Topic Test -Questions and Answers

1. What are the 3 Refuges/Jewels?    

Buddha, Sangha, Dharma

2. How do you 'take refuge'

Daily ritual- "I take refuge in the Buddha, I take refuge in the Dharma, I take refuge in the Sangha"

Learning and practicing wisdom of the Buddha

Trust in teachings as ultimate truth

Support the Sangha (giving alms etc)

3. Why the phrasing 'take refuge'?

Taking refuge from samsara

4. What does Thanissaro Bhikku say on the 3 refuges

"an interconnected 'self', which recognises no other

"it can be attained through human effort"

"The internal level is where true refuge is found."

5. What does say Bodhi on the 3 refuges?     

"essentially a map, a body of instructions and guidelines"

Door Analogy- "door of entrance to the teaching of the Buddha"

6. According to Bodhi, why do need to take refuge?

Dangers of present life- understanding our existence and protecting from ignorance and suffering

Dangers of future lives- Becoming ethical and accumulating good karma

Dangers of general course of existence- eventual escape from samsara

7. How does the Heart Sutra explain the importance of the 3 refuges?

"Taking refuge in the Buddha, we learn to transform anger into compassion; in taking refuge in the dharma we learn to transform delusion into wisdom; in taking refuge in the sangha we learn to transform desire into generosity"

8. What does Cheng-Yen (Chan Buddhism) say about the 3 Refuges

"The genuine 3 refuges, in essence, are none other than the enlightened Buddha nature that is already inside you"

9. What is the Buddha

title meaning enlightened one - established the dharma

10. Who is Maitraya

future Buddha

11. Who is Siddhartha Gautama

The historical Buddha present in the world.

12. How would a Theravadin interpret the Buddha?

A historical example of a human who achieved enlightenment on his own- now dead and gone. Important as he was in essence just like us, we can learn from his example but no point in worshipping him. There have been past and will be future Buddhas, but only occur when Buddhist teachings are not present in society

13. How does the Buddha describe himself which supports the Theravada understanding of the Buddha?

"I — who am subject to death, not beyond death"

14. How does the Mahaparinibbana sutra evidence the mortal nature of the Buddha?

On his deathbed the Buddha is content in knowing "There is nothing further for the sake of this world"

15. How does Thanissaro Bhikkhu understand taking refuge in the Buddha?

"not taking refuge in him as a person, but taking refuge in the fact of his Awakening"

16. How does Bodhi describe the Buddha?

"supreme embodiment of purity... peerless teacher"

"not a saviour"

17. How would a Mahayanan interpret the Buddha?

Trikaya doctrine- Earthly, heavenly and teaching bodies

All Buddhas and Bodhisattvas figures of worship as in celestial realms, can be reached

Zen: worship Buddhanature, buddhas are not important

Pure Land: Shakyamuni largely replaced by Amitabha Buddha, custodian of the Pure Land

18. How does Suzuki describes the Buddha in Mahayana scriptures

The Buddha in the Mahayana scriptures is not an ordinary human being walking in a sensuous world"

19. How does O'Brien understand the Mahayana view of Buddha?

"the fundamental nature of all beings"

20. How did Aitken describe the Buddha?

"all of us are Buddha"

21. How did Asanga describe the Buddha?

"the inexhaustible refuge... the ultimate refuge is only one"

22. Who do pure land take refuge in

The Buddha of the Pure land Amitabha Buddha.

23. Who according to Zen teaching heard a wordless sermon?

The Flower Sermon is a story of the origin of Zen Buddhism in which Gautama Buddha transmits direct prajñā (wisdom) to the disciple Mahākāśyapa.

24. How does Fischer explains Zen's wordless teaching

"Not relying on scripture, doctrine or ritual, Zen is verified by personal experience and is passed on from master to disciple, hand to hand, ineffably, through hard intimate training"

25. What does Alfred Bloom claim about the importance of nembutsu

"Has been considered the central core of practice to gain enlightenment"

26. What is Dharma?

Many interpretations- universal truth, teachings and path of Buddhism. In Mahayana can be understood as universal truth beyond teachings

27. What is the Pali Canon

Buddhist holy scripture- 3 baskets - 3 sections of the pali canon is called Tipitaka or Tripitaka – 1 Vinaya Pitaka

discipline section - monastic code 2.  Sutta Pitaka - discourse of the Buddha 3. Abidharma Pitaka - philosophical teachings not written by the Buddha himself.

28. What is the Sigala Vada Sutta

Layman's code of ethics

29. How does O'Brien understand dharma?

"both the essential nature of reality and also the teachings and practices that enable realization of that essential nature"

30. What model does Buddhadasa offer from understanding dharma?

Fourfold model: dharma is the phenomenal world as it is; the laws of nature; the duties to be performed in accordance with the laws of nature; and the results of fulfilling such duties

31. What quote from the Samyutta Nikaya suggests the primacy of dharma in Theravada scripture?

"He who sees me sees the Dharma"- Buddha is just a representative of the dharma

32. How does Rahula explain dharma?

"There is no term in Buddhist terminology wider than dhamma. It includes not only the conditioned things and states, but also the non-conditioned, the Absolute Nirvana. "

33. How does Thanissaro Bhikkhu explain dharma?

"path of practice the Buddha taught to this followers"

34. How does Thanissaro Bhikkhu understand taking refuge in the dharma?

"a map showing how to take the external refuges and make them internal"

35. How does Bodhi describe the dharma and what  analogy doe she use ?

"the actual refuge"

Ladder- something you climb up to reach nirvana

36. What does Richard Gombrich refers to Therevada dharma as preoccupied with

"Soteriology"

37. What were the final words of the Buddha Theravada take very seriously?

"This I tell you: decay is inherent in all conditioned things. Work out your own salvation with diligence"  Mahaparinibbana-sutta

38. How is the Dharma understood by Mahayanins?  

Both the teachings of the Buddhas and the realisation of enlightenment

39. How does Side describe the Mahayana attitude of the dharma?

Dharma as "the universal truth"- could be anything

40. What is the 'ontological' view of dharma in Mahayana?  

Dharma as the knowledge and understanding of Buddhism, represented in the 3 turnings of the wheel metaphor

41. What is the 3 turnings of the wheel metaphor?

Mahayana metaphor to sum up Buddhist knowledge- 1st turning: Buddha's sermons on the 4 Noble Truths, 2nd turning: Perfection of Wisdom literature and sunyata, 3rd turning: Buddhanature doctrine

42. What is the Mahayana Dharma teaching of Trikaya?

The Trikāya doctrine is a Mahayana Buddhist teaching on both the nature of reality and the nature of Buddhahood. The doctrine says that Buddha has three ... kāyas or bodies, the Dharmakāya (ultimate reality), the Saṃbhogakāya (divine incarnation of Buddha), and the Nirmāṇakāya (physical incarnation of Buddha)

43. Who introduced the Trikaya doctrine

The Dharmakāya doctrine was possibly first expounded in the Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā "The Perfection of Wisdom In Eight Thousand Verses", composed in the 1st century BCE.[3]. Mahayana Buddhism introduced the Sambhogakāya, which conceptually fits between the Nirmāṇakāya (the manifestations of enlightenment in the physical world) and the Dharmakaya. Around 300 CE, the Yogacara school systematized the prevalent ideas on the nature of the Buddha in the Trikaya or three-body doctrine.

44. What is the 'phenomenal' view of dharma in Mahayana?

Dharma: 'Manifestation of reality' or 'phenomena'

45. How does the Lotus Sutra view dharma?

"empty space"- devoid of inherent existence or meaning, just instrumental in realising enlightenment

46. How does Burk offer a zen perspective on the dharma?  

"relying on your own ability to recognise truth"

47. How is the Dharma respected?

Taking refuge in the Dharma: developing trust in teachings and personal commitment to understanding

Teachings understood through personal reflection and understanding, refuge= commitment to this

48. What is the Sangha?

Buddhist community- can refer to the monastic community, or all Buddhists together

49. What is the Patimokka or pratimoksha

the 227 Vinaya rules for monks

50. What happens on a Uposatha day

fortnightly ceremony where the patimokka is recited – a practice instituted by the Buddha.

Alms- food can be given to the monks by the laity at the temple. To make merit - Punya

51. What are the basic differences between the sangha in Mahayana and Theravada ?

Theravada

- Formal divide and support between lay and celibate monastic orders, clear hierarchy

Mahayana

- Less formal divide, includes Nuns, often allows monk marriage, Zen and Jodo no monasticism

52. What is the Fourfold Sangha model?

Conception of the sangha as split into bhikkhus, bhikkhunis, laymen and laywomen

Governed by vinaya pitaka

53. What is a Bhikku/Bhukkuni

Male/Female Monk

54. How do Bhikkunis differ from Bhikkus?

90 more rules and less chance for leadership (although this is perhaps more down to the unequal society rather than the religion itself)

55. What are the different levels of being a monk?  is

a samanera - novice training monk

a Thera - elder monk

a mahathera - senior monk. 20 years +

56. How are Buddhist ideals embodied by the poverty-stricken monks?

Life without material attachments

Resisting desire to indulge

57. What does the 'Economy of Gifts' Term: Thanissaro Bhikkhu mean?

The interdependence of the Sangha- Lay give food and basic necessities to Monks and in return receive the spiritual guidance of the monks- He says "a gift which gives both ways"

58. Why is the begging bowl an inaccurate description of the monk's bowl?

Not begging- Responsibility of Sangha is to care for monks

59. How does Thanissaro Bhikkhu understand the Sangha?

Twofold: conventional and ideal

Conventional sangha is the ordained Buddhist community

Ideal sangha is the community of Buddhists who have "glimpsed the deathless"

60. How does the Buddha reinforce the spiritual elitist view of the sangha?

"A man who wishes to be my disciple must be willing to give up... the social life of the world"

61. How does Bodhi describe the Sangha?

"Custodian of the Dhamma"

"an unbroken lineage"

"not an institutional body but an unchartered spiritual community"

62. How does Thich Nhat Hanh emphasize the importance of the sangha?

"Building a Sangha, supporting a Sangha, being with a Sangha, receiving the support and guidance of a Sangha is the practice"

63. How does Trungpa emphasize the importance of the sangha?   

"The companionship within the sangha is a kind of clean friendship- without expectation, without demand, but at the same time, fulfilling"

64. What Vajrayana perspective does Yangthang offer of the sangha?       

"the moment we take refuge... we hold the title of 'sangha'"

"You are one of the three jewels"

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