Buddhism: Expression of Religious Identity | AQA A-Level Religious Studies (7062)
Buddhism: Expression of Religious Identity
- 96 questions
- 7 subtopics
- Component 2: Buddhism, one religion of five
- Component 2
Buddhism: the practices, rites and communal life through which identity is expressed.
Part of Component 2, sat only by students who take Buddhism as their chosen religion.
Sample questions from Buddhism: Expression of Religious Identity
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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The Sangha Today and Wat Phra Dhammakaya
In the Vijja Dhammakaya meditation technique, where does the practitioner focus their attention?
Show the answer
On the centre of the body. -
The Sangha Today and Wat Phra Dhammakaya
Why has the Dhammakaya movement attracted criticism regarding its approach to merit-making?
Show the answer
Because it places strong emphasis on merit-making through financial donations, which critics argue commercialises Buddhism. -
The Sangha in Thailand and Its Changing Roles
Why do many young Thai men ordain as monks temporarily?
Show the answer
A rains retreat spent as a monk makes merit for the family, especially the mother, who cannot ordain herself, and was traditionally a mark of maturity before marriage. -
The Sangha in Thailand and Its Changing Roles
Who are Thailand's development monks?
Show the answer
Monks who lead rural projects such as rice banks, cooperatives and health schemes, applying Buddhist teaching to villagers' material as well as spiritual needs. -
Acts of Devotion in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism
What is the Mahayana devotional practice involving full-body bowing to the ground called?
Show the answer
Prostrations -
Acts of Devotion in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism
How does Theravada Buddhism generally view the purpose of devotional practices?
Show the answer
As aids to personal spiritual development rather than as worship of a divine being. -
Buddha Images and Merit
What merit-making activity involves providing food or other necessities to members of the Sangha?
Show the answer
Giving to monks -
Buddha Images and Merit
Besides giving and ethical conduct, what mental discipline is considered a way of making merit?
Show the answer
Practising meditation.
The 7 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| The Sangha Today and Wat Phra Dhammakaya | Recall questions on the Sangha's challenges and use of technology today, and on Wat Phra Dhammakaya: its meditation technique, temple, teaching on nirvana, expansion and the criticisms made of it. | 16 |
| The Sangha in Thailand and Its Changing Roles | The traditional lifestyle of Thai monks, their relationship with lay people and the village wat, and how the Sangha's role has changed through state education, the Sangha Acts, development and ecology monks, and growing royal control. | 15 |
| Acts of Devotion in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism | Recall questions on Theravada prostration, offerings, chanting and circumambulation, Mahayana bowing, mantra and visualisation, and how the two traditions differ over the purpose of devotion. | 13 |
| Buddha Images and Merit | Recall questions on the purpose of Buddha images in each tradition and on what merit is and how it is made. | 9 |
| Right Mindfulness and Its Four Foundations | Recall questions on Right Mindfulness and Right Concentration within the Eightfold Path, the four foundations of body, feeling, mind and dhammas, and the meditative absorptions concentration develops. | 11 |
| The Eightfold Path and Mental Discipline | Recall questions on the three factors grouped under samadhi and on where right effort, mindfulness and concentration belong. | 16 |
| Secular Mindfulness and Its Critics | Recall questions on therapeutic uses of meditation and why some Buddhists welcome them, the criticisms of secular mindfulness and its commercialisation, and how it differs from meditation within the Eightfold Path. | 16 |
How the guide is worked
Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.
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Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
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Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
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Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.
Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.
Nearby topics
AQA A-Level Religious Studies Active Recall Guide
Every topic, not just this one. 3,683 questions with their answers.