As Revision Booklet

Chapter 1 – The origins of Buddhism 4

The Buddha’s historical, economic, sociological and religious background 4

Traditional accounts of the life of the Buddha 10

The origins of the sangha 14

Chapter 2 – The spread of Buddhism 16 The early spread of Buddhism – Asoka 16

Chapter 3 – Core concepts 19 Kamma, samsara and nibbana 19

The three refuges 23

The three marks of existence 25

Chapter 4 – Key teachings, attitudes and practices 29 The Four Noble Truths 29

The eightfold path 32

The fourfold sangha 35

The arhat and bodhisattva paths 39

Attitudes to the Buddha 42

Exam café 44

Resources 5 51

Activities 57

Exam café 90

Glossary 96

3.6 G576: AS Buddhism

Origins of Buddhism The historical, sociological, economic and religious background in India at the time of the Buddha

Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the influence of the following on the Buddha: • Hindu beliefs and practices; • contemporary religious ferment; • challenges to the traditional caste system; • conflict between the Kshatriya and the

Brahmin castes. Candidates should be able to discuss these areas critically.

Traditional accounts of the life of the Buddha Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the significance of the following:• the four signs; • ascetic practices; • enlightenment; • teaching; • the nature of the Buddha’s death. Candidates should be able to discuss these areas critically.

Origins of the sangha Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following: • development of vinaya rules; • lifestyle of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis. Candidates should be able to discuss these areas critically.

Spread of Buddhism The early spread of Buddhism Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and

understanding of the following: • the role of Asoka in spreading Buddhism,

fighting corruption in the sangha and formalising the scriptures.

Candidates should be able to discuss these areas critically.

Core Concepts kamma Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and

understanding of the following: • the concept of kamma; • karmic formations and karmic consequences. Candidates should be able to discuss these areas critically.

28 © OCR 2008 GCE Religious Studies v2

nibbana Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following: • the concept of nibbana; • the differences between nibbana and

parinibbana. Candidates should be able to discuss these areas critically.

samsara and rebirth Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following: • the concepts of samsara and rebirth; • the cycle of dependent origination; • the use of the Tibetan wheel of life to illustrate

the cycle of dependent origination; • the role of kamma; • the five khandas. Candidates should be able to discuss these areas critically.

The three poisons/three fires – greed, hatred and delusion

Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following: • the three poisons/three fires; • the role of the three poisons/three fires in

keeping the wheel of samsara in motion. Candidates should be able to discuss these areas critically.

The three refuges – Buddha, dhamma, sangha Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following: • the three refuges and their relative

importance; • the importance of the three refuges as a

statement of faith, their role as a support for Buddhists, their mutual interdependence, how they might be applied in practice.


The three marks of existence – anicca, anatta, dukkha

Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following: • the concepts of anicca, anatta and dukkha; • the relationship between the three marks of

existence and their relative importance; • whether belief in the three marks of existence

is helpful or consistent with human experience.


© OCR 2008 29 GCE Religious Studies v2

Key Teachings, Attitudes and Practices The Four Noble Truths – dukkha, samudaya, nirodha, magga (the eightfold path)

Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following: • the significance of the teaching delivered in

the Deer Park; • the concepts of and relative importance of the

Four Noble Truths; • the division of the eightfold path into prajna

(wisdom), sila (morality) and samadhi (concentration);

• the use of the Four Noble Truths. Candidates should be able to discuss these areas critically.

The fourfold sangha Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following: • the fourfold sangha; • the vinaya rules; • the relative status of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis;• the variations between forest and village

dwelling bhikkhus; • the relationship between the monastic sangha

and the laity; • the difficulties in following vinaya rules; • the ethical principles and practices for monks

and lay people. Candidates should be able to discuss these areas critically.

The arhat and bodhisattva paths Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following: • the relative importance of the arhat and

bodhisattva paths in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism;

• key aspects of each path; • the stages and perfections of the bodhisattva

path. Candidates should be able to discuss these areas critically.

Attitudes to the Buddha Candidates should demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the following: • differing attitudes to the Buddha in Theravada

and Mahayana Buddhism; • the trikaya doctrine; • the status of the Buddha. Candidates should be able to discuss these areas critically.

Where quotes from texts appear in examination papers, they will be taken from Buddhist Scriptures, trans. E. Conze, Penguin, (1969), 0140440887.

30 © OCR 2008 GCE Religious Studies v2

Chapter 1 – The origins of Buddhism 4 The Buddha’s historical, economic, sociological and religious background 4

Traditional accounts of the life of the Buddha 10

The origins of the sangha 14

Chapter 2 – The spread of Buddhism 16 The early spread of Buddhism – Asoka 16

Chapter 3 – Core concepts 19 Kamma, samsara and nibbana 19

The three refuges 23

The three marks of existence 25

Chapter 4 – Key teachings, attitudes and practices 29 The Four Noble Truths 29

The eightfold path 32

The fourfold sangha 35

The arhat and bodhisattva paths 39

Attitudes to the Buddha 42

The origins of Buddhism

4 © Pearson Education Ltd 2008

Aim

In this topic you will be able to explain how the Buddha may have been influenced by

the times in which he lived.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Do you think you need to know the origins of a religion to understand its current teachings and practices?

The origins of the Buddha

The term Buddha is a title used to refer to someone who has achieved enlightenment. The Buddha’s name prior to his

enlightenment was Siddhartha Gautama. Siddhartha lived and taught in the Ganges basin area of North East India.

Scholars disagree over the exact dates Siddhartha lived, but they were probably between 550–350 BCE.

• Siddhartha Gautama lived in North East India. This area was very fertile as a result of the water supplied by the River

Ganges.

At this time the area in which Siddhartha was living was undergoing great change. The political system was changing from

republics to monarchies, more land was being cultivated, population was growing and, as cities developed, there was

increased urbanisation. As a result many people in this period were questioning the prevailing religious ideologies, and

many new religious movements developed around this time. You can read more about the religious background of the

Buddha on the next page.

Although it is difficult to assess the exact extent to which Siddhartha’s teachings were affected by his background, most

Buddhist scholars have attempted to analyse the ways in which these factors may have influenced him.

The origins of Buddhism 1

The Buddha’s historical, economic, sociological

and religious background

The Buddha’s historical, economic, sociological and religious background

© Pearson Education Ltd 2008 5

• MAKING LINKS

Sociological, economic and religious factors are interrelated. As you read the next sections try to think about how

they could affect each other.


Do you think it is possible for a religious leader to deliver teachings which are unaffected by their cultural

background?

Social factors

Monarchies and republics

Prior to the time of Siddhartha the Ganges Basin area had been ruled by republics. Most of these republics controlled

relatively small areas. In most of these republics decisions were made by a committee of elders.

Siddhartha belonged to the Shakya tribe. This tribe was unusual in that it mixed elements from republics and

monarchies. The decisions tended to be made by a small aristocratic group of Kshatriyas. This group may have inherited

their roles through family status, or through their own age and social importance. Siddhartha’s father was one of these

leaders.

During Siddhartha’s time the republics were losing power, and several monarchies were increasing in size and importance,

including those at Magadha and Koshala. Siddhartha was acquainted with at least two of the kings of these growing

monarchies, Pasendi of Koshala and Bimbisara of Magadha. Shortly after the death of the Buddha the republics collapsed.

This may have been due to the existence of the monarchies. As the monarchies spread and covered larger areas they

placed increased pressure on the republics. The republics may have been unable to withstand the pressure and power of

these large monarchies.

Some scholars believe that the relationship between the Buddha and the kings, as well as the unique leadership among

the Shakya tribe, influenced the Buddha’s attitude to leadership. They note that the Buddha organised the sangha so that

decisions were made by consensus, like the republics, rather than appointing one leader. His experience of the

monarchies may have led him to question the wisdom of leaving power in the hands of one person.

Urbanisation

Along with the expansion of the monarchies, cities and towns began to grow. They were often centred on the royal courts,

but also developed where trade routes crossed.

Within these cities new roles developed which did not fit into the traditional caste system. This caused some people to feel

more uncertainty about their role in the contemporary social system. With greater population densities and increased

trade relations, people within these urban centres were more likely to come into contact with new ideas. This made them

more likely to question the status quo than those living in villages.

• ACTIVITY (AO1)

Note down how you think people might have reacted to the changes in society.

Fact Box

The class and caste system in India

Traditionally India was divided society into four varnas or classes.

Brahmins – priests and scholars

Kshatriyas – warriors and rulers

Vaishyas – merchants

Sudras – labourers

These classes were divided into hundreds of jatis or castes.



Economic factors

It is easy to think of India as a poor country compared to the West. Media images focus on problems such as those caused

by the Asian Tsunami in 2004, and as a result we tend to assume flood and famine are common. This was not the case at

the time of Siddhartha.

The Ganges Basin area was being cleared of the forests which dominated it, and as a result the soil was very fertile. In

addition the forests supplied many food resources for the inhabitants of the region. More land was being settled and

cultivated for rice growing. This land could be irrigated using water from the Ganges, ensuring year-round cultivation. As

rice cultivation began to increase and cattle rearing decreased, people were able to produce more resources for less effort.

This gave people more resources to trade and allowed them to pursue a wider range of activities, less directly related to

food production. Society could produce and trade a wider range of goods. They may also have had more leisure time, and

sought alternative activities to fill this time.

Some people argue that these changes were necessary in order for the Buddhist sangha to flourish. The sangha requires

donations of food and other materials for its survival and relies on the laity to provide these. If the laity are barely

meeting their own requirements they may not be able to provide these needs.


Do you think economic security gives people more freedom to explore religious ideologies and develop new religious

philosophies?

• MAKING LINKS

You need to be able to assess how far the factors described in this topic affected the Buddha’s teachings. When you

have studied chapters 2 and 3, return to this section and see if you can see any relationship between the Buddha’s

social and cultural experiences and his teachings.

The Buddha’s religious background

In some ways it is misleading to try and talk about religion as something separate to culture in the Indian context.

Thinking about religion as a separate factor is a fairly modern trend, and at the time of Siddhartha people would not have

thought about ‘following a religion’ in the way we do today. Thus it might be a mistake to think of the Buddha as

‘founding’ a religion. It is arguably more appropriate to consider him as a critic of his society, which as a side-effect

resulted in the creation of a subculture within this society. This subculture later became recognised as a religion.


Is it possible to separate religious beliefs and practices from culture?

Similarly the religion practised at the time of the Buddha was not Hinduism as it would be recognised today, but an

integral part of the culture. The prevailing religious elements of Siddhartha’s society were Brahmanism, based on the

Vedic society of the Aryans, and folk religion, which covers a multitude of popular beliefs and practices. These ideologies

were being challenged following the Aryan move into the Ganges Plain area, and the economic and social changes

explained on the previous pages. As a result there were many new philosophies developing, of which Buddhism was one

of the few survivors.

Fact Box

The origins of Hinduism

The origins of Hinduism are traced to the Indus Valley civilisation, around 2600 BCE. Relatively little is known

about this civilisation. Scholars have posited the existence of goddess worship based on the existence of pregnant

female figures. Some scholars have also pointed to a seated figure found on a seal as a ‘proto-Siva’, a forerunner to

the god Siva later seen in Vedic literature.

The Indus Valley civilisation ended around 1300 BCE, possibly due to a migration of Aryans from the North. Scholars

dispute whether this was a peaceful migration or an invasion. The Aryans are purported to have introduced the Vedic

religion, which was still prevalent at the time of the Buddha, and the caste system.



The prevailing religious ideologies

Brahmanism or Vedic Religion

Brahmanism was administered by the Brahmins, based upon the Vedas. The Vedas are a collection of literature probably

composed between 1500 and 500 BCE. The Vedas contained rituals designed to manipulate the deities and the sacred

power referred to as Brahman. It was believed that correct performance of a sacrifice by a Brahmin could control the

deities and compel them to act as the Brahmin had requested. This belief gave the Brahmins great status within society.

If, in essence, they controlled the deities then they were supreme.

An emerging issue at the time of the Buddha, however, concerned the nature of the sacrifice. Initially the sacrifices

demanded in Brahmanism appear to have been grain and milk. At the time of the Buddha, however, animal sacrifices had

become more common. The cost of these sacrifices often prohibited poorer members of society from participating in

Brahmanic religious practices.

At the time of the Buddha some Brahmins had left society to live in the forest. They began to use meditation, fasting and

ascetic practices as a form of internal sacrifice. These internal sacrifices replaced the rituals practised by most Brahmins.

The teachings of these forest-dwelling Brahmins led to the composition of the Upanishads. These were philosophical

speculations, based on the Vedas, about the nature of Brahman and atman.

Fact Box

Atman and Brahman

In the Upanishads Brahman is generally seen as the underlying reality of the world which is unchangeable. The

atman is seen as the essence of a person, which is identical to Brahman. There is speculation concerning how atman

and Brahman can be rejoined after death.

Whilst some Brahmins were well-respected, others appear to have relied on the patronage of kings. They were regarded

as arrogant and as more concerned with their own wealth than the religious needs of the people.

The Buddha was very critical of Brahmanical rituals, especially those involving expensive sacrifices.

• ACTIVITY (AO1)

Using two different coloured pens, create a mind map to record ideas which the Buddha agreed with, and those he

rejected from the religious practices of his day.

Folk religions

There was a great variety of what we now term folk religion at the time of the Buddha. Folk religion was generally

practised by the poorer members of society who could not afford the sacrifices demanded by Brahmanism. These practices

included various forms of fortune telling and prophecy, the use of charms and attempts to placate spirits and demons.

By the time of the Buddha some Brahmins had begun to practise these folk religions, possibly in exchange for recognition

and respect from the common people. Some scholars think that it was within these folk practices that Brahman became

personalised and viewed as a creator-God known as Brahma.

The Buddha’s attitude to the evil spirits found in folk religion was unusual. At the time the prevailing view was that these

spirits acted capriciously and without reason. The Buddha’s teachings included a being called Mara, who essentially

controlled all the evil forces arrayed against humanity. By giving all evil a common source, which had been routed by the

Buddha at the time of his enlightenment, Buddhism was able to show how evil could be overcome.

The Buddha’s attitude to folk religion was more ambivalent than that towards Brahmanism. The Buddha forbade the

sangha from participating in such practices, but did not condemn them.

• FOR DEBATE (AO2)

Why was the Buddha less hostile to folk religion than he was to Brahmanism?

Religious and philosophical responses to contemporary issues

Shramanas is a term used to refer to those who had rejected society and its expectations. It seems likely that originally

individuals from all walks of life simply rejected Brahmanism, dropped out of society, and travelled on their own,

discussing and debating ideas with other shramanas. As the power of the kings developed and they needed to show their

value to society they began to form loosely-organised groups.



Most shramanas rejected the teaching in the Vedas, however there were some shramanas who were (or had been)

Brahmins, as we saw above. Most shramana movements were based on a search for lasting happiness, believing that this

could not be found in contemporary society. Some shramanas believed that suffering was caused by ignorance, and thus

developed practices designed to overcome ignorance.

Buddhism and Jainism were both shramana movements which developed and grew into new religions over time. The

other movements listed below were also part of the shramana movement.

Ajivakas

The Ajivakas were initially successful enough to be a serious rival to Buddhism and Jainism, but later declined in

popularity. Their founder was Makkhali Gosala. The Ajivakas believed that all beings inevitably progressed from lower to

higher life-forms, with the life of an Ajivaka ascetic as the ultimate life. Although the Ajivakas practised severe austerities,

believing that starving to death was the best way to end their final life, they thought human action had no effect on this

progression.

Both the Buddha and Mahavira criticised the Ajivakas, believing that their views denied human responsibility for their

own actions.

Jainism

Fact Box

Mahavira is a title meaning Great Hero. Mahavira’s name was Vardhamana.

Mahavira, the founder of Jainism was a contemporary of the Buddha, though the two never met. Jains believe that

everything has a jiva or life-principle: even material objects such as stones. This jiva remains distinct from all else, unlike

the atman which can be absorbed completely into Brahman. Jains aim to release the jiva from the constant cycle of

rebirths. To do this they need to remove kamma gained in previous lives, which is seen as a form of matter, and avoid

generating new kamma. This is done by practising austerities, such as fasting, and the avoidance of any harm to others.

In Jainism kamma is gained through action rather than intention, so treading on an insect would result in kamma.

The Buddha shared the view of Mahavira on rebirth and ahimsa (non-harming), but he thought that kamma was affected

by intention as well as action.

• STRETCH AND CHALLENGE

Compare and contrast the teachings of Mahavira and the Buddha.

Materialists

Materialists focused on the material aspects of life. They believed that any kind of ‘self’ which might have existed during

life ceased at death. As a result there were no kammic consequences for actions, and it did not matter in the long-term

how people chose to act. In essence the Materialists believed that the only purpose to life, therefore, was to seek pleasure

in the most effective way possible. Whilst this could include sense pleasures (such as good food, pleasant physical feelings

and material possessions), the Materialists also sought pleasure in human relationships. In practice, most Materialists

seem to have lived in moderate ways, taking pleasure from the simple things in life, such as their friendships with others.

The Buddha characterised the Materialists’ views as annihilationist, and saw them as an extreme to be avoided through

the practice of the middle-way. He felt that meditation provided the evidence that kamma and rebirth were true, and

should not be denied.

Sceptics or Agnostics

At the time of the Buddha there were lots of contradictory religious teachings. These may have led to some people being

disillusioned by the lack of a ‘right answer’ in religious terms. One response to this contradictory and confusing religious

background was that of the Sceptics. They felt that there was no way to determine the truth, and thus debate and

discussion over religious matters was worthless. Instead they decided to avoid consideration of such matters for their own

peace of mind and focus positively on the development of friendships.

The Buddha referred to the Sceptics as ‘eel-wrigglers’ because they refused to criticise other views, or suggest views of

their own.



How did the Buddha react to his historical, sociological, economic and religious background?

As we have seen, at the time of the Buddha society was in a period of upheaval. As a result of economic and social

changes Brahmanism was being challenged by the various shramana movements. The caste system was being challenged

by increased urbanisation. One result of the challenges to the caste system was increased conflict between the Brahmins

and the Kshatriyas. The Brahmins had originally held the highest place within the caste system, due to their power over

nature and the deities gained as a result of the Vedic sacrifices. This status was already being challenged by the increased

variety of religious beliefs and practices. At the same time the Kshatriyas were gaining status. This was partly a result of

the new monarchies. The Kshatriyas had more responsibility for controlling and enforcing the monarch’s rule over their

peoples. This led to increased support from kings for Kshatriyas. The declining status of the Brahmins was thus further

challenged by the increased status of the Kshatriyas. Some Kshatriyas at the time of the Buddha felt they deserved the

highest place within the caste system.

We can consider whether the Buddha accepted some aspects of his society, rejected other ideas completely, and

reinterpreted other ideas.


Can you believe that the Buddha’s teachings were influenced by his background and accept that he revealed

universal truths?

What did the Buddha accept? What did the Buddha reject?

The concept of rebirth – due to the Buddha’s rejection of

the atman the process of rebirth had to be re-examined.

The authority of the Vedas.

The concept of liberation/nibbana – the rejection of the

concepts of Brahman and atman resulted in a new

understanding of what liberation consisted of.

The ritual practices outlined in the Vedas, for example

animal sacrifice – which he saw as worthless, given the

limited sphere of influence of the deities. He was also

concerned about the inequities of the sacrificial system.

The law of kamma – the Buddha emphasised the

importance of intention as well as action in determining

kammic consequences. The rejection of the caste

system also affected the way in which kamma was

gained.

The use of drugs, such as the hallucinogen soma

mentioned in the Vedas – the Buddha believed we

should have clear minds in order to ‘see the world as it

really is’.

Ignorance as the cause of suffering – the idea that

ignorance needed to be overcome in order to avoid

suffering was retained.

The class/caste system – the Buddha felt the system

was iniquitous as it failed to judge people on their own

actions. The Buddha was born a Kshatriya, but followed

a religious path which was only open to Brahmins within

the caste system.

Folk religions – The Buddha allowed the laity to practise

folk religion but monks were forbidden from doing so. By

placing the spirits and demons within samsara the

Buddha essentially humbled them, according them little

importance at an ultimate level.

Asceticism and luxury – he believed that neither could

provide an answer to the problem of suffering.

The Hindu Pantheon – As above, the Buddha placed the

deities within the cycle of samsara and this devalued

their importance, since they no longer had any power on

an ultimate level.

Materialism – which he saw as life-negating. He also

believed that if there were no consequences beyond this

life then there was no impetus for moral behaviour.

The concepts of Brahman and atman – the Buddha said

he could find no evidence to support these concepts.

• MAKING LINKS

The concepts of rebirth, kamma and nibbana will be discussed in more depth in the Core Concepts and Key

Teachings, Beliefs and Attitudes chapters.



Traditional accounts of the life of the Buddha

Aim

In this topic you will be able to explain the significance of key episodes in the

traditional accounts of the life of the Buddha.

How much do we know about the Buddha’s life?

If we open many books on Buddhism we can read an elaborate account of the Buddha’s life. These often start with a

description of his early life as the pampered son of a king, protected and cosseted until he saw the four signs. As we

have seen in the previous topic this is inaccurate, since Siddhartha’s father was not a king in this sense. So how did these

accounts arise, and what do we really know about the Buddha?

Fact Box

Buddha or bodhisattva?

Although we talk about the life of the Buddha this is a little imprecise. The term Buddha means enlightened one, so

technically should only be used to describe Siddhartha once he has achieved enlightenment. Prior to this he is a

bodhisattva. In Theravada Buddhism a bodhisattva is someone who has made a vow to become a Buddha under

a previous Buddha, and is following the path to Buddhahood.

What we do know about the life of the Buddha derives from accounts in the Pali Canon, particularly the sutta pitaka

and the vinaya pitaka. However, these scriptures are focused on what the Buddha thought, rather than offering a

biography of him. We catch glimpses of the Buddha’s life, but no overall account. Later traditions have elaborated these

glimpses to give a much fuller account of the life of the Buddha, though these cannot be relied upon for historical

accuracy. They do, however, reveal much about the way in which followers of the Buddha regarded him.

Fact Box

The Pali Canon

The Pali Canon was originally preserved as an oral tradition by members of the monastic sangha. It was recorded

in written form (in the Pali language) in the 1st century BCE in Sri Lanka. The Pali Canon is often called the tipitaka

(Pali) or tripitaka (Sanskrit), meaning three baskets. The original texts were written on palm leaves and stored in

baskets. The text is made up of three sections:

* sutta pitaka – the teachings of the Buddha

* vinaya pitaka – the rules for the monastic sangha

* abhidhamma pitaka – philosophical speculations.

When we examine the accounts of the life of the Buddha it is hard to determine historical fact from myth. It is arguably

more important for scholars to determine the significance of the symbolism of key events within these accounts for

Buddhists, then to try and discern the factual basis, if any, of the event.

Birth

Siddhartha’s conception is given symbolic importance in the traditional accounts. His mother Maya dreamed that a white

elephant entered her side. Elephants symbolise power and majesty, the colour white represents purity, and white

elephants are rare. This therefore symbolises that a rare, pure being of power had been conceived.

Before Siddhartha’s birth Maya was travelling to her relatives’ home. It was considered normal practice to do so. On the

way she stopped for a rest at Lumbini (see map on page 4). It was here she went into labour and gave birth. There are

varying accounts of this event, however they are all exceptional. Generally Maya is said to have stood up holding onto a

tree. In some accounts the trees lowered their branches for her to hold on to them. Siddhartha is born with little or no

1 The origins of Buddhism



pain for Maya, in some accounts through her side, and welcomed by the gods. He stands up and walks seven steps,

declaring that this would be his last rebirth. Siddhartha is believed to have been enwombed for precisely ten lunar

months, the perfect amount of time. Ten lunar months is exactly 40 weeks, the ideal length of a single pregnancy

according to doctors.

These accounts show how special the Buddha was. The attendance of the gods at the Buddha’s birth indicates his

importance, but might also be used to show the subservience of the gods to enlightened (or soon to be enlightened)

beings. The Buddha’s awareness that this was his last rebirth again indicates that this was not the birth of an ordinary

being, but one at the end of a long path.

Within a week Siddhartha’s mother had died, and he was raised by his aunt Pajapati, and his father Suddhodana.

Following his birth the astrologer Asita foretold that he would either see the four signs and become a Buddha, or become

a Universal Monarch. Wanting his son to become a Universal Monarch, Suddhodana protected him from the four signs.

Timeline of traditional accounts of the Buddha’s life

The four signs

Living a protected life within the palaces, Siddhartha was not exposed to the suffering we all experience as those around

us get sick or old and die. Although his mother died shortly after his birth Siddhartha was too young to have been aware

of this loss at the time. He therefore did not have direct experience of the processes of death, according to the traditional

accounts. Indeed his father is said to have cleared the routes of his processions of the infirm and elderly. Siddhartha

married Yasodhara, and had a son Rahula. Since he was provided with all the luxuries available at the time his life should

have been one of satisfaction. However, Siddhartha was not fulfilled. He and his charioteer Channa went out for a drive.

On this journey Siddhartha saw an old man. When Channa explained what old age was, and that it came to all people

Siddhartha was stunned. He was so shocked he immediately returned to the palace to reflect on what he had seen. On a

second journey Siddhartha was to see a sick man, and on the third a dead body. These three sights led him to understand

that not even his luxurious and protected life in the palace could protect him from suffering.

On his fourth journey with Channa, Siddhartha saw a shramana, and decided to seek an answer to the suffering he had

seen. He returned to the palace, took a last look at his sleeping wife and child, and then left to become a wandering

mendicant. A mendicant has left ordinary life behind to search for religious truths, relying on alms for support.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK? (AO2)

Should Siddhartha have left his wife and child in order to fulfil his own spiritual desires? Rahula and Pajapati later

joined the monastic sangha. Does knowing this affect your views?

• STRETCH AND CHALLENGE (AO2)

Early and late accounts of the renunciation

Compare the level of elaboration in the accounts above with that of this description in the Sutta Pitaka:

‘Later, while still young… I shaved off my hair and beard – though my father and mother wished otherwise and

grieved with tearful faces – and I put on the yellow robe and went forth from the house life into homelessness.’

Bhikkhu Nanamoli, The Life of the Buddha, BPS Pariyatti Editions, 2001

Most scholars do not even consider that this story should be taken as literally true. Indeed it is hard to imagine that

Siddhartha had never encountered death, old age and sickness. In order for this to be the case he would have to have

never had a childhood illness for example. The story is more likely to be a reflection of the way in which Siddhartha grew

to be aware of these issues. There is suffering all around us, but most people erect mental barriers which stop us getting

too disheartened by the suffering we see. Occasionally, however, these barriers are lowered and the reality of the

suffering penetrates our awareness. Some people become so aware of this suffering that they feel called to react to it in

ways beyond that of ordinary life. The story of the four signs is a symbolic way of explaining Siddhartha’s growing

realisation of the suffering around him, and his desire to do something to change it.

16 years:

Married

Yasodhara.

29 years:

Left the

Palace to live

as a

wandering

mendicant.

35 years:

Achieved

enlightenment

and began

teaching.

80 years:

Died.



Ascetic practices

The Buddha followed an ascetic lifestyle for six years. During this time he

studied with Alara Kalama and Uddaka Ramaputta. He achieved the

meditation states, or jhanas, of ‘the sphere of nothingness’ and ‘the

sphere of neither perception nor non-perception’. Siddhartha found these

states blissful, but believed they did not offer a permanent solution to

suffering.

Siddhartha then practised austerities, aimed at subduing the appetites.

These included holding the breath for long periods, and fasting. One

account tells how when he was fasting he had become weak with hunger.

A girl offered him some rice, which restored his strength. It was after this

that he stopped ascetic practices and began the meditation which led to

his enlightenment.

The Buddha later claimed that his ascetic practices had taught him

discipline and willpower; however they did not provide a cure for

suffering. Siddhartha had learnt that neither the luxury of his childhood

nor the asceticism of his adulthood provided the answers he was seeking.

Thus in later times Siddhartha advocated a ‘middle-way’ in his teaching

that avoided both extremes.

• The Buddha found extreme asceticism

unhelpful

• WHAT DO YOU THINK?(AO2)

Do you think the Buddha’s teachings represent the middle way in today’s society?

The Enlightenment

Siddhartha sat under a Bodhi tree and began his meditation. Mara appeared to try and prevent him from achieving

enlightenment. Mara’s sons shot arrows at Siddhartha, but they turned to flowers before they hit their target. His

daughters were sent to seduce Siddhartha, and Mara also tried to offer him control of the kingdom. Throughout

Siddhartha remained serene and unaffected by these distractions. Finally Mara claimed that without a witness

Siddhartha’s achievement would not be believed. At this point the Buddha touched the earth with one hand, and the earth

quaked to bear witness to the Buddha’s enlightenment.

This dramatic account demonstrates the need to overcome negative emotions such as fear, lust and pride in order to

achieve enlightenment. You can find out more about Buddhist attitudes to enlightenment in the Core concepts chapter on

nibbana.

The Buddha is believed to have attained enlightenment in one night, and gained different insights during each of the three

‘watches’ of the night.

• Firstly he gained the full knowledge of all his previous lives.

• Secondly he was able to see the birth and death of all beings, and understand the causes of rebecoming.

• Thirdly he knew that he had rooted out the three poisons, could see the world as it really is, and had therefore

attained nibbana.

• Are images like this intended to indicate historical events, or to symbolise the Buddha’s triumph in overcoming the

obstacles which block the way the enlightenment?



Teaching

The Buddha began his teaching by returning to the ascetics he had practised austerities with. In the Deer Park at Sarnath

the Buddha gave his first sermon. This is sometimes called ‘Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dhamma’. This contained the

kernel of the Buddha’s later teachings, including the Four Noble Truths. The five ascetics gained enlightenment, and

became bhikkhus.

• MAKING LINKS

You can read more about the Deer Park Sermon in the Key Teachings, Beliefs and Attitudes chapter.

The Buddha spent the next 45 years of his life travelling the Ganges Plain area and teaching others. During this time he

established the monastic sangha, and the relationship between the laity and the monastic sangha. The Buddha is shown

as being composed and polite in his debates and discussions with others. There are some accounts of the Buddha

performing miracles, explained as made possible due to psychic powers gained during meditation.

The ability of the Buddha to remain composed and polite in debate displays his success in removing the defilements of

greed and hatred.

Death

The Buddha was 80 when he died. He had been ill in the time leading up to his death, but had still continued to travel on

foot. Prior to his death the Buddha called the bhikkhus together, and asked if they had any questions. They did not, which

some have taken to mean that the Buddha’s teachings were well-established and understood. He also said that he had not

considered himself to be a leader, and that upon his death he would not appoint a leader for the sangha. He

recommended that the dhamma should be the guide for Buddhists, however it was not to be followed blindly, but tested

against their own experiences. The Buddha died lying on his side in a state of meditation, under two trees which had

bloomed out of season. This indicates that he had conquered all fears, even the fear of death. Upon his death the Buddha

attained parinibbana, or final nibbana. He would no longer be born into the world of samsara. The Buddha was

cremated, and his remains interred in stupas, which became a focus for pilgrimages.

• The Buddha died peacefully while in a state of meditation.

• FURTHER RESEARCH (AO1)

There are many websites with detailed accounts of the life of the Buddha. Use these to construct a table showing the

key events in the life of the Buddha, and show why they are important.

Useful websites:

* What do you think my friend? has an online version of an elaborate traditional account of the life of the Buddha by

Venerable Narada.

* Vri Dhamma also has a detailed account of the life of the Buddha.

* Buddhanet has a useful article showing how Buddhists use events from the life of the Buddha as a teaching tool.


Do you think it matters whether someone takes the traditional accounts of the life of the Buddha literally or not?



The origins of the sangha

Aim

In this topic you will be able to explain how the monastic sangha was formed, and how

the vinaya rules were developed.

Sangha means community, so refers to all Buddhists. However, it is often used to refer to bhikkhus and bhikkhunis or

the monastic sangha. It is primarily the origins of the monastic sangha with which we are concerned in this section.

• MAKING LINKS

You can find out more about the fourfold sangha in chapter 3 – Key Beliefs, Teachings and Attitudes.

The rainy season retreats

As we have seen, originally Buddhism was one of a number of shramana movements. The Buddha’s first followers were

those who, like himself, had abandoned traditional lifestyles in favour of the simple life of a wanderer. Joining the

movement at this time seems to have involved little ceremony. Gradually a tradition of staying in one place during the

three months of the rainy season evolved, and groups of monks tended to congregate together at this time. The Buddha

appears to have chosen to gather his bhikkhus close to places of habitation, and during the rainy season retreats the

bhikkhus often formed stable relationships with the lay community. Some wealthy members of the lay community

donated land and buildings to use during the rainy season, which became known as viharas.

Later, as the Buddhist tradition became more established the ordination ritual developed (possibly to preserve the

integrity of the tradition) in order to maintain lay support for the community.

The organisation of the monastic sangha

The organisation of the sangha has been described as democratic, however this is not strictly accurate. Whilst the Buddha

did not appoint a leader and eschewed any hierarchical organisation, he did not advocate democracy as we would

understand it today. In today’s democracies while everyone might be accorded some voice, at some point the majority

view is upheld and the minority view is trivialised. Within the sangha not only did every bhikkhu have a voice, but they

were encouraged to reach unanimous agreement over matters of practice. The bhikkhus and bhikkhunis were encouraged

to seek cohesion through regular meetings.

It was agreed at the Second Buddhist Council that if agreement could not be reached then the dissenting bhikkhus should

leave the local sangha and establish themselves elsewhere. What Buddhism required was a stable and cohesive local

community. It did not, however, feel the need for all Buddhists everywhere to be in agreement. This probably reflects the

need for the community to secure lay support, which would be made more difficult with disagreement within the

community, and the Buddha’s desire that his teachings should not be prescriptive, but rather be tested against the

bhikkhus’ own experiences.

How did the vinaya rules originate?

The Buddha established the vinaya rules in order to create the ideal environment for spiritual progress. Some of these

rules were established at the very beginning of the Buddhist community. Others, however, evolved as a result of

particular issues within the community, for example when the Buddha found a sick bhikkhu uncared for he created a rule

about caring for sick bhikkhus. Many of the rules in the vinaya pitaka include an explanation of their origination. Your

teacher may provide you with an example to illustrate this.


Does the way in which the vinaya rules evolved make them less authoritative than if they had been revealed as a

whole by the Buddha at the start of his career?

1 The origins of Buddhism

The origins of the sangha


• FURTHER RESEARCH

You can find excerpts from the vinaya pitaka, showing the origins of the rules in:

* Bhikkhu Nanamoli, The Life of the Buddha, BPE, 2001.

* Access to Insight website.

The order of bhikkhunis

Initially, the Buddha appears to have been reluctant to institute an order of bhikkhunis. This may have been for social

reasons. At this time women may have had trouble gaining respect in positions of authority and they may have been

deemed at more risk while following the life of a wanderer. Additionally, there may have been concerns about whether the

laity would suspect monks and nuns of engaging in sexual relationships, and therefore stop supporting the community.

The Buddha relented when his faithful companion Ananda questioned him about whether women could become arhats.

When the Buddha agreed they could, he then agreed to a request from his foster mother, Pajapatti, and instituted an

order of bhikkhunis. He did however insist on rules which make the bhikkhunis dependant upon the bhikkhus, perhaps in

order to protect their integrity, and shield them from the approbation of the lay community.


Do you think the Buddha had good reasons for initially refusing to set up an order of bhikkhunis?

The life of the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis

As we have seen, the earliest bhikkhus and bhikkhunis were wandering shramanas. They were supported by offerings

from the community and spent much of their time in meditation. During the rainy season they would come together,

perhaps engaging in more rigorous spiritual practices. At this time they may have established a closer relationship with

the laity, offering them teachings and religious ceremonies.

As Buddhism became more established the bhikkhus may have wandered less and established more permanent viharas

close to lay settlements. It is at this period of time that the relationship with the lay community may have become more

formalised, for example the injunctions about what times it was appropriate to collect alms. Life for the bhikkhus would

have continued to focus on meditation and spiritual practices. You can find out more about the lifestyles of bhikkhus and

bhikkhunis by referring to the section on the monastic sangha on page 35. The lifestyle of the contemporary monastic

sangha is similar in many ways to the monastic sangha at the time of the Buddha.

The spread of Buddhism


Aim

In this topic you will be able to explain how Asoka contributed to the development and

spread of Buddhism.

Asoka came to power in the Magadhan empire (see map on page 17) in 268 BCE. He may have killed rivals to the throne

to do so. Initially he was intent on conquest and was involved in several battles to gain land. Asoka appears to have

shown some interest in Buddhism in 260 BCE, however this had little practical effect on his reign until 259 BCE after a

particularly bloody battle for the Kalinga region (see map below). The theories of kingship Asoka learnt advocated

expansion of the empire by conquest as part of the king’s duties. However, Asoka’s first wife was a lay Buddhist. Buddhist

theories of kingship emphasised the cultivation of peace. It is possible that the battle of Kalinga highlighted the dichotomy

between these two ideas, and led to his decision to embrace Buddhism.


Why do you think the battle of Kalinga might have caused Asoka to become a more committed Buddhist?

The rule of Asoka

Although Asoka became a Buddhist he encouraged a climate of religious tolerance, encouraging people to offer food to

Brahmins as well as bhikkhus. Asoka supported Brahmins, Jains and Ajivakas as well as Buddhists.

Asoka supported many social improvements, such as the development of hospitals, the provision of wells for travellers,

support for orphans, financial help for released prisoners and ensuring the judicial system was applied in the same way

across his realm. Asoka also stopped the use of torture, and may have abolished the death penalty. Asoka’s emphasis on

ahimsa led him to replace hunting trips with pilgrimages to places of importance for Buddhists. He also protected animals,

and promoted vegetarianism. He also banned the sacrifice of animals in Brahmanical rituals.

Asoka erected stupas, shrines and memorial pillars to mark sites of importance for Buddhists. Some believe that Asoka

was unhappy with disputes in the monastic sangha, and convened a third Buddhist council to codify the dhamma and

prevent schisms.

Some scholars have claimed that the edicts do not contain specifically Buddhist references and have questioned Asoka’s

commitment to Buddhism. Others believe that Asoka promoted Buddhist teachings without explicitly mentioning Buddhism

in support of his teachings on tolerance. Some Buddhist scholars have also suggested that since the dhamma is universal

no reference to Buddhism was required.

Original sources

These edicts emphasise Asoka’s concern with the promotion of moral values:

Rock edict 4

Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi [Asoka] promotes restraint in the killing and harming of living beings, proper

behaviour towards relatives, Brahmans and ascetics, and respect for mother, father and elders.

The spread of Buddhism 2

The early spread of Budhism – Asoka

The early spread of Buddhism – Asoka


Original sources

Rock edict 3

Beloved-of-the-Gods, King Piyadasi [Asoka], speaks thus:[5] Twelve years after my coronation this has been ordered

– Everywhere in my domain the Yuktas, the Rajjukas and the Pradesikas shall go on inspection tours every five years

for the purpose of Dhamma instruction and also to conduct other business.[6] Respect for mother and father is good,

generosity to friends, acquaintances, relatives, Brahmans and ascetics is good, not killing living beings is good,

moderation in spending and moderation in saving is good. The Council shall notify the Yuktas about the observance

of these instructions in these very words.

http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html

• Asoka’s edicts, carved on rocks and pillars, encouraged his people to behave morally

Fact Box

Pillars and rocks

We know about Asoka through 32 edicts which have been found on pillars and rocks throughout India. Most of these

edicts focus on encouraging moral behaviour, especially the avoidance of harming living creatures.


Asoka’s edicts

You can find translations of Asoka’s edicts at the website below.

* Note down the general themes of these edicts.

* Do you think that those who have claimed the edicts do not reflect Buddhism are correct?

The edicts of King Asoka: http://www.cs.colostate.edu/~malaiya/ashoka.html

Mission

During Asoka’s reign Buddhists engaged in extensive missionary activity within India. Asoka sent embassies (possibly

accompanied by bhikkhus) to Syria, Egypt, Macedonia and possibly Burma or Thailand to emphasise his policy of conquest

in the dhamma. Asoka’s son, Mahinda, was a bhikkhu. Mahinda led a mission to Sri Lanka (previously called Ceylon). This

mission was extremely successful, and Sri Lanka has remained a predominantly Buddhist country.

Corruption in the sangha

At the time of Asoka there was some corruption within the sangha. In some cases members of the sangha were in

disagreement with each other and openly expressed this disagreement in front of the laity. In other cases bhikkhus were

not following the rules of the sangha regarding food or sexual relations. This corruption had the potential to lead to

disrespect for the whole sangha. If the sangha did not show a united and corruption-free image then the laity were likely

to withdraw their support.

The spread of Buddhism


Asoka made an effort to unite the sangha and force out corruption. He urged the sangha to convene a third Buddhist

council. This council codified the dhamma and the vinaya. In doing so it became easier to ensure the vinaya was followed,

and to penalise those who refused to comply with the vinaya rules. Asoka also targeted his financial support towards

those members of the sangha who were actively supporting his reforming agenda.

Advantages of Asoka’s support

* Access to a wider audience within and outside of India.

* Buddhist values were promoted widely.

* The dhamma was codified and schisms were averted so the monastic sangha could secure more support from the lay

community.

* Stupas provided an outlet for religious expression.

Disadvantages of Asoka’s support

* Monastic life became more secure and comfortable, therefore those choosing the monastic life may have been less

committed.

* The sangha may have been forced to codify teachings and practices in accordance with Asoka’s preferences.

* People may have converted to Buddhism in order to gain royal patronage, rather than out of real commitment.


Was Asoka’s support of Buddhism ultimately positive or negative for the long term success of Buddhism?

Kamma, samsara and nibbana


Aim

In this topic you will be able to explain the key concepts of kamma, samsara and nibbana

Samsara

Samsara means wandering on. It is the name given to the cycle of birth and death. Although this concept is common

within Indian religions it has been refined within Buddhism to reflect particular Buddhist concerns. The cycle has no

beginning and no end until nibbana is achieved. Individuals transmigrate from one life to the next according to the kamma

they have accrued. They can be born in one of six realms – gods, demi-gods, human, animal, hungry ghosts and

hell realms. Life in all of these realms is temporary, including the godly realms.

Buddhists believe that when a being hears the dhamma and put it into practice they can break out of the cycle of samsara

to achieve nibbana. It is often believed that birth as a human is lucky, since the human realm has the correct mixture of

suffering and pleasure to encourage beings to seek a solution to suffering.

Some Buddhists believe that these realms of existence should not be seen as literal places, but more as psychological

states.

You can read more about the process of rebecoming through dependent origination on the next page.

• MAKING LINKS

These concepts will be explored more fully in the section on the Four Noble Truths on pages 29–31.

Kamma

Kamma (karma in Sanskrit) means action. Essentially the law of kamma entails that every intentional act will have a

consequence. This process cannot be prevented or overridden, and no-one can ‘forgive’ or ‘show mercy’ in order to

circumvent the process of cause and effect. Since it is intentional or volitional actions which lead to kammic

consequences, both thought and deed can be a kammic cause.

Kamma is often used to refer to both cause and effect, however this is inaccurate. Thoughts, words or actions are the

causes in the process and are referred to as kamma, kammic actions or kammic formations. These lead to

consequences referred to as the fruit of kamma, kammic results or kammic consequences.

When nibbana is achieved the Buddha or arhat no longer creates kammic formations, since their actions are such that

they have been freed of samsara. They can, however, still experience kammic consequences, from earlier kammic actions.

It is said that the Buddha had a painful splinter in his foot at one stage in his life as a kammic consequence for previous

actions. This demonstrates that kammic consequences can never be avoided.

• WHAT DO YOU THINK (AO2)

If a Buddha or arhat can still experience pain, can nibbana be considered to be freedom from suffering?

Positive or skilful kammic actions are believed to generate positive kammic consequences, and negative or unskilful

kammic actions are believed to generate negative kammic consequences. An action is unskilful (akusala) if it is based on

greed, hatred or delusion, and skilful (kusala) if it is based on unselfishness, benevolence and understanding.

Core concepts 3


Core concepts


Intention is the most important factor in determining kammic consequences in Buddhist thought. Thus an accidental

murder will not cause the same level of kammic consequence as an intentional murder, though some negative kammic

consequences for being unmindful are likely. It is impossible to know when a kammic consequence will occur. It could be

immediate, or occur many lifetimes later.


Do you think it is right that an accidental murder should have less kammic consequence than an intentional one? Is

the intention or the result more important when evaluating ethical action?

Nibbana

Nibbana will be covered in more depth at A2 level. This is an introduction to the concept of nibbana.

Nibbana means to blow out, or to cover. Early understandings of nibbana seem to have been based around the idea of

stopping greed, hatred and delusion (sometimes called the three fires or the three poisons), in order to starve the fires of

samsara of fuel.

When we have eliminated the three poisons our actions are neutral, as we are freed from both good and bad intentions,

and we thus generate no kammic formations.

Nibbana is not… Nibbana is…

A place.

Somewhere you go when you die.

Heaven.

An attitude.

Freedom from greed, hatred and delusion.

Seeing the world as it really is.

Freedom from rebirth.

There are two levels of nibbana:

*sa-upadhisesa-nibbana - nibbana with substrate

*nirupadhisesa-nibbana or parinibbana – nibbana without substrate.

Nibbana with substrate is when a living being overcomes the three poisons, and ends mental forms of dukkha. In this

state no karmic formations are created, though kammic consequences can occur. Parinibbana occurs when an enlightened

being dies. At this point the five khandhas are not reformed leading to a new birth, and the physical existence of an

individual ceases. They are now not subject to kammic formations or kammic consequences.

The three poisons

The three poisons or three fires are believed to be the driving force of the Wheel of Samsara. They comprise greed

(lobha), hatred (dosa) and ignorance or delusion (avijja). There are of course many ways in which these poisons can lead

to samsara and prevent nibbana. If one is ignorant of the dhamma or the eightfold path then one will be unable to

develop the positive qualities required in Buddhism. If one is ignorant of the effects of greed and hatred one will not see

the need to prevent them. On a subtler level many people do not ‘see the world as it really is’, but tend to view their

actions through ‘rose-tinted spectacles’. In this way many people delude themselves about the effects of their attitudes

and behaviour. This can lead to negative actions which lead to rebirth.

Greed and hatred can both lead to attachment, and it is attachment which leads to rebecoming. Greed leads us to crave

things and seek them out. Ultimately this desire means we are unable to let go of our current existence, and crave

rebirth. Hatred is essentially an inversion of greed. It is the desire to avoid or be away from something. As such it is also a

form of attachment, and can lead to rebecoming.

• ACTIVITY (AO1)

Write a list summarising the differences between nibbana and parinibbana. Which of these differences are most

significant, and why?

The cycle of dependent origination (paticca-samupada)

The cycle of dependent origination is also referred to as dependent arising, conditioned genesis and conditioned arising.

Dependent origination is the Buddhist teaching on causation, and explains how the cycle of birth and death occurs.



In its most simple form dependent origination takes the form of a simple formula:

• When this is, that is.

• This arising, that arises.

• When this is not, that is not.

• This ceasing, that ceases.

Essentially, this demonstrates the Buddhist teaching that nothing comes into existence through its own power, and all

things are conditioned or dependent on prior causes.

Although there are different formulations of the doctrine of dependent origination, one of the most common is that shown

on the Wheel of Life (see diagram on page 22) of twelve links showing how we are trapped in the cycle of samsara due to

craving (tanha) and ignorance (avijja).

The twelve links of dependent origination

Link Explanation Symbol in the Wheel of

Life

1 Ignorance (avijja) leads to

volitional actions and kammic

formations.

Ignorance of the basic nature of life explained

in the Four Noble Truths leads us to act.

Blind man

2 Kammic formations (sankhara)

lead to consciousness.

Our thoughts and actions lead to impulses and

tendencies. These impulses form our

consciousness.

Potter

3 Consciousness (vinnana) leads

to name and form.

Consciousness is what passes from one life to

the next.

Monkey in a tree

4 Name and form (nama-rupa)

leads to the six senses.

The five khandhas are reformed based on the

continuing consciousness from the previous

life.

Boat and four passengers

5 The six senses (salayatana)

lead to contact.

The presence of form allows us to experience

the world through the six senses (sight,

hearing, touch, smell, taste and mind).

House with 6 openings

6 Contact (phassa) leads to

feeling.

The six senses allow us to make contact with

the objects of the senses.

Man and woman

embracing

7 Feeling (vedana) leads craving. Making contact allows us to like, dislike or feel

neutral about objects.

Man with arrow in his eye

8 Craving (tanha) leads to

grasping.

Feeling like or dislike allows us to crave for

experiences, more life or oblivion.

Man taking a drink from a

woman

9 Grasping (upadana) leads to

becoming.

Craving causes us to grasp at those object we

like, for example, sense pleasures or more life.

Man picking fruit

10 Becoming (bhava) leads to

birth.

Grasping at life causes us to become, or join

the process of samsara.

Pregnant woman

11 Birth (jati) leads to suffering,

decay and death.

Becoming, in the process of samsara leads to

rebirth.

Childbirth

12 Suffering, decay and death

(jara-marana).

Birth lead to suffering, decay and death. Corpse

This process is generally shown as a circle, since the twelfth link leads to the first. This cycle is operating simultaneously

in every moment of existence, within one lifetime, and over three lifetimes. Within every moment our intentions lead to

actions, and to results. When the links are described as operating over three lifetimes links 1 and 2 are said to relate to

the past life, 3–9 to the present life and 10–12 to a future life.

Breaking the cycle

The cycle of dependent origination is sometimes called the vicious cycle, as each cause leads to further entrapment within

the cycle of samsara. The Buddhist aim is to turn the cycle into a virtuous cycle. This can be done by breaking one of the

weak links in the cycle. The two weak links are avijja and tanha. If these links are broken through discipline and

meditation then the cycle can be reversed.

Core concepts


• ACTIVITY (AO1)

Summarise the cycle of dependent origination, including the places where it may be broken.


Would it be easier to break the cycle at the avijja link or the tanha link? How might a Buddhist break the cycle at

these points?

The Wheel of Life

The cycle of dependent origination is often depicted on the Wheel of Life. The Wheel of Life is made up of several distinct

elements:

*The hub – showing the three poisons, greed, hatred and delusion, which are responsible for keeping the cycle of samsara

in motion.

*The realms of rebirth - the realms into which a being may be reborn (see previous page).

*The twelve links of dependent origination (see above).

*Yama – the god of death, depicted holding the Wheel to remind us that all beings within the cycle are subject to death

and decay.

*The Buddha – not technically a part of the Wheel, but depicted outside the Wheel to remind us that escape is possible.


Do you think the Wheel of Life is a good way to help people understand the complex teachings about samsara,

dependent origination and nibbana?

Psychological understanding of the wheel of life

Some Buddhists see the realms of rebirth within the Wheel of Life as psychological rather than physical realms of

existence. They would argue that some people have such negative experiences and attitudes to life that they are

effectively living in a hell realm. Similarly they could argue that some people operate on a basic and instinctive level,

particularly perhaps those who are struggling to survive at all – that they are like animals. They have no time to do other

than survive. In other cases people may be living in their own personal worlds, taking little notice of the suffering around

them, and this could be likened to the heavenly realms. In this psychological understanding of the realms of rebirth the

cycle of dependent origination does not apply over a series of lives, but describes what happens from moment to moment.



The three refuges

Aim

In this topic you will be able to explain the importance of the three refuges for

Buddhists.

The three refuges (or triple refuge) are sometimes called the three jewels to symbolise their importance to Buddhists.

When Buddhists decide to become Buddhists they often do so by reciting the three refuges. They repeat three times:

I take refuge in the Buddha

I take refuge in the dhamma

I take refuge in the sangha.

When Buddhists take refuge they are not trying to hide away or escape their own responsibilities. Instead they are

seeking guidance and support in their search for nibbana. In essence taking refuge is a recognition of the desire to seek

nibbana.

• MAKING LINKS

You can find out more about the Buddha and the sangha in chapters 1 and 3, and the dhamma in chapter 3.

The Buddha

Taking refuge in the Buddha means recognising his importance as the ultimate teacher of the dhamma. The Buddha might

be seen as a role model for Buddhists, who may try and follow his example. His achievement of nibbana can reassure

Buddhists that nibbana is possible, and thus offer hope that they too may achieve it.

Taking refuge in the Buddha does not entail worshipping the Buddha. Acts of worship may instead be performed in order

to show respect for the Buddha or to enable the worshipper to develop generosity through the giving of offerings.

Buddhists may use images of the Buddha as a meditation focus to help them develop particular qualities demonstrated by

the Buddha.

A Buddhist might show they have taken refuge in the Buddha by using his image or stories from his life as a meditation

focus. They could also try to follow his example.

In Theravada Buddhism Buddhists take refuge in the historical Buddha – Shakyamuni Buddha. In Mahayana

Buddhism Buddhists may take refuge in other Buddhas, for example Amitabha Buddha.

• MAKING LINKS

Mahayana Buddhists have developed a specific understanding of the Buddha, quite distinct from that of Theravada

Buddhists. You can read more about this on pages 42–43.

The dhamma

The term dhamma has many meanings. Most commonly it is used to refer to the teachings of the Buddha. Taking refuge

in the dhamma could be seen as trying to understand and implement the teachings of the Buddha.

Dhamma also refers to universal truths. Some Buddhists claim that the Buddha merely revealed this universal truth in this

particular time and place, but that the dhamma always exists. This attitude could affect the way they perceive the relative

importance of the Buddha and the dhamma.

The Buddha encouraged Buddhists to test his teachings against their own experiences. Whilst Buddhists are not required

to have blind faith in the teachings, it could be considered that they need to have some trust in the validity of the

teachings in order to embark on the Buddhist path.

3 Core concepts

Core concepts


Fact Box

Meanings of the term dhamma:

* Moments of existence (momentary dhammas).

* Universal truth.

* The teachings of Shakyamuni Buddha.

* The path followed when one practises the teachings of the Buddha.

The sangha

Taking refuge in the sangha can refer to both the fourfold sangha (in other words the whole Buddhist community), or the

monastic sangha. In taking refuge in the sangha a Buddhist might be showing respect and consideration for the monastic

sangha. They could be recognising the role of the monastic sangha in providing support for the laity and each other,

through their own example in following the Buddha’s teachings. The monastic sangha might also provide teaching and

guidance. The sangha as a whole might provide support and encouragement for each other.

The relative importance of the three refuges

Many Buddhists would claim that trying to assign relative importance to the three refuges is pointless. A Buddhist seeks

refuge in all three, and all three provide support for the Buddhist in seeking the path to nibbana.

• The relationships between the three refuges

Others, however, might be prepared to argue that one refuge is of more importance than the others. Some might claim

that the Buddha is of more importance for the example he offers, or because it is his revelation of the dhamma which has

allowed Buddhism to develop. Some might point to the eternal nature of the dhamma, and respond that the Buddha only

revealed truths already in existence. Thus the dhamma should have precedence. Some might point to the fact that the

sangha is the ‘living out’ of the dhamma, and the refuge which can offer practical support today. It is also the sangha

which has preserved the dhamma.

The attitude a Buddhist takes on this issue is a personal matter, determined by his or her own beliefs and preferences.

• ACTIVITY (AO1)

Draw a Venn diagram with three intersecting circles. In each circle explain the unique elements of one of the three

refuges. Where the circles intersect show points of similarity between the refuges.


Which of the three refuges is of most importance to Buddhists and why?

The three marks of existence



Aim

In this topic you will be able to explain the importance of the three marks of existence,

and their relative status.

The three marks of existence, dukkha, anicca and anatta, are deemed to be the three defining characteristics of life.

In some sense it is believed that when these marks are understood and accepted that nibbana can be achieved.

• MAKING LINKS

You will explore the significance of these ideas in the section on The Four Noble Truths on pages 29–31.

• ACTIVITY (AO1)

When you have finished reading this section, make a list of similarities and differences between anicca and anatta.

Dukkha

Dukkha has been widely translated in the West as suffering. This is inaccurate as dukkha has much wider implications in

Buddhist thought. Modern scholars tend to use the term unsatisfactoriness instead, though this may also seem to miss the

nature of dukkha. Some Buddhist traditions refer to dukkha as being an ill-fitting chariot wheel. This is an attempt to

convey the commonly-felt sense that there is something ‘not quite right’ in our lives, even when things are not actively

wrong in them. In Buddhist thought dukkha is categorised into three types.

Dukkha-dukkha This is perhaps the type of dukkha we would ordinarily associate with suffering. It includes

physical pain. It also includes mental suffering, such as grief at being separated from those we

love, being upset because we do not achieve our desires, and the pain associated with birth,

sickness, old age and death.

Viparinama-dukkha This is the suffering caused by change, or anicca. We do not like change, and hope that things

will remain the same. When they do not we get upset as we are attached to the former situation.

For example, we may find it hard to adjust when we change jobs or move house. We want our

relationships to remain constant and may get upset when our partners change their attitudes or

behaviour.

It is this form of dukkha which has often led to Buddhism being considered pessimistic.

Buddhists claim that even happy experiences lead to dukkha, because they do not last. Thus we

may be ecstatically happy when we buy a new camera. However, after a while we notice its

faults. A new camera is released with better quality and functions. We become dissatisfied with

our own camera, and crave the newly released one instead.

Samkhara-dukkha This is perhaps the hardest form of dukkha to understand, but in Buddhist thought the most

pervasive and important. It is often described as angst. It is a subtle dissatisfaction with life,

perhaps caused by our failure to understand and control life. No matter how carefully we plan

and investigate, some things will change in unexpected ways. No matter how hard we work and

how much we achieve, we will still die. It is this transitory and fragile nature of our existence

that leads us to a subtle dissatisfaction with life. The Buddha claimed that conditioned existence

was by its very nature dukkha. You can read more about this in the following sections on anicca

and anatta.

Dukkha is often contrasted with sukkha, meaning comfort or ease. Some people claim that the Buddhist belief that all life

is dukkha gives Buddhism a very pessimistic attitude to life. Buddhists do not see it in this way. They believe that by

understanding the causes of dukkha they can prevent further dukkha from occurring.

3 Core concepts

Core concepts



Does the Buddhist attitude to dukkha mean Buddhism is pessimistic, realistic or optimistic?

• ACTIVITY (AO1)

When you have read the sections on anicca and anatta, design a leaflet for Buddhist children showing how failure to

understand anicca and anatta might lead to dukkha.

Anicca

Anicca is usually translated as impermanence. The Buddha believed that everything was impermanent, and changing. Many of

us might accept that change happens. We are obviously aware that things come into existence and cease existing. However, we

often fail to apply this understanding to the things around us. We somehow expect them to remain the same.

Some changes we can see happening and find easier to accept. This might include changes such as the progress of the

seasons and damage and decay to belongings. At other times change is more subtle and it is easy to believe that things

will remain the same. A building may appear to be a permanent structure, but eventually an accumulation of tiny changes

will make it unsafe and it will require repair or demolition.

It is because we expect things to remain unchanged that we become attached to them. When they do change we then

experience dukkha.

Anicca is intimately related to anatta, which will be discussed on the next page.


Is it more important to understand dukkha or anicca?


Do you think you can understand dukkha without understanding anicca?

Anatta

Anatta means no inherent self. This idea was developed in contrast to the Hindu belief of an eternal, unchanging self. The

Buddha could not find any evidence to support this view. This teaching is illustrated in the chariot analogy in King

Milinda’s questions.

King Milinda’s questions

King Milinda’s questions are reputedly the questions asked by the Greek King Milinda of the Buddhist monk Nagasena, in

front of an audience of Greeks and Buddhist monks.

When Nagasena is brought before King Milinda he is asked his name. He replies that he is known as Nagasena, but that

this is merely a name, without reference to a real person or self. The King is confused by this and asks how there can be a

person before him, who requires robes and food, if Nagasena is just a name.

Nagasena replies by asking the King how he arrived today and is told the King arrived by chariot. Nagasena then asks him

to point out what the chariot is. The chariot is not the wheels nor the axles nor the yoke, but it is not something separate

to these things either. The term ‘chariot’ is merely a name used to refer to this particular collection of parts.

Original Source


‘For it is in dependence on the pole, the axle, the wheels, the framework, the flag-staff, etc., that there takes place

this denomination “chariot”, this designation, this conceptual term, a current appellation, and a mere name. – Your

Majesty has spoken well about the chariot. It is just so with me. In dependence on the thirty-two parts of the body

and the five Skandhas [khandhas] there takes place this denomination “Nagasena”, this designation, this conceptual

term, a current appellation, and a mere name. In ultimate reality, however, this person cannot be apprehended.’

Conze (translator), Buddhist Scriptures, Penguin Classics, 1959



Nagasena argues that people are the same. The self cannot be attributed to any particular part of a human, nor to

something separate from these parts. An individual’s name is therefore just a term to refer to this particular collection of

parts or khandhas.


Read the analogies given to explain rebirth in King Milinda’s questions and explain whether they are helpful in trying

to understand how rebirth can occur when there is no self.

• The chariot analogy in King Milinda’s questions demonstrates the Buddhist concept of anatta.

The conventional and ultimate levels

The difficulties which might be experienced on a day to day level if we stopped using terms such as ‘I’, ‘self’, and people’s

names would be hard to overcome. Buddhism therefore accepts that on a conventional level we tend to operate as though

there were individuals with selves. This may be necessary to operate in the world, but Buddhists feel that many of us then

fall into the trap of believing that there are ‘selves’ on an ultimate level.

When we believe there are ‘selves’ on the ultimate level we are more likely to experience greed and selfishness, or to

become attached. It is these emotions which cause much of the dukkha we experience.

The Buddhist aim, therefore, is to develop our awareness that there is no self on the ultimate level, so that we can avoid

these attachments and thus avoid dukkha.

The 5 khandhas

Form In Buddhist thought form refers to all matter. This includes the physical body, the five material

sense organs (eyes, ears, nose, tongue, and body) and the objects they experience.

Feelings (sensations) These are the positive, negative and neutral sensations we experience as a result of our

contact with the external world. We experience the world through our six senses – touch,

taste, smell, sight, hearing and mind. This is the seventh link in the wheel of dependent

origination.

Perceptions This is the ability to identify or recognise the characteristics of things. It works on the sense

data experienced by the six senses, and classifies it.

Impulses

(formations,

volitions)

This includes the volitions or intentions which determine our patterns of behaviour. These

patterns of behaviour are conditioned by previous kamma, and are carried over into our next

lives. This is the second link in the wheel of dependent origination.

Consciousness Consciousness in the Buddhist context is much wider that the Western concept. It includes

what we might consider the conscious and the unconscious. It is the mental response to

information gathered by the six sense organs. Consciousness also has the role of co-ordinating

the variety of experiences we have, and making sense of them. This is the third link in the

wheel of dependent origination.

Core concepts


Fact Box

Mind in Buddhist thought

In Buddhism, mind is not seen as a separate spiritual aspect, in that way it is in many dualistic philosophical

traditions. Instead mind is seen as a sense organ – in the same way as eyes, ears, etc. In fact, Buddhists often speak

of the six senses, comprising touch, taste, smell, sight, hearing and mind. This is because mind is a sense organ that

can be trained and developed through meditation. The only difference between mind and the other five senses is that

mind senses ideas, thought and mental objects, while the other five senses experience external objects.

Fact Box

The 5 khandhas

The 5 khandhas (skandhas in Sanskrit) are sometimes referred to as the 5 aggregates.

There are also a variety of translations for the individual elements of the 5 khandhas. For example, in one book you

might find a reference to ‘feelings’, and in another ‘sensations’. These are both translations of the same Buddhist

term. This can make it confusing when you refer to several sources when studying this topic.

If you refer to other books you may want to make a note of the different terms used in those books, and decide

which terms you will use in your own notes.


Do you think that the teaching of anatta can help people become less selfish, and thus avoid dukkha?

The Four Noble Truths


Aim

In this topic you will be able to explain the importance of The Four Noble Truths.

The Four Noble Truths are often said to encapsulate the Buddha’s entire teachings. They were the first teaching the

Buddha gave. They were revealed to the five ascetics the Buddha had practised with earlier in his life, in the Deer Park at

Sarnath. The sermon is therefore called the Deer Park Sermon, or the Setting in Motion the Wheel of Dhamma.

The Four Noble Truths can be summarised as follows:

First Noble Truth dukkha There is dukkha..

Second Noble Truth samudaya There is a cause for dukkha

Third Noble Truth nirodha Dukkha can be stopped.

Fourth Noble Truth magga The way to stop dukkha is by following the middle way

(between asceticism and luxury).

The giving of The Four Noble Truths is often compared to a doctor determining there is an illness, finding the cause of the

illness, determining whether the illness can be treated and prescribing the cure.

• The Four Noble Truths are often compared to a doctor’s diagnosis.

• MAKING LINKS

The Four Noble Truths are connected with many other aspects of Buddhist teaching. You may wish to refer to the

sections on nibbana, kamma, samsara, dependent origination and the three marks of existence in chapter 2 – Core

Concepts.

Key teachings, attitudes and practices

4




The First Noble Truth – dukkha

The First Noble Truth is the recognition that all life is dukkha. You can read about the three types of dukkha in the section

on the three marks of existence on pages 25–29. Some people have misinterpreted this teaching to imply that Buddhists

deny that there are enjoyable experiences. The Buddha did not deny enjoyable experiences. He recognised that these

existed but recognised also that they did not last and when they cease we experience dukkha as a result of the loss of

those pleasures.

Some might claim that the First Noble Truth is the most important. They might argue that recognising that all life is

dukkha is the impetus for beginning the path towards nibbana. If we fail to recognise dukkha we will have no reason to

seek a cure for dukkha.

The Second Noble Truth – samudaya

This explores the causes of dukkha. In essence it is tanha (thirst or craving) which causes dukkha. We thirst for sense

pleasures, for existence or for non-existence. It is this craving which leads to dukkha. Tanha arises out of sensations, as

can be seen in the wheel of dependent origination. It arises as a result of ignorance of anicca and anatta, and this leads to

the development of a false sense of ego.

Some might argue that understanding the Second Noble Truth is the most important. They might argue that only by

understanding the causes of dukkha can one address them. If we do not understand the causes we will be unable to seek

a cure for them.

The Third Noble Truth – nirodha

This teaches that avidya and tanha can be overcome. We know that this can be achieved because the Buddha achieved it.

Once avidya and tanha are overcome most forms of dukkha will cease (physical pain will continue while we still have

form). This is known as nibbana. When those who have overcome avidya and tanha then die, as they no longer have a

form; they will not be reborn into samsara, but will attain parinibbana.

Some might claim that the Third Noble Truth is the most important. They might argue that knowing there is a cure for

dukkha is necessary in order to want to undertake the path leading to it. If we do not know there is a cure we may lose

hope and fail to follow the path when it is difficult.

The Fourth Noble Truth – magga (the eightfold path)

This is often called the middle-way, as it entails following a path between asceticism and luxury. The Buddha had indulged

in sense pleasures and had then engaged in ascetic practices. He found neither helped to solve the problem of dukkha, so

advocated a lifestyle which avoided these extremes. You can read more about this path on page 32.

Some might claim that the Fourth Noble Truth is the most important. They might argue that knowing and following the

path is all that is truly important. As we progress along the path we might develop our understanding of the other truth. If

we do not follow the path, then understanding the other truths is meaningless.

• ACTIVITY (AO1)

Work in small groups to create a series of four posters to illustrate The Four Noble Truths.

Summary

Many Buddhists would argue that we cannot ascribe more importance to one truth over the others, as they work in

conjunction with each other. We need the impetus and understanding provided by the first and second truths, the hope

provided by the third, but this must be followed by the action required in the fourth.


Which of the Four Noble Truths do you think is most important?

Essentially the Four Noble Truths make us aware that tanha and avidya are the cause of dukkha and teach us to

overcome them. This enables us to convert the cycle of dependent origination from a vicious cycle leading to rebirth in

samsara into a virtuous cycle leading to nibbana.

If we link back to our summary of dependent origination we can see the links between dependent origination and The Four

Noble Truths.



Dependent origination The Four Noble Truths

When this is, that is.

This arising, that arises.

2. Tanha and avidya, the causes of dukkha,

lead to:

1. dukkha.

When this is not, that is not.

This ceasing, that ceases.

3. The middle-way (wisdom and avoidance of craving)

leads to:

4. nirodha (nibbana) – the cessation of dukkha.



The eightfold path

Aim

In this topic you will be able to explain the importance of the eightfold path.

The eightfold path is the Fourth Noble Truth. It is essentially the path to follow to overcome tanha and avidya. It

comprises eight ‘spokes’ which have both positive and negative connotations. The path is often divided into three aspects:

wisdom, morality and concentration (often translated as meditation).

Right Understanding

(view)

This is about seeing things as they really are. It is knowing the Four Noble

Truths which allow us to see the world as it really is. This concept goes

beyond ‘knowledge’ as we normally consider it. It involves a deep

understanding or ‘penetration’ during which we see the true nature of

things. We are only able to achieve this understanding when the mind has

been freed from all impurities through meditation.

Right Thought

(attitude, intention)

This involves controlling the emotions, channelling thought away from

hatred towards compassion, away from sensuality towards detachment. It

might also be the committed intention of following the eightfold path.

panna

(prajna) –

wisdom

Right Speech Avoiding lies, slander, gossip, malicious or abusive language or speech

which will lead to hatred or disharmony.

Speaking truthfully, using gentle and friendly words and only speaking

when it is useful. The Buddha advocated a ‘noble silence’ when nothing

useful could be said.

Right Action Some people see this aspect of the path as referring to the Five Precepts.

Specifically it enjoins us not to steal, destroy life, cheat others, or engage

in harmful sexual experiences.

Act morally and in a peaceful manner. There is also an expectation that

Buddhists should help others to lead an honourable life.

Right Livelihood Do not make a living in a way which causes harm to others, e.g. the arms

trade, the alcohol industry, cheating (which may today be considered to

refer to the gambling industry, or even in some cases to the advertising

industry), or killing animals.

Choose a living which is honourable and does not harm others. Buddhists

might encourage others to choose the ‘caring professions’. At the very least

when working we should engage in our work in an honest and supportive

manner (for example refusing to engaging in practices which are designed

to ‘cheat’ customers).

sila – moral

conduct

Right Effort Is the will or determination to prevent and dispel unwholesome states of

mind, and to produce and develop wholesome states of mind.

Right Mindfulness This is the development of full awareness of the body, feelings, mind and

thoughts. This awareness is essential if we are to control them. Although

many regard Right Concentration as meditation practices, some meditation

practices are designed to develop right mindfulness, for example breathing

exercises develop an awareness of the body.

Right Concentration Practices designed to avoid distraction, and develop the mind into a state

where it can experience an insight into the truth. As concentration develops

you pass through the four jhanas the Buddha experienced prior to his

enlightenment.

samadhi –

concentration

4 Key teachings, attitudes and practices

The eightfold path


• MAKING LINKS

Buddhist ethics is covered in more detail in the A2 part of this resource.

• The eightfold path

Fact Box

The Five Precepts

The Five Precepts are considered to be the minimum requirements to be followed by a lay Buddhist. They comprise:

*Not to harm living beings.

*Not to steal.

*Not to engage in sexual misconduct.

*Not to tell lies.

*Not to take intoxicants which cloud the mind.

Although often framed negatively, they also have positive connotations. For example not telling lies also implies

speaking truthfully and helpfully.

• ACTIVITY (AO1)

Create an ‘agony aunt’ page for a Buddhist magazine offering advice to Buddhists about following the eightfold path.

You might want to include questions from the laity and the monastic community about which aspects of the eightfold

path are most relevant to them, and why they might be finding it hard to follow particular aspects of the path.

The Buddhist conception of this path is not as a series of steps to be followed one at a time. Indeed Buddhists would

argue that they should be developed simultaneously as far as possible. Walpola Rahula, in his book What the Buddha

Taught, makes this point:

‘It should not be thought that the eight categories or divisions of the path should be followed and practised one after the

other in the numerical order as given in the usual list… But they are to be developed more or less simultaneously, as far

as possible… They are all linked together and each helps the cultivation of the others.’

Indeed, he then begins his discussion of the eightfold path by considering the sila part of the path, since:

‘This moral conduct is considered as the indispensable foundation for all higher spiritual attainments. No spiritual

development is possible without this moral basis.’

In essence, Buddhists would argue that morality is required to have a clear conscience and the discipline needed in

meditation, meditation is required to develop wisdom, wisdom is required to know the correct way to behave and so on.

This is why the path is often depicted as a wheel.



Lay and monastic practice

Although many Buddhists claim all aspects of the path should be followed simultaneously, there are different views. Some

might argue that the laity do not have enough time to focus on the concentration aspects of the path, or perhaps have too

many distractions in their lives. They could argue that the laity therefore should focus on the morality aspects of the path,

which are easier to implement in lay life. Equally, they could argue that in the monastic community morality is already

determined by vinaya rules and therefore requires less effort. Better access to scriptures and freedom from distractions

provides more opportunity for bhikkhus and bhikkhunis to develop the wisdom and concentration aspects of the path. This

approach might be seen as controversial and does not accord with the scriptural traditions.

A less controversial approach might be to see the eightfold path as having two levels of practice – the ordinary level,

which is followed by the laity, and the transcendent level, which is followed by the monastic community. At the

transcendent level the path is sometimes referred to as the Noble Eightfold Path. Most Buddhists are following the

eightfold path at an ordinary level. Those who have achieved a certain level of development, known as stream-entry, are

able to glimpse nibbana and enter the higher level of practice. At this level of practice they are trying to perfect each

aspect of the path. It might be claimed that those in the monastic community are more likely to be practising at this

higher level.


Do you think the laity should focus on different aspects of the eightfold path from the monastic community?

• STRETCH AND CHALLENGE (AO1)

Peter Harvey explores the ordinary and transcendent levels of the eightfold path in chapter 3 of his book An

Introduction to Buddhism. After reading this chapter, construct a diagram to show the two levels at which the path

can be practised.

∞ • FOR DEBATE (AO2)

The Buddha claimed that we must test his teachings for ourselves, and find our own path. Does following the

eightfold path mean that Buddhists are not doing as the Buddha asked?

The fourfold sangha


The fourfold sangha

Aim

In this section you will be able to explain the relationships between the fourfold sangha,

and the issues facing some members of the sangha.

What is the fourfold sangha?

As we have seen in chapter 1, sangha means community, so it refers to all Buddhists. However, many non-Buddhists use

the term sangha incorrectly to refer to just the monastic community. As a result we sometimes refer to the fourfold

sangha and the twofold or monastic sangha. The terms used to refer to the sangha are outlined below.

Sangha Community – all Buddhists

Fourfold sangha Lay men, lay women, bhikkhus, bhikkhunis

Twofold sangha, monastic sangha Bhikkhus, bhikkhunis

Laity Lay men, lay women

• MAKING LINKS

You can find out more about the origins of the monastic sangha in chapter 1 – the origins of Buddhism.

There are strong relationships within the fourfold sangha, with both the laity and the monastic sangha having a role to

play.

Life in the monastic sangha

The traditions in individual monastic communities will vary tremendously. For the following sections we will focus on the

Theravada tradition.

As we saw in chapter 1, the ordination of bhikkhus was developed to ensure that sangha remained a respected

organisation. As a result the ordination ceremony is today conducted by ten bhikkhus (or bhikkhunis in the female

tradition) of ‘good standing’. The prospective bhikkhu will have first spent time as a novice, to ensure he knows and is

able to follow the vinaya. Checks will have been made to ensure he is free to take ordination – for example that he does

not have children for whom he is still responsible. During the ceremony the new bhikkhu will shave his hair, as a symbol

that he no longer has vanity, and wash as a symbol of purity. He will ask permission to wear the robe of a bhikkhu, and

then, when the lead bhikkhu grants permission, will change his robes. He will then ask to take the three refuges and the

227 rules of the vinaya. He then accepts gifts of the few items he will be allowed to have as a bhikkhu: an alms bowl,

razor, sandals and umbrella (to shield him from the sun).

Although in some Buddhist countries many young men will spend time as novices and then leave to resume a lay life, the

intentions of those taking full ordination are permanent. If, however, someone decides to leave the monastic sangha they

may do so with a short ceremony where they hand back their robes.

It is common to imagine bhikkhus making an alms round and spending the rest of the day in meditation, but this is not the

whole story. Bhikkhus often rise early and make an alms round. They will also spend time in meditation. In addition, however,

they will also spend time studying the dhamma. They may also teach or carry out other duties for the laity. In most

communities there will be times of communal chanting. In addition bhikkhus will have some free time to do with as they wish.

Every fortnight the monastic community will hold the pattimokkha ceremony. During this ceremony the vinaya rules

are recited, and any monk who has transgressed must admit their mistakes. Then consequences may follow as laid down

in the vinaya.




The status of bhikkhus and bhikkhunis

As we saw in chapter 1, the Buddha was initially reluctant to ordain women. When he did agree to ordain women they

were given extra rules to follow. These rules seem to have had two purposes:

• Protecting the monastic sangha from accusations of impropriety between bhikkhus and bhikkhunis.

• Providing bhikkhunis with extra support/protection to ensure they can survive.

Bhikkhus have always found it easier to attract support from the laity than bhikkhunis. In the Theravada tradition the line

of bhikkhunis has died out and in Tibet it was never fully established. As interest in following the bhikkhunis lifestyle has

increased there has been controversy about whether it can be re-established. Some have claimed that bhikkhus could

ordain bhikkhunis, after all the bhikkhuni line was originally begun by the Buddha, a male. Others have argued that

bhikkhunis from other Buddhist traditions could restart the ordination lines within the traditions where the lines have died

out. The more traditional view is that because the ordination line has died out it is now lost forever. This does not stop

women from leaving lay life behind, however. They will shave their heads, wear robes, and follow the ten precepts (and

sometimes extra restrictions) of novice monks. These women are often referred to as lay sisters (upasikas), however

their indeterminate status is a source of frustration to some of them.


You can find an interesting discussion of the issues surrounding the ordination of women in Buddhism on the website

of Venerable Thubten Chodron (a bhikkhuni). Make a bullet-pointed list of the key issues, and suggested solutions

while reading the article.

• ACTIVITY (AO1)

Write a newspaper article exploring the key issues facing bhikkhunis today.

Forest and village-dwelling bhikkhus

Often when people think of bhikkhus they imagine a solitary monk living in isolation from the rest of society, spending his

whole time meditating. While it is the case that some bhikkhus live in such isolation, this is in fact rare. Often forest-

dwelling monks (as those living in isolation are called) are considered to be more worthy of respect by the laity. The

laity will often travel long distances to make offerings to those who are considered the most worthy of respect. Sadly the

tradition of forest-dwelling monk in Thailand has been decimated by recent changes.

Most bhikkhus, however, are village-dwelling. These monks may spend time wandering alone, but will spend much of

their time in a vihara. The rainy season is always spent in a vihara. While viharas vary in size, the relationship between

the laity and the monastic sangha living in the vihara is broadly similar. You can read more about that relationship on

pages 00–00). The size of the vihara usually corresponds to the size of the village or town within which it is located.


You can find out more about the history of the forest bhikkhu tradition in Thailand on the Hermitary website, and

biographies of selected forest-dwelling bhikkhus on the Access to Insight website. Using these sites for research,

construct an argument supporting the integrity and authenticity of the forest-dwelling tradition in Buddhism.

The relationship between the laity and the monastic sangha

The relationship between the laity and the monastic sangha is complex. Often, people consider the relationship one-sided,

because they can easily perceive the tangible benefits provided by the laity, but find it harder to accept the intangible

benefits provided by the bhikkhus. Within the Buddhist tradition, particularly in Theravada countries, the relationship is

seen as being one where each side gives and receives things of equal value.

The role of the monastic community

• To provide an example of the highest standards of Buddhist practice: the monastic community are living out the ideal

of the middle-way as outlined by the Buddha. As a result they provide an example to the laity of the ultimate aims of

Buddhist practice.

• To preserve the dhamma: the monastic sangha have always held the responsibility of preserving the dhamma,

initially orally and later on in writing.

The fourfold sangha


• To provide an education: in connection with the responsibility of preserving the dhamma, the monastic sangha have

had the joint responsibility of interpreting and disseminating the dhamma. They have a duty to determine which

teachings are appropriate for the laity. Many viharas have also taken responsibility for more secular aspects of

education. In some Asian countries the best way to gain an education is to enrol as a novice in the monastic sangha.

• To provide hope that nibbana can be achieved: in the Theravada tradition in particular it is believed that the best

opportunity to achieve nibbana is within the monastic sangha. Thus, the existence of the monastic sangha and the

implicit existence of bhikkhus who have achieved nibbana offer hope to the laity that the ultimate goal can be

achieved in the future.

• Allowing the laity to ‘make merit’: by allowing the laity to make offerings to them, the monastic community give

them the opportunity to ‘make merit’. This is achieved by the generosity developed by the laity. This generosity

creates positive kammic formations. Traditionally, the bhikkhus do not thank the laity for their generosity, so that the

kammic consequences for their actions can occur at other, hopefully more beneficial, times.

• To carry out Buddhist ceremonies: the monastic sangha do not usually take part in birth or wedding ceremonies. They

will however be heavily involved in funeral practices, since the process of rebecoming is of such importance in

Buddhist teachings. The monastic sangha may also carry out blessings, for example on newly built houses. In some

Asian countries specific ‘merit-making’ ceremonies will also be held.

The role of the laity

The laity provide for the physical needs of the sangha. This will usually include the provision of food, clothing and

medicine. It may also include the building of shelters, care for existing buildings and routine tasks required in the vihara.

Since in some traditions the monks are not allowed to handle money, the laity may organise the accounts of the

monastery, or make purchases on behalf of the monastic sangha.

• ACTIVITY (AO1)

Draw up a list of the duties and benefits of the laity and the monastic sangha. Highlight those which are tangible in

one colour and those which are intangible in another colour.

• ACTIVITY (AO1)

Complete a Venn diagram with four circles, showing the differences and similarities between the four groups within

the fourfold sangha.

How realistic is it to follow the vinaya rules today?

There are differing opinions about following the vinaya rules. Within different traditions there are a varying number of

rules to follow. Some would argue that this variation shows that the vinaya has always adapted to its surroundings and

thus it should continue to adapt today. They might argue that the vinaya rules were created to guide people onto a

middle-path as it existed at the time of the Buddha. As times have changed, the rules which reflected a middle-path at

that time may not do so today. As long as the monastic sangha continues to follow a middle-path, conducive to achieving

nibbana, then rules can be adapted.

Other Buddhists would, however, argue that the Buddha was revealing an eternal dhamma. This being the case, the

guidance concerning a middle-path would be appropriate for all times and places. They might see any adaptation of the

vinaya as a departure from the middle-path and thus something which would be an obstruction to the ultimate purpose of

the monastic sangha.


Do you think it is realistic to expect members of the monastic sangha to follow all the vinaya rules today?



Ethical guidelines for laity and the monastic sangha

Sometimes the numbers of rules followed by different members of the sangha can be confusing. Below is a summary

showing who follows which rules. As mentioned before, there are many variations of the vinaya rules used in different

traditions. Only the most commonly used are included here.

The laity The Five Precepts, the eightfold path. Occasionally on festival days some of the laity may take

on extra vows.

Upasikas Ten precepts, sometimes more.

Novices Ten precepts.

Bhikkhus Theravada: 227, Mahayana: 250, Tibetan: 258 vinaya rules.

Bhikkhunis Theravada: 311, Mahayana: 348, Tibetan: 366 vinaya rules.

The arhat and bodhisattva paths



Aim

In this section you will be able to explain the significance of the arhat and bodhisattva

paths.

So far we have mainly considered beliefs, attitudes and practices in the Theravada tradition of Buddhism. Now we are

going to consider one of the major areas of difference between the Theravada and Mahayana traditions – the extent of the

bodhisattva path.

Bodhisattva may be derived from a phrase meaning ‘one who is orientated towards enlightenment’ (Keown, A Dictionary

of Buddhism, OUP, 2003). Although the concept of the bodhisattva is found within both Theravada and Mahayana

Buddhism, the way in which it is interpreted varies tremendously.


It would be useful to understand the origins of Mahayana Buddhism prior to studying this topic. You could complete a

timeline of the development of Mahayana using:

Peter Harvey, An Introduction to Buddhism, Cambridge University Press, 1990.

Paul Williams, Mahayana Buddhism The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 1989.

Rupert Gethin, The Foundations of Buddhism, OPUS, 1998.

Arhatship

In the Theravada tradition most of those who are aiming for enlightenment follow the arhat path. In early Buddhist texts

there is little distinction between the arhat and the Buddha, and the Buddha is referred to as an arhat in Pali chants.

Essentially, the arhat achieves enlightenment by following the dhamma revealed by another, whilst the Buddha finds the

path for himself. An arhat is one who has achieved nibbana, stopped kammic formations and will not be reborn when they

dies. Arhatship is achieved by perfecting the aspects of the eightfold path.

The bodhisattva in the Theravada tradition

In the Theravada tradition the term bodhisattva is used to refer to Siddhartha Gautama before he achieved nibbana, and

to Maitreya, who is the future Buddha biding his time in the Tusita heaven until a new revelation of the dhamma is

needed. In essence, then, it is used to mean a Buddha-to-be. There are very few bodhisattvas, since there are few

Buddhas. The bodhisattva will have a moment when he wishes to achieve enlightenment for the sake of all other beings.

This will be expressed as a vow, usually witnessed by a Buddha. After innumerable lifetimes perfecting the path,

Buddhahood will be achieved.

• MAKING LINKS

You can find out more about Mahayana and Theravada attitudes to the Buddha in the next topic in this chapter.

In the Theravada tradition the nibbana achieved by the Buddha and the arhat is seen as identical.

The bodhisattva in the Mahayana tradition

As the Mahayana tradition grew we can see a development of the bodhisattva ideal. The Mahayana sutras focus on the

wisdom (prajna) and compassion (karuna) of the bodhisattva. It is often stated that the bodhisattva puts off his own

enlightenment for the sake of others. This has been widely misunderstood, as Paul Williams explains:

‘Such a teaching appears prima facie to be incoherent, and contains a claim that somehow a Buddha must be deficient in

compassion when compared with a Bodhisattva. If all other beings must be placed in nirvana before a particular




bodhisattva attains nirvana himself there could obviously be only one Bodhisattva. Alternatively we have the absurd

spectacle of a series of Bodhisattvas each trying to hurry the others into nirvana in order to preserve his or her vow!

Moreover if sentient beings are infinite… then the Bodhisattva is setting himself an impossible task, and no Bodhisattva

could ever attain Buddhahood… those who had become Bodhisattvas would not become enlightened, while those who had

not become Bodhisattvas would!… [T]he Mahayana Bodhisattva does not postpone or turn back from nirvana. Rather he

or she rejects the nirvanas of the Arhat and Pratyekabuddhas… and aims for the full nirvana of the Buddha.’ (Paul

Williams, Mahayana Buddhism The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 1989)

In essence, then, the Mahayana tradition rejects the nibbana of the arhat, as being either a skilful means (upaya)

designed merely to set us upon the path, or as being of a lower stature. They believe that all should aim for the full

nibbana of Buddhahood.

Implicit within the Mahayana view of the bodhisattva is a criticism of the arhat. The Mahayana tradition often explicitly

criticises the arhat as being selfish and prideful, seeking the goal for himself rather for the sake of others. The Theravada

tradition rejects this, asserting that they are following the traditional path laid down by the Buddha. They also point to the

generosity of the arhats towards the laity. It can also be questioned whether the arhat can be selfish, given the

acceptance of the teaching of anatta.


Do you think the Mahayana criticisms of the arhat are fair?


Read the Parable of the Burning House in the Lotus Sutra. This will be required at A2. The Parable of the Burning

House emphasises the relative status of arhats and bodhisattvas in Mahayana thought. Try to explain the purpose

and symbolism of the Parable.

The bodhisattva path

One begins the bodhisattva path in Mahayana by experiencing a moment of bodhicitta – an aspiration to seek

Buddhahood for the sake of sentient beings. There are many variations of the bodhisattva path, with different stages

(bhumi’s) and perfections (paramita’s) to be achieved. In recent times the ten stage path has become most prominent. In

general, six perfections have been considered the norm, though some texts have expanded this to ten perfections, adding

an additional four perfections to ally them with the last four stages of the path.

Fact Box

As with many Buddhist terms you will find a variety of different translations of Buddhist terms used in the

Bodhisattva path. If you are using different texts, you may wish to note the different terms used to help avoid

confusion.

Stage Characteristic Perfection

1 Joyful – feeling full of joy at the happiness generated

by the moment of bodhicitta.

Generosity (dana) – shown by giving wealth,

teachings and even one’s own life to aid others.

2 Pure – developing moral behaviour until it becomes

spontaneously pure.

Morality (sila) – eradicating all immoral conduct,

encouraging others to behave morally.

3 Luminous – through meditation, insight is developed. Patience (ksanti) – being patient in the face of anger

and when experiencing adversity.

4 Brilliant – all the 37 principles leading to

enlightenment are followed.

Courage (virya) – unselfish efforts are made to

develop good qualities.

5 Hard to conquer – progress along the path is

sufficient that it would be hard to prevent further

development.

Meditation (samadhi) – Although meditative states

are perfected, the heavenly rebirths they could lead

to are rejected.

6 Facing forward – full knowledge of reality is attained.

This is deemed the equivalent of arhatship, however,

the bodhisattva rejects this ‘lesser’ nibbana to seek

full Buddhahood.

At this stage the bodhisattva is considered an

enlightened bodhisattva.

Wisdom (prajna) – an understanding of the inherent

nature of reality, including anicca, anatta and

sunyata (the concept that everything lacks inherent

existence).



7 Going far – is beyond existence as we can imagine it,

and can appear in other realms of existence to help

others.

Skillful means (upaya-kausalya) – is able to help

other beings in the ways most appropriate for them.

8 Immoveable – there is no possibility of falling back

down the path.

Vow (pranidhana) – the Bodhisattva’s vow can be

renewed with new meaning, as he now has the

ability to pursue it fully.

9 Good discrimination – great knowledge allows the

bodhisattva to use his skilful means to guide and

teach others, encouraging them to follow the path.

Power (bala) – the development of the powers of

faith, energy, mindfulness, concentration and insight

continues.

10 Cloud of the Dharma – full perfection is achieved, the

bodhisattva has a celestial body and Buddhahood

occurs.

Knowledge (jnana) – full knowledge or omniscience

is achieved.


Create short biographies of two or three bodhisattvas to use as examples when you discuss the importance of the

bodhisattva path. You can find information on bodhisattvas in:

Paul Williams, Mahayana Buddhism The Doctrinal Foundations, Routledge, 1989.

The Buddha-net website


How important is the distinction between the interpretations of the bodhisattva path in Theravada and Mahayana

Buddhism?



Attitudes to the Buddha

Aim

In this topic you will be able to explain the differing attitudes to the Buddha in

Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism.

Attitudes to the Buddha in Theravada Buddhism

In Theravada Buddhism Buddhas are rare. There is only one present in a world system at a time. A new Buddha will only

reappear when knowledge of the dhamma revealed by the previous Buddha has been lost.

The attitudes to the historical Buddha, Shakyamuni Buddha, are also different from those in Mahayana. The Buddha was a

human, though one more spiritually developed through his following of the bodhisattva path and thus able to see the

reality of the world. The Buddha, with his achievement of enlightenment, has passed beyond what we would think of as

human. In the Buddhist scriptures the Buddha at this stage is seen to be an exemplification of the dhamma, and is

sometimes referred to as having a dhamma body.

Since the Buddha was a man we are able to follow the path he sets, and achieve the same understanding and enlightenment

as he has. Following the death of the Buddha he has passed into parinibbana and is no longer accessible to us.

Attitudes to the Buddha in Mahayana Buddhism

In Mahayana Buddhism there are many Buddhas. Buddhas are seen as cosmic beings who may appear in human form to

teach others. In the Lotus Sutra, although Shakyamuni Buddha did follow the bodhisattva path in order to achieve

Buddhahood, he has in fact been enlightened for many eons and his recent appearance is one of several. Shakyamuni

Buddha did not die, but merely appeared to. This was a skilful means: to prevent his followers becoming too reliant upon him

and to encourage them to seek the path for themselves. The Buddha will die and attain parinibbana at some stage, but lives

for eons. Thus the Buddha is neither an ordinary man, nor an eternal God (such as those found in monotheistic faiths). Since

the Buddha did not die he can reappear (for example, in visualisations during meditation) to offer guidance and teachings.

The belief that the Buddha is still accessible allows Mahayana Buddhists to account for the existence of sutras created

after the apparent death of the Buddha.

There is a huge variation in attitudes to the Buddha within Mahayana schools. Pure Land schools, for example, rely upon

Amitabha Buddha to save them and transport them to the Pure Land upon their death. On the other hand, some forms of

Zen see any attachment to the Buddha as unhelpful, encouraging us to see a duality when in fact there is a singularity.

The Mahayana view of Buddhas has been formulated into the three bodies or trikaya doctrine.

• MAKING LINKS

You will study different Mahayana schools at A2.


Does the Theravada or Mahayana understanding of the Buddha make most sense?


Attitudes to the Buddha


The trikaya doctrine

The trikaya doctrine essentially posits that the Buddhas have three different aspects.

Nirmanakaya Transformation body – these are the earthly manifestations of the Buddha for the purpose of

teaching. The Buddhas can create any physical form they wish and even several at once. Some

see these transformation bodies as mere manifestations, whilst others see them as real flesh and

blood beings.

Sambhogakaya Enjoyment body – this is a subtle bodily form. Buddhas (and advanced bodhisattvas) are

accessible in this form to bodhisattvas and those in the heavenly realms. They can appear as

visions, particularly during meditation practices, and offer teaching. Buddhas in the enjoyment

body can create mystical ‘Pure Lands’ where, through the power of their minds, a world which is

conducive to the attaining of nibbana is developed. In these Pure Lands it is easier to hear and

practise the dhamma. One of the most famous Pure Lands is Sukhavati, created by Amitabha

Buddha. Other Buddha’s have ‘Buddha fields’ within impure lands. Shakyamuni Buddha has a

Buddha field (sphere of influence) within our impure world system.

Dharmakaya Dharma body – This is seen as synonymous with enlightenment. In this sense it is beyond

description, the realisation of the truth of all things and freedom from all defilements. In the

dharma body there is no duality, and no difference between the subject and object of experience.

Therefore, the dharma body could be seen as all-pervading and is identical with the

tathagatagarbha within all beings.

Fact Box

Tathagatagarbha

The tathagatagarbha is the Buddha nature or Buddha embryo within all beings. This concept is understood in two

ways. Some conceive of an embryo of Buddha-ness, which requires development in order for nibbana to be achieved.

Alternatively, it is conceived of as an already-existing Buddha nature, which merely has to be recognised, once

external defilements which cloud the mind are removed, for nibbana to be realised.

The three aspects of the Buddha have sometime been seen as aspects of body, speech and mind. The nirmanakaya and

sambhogakaya are dependent upon the dharmakaya. They might be seen as the personalised aspects of the

depersonalised ultimate.

• ACTIVITY (AO1)

Draw three outlines of the Buddha and inside each explain the three bodies of the Buddha.

The status of Buddhas in Mahayana Buddhism

Since the dharmakaya of all Buddhas is identical and beyond time, it is this aspect of the Buddha which is sometimes

argued to be ‘godly’ by those outside of Buddhism. They may point to the eternal and omniscient nature of the

dharmakaya in support of their claim. In Mahayana Buddhism it is possible to see behaviour which more closely mirrors

aspects within monotheistic faiths. Mahayana Buddhists will ‘worship’ Buddhas and may pray to them for help.

However, the explanation offered by Buddhists for this behaviour will not reflect the same attitudes as those within

monotheistic faiths. In some senses the notion of worshipping the Buddha, given the belief in tathagatagarbha and

sunyata (the inherent emptiness of all nature), is a nonsense since if we are already Buddhas then we are essentially

worshipping ourselves. Buddhists would see acts of worship as being skilful means, designed to help us realise the non-

duality between ourselves and the Buddha.

The help offered by Buddhas is also interpreted differently. It is not considered the help of a divine being towards a non-

divine being. Instead it is one being pointing the way to those on the same path.

It is also important to remember that in Buddhism the gods are of a lower status, trapped as we are within the cycle of

samsara. It might therefore be argued that whilst on a conventional level the Buddhas (and celestial bodhisattvas) fulfil

the same roles of comfort and guidance as gods in other faiths, this is not the case on the ultimate level.


Do you think the Buddhas in Mahayana Buddhism are synonymous with the God of monotheistic faith?

Buddhism

44 Exam Café © Pearson Education Ltd 2008

1

Get the result

In the course of your AS exam you will have to answer two questions. Each question is made up of two parts: part a)

(AO1) is designed to test your knowledge and understanding of an area; part b) (AO2) tests your arguing skill.

Exam Question

2(a) Explain the different attitudes to the Buddha in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. (25 marks)

Sally’s answer

In this answer I am going to tell you about how

Theravada and Mahayana Buddhists feel about the

Buddha. The Theravada school is the original school

of Buddhism, and developed first. It sticks the most

closely to the Buddha’s teachings. The Mahayana

school developed later. It is made up of lots of

groups of Buddhists, and there is lots of variety in

it.

Theravada Buddhists feel that the Buddha was

born, lived and died in this world. He is a normal

man who has followed the bodhisattva path, and

eventually achieved nibbana. Mahayana Buddhists

see the Buddha more as a god. He was not born

and did not die, but lives forever. He appeared to

save us, and we can pray to him to get help.

The Mahayana view is not what the Buddha himself

taught, so does not make sense.

I have explained the Theravada and Mahayana

views – the Theravada seeing him as a man like us

and the Mahayana seeing him as a God – and the

Theravada views make most sense.

Examiner comment

Sally’s answer is quite repetitive, wasting time she

could have spent giving more content and detail. The

first sentence is unnecessary – basically Sally is

saying ‘I am going to answer the question you have

asked’. At the end she has also repeated herself – ‘I

have answered the question, this was my answer’ –

again unnecessary and wasting valuable exam time.

Sally has also included details which are focused on

the general topic, rather than answering the

question, in the first paragraph. The examiner will

know the background to the Theravada and

Mahayana schools, and this is not addressing the

question, so again this has wasted time and effort

which would be more usefully spent addressing the

question.

In paragraph two Sally has given a brief summary of

the Theravada attitude to the Buddha. This is

accurate, but lacks supporting detail. She could have

developed this by explaining each point, and drawing

out the significance of this attitude for Theravada

Buddhist thought.

In paragraph three it is clear that Sally has

oversimplified the Mahayana position. Sally needs to

explore the purpose of worship in more detail. She

also needs to show awareness that the Buddha is not

considered to be a God within Buddhism. Crucially

Sally has not explained the trikaya doctrine. This is of

key importance when explaining the Mahayana

attitudes to the Buddha.

Sally has tried to offer some evaluation in her answer

‘this is not what the Buddha taught, so does not

make sense’. This is unnecessary in part (a).

Buddhism

© Pearson Education Ltd 2008 Exam Café 45

1

Exam Question

2(a) Explain the different attitudes to the Buddha in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. (25 marks)

Fariah’s answer

Theravadins believe there is only one Buddha at a

time. The next Buddha (Maitreya) will appear when

all knowledge of this Buddha has died out.

Theravadins view the Buddha as a man who has

followed the bodhisattva path to attain nibbana.

Although a man, he is an extraordinary man. The

discipline needed to follow the path, and the

spiritual insights gained make the Buddha extra

special. Theravadins believe that since he was a

man we too can follow the path he has set to attain

nibbana. Since the Buddha’s parinibbana we can

only access his wisdom through his teachings.

Mahayana Buddhists believe there can be lots of

Buddhas at a time. Since everyone follows the

bodhisattva path potentially all sentient beings can

become Buddhas. The historical Buddha –

Shakyamuni – was an appearance of the

transformation body of the Buddha. When the

Buddha appeared to die he did not really. This was

just a way to encourage his followers to practise

harder and gain nibbana for themselves, instead of

relying on him too much. Since the Buddha still

exists in his dharma body or enjoyment body we

can still ask him for help. This means Mahayana

Buddhists might pray to him for help.

Examiner comment

Fariah has essentially made the same points about

Theravada Buddhism as Sally. She has, however,

explained them in detail. This extra detail allows us to

see that she has understood the import of the

Theravadin position for Theravada practice.

In paragraph two we can see that Fariah knows about

the trikaya doctrine. She also understands why

Mahayana Buddhists might pray, to gain the Buddhas

help, without making the mistake of assuming the

Buddha is a God. Fariah could, however, outline the

three bodies of the Buddha, and their implications,

more explicitly.

Buddhism


1

Hot Tips

At AS the exam is in two parts. Part (a) is worth more than twice as many marks as part (b), so you should allocate

about twice as much time to part (a). In part (a) you are expected to show your knowledge and understanding. In

part (b) you are expected to show your ability to evaluate key issues.

Answering part (a)

Show the examiner what you know and understand about this topic.

• Answer the question asked.

• Avoid repetition.

• Make points clearly in separate paragraphs.

• Link points in a logical order.

• Use appropriate technical terms.

Answering part (b)

Show the examiner your ability to evaluate issues related to this topic.

• Make a clear argument.

• Use evidence to support your views.

• Discuss (rather than state) different views.

• Analyse the coherency of the views you have discussed.

You can find information relating to the Buddha on pages 4–13, 23 and 42–43. For this question pages 44–45 will be

most relevant.

Exam Question

2(b) To what extent is the Buddha seen as simply a man in Theravada Buddhism? (10 marks)

Ollie’s answer

The Buddha is a man in Theravada Buddhism. This

is different to Mahayana Buddhism where he is

more than a man. In Mahayana Buddhism Buddhas

exist in three bodies, the dharmakaya,

sambhogakaya and nirmanakaya. The nirmanakaya

may appear to be a man, as it is the human form

which appears to teach on earth. Thus we may

think it is just a man.

However the Buddha exists as one with the

teachings in the dharmakaya, and thus has some

form of celestial existence. Indeed in the

sambhogakaya form the Buddha can still teach

bodhisattvas, and is perhaps accessible to all

through meditation. It is difficult to see how the

dharmakaya and sambhogakaya could be

considered anything other than some form of

celestial existence.

Examiner comment

This answer would attract very few marks. Ollie

clearly knows and understands the Mahayana view

very well. He has made a brief attempt to relate this

to the question with his first line; however, the

question asks him to consider the Theravadin position,

which he has not done. If the question had been ‘To

what extent is the Buddha seen as simply a man in

Mahahyana Buddhism?’ then Ollie would have gained

much higher marks.

It’s really important to answer the question asked, not

the one you would prefer to answer, to gain higher

levels.

Buddhism


1

Amy: I tried to predict the questions on my

paper, and revise only the topics I thought

would come up. A question on the Buddha had

come up the year before so I thought it wouldn’t

come up this year, and didn’t revise that topic.

Then this year there were two questions on the

Buddha. I was really stuck as I couldn’t answer

either question properly, so I had to do the

other two questions. Looking back at more

papers I’ve realised that the questions are

completely unpredictable, so I’m going to revise

all the topics for my resits.

Ross: When doing practice essays I realised that I

sometimes missed trigger words in questions. For

example in the (b) section of one question it said ‘To

what extent is the Buddha seen as simply a man in

Theravada Buddhism?’, and I missed the word ‘simply’.

As a result I argued that the Buddha was a human who

had followed the bodhisattva path. I forgot to discuss

whether he was an exceptional or special kind of human

being, though. Now I underline key words in the

questions to make sure I don’t miss important aspects of

the question.

Exam Question

4(a) Explain how following the vinaya rules might lead to nibbana. (25 marks)

Sunil’s answer

In order to achieve nibbana you have to see the

world as it really is. In practice this means

understanding the three marks of existence and the

four Noble Truths. Not only this but you must take

action based on this knowledge. For example if you

understand that there is no-self then you must act

unselfishly.

The vinaya rules help the monks to achieve nibbana

by forcing them to act in the way needed to achieve

nibbana. For example the rule about not having

possessions helps them to avoid selfish behaviour.

By following the rules it will be easier to achieve

nibbana as you are acting in the right way.

Examiner comment

Sunil has tried to address the specific question, which

is positive. He has given a specific example of the

rules about possessions helping prevent selfish

behaviour to try and support his explanation.

Sunil’s answer would sound more professional if he

used key terms, instead of their translations – for

example anatta rather than no-self, bhikkhu instead

of monk. Sunil’s answer is short, and as a result the

points he has made lack development. Sunil could

take each point he has made and explain it more

thoroughly. He could provide more examples and

show how these ideas are related to other connected

concepts such as kamma and dependent origination.

Buddhism


1

Exam Question

4(a) Explain how following the vinaya rules might lead to nibbana. (25 marks)

Adisa’s answer

In the Theravada tradition there are 227 vinaya

rules. The main purpose of the rules is to enable

Buddhists to follow the middle-way advocated by

the Buddha. The middle-way is encapsulated by the

eightfold path. In the eightfold path we are required

to develop wisdom, morality and concentration. The

vinaya rules also encourage this. By following the

vinaya rules bhikkhus have time to study and

meditate – to improve wisdom and concentration.

The rules also encourage moral behaviour. Wisdom

enables us to penetrate the reality of the world, and

to, for example, understand the concept of

dependent origination.

Once we understand dependent origination we are

more likely to be able to break the links in the cycle

to attain nibbana. Following the vinaya rules will

also embed moral conduct within our psyche so that

it becomes automatic. This will either help us

achieve a positive rebirth, and be one step closer to

nibbana in our next lives, or develop the thoughts

we need to break free of samsara in this life.

Examiner comment

Adisa makes more explicit reference to the ways in

which following the vinaya rules will help Buddhists

achieve nibbana. He also shows better understanding

of the purpose of the vinaya rules. Adisa makes good

references to other related concepts, like dependent

origination, and this demonstrates good

understanding.

Adisa’s answer gives the impression that he does not

know what the vinaya rules are – as he skirts over

this area. To improve this answer Adisa could use

some specific vinaya rules and show how they help

develop moral conduct, wisdom or concentration. For

example he could refer to the rules regarding alms

collection, and explain how these discourage

selfishness.

Buddhism


1

Exam Question

4(b) ‘The vinaya rules are impractical in modern society.’ Discuss. (10 marks)

Qiao’s answer

The practicality or otherwise of the vinaya rules

depends upon the context in which they are

practiced. Some rules which were relatively easy to

follow at the time of the Buddha are not so easy

now, as the context in which Buddhism is practised

has changed. At the time of the Buddha there was a

tradition of the laity supporting the monastic

sangha with alms. Rules such as those forbidding

the handling of money, and reliance upon alms for

food, were therefore entirely reasonable.

However, this changed as Buddhism and the

societies in which it practised changed. Tibetan

monasteries became very large, for example, and

were too large to enable the laity to support them

with an alms round. In Tibetan monasteries

therefore this tradition has largely been abandoned,

and the monasteries participate in farming in order

to support themselves. The difficulties in following

the vinaya rules may be most apparent in the West,

where there is no historical relationship between

the laity and the monastic community. For example

if the bhikkhus went on an alms round in

Leamington Spa then the people living there would

not be ready to provide them with food as there is

no history of this.

As the world has become more global other

difficulties have also arisen. In the past most

bhikkhus would have travelled little from their

monasteries. Being forbidden from handling money

would not necessarily have been a problem because

they would have attracted support from the laity in

the areas in which they travelled. Today bhikkhus

may be sent to study, teach or attend conferences

in other countries, having to travel by air, and

possibly stay in hotels. To do this without handling

money would be extremely problematic. Although

many bookings might be made using electronic

currency it is difficult to see how bhikkhus could

arrange food during their travels without either a

lay companion to handle the money, or handling

money themselves.

It is difficult to know whether in these

circumstances bhikkhus would abandon the rule, as

not being appropriate to the middle-way today, or

whether they would see the overcoming of the

difficulties raised by the rule as factors in their

development towards nibbana.

Examiner comment

Qiao’s answer has a clear thread. She links one point

to the next well. She is aware of some of the ways

the vinaya has been adapted already, and is aware

that the issue to be raised when considering further

adaptation is the extent to which the middle-way is

retained. Qiao uses two clear examples to illustrate

the points she is making. In her conclusion Qiao

could offer some critical analysis of which approach

she feels would be most in keeping with Buddhism.

Buddhism


1 Hot Tips

You can learn more about these topics on pages 14 and 35–38.

In part (a) of this question you need to bring together two areas of your learning – nibbana and the vinaya rules.

Sometimes students try to explain both areas individually, before bringing them together at the end as below:

• nibbana

• vinaya rules

• how the vinaya rules lead to nibbana.

Although you need to ensure you cover both areas you do not really have time to do this separately in the exam.

Instead you should aim to make a link between both areas with each point you make.

Amy: I find it really hard to remember all

the rules. I decided to try and memorise 10

rules, just to use as examples if I needed

too.

Jonathan: Lots of areas in Buddhism overlap, and I

realised that quite often questions cover more than

one area. When I was revising I used different colour

codes to show where there were links between topics,

for example I put blue dots on everything that could

be related to nibbana (for example – kamma,

samsara, dependent origination, The Four Noble

Truths, the three marks of existence).

Notes for activities


Cut and paste the boxes into the correct columns for Hinduism and Buddhism, using the

knowledge you have gained in your studies to explain these concepts. An example is given

to get you started.

Write a short summary using these ideas to explain how the Buddha adapted the teachings

prevalent in his day.

Hinduism (Brahmanism) Buddhism

Rebecoming – the momentary connection

between each moment of consciousness

connects one life to another.

Rebirth – at death the atman is passed from

one body to another.

Atman Anatta

Nibbana Moksha

Gods Brahman and the gods

Samsara Samsara

Karma Kamma

The caste system The sangha

Dharma (Varnashramadharma) Ahimsa

The Vedas and the Upanishads The Deer Park Sermon

Origins of Buddhism 1.1

Student Book page 6

Buddhism and Hinduism – what are the

differences?

Teacher resources


Questions

1. What sources do we have about the life of the Buddha?

2. How did Queen Maya know her child would be special?

3. What signs indicated Siddhartha was special at his birth?

4. Why were the four signs so shocking for Siddhartha?

5. How did Siddhartha react to the four signs?

6. Why were the ascetic practices unsuccessful?

7. What did Siddhartha learn from the ascetic practices?

8. How did Mara attempt to prevent Siddhartha from achieving enlightenment?

9. What did the Buddha learn in each of the three watches when he gained

enlightenment?

10. What was the Buddha’s first teaching?

11. What did the Buddha do before he died?

12. What was important about the way the Buddha died?


Student Book pages 10–13

The life of the Buddha – market place activity



Complete this chart showing whether you think this event is more likely to be myth or

history and what the importance of the event is for Buddhists. Try to explain your reasons

as fully as you can.

Im

po

rtan

ce

fo

r B

ud

dh

ists

Myth

or

his

tory?

Even

t

Bir

th a

nd

ch

ild

ho

od

Ren

un

cia

tio

n

En

lig

hte

nm

en

t

Tea

ch

ing

Death



The life of the Buddha – key events chart

Teacher resources


Read the account below, telling of the origination of one of the vinaya rules. What does this

tell us about how the vinaya rules evolved? How does this affect the authority of the vinaya

rules?

Kucchivikara-vatthu: The monk with dysentery

(Translated from the Pali by Bhikkhu Nyanamoli)

Now a certain bhikkhu was once sick with dysentery, and he lay fouled in his own urine

and excrement. As the Blessed One was going to the round of the lodgings with the

venerable A nanda as his attendant monk, he came to the bhikkhu’s dwelling. When he

saw him lying where he was, he went up to him and said: ‘What is your sickness,

bhikkhu?’

‘It is dysentery, Blessed One.’

‘But, bhikkhu, have you no attendant?’

‘No, Blessed One.’

‘Why do the bhikkhus not look after you, bhikkhu?’

‘I am of no use to the bhikkhus, Lord; that is why they do not look after me.’

Then the Blessed One said to the venerable A nanda: ‘A nanda, go and fetch some

water. Let us wash this bhikkhu.’

‘Even so, Lord,’ the venerable A nanda replied, and he brought some water. The

Blessed One poured out the water and the venerable A nanda washed the bhikkhu.

Then the Blessed One took him by the head and the venerable A nanda took him by the

feet, and they raised him up and put him to bed.

With this as the occasion and this as the reason, the Blessed One summoned the

bhikkhus and asked them: ‘Bhikkhus, is there a bhikkhu sick in a certain dwelling?‘

‘There is, Blessed One.’

‘What is that bhikkhu’s illness?’

‘He has dysentery, Lord.’

‘Has he anyone to look after him?’

‘No, Blessed One.’

‘Why do the bhikkhus not look after him?’

‘Lord, that bhikkhu is of no use to the bhikkhus; that is why they do not look after

him.’

‘Bhiikkhus, you have neither mother nor father to look after you. If you do not look

after each other, who will look after you? Let him who would look after me look after

one who is sick. If he has a preceptor, his preceptor should as long as he lives look

Continues on next sheet


Student Book pages 14–15 Sheet 1 of 2

Origins of vinaya rules – The monk with

dysentery



Kucchivikara-vatthu: The monk with dysentery

(continued)

after him until his recovery. His teacher, if he has one, should do likewise. Or his co-

resident, or his pupil, or one who has the same preceptor, or one who has the same

teacher. If he has none of these, the Sangha should look after him. Not to do so is an

offence of wrongdoing.’

‘When a sick man has five qualities, he is hard to look after: he does what is

unsuitable; he does not know the measure of what is suitable; he does not take

medicine; he does not disclose his illness to his sick-nurse who seeks his welfare, or

tell him that it is better when it is so, or worse when it is so, or the same when it is so;

he is of a type unable to endure arisen bodily feelings that are painful, harsh, racking,

piercing, disagreeable, unwelcome and menacing to life. When a sick man has the five

opposite qualities, he is easy to look after.’

Vin. Mv. 8:26



Origins of vinaya rules – The monk with

dysentery

Teacher resources


1. When did Asoka become a Buddhist? 2. What effect did the battle for Kalinga have

on Asoka?

3. How do we know about Asoka’s ideas? 4. What type of moral behaviour do the rock

and pillar edicts recommend?

5. What social reforms did Asoka institute? 6. How did Asoka’s own behaviour

demonstrate Buddhist beliefs?

7. What was Asoka’s involvement with the

monastic sangha?

8. What was Asoka’s attitude to other

religions?

9. What were the advantages to Buddhism of

Asoka’s support?

10. What were the disadvantages to Buddhism

of Asoka’s support?

Spread of Buddhism 2.1


Asoka – quick draw cards



The concept of kamma is often misunderstood in the West.

• Look at the images below and decide which one best demonstrates the Buddhist

concept of kamma.

• Explain why this image is the best way to demonstrate the Buddhist concept of kamma.

• Explain why the other two images are not good ways to demonstrate the Buddhist

concept of kamma.

Core concepts 3.1


Images to represent kamma



Core concepts 3.3


The Wheel of Life

Teacher resources


The hub

The hub represents the idea that the three poisons keep the cycle of samsara in motion. It

contains a boar to represent ignorance, a snake to represent envy and a cockerel to

represent greed. They are shown eating each other’s tails to represent the idea that they

feed off each other.

The six realms of rebirth

• The heavens – the gods have been reborn in the heavens due to the

accumulation of good kamma. The heavenly realms are blissful and the gods

are too happy to seek nibbana. However, the gods are still subject to rebirth

and will have to leave the heavenly realms.

• The demi-gods – the demi-gods wage war on the gods as they seek their own

desires. The tree of long life has its roots in the demi-gods realm and its fruit in

the heavenly realms. The demi-gods are fighting for the fruit they believe

should be theirs.

• The human realm – with a mixture of pain and pleasure this world is seen as

the most fortunate rebirth, as it has the right stimulus to cause us to seek

nibbana.

• The animal realm – animals are driven by instinct and thus unable to seek

nibbana.

• The hungry ghosts (pretas) – greed and craving lead to this unpleasant rebirth.

The pretas have tiny mouths and huge bellies, so are unable to satisfy their

hunger.

• The hell realms – there are many hell realms, often graphically depicted. In the

hell realms life is too unpleasant to contemplate seeking nibbana. As with the

heavenly realms life is not eternal and beings will eventually be reborn.

The twelve links of dependent origination

• The first picture shows a blind man with a stick, unable to find his way: this

represents ignorance.

• The second picture shows a potter making pots, symbolising his own thoughts

and deeds moulding his own kamma.

• The third picture depicts a monkey going from branch to branch in a tree,

showing how consciousness jumps from object to object.

• The fourth picture shows a boat with four people, symbolising the 5 khandhas

floating on the stream of life.

• The fifth picture is of a house with five windows and a door, symbolising the six

senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, smell and mind) by which the outer world is

perceived.

(continues on next sheet)

Core concepts 3.4


The Wheel of Life - explanation



(continued from sheet 1)

• The sixth picture, a man and a woman embracing, demonstrates contact: this is

the consequence of sense perceptions.

• The seventh picture is dedicated to the feeling one experiences: this is

symbolised by a man with an arrow in the eye.

• The eighth picture, of a woman offering a drink to a man, shows craving caused

by our feelings.

• The ninth picture, a man picking fruit, shows how we grasp for those things we

crave.

• The tenth picture shows the creation of a new life, symbolised by a pregnant

woman.

• The eleventh picture shows a woman giving birth to a child to symbolise the

process of rebirth.

• The twelfth picture shows a corpse to symbolise suffering, decay and death.

Core concepts 3.4


The Wheel of Life - explanation

Teacher resources


Use the information on the cards you are given to explain whether Peter has taken refuge in

the Buddha – and how you can tell.

Peter has been taking meditation classes at

the local Buddhist centre for several months. Peter is married with two children.

Peter has bought a statue of the Buddha to

use in his meditation practices at home.

Peter has set up an area at home where he

can meditate in peace and quiet.

Taking refuge in Buddhism means seeking

support, guidance and advice. Peter’s wife has supported his decision.

Peter has bought a copy of the Jataka Tales,

and is reading the stories in it to his children.

Peter has asked a monk at the vihara for

advice on the best meditation practice to use.

Peter has begun to practise the eightfold

path.

Peter has been trying to show more

compassion for others.

Peter has been advised to practise metta

meditation.

The image of the Buddha Peter has chosen is

one of him meditating.

Peter has been reading the Dhammapada. Peter has been meditating on episodes in the

Buddha’s life where he showed compassion.

Core concepts 3.5


Has Peter taken refuge in the Buddha?

Three refuges mystery exercise

Teacher resources


This translation is by Edward Conze, from Buddhist Scriptures (Penguin Classics, 1959)

The Venerable Nagasena stayed at the Sankheyya hermitage together with 80,000 monks.

King Milinda, accompanied by a retinue of 500 Greeks, went up to where he was, gave him

a friendly and courteous greeting, and sat on one side. Nagasena returned his greetings,

and his courtesy pleased the king’s heart.

2 The Doctrine of Not-Self

2a. The Chariot

And King Milinda asked him: ‘How is your Reverence known, and what is your name, Sir?’

Nagasena: ‘As Nagasena I am known, O great king, and as Nagasena do my fellow

religious habitually address me. But although parents give such names as Nagasena or

Surasena, or Virasena, or Sihasena nevertheless this word “Nagasena” is just a

denomination, a designation, a conceptual term, a current appellation, a mere name. For no

real person can here be apprehended.’

Milinda: ‘Now listen, you 500 Greeks and 80,000 monks, this Nagasena tells me that he is

not a real person. How can I be expected to agree with that?’ (Turns to Nagasena) ‘If, most

reverend Nagasena, no person can be apprehended in reality, who, then, I ask you, gives

you what you require by way of robes, food, lodging, and medicines? What is it that

consumes them? Who is it that guards morality, [and] practices meditation? Who is it that

kills living beings, takes what is not given, commits sexual misconduct, tells lies, drinks

intoxicants? Who is it that commits the Five Deadly Sins? For, if there were no person,

there could be no merit or demerit; no doer of meritorious or demeritorious deeds, and no

agent behind them; no fruit of good and evil deeds, and no reward or punishment for them.

If someone should kill you, O Venerable Nagasena, he would not commit any murder. And

you yourself, Venerable Nagasena, would not be a real teacher, or instructor, or ordained

monk! You just told me that your fellow religious habitually address you as “Nagasena”.

What then is this “Nagasena”? Are perhaps the hairs of the head “Nagasena”?’

Nagasena: ‘No, great king!’

Milinda: ‘Or perhaps the hairs of the body?’


Milinda: ‘Or perhaps the nails, teeth, skin, muscles, sinews, bones, marrow, kidneys,

heart, liver, serous membranes, spleen, lungs, intestines, mesentery, stomach, excrement,

the bile, phlegm, pus, blood, grease, fat, tears, sweat, spittle, snot, fluid of the joints,

urine, or the brain in the skull – are they this “Nagasena”?’


Milinda: ‘Or is form this “Nagasena,” or feeling, or perceptions, or impulses, or

consciousness?’


Milinda: ‘Then is it the combination of form, feelings, perceptions, impulses, and

consciousness?’


Core concepts 3.7






Milinda: ‘Then is it outside the combination of form, feelings, perceptions, impulses, and

consciousness?’


Milinda: ‘Then, ask as I may, I can discover no Nagasena at all. Just a mere sound is this

“Nagasena,” but who is the real Nagasena? Your Reverence has told a lie, has spoken a

falsehood! There really is no Nagasena!’

Nagasena: ‘As a king you have been brought up in great refinement and you avoid

roughness of any kind. If you would walk at midday on this hot, burning, and sandy ground,

then your feet would have to tread on the rough and gritty gravel and pebbles, and they

would hurt you, your body would get tired, your mind impaired, and your awareness of your

body would be associated with pain. How, then did you come: on foot, or on a mount?’

Milinda: ‘I did not come, Sir, on foot, but on a chariot.’

Nagasena: ‘If you have come on a chariot, then please explain to me what a chariot is. Is

the pole the chariot?’

Milinda: ‘No, reverend Sir!’

Nagasena: ‘Is then the axle the chariot?’


Nagasena: ‘Is it then the wheels, or the framework, or the flag-staff, or the yoke, or the

reins, or the goadstick?’


Nagasena: ‘Then is it the combination of pole, axle, wheels, framework, flag-staff, yoke,

reins, and goad?’


Nagasena: ‘Then is this “chariot” outside the combination of pole, axle, wheels,

framework, flag-staff, yoke, reins, and goad?’


Nagasena: ‘Then, ask as I may, I can discover no chariot at all. Just a mere sound is this

“chariot”. But what is the real chariot? Your Majesty has told a lie, has spoken a falsehood!

There really is no chariot! Your Majesty is the greatest king in the whole of India. Of whom

then are you afraid, that you do not speak the truth?

‘Now listen, you 500 Greeks, and 80,000 monks, this king Milinda tells me he has come in a

chariot. But when asked to explain to me what a chariot is, he cannot establish its

existence. How can one possibly approve of that?’

The five hundred Greeks thereupon applauded the Venerable Nagasena and said to King

Milinda: ‘Now let your Majesty get out of this if you can!’


Core concepts 3.7



Teacher resources


Milinda: ‘I have not, Nagasena, spoken a falsehood. For it is in dependence on the pole,

the axle, the wheels, the framework, the flag-staff, etc., that there takes place this

denomination “chariot,” this designation, this conceptual term, a current appellation, and a

mere name.’

Nagasena: ‘Your Majesty has spoken well about the chariot. It is just so with me. In

dependence on the thirty-two parts of the body and the five Skandhas [khandas] there takes

place this denomination “Nagasena,” this designation, this conceptual term, a current

appellation, and a mere name. In ultimate reality, however, this person cannot be apprehended.

And this has been said by our Sister Vajira when she was face to face with the Lord:

“Where all constituent parts are present,

The word ‘a chariot’ is applied.

So likewise where the skandhas are,

The term a ‘being’ commonly is used.”’

Milinda: ‘It is wonderful, Nagasena, it is astonishing, Nagasena! Most brilliantly have these

questions been answered! Were the Buddha himself here, he would approve what you have

said. Well spoken, Nagasena, well spoken!’

2b. Personal Identity and Rebirth

Milinda: ‘When someone is reborn, Venerable Nagasena, is he the same as the one who

just died, or is he another?’

Nagasena: ‘He is neither the same nor another.’

Milinda: ‘Give me an illustration!’

Nagasena: ‘What do you think, great king: when you were a tiny infant, newly born and

quite soft, were you then the same as the one who is now grown up?’

Milinda: ‘No, that infant was one; I, now grown up, am another.’

Nagasena: ‘If that is so, great king, you have had no mother, no father, no teaching, and

no schooling! Do we then take it that there is one mother for the embryo in the first stage,

another for the second stage, another for the third, another for the fourth, another for the

baby, another for the grown-up man? Is the schoolboy one person, and the one who has

finished school another? Does one commit a crime, but the hands and feet of another are

cut off?’

Milinda: ‘Certainly not! But what would you say, reverend Sir, to all that?’

Nagasena: ‘I was neither the tiny infant, newly born and quite soft, nor am I now the

grown-up man; but these comprise one unit depending on this very body.’

Milinda: ‘Give me a simile!’

Nagasena: ‘If a man were to light a lamp, could it give light throughout the whole night?’

Milinda: ‘Yes, it could.’

Nagasena: ‘Is not the flame which burns in the first watch of the night the same as the

one which burns in the second?’


Core concepts 3.7





Milinda: ‘It is not the same.’

Nagasena: ‘Or is the flame that burns in the second watch the same as the one which

burns in the last one?’

Milinda: ‘It is not the same.’

Nagasena: ‘Do we then take it that there is one lamp in the first watch of the night,

another in the second, and another again in the third?’

Milinda: ‘No, it is because of just that one lamp that the light shines throughout the night.’

Nagasena: ‘Even so must we understand the collocation of a series of successive dharmas.

At rebirth one dharma arises, while another stops; but the two processes take place almost

simultaneously (i.e., they are continuous). Therefore the first act of consciousness in the

new existence is neither the same as the last act of consciousness in the previous

existence, nor is it another.’

Milinda: ‘Give me another simile!’

Nagasena: ‘Milk, once the milking is done, turns after some time into curds; from curds it

turns into fresh butter, and from fresh butter into ghee. Would it now be correct to say that

the milk is the same thing as the curds, or the fresh butter, or the ghee?’

Milinda: ‘No, it would not. But they have been produced because of it.’

Nagasena: ‘Just so must be understood the collocation of a series of successive dharmas.’

Core concepts 3.7





This translation is from Bhikkhu Nyanamoli, The Life of the Buddha (BPE, Seattle 2001)

Bhikkhus, there are these two extremes that ought not to be cultivated by one who has

gone forth. What two? There is devotion to pursuit of pleasure in sensual desires, which is

low, coarse, vulgar, ignoble and harmful. The middle way discovered by the Perfect One

avoids both these extremes; it gives vision, gives knowledge, and leads to peace, to direct

knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana. And what is that middle way? It is this Noble

Eightfold Path, that is to say: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right

livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. That is the middle way

discovered by the Perfect One, which gives vision, gives knowledge, and leads to peace, to

direct knowledge, to enlightenment, to Nibbana.

There is this noble truth of suffering; birth is suffering, ageing is suffering, sickness is

suffering, death is suffering, sorrow and lamentation, pain, grief and despair are suffering,

association with the loathed is suffering, dissociation from the loved is suffering, not to get

what one wants is suffering – in short, the five aggregates affected by clinging are

suffering.

There is this noble truth of the origin of suffering: it is craving, which produces renewal of

being, is accompanied by relish and lust, relishing this and that; in other words, craving for

sensual desires, craving for being, craving for non-being.

There is this noble truth of the cessation of suffering: it is the remainderless fading and

ceasing, the giving up, relinquishing, letting go and rejecting of that same craving.

There is this noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering: it is this Noble

Eightfold Path, that is to say, right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right

livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

‘There is this noble truth of suffering’: such was the insight, the knowledge, the

understanding, the vision, the light, that arose in me about things not heard before. ‘This

noble truth must be penetrated to by fully knowing suffering’: such was the insight, the

knowledge, the understanding, the vision, the light, that arose in me about things not heard

before. ‘This noble truth has been penetrated to by fully knowing suffering’: such was the

insight, the knowledge, the understanding, the vision, the light, that arose in me about

things not heard before.

‘There is this noble truth of the origin of suffering’: such was the insight, the knowledge,

the understanding, the vision, the light, that arose in me about things not heard before. ‘

This noble truth must be penetrated to by abandoning the origin of suffering’: such was the


things not heard before. ‘This noble truth has been penetrated to by abandoning the origin

of suffering’: such was the insight, the knowledge, the understanding, the vision, the light,

that arose in me about things not heard before.

‘There is this noble truth of the cessation of suffering’: such was the insight, the knowledge,

the understanding, the vision, the light, that arose in me about things not heard before.

‘This noble truth must be penetrated to by realizing the cessation of suffering’: such was

the insight, the knowledge, the understanding, the vision, the light, that arose in me about

things not heard before. ‘This noble truth has been penetrated to by realizing the cessation




Key teachings, attitudes and practices 4.1


The Deer Park Sermon (Setting in Motion the

Wheel of Dhamma)

Teacher resources


‘There is this noble truth of the way leading to the cessation of suffering’: such was the


things not heard before. ‘This noble truth must be penetrated to by maintaining in being the

way leading to the cessation of suffering’: such was the insight, the knowledge, the

understanding the vision, the light, that arose in me about things not heard before. ‘This

noble truth has been penetrated to by maintaining in being the way leading to the cessation



‘As long as my correct knowledge and vision in these twelve aspects – in these three

phases of penetration to each of the Four Noble Truths – was not quite purified, I did not

claim to have discovered the full enlightenment that is supreme in the world with its deities,

its Maras and its divinities, in this generation with its monks and brahmans, with its princes

and men. But as soon as my correct knowledge and vision in these twelve aspects – in the

three phases of each of the Four Noble Truths – was quite purified, then I claimed to have

discovered the full enlightenment that is supreme in the world with its deities, its Maras and

its divinities, in this generation with its monks and brahmans, with its princes and men.

The knowledge and vision arose in me: ‘My heart’s deliverance is unassailable; this is the

last birth; there is no more renewal of being.’

Vin. Mv. 1:6; S. 56.11



The Deer Park Sermon (Setting in Motion the

Wheel of Dhamma)



Wisdom

Right Understanding (view) This is about seeing things as they really are, by

understanding the Four Noble Truths which allow us to see the world as it really is. This

concept goes beyond ‘knowledge’ as we normally consider it. It involves a deep

understanding or ‘penetration’ during which we see the true nature of things. We are only

able to achieve this understanding when the mind has been freed from all impurities

through meditation.

Right Thought (attitude, intention) This involves controlling the emotions, channelling

thought away from hatred towards compassion, from sensuality towards detachment. It

might also be the committed intention of following the eightfold path.

Morality

Right Speech Avoiding lies, slander, gossip, malicious or abusive language or

speech which will lead to hatred or disharmony. Speaking truthfully, using gentle

and friendly words and speaking only when it is useful. The Buddha advocated a

‘noble silence’ when nothing useful could be said.

Right Action Right Action specifically enjoins us not to steal, destroy life, cheat

others or engage in harmful sexual experiences. We should act morally and in a

peaceful manner. There is also an expectation that Buddhists should help others to

lead an honourable life.

Right Livelihood Do not make a living in a way which causes harm to others, e.g.

the arms trade, the alcohol industry, cheating (which may today be considered to

refer to the gambling industry, or even in some cases to the advertising industry),

or killing animals. Buddhists might encourage others to choose the ‘caring

professions’.

Concentration

Right Effort This is the will or determination to prevent and dispel unwholesome states of

mind and to produce and develop wholesome states of mind.

Right Mindfulness This is the development of full awareness of the body, feelings, mind

and thoughts. This awareness is essential if we are to control them. Although many regard

Right Concentration as meditation practices, some meditation practices are designed to

develop Right Mindfulness; for example, breathing exercises develop an awareness of the

body.

Right Concentration Practices designed to avoid distraction and develop the mind into a

state where it can experience an insight into the truth. As concentration develops, you

pass through the four jhanas the Buddha experienced prior to his enlightenment.



The eightfold path information sheet

Teacher resources


Use this sheet to help you record information about the eightfold path during the maps from

memory exercise.



The eightfold path recording sheet



Explain which of these images is most helpful in understanding the eightfold path and why.

Are there any flaws in the images? What are they?



Images of the eightfold path

Teacher resources


Amy

Amy has been working in the local burger bar for 18 months. Any cooked food which is

unsold for longer than one hour is supposed to be thrown away to ensure customers’

safety. This costs the company money. Amy has noticed that the managers have

started keeping cooked food for longer than an hour, to improve profits.

Ollie

A large supermarket has recently built a new shop on the edge of a small town and

is advertising for staff. This development will put lots of the local shops in town out

of business. Ollie is a sixth form student looking for work. His Mum works in one of

the local shops.

Hafsah and Sally

Hafsah is concerned about her friend, Sally. Sally has been dieting recently and has lost a

lot of weight. When Hafsah complemented her on her weight loss, Sally said that she still

had a lot of weight left to lose. She started pointing to places on her body that she still

thought were fat, and saying how horrible she looked. Hafsah thinks that Sally is now a

healthy weight and is worried that if she tries to lose more weight she will make herself ill.

She does not think that Sally is seeing her body as it is, but as it used to be.

Ross

Ross has not been doing his homework. He has now got an after-school detention.

When he goes home he tells his Mum that he doesn’t understand why he has got a

detention, as he has always done what he is told. His Mum believes him, and is

planning to phone up the school and complain that they are picking on Ross for no

reason.

Aydin

While checking his pay, Aydin discovered he has been overpaid for several months.

Sian

Sian has been preparing for a gap year, when she discovers that her Dad is seriously

ill. She is grief-stricken and unsure what to do next.



The Four Noble Truths – in real life!

Teacher resources


Sort these vinaya rules into the following categories:

1. Those requiring expulsion from the monastic sangha.

2. Those requiring suspension or probation.

3. Those which are judged according to the circumstances.

4. Those requiring expiation (penance/reparation) and/or confession.

To accept gold or silver. Accepting robes from an unrelated

bhikkhuni.

To build a living place which involves the

destruction of a living being. Asking householders for delicacies.

Murder. Destroying plants.

Making a false accusation against a

faultless monk. Digging the earth.

To act as a go between for a couple

arranging marriage or adultery. Drinking alcohol.

Sitting with a woman in a secluded place. Failing to dye one’s robes.

To help a monk who is trying to split the

community. Having a high bed.

Making false claims to the laity. Killing an animal.

Stealing. Slandering a monk.

Having sexual intercourse. Telling a lie.



Vinaya rules



Sort these statements into tangible and intangible benefits for the monastic sangha and the

laity.

ceremonies freedom from everyday attachments

education time to study the dhamma

merit time to meditate

preserving the dhamma providing food

providing ‘merit-making’ opportunities providing services

providing an example of Buddhist practice providing robes

providing hope that nibbana can be achieved providing shelter

providing medicines managing money

support, encouragement and advice the ideal opportunity to follow the middle-way

teaching carrying out ceremonies



The duties and benefits for the laity and the

sangha

Teacher resources


Exam

ple

of

rule

s

Nu

mb

er a

nd

typ

e o

f eth

ical

rule

s

Gro

up

Lay m

en

Lay w

om

en

Bh

ikkh

us

Bh

ikkh

un

is



Ethical practices for the laity and monastic

community



Read the statements below and put them into appropriate categories.

Arhats are selfish.

Arhats spend a lot of time teaching others.

It is nonsense to argue that a being who recognises anatta can be selfish.

Seeking nibbana solely to obtain release for yourself shows vanity.

The bodhisattva aims to help all beings attain enlightenment.

There are few bodhisattvas.

There are many bodhisattvas.

The elevation of bodhisattvas to god-like status is a betrayal of Buddhism.

We should not rely on others to help us, as the Buddha told us to seek the path for

ourselves.

Bodhisattvas demonstrate both wisdom and compassion.

Bodhisattvas are just further along the path than us.



Arhats and bodhisattvas

Teacher resources


On the three diagrams below record the characteristics of each of the ‘bodies’ of the

Buddha.



The trikaya doctrine



What do these different images tell us about attitudes to the Buddha? How might these

images be used?



Pictures of the Buddha

Teacher resources


1) What does the word bodhisattva mean? 2) How many perfections (paramitas) are

there?

3) How many stages (bhumis) are there in the

bodhisattva path? 4) What is bodhicitta?

5) At what stage is it guaranteed that nibbana

will be achieved? 6) Can bodhisattvas choose their rebirths?

7) How does one become a bodhisattva? 8) Are bodhisattvas aiming for Buddhahood?

9) Do bodhisattvas ‘put off’ enlightenment in

order to save others?

10) Have the bodhisattvas in Mahayana

Buddhism taken on the same role as gods in

other religions?

11) Who is Maitreya? 12) How does the bodhisattva path differ in

Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism?



Bodhisattva path – quick draw cards



Which of these is the odd one out? Why?

Enlightenment Awakening Nibbana Seeing things as they

really are

Nirvana Nibbana Satori Blowing out

Nibbana Parinibbana Nirodha Extinguishing

The Buddha Tathagata Siddhartha Gautama Shakyamuni Buddha

Buddha Dhamma Sangha Dukkha

Dependent origination Samsara Nibbana Dukkha

Kamma Karma Rebirth Samsara

Conditioned genesis Dependent origination Cycle of samsara Wheel of rebirth

Laity Monastic sangha Fourfold sangha Twofold sangha

Bhikkhu Bhikkhuni Arhat Buddha

Dukkha Anicca Anatta Dhamma

General ideas A.1

Odd one out

Teacher resources


Using the mark schemes, mark Anthea’s essay. You might find it helpful to underline all the

good points in Anthea’s essay in one colour, and all the negative points in another colour.

1(a) Explain the relationship between the three poisons and samsara. [25 marks]

The wheel of samsara is the idea that we are born, die and are reborn. It is the three

poisons (greed, hatred and delusion) which keep the wheel of samsara in motion. This is

why they are shown at the centre of the wheel of life.

In Buddhism there is no soul or self, so the process of rebirth is quite complicated. It is four

of the five khandhas which are passed on at rebirth. These include the habits we have built

up throughout our lives, and our kammic formations. We generate kamma by our

behaviour, because we are greedy and selfish, we hate others, or make mistakes because

we do not know any better.

This is shown in the wheel of dependent origination. It is tanha (greed or craving) which

causes us to grasp at things. This grasping leads to attachment and then to rebirth. If we

can stop greed we can break this cycle, and attain nibbana.

1(b) ‘There is no difference between greed and hatred.’ Discuss. [10 marks]

Greed and hatred are different at one level, but at another level they are the same. Greed

is when we crave something, and want to have something. This in Buddhist thought is

dangerous because it leads to attachment. Hatred is different. We hate things we don’t like,

and this is the opposite of greed. The results are similar though because we crave to be

away from something, which also leads to attachment. We can see this sometimes in the

phrase we always hate the ones we love. We only hate them because we are attached to

them. So greed and hatred are two forms of the same thing. So yes there is no difference

between them.

Exam Café B.1

Mark Anthea’s essay



There are two parts to the mark schemes used by OCR.

The generic mark scheme – this is the most important part. Your work will be assessed and

assigned to levels according to the criteria outlined on this mark scheme.

The indicative content mark scheme – this is a guide for examiners. It shows them the type

of content most students are likely to include in their answers. Don’t worry if you include

different material, as your work will always be assessed against how well it answers the

question.

Indicative content

1(a) Explain the relationship between the three poisons and samsara.

• Candidates are likely to explain the nature and relationship of the three poisons,

greed, hatred and delusion.

• Candidates might consider the cycle of samsara, explaining the nature of rebirth

in Buddhism.

• Candidates are likely to refer to the depiction of samsara in the Tibetan Wheel

of Life, where the three poisons are depicted as the hub of the wheel. They may

use this to demonstrate the role of the three poisons in keeping beings within

samsara.

• Some candidates might refer to dependent origination to demonstrate the

operation of the 3 poisons within the cycle of samsara.

• Better responses will need to address both aspects of the question fully. [25]

1(b) ‘There is no difference between greed and hatred.’ Discuss.

• Answers will build on the material in part (a), perhaps exploring the reasons

why they are both included within the three poisons.

• Candidates are likely to use examples from their own experience to argue that

greed and hatred are patently different.

• Good responses are likely to explore the Buddhist understanding that hatred is

an inversion of greed, desiring the absence rather than presence of something.

• Good responses should be able to explore similarities and differences between

the two before reaching a conclusion. [10]

Exam Café B.2

The mark scheme: indicative content

Teacher resources


Band Mark/25 AO1 Mark/10 AO2

0 0 absent/no relevant material 0 absent/no argument

1 1-5 almost completely ignores the

question

• little relevant material

• some concepts inaccurate

• shows little knowledge of

technical terms

Communication: often unclear or

disorganised

1-2 very little argument or justification of

viewpoint

• little or no successful analysis

2 6-10 focuses on the general topic

rather than directly on the

question

• knowledge limited and partially

accurate

• limited understanding

• selection often inappropriate

• limited use of technical terms

Communication: some clarity and

organisation

3-4 an attempt to sustain an argument and

justify a viewpoint

• some analysis, but not successful

• views asserted but not successfully

justified

3 11-15 satisfactory attempt to address

the question

• some accurate knowledge

• appropriate understanding

• some successful selection of

material

• some accurate use of technical

terms

Communication: some clarity and

organisation

5-6 the argument is sustained and justified

• some successful analysis which

may be implicit


Exam Café B.3

Sheet 1 of 2

The mark scheme: generic mark scheme



(Generic mark scheme continued)

4 16-20 a good attempt to address the

question

• accurate knowledge

• good understanding

• good selection of material

• technical terms mostly accurate

Communication: generally clear

and organised

a good attempt at using evidence to

sustain an argument

• some successful and clear analysis

• might put more than one point of view

5 21-25 an excellent attempt to address

the question showing

understanding and engagement

with the material

• very high level of ability to

select and deploy relevant

information

• accurate use of technical terms

Communication: answer is well

constructed and organised

an excellent attempt which uses a

range of evidence to sustain an argument

• comprehends the demands of the

question

• shows understanding and critical

analysis of different viewpoints

Exam Café B.3

Sheet 2 of 2

The mark scheme: generic mark scheme

Teacher resources


Here is what the examiner thought of Anthea’s essay:

1(a) Explain the relationship between the three poisons and samsara. [25 marks]

The wheel of samsara is the idea that we are born, die and are reborn. It is the three

poisons (greed, hatred and delusion) which keep the wheel of samsara in motion. This

is why they are shown at the centre of the wheel of life.

In Buddhism there is no soul or self, so the process of rebirth is quite complicated. It is

four of the five khandhas which are passed on at rebirth. These include the habits we

have built up throughout our lives, and our kammic formations. We generate kamma

by our behaviour, because we are greedy and selfish, we hate others, or make

mistakes because we do not know any better.

This is shown in the wheel of dependent origination. It is tanha (greed or craving)

which causes us to grasp at things. This grasping leads to attachment and then to

rebirth. If we can stop greed we can break this cycle, and attain nibbana.

Overall Anthea has done nothing wrong. She understands the question and has tried to address it explicitly. The

points she has made lack depth and detail, though. Anthea needs to take each point and explain it with examples

and reference to Buddhist teachings. Anthea has shown accurate knowledge, but the lack of detail means she has

not shown good understanding.

1(b) ‘There is no difference between greed and hatred.’ Discuss. [10 marks]

Greed and hatred are different at one level, but at another level they are the same.

Greed is when we crave something, and want to have something.

This in Buddhist thought is dangerous because it leads to attachment. Hatred is

different. We hate things we don’t like, and this is the opposite of greed.

The results are similar though because we crave to be away from something, which

also leads to attachment.

We can see this sometimes in the phrase we always hate the ones we love. We only

hate them because we are attached to them.

So greed and hatred are two forms of the same thing. So yes there is no difference

between them.

Anthea has given some evidence to support her argument that greed and hatred have the same effect. Although

she states that greed and hatred can also be seen as different, she has not really offered any evidence to

support this claim. Anthea could also have made more use of Buddhist teachings in her evaluation. Anthea’s answer

has some successful analysis, but it is not always clear.

Exam Café B.4

Anthea’s essay

This is a good introduction.

It makes a clear link between

the three poisons and samsara

right at the start of the

essay.

Here again Anthea has tried to

link the two areas in the

question. This is less successful,

however, as it lacks detail.

This is a good point , and if

explored in more detail could

lead to high marks

This is a fair point, which

could be supported with an

example

Again this is a valid point,

which could be supported with

an example

This is a clear attempt to

address the issues raised in

the question.

Whilst it is fine to use

everyday experiences to help

us explain answers Anthea

does so at the expense of

including Buddhist views.



Use the framework below to help you plan and structure your essay on Asoka.

3(a) Explain why Asoka was important for the spread of Buddhism. [25 marks]

A brief outline of the context of Asoka’s life – do not spend too long on this.

The importance of pillars and rock edicts in spreading Buddhism within India.

Support for missionary activity, and the success of this in spreading Buddhism outside

India.

How Asoka’s support led to increased uptake of Buddhism amongst members of the

government, and how this might have contributed to the spread of Buddhism within

and outside of India.

3(b) ‘Asoka was more important to the survival of Buddhism than the sangha.’ Discuss. [10 marks]

The importance of Asoka’s patronage on the survival of Buddhism.

Reformation of the monastic sangha, missionary activity, patronage of the monastic

sangha, implementation of reforms to governmental practices.

The importance of the sangha to the survival of Buddhism.

Preservation of the dhamma, spread of the teachings.

Evaluation of whether the sangha or Asoka was most important in ensuring the

survival of Buddhism.

Exam Café B.5

Asoka essay – writing frame

Advanced Subsidiary GCE

GCE RELIGIOUS STUDIES G576 QP

Unit G576: AS Buddhism

Specimen Paper Morning/Afternoon

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Additional Materials: Answer Booklet (…pages)

INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES • Answer two questions. INFORMATION FOR CANDIDATES • The number of marks for each question is given in brackets [ ] at the end of each question or part of

question. • The total number of marks for this paper is 70. ADVICE TO CANDIDATES • Read each question carefully and make sure you know what you have to do before starting your

answer.

This document consists of 2 printed pages.

SP (SLM) T12103 © OCR 2007 [QAN 500/2280/5] OCR is an exempt Charity [Turn Over

2

Answer two questions.

1 (a) Explain the relationship between the three poisons and samsara. [25]

(b) ‘There is no difference between greed and hatred.’ Discuss. [10]

2 (a) Explain the different attitudes to the Buddha in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. [25]

(b) To what extent is the Buddha seen as simply a man in Theravada Buddhism? [10]

3 (a) Explain why Asoka was important for the spread of Buddhism. [25]

(b) ‘Asoka was more important to the survival of Buddhism than the sangha.’ Discuss. [10]

4 (a) Explain how following the vinaya rules might lead to nibbana. [25]

(b) ‘The vinaya rules are impractical in modern society.’ Discuss. [10]

Paper Total [70]

2

Band Mark /25

AO1 Mark /10

AO2

0 0 absent/no relevant material

0 absent/no argument

1 1-5 almost completely ignores the question • little relevant material • some concepts inaccurate • shows little knowledge of

technical terms Communication: often unclear or disorganised

1-2 very little argument or justification of viewpoint • little or no successful

analysis Communication: often unclear or disorganised

2 6-10 focuses on the general topic rather than directly on the question • knowledge limited and

partially accurate • limited understanding • selection often inappropriate • limited use of technical terms Communication: some clarity and organisation

3-4 an attempt to sustain an argument and justify a viewpoint • some analysis, but not

successful • views asserted but not

successfully justified Communication: some clarity and organisation

3 11-15 satisfactory attempt to address the question • some accurate knowledge • appropriate understanding • some successful selection of

material • some accurate use of

technical terms Communication: some clarity and organisation

5-6 the argument is sustained and justified • some successful analysis

which may be implicit Communication: some clarity and organisation

4 16-20 a good attempt to address the question • accurate knowledge • good understanding • good selection of material • technical terms mostly

accurate Communication: generally clear and organised

7-8 a good attempt at using evidence to sustain an argument • some successful and clear

analysis • might put more than one

point of view Communication: generally clear and organised

5 21-25 an excellent attempt to address the question showing understanding and engagement with the material • very high level of ability to

select and deploy relevant information

• accurate use of technical terms

Communication: answer is well constructed and organised

9-10 an excellent attempt which uses a range of evidence to sustain an argument • comprehends the demands

of the question • shows understanding and

critical analysis of different viewpoints

Communication: answer is well constructed and organised

3

Question Number Answer Max

Mark

1(a) Explain the relationship between the three poisons and samsara.

Candidates are likely to explain the nature and relationship of the three poisons, greed, hatred and delusion. Candidates might explain the cycle of samsara, explaining the nature of rebirth in Buddhism. Candidates are likely to explain the depiction of samsara in the Tibetan Wheel of Life, where the three poisons are depicted as the hub of the wheel. They may use this to demonstrate the role of the three poisons in keeping beings within samsara. Some candidates might refer to dependent origination to demonstrate the operation of the 3 poisons within the cycle of samsara. Better responses will need to address both aspects of the question fully.

[25]

1(b) ‘There is no difference between greed and hatred.’ Discuss. Answers will build on the material in part (a), perhaps exploring the

reasons why they are both included within the three poisons. Candidates are likely to use examples from their own experience to argue that greed and hatred are patently different. Good responses are likely to explore the Buddhist understanding that hatred is an inversion of greed, desiring the absence rather then presence of something. Good responses should be able to assess similarities and differences between the two before reaching a conclusion. [10]

2(a) Explain the different attitudes to the Buddha in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism.

Candidates are likely to explain the Theravada view that the Buddha was ‘simply’ a man, who having followed the Bodhisattva path reached its conclusion and could see the world as it really was. Good responses are also likely to explain the idea that in Theravada Buddhism only one Buddha appears at a time. Candidates might also consider the trikaya doctrine in Mahayana Buddhism, especially the more celestial views of the Buddha expressed in Mahayana Buddhism. Good responses may explain the concept of tathagatagarbha, and the multiplicity of Buddhas in the Mahayana tradition.

[25]

4


Mark

2(b) To what extent is the Buddha seen as simply a man in Theravada Buddhism?

Candidates might argue that the Buddha is seen as a man in Theravada Buddhism, though one who has followed a long path towards Buddhahood. Some candidates might argue that the Buddha was a man, but the achievement of Buddhahood elevated him beyond this. Good responses are likely to focus on the appropriateness of the word simply in this context. They might explore the extraordinary nature required to follow the path to Buddhahood.

[10]

3(a) Explain why Asoka was important for the spread of Buddhism. Candidates are likely to explain key aspects of the life of Asoka, however

better responses will need to move beyond description and address the question, specifically focusing on why Asoka was important for the spread of Buddhism. Candidates might explain Asoka’s support for missionary activity for example to Sri Lanka (Ceylon) and the erection of pillars. Further explanation is likely to focus on the reformation of the sangha and governmental support. Good responses are likely to explain the success and importance of these factors in spreading Buddhist belief and practice.

[25]

3(b) Asoka was more important to the survival of Buddhism than the sangha.’ Discuss.

Candidates are likely to explore the effect of Asoka’s patronage and reforms on the early survival of Buddhism. Candidates might also assess the importance of the sangha in preserving the teachings of the Buddha. Good responses might consider the state of the sangha at the time of Asoka, and the damage this might have caused to Buddhism if left unreformed, before reaching a conclusion. [10]

5


Mark

4(a) Explain how following the vinaya rules might lead to nibbana. Candidates are likely to explain the purpose of the vinaya rules in helping

bhikkhus follow the middle path, and developing the attitudes necessary for the achievement of nibbana. Candidates might also explain the nature of nibbana, and the qualities that need to be developed in order to realise nibbana. Candidates would benefit from explaining some specific vinaya rules to illustrate their response. Candidates are likely to explain the link between the vinaya rules, kamma, the Four Noble Truths, and nibbana. [25]

4(b) ‘The vinaya rules are impractical in modern society.’ Discuss.

Candidates might argue that some rules, such as the injunction on the handling of money, are impractical in modern society. Candidates may argue that although difficult to follow such rules still have value, for example in the development of positive attitudes or the following of the middle path. Good responses might explore whether such rules were always impractical, or are only so now due to modern developments. [10]

Paper Total [70]

The Three Marks of Existence [anicca, dukkha, anatta] Note: You need to be able to answer [a] questions on the meaning of each of these, individually and all three together. Easy enough on anatta & dukkha, I hear you say, but wot about earning 25 marks on anicca??? Well, actually, I think it’s v. unlikely that we’ll get one on just anicca! More likely will be a general all-three question with a [b] on whether anicca is the most important. So… Here are some possible questions for you to think through…. 1 [a] State & explain Buddhist teaching on dukkha. [25] [b] ‘Buddhism is pessimistic’ – To what extent do you agree? [10] 2 [a] State & explain Buddhist teaching on anatta. [25] [b] To what extent do you consider this teaching to be either accurate or helpful? [10] 3 [a] State & explain the Three Marks of Existence. [25] [b] ‘Anicca is the most important of these’ - to what extent do you agree? [10] OR ‘Dukkha is the most important of these’ OR ‘Anatta is the most important of these’ OR To what extent do you consider the 3 Marks of Existence to be of equal importance? (This is fun, eh?)

1

1 [a] Describe & explain Buddhist teaching on Dukkha. [25] Intro. on obvious centrality of dukkha in Buddhist teaching, espec. as one of the 3 Marks of Existence (thus characterising all samsaric life in general) and in 4 Nobs, & thus on how important it is to know what the word dukkha actually translates…

• variant translations of dukkha – espec. as ‘unsatisfactoriness’ • the 3 categories of dukkha (mental/physical, through anicca, ennui/angst)

try to throw a quote in here & then say: dukkha’s a fact, face up to it! • the causes of dukkha – craving & ignorance (+ underlying illusion of ‘self’) Give this some depth & welly • Concl: Buddhist dhamma helps us identify & face this with a view to overcoming it… (ie. Lead in to part [b])

[b] Buddhism is Pessimistic. [i] Yes it is pessimistic, because….

• of the sweeping, all-inclusive nature of the claim that all of life is characterised by dukkha… Hey, even the good times suck! (or pass)

• it leads to not expecting anything good out of life or people, & this could be profoundly demoralising & lead to precisely the sort of existential angst & ennui that the Buddhists claim to want to overcome…

• we might even feel suspicious in some presentations of Budd. That they want to prove life is hopeless so that you have no-where else to turn but to the Buddhist group…. (Well, hello & mmm… & welcome to our group!)

[ii] BUT no, it’s not pessimistic, because…. • Western & academic (exam-shaped) presentations of Budd. Tend to over-

emphasise dukkha & the 4 Nobs. In Budd cultures, & the Budd himself, you’d start with karma, the importance of generosity, the cultivation of positive states of mind…

• Starting with the 4 Nobs distorts the teachings (things look grim if you stop at the 2nd Nob!) and can lead us to forget that the main focus is v. positively geared to the overcoming of suffering and a tried & tested path to real & lasting joy.

• The goal of Buddhism is the unconditioned bliss of nibbana, and this is held out as an actuality for the Buddha & hundreds of his followers and a real possibility for all.

• Even so, Budd teaching on dukkha is not so much pessimistic as realistic, in the way it faces up to reality in the present moment, rather than opting for some illusory make-believe, or ‘pie-in-the-sky’ (when-you-die)

Concl: Need to see this teaching in context with all the other teachings & practices.??

2

3 [a] State & explain the Three Marks of Existence. [25]

• Intro. State & briefly translate the 3 marks (in this order!): anicca – impermanence & uncertainty in everything, dukkha – unsatisfactoriness, bitterness, imperfection, suffering in everything anatta – no self, soullessness, no permanent entity or essence as characterising all conditioned, samsaric existence & how essential they are to understanding the Buddhist world-view and practice.

• Anicca – ‘impermanence’ - the belief that all phenomena (mental &

physical) are in a continuous state of change. Life is conceived of as a dynamic, causally conditioned process, a flow of life, rather than being composed of a series of separate, fixed, permanent entities or things. NB establish this central fact of life & its far-reaching implications – ie. Spell out how all things change, from atomic particles to mountains, from material goods, to social status, from relationships to one’s own looks, health, mood…

• Dukkha – ignorance of, or failure to understand or accept the truth of anicca results in craving that certain things & securities might not change or be swept away by the flow of life, by old age, sickness & death. This is to fight against the nature of life, and produces suffering, disappointment, frustration, anger, grief, etc… Thus since even the most pleasant and ecstatic experiences are subject to anicca, we know that they too will pass and so are imperfect, characterised by Dukkha… Dukkha, then, springs from deluded cravings that life might be other than it is.

• Anatta - According to Buddhist teaching, one of the most persistent &

underlying causes of dukkha is the delusion that things (and people) have a fixed, unchanging identity, soul or ‘essence’, a ‘real, inner me’. If anicca is true, however, the self or essence of any thing or person is not fixed, but fluid, a process of causally/karmically conditioned life (or dhammas

– in this usage of the term, a ‘dhamma’ is a momentary component of the flow of reality) that is changing from moment to moment & from life to life. Under Buddhist analysis of the person, for eg., the 5 skandas (or ‘heaps’) – form, sensation, perception, volition & consciousness – are all constantly changing and thus contingent, not having independent existence. Having said this, the anatta teaching is primarily aimed at helping people to overcome attachment and ego-centred fears& concerns that create great cycles of dukkha. Eventually, through the practice of the 8-fold Path, a person can realise the truth of anatta and so become free of all selfish cravings & attachments, thereby attaining nibbana.

• Conclusion - Wow! The 3 Marks of Existence effectively spell out the Buddhist analyis of the human condition and indicate the way leading to its cure…

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[b] Anicca is the most important of the 3 Marks of Existence ??? [i] No, ‘cos… it might be argued that… • all 3 are equally important and interdependent parts of the Buddhist analysis

of reality. • Dukkha is the central theme of Buddhist teachings as a whole, especially in

the 4 Noble Truths. Also, it is our painful experience of dukkha that gives us (both individually & as suffering mankind) the motive, & the urgency to ‘wake up’, change our destructive patterns of behaviour, and make progress on the spiritual journey to peace, unconditional love & enlightenment.

• Or, you could argue that anatta is the real underlying delusion and thus cause of the dukkha. If we could but realise the illusory nature of our own much cherished ego, its fears & attachments, then the suffering would cease and freedom come, man. Yo, freedom come! Perhaps quote the Buddha at his enlightenment here:

“Seeking but not finding the House Builder (ie. the ‘self’, ego, soul, atman) I travelled through the round of countless births. O painful is birth ever & again. House Builder you have now been seen. You shall not build the house again.” (nice one, Sidd) BUT [ii] Yes, anicca is the mostest, ‘cos… • Anicca really is the underlying reality from which the Buddhist worldview

of life as a fluid, dynamic process starts & on which the other two depend. In other words, if we ignore the truth of anicca, then we will suffer through ignorance & craving for life to be different & for our many 7 various securities to stay forever, and we will also fall victim to the delusion of having (or being) a separate, fixed ‘self’ & experience all the suffering that comes with it, because we fail to pay attention to the transitory nature of all that we are (the heaps!). Geddit?

• Thus, it is anicca that provides both the experiental & the logical basis of the other two.

Conclusion … Personally, I’m with Anicca. She’s moody, and she’s not to be argued with, but she’s exciting too, and anyway, I lurve her! PS Adapt this for the other [b] variants of this question…?

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Life & work of the Buddha [a] Give an account of the Life & Work of the Buddha from the time of his enlightenment to his death. [25] NB: Read Denise, p.19-24 [b] To what extent do the stories of the Buddha’s life imply that he was a supernatural being? [10] (or ‘merely human’?) [a] Suggest Intro: Although the earlier part of his life is far & away the most famous, (at least in Western countries) his life & work after the transforming experience of his enlightenment was arguably far more important and influential for the content and character of the Buddhist movement as a whole… {OK???}

• Start after the enlightenment… with story of the God Brahma persuading Budd to teach others out of compassion, rather than passing into final nibbana. This will set the tone & mission of his life…

• 1st Sermon on the 4 Nobs – ‘The setting in motion of the wheel of the dhamma’ in the Deer Park at Benares – to the 5 ascetics. Followed by a sermon on the nature of the self … All 5 become enlightened, now called ‘arhats’ (worthy ones).

• Next 45 years travelling NE India teaching all kinds & castes of people & gaining followers to form the 4-fold Sangha, with hundreds (perhaps thousands) becoming enlightened. We have no connected chronological sequence for the many stories and sayings attributed to him, but later commentators have arranged the events in a sort of order that has become more or less accepted…

• Within a year of enlightenment he had gained as many as a 1000 followers, including the influential King Bimbisara who donated land to the new movement. Demonstrating many psychic gifts, he also went back to his family in Kapilavastu, was reconciled with his father & aunt (who had brought him up, & who, after the father’s death 4 years later, became the 1st nun, despite the Buddha’s initial objections) and brought his son, Rahula, into the monastic order.

• More land was given by rich admirers & converts across N India, & the pattern of staying on these lands for the duration of the Rains Retreat each year during the monsoon began…

• Much time spent in debate with Brahmins, Jains & other Renouncer groups, during which he no doubt refined his own teachings. Also spent considerable time with Kings and rulers – this shows his awareness of the amount of dukkha caused by social inequality & injustice…

• As success came, so did jealousy of others and attempts to discredit & slander him, but these were successfully discredited…

• Throughout his ministry, the Buddha taught whoever wanted to listen. Famous for his ‘skilful means’ in adapting his teaching to get through to the person he’s talking to. Eg. The grieving mother, Kisagotami.

• Also, constant work in evolving the monastic rule, or code of behaviour, among the monks & nuns to ensure peace & harmony & moderation

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• Death of Buddha, aged 80, [c.400 BCE] at Kusinara due to food poisoning. Message to his disciples : ‘Work out your own salvation with effort, and let the dhamma be your teacher’… Went into deep meditation, the 4th Jhana, and so passed into final nibbana. This event is known as his ‘Parinibbana’. After his cremation a week later, some of his bones were distributed as relics between the diff. tribes & kingdoms…

• Concl: Throughout this time, it is claimed, the Buddha lived in exemplary calm, insight & peace of mind. It is from this time, and due to the faithful memory of his disciples (espec. Ananda) that our knowledge of his teaching derives.

Alternative: you could forgo the attempted chronology & organise the material like this: Intro. & 1st three bullet-points the same… then Work on organising the Sangha, developing the vinaya, etc The debates with other teachers & religious groups The teaching style, skilful means, with eg. Passing on the dhamma to the disciples The death & parinibbana. On reflection, I like this more!

[b] To what extent do the stories of the life of the Buddha imply that he was more than merely human? [10] 1. Yes, they do, ‘cos…. • the supernatural signs that greeted his virgin birth (give egs.) • the apparent ease with which he excelled at everything, from sports to

meditation… • the unique attainment of enlightenment (at least within this world system) &

the extraordinary psychic powers and virtual omniscience he has developed. In fact he is shown to be greater than even the God Brahma, who begs him to forgo final nibbana & teach us poor ignorant mortals…

BUT… 2. No, they don’t, ‘cos… • the tradition emphasises everyone’s ability to attain a similar enlightenment. • that the Buddha is unique in discovering the Dhamma, but is definitely human. • the Buddha is gently puts down faith in the power of the gods, to encourage

people to DIY their journey to enlightenment. • Note the need to remember that while the ‘stories’ may encourage belief in the

Buddha as a supernatural being, the stories date from some 3-400 years after his life, and emerge from the developing ‘devotional schools’ of Mahayana Buddhism, which emphasise faith in the saving power of the Buddha and are a long way from the ‘rational humanism’ of primitive Budd. Thus, we need, as ever, to be aware of the history of the ‘history’ we read!

• Concl. – perhaps the stories finally encourage us to have a much larger understanding of our own human potential. All kinds of insights & psychic powers may be available to us, and nature may be a lot more ‘super’ than we have so far realised!

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[a] Explain Buddhist teaching on Kamma and Rebecoming [25] [b] “Buddhist beliefs about kamma are fatlastic [oops, but great typo!] fatalistic and unfair.” Discuss. [10] [a] Intro. These ideas were already present in India, but as we will see they were adopted and developed by the Buddha to fit in with his own radical re-imagining of the nature of existence. • Kamma – lit. ‘actions’. Originally, espec. Ritually significant actions (eg. sacrifice,

etc.) that had the power to move the gods in your favour. • How the idea was developed and changed by the Budd. into … See typed notes on

this & learn it! >> applies to all moral action >> kamma as ‘intention’ (individualistic, internal psychologising more than external, ‘religious’ ritual >> stresses personal moral responsibility >> general definition: K a natural & impersonal law of cause & effect both moral & physical, inherent in the nature of things, that governs the process of rebecoming from moment to moment & from life to life. • ‘You reap what you sow’ – spell out seeds & fruits stuff. & relate to the cultivation

of skilful, wholesome states of mind & behaviour. The 3 Roots of Unskilful Action (greed, hatred & delusion) >> Roots of skilful action (generosity, kindness & wisdom/insight) … point towards effects of past lives & effects on future lives,

“Beings are inferior, exalted, beautiful, ugly, well-faring, ill-faring according to their Kamma.” Thus, move naturally on to … • Samsara – lit. ‘wandering on’ etc. and generally to idea of ‘the beginningless cycle

of life, death & re-birth’ (see sheet on this!) whereby beings are re-born in the 3 Realms, 11 levels and 32 planes of existence (plane 26 for humans!) according to their past actions/kamma … Buddha adapted early Brahmanical view of the reincarnation of an unchanging atman, to his own idea of life as a continually unfolding process of rebecoming without any unchanging entity passing from life to life (anatta) (NB treat the Realms briefly – its not the main thing for those examiners)

• Relate to teaching on causes of dukkha & general implications (see sheet) • Conclusion : Note K & S integral part of the Buddha’s moral vision of life & the

universe with Kamma expressing his belief in universal justice, beyond the reach of human (or divine!) interference, manipulation or partiality.

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[b] Buddhist belief in kamma is fatalistic & leads to uncaring attitudes. Discuss [10] Yes it is, cos… (some would argue that …) • Actions done in some irrecoverable past can seriously affect your present experience

& there seems to be nothing you can do about it. Eg. physical handicap from birth. Ie., because you can’t change the past, yer stuck with the present. It is your personal ‘fate’.

• This seems v. unfair, cos I’ve done nothing to deserve this inherited suffering (or blessing) in my present life. Why should I take the Kammic kickback from some other beings life in the past???

• This can lead to uncaring attitudes towards people’s suffering & the view that ‘they deserve it’ & ‘we shouldn’t interfere with justice’ in case it stops them learning from their mistakes. (Yuk)

But No, it isn’t cos … • The above views are based on misunderstandings of Buddhist teachings… Thus • According to B. teachings, the life we have now arises in dependence on and is

conditioned by our former lives. Hence our experience now is not actually unfair. In fact it leads to a realistic & compassionate awareness of all beings living their lives and dealing with their own problems, limitations, physical & psychological difficulties.

• Thus the teaching on kamma & rebecoming should not be taken in isolation from Budd. teaching on compassion, harmlessness, kindness, etc. There are plenty of examples of compassionate ‘engaged’ Buddhist action on behalf of the suffering & underprivileged. If we are judgmental or indifferent to the sufferings of fellow beings, then we will be kammically responsible for it…!

• This view also expresses the obvious idea that we are born with all kinds of characteristics, (physical & mental) about which we can do very little. Hence the ‘fatalism’ tag. But…

• the Budd. insists that we do have sufficient freedom to change (espec. In the way in which we think & experience) our lives. But realistically, we can’t change everything.

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[a] Outline and Explain Buddhist teaching on rebirth. [25] [b] To what extent is it necessary for a Buddhist to believe in Rebirth? [10] OK, so this is a bit too detailed & long-wordy for 20 minutes, but the outlines and what to include should a help a bit, shouldn’t it, sweet ducklings??? Use the bold bits to construct a skeleton revision plan…? • Introduction... Indian background

Buddhist teaching on rebirth was to a considerable extent adopted and adapted from the mainstream Indian (Hindu) belief in Samsara and reincarnation. According to this, all beings pass through a virtually endless cycle of life, death & rebirth, as they make progress towards liberation (or not) dependent on their kamma or moral actions. While Hinduism claims that there is a fixed, unchanging essence, soul or ‘atman’ that is reincarnated (literally ‘re-enfleshed’) in a new body, Buddhism asserts that there is no such fixed entity as the ‘atman’ that passes from life to life, and consequently prefer the term ‘rebirth’ or ‘rebecoming’. As we will see, while the anatta teaching has all kinds of sublime benefits as a strategy to overcome our attachment to the ‘ego-self’, it also poses considerable problems & differences of opinion among Buddhists…

• Re-birth as continuous process in Buddhist thought.

Consistent with (in line with) B teaching on anicca & anatta, B.s understand the nature of all samsaric life to be a continuously evolving, causally conditioned process, within which nothing is fixed or static, but has contingent existence only as the causes & conditions necessary for its existence arise and cease. As seen in the teaching of Dependent Origination, everything about us, our physical bodies, feelings, perceptions, mental formations (or karmically conditioned mindset) and consciousness [ie the 5 ‘heaps’ or ‘aggregates’], virtually spins itself into existence moment by moment as suffering beings reach out in pain and ignorance to grasp at yet more unsatisfactory experience.

• Moment to moment & life to life...

Thus, it is clearly important to understand that B teaching on rebirth, or rebecoming, refers to this continuous life process as a whole. We are being re-born in each causally linked moment. The continuity of our sense of self & identity is thus explained by the way in which our past actions, intentions & reactions (kamma) condition our present experience. Another way of saying this that the person I am now is shaped and formed by everything that I have done and experienced in the past. The idea of a succession of different lives is simply an extension of this same principle, or as Denise Cush puts it: “Death & rebirth is simply a more dramatic part of this process” [p.37]

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• If ‘no self’, then what is reborn and how? As we have seen, a person is a series of causally linked moments. At death the 5 heaps (aggregates) of a person disintegrate and come apart. As D. Side puts it: “Death, then, is simply the separation of the mind and the body or, to be more precise, the separation of a cluster of mental processes from a cluster of physical processes.” [p.111] While the physical aspects of the person thus come to an end, the momentum of the mind’s unfulfilled cravings becomes the cause and condition of a new life, not unlike a form of kinetic energy. It is this that is ‘re-born’. No ‘thing’, substance, soul or ‘atman’ passes from one life to the next.

• ‘Mind the gap!’ Between lives – different Buddhist views. According to

Theravada Buddhism, the last moment of the person’s karmically conditioned consciousness, or ‘mind-stream’ becomes the first moment of the new life. “The gap between the two is similar to the gap that exists between any two moments of consciouness in life” [D. Side p.113]. Different schools of Buddhism have developed various theories of a more extended time between lives, such as the Tibetan ‘Bardo’ of 49 days, which help to explain how a particular mindstream ‘choses’ its next life, including suitable parents & genetic material according to its kamma.

• Rebirth & kamma... According to Buddhist thought, kamma, intention, the

will, has immense creative power, for the consequences of any action (mental or physical) will be played out, if not within a single lifetime, then in the course of several lives, because a ‘seed’ (or karmically active intention - cause) ‘planted’ in the flow of samsaric existence eventually ‘bears fruit’ as an effect. This is used to explain the great differences in fortune and psychological make-up between people.

• We could add that we will be re-born whether we believe in it or not

because of the law of Kamma, of cause and effect. • Rebirth & Samsara... Finally, it should be said that beings can be reborn

in any of the 31 planes, and 6 realms of Samsaric existence. These, not unlike different frequencies of consciousness, range from the infinitely subtle & blissful to the brutish hell-realms. A human rebirth is greatly to be prized in Buddhism because of the combination of suffering and freedom that allows us to make rapid spiritual progress towards enlightenment.

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[b] To what extent is it necessary for Buddhists to believe in rebirth? [10] This is a bit wordy & repetitive too… sorry! First Spell out the different possible meaning of ‘Rebirth’ – on one level it refers to the idea of reincarnation life after life, and on the deeper level refers to the moment by moment process of our karma coming into effect Yes, because.... • As we have seen, the analysis of the our causally conditioned re-birth from

moment to moment is central to the whole Buddhist understanding of reality, of ‘the way things are’, and all Buddhists would adhere to it one way or another.

• Re-birth from life to life is also widely accepted in Buddhist cultures, and

also has the authority of the Buddha’s own enlightenment experience, when it is claimed he saw his own past lives, and this alone would lead many to accept the teaching without too much difficulty. Note: interestingly, the spiritual experience of holy men in India carries great weight as a kind of empirical proof of their teachings.

• Re-birth from life to life gives great explanatory depth and power to the

Buddhist understanding of life and the spiritual journey. People are not simple, and the idea of accumulating karmically conditioned psychological traits (habits, behavioural patterns) through countless lifetimes does justice to the complexity of human nature. In contrast to the fear and panic often caused by the traditional Xtian view of ‘one life and then the Judgement’, it also gives time, opportunity and thus reallistic hope of making spiritual progress...

But no, it’s not necessary in terms of ‘life to life rebirth’ because ... • It can seem too speculative and metaphysical for Buddhists who take the

Buddha’s emphasis on testing all ideas and beliefs in their own personal experience, and not to ‘go by hearing, by tradition, by reasoning or out of respect for a holy teacher’ [The Buddha - see Denise Cush p.2]. So, more sceptical Buddhists might argue, how are we supposed to prove re-birth from life to life in our own experience when we are necessarily inside the life we’re in now?! That ain’t possible.

• The Buddha’s parable of the man wounded by a poison arrow makes the point

very clear that it is foolish to spend your life theorising about such matters, when we it would make more sense to simply pull the arrow out by applying the Buddha’s teachings on how overcome the causes of dukkha in the here and now. In fact, in one early Buddhist Sutra (scripture) the Buddha says “if there is no rebirth...”, then we would still have a much happier & more fulfilling experience in this life if we practice the 8-fold Path, Morality, Wisdom and Meditation. After all, if there are future lives, the only way to

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change them for the better will be to sort out this one, since any future life will be conditioned by what we do (or don’t do) now! Thus, as S. Batchelor says in ‘Buddhism without Beliefs’: “speculation about past & future lives is just another distraction” [p.35] from the real business of transforming our experience today!

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Religious background [a] Describe the nature of Hinduism in the time of the Buddha. [25] [b] To what extent might the Buddha be described as the founder of a new religion? [10] NB: This same question could be asked as ‘To what extent might the Buddha be described as a reformer of Hinduism?’ (same deal!) [a] Intro. Set time & place of Buddha’s life – N. India, Ganges plain c. 5600/480BCE Time of societal transition and religious/philosophical development.

• Hinduism – trace origins in Aryanism & Indus Valley culture from c 1,500 BCE on…

• Gods – nature spirits >>> polytheism – Hymns to these goods found in … • The ‘Vedas’. These scriptures were given great authority by the priests

(Brahmins) and underpinned the system of elaborate ritual, chant & animal sacrifice that was held to sustain the on-going creation & existence of the world, as well the well-being of the people

• The Vedas were also used to underpin the social hierarchy, espec. the caste

system that was just beginning to take serious root at this time. One’s place in society (& general state of being) was dependent on your past life Karma (particularly linked in this early Hinduism (Brahmanism) to ritual action (performing one’s religious & social duty…) Note the neat ‘game, set & match’ this gave to the hereditary ruling classes & their priests!

• NOW move on the RENOUNCER tradition (Shramana movement), seen as a

reaction against this increasingly rigid, authoritarian establishment form of religion.

• Renouncers were typically from Warrior/ruling class (Kshatriyas) who chose to leave to life & duties of the ‘householder’ to seek religious truth & enlightenment. Some solitary, but others joined groups led by various ‘gurus’, each with their own particular teachings & practices.

• Key issues for them were to do with the soul (atman) & ultimate reality (Brahman), reincarnation (an idea just taking root at this time), and detachment from material things & society.

• Key practices were yoga of various kinds (including meditation – a practice that may date back to pre-Aryan Indus valley religion), and ‘tapas’ (ascetic self-disciplines) – some very extreme…

Concl: The traditional life of Buddha traces Siddartha’s progress through both establishment & dissident forms of Hinduism… Note: set up answer to part [b]…

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[b] To wot extent might the Buddha be described as the founder of a new religion? [10] Personally, I’d go …

1. “No, he’s just reformer/developer of Hinduism at a key early point in its development” (& explain why), and then knock that down by claiming that 2. “he really was bringing something radically new, not just to 5th cent. India, but to the world!” (& explain why), with a naughty little concl. That questions whether Buddhism is a religion at all or more of an ethical philosophy… So…

1. ‘Reformer’? • Nothing new arises out of a vacuum, so Budd arose out of Hindu context and

of course he was profoundly influenced by the ideas and debates of his time. How could he not be? The question here is, the extent to which he adapted existing ideas into his own system, or reacted against them so much that he really did start something new… Thus, in favour of the ‘reformer’ view…

• NB: Continuity of Buddhism as part of Shramana Tradition. Budd as a yet another wandering, mendicant (begging) religious seekers grouped round a revered guru & his teachings, and developing their own code of behaviour (the Vinaya) as they went.

• Continuity of general quest for enlightenment & transcendent peace – Karma (though sharpened), meditation, detachment, self-discipline & rebirth (though modified).

So far not so very different… BUT

2. ‘Founder’? • Rejected authority of Vedic scriptures in favour of ‘personal experience’ as

the guide to truth • with this came his rejection of the ritual & chanting as being superstitious & ‘cruel to the animals’ - developed more rational, pragmatic, personally experiential approach, based on ethical behaviour & an internalised understanding of Karma as ‘intention’ or to do with one’s motives. He also rejected the extremes of asceticism as harmful to oneself & the quest. • Thus the hereditary priesthood & the religiously sanctioned inequalities of the

caste system had no place in the B’s new movement (open to all castes & none)

• Also rejected key ‘religious’ concepts like belief in the ultimate authority of God/the gods & belief in the ‘soul’ (as a fixed unchanging entity)!

So… B. more a critic of religion than the founder of one. An amazing breath of rational, practical & moral fresh air in a seething ocean of primitive superstitions, polytheism and sophisticated religious thought… Blah…

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The Middle Way [a] Describe & explain what is meant by ‘the Middle Way’. [25] [b] To what extent is it either practical or helpful to adopt the ‘middle way’? [10] [a] Intro. - The M-Way needs to be understood in the context of the Buddha’s time - you can’t identify the ‘middle’ without knowing what’s on either side! As we will see, these ‘sides’ are not just specific to 5th century BC India, but of universal relevance…

The M-Way as the 8-fold Path, the 4th of the 4 Nobs and thus ‘the Way leading to the cessation of dukkha. Quickly set them out with brief explanatory comments.

• Why is this called a ‘Middle Way’? ‘Cos firstly, it charts a course between

the two extremes common in the Buddha’s day, and which he himself explored and found wanting… These are

[a] the quest for happiness through the pleasure of the senses (luxury, sensuality, wealth, power, social status, etc.), which he describes as ‘low, common, unprofitable & the way of the ordinary people’ (!), ie., it doesn’t work & it makes you sad in the end!

AND [b] the quest for happiness through self-mortification & various forms of asceticism (extreme self-denial, lack of food, sleep, and worse…), which he describes as ‘painful, unworthy & unprofitable’ – ie., it doesn’t work & it makes you ill! NOTE: These two extremes, in various subtle & not so subtle ways describe a great deal of Mankind’s activity – Think about it… BUT the M-Way (says Sidd) is that which ‘gives vision & knowledge, which leads to Calm, Insight & Enlightenment’! The idea is balance, control, appropriateness in all things, leading progressively to increasing detachment from things and emotional compulsions, & ever deeper understanding & clarity about what is real. Cool … ie. it works!

• [If there’s time???] In Buddhism the Middle Way is also an important philosophical position between the extremes of ‘eternalism’ and ‘nihilism’. Both of these positions, their claims about the real existence or non-existence of God and the Soul (Atman), and the far-reaching & harmful implications are undermined by the Buddha’s central teaching of Conditioned Arising, or Interconnectedness, in which reality is seen as a fluid ever-changing process. The Middle Way shows how to have a ‘Right Understanding’ of reality so that life can be lived as it actually is, not how we’d like or fear it to be…

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[b] To what extent is it either practical or useful to follow the Middle Way? [10]

• Impractical/Impossible because… (one might argue…) [i] in ordinary life, there is no time to follow such a detailed programme [ii] if you had too many scruples about having a ‘right livelihood’ or causing no harm to any living being, by speech, action or even intention, then you’d never actually do anything, let alone mangage to earn a living! [iii] The life of mindfulness & meditation is only really suited to a protected, specially constructed monastic life. [iv] more generally, charting a middle way between emotional involvement in a relationship and heartless non-attachment seems virtually impossible! • Practical & useful because… (one might argue…) (mightn’t one?) [i] The Middle Way (8-fold Path) is deliberately ‘open’ – ie., you can practice each of the factors at one’s own level. Thus, you just do yer best – you don’t have to be a monk. They are guidelines, aspects of life to bear in mind & keep working on as best you can, not absolute commandments with dire punishments attached… [ii] The Middle Way is refreshingly rational, grounded in obvious realities when you stop to think of it, and a wonderfully useful corrective to the usual mad dash & grab of an unreflective life [iii] Nobody said relationships & personal feelings were going to be easy(!), and the M-Way understanding could turn out to be very wise & helpful • Conclusion??? - Best to take the Buddha’s advice & try it out as best we can,

& see if it ‘works’ for us… Better to know through personal experience than to stand by the river with your nicely built ‘raft’ and never try it out ‘cos it looks too difficult or strange…

NB: You might get a [b] question asking you to assess the relative importance of one or other part or section of the 8-Fold Path… Remember: Argue For its importance first saying why a person might think this of ‘right intention’ or ‘right action’ (both related to Karma & the creation of negative/positive states of mind & futures), but then say how essential all the others are (with egs) & how the 8 factors are really meant to be worked on all together, not individually or consecutively.

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[a] Explain the importance of taking refuge in the Buddha for ‘Buddhists today’. [25] 1. Make general points about the Three Refuges & ‘taking refuge’ & its significance. It

helps if you work in plenty of knowledge and appreciation of Buddhist teachings etc.

as you go along.

• Refuge as the most fundamental of Buddhist practices

• What the three refuges represent on a deeper level

• The different reasons and expectations that people have when they take

refuge. i.e. monks/laypeople, Pureland Buddhists, etc

2. Spell out the points from your notes on the Buddha as refuge - add the thought that

by doing this one gradually comes to share in the mind and point of view of the

enlightened being, of the Buddha at his enlightenment, and see the world with infinite

understanding and compassion, and thus also with a passion to help…

[b] To what extent is it fair to say that Buddhists worship the Buddha? [10] Yes, it might well seem that way, because…

• On a popular level, amongst less educated lay Buddhists, it is clear that the

offerings of prayer, sacred food & flowers, and the devotions before Buddha

images & at holy shrines, certainly look like the kind of worship reserved for a

God. In fact, even in the Theravada country of Sri Lanka, for example, the local

belief is that the Buddha gave the Island over to the care of a local God

(pictured in the Hindu manner with six arms). The Buddha himself seems to

have been elevated far beyond this.

• Add to this the belief that the Buddha attained all perfections and omniscience at his enlightenment, is called ‘Lord’, ‘knower of worlds’, etc. and

it not hard to argue that the Buddha actually fulfills the role and function of ‘God’ in the mind of many Buddhists.

But no, because…

• The Buddhist tradition is essentially atheistic in rejecting the

truth/reality of an all-powerful, all-loving creator God (eg. Brahma),

and while not actively condemning the worship of other deities, has

always encouraged Buddhists to rely on one’s own effort instead.

• Similarly, Buddhism has always emphasized the point that the

Buddha was a human being like the rest of us, albeit unique in

rediscovering & exemplifying the Dhamma, but even so, definitely not a ‘god’.

• The Buddha himself requested that his disciples follow the

Dhamma, not him, and that each person has to practice & test &

validate the Path for themselves.

Conclusion: Though clearly given the highest respect by Buddhists as the

one who ‘awoke’ and brought the key to happiness and release from the

sufferings of Samsara, what looks like ‘worship’ from the outside may in fact be

a way of connecting with & deepening one’s own spiritual potential for

Buddhahood.

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[b] ‘Taking refuge in the Dhamma is more important than the others.’ Discuss. [10]

NB: You can adapt many of these ideas the other likely ‘b-parts’ on the 3 Refs.

• Many would answer that all three refuges are of equal importance

to practicing Buddhists and that Buddhism is simply inconceivable

without all three. Thus they might argue that …

• each of them is dependent on the others for its origination and

continued existence. >> No Buddha >> No Dhamma >> No Sangha.

In this it bears out the truth of Dependent Origination.

• However, you might think that this makes Refuge in the Buddha more

important, since without his depth, courage and example the Dharma

would not have been re-discovered and the Sangha not created.

• Similarly, without the Sangha, Buddhists would never have heard of

either the Buddha or the Dhamma.

• However, note that the Buddha’s dying instructions to his disciples

was to make the Dhamma their leader & their guide. Further,

without the Dhamma, the Sangha would have nothing to practice, teach & pass on…!

• Thus the Dhamma is the most important, not as a set of intellectual

ideas, but as the practice & way of life that actually creates the

conditions of personal freedom & happiness and frees people from

the experience & causes of their sufferings, and ultimately from

Samsara itself.

• Further, the Dhamma underlies all else, has always been, and only

awaited re-discovery by Shakyamuni in this world-age. Thus we could

say that both the Sangha and even the Buddha himself are taking refuge in the Dhamma.

• As we will see, in Mahayana Buddhism, the Buddha and the Sangha

come to be seen as ‘skilful means’, compassionate projections &

temporal manifestations of the Dhamma-kaya, the Ultimate Truth.

• Finally, however, Buddhism is unique in warning against attachment to its own teachings (Dhamma), and the Buddha famously

compared the Dhamma to a ‘raft’ – essential to cross the ‘flood’ of

Samsara, but to let go of like everything else once its purpose has

been served.

19

Teacher resources


A Abhidhamma pitaka the section of the tipitaka focused on philosophical matters.

Ahimsa non-harming – one of the five precepts within Buddhism.

Ajivakas a shramana movement at the time of the Buddha.

Akusala non-skilful

Alms round the daily walk around the village to collect food undertaken by

village dwelling bhikkhus

Alms gifts of clothes, food and material goods to the monks

Anatta literally meaning no-self, refers to the Buddhist rejection of the

Hindu concept of an eternal self – one of the three marks of

existence

Anicca impermanence – the concept that nothing is eternal and

unchanging – one of the three marks of existence

Animal realm one of the realms of rebirth within the wheel of samsara

Annihilationist someone who believes that at death there is nothing which

continues on to another life in any form

Arhat in the Theravada tradition one who has gained enlightenment

following the teachings of a Buddha

Aryans a group of early settlers in Northern India

Ascetic one who practises austerities for religious reasons

Asoka ruler of the Magadhan empire from 268 BCE

Atman the Hindu concept of an eternal, unchanging self

Avijja ignorance – one of the three poisons

B Bhikkhuni a Buddhist nun

Bhikkhu a Buddhist monk

Bodhi tree the tree under which the Buddha is believed to have achieved

enlightenment

Bodhicitta a moment in which the thought of enlightenment occurs, often

seen as a pre-cursor to setting out on the bodhisattva path

Bodhisattva path the path outlined within Mahayana Buddhism to achieve

Buddhahood

Bodhisattva a Buddha-to-be. Also used to refer to someone who has made a

commitment to follow the path to Buddhahood, and/or has

reached a certain stage along the path.

Brahma the creator god within Hinduism

Brahman the underlying reality, or ultimate God within Hinduism.

Sometimes used as a term to refer to Hindu priests.

Brahmanism the religious practices of the Brahmins

Brahmins Hindu priests or holy men

Buddha a term meaning 'awakened one' used to refer to those who

have gained enlightenment

Glossary

Glossary


D Deities gods

Demi-gods realm one of the realms of rebirth within the wheel of samsara

Dependent origination the Buddhist doctrine explaining how everything is dependent

upon a prior cause

Dhamma body one of the three bodies of the Buddha in the trikaya doctrine

Dhamma the teachings of the Buddha, or the eternal truth

Dukkha loosely translated as suffering or unsatisfactoriness

E Eightfold path see noble eightfold path

Enlightenment being freed from greed, hatred and delusion, and thus 'seeing

the world as it really is'

F Five Precepts a Buddhist code of ethics

Folk religion a generic term used to refer to the religious practices of the

poor in society at the time of the Buddha, who did not follow

the Brahmanical traditions

Forest-dwelling monk a bhikkhu who is living in solitude away from the laity

Four Noble Truths a summary of the Buddha's key teachings

Four signs the four things seen by Siddhartha which led him to seek a cure

for dukkha - death, sickness, old age and a wandering ascetic

Fourfold sangha bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, lay men and lay women

G Gods realm one of the realms of rebirth within the wheel of samsara

H Hell realm one of the realms of rebirth within the wheel of samsara

Human realm one of the realms of rebirth within the wheel of samsara

Hungry ghosts realm one of the realms of rebirth within the wheel of samsara

I Indus Valley civilization an early Indian civilisation

J Jainism the religion founded by Mahavira, a contemporary of the

Buddha

Jatis the castes within the Hindu varna system

Jhanas meditation states

Jiva the individual self within some forms of Hinduism

K Kamma (p) / karma (s) the concept that every action has a reaction

Kammic consequences the results of kammic actions or formations

Kammic formations the actions which lead to kammic consequences

Khandhas the five factors which make up an individual

King Milinda a Greek king famous within Buddhism for his reputed

conversation with the bhikkhu Nagasena about anatta and

kamma

Kshatriyas the ruling or warrior class within the Hindu varna system

Kusala skilful

Teacher resources


L Laity Those within Buddhism who have chosen not to become

bhikkhus or bhikkhunis

M

Magga the fourth noble truth – referring to the path of the middle-way

or the eightfold path

Mahavira the founder of Jainism. A contemporary of the Buddha.

Mahayana Buddhism one branch of Buddhism, literally meaning 'Great Vehicle'

Maitreya in Theravada Buddhism the next Buddha, currently residing in

the Tusita heaven

Merit the positive kammic results of skilful action

Mara the 'devil' figure within Buddhism, who is technically a god, but

tries to distract the Buddha from gaining enlightenment

Materialists one of the shramana movements at the time of the Buddha,

who focused on the material aspects of life

Middle-way the middle path between luxury and asceticism followed by the

Buddha, and exemplified in the eightfold path

Monastic sangha (twofold) a term used to refer to the bhikkhus and bhikkhunis

N Nagasena a bhikkhu famous for a reputed conversation with King Milinda

in which he explains anatta and kamma

Nibbana (p) / nirvana (s) literally translated as 'blown out'. A state in which no greed,

hatred or delusion is experienced.

Nirodha the third noble truth – that dukkha can cease (nibbana)

Noble Eightfold Path the fourth noble truth – the path to follow to achieve nibbana.

Can be followed at two levels – the ordinary level for the laity

and the noble level for the monastic sangha.

P Pali Canon an English term for the tipitaka referring to the fact it is written

in Pali

Panna wisdom – often applied to one division of the eightfold path

covering Right Understanding and Right Thought

Parinibbana final nibbana – the nibbana achieved when the body dies, and

no rebirth within samsara follows

Pattimokkha ceremony a fortnightly meeting at which the bhikkhus or bhikkhunis recite

the vinaya rules, and report any infringements of the rules

R Rebecoming the process by which kammic consequences lead the khandhas

to reform into a new body after death

S Sacrifice the making of an offering, often to a deity

Samadhi state of meditation, or the third division of the eightfold path

covering Right Effort, Right Mindfulness and Right

Concentration

Samsara the cycle of life, death and rebirth

Samudaya the second noble truth – that suffering arises due to craving

Sangha the Buddhist community

Glossary


Sceptics / Agnostics terms used to refer to a diverse range of shramana movements

at the time of the Buddha who rejected religious answers to the

philosophical issues of the time

Shakya the tribe or family into which the Buddha was born

Shakyamuni Buddha the historical Buddha, referred to by his tribal or family name

Shramanas a term for those who had rejected society and adopted a

wandering lifestyle at the time of the Buddha

Siddhartha Gautama the name of the historical Buddha

Sila morality, often applied to one division or aspect of the eightfold

path covering Right Speech, Right Action and Right Livelihood

Stream-enterer refers to someone who has entered the path to nibbana within

the Theravada tradition.

Stupa a monument or religious building. Originally built to house relics

of the Buddha, many now contain other Buddhist relics.

Sudras the peasant or working class within the Hindu varna system

Sukkha happiness or contentment, often contrasted with dukkha

Sutta pitaka one part of the Pali Canon, primarily consisting of suttas

containing the teaching of the Buddha

T Tanha craving

Tathagatagarbha Buddha embryo or Buddha nature, referring to the essence of

Buddhahood within each person

Theravada Buddhism one branch of Buddhism, literally meaning 'The Way of the

Elders'

Three marks of existence anatta, anicca and dukkha – the three factors which define life

Three poisons Greed, Hatred and Delusion – the three factors which drive the

wheel of dependent origination

Three refuges the Buddha, the Dhamma and the Sangha – the refuges or

jewels in which Buddhists seek support and comfort while

practising the Buddhist path

Tipitaka (p) / tripitaka (s) translated as 'three baskets' it refers to the Buddhists scriptures

commonly known in the West as the the Pali Canon

Trikaya doctrine a Mahayana doctrine describing that Buddhas have three forms

or bodies

U Upanishads Hindu scriptures

Upasikas a term for female lay Buddhists, today often used to refer to

unordained women who follow the traditional lifestyle of a

bhikkhuni

V Vaishyas the merchants or traders in the Hindu varna system

Varnas the four divisions or classes within the Hindu 'caste' system

Vedas early Hindu scriptures

Vedic relating to the Vedas

Viharas a Buddhist monastery

Village-dwelling monk a monk who lives in a vihara in close proximity to the laity

Vinaya pitaka the section of the tipitaka dealing with the rules for the

monastic sangha

Vinaya rules the rules to be followed by the monastic sangha

Documents

As Revision Booklet