welcome to this guide to buddhism for gcse this guide is not intended as a recap of the buddha's life there are plenty of videos available on that but rather to look at the main concepts that you will need to know about for the gcse syllabus and how they are linked together buddhism is a very systematic religion which can make it easier to understand however it sometimes goes into exhaustive detail and loves to categorize things almost endlessly this guide is not intended to examine all the depths of buddhism rather it is simply a brief conceptual overview for students studying buddhism at gcse level there will be plenty of details missed out or skimmed over but that is inevitable in a guide of this sort i will also be using the pali language version of buddhist terms in line with the gcse syllabus pali was the original language of buddhist scripture but his texts were later translated into the language of sanskrit and some of the sanskrit terminology may be more familiar i will use this for clarification when necessary suffering and the end of suffering buddhism begins with the observation that life is full of suffering furthermore buddhism teaches that after death people are in some way reborn to live suffer and die again and again in a cycle known as samsara the ultimate aim of buddhists is to escape this cycle of birth and suffering achieving nibana or nirvana in sanskrit when a person achieves nibana they are never reborn again and are finally free from the suffering of life nibbana is a state of perfect happiness peace and freedom from all the suffering of life it is achieved by becoming enlightened which means truly understanding the nature of existence once a person is enlightened all craving and ignorance ceases they will never again experience suffering and nor will they be reborn again they have escaped the cycle of samsara the three marks of existence we have just seen that enlightenment involves understanding the nature of existence in other words understanding what the world is really like the buddha taught that there are many things in life which we cannot be certain about for example we cannot know for sure how the universe began whether there is a god whether there is life after death and the buddha did not see very much point in pursuing these questions after all they make very little difference to people's everyday lives and the suffering that they experience instead the buddha focused his teachings on three things which he thought we can be certain about and which are directly relevant to the suffering that people experience these are called the three marks of existence the first mark of existence is the universal truth of suffering dukkha in the pali language the buddha taught that all life involves suffering of some kind this must have been particularly true given the times he was living in where most people lived lives of hard agricultural toil without modern health care remember the main reason the buddha gave up his life as a prince was to search for an answer to explain why we suffer in the first sermon or speech that the buddha gave after his enlightenment he spoke of the seven states of suffering that people experience throughout their lives these are one birth two old age three sickness four death five sorrow and despair six contact with unpleasant things and seven not getting what one wishes for we can think of suffering in three broad categories one ordinary suffering for example breaking a bone getting the flu relationship breakdown death watching someone you love suffer two the suffering of change and this links to one of the other marks of existence which we'll deal with in a moment the buddha taught that nothing is permanent things are always changing examples might be getting older moving to a new house or a school or one a pleasant experience like a summer holiday comes to an end three the suffering of attachment this can be the hardest form of suffering to understand and is perhaps best described as a subtle dissatisfaction with life such as the unhappiness that comes from wanting things we can't have for example if a person is overly attached to material things they'll spend their lives either worrying that they do not have them or if they are wealthy worrying that something might happen to their possessions all of these are examples of the suffering that everybody experiences in life the second mark of existence is anika this is usually translated as impermanence the buddha observed that everything is impermanent and constantly changing nothing lasts forever we're all born grow age and die this affects all living things but also non-living things for example the weathering of mountains the erosion of coastlines the movement of glaciers it also affects our minds emotions thoughts and so on change and impermanence are everywhere just like suffering in buddhism these two things impermanence and suffering are related the buddha taught that impermanence is one of the main reasons why we suffer even though things in the world change all the time people become attached to them and want them to stay the same then when they don't because they're impermanent people experience suffering or dukkha understanding and accepting that everything is impermanent is crucial to removing dukkha this is because most suffering is believed to be the result of not truly accepting that all things change causation and dependent arising buddhism focuses a lot on causes and effects every effect has a cause and every cause leads to an effect for example craving as we will see is the cause of suffering and nibana is the effect of enlightenment when the buddha was young he realized the connection between cause and effect whilst watching a ploughing competition he realized that the worms that were being dug up and killed and eaten by birds would not have suffered had the ploughing not taken place this seems obvious but it was an important step in the developing of his thinking it taught him that in order to get rid of suffering you need to get rid of the causes of suffering it also links with ideas about kama or karma in sanskrit which the buddha developed in his teaching dependent arising is the idea that nothing occurs all comes into existence without a cause something it depends on for its existence buddhists ideas about causation are linked to the idea that nothing is permanent this is because everything arises in dependence on something else and therefore disappears when the cause disappears for example my personal identity is dependent on my body among other things therefore when my body changes i change and when my body stops working i cease to exist anata or anatman this idea that everything is always constantly changing also applies to people the buddha taught that people like everything else in the world are subject to change for centuries philosophers have debated questions such as what is a person what is personal identity what is it about you that makes you you for buddhists a person is simply a collection of elements known as the five aggregates or in partly scandals they are one form our bodies two sensations in other words our feelings three perceptions this is our recognition of things how we perceive things four mental formations in other words our thoughts and ideas and five consciousness our awareness of things internal and external mental and physical these elements are always changing our bodies change all the time as we grow and mature ourselves die and are replaced our feelings change our perceptions change our thoughts and ideas change the things we are aware of change our consciousness changes so which of these is the real you which part of you stays the same and persists through time buddhists believe that there is nothing that is really you this is the third mark of existence called anata which means no self this is the logical conclusion of anika the concept of impermanence when applied to people this does not mean that the buddha thought he did not exist it simply means that the self is not fixed or permanent there is no fixed part of a person that does not change the buddhist thinker rahula wrote the idea of the self is an imaginary false belief which has no corresponding reality and it produces harmful thoughts of me and mine selfish desire craving attachment hatred ill will conceit pride egoism and other defilements impurities and problems it is the source of all the troubles in the world from personal conflicts to wars between nations accepting the idea of anata or no-self is an important part of the buddhist journey because when you truly understand that there is no self it simply makes no sense to be selfish or greedy who or what are you being selfish for if there is no you pain is pain wherever it is suffered joy is joy wherever it is felt there is no me no you no us versus them you will naturally want to end the suffering of all beings equally the four noble truths [Music] the buddha's core teaching is sometimes summarized in something called the four noble truths these are four truths that were discovered by the buddha while he searched for enlightenment under the bodhi tree and they are also his first teachings that he gave in his first sermon in the deer park at sarnath the first truth is the truth of suffering the buddha taught birth is suffering aging is suffering sickness is suffering dying is suffering sorrow grief pain unhappiness and unease are suffering being united with what is not liked is suffering separation from what is light is suffering not to get what one wants is suffering this first noble truth draws attention to the fact that suffering is a part of life and something that everybody experiences the buddha taught there are four unavoidable types of physical suffering birth old age sickness and death the buddha also taught that there are three main forms of mental suffering separation from someone or something you love contact with someone or something you dislike and not being able to achieve your full desires the buddha taught that suffering is present at every stage of a person's life he did not deny that happiness exists but he taught that happiness like all things is impermanent and temporary it does not last and eventually usually quite quickly gives way to unhappiness and suffering of some kind people try to combat this suffering with temporary pleasures for example you fall out with a friend so you eat a chocolate bar to cheer yourself up but the happiness that the chocolate creates disappears when you get to the end of the bar it does not solve the root cause of your unhappiness the second noble truth is called samudaya and this deals with the root cause of dukkha buddhists believe that we must understand why people suffer if suffering is to be reduced according to the buddha the root cause of suffering is something called tana or craving we suffer because we want and desire things the buddha said that there are three main types of craving firstly craving things that please the senses such as beautiful sights pleasant smells or tasty food such as chocolate secondly craving to become something that you are not such as craving to become rich or famous and thirdly craving for something not to be or craving non-existence this refers to when you want to get rid of something or stop it from happening anymore such as not wanting to feel embarrassed after making a mistake or not wanting to feel pain after twisting an ankle the buddha taught that craving is caused by the three poisons or the three fires of greed hatred and ignorance these are illustrated in the center of the tibetan wheel of life by a cockerel representing greed a pig representing ignorance and a snake representing hatred these three poisons of greed ignorance and hatred are the forces that drive the cycle of samsara that's the cycle of birth life suffering death and rebirth and keep it turning the buddha taught that our craving is ultimately rooted in ignorance this is not the sort of ignorance related to not knowing the location of a country or not knowing how to speak a language but a deeper ignorance about people the world and the nature of reality we want and desire things because we ignorantly believe that they will make us happy we do not understand or accept the truth of how things really are our ignorance leads us to crave things and this craving in turn leads to greed and hatred which keeps us trapped in the cycle of samsara and prevents us from reaching nibbana these three poisons or fires need to be extinguished to achieve nibana remember that nibana literally means blowing out or extinguishing the third noble truth nirada is that there is an end to suffering buddhism teaches that it is possible for a person to end suffering through their own actions and efforts this third noble truth is important because it teaches that it is possible to achieve happiness and it is possible to overcome suffering in some buddhist traditions this links to the idea that we have an inner buddha nature a potential to become enlightened which is called tatagata gaba the buddha taught that people can and should learn to let go of their craving or tana in order to stop feeling dissatisfied with life this will lead to deep inner contentment and satisfaction with life and total appreciation of what they have already got they will take pleasure in things while they last but will not be upset when they inevitably change or disappear it is possible to end suffering if we overcome ignorance and craving the fourth noble truth maga states that the way to overcome ignorance and craving the cure to end suffering is a set of eight guidelines and practices called the eightfold path despite being called a path the eightfold path is often represented as a wheel with eight spokes as they can all be practiced at the same time the eightfold path consists of following eight practices which are grouped into three sections known as the threefold way the first section is wisdom or panna this consists of right understanding understanding deeply the truth of the buddha's teachings particularly the four noble truths this helps to get rid of ignorance one of the three poisons or fires we mentioned earlier the second is right intention having the right approach and outlook to following the eightfold path being determined to follow the buddha's path with a genuine and honest attitude the second section is ethics or sila this consists of right speech speaking truthfully in a helpful positive way avoiding lying or gossiping about others the second element is right action behaving in a peaceful ethical way avoiding acts such as stealing harming others or over indulging essential pleasures this includes following something called the five precepts these are one to refrain from taking life in other words not killing any living being for buddhists this includes animals so many buddhists choose to be vegetarian 2. refrain from taking what is not given in other words not stealing from anyone three full stop to refrain from the misuse of the senses in other words not having too much sensual pleasure for example not looking at people in a lustful way or committing adultery four to refrain from wrong speech this means not lying or gossiping about people or saying hurtful things and five to refrain from intoxicants that cloud the mind this would include not drinking alcohol or taking drugs as these do not help you think clearly and could lead you to break some of the other precepts also in the ethics section is right livelihood in other words earning a living in a way that does not harm others for example not doing work that exploits people or harms animals following these guidelines not only has a positive impact on those around you but also benefits you in your journey towards nibana by helping you overcome negative emotions like greed selfishness hatred and so forth which keep you locked in the cycle of samsara the third section is meditation or samadhi this includes right effort putting effort into meditation in particular thinking positively and freeing yourself from negative emotions and thoughts right mindfulness becoming fully aware of yourself and the world around you having a clear sense of your own feelings and thoughts and right concentration this is developing the mental concentration and focus that is required to meditate meditation is a key buddhist practice and closely linked to the wisdom or panna part of the threefold path it is through meditation that the buddha first became enlightened and there are many forms of meditation samatha meditation is about calming and focusing the mind basically it's about getting better at meditation it is part of right concentration the persona meditation often called insight meditation is about trying to gain insight into the true nature of reality to see things as they really are this form of meditation is used to contemplate and better understand the teaching of the buddha it is linked both with right understanding but also with overcoming ignorance one of the three poisons meta meditation this type of meditation helps buddhists to develop an attitude of loving kindness towards all living things including themselves and compassion for the suffering of all beings this attitude of loving kindness links to right intention but also acts as a motivation towards the ethics part of the eightfold path developing loving kindness helps to overcome the poisons of greed and hatred that keep people locked in the cycle of samsara as you study the gcse course you'll come across plenty of things not dealt with here but hopefully you'll be able to see where they fit in the scheme of buddhist belief outlined here remember it does make sense it does fit together and you can get a grip of it even with those long buddhist words but you'll need to apply yourself diligently to it you might want to use the eightfold path as a model