Theology and Philosophy EOY 2025 Buddhism Unit Flashcards
(14 cards)
What were the four sights Siddhartha Gautama saw?
Old Man
Sick Man
Dead Man
Ascetic (Person who sacrifices all goods and live a life of self denial).
Why did Siddhartha Gautama want to go out?
When Siddhartha Gautama was about to be born, it was predicted that he would become a great leader or a spiritual person who would bring enlightenment to the world. His father wanted him to become a great leader, so he placed every single distraction in the house so he wouldn’t be curious of the outside world. Despite his father’s efforts he still convinced his chariot driver to take him into the outside world where he encountered four sights as mentioned above.
Samvega Definition
When you feel a sense of shock and dismay and realising that the world is not perfect and involves suffering.
What did Gautama learn after seeing the four sights?
What he learnt was that he had been living a life of luxury without realising that there is suffering in the world. In addition, he was ready to set on a spiritual quest to figure out on how to achieve enlightenment and get rid of suffering from the world after seeing the ascetic man.
Why do you think the Buddha resorted to beginning an ascetic lifestyle?
The Buddha resorted to begin an ascetic life style because he must have felt really shameful realising that this world involves suffering and that he was living a life of luxury. So he wanted the whole world to get rid of that suffering and have that life of luxury. Furthermore, he wanted to enter other people’s foot steps and understand how it feels like to be in the outer world.
What did Siddhartha Gautama do for 6 years with other ascetics.
Siddhartha Gautama had started to live a life of struggle by fasting for six years and doing meditation. However, his body got so thin that he had take some food by a woman merchant. The other ascetics were not happy and kicked Siddhartha Gautama out. Then he went to the middle way which I will talk about in the next card.
What was The Nobble EightFold Path
The nobble eightfold Path explains us a way on how to achieve enlightenment by going through the middle way. Siddhartha Gautama followed the middle way because he couldn’t manage the 6 year fasting. He thought that he should be in the middle of living a luxurious life and in living a life of self denial.
What are the three main things in the noble EightFold Path
Ethics = Right Speech, Right action and right lively hood
Meditation = Right Effort, Right mindfulness and Right Concentration
Wisdom = Right understanding and right intentions
What is the purpose of the 5 moral precepts
The y are some guiding steps on how to achieve enlightenment e.g. not talking life.
What are the 5 moral precepts?
1)Refrain From taking Life
2)Don’t take of what is not yours
3)Refrain the misuses of senses
4) Refrain form having toxic stuff which is harmful to the mind
5) Refrain from wrong speech.
What are the four noble truths?
Dukha= Knowing that the world contains suffering and is imperfect.
Samudaya = Knowing that there is a reason why there is suffering in the world (cravings and desires)
Nirodah = Knowing that suffering can be stopped
Maga = Excepting that there is a way to end suffering (the noble eightfold path)
How is suffering explained in Buddhism
Suffering is explained in a way that you have to admit that there is suffering in the world due to craving and desire and if we get those things out of that habit we can get rid of suffering
What is the name of the cycle when we experience life, death and rebirth
Samsara
What are the differences in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism
The differences is that Theravada strive to become arhats and try to achieve enlightenment and get out of the process of samsara or also known as reaching nirvana. However, Mahayana Buddhists want to help other people achieve enlightenment.
