Buddhism: Good Conduct and Key Moral Principles | AQA A-Level Religious Studies (7062)
Buddhism: Good Conduct and Key Moral Principles
- 61 questions
- 5 subtopics
- Component 2: Buddhism, one religion of five
- Component 2
Buddhism: the principles governing conduct, the five precepts and six perfections, and ahimsa applied to the unborn child, the treatment of animals and war.
Part of Component 2, sat only by students who take Buddhism as their chosen religion.
Sample questions from Buddhism: Good Conduct and Key Moral Principles
Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.
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Moral Conduct, Intention and Free Will
What karmic consequences arise from an action performed with unwholesome intention, even if the external outcome appears beneficial?
Show the answer
Negative karmic results, because the intention was unwholesome. -
Moral Conduct, Intention and Free Will
What does it mean to say that the Buddhist concept of free will is conditioned rather than absolute?
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Choices are influenced by past karma, mental habits, and circumstances rather than being completely unconstrained. -
The Five Precepts
What does the second precept require Buddhists to abstain from?
Show the answer
The second precept requires abstaining from taking what is not given (stealing). -
The Five Precepts
State the fifth precept and explain why it is important for Buddhist practice.
Show the answer
The fifth precept is to abstain from intoxicants that cloud the mind, as mental clarity is essential for mindfulness and ethical conduct. -
The Six Perfections
What does Virya Paramita involve?
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Virya Paramita is the perfection of vigour or diligent effort, involving persistent energy in practising virtue. -
The Six Perfections
How does the understanding of emptiness affect the way a bodhisattva practises the six perfections?
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The bodhisattva practises the perfections without clinging to the giver, receiver or gift as inherently existing. -
Ahimsa and the Unborn
Which Buddhist precept provides the ethical foundation for ahimsa?
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The first precept, which prohibits taking life. -
Ahimsa and the Unborn
How do Buddhists who believe consciousness develops gradually approach the issue of early-stage embryos?
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They allow for more nuanced positions on early-stage embryos, as the embryo may not yet possess full consciousness or sentience.
The 5 subtopics
One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.
| Subtopic | What it covers | Questions |
|---|---|---|
| Moral Conduct, Intention and Free Will | Recall questions on the three trainings, intention as karma, kusala and akusala actions and their roots, and the conditioned free will on which Buddhist moral responsibility rests. | 19 |
| The Five Precepts | Recall questions on the Pancasila and what each of the five precepts requires a Buddhist to abstain from. | 8 |
| The Six Perfections | Recall questions on the six paramitas a bodhisattva cultivates, from dana and its three kinds of giving to prajna, the part emptiness plays and how the perfections differ from the five precepts. | 12 |
| Ahimsa and the Unborn | Recall questions on the meaning and reach of ahimsa, the precept grounding it and its bearing on the embryo and unborn child. | 8 |
| Meat, Animals and War in Buddhist Ethics | Recall questions on when Theravada monks may eat meat, the Mahayana approach to vegetarianism, animal experimentation and the presumption against war. | 14 |
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.