Buddhust Beliefs Flashcards
(23 cards)
What were the four sights?
-Old man - he learned that we all grow older and do not stay the same
- Sick man - he learned everyone get sick at some point
- Dead man- he learned that we do not live forever
-Holy man - he wanted to become a wandering truth seeker
Why did Siddhartha leave his life of luxury?
- To find the truth of suffering as he had been shielded from his whole life
What is an ascetic
Someone who lives a very simple strict life with a few pleasures or possessions
What are the three watches of the night?
- he gained knowledge of his past lives
- He understood the circle of life death and rebirth
- He realised why suffering happens and how to overcome it
What are the three refuges?
- ‘ to the BUDDHA for refuge I go. To the DAHAMMA for refuge, I go. To the SANGHA for refuge, I go.’
What are the four noble truths?
- Dukka - truth of suffering
- samudaya - truth of origin of suffering
- nirodha - truth of end of suffering
- magga - truth of path leading to the end of suffering
What is dukkha-dukkha?
Ordinary pain or suffering. It is used to describe both physical and mental suffering for example breaking a leg.
What is vipiranama-dukkha
Suffering caused by change. One of the Buddhas teachings is that things are impermanent things are always changing.
What is Sankhara-dukkha
Suffering caused as a result of attachment. When people crave and try to hold onto things that they’re attached to, they suffer. It is more to do with a general dissatisfaction with life that arises from many things for example getting older.
Samudaya - the cause of suffering
- there are three root causes of suffering which are the three poisons. greed, hate and ignorance
- The Buddha taught that the underlying cause of all this suffering is tangha, which means ’thirst’ or ‘ craving’
Nirhoda - truth of end of suffering
Importance:
- teachers that it is possible to achieve happiness and that although suffering is an unavoidable part of life, it is also possible to overcome it.
Features of enlightenment
- Gains knowledge of past lives
- Will not be reborn
-Naturally behaves in a way that follows the precepts - Knows the four noble truths
What is Nirvana?
- The state of completing enlightenment, happiness, and peace
- Freed from the cycle of Samsara
Sections of the eightfold path
- Right understanding
- Right intention
- Right effort
- right mindfulness
- right concentration
- Right speech
- Right action
- Right livelihood
What are the three marks of existence?
- dukkha
- anicca
- anatta
What is anicca
- impermanence
- Story of the mustard seed : woman realises everyone has experienced death and she becomes at peace with the fact her son is dead. Acceptance.
- People suffer because they can’t adapt to change or they don’t expect it
What is anatta
-No fixed self
- Story of the chariot : the chariot is a name given to a collection of different parts and humans are a collection of different parts. There is not a separate self independent from these parts.
What is dukkha
- suffering, dissatisfaction
What are the five aggregates?
- form : material or physical objects, e.g. a house
- Sensation : feelings that occur when someone comes into contact with things
- Perception : recognition of things based on previous experiences
- Mental formations : thoughts based on experiences
- Consciousness : awareness of things around them
What is dependent arising?
The idea that all things arise in dependence upon conditions
What is the Tibetan wheel of life?
An image that symbolises Samsara often found Tibetan Buddhist monasteries
What is a bodhisattva
Someone who sees their own enlightenment is being bound up with the enlightenment of all beings.
- ‘However a numerable sentient humans beings are I’ve able to save them’
What is an arhat
One who has gained insight into the true nature of existence (perfected person) however they have not yet been enlightened
