Name_______________________
Buddhism Study Guide
1. In what ways did Buddhism resemble Jainism?
2. In what major way is it different from Jainism?
3. What developed within Buddhism by the third century B.C.E.?
4. Where other than India did Buddhism become a sweeping success?
5. What two factors later led to a decline in Buddhism in India?
6. Where are the vast majority of Buddhists now found?
7. Who is the founder of Buddhism and approximately when did he live?
8. What predictions surrounded the birth of Siddhartha Gautama?
9. What happened soon after (stories say 1 week) after Gautama’s birth?
10. Why did Siddhartha’s father try to keep him from seeing human misery?
11. What was Siddhartha’s young life like?
12. How old was he when married?
13. What four things did Siddhartha see that changed him?
14. Why did Siddhartha leave home?
15. What did he do after leaving?
16. After failing to attain lasting enlightenment through meditation with a guru, what did Siddhartha
then try to do? Give examples of his asceticism.
17. What problem did Siddhartha have with asceticism?
18. What two stories describe his first meal after near starvation?
19. Where did Siddhartha finally achieve enlightenment?
20. Define tanha:
21. How, ironically did the Buddha finally find enlightenment?
22. What did the Buddha do at Deer Park near Banaras?
23. Define Sangha:
24. What did Buddha teach about the caste and sex of a person?
25. What did Buddist monks have to do (and still do today)?
26. What is said to have been the original creed of Buddhism?
27. What five basic rules of moral conduct were Buddhists expected to observe?
28. At what age did the Buddha reportedly die and from what?
29. What did Buddha reject from Hinduism?
30. What was the Buddha’s focus (rather than gods)?
31. Did the Buddha believe in the soul? Explain.
32. What does one need to follow in order to achieve release from the birth and death cycle according
to the Buddha?
33. What does the word nirvana mean?
34. In what two major ways does Buddhism differ from other Indian religions of the day?
35. What happened to Buddhism shortly after the Buddha’s death?
36. What two major modern sects of Buddhism exist today?
37. What did the great leader Asoka come to believe about Buddhism?
38. What country boasts the longest history of Buddhism in any nation outside of India?
39. Why was Asoka’s decision to spread Buddhism so important?
40. What do practitioners of Theravada Buddhism believe about themselves?
41. What is the ideal figure in Theravada Buddhism?
42. May ordinary laypeople become saints (arhat) in Theravada Buddhism?
43. Despite a focus on the individual, what are also important for Theravada Buddhists in their
worship?
44. ____________ Tales concern themselves with the former lives of the Buddha Gautama.
45. Define the following:
a. wat
b. bot
c. stupa
d. pagoda
e. sammatta mediation
f.
vipassana meditation
46. What do Mahayana Buddhists believe about the nature of Buddhism?
47. What second principle did Mahayana Buddhism teach about the Buddha?
48. What third principle was taught by Mahayana Buddhists?
49. How did Buddhism absorb other religions encountered and/or adapt to them?
50. What are Bodhisattvas and what do they do to help others?
51. When did Buddhism enter Korea?
52. When did Buddhism enter Japan?
53. What quality in Hinduism allowed for Buddhism being largely absorbed there?
54. What does Hinduism claim about Gautama?
55. What other major challenge did Buddhism face in India?
56. Who is Amitabha and what does he preside over?
57. What is different about Pure Land monks?
58. What do Initiative Sects of Buddhism focus on as the source of enlightenment?
59. What work was instrumental in the Intuitive Sects of Buddhism?
60. What is Bodhidharma credited with bringing to East Asia and for what was the substance used?
61. What is the basic principle behind all Intuitive Sects of Buddhism?
62. Why do Intuitive sects, like Zen Buddhism use riddles which confuse reasonable thought?
63. How else might a Zen master attempt to bring his or her student insight (other than riddles)?
64. What is the main focus of the Rationalist Sect of Buddhism?
65. What part of Buddha’s teaching does the Nichiren (Sociopolitical Sect) of Buddhism revere?
66. What happened to Nichiren as a result of his critical views of other sects of Buddhism?
67. What did native Tibetan religion emphasize?
68. What role does this have in current Tibetan Buddhism?
69. What was the focus of Tibetan Tantric Buddhism?
70. Explain how a prayer wheel works.
71. Define lama:
72. Are Tibetan monks celibate?
73. Define Bardo:
74. What do Tibetan monks do to help people reach nirvana?
75. What is the leader of the Yellow Hat group of Tibetan monks called and how is he chosen?
76. What ended the Dalai Lama’s control of Tibet and when did it happen?
77. Briefly discuss the time and activities of each of the following Holy Days:
a. New Year
b. Buddha’s Birthday
c. The Festival of Souls
d. The Robe Offering
78. How did the work of Christian missionaries actually increase Western interest in Buddhism?
79. Explain how science and the modern world have helped revitalize Buddhism and encourage
missionary effort.
80. What great loss did Buddhism suffer following World War II?
81. What is the current world population of Buddhism?