I Am The Greater One
Mahayana literally means
The Greater Vehicle
The "Way of the Elders" refers to which Buddhist sect?
Theravada
What are the four noble truths?
1. Life is suffering
2. Suffering is caused by desire
3. It is necessary to eliminate desire to attain nirvana
4. Following the Noble Eightfold Path will eliminate desire.
The Meditation School of Buddhism is known as:
Zen (Japanese)/Chan (Chinese)
What are the Jataka tales?
The story of the Buddha in his previous lives before he became Sakyamuni Buddha
What is a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism and how does this differ from Theravadan?
Bodhisattva (M) - Buddhists who attempt to attain universal Buddhahood. Bodhisattvas attain nirvana and then teach everyone else how to attain nirvana.
Bodhisattva (T) - the Buddha before he became a Buddha
What is the goal of a Theravadan Buddhist? What is the most noblest from the Theravadans called?
To achieve nirvana for themselves. Known as an arhat.
The three marks of existence are:
1) Anitya (impermanence)
2) Dukha (suffering)
3) Anatman (non-self)
Who is seen as the founder of the Zen/Chan school who traveled from India to China to spread the ideas of Buddhism?
Bodhidharma (the 28th Patriarch).
Mahakasyapa (the first patriarch of Zen/Chan Buddhism) was the only disciple of the Buddha who understood the meaning of the Buddha lifting a flower in the air (the Flower Sermon).
What is the Pali Canon and list the three components
Pali Canon: Contains all buddhist scriptures
Contains three baskets (Tripitaka)
1) Sutras (narrations that start with Thus Have I Heard)
2) Vinaya (Conduct): Monastic rules
3) Abhidharma: Additional doctrines
Which texts do the Mahayanans follow?
The Pali Canon (Tripitaka) + other Sutras like the Lotus Sutra (its more expansive than the Theravadans)
What do Theravadans mean when they say "Buddha"?
The physical Buddha - i.e. Sakyamuni, Maitreya
List the four sights that Prince Siddhartha saw when he left his palace.
1. Old Man
2. Sick Man
3. Dead Man
4. Ascetic
What is meant by the term "wall-gazing" in Zen/Chan Buddhism?
1) Originally, people thought it meant literally to stare at a wall while meditating
2) A meditator's mind should be "stable like a wall"
"Leaving behind the false, return to the true, make no discrimination between self and others. In contemplation, one’s mind should be stable and unmoving, like a wall"
List two areas where Buddhists have committed acts of violence against minorities.
Sri Lanka (Tamil Tigers, a Buddhist nationalist movement to clear SL from all non-Buddhists because believed that SL is sacred since Buddha is believed to have come there)
Myanmar/Burma
Mahayanans understand the Buddha to represent the Dharma, and understand reality to be understood through the three bodies of the Buddha. What are they?
Earthly Body - physical Buddha like Sakyamuni, Amitabha, and Maitreya
Bliss Body - the buddhas encountered in other worlds through meditation
Truth/Law Body - All buddhas are really manifestations of Dharma
Which text do the Theravadans usually follow?
Pali Canon
List the eight components of the Noble Eightfold Path
When Buddhism was brought into China, through what means did the Chinese people understand it? (What other traditions were present in China at the time)?
Through Daoist and Shinto ideology. Basically, the Buddha was viewed as someone who had attained the Dao and even early Zen/Chan writings translated Buddhism through Daoist words (later words such as Karma, Dharma, Nirvana were left untranslated in their sanskrit form)
Why would Buddhism be appealing to the royal families in China and Japan?
1) Very easy to say I am a king and rich because I have good karma whereas everyone else just had bad karma
2) Sakyamuni Buddha came from a royal family
3) The Chinese/Japanese believed that they were descendents of the Sun god -> they created an idea of a Sun Buddha from whom descends the sun gods from whom they descend.
When was Mahayanan Buddhism founded and which countries does it primarily prevail?
1st c. CE, China, Japan, Mongolia, and
Korea
When was Theravadan Buddhism founded and in which countries is it the primary form of Buddhism?
2nd c. BCE, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Burma
What are the three jewels of refuge?
I seek refuge in the Buddha, I seek refuge in the Dharma, and I seek refuge in the Sangha (monastic community)
What does Zen define itself as?
1) A special transmission outside of the teachings
2) Non-reliance on words and actions (have to look beyond words to understand emptiness. Monks can use words skillfully to teach you the teachings of the Buddha)
3) Points directly at the human mind (the idea that words are not the Dharma; rather, they point towards the Dharma)
4) See one's nature and attain Buddhahood (once you understand yourself and that you do not actually have a self (anatman), you have attained Buddhahood).
Tell me more about the following in Pure Land Buddhism:
1) Where does a follower achieve nirvana?
2) Which Buddha is highly associated with Pure Land?
3) How does one reach the Pure Land?
1) In the pure land (a heavenly place), must be reborn into it.
2) Amitabha Buddha
3) Reciting the mantras (the name of the buddha Amitabha)