Buddhist figures
Who is a being who has achieved enlightenment and is an "awakened one"?
Buddha
What is the Buddhist term for suffering, dissatisfaction, the first of the Four Noble Truths?
Dukkha
What is the central teaching of Buddhism that means everything is contantly changing?
Doctrine of Impermance
What is the early Buddhist branch now popular in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia? Its name means "Way of the Elders."
Theravada
What is usually practiced by monks, and not regular Buddhists, because of the concentration required?
Meditation
Who is the enlightened exemplar in the Theravada tradition who will reach nirvana at death?
arhat
What is the term for moral action and its consequences; the fuel that drives samsara?
Karma
What does the story of the Poisoned Arrow teach?
That the goal of religion should be to relieve suffering.
What is latest and largest Buddhist branch, distinguished by its doctrine that all sentient beings will eventually become buddhas? Its name means "Great Vehicle."
Mahayana
What is the place of the Buddha's awakening, in modern-day Bihar in northeastern India?
Bidh Gaya
Who is the exemplar of compassion who vows to remain in the world to help other beings achieve enlightenment?
bodhisattva
What are the 4 Passing Sights?
When Siddhartha saw an old man, a sick man, and a dead man, making him aware of suffering, and then an ascetic renouncer as the Hindu path to relieve suffering.
Why are gods lesser than the Buddha?
Because they cannot lead to Nirvana, because they do not know the way. They only control things of this world.
True or false: in Theravada Buddhism the Buddha is worshipped because he is a God who has reached enlightenment.
What is the term of the community of monks that Buddhists take refuge in?
sangha
What is the Buddhist goal, namely the bliss of liberation from suffering and ignorance? This term means "blowing out" (like a candle).
Nirvana
Out of great wisdom, according to one branch of Buddhism, or great compassion, according to the other, the Buddha left his teachings, which are called what?
dharma
What is the Mahayana doctrine explaining why the Buddha taught different things to different people, depending on the circumstances, or "skillful means"?
Upaya
Siddhartha Guatama
According to the 4 Noble truths, what is the source of suffering?
Tanha which means "craving"
The story about the chariot leads the Buddhist monk to teach what central Buddhist concept?
anatta or "no Self" (no Atman)
What is the Mahayana teaching that all things are interdependent and impermanent, empty of independent or essential nature?
Shunyata