Buddhism Worksheet

Write a 1- to 2-paragraph response for each of the following.

1. Explain the basic Buddhist teachings including the three marks of reality, the our !oble "ruths,
and the !oble Eightfold #ath.
"he basic teachings of Buddhism are based around what are called the three $ewels. "he first is
Buddha or an ideal human who others should imitate. "he second is %harma which is the sum total
of Buddhist teachings on how to &iew the world. 'nd finally is (angha which refers to the community
of monks and nuns. "he Buddha focused on two ma$or things in his teachings how to reduce
suffering in oursel&es and others and how to attain inner peace. )n the Buddhist teachings are the
three marks of reality which are constant change, lack of permanent identity, and the existence of
suffering. "he first which is constant change refers to the fact that the world is constantly changing
around us. "he second wenches lack of permanent identity refers to the fact that we are constantly
changing as we age and go through the world learn new things and experiencing things. 'nd finally
of the existence of suffering Buddha refers to the fact that we will always experience some sort of
sorrow or dissatisfaction in our li&es part of obtaining personal peace or inner peace is accepting
that.
Buddhist teachings also include worker hold four !oble truths. "he first of the truths it is called *to
li&e is to suffer+. "he idea that suffering exists from day one being born causes pain and suffering,
getting disease causes pain and suffering, the decay of time causes pain and suffering, and
ultimately death causes pain and suffering. "he point is that there are so many things going on in life
that cause suffering and many of them cannot be a&oided. "he second truths is *suffering comes
from desire+. "here are many forms of suffering that comes from wanting something or thinking that
something is necessary, suffering can also come from stress, hunger or other outside sources. "he
third truth is *to end suffering, end desire+. "he basic idea with this one is that we must shed all of
your unnecessary wants and desires. )t,s carried out to an extreme with the monks who gi&e up
material possessions personal property personal wealth they go so far as to sha&e their heads
slither completely bald and gi&e up all connection to their li&es before becoming monks. )n the last of
the !oble truths is *release from suffering is possible and can be obtained by following the eightfold
path+. "he idea here, ) belie&e is pretty self-explanatory if you follow this path or recommendations
on how to li&e as laid out by Buddha you will attain inner peace and mo&e beyond the suffering of
this world. !ow ) will list the steps of the eightfold path here for you.
1. -ight understanding ) recogni.e the impermanence of life, the mechanism of desire, and the
cause of suffering.
2. -ight intention my thoughts and moti&es are pure, not tainted by my emotions and selfish desires.
/. -ight speech ) speak honestly and kindly, in positi&e ways, a&oiding lies, exaggeration, harsh
words.
0. -ight action my actions do not hurt any other being that can feel hurt, including animals1 ) a&oid
stealing and sexual conduct that would bring hurt.
2. -ight work my $ob does no harm to myself or others.
3. -ight effort with moderation, ) consistently stri&e to impro&e.
4. -ight meditation 5right mindfulness6 ) use the disciplines of meditation
5 dhyana 6 and focused awareness to contemplate the nature of reality more deeply.
7. -ight contemplation ) culti&ate states of blissful inner peace 5 samadhi 6. 58olloy, 29196
2. %escribe the three ma$or Buddhist traditions:"hera&ada, 8ahayana, and ;a$rayana:and how
each tradition de&eloped from the early teachings.
"he first of the three ma$or Buddhist traditions is "hera&ada whose name means the way of the
elders. "his group takes a &ery stark approach to Buddhist teachings they,re &ery conser&ati&e group
their goal is to commute continue the tradition of passing Buddhist teachings from one generation to
the next without changing them. <ommunities of monks who stress the ideal reach nir&ana through
detachment and desirelessness achie&ed by meditation. "hough the monks say that ordinary or
sometimes referred to as laypeople can obtain nir&ana the life of a monk is a sure path to obtaining
it. "he second of the three ma$or schools is 8ahayana1 this name means the big &ehicle. "hey stress
that nir&ana is obtainable by e&eryone and also that enlightenment is a call to compassion. "heir
order maintains that in order to sa&e yourself you must sa&e others. "his group is thought to of been
mostly )ndian in origin and therefore included many of the practices of )ndian culture because the
attitudes of the early Buddhists did not always fulfill the religious needs of many people. "his school
of Buddhism is considered the source of some of the most extraordinary creations of the human
mind in areas such as art, philosophy, architecture, psychology, and ceremony. "he schools also
&ery widespread in eastern 'sia it spread in too many areas including <hina. "he third school
Buddhism is &a$rayana, the name means time and &ehicle. When my and Buddhism entered "ibet
and blended with their shamanism the result was "ibetan Buddhism. 'lthough &a$rayana includes
other forms of esoteric Buddhism "ibetan Buddhism is the most well-known. "he first form of
Buddhism entered "ibet was actually called "antric Buddhism. "his form of Buddhism opposed the
original detachment from the world and its negati&e attitude towards bodily pleasure they thought
that the body and all of its energies can be used to reach enlightenment.
-efercesce
molloy, m., = hilgers, ">. 529196. Experiencing the world,s religions. "radition, challenge, and change
fifth edition 52th ed.6. -etrie&ed from "he ?ni&ersity of #hoenix eBook <ollection database.