Starter quiz
- Which of the three jewels means ‘teachings’?
- Buddha
- Dhamma ✓
- Sanga
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- What is the best definition of the concept of dependent arising?
- Everything is interconnected and dependent on other things to exist. ✓
- Everything is dependent on one other thing for its own connection.
- Everything is separate and independent from anything else.
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- What are the three marks of existence?
- Buddha, Dharma, Sangha
- anicca, anatta, dukkha ✓
- an old man, a sick man, a dead man
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- In the Theravada Buddhist tradition, a human personality is understood as a combination of five elements. What are these known as?
- 'skandhas' ✓
- Which of the following is not one of the five elements of a human personality?
- form
- actions ✓
- consciousness
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- Which of the following would relate to the understanding of the human personality in Mahayana tradition?
- emptiness ✓
- without form ✓
- without sin
- without suffering
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Exit quiz
- Match the keywords to the correct definitions.
- ascetic⇔a life free from worldly pleasures and material possessions ✓
- Buddha⇔an awakened or enlightened person ✓
- enlightenment⇔a state of wisdom and understanding of the truths of existence ✓
- the Four Sights⇔Siddhartha's experience of illness, old age, death and a holy man ✓
- Buddhahood⇔reaching enlightenment ✓
- Which of these statements are most accurate?
- All Buddhists believe that the stories of the life of the Buddha are factual.
- Some Buddhists interpret all the stories of the life of the Buddha as factual. ✓
- Most Buddhists believe that the stories of the Buddha contain spiritual truths. ✓
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- Which religion was Siddhartha Gautama influenced by?
- Buddhism
- Hindu Dharma ✓
- Christianity
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- Why were the Four Sights significant to Siddhartha Gautama?
- it made him grateful for his privileged upbringing
- it made him want to change his religion
- it made him want to find an answer to suffering, which happens to everyone ✓
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- Why was Siddhartha Gautama's enlightenment significant?
- it stopped all suffering
- it meant that he understood the nature of suffering and how to overcome it ✓
- it started the Sangha - the community of Buddhists ✓
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- What is the name of the ‘way’ that Buddhists try to follow?
- 'The Middle Way' ✓
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- There are divergent beliefs about whether the life story of Gautama Buddha is factual or illustrative.
- Before birth, there were signs that Siddhartha Gautama would be significant.
- He gave up his life of luxury with his wife after seeing the Four Sights.
- The Four Sights included sickness, old age, death and an ascetic.
- He eventually reached enlightenment, became known as the Buddha and established the Sangha.
Common misconception
All Buddhists believe that the stories of the life of the Buddha are factual.
Some Buddhists interpret all the stories as factual, while others see them as illustrative. Most Buddhists believe that the stories contain spiritual truths.
Keywords
Ascetic - a life free from worldly pleasures, and involves giving up material possessions
Buddha - an awakened or enlightened person
Enlightenment - a state of wisdom that enables total clarity and understanding of the truths of existence
The four sights - Siddhartha Gautama’s experience of illness, old age, death and a holy man
Buddhahood - reaching enlightenment
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