Component 1

Buddhism: Key Beliefs

Key Beliefs

The Dhamma (Dharma)

• The concept of Dhamma (Dharma).

• The concept of dependent arising (paticcasamupada).

• The Three Marks of Existence:

  • • anicca (impermanence)

    • anatta (no fixed self)

    • dukkha (unsatisfactoriness of life, suffering).

• The human personality, in the Theravada and Mahayana traditions:

  • • Theravada: the Five Aggregates (skandhas) of form, sensation, perception, mental formations, consciousness

    • Mahayana: sunyata, the possibility of attaining Buddhahood and Buddha-nature.

• Human destiny:

  • • different ideals in Theravada and Mahayana traditions: Arhat (a ‘perfected person’) and Bodhisattva ideals

    • Buddhahood and the Pure Land.

The Buddha and the Four Noble Truths

• The Buddha’s life and its significance:

  • • the birth of the Buddha and his life of luxury

    • the Four Sights: illness, old age, death, holy man (Jataka 075)

    • the Buddha’s ascetic life

    • the Buddha’s Enlightenment.

• The Four Noble Truths:

  • • suffering (dukkha) including different types of suffering

    • the causes of suffering (samudaya); the Three Poisons, ignorance, greed and hate

    • the end of craving (tanha), interpretations of nibbana (nirvana) and Enlightenment

    • the Eightfold Path (magga) to nibbana/nirvana; the pathas the Threefold Way: ethics (sila), meditation (samadhi) and wisdom (panna). Dhammapada 190–191.

Component 1

Buddhism: Key Beliefs

Practices

Worship and Festivals

• The nature, use and importance of Buddhist places of worship including temples, shrines, monasteries (viharas), halls for meditation or learning (gompas) and their key features including Buddha rupa, artefacts and offerings.

• Pu ja , the significance and role of puja/devotional ritual in the home and in the temple, including chanting, both as a devotional practice and as an aid to mental concentration, mantra recitation, use of malas.

• Meditation, the different aims, significance and methods of meditation:

  • Samatha (concentration and tranquillity) including mindfulness of breathing

  • Vipassana (insight) including zazen

Buddhist Ethics

• Ethical teaching:

  • kamma (karma) and rebirth

  • compassion (karuna)

  • loving kindness (metta).

• The five moral precepts:

  • do not take life

  • do not take what is not given

  • do not misuse the senses

  • do not speak falsehoods

  • do not take intoxicants that cloud the mind.

• The six perfections in the Mahayanan tradition:

  • generosity

  • morality

  • patience

  • energy

  • meditation

  • wisdom, including how the individual develops these perfections within themselves

The origins and value of the universe

• The origins of the universe, including:

  • • religious teachings about the origins of the universe, and different interpretations of these

    • the relationship between scientific views, such as the Big Bang theory, and religious views.

• The value of the world and the duty of human beings to protect it, including religious teaching about stewardship, dominion, responsibility, awe and wonder.

• The use and abuse of the environment, including the use of natural resources, pollution.

• The use and abuse of animals, including:

  • • animal experimentation

    • the use of animals for food

The origins and value of human life

• The origins of life, including:

  • • religious teachings about the origins of human life, and different interpretations of these

    • the relationship between scientific views, such as evolution, and religious views

• The concepts of sanctity of life and the quality of life.

• Abortion, including situations when the mother's life is at risk.

• Ethical arguments related to abortion, including those based on the sanctity of life and quality of life.

• Euthanasia.

• Beliefs about death and an afterlife, and their impact on beliefs about the value of human life.

Religion, Crime and the Causes of Crime

• Good and evil intentions and actions, including whether it can ever be good to cause suffering.

• Reasons for crime, including:

  • • poverty and upbringing

    • mental health problems and addiction

    • greed and hate

    • opposition to an unjust law

• Views about people who break the law for these reasons.

• Views about different types of crime, including hate crimes, theft and murder.

Religion and Punishment

• The aims of punishment, including:

  • • retribution

    • deterrence

    • reformation

• The treatment of criminals, including:

  • • prison

    • corporal punishment

    • community service

• Forgiveness.

• The death penalty.

• Ethical arguments related to the death penalty, including those based on the principle of utility and sanctity of life

R. E. Revision Resources

IMPORTANT REVISION TIPS:

• Memorise some quotes from the BBC Bitesize (shorter ones)

• Make sure you can explain the meanings of key terms you have studied.

• Prepare to give detailed two sides of an argument and a conclusion in response to a statement

REVISION LINKS:

• BBC Bitesize - Buddhism Beliefs and Practices

• BBC Bitesize - Themes A, B, D and E

• Seneca Learning

Follow the link to see what the mock exam paper will look like:

• • GCSE Religious Studies - Example Exam