Doctrine
Do Buddhists consider their tradition to have started as a form of Hinduism?
No.
What is the word for the buddhist community, in Sanskrit?
saṅgha
In which country was the Buddha born?
In India?
What is the most famous event in the life of the buddha?
When he becomes awakened.
What is the "oldest" Buddhist tradition?
What are the three jewels?
1. Buddha
2. Dharma
3. Saṅgha
What is the meaning of renunciation?
Leaving behind worldly life to practice the dharma and pursue awakening.
Where did the Buddha attain enlightenment?
Bodhgaya
Did the Buddha have children?
Yes, he had a son.
What are the three Buddhist Vehicles?
1. Hīnayāna
2. Mahāyāna
3. Vajrayāna
What does "karma" mean?
Action.
What is the four-fold assembly?
The Buddhist community consisting of monks, nuns, laymen, and laywoman.
Name five countries in which Buddhism has been historically significant.
India, China, Sri Lanka, Tibet, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Laos, Myanmar, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Indonesia, Cambodia, Russia, Bangladesh, etc...
After the Buddha attains awakening, what does he do?
Wander around the forest for a few weeks, and then start teaching.
In which tradition does the idea of the "bodhisattva" become important?
The Mahāyāna.
In early Buddhism, how was the Middle Way defined?
As the middle way between the extremes of indulgence in sense pleasures and extreme asceticism.
Why do monastic and lay Buddhists depend upon one another?
The monastics depend upon the laity for sustenance, and the laity depends upon the monastics for the accumulation of merit/good karma.
What are the three realms in Buddhist cosmology?
The desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm.
What was the date of the Buddha's birth?
fourth or fifth century bce.
What is the connection between Buddhist traditions and funerary rituals?
In nearly all of the places where Buddhism has been adopted, Buddhist monks are sought after to perform funerary rites.
What are the four noble truths?
1. The truth of suffering
2. The truth of the origin of suffering
3. The truth of the cessation of suffering
4. The truth of the path to the cessation of suffering
What is the difference between Spiro's "nirvāṇa buddhism" and "karma buddhism"?
Nirvāṇa buddhism is for liberation, usually followed by monastics. Karma buddhism is for merit or good karma, usually followed by lay people.
Under the influence of which empire did Buddhism grow into a "civilizational religion"?
The Mauryan Empire, specifically during the reign of Aśoka.
What caused the Buddha to give up his life of pleasure?
He saw an old person, a sick person, a dead person, and a religious mendicant on the road outside the palace.
What is the significance of the "three baskets" in Buddhist traditions?
The three categories of scripture—sūtra, vinaya, and abdhidharma.