Mahayana Buddhism
Asian Behavior and Thought 10/16/12
Study Guide 7 – Mahayana Buddhism
1. What are the four sublime states? 1. Boundless love is related to friendliness. Buddhists cultivate love that is unconditioned and unlimited, based on the knowledge that all are one in the ocean of love. 2. Boundless compassion is the intense fellow feeling one should have for all living beings who suffer through pain, anxiety, ignorance and illusion. 3. Sympathetic joy- moves one to seek out happiness and prosperity of others and rejoice with them. 4. Equanimity – is the sense of nonattachment to self and to the world that the arhat achives by following the path of transformation and rooting out all desire and clinging. 2. What is Early Buddhism’s view of material well-being? Buddhist vision for society is the fundamental principle that all types of people are equal and that honor depends not on circumstances of birth but on moral and spiritual achievement?. ( is this the answer) 3. How does the ethical life of lay persons compare with that of monks and nuns? Lay people - There are many scriptures that spell out practical guidance and concrete disciplines for the good life. There are five percepts that leads the good life of compassion, love and fulfillment. 1st percept is the principle of nonviolence – concept expands not only to humans but also to animals. 2nd percept is not to steal – concept expands to avoild all forms of cheating, dishonest dealings to gain advantage over the others etc. 3rd percept is refrain from wrongful sexual relation – concept expands to be married and have sexual intercourse in the right way. 4th percept is refrain from wrongful speech that would cause others hatred, enmity, & dishmarmony. And 5th percept is refrain from drugs and liquor because it can cause breaking of other percepts. Monks and nuns – has to follow high level of detachment from those material, economic and social attachments that
Study Guide 7 – Mahayana Buddhism
1. What are the four sublime states? 1. Boundless love is related to friendliness. Buddhists cultivate love that is unconditioned and unlimited, based on the knowledge that all are one in the ocean of love. 2. Boundless compassion is the intense fellow feeling one should have for all living beings who suffer through pain, anxiety, ignorance and illusion. 3. Sympathetic joy- moves one to seek out happiness and prosperity of others and rejoice with them. 4. Equanimity – is the sense of nonattachment to self and to the world that the arhat achives by following the path of transformation and rooting out all desire and clinging. 2. What is Early Buddhism’s view of material well-being? Buddhist vision for society is the fundamental principle that all types of people are equal and that honor depends not on circumstances of birth but on moral and spiritual achievement?. ( is this the answer) 3. How does the ethical life of lay persons compare with that of monks and nuns? Lay people - There are many scriptures that spell out practical guidance and concrete disciplines for the good life. There are five percepts that leads the good life of compassion, love and fulfillment. 1st percept is the principle of nonviolence – concept expands not only to humans but also to animals. 2nd percept is not to steal – concept expands to avoild all forms of cheating, dishonest dealings to gain advantage over the others etc. 3rd percept is refrain from wrongful sexual relation – concept expands to be married and have sexual intercourse in the right way. 4th percept is refrain from wrongful speech that would cause others hatred, enmity, & dishmarmony. And 5th percept is refrain from drugs and liquor because it can cause breaking of other percepts. Monks and nuns – has to follow high level of detachment from those material, economic and social attachments that