Developments in Buddhist Thought

What Developments in Buddhist Thought covers

Component 06, one of the five Developments in Religious Thought options. The Buddha and his world, the Three Jewels, rebirth and the marks of existence, the Four Noble Truths, meditation, the rise of Mahayana, and Buddhism in the modern West.

The 12 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The Buddha: Siddhartha's life and intellectual contextRecall questions on Siddhartha's birth and upbringing, the four sights, the renunciation, asceticism and the Middle Way, the enlightenment and teaching career, Brahmanism and the Buddha's criticisms of it, the Sramanas and Jainism, and his life as a model today.Open →
• Taking refuge: the Three JewelsRecall questions on the Three Refuges or Three Jewels, what taking refuge involves, the Buddha as refuge and not a god, dhamma as reality and as teaching, the monastic Sangha and lay Buddhists, Theravada and Mahayana understandings, and whether the Jewels are the heart of Buddhism.Open →
• Samsara, kamma and rebirthRecall questions on samsara, the six realms and the wheel of samsara, rebirth without a permanent self, the three fires, kamma and karmic seeds and fruits, dependent origination and the twelve nidanas, and whether samsara should be read literally, psychologically or metaphorically.Open →
• The three marks of existenceRecall questions on anicca and its gross and subtle levels, dukkha and its three categories, anatta, eternalism and annihilationism, the chariot analogy in The Questions of King Milinda, the five khandhas, and whether Buddhism is pessimistic, optimistic or realistic.Open →
• The Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold PathRecall questions on the four noble truths and the doctor analogy, the first teaching in the deer park, arhats, tanha and the three kinds of craving, nirodha, nibbana with remainder and parinibbana, the eight factors and three sections of the path, and detachment.Open →
• Buddhist meditationRecall questions on the purpose of meditation, samatha and vipassana practice and how they complement each other, mindfulness and its four foundations, personalised practice, the path factors that cover meditation, the jhanas, secular therapeutic uses, and whether meditation is too inward-looking.Open →
• The development of Mahayana BuddhismRecall questions on the emergence of Mahayana, upaya, the bodhisattva, bodhicitta and the six paramitas, Avalokiteshvara, Manjushri and Maitreya, the parables of the burning house, the magic city and the hidden gem, the trikaya, and the bodhisattva compared with the arhat.Open →
• Madhyamaka and the perfection of wisdomRecall questions on Nagarjuna and his method, the perfection of wisdom sutras and the Heart Sutra, sunyata and svabhava, why emptiness is not nihilism, dependent origination, the two truths, samsara and nirvana as not separate, and continuity with the Buddha's teaching.Open →
• Zen and Pure Land BuddhismRecall questions on the origins of Zen, zazen, satori and koans, Zen's attitude to scripture, Rinzai and Soto Zen, Pure Land Buddhism, Amitabha and Dharmakara's vows, nembutsu, Jodo-shu and Jodo Shinshu, and whether Pure Land is an easy path.Open →
• Buddhism in the WestRecall questions on how Buddhism reached the West, its appeal and portrayal in the media, the Dalai Lama, adaptation to Western science and culture, Stephen Batchelor's Secular Buddhism and Paul Knitter's dual-belonging and the criticisms of each.Open →
• Engaged Buddhism and social activismRecall questions on the origins and aims of Engaged Buddhism, Thich Nhat Hanh, interbeing and the fourteen precepts of the Order of Interbeing, arguments for and against activism, Buddhist action on the environment, injustice and war, and whether Buddhism is always peaceful.Open →
• Buddhism and genderRecall questions on women's capacity for awakening, the founding of the order of nuns, the dragon king's daughter in the Lotus Sutra, the gurudharma, ordination in the Theravada tradition, eight precept women, the revival of full ordination, Thailand and Myanmar, and Sakyadhita.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Developments in Buddhist Thought further

The same content, four other ways.

Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

• Anicca vs Anatta

  Anicca: the impermanence of everything that arises from conditions. Anatta: the absence of any permanent unchanging self.

• Theravada vs Mahayana

  Theravada: the tradition holding to the Pali canon and the arhat ideal. Mahayana: the tradition accepting later sutras and the bodhisattva ideal.

• Samatha vs Vipassana

  Samatha: meditation cultivating calm and one-pointed concentration. Vipassana: meditation cultivating insight into the marks of existence.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   Who was Siddhartha Gautama, and why do Buddhists call him the Buddha?

   Model answer

   Siddhartha Gautama was a man born into a ruling family in the Sakya territory of what is now the Nepal-India border region, traditionally dated to around the fifth or sixth century BCE. Buddhists call him the Buddha, meaning the Awakened One, because they hold that he woke up to the true nature of reality by his own effort. The title describes an achievement, not a divine identity: Buddhists do not regard him as a god or a saviour.

2. 2

   What do Buddhists say about the circumstances of Siddhartha's birth, and why does the story matter to them?

   Model answer

   Traditional accounts describe a birth surrounded by marvels: a dream of a white elephant, a painless delivery in a grove at Lumbini, and a sage who predicted the child would become either a world-ruler or a great religious teacher. Buddhists read these details as marking out a rare and significant life rather than as a claim to divinity. The prediction also explains his father's efforts to keep him at home, which sets up everything that follows.

3. 3

   What kind of upbringing is Siddhartha said to have had, and what was the point of it?

   Model answer

   Buddhists describe a life of deliberately managed luxury: three palaces for the seasons, entertainment, fine food, a marriage to Yasodhara and a son, Rahula. His father is said to have screened out anything that might prompt religious questions. The point of the story is that indulgence was tried thoroughly and failed. Having everything a person could want did not answer the problem of existence, which is why Buddhists say pleasure cannot be the cure for dukkha.

4. 4

   What are the four passing sights, and what did each one show Siddhartha?

   Model answer

   Riding beyond the palace, Siddhartha is said to have encountered an old man, a sick man, a corpse, and finally a wandering holy man. The first three revealed ageing, illness and death as unavoidable for everyone, including himself and those he loved. The fourth showed that some people had given up ordinary life to search for a way through. Together they present the problem and hint at a possible response.

5. 5

   Why do Buddhists treat the four sights as a turning point rather than simply a sad discovery?

   Model answer

   Because the shock was not the existence of suffering but the realisation that no amount of privilege exempts anyone from it. Buddhists say Siddhartha saw that the pleasures he had were temporary and therefore could not secure him. The sights turn a general fact into a personal and urgent one, and the fourth converts despair into a question worth pursuing. This is why Buddhists treat honest attention to ageing, sickness and death as the beginning of practice, not as morbidity.

6. 6

   What is meant by Siddhartha's renunciation?

   Model answer

   Renunciation, sometimes called the Great Departure, refers to Siddhartha leaving his home, family, wealth and inherited position at about the age of twenty-nine to live as a homeless seeker. He is said to have cut off his hair, exchanged his clothing and taken up the wandering life. For Buddhists it models the willingness to let go of what one is attached to, and it is echoed today when a person ordains as a monk or nun.

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Developments in Buddhist Thought revision questions

What does Developments in Buddhist Thought cover in OCR A-Level Religious Studies?

12 subtopics: the buddha: siddhartha's life and intellectual context, taking refuge: the three jewels, samsara, kamma and rebirth, the three marks of existence, the four noble truths and the eightfold path, buddhist meditation, the development of mahayana buddhism, madhyamaka and the perfection of wisdom, zen and pure land buddhism, buddhism in the west, engaged buddhism and social activism and buddhism and gender. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Developments in Buddhist Thought organised?

By the OCR H573 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.