The Life of the Buddha BBC Documentary
RS 25
Name________________
Instructions:
1
View the documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsEksMEE2Eg
2
Circle or check the word/s or term/s in bold that correctly complete the ideas or
sentences. This first is done for you. These will comprise your notes for the next
assignment.
3
Write a 20 Question test based on the documentary. Specific instructions are on the
last page of this document.
I
Introduction:
A spoiled young prince set out to find
500
1000 5000
his shoes
nirvana
1st world religion
Catholic Church
Mormons
Buddhism has
400 million
20,000 followers
Meditation is used for/to
30 million
physical exercise
ritual purposes
We can reach ultimate reality through
rituals
The Dalia Lama is the
leader
spiritual figurehead
People see Buddhism as a
religion
philosophy
Buddhism centers of the
body mind spirit
II
ultimate wisdom
years before Christ
He founded the
Buddhism has no
enlightenment
god
rituals
priests
reach a state of peace
our own efforts
“pope”
psychotherapy
of Buddhism.
science of mind.
leaders
THE REDISCOVERY OF BUDDHISM
To the West (Europeans) Buddhism was unknown
100
1000
years ago
British colonial archeologists discovered the historical evidence of the Buddha’s life in
Northern India
South Africa
II
LEGEND OF HIS BIRTH/CHILDHOOD
Buddha’s mother Maya was conceived by an
Then she
lived to be 101 yrs.
angel elephant
died soon after giving birth to Siddhartha
The Buddha’s conception and that of Christ signaled that
something great is happening
the end was
coming
Siddhartha’s father wanted him to become
Siddhartha was not interested in
a holy man
the world
a king
military pursuits
According to the story of S’s first experience outside the palace, he saw… (check correct responses)
__
the struggle and repetition of labor
__
that everything is connected
__
that all actions has consequences
Siddhartha’s experience became the foundation for the Buddha’s teachings about Samsara
The king, wishing to distract Siddhatha from his destiny,
imprisoned him
Karma
Dukkha
lured him with maidens
When the king finally let Siddhartha out again her cleared away any evidence of suffering. Even so, Siddhartha
encountered four signs. They were:
Check the correct signs:
___
An old man/aging and that aging is inescapable
___
A beautiful woman/desire for worldly attractions
___
A sick man/sickness and that we all can become sick
___
A corpse/death and that we are reborn to suffer the next life as the last
___
A beggar/renunciation of pleasure in order to seek answers to suffering
This story is an
allegory
factual retelling
that points out the impact that the fundamental facts
of human existence have on us.
The importance of this part of Siddhartha’s story if to make us realize that:
will
age
get sick
die.
I
you
he/she
they
After seeing the four signs, Siddhartha realized that everything is impermanent
subject to change
normal
According to one story, a mist falls over the palace allowing Siddhartha to
IV
steal
sleep escape
THE JOURNEY TO ENLIGHTENMENT
When Siddhartha escaped the palace he
bought more jewellery
shed his clothes and jewellery
cut his hair
When he saw the cities he was confronted with
great suffering
Siddhartha realised that he would have to challenge the
Brahmins
wealth
theft
priests
with their
exclusive, sacred knowledge.
Siddhartha taught that one becomes a Brahmin or an outcast because of
Siddhartha decided that
meditation
charity
yoga
birth family life
behaviour
was not alone the answer to suffering,
rebirth or reincarnation.
Siddhartha then tried torturing his body (fasting, held postures, no pleasure). This is called
asceticism
hedonism
Siddhartha realized that disciplining the body through extremes was
useful
not working
“If the string is too loose it won’t play, if it too tight it will snap.” This simple observation taught Siddhartha
that the way to enlightenment is the
The middle way could be called
middle
sane
mindfulness meditation
extreme
way.
mediocrity
At Bodh Gaya Siddhartha sat under a tree (the Bodhi tree) and vowed never to leave until he had reached
his home town
enlightenment
Siddhartha began by focussing on
music
a bell
The final torment came in the form of Mara who is
his breath
our inner demon
Mara tried to seduce Siddhartha with
death
desires
The “Buddha” means the ___ one
sleeping
awakened
the Christian devil
passion/aversion
happy
The Buddha realized that way to escape the cycle of old age sickness and death was to remove
Desire is a mismatch between how you want things to be and how they
are
will be
youth
desire
can be
V
THE TEACHINGS AND TODAY
The Buddha summed up his wisdom in four noble truths (check off the correct truths)
___
There is suffering in life
___
Desire (craving, ignorance, greed, hatred and delusion) causes suffering
___
There is a cure for desire
___
Cure desire in this way:
The 8-Fold Path
Morality
meditation
wisdom
are the stepping stones to enlightenment.
Morality =
not to kill
not to steal
no sexual misconduct
not to tell a lie
not to indulge
in intoxicants
The inward journey to discover how life should be lived, is more important than
___
having a family
___
getting rich
___
anything else
After 8 years Siddhartha visited the palace and his family. His father forgave him and his step mother became
the world’s first
nun
female priest
The Buddha abandoned his family again to teach for
Monastery/school =
sangha
Some become monks to
Monks give up
sex
mantras
self-improve get clarity
The Buddha wished to be remembered as a god
Siddhartha
spread the religion
selfish desires
Then they memorise the Buddha’s teachings
Ashoka
40 years
dharma
meditate
Westerners use Buddhism to
10 years
chants
get calmness and control of mind
human being
was a model of future Buddhist king/leaders that support Buddhism
Ashoka’s pillars became archeological evidence that revived Buddhism in
Canada
Asia
Both the Christ and the Buddha both challenged strict ritual and personality cult and both became the center of
ritual and personality cult. This is an
The path to Nirvana lies in the
irony
body
felony
community
mind
ASSIGNMENT:
Research the 8-fold and using this and the above information, write a 20 Question test.
Use a mix of multiple choice, T/F (5 items only), fill-in blank with word bank. Include a key.
This test will be marked for Content /5 (incl. covers whole documentary), Neat/Format/Spelling
/5, Fair (not too hard or easy) /5.
If your test is selected to be given to the class, you may choose to take your test or to take 80%
(16/20). Partners make the same choice together.
Please use the following format for the top of your test:
RS 25
The Life of the Buddha Documentary Test
Name_____________ ___/20
……………………CUT AND ATTACH TO YOUR TEST……………………………………………………………………………………
The Life of the Buddha Documentary Test
Name_____________________
Content (incl. covers whole documentary and 8-fold path)
___/5
Neat/Format/Spelling
___/5
Fair (not too hard or easy)
___ /5
TOTAL
___/15 = ____%