Buddhism Theme 1 (a-c) (d-f) > POWERPOINT < WJEC/EDQUAS - A-LEVEL ~ A* ~ Religious Studies

Full set of notes over a 31 slide powerpoint p, resentation, created for revision purposes. All information necessary for Theme 1 (a-c) and Theme 1 (d-f)the Buddhism paper, under the WJEC/EDQUAS A-Level Religious Studies specification.

Contains Notes on:
Accounts of the birth of the historical Buddha and the Four Sights:
The ways in which Buddhists read these narratives. Hagiographical and mythological interpretations
of the conception dream of Maya, events surrounding the birth, the prophecy and early life. The
biographical impact of the Four Sights and wider religious interpretations of their meaning in terms of
dukkha (unsatisfactoriness), anicca (impermanence), anatta (insubstantiality/no-self).
B. The Awakening/Enlightenment of the Buddha:
An explanation of the main features of the accounts of what led to the Buddha’s Awakening under
the Bodhi Tree; including knowledge of past lives, knowledge of the role of karma in the lives of all
beings, the path to the cessation of dukkha, meanings of the Mara/temptation narratives, and the
earth touching mudra.
C. Buddhist texts as sources of wisdom and authority – their use and treatment in daily life:
The Patimokkha as one of the sources of wisdom and authority for the Theravada monastic sangha.
Its use and treatment as a recited text. The seriousness of the Four Parajikas ‘defeats’, leading to
expulsion from the sangha.
D. The Pali Canon: its role in Buddhism as a whole:
The Tipitaka. The authority of the Vinaya for the Theravada sangha, the wider authority and
significance of the Sutta Pitaka, the relevance of the Abidhamma for the commentarial
development of Buddhism. The importance of the Pali Canon as a source of wisdom.
E. The main themes and concepts in two Mahayana texts:
The Heart Sutra - the philosophical content regarding the mutual identity of emptiness and form.
The Parable of the Burning House in the Lotus Sutra - exemplifying the concept of skilful means
and the provisional nature of the teachings.
F. The contribution made to the development of Buddhist thought by the work of
contemporary Buddhist teachers:
A comparison of the background and work of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh: their
practical interpretation of Buddhist teachings for life in the West: with reference to Thich Nhat Hanh’s
emphasis on simple practices (smiling, breathing and walking) and the Dalai Lama’s emphasis on
acts of kindness; both teachers’ views about compassion and non-harming.