Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B 1RB0
Catholic Christianity: Catholic BeliefsAny paper
Catholic Christianity: Living the Catholic LifeAny paper
Catholic Christianity: Marriage and the FamilyPaper 1
Catholic Christianity: Matters of Life and DeathPaper 1
Catholic Christianity: Crime and PunishmentPaper 2
Catholic Christianity: Peace and ConflictPaper 2
Catholic Christianity: Philosophy of ReligionPaper 3
Catholic Christianity: EqualityPaper 3
Christianity: Christian BeliefsAny paper
Christianity: Living the Christian LifeAny paper
Christianity: Marriage and the FamilyPaper 1
Christianity: Matters of Life and DeathPaper 1
Christianity: Crime and PunishmentPaper 2
Christianity: Peace and ConflictPaper 2
Christianity: Philosophy of ReligionPaper 3
Christianity: EqualityPaper 3
Islam: Muslim BeliefsAny paper
Islam: Living the Muslim LifeAny paper
Islam: Marriage and the FamilyPaper 1
Islam: Matters of Life and DeathPaper 1
Islam: Crime and PunishmentPaper 2
Islam: Peace and ConflictPaper 2
Islam: Philosophy of ReligionPaper 3
Islam: EqualityPaper 3
Buddhism: Buddhist BeliefsAny paper
Buddhism: Living the Buddhist LifeAny paper
Buddhism: Marriage and the FamilyPaper 1
Buddhism: Matters of Life and DeathPaper 1
Buddhism: Crime and PunishmentPaper 2
Buddhism: Peace and ConflictPaper 2
Buddhism: Philosophy of ReligionPaper 3
Buddhism: EqualityPaper 3
Hinduism: Hindu BeliefsAny paper
Hinduism: Living the Hindu LifeAny paper
Hinduism: Marriage and the FamilyPaper 1
Hinduism: Matters of Life and DeathPaper 1
Hinduism: Crime and PunishmentPaper 2
Hinduism: Peace and ConflictPaper 2
Hinduism: Philosophy of ReligionPaper 3
Hinduism: EqualityPaper 3
Judaism: Jewish BeliefsAny paper
Judaism: Living the Jewish LifeAny paper
Judaism: Marriage and the FamilyPaper 1
Judaism: Matters of Life and DeathPaper 1
Judaism: Crime and PunishmentPaper 2
Judaism: Peace and ConflictPaper 2
Judaism: Religious ExperiencePaper 3
Judaism: EqualityPaper 3
Sikhism: Sikh BeliefsAny paper
Sikhism: Living the Sikh LifeAny paper
Sikhism: Marriage and the FamilyPaper 1
Sikhism: Matters of Life and DeathPaper 1
Sikhism: Crime and PunishmentPaper 2
Sikhism: Peace and ConflictPaper 2
Sikhism: Philosophy of ReligionPaper 3
Sikhism: EqualityPaper 3
Buddhism: Buddhist Beliefs
- 8 subtopics
- 24 things to know
- Any of the three papers
- Beliefs or Living the Religious Life: the same content in all three areas of study, sat on whichever paper this religion is studied for
What Buddhism: Buddhist Beliefs covers
Buddhism: Buddhist Beliefs is examined in whichever of the three papers Buddhism is studied for, because this section is the same in all three areas of study. It covers the life of the Buddha, dhamma, dependent origination and the Three Marks of Existence, the First Noble Truth: dukkha, the Second Noble Truth: samudaya and the Three Poisons, the Third Noble Truth: nirodha, samsara and nibbana, the Fourth Noble Truth: the Eightfold Path and the Threefold Way, the Five Khandas, Buddha-nature and the Arahant and Bodhisattva ideals and Buddhist ethics: kamma, merit, the Five Precepts and the Six Perfections.
Where it is assessed
Any of the three papers
Beliefs or Living the Religious Life, the same in every area of study and sat on the paper for whichever area this religion is studied for.
Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗The 8 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- The life of the BuddhaThe Buddha's birth name and title, his ancestry, Buddhavamsa XXVI, the birth and the prophecy, his marriage and son, the Four Sights, the years of searching, enlightenment, and the founding of the Sangha.Open →
- Dhamma, dependent origination and the Three Marks of ExistenceDhamma as one of the Three Refuges, paticca-samuppada and the Buddha's short formula for it, how beings are reborn, anicca and anatta, Nagasena's chariot for King Milinda, and dhamma in daily life.Open →
- The First Noble Truth: dukkhaThe Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta and how it sums up the truth, why 'suffering' is an incomplete translation, the three types of dukkha, Kisa Gotami, and the doctor's method.Open →
- The Second Noble Truth: samudaya and the Three PoisonsCraving in the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta and the Sermon at Benares, the three kinds of tanha, the Three Poisons and their animals on the Wheel of Life, Theravada and Mahayana use of it, and psychological readings.Open →
- The Third Noble Truth: nirodha, samsara and nibbanaThe ending of desire, samsara and why escape beats a good rebirth, what nibbana literally means, nibbana in life and parinibbana, Theravada and Mahayana views, and comparisons with Christian heaven and salvation.Open →
- The Fourth Noble Truth: the Eightfold Path and the Threefold WayMagga and the Middle Way, what samma means, sila, samadhi and panna and the path factors under each, the eight-spoked wheel, Theravada, Mahayana and Jodo Shinshu emphasis, and lay life.Open →
- The Five Khandas, Buddha-nature and the Arahant and Bodhisattva idealsThe Khandha Sutta and why the aggregates are taught, sunnata, tathagatagarbha and debates over Buddha-nature, the Arahant and the Bodhisattva, Buddhahood, the Pure Land, and Amitabha's vows.Open →
- Buddhist ethics: kamma, merit, the Five Precepts and the Six PerfectionsIntention in kamma, Dhammapada 183, merit and the Nidhikanda Sutta, sharing merit with the dead, rebirth, karuna and metta, why the precepts are training rules, and Theravada and Mahayana lists of perfections.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
How do some Buddhists interpret the Wheel of Life psychologically?
How do Buddhist and Christian ideas of salvation differ?
What was the Buddha's name at birth, and what does the title "Buddha" mean?
What does the word dhamma mean in Buddhism?
What is magga?
Name the Five Khandas.
What is kamma?
Describe the Buddha's ancestry.
Why is the Dhamma one of the Three Refuges?
What is the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta?
What does samudaya mean?
What does nirodha mean?
Why is the Buddha's path called the Middle Way?
What does the Khandha Sutta teach about the aggregates?
Why is intention central to kamma?
What does Buddhavamsa XXVI record about the Buddha's early life?
What is paticca-samuppada?
State the First Noble Truth.
According to the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, what causes suffering?
How does the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta describe the Third Noble Truth?
List the eight parts of the Eightfold Path.
Why do Buddhists teach about the Five Khandas?
What does Dhammapada 183 teach?
Take Buddhism: Buddhist Beliefs 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 every conditioned thing. Anatta: the absence of any fixed, lasting self or soul.
Nibbana vs Parinibbana
Nibbana: the blowing out of greed, hatred and ignorance, which can happen during life. Parinibbana: the final passing of an enlightened being at death, with no further rebirth.
Arahant vs Bodhisattva
Arahant: a worthy one who has reached nibbana and will not be reborn. Bodhisattva: a being vowing to reach Buddhahood for the sake of all others.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What was the Buddha's name at birth, and what does the title "Buddha" mean?
Model answer
The Buddha was born Siddhattha Gotama, or Siddhartha Gautama in Sanskrit. The title Buddha means "the awakened one" or "the enlightened one".
- 2
Describe the Buddha's ancestry.
Model answer
Siddhattha belonged to the Sakya clan, a family of the warrior class in northern India. Siddhattha's father, King Suddhodana, ruled the Sakyas from the city of Kapilavatthu.
- 3
What does Buddhavamsa XXVI record about the Buddha's early life?
Model answer
Buddhavamsa XXVI is the Buddha's own account of his life as Gotama. The chapter names Kapilavatthu as his city, Suddhodana as his father and Maya as his mother.
- 4
According to Buddhavamsa XXVI, how long did Siddhattha live as a householder?
Model answer
Buddhavamsa XXVI says Siddhattha lived in the household for 29 years. Siddhattha then saw the four signs and left home to seek the truth.
- 5
Describe the traditional account of Siddhattha's birth.
Model answer
Queen Maya dreamed that a white elephant entered her side when she conceived. Siddhattha was born in the Lumbini grove, in present-day Nepal, and is said to have walked seven steps at once.
- 6
What prophecy was made about Siddhattha as a baby?
Model answer
Court brahmins foretold that Siddhattha would become either a great ruler or a great holy man. The sage Asita saw signs that the child would become a Buddha.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Buddhism: Buddhist Beliefs revision questions
- What does Buddhism: Buddhist Beliefs cover in Edexcel GCSE Religious Studies B?
- 8 subtopics: the life of the buddha, dhamma, dependent origination and the three marks of existence, the first noble truth: dukkha, the second noble truth: samudaya and the three poisons, the third noble truth: nirodha, samsara and nibbana, the fourth noble truth: the eightfold path and the threefold way, the five khandas, buddha-nature and the arahant and bodhisattva ideals and buddhist ethics: kamma, merit, the five precepts and the six perfections. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Buddhism: Buddhist Beliefs organised?
- By the Edexcel 1RB0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Buddhism: Buddhist Beliefs, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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