Early Buddhist History
Where did Buddhism originate?
NE India
What is the Pali (or Buddhist liturgical language) term for "Suffering?"
Dukkha
According to Right Speech, ones words should be aimed toward what two concepts?
Truth
Charity, or Selflessness
True or False - Buddhist meditation for Right Concentration is similar Hindu Raja yoga.
TRUE
What is nirvana, as it was traditionally taught?
It is a metaphysical state of one's mind being truly "awake" due to the "extinguishing" of tanha, therefore dukkha ceases to exist. Buddha famously described it as "incomprehensible, indescribable, inconceivable, and unutterable."
What is the historical name of the founder of Buddhism?
Siddhartha Gautama
What is the Pali (or Buddhist liturgical language) term for selfish "Desire?"
Tanha
According to Right Knowledge, what understanding should one always keep as their roadmap along The Way?
The truth of the Four Noble Truths
What part of the Eightfold Path allows one to overcome their ignorance through self-awareness meditation?
Right Mindfulness
What is samsara?
The Pali and Sanskrit word for reincarnation, more accurately translated as "wandering"
The founder of Buddhism became intensely aware of all the suffering in the world on his travels outside his palace walls. Told in the story of "The Four Passing Sights," identify the kinds of people and moments in which he learned the truth of suffering.
Siddhartha saw: (1) an old man, (2) a person with a terrible disease, (3) a corpse, and (4) an ascetic monk
What does the Third Noble Truth state?
Overcoming tanha cures dukkha
According to Right Aspiration, what should one seek as their sole goal in life?
True wisdom, or Enlightenment
What is Right Livelihood?
The ethical prescription to choose a job that uplifts life rather than one that destroys it; for instance, it is unethical to be a slave trader, butcher, brewer, or weapon manufacturer
Anicca, or "impermanence"
What is the name of the most popular and sacred Buddhist text? It's opening words read: "“All we are is the result of what we have thought.”
The Dhammapada
After someone starts to understand the Four Noble Truths, Buddha taught that it was important to be around people who have also attained this knowledge and strive to walk along the same path. What is this preliminary step along The Way called?
Right Association
According to Right Behavior, what five actions should one never do?
Do Not: (1) Kill, (2) Steal, (3) Lie, (4) Be Unchaste, (5) Consume Intoxicants or Drugs
What part of the Eightfold Path asks Buddhists to meditate on the moral exertion of willpower, resiliency, and determination to keep following The Way?
Right Effort
One of the "Three Marks of Existence," this term describes people as having no fixed underlying self or entity like a soul.
Anatta, or "non-self," sometimes called anatman
At what holy site did Buddha attain enlightenment?
Bodh Gaya
What does the Fourth Noble Truth state?
The Way to overcome tanha is through the Eightfold Path
What are the first four parts of the Eightfold Path?
Right Knowledge
Right Aspiration
Right Speech
Right Behavior
Wisdom (Right Knowledge, Right Aspiration)
Ethical or Moral Conduct (Right Speech, Right Behavior, and Right Livelihood)
Meditative Mental Discipline (Right Effort, Right Mindfulness, and Right Concentration)
What gets reincarnated from life cycle to life cycle according to the Buddhist tradition?