GCSE Religious Studies: Buddhism – Beliefs and Teachings

Buddhism is one of the religions most often chosen alongside Christianity for the study of religions part of GCSE Religious Studies, and every board sets out a similar body of beliefs (for example, the Buddhism key beliefs section of AQA's specification). This material covers those beliefs and teachings; a companion material deals with Buddhist practices and ethics.

It begins with the Buddha himself: his birth as a prince, the life of luxury, the Four Sights, the years of extreme asceticism, the discovery of the Middle Way and his enlightenment under the Bodhi tree. You see why these events matter for Buddhists today.

The heart of the material is the Dhamma. You learn the Four Noble Truths as a diagnosis and cure for suffering: the kinds of dukkha, craving and the Three Poisons as its cause, nibbana as its end, and the Eightfold Path grouped into ethics, meditation and wisdom. You then study the Three Marks of Existence (anicca, anatta and dukkha) and dependent arising, using the Tibetan wheel of life as a picture of how conditions keep beings in the cycle of rebirth.

The material also compares Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, as the specifications require. You learn the Theravada account of the person as Five Aggregates, the Mahayana teachings of sunyata and Buddha-nature, and the two ideals of human destiny: the arhat who reaches nibbana and the bodhisattva who works for the enlightenment of all beings, together with the Pure Land hope of rebirth in Amitabha's realm.

The material offers a quiz with explanations for every answer, flashcards for the Pali and Sanskrit terms, a printable written sheet of explain-and-evaluate tasks with reference answers, and an oral practice exam in which the examiner asks one question at a time and gives brief feedback at the end.

Buddhist teachings are presented accurately and neutrally, with the differences between traditions made clear. Use the material to learn the key terms and ideas, then to practise explaining them with a source of Buddhist teaching and weighing statements about them.

• Describe the key events of the Buddha's life and explain their significance
• Explain the Four Noble Truths, including tanha, the Three Poisons and nibbana
• Explain the Three Marks of Existence and dependent arising
• Compare the Theravada Five Aggregates with the Mahayana teachings of sunyata and Buddha-nature
• Compare the arhat and bodhisattva ideals and describe Pure Land Buddhism
• Explain the Eightfold Path as the Threefold Way of ethics, meditation and wisdom

Practice material written by Zestly, based on the DfE GCSE religious studies subject content for Buddhism and, for example, AQA GCSE Religious Studies A (8062), Buddhism: key beliefs.