Buddhism

The sage on whose teachings Buddhism was founded – known as 'the Buddha'		Siddhartha Gautama
Meaning of the Sanskrit word 'Buddha'		Enlightened one (or awakened one)
Century that Buddha lived in (approximately)		5th BC
Princess that Buddha married, who became a nun after he left home to become an ascetic and a seeker after truth		Yashodhara
Buddha's birthplace, Lumbini, is (now) in		Nepal
Age at which Buddha left his wife and son and a life of luxury		29
Tree that Buddha was sitting under when he achieved enlightenment		Bodhi (Bo) – fig
Order of monks founded by Buddha		Sangha
Buddha died at Kusinagara, in the Indian state of		Uttapradesh

Leader of the Yellow Hat sect of Buddhism, and the spiritual and temporal head of Tibet: Gendun Drup (1391) was the first, and Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th		Dalai Lama
Lhamo Dhondup is the birth name, and Tenzin Gyatso the religious name, of
Fled from Tibet to India in 1959, after the suppression of a rebellion against Chinese rule, and won the Nobel Peace Prize thirty years later
Form of Mahayana Buddhism prevalent in Tibet		Lamaism
The Greater Vehicle, arising simultaneously with Christianity		Mahayana Buddhism
The state to which a Buddhist aspires: the extinction of all desires and release from the cycle of rebirth		Nirvana
School of the Elders or Lesser Vehicle, prevailing in South East Asia		Theravada Buddhism
Dominant sect of Tibetan Buddhism, headed by the Dalai Lama: Dge–lugs–pa, literally "Model of Virtue"; but commonly known in English (to distinguish it from the older Red Hat sect) as		Yellow Hat sect
School of Buddhism, founded in China in the 12th century: teaches that contemplation of one's essential nature to the exclusion of all else is the only way of achieving pure enlightenment; name comes from the Japanese word (zenna) meaning 'quiet mind concentration'		Zen Buddhism

The Four Noble Truths of Buddhism:

	Frustration (suffering)
	Suffering has a cause
	Suffering can be ended
	The Eightfold Path

The Noble Eightfold Path, by following which suffering can be ended:

	Right views
	Right intention
	Right speech
	Right action
	Right livelihood
	Right effort
	Right mindfulness
	Right concentration

All phenomena (and beings, including Gods) are:

	Impermanent
	Unsatisfactory
	Soulless

The three pitakas (baskets) of Buddhist scriptures (the Tripitaka):

	Sanskrit name		Meaning
	Vinaya		Discipline
	Sutras, or Dharma		Discourse, or doctrine
	Abhidharma		Later doctrine

© Haydn Thompson 2017–21