Study Guides

Unit Summary

In this unit pupils will examine key beliefs in Buddhism. They will examine key concepts such as dhamma and the idea of the human condition. They will gain an understanding of Buddhist ideas about suffering and the way to end it. They will also examine the story of Gautama Buddha.

Lesson Summary

Use the key notes below to summarise this lesson in your own words.

Key Notes

• There are divergent beliefs about whether the life story of Gautama Buddha is factual or illustrative.
• Before birth, there were signs that Siddhartha Gautama would be significant.
• He gave up his life of luxury with his wife after seeing the Four Sights.
• The Four Sights included sickness, old age, death and an ascetic.
• He eventually reached enlightenment, became known as the Buddha and established the Sangha.

Vocabulary To Learn

• ascetic: a life free from worldly pleasures, and involves giving up material possessions
• Buddha: an awakened or enlightened person
• enlightenment: a state of wisdom that enables total clarity and understanding of the truths of existence
• the Four Sights: Siddhartha Gautama's experience of illness, old age, death and a holy man
• Buddhahood: reaching enlightenment

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• All Buddhists believe that the stories of the life of the Buddha are factual.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• Buddhahood and the Pure Land Study Guide
• Human destiny: the Arhat and Boddhisatva ideals Study Guide
• Human personality in Mahayana tradition Study Guide
• Human personality in Theravada tradition Study Guide
• Meditation and wisdom Study Guide
• Nibbana and the end of suffering Study Guide
• Suffering and its causes Study Guide
• The concept of dependent arising Study Guide
• The concept of Dhamma Study Guide
• The Eightfold Path Study Guide
• The Four Noble Truths Study Guide
• The three marks of existence Study Guide
• The three poisons Study Guide
• The Threefold Way Study Guide