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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.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

How does the story of Kisa Gotami teach the First Noble Truth?

Key term

How do some Buddhists interpret the Wheel of Life psychologically?

Key term

How do Buddhist and Christian ideas of salvation differ?

Key term

What was the Buddha's name at birth, and what does the title "Buddha" mean?

Key term

What does the word dhamma mean in Buddhism?

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What is magga?

Key term

Name the Five Khandas.

Key term

What is kamma?

Key term

Describe the Buddha's ancestry.

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Why is the Dhamma one of the Three Refuges?

Key term

What is the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta?

Key term

What does samudaya mean?

Key term

What does nirodha mean?

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Why is the Buddha's path called the Middle Way?

Key term

What does the Khandha Sutta teach about the aggregates?

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Why is intention central to kamma?

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What does Buddhavamsa XXVI record about the Buddha's early life?

Key term

What is paticca-samuppada?

Key term

State the First Noble Truth.

Who and when

According to the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta, what causes suffering?

Key term

How does the Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta describe the Third Noble Truth?

Key term

List the eight parts of the Eightfold Path.

Key term

Why do Buddhists teach about the Five Khandas?

Key term

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.

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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.

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