overcome the problem of suffering

Question 15

Who inspired Siddhartha to live his ascetic life?

Answer 15

the holy man he saw - he was impressed by the sense of peace that he felt coming from him

Question 16

How long did he live his ascetic life?

Answer 16

6 years

Question 17

What did he do during his ascetic life?

Answer 17

• rejected anything that would give him pleasure
• practiced extreme self-discipline
• met and studied with various holy men
• practiced meditation with 2 ascetics

Question 18

What did Siddhartha do with his appetite?

Answer 18

he ignored it. he fasted for long periods of time, becoming increasingly hungry and weak. Stories say his body became so thin he looked like a living skeleton and suffered from terrible pain and hunger

Question 19

Why did he decide to give up his ascetic life?

Answer 19

he got offered a bowl of milk and rice from a young girl and accepted it because he was too weak to even meditate. His strength returned and he decided to quit because he was no closer to the truth of why people suffer and how to get rid of it.

Question 20

What did his ascetic life teach him?

Answer 20

• discipline
• willpower

Question 21

What did it not teach him?

Answer 21

a cure for suffering

Question 22

What is the middle way?

Answer 22

a life of moderation - not too much or too little

Question 23

How did he discover the middle way?

Answer 23

he worked out from living a luxury and an ascetic life, that neither gave him real answers. This lead him to develop a ‘middle way’ between two extremes that he had experienced.

Question 24

What were maras four distractions?

Answer 24

1. he sent his daughters to seduce Siddhartha
2. he sent his armies to attack him
3. he offered Siddhartha control of his kingdom
4. Mara himself tired to attack Siddhartha

Question 25

On the night Siddhartha got enlightened, he experienced 3 realisations which all happened over 3 different periods of the night. What were the three watches of the night?

Answer 25

1. he gained knowledge of all his previous lives 2. he understood the repeating cycle of life, death and rebirth, he understood how people were born depending in their karma and the importance of anatto (there is no fixed self)

Question 26

What was Siddhartha known as after he got enlightened?

Answer 26

Buddha

Question 27

What are the three refuges?

Answer 27

the Dhama, the Buddha and the Sangha

Question 28

Why is the Dhama important?

Answer 28

It means the truth and is full of all Buddhas teachings

Question 29

Why might some people say its is the most important?

Answer 29

It is all written by Buddha so in theory it should all be correct. He was enlightened and helped others to be so his teachings must work.

Question 30

Why might some people say it is not the most important?

Answer 30

It could unintentionally be misinterpreted. It also doesn't cover modern problems so you may interpret it wrong.

Question 31

Why is the Buddha important?

Answer 31

It makes people think "what would Buddha do?". He used his own experiences to help others and provides an example to follow.

Question 32

Why might some people say it is important?

Answer 32

no Buddha = no Buddhism he is just a man-if he could do it, anyone could

Question 33

Why might some people say it is not the most important ?

Answer 33

he is dead so you can no longer ask him about his teachings. Is it just a best guess?

Question 34

Why is the Sangha important?

Answer 34

It means community - all the Buddhists in the world ' ask a Buddhist'

Question 35

Why might some people say it is the most important?

Answer 35

It is real people giving real advice - offers real emotional support(tangible)

Question 36

Why might some people say it is not the most important?

Answer 36

People may give wrong advice - good intentions but misinterpreted. they may be having a bad day so give bad advice.

Question 37

What is the concept of dependant arising?

Answer 37

It is the idea that all things arise(come to exist) because of particular conditions and then continue to depend on things. (eg. a tree depends on soil, rain and sunshine to survive). Nothing can exist independently - nothing is eternal, everything is constantly changing.

Question 38

What is the Tibetan wheel of life?

Answer 38

It illustrates the process of dependant arising in relation to human life, death and rebirth.

Question 39

What is nirvana/nibbana?

Answer 39

A state of freedom, peace and happiness.

Question 40

What are the three marks of existence?

Answer 40

1. suffering (dukkah) 2. impermanences (annica) 3. Having no permanent, fixed self or soul (anatta)

Question 41

What is Dukkha?

Answer 41

- suffering is more than pain and being unsatisfactory - to stop suffering you follow buddhist teachings - when achieving enlightenment it's believed there is no more suffering. There are physical and mental states of suffering. Nothing in life is perfect

Question 42

What is Anicca?

Answer 42

- accepting that all things will change-we suffer less - nothing stays the same and nothing lasts forever - Buddhists believe that accepting all things change will lead to less suffering

Question 43

What is Anatta?

Answer 43

- our actions depend on our mood so therefore we can have no fixed self and are constantly changing - a person can only exist if all parts are ordered - means no fixed self or soul - previous life can't be remembered - we are just a collection of changing characteristics