Buddhism Questions

1. The name of the man who later became the Buddha and founded the religion of Buddhism is Siddhartha Gautama.

2. The first of the Four Passing Sights was a decrepit old man. The significance of this was that Siddhartha realized all people will encounter old age. The second sight was a diseased man, where Siddhartha realizes that life can be threatened by diseases. The third sight was a corpse, where Siddhartha realizes that everyone must die. And the last sight was an ascetic man, where Siddharatha realizes that there is a way to salvation.

3. The doctrine of the Middle Way is a Buddhist teaching that rejects both pleasurable indulgences and self-denial of asceticism. It focuses on the practical approach to spiritual attachment.

4. The event of Guatama's attachment to enlightenment began while he was sitting under a fig tree for 40 days meditating. He refused to eat or move until he had reached enlightenment. The god of death tried to tempt him into leaving the tree, but he resisted. Once he defeated the god, he was enlightened.

5. The Sangha is the religious community that consist of nuns and monks.

6. The Three Jewels of Buddhism are the Buddha, Dharma, and the Sangha.

7. The features of Buddhist cosmology that are shared with Hinduism are that both religions regard time as cyclical and the earth is eternal.  They believe that the gods and goddess inhabit several heavens and demons inhabit several hells. They also believe in samsara and liberation, what Buddhism refers to as nirvana and Hinduism identifies as moksha.

8. The Buddha's reaction against early Hinduism was that he was disconnected with several other religions and didn't believe in the philosophical speculation regarding the nature of the world, human self, and the divine.

9. The Three Marks of Existence are Anatta, Anicca, and Dukkha. Anatta means no self within reality, Anicca means the constant change of existence, and Dukkha is suffering.

10. The doctrine of anatta states that there is no self in reality because we aren't attached to this world. This relates to the Hindu concept of Atman because life is always being changed when we're born.

11. According to the Buddhist doctrine of samsara, the eternal life is reborn. Karma is the nature of one's rebirth, which depends on the status of one's karma.

12. The Five Percepts that apply to all Buddhists are: 1) Do not take life. 2) Do not take what is not given. 3) Do not engage in sensuous misconduct. 4) Do not use false speech. 5) Do not drink intoxicants. The additional precepts that apply to monks and nuns are: 1) Do not eat after noon. 2) Do not watch dancing or shows. 3) Do not use garlands, perfumes, or ornaments. 4) Do not use a high or soft bed. 5) Do not accept gold or silver.

13. Some possible english translations for the term dukkha are suffering, frustration, dislocation, and discomfort. The meaning of dukkha is when something is off balance and can be fixed.

14. Tanha is desire and it relates to dukkha because suffering is caused by desire.

15. The steps of the Eightfold Path are: 1) Right views. 2) Right intentions. 3) Right speech. 4) Right conduct. 5) Right effort. 6) Right livelihood. 7) Right mindfulness. 8) Right meditation.

16. The difference between the Buddha and other humans who attained enlightenment is that the Buddha did not need to follow the teachings or a model to be awakened because Buddha's are able to reach enlightenment by themselves.

17. The character of an arhat is a person who has reached enlightenment, but did not get into nirvana.

18. The literal meaning of nirvana is blowing out. This helps to describe the meaning of nirvana because a person who reached nirvana has lost of their desire and suffering because it has been "blown out."

19. The three divisions of Buddhism are Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana.

20. The main focus of Theravada Buddhism is the teachings of Buddhism.

21. The literal meaning of Mahayana is "way of the elders" because they follow the original teachings of Buddhism more seriously.

22. Vajrayana Buddhism "fights fire with fire" because it harnesses the energy of desire and uses it for good.

23. The Dalai Lama is the leader of Vajrayana Buddhism. They are chosen by successor of him and use spiritual and supernatural rituals to chose who the next lama will be.

24. The primary geographical regions of Theravada Buddhism are Cambodia, Burma, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The regions of Mahayana Buddhism are China, Japan, and Korea. The primary region for Vajrayana Buddhism is Tibet.

Intro to Buddhism

Siddhartha Guatama was the founder of Buddhism and lived in Nepal over 2,500 years ago. He grew up in a royal household and was given a very privileged childhood. He was first exposed to the outside world when he went outside of his palace and witnessed sickness, death, and old age. Siddhartha searched for the truth of reality and became enlightened after 40 days of deep thought. He discovered the meaning of life and thought of ways to help others understand as well. This is when he became known as the Buddha.

The first of the Three Jewels of Buddhism represents the Buddha and his idea of enlightenment. The second jewel represents a person’s dharma, which is one’s duty, and is used to obtain enlightenment. The third jewel is the Sangha that represent examples to help obtain enlightenment as well.

 The Threefold Way of Buddhism consists of ethics, meditation, and wisdom. Its ethics explains how one should see themselves as well as others. Mediation refers to a clearer mind in order to understand reality better. And wisdom refers to when a person reaches enlightenment and can fully see and understand reality.

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism refers to the humanity within every human being. It consists of ways to end suffering, bring about suffering, find the origin of suffering, and why it occurs. In order to end suffering, one must encounter the Noble Eightfold Path. 

The Eightfold Path is the believed way to end suffering and reach a perfect dharma in one’s life. It includes the right understanding, intention, action, effort, mindfulness, concentration, livelihood, and speech. 

Hinduism Questions

1. The term moksha means "liberation" and is a release from this ordinary, finite, limited realm of existence into infinite ocean of the divine. It is an experience characterized by infinite being, infinite awareness, and infinite bliss.

2. Monism is the doctrine that says all reality is ultimately one. An analogy would be that all lakes, rivers, ponds, and streams flow into one ocean.

3. Brahman is the essence of all things and is what's without. Atman is one's eternal self and is within. The universe is connected to the eternal self and the eternal self is connected to the universe. This meaning, they both mean that all reality is one.

4. The general function of Hinduism's many deities is to provide points of contact with the divine.

5. The doctrine of samara states that an individual is reincarnated from one life-form to another.

6. The name of Hinduism's most popular sacred text is the Bhagavad-Gita.

7. According to Hinduism, the two principles that connect the divine to this world are karma and dharma. Karma determines the nature of each reincarnation and is the moral law of cause and effect. Dharma is the ethical duty based on the divine order of reality.

8. The four classes of the caste system are brahmin, kshatriya, vaishya, and shudra. The brahmin class consists of priests, kshatriya consists of warriors and administrators, vaishya consists of producers such as farmers, merchants, and artistans, and the shudra class is made up of servants and laborers.

9. In the Bhagavad-Gita, the Krishna encourages Arjuna to engage in war because he wants him to fulfill his dharma.

10. The four stages of life are: 1) the time of puberty, which is characterized by intensive study of the Vedas and other sacred literature. 2) the householder, which is the tasks of pursuing a career and raising a family. 3) the forest dweller, which is when the first grandchild is born. 4) the wandering ascetic, which is when the forest dweller is ready to come back to society, but is detached from material things.

11. The four goals of life are sensual pleasure (karma), material success (artha), harmony with dharma, and the bliss of moksha.

12. The three paths to liberation are the paths of works, knowledge, and devotion. The path of works is associated with people who are involved in physical activity. The path of knowledge is associated with those who are talented. The path of devotion is associated with people who are emotionally attached.

13. The three most important schools of Hindu philosophy are Vendanta, Sankhya, and Yoga. The basic task that concerns all three is the ability to attain knowledge and connect to the samsara.

14. The three important gods or goddesses of Hinduism are Vishnu, the preserver; Brahma, the creator; and Shiva, the destroyer.

15. An avatar is an incarnation of a deity, commonly of Vishnu, who is sent to earth to accomplish a divine purpose. Two important Hindu figures identified as avatars are Krishna and Rama.

16. The Hindu text that is most closely associated with bhakti marga is the Bhagavad-Gita.

17. Three aspects of Hindu devotional life are household and village rituals, pilgrimage to holy places, and veneration of cows.

18. Mahatma Gandhi influences Hinduism by expressing his wisdom to reach divine life.

19. The significant changes in the caste system that took place in the twentieth century are the promotion of social and economic justice as well as forbidding discrimination of outcasts.

20. Sati is the burning of a widow. Its status today is rare, but also forbidden in India.

21. The significant development that occurred in relations between Hindus and Muslims in 1947 was the dividing of nations, which provided a Muslim homeland. This turned into a bloody ordeal and led to the assassination of Gandhi.