Lesson video

Hello, I'm Ms. Rameli, and thank you for joining me for today's RE lesson.

I'll be guiding you through our learning today and my priorities to ensure you successfully meet our learning outcome.

By the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the meaning of the Buddhist Dhamma and why it is important for Buddhists.

Okay, let's begin our lesson.

There are four key words that will help with understanding today's lesson.

These are Buddha, the Eightfold Path, the Four Noble Truths, and the Universal Truths.

Buddha refers to the historical Buddha who achieved enlightenment.

The Eightfold Path is the practises that can lead to the end of suffering and rebirth.

The Four Noble Truths, so the explanation of the Buddha's teachings on suffering.

And the Universal Truth refers to a truth or belief that relates to all beings within the world and beyond.

Let's start with the first part of our lesson on Buddhist Dhamma on the Universal Truths.

Siddhartha Gautama is believed to have been born around the 6th century BCE, in Lumbini, now Nepal.

Siddhartha became known as "The Buddha" after attaining enlightenment.

The Buddhist Dhamma means the Buddha's teachings.

The word dhamma is from the Pali language.

It is the equivalent of the Sanskrit spelling dharma, although it holds a different meaning.

Most Buddhists believe the Buddha's teachings are Universal Truths.

So let's unpack the meaning of the term Universal Truth.

Universal can mean relating to all things or without limit, and truth can mean a fact or a belief.

Buddhists believe that the Buddha's Dhamma is the Universal Truth.

Okay, let's take a moment to pause and reflect on what we have just heard.

The Dhamma shared by the Buddha is believed to be A, the Universal Reality, B, the Universal Truth, C, the Universal Knowledge.

Pause the video here and press Play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Well done to everybody that selected B, the Dhamma shared by the Buddha is believed to be the Universal Truth.

Three Universal Truths were taught by the Buddha.

The first Universal Truth taught by the Buddha is that nothing is permanent, otherwise known as anicca.

This means that nothing in the universe lasts forever and it is always changing.

This is the reason why most Buddhists do not believe in a God.

The second Universal Truth taught by the Buddha is that we have no permanent or fixed self or soul, known as anatta.

This links to the belief that living beings are always changing.

And the third Universal Truth the Buddha taught is that all life involves suffering.

And in Buddhism, this is known as dukkha.

For example, grief and loneliness, disappointment are examples of suffering or dukkha.

Let's pause and reflect on what we have just heard.

Select the option that is not one of the Universal Truths.

A, anatta, B, atman, C, anicca.

Pause the video here and press Play when you're ready to check your answer.

Well done to everybody that chose, B, atman.

So now we're in a good position to check our understanding of the Universal Truths by completing a practise task.

I would like you to write four sentences describing the three Universal Truths.

Sentence one should include the words Universal Truth.

Sentence two should include the word anicca.

Sentence three should include the word anatta.

And sentence four should include the word dukkha.

Pause the video here and press Play when you're ready to check your answers.

Well done, everybody, on all of your hard work on that task.

So let's check your answers.

Your response could have included the term Universal Truth means a truth or fact that relates to all beings within the world and beyond.

The Buddha taught anicca, which means nothing in the universe is permanent, this means nothing lasts forever.

The Buddha also taught anatta, which means that we have no permanent or fixed self.

And lastly, the Buddha taught that all life involved dukkha, which means suffering.

Fantastic, everyone.

Well done on all your hard work on that practise task.

This brings us onto the second part of our lesson, which is on the Four Noble Truths.

The Buddha taught his followers the Four Noble Truths.

These are the essence of the Buddhist Dhamma and they're the centre of Buddhist beliefs and way of life.

In the Dhammapada, the Buddhist Holy Text, it says, ".

of all the truths, the Four Noble Truths are the best.

." What does this quote teach about the Four Noble Truths? Pause the video here and discuss with your partner and then press Play when you're ready to check your answers.

Okay, welcome back.

I asked you to discuss what does this quote teach about the Four Noble Truths? This quote teaches that the Four Noble Truths are the best teaching a Buddhist can follow.

Let's pause and reflect on what we've just heard.

How many Noble Truths did the Buddha teach? A, three, B, four, C eight.

Pause the video here and press Play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Well done to everybody that chose B, there are Four Noble Truths.

You're gonna consider the Four Noble Truths in comparison to visiting the doctor.

The first truth is that all life involves suffering.

So the example is a person is feeling unwell and they go and visit their doctor.

The second noble truth is the cause of suffering.

So if you're not feeling very well and you go and see your doctor, the doctor's gonna ask about the symptoms. They want to find out what is causing the person to feel unwell.

The third Noble Truth is the end of suffering.

So the doctor is going to look and identify what is causing the person to suffer and they're going to find a cure.

And then the fourth Noble Truth is the path to end suffering.

So once a doctor has identified the symptoms and a cure, the doctor's going to prescribe that cure to make the person feel better.

So the first of the Buddha's Noble Truths is that life involves suffering.

Many Buddhists believe that the way to end suffering is to first accept that suffering is actually a part of life.

The second of the Buddha's Noble Truths is the cause of suffering.

The way to end suffering in life is to understand the cause of suffering.

Craving and ignorance are the two main causes of suffering according to the Buddha.

Let's pause for a moment and reflect on what we have just heard.

True or false, the first Noble Truth is that life involves suffering.

Pause the video here and press Play when you're ready to see the correct answer.

Okay, fantastic.

Well done to everybody that said true.

That is correct.

The first Noble Truth is that life involves suffering.

The third of the Buddha's Noble Truths is that the key to end suffering is to remove all desire, craving, and ignorance.

The fourth of the Buddha's Noble Truths is about the path to end suffering.

And the path to end suffering is following the Eightfold Path.

Okay, let's pause and reflect on what we have just heard.

Select the option that is not one of the Four Noble Truths.

A, all life involves suffering, B, followers need to understand the cause of suffering, C, craving and desires should be increased, D, following the Eightfold Path is the path to ending suffering.

Pause the video here and press Play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, fantastic.

Well done to everybody that chose C.

Craving and desires should be increased is not one of the Four Noble Truths.

Okay, so now we are in a strong position to complete a practise task to demonstrate our understanding on the Four Noble Truths.

Some of these statements are incorrect.

I would like you to identify the incorrect ones and rewrite them so they are correct.

So A, the first Noble Truth is that all life involves suffering.

B, the second Noble Truth identifies how to end suffering.

C, the second Noble Truth identifies eight main causes of suffering.

D, the third Noble Truth explains how to end suffering.

E, the fourth Noble Truth tells Buddhists to follow the extreme way.

Pause the video here and press Play when you're ready to check your answers.

Okay, welcome back.

Now it's time to check the answers.

So some of the statements are correct and I asked you to identify the incorrect ones and rewrite them so they are correct.

So A, the first Noble Truth is that all life involves suffering.

The second Noble Truth should say, the second Noble Truth identifies what causes suffering.

The second Noble Truth identifies eight main causes of suffering, that should read.

The second Noble Truth identifies two main causes of suffering.

Statement D, the third Noble Truth explains how to end suffering.

That's correct.

And statement E, the fourth Noble Truth tells Buddhists how to follow the Eightfold Path.

Fantastic.

Well done on all of your hard work on that practise task.

And that moves us on to the third and final part of our lesson today on the Buddhist Dhamma, and that is the Eightfold Path.

The Eightfold Path is the fourth of the Four Noble Truths.

The Eightfold Path has eight steps, and the first one is right understanding, followed by right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

The Eightfold Path is the final part of the Four Noble Truths.

It is important because it outlines the way to end suffering.

The path focuses on ways to live a good ethical life, the importance of meditation and developing wisdom by following the Buddha's Dhamma.

The first four stages of the Eightfold Path are right understanding, right intention, right speech, and right action.

So let's consider how a Buddhist might put the Eightfold Path into action in their own life.

Right understanding is about learning the Buddhist teachings through studying the Dhamma.

Right intention is having the right attitude and commitment to following the Eightfold Path, putting the knowledge of the Buddhist teachings into practise, particularly following the Four Noble Truths.

Right speech is speaking positively and truthfully, avoiding spreading gossip and lies.

And right action is about behaving in a positive way that doesn't cause harm or suffering to others.

Let's pause for a moment and just check that we've understood what we have just heard.

Which stage of the Eightfold Path may include not telling lies or gossiping, A, right intention, B, right speech, or C, right action? Pause the video here and press Play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody that selected B, right speech.

The last four stages of the Eightfold Path are right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration.

Right livelihood is about earning an honest living and avoiding making a living through harming living beings.

Right effort is meditation and being positive with your thoughts and actions.

Right mindfulness is being aware of yourself, your own emotions, and those of others.

And right concentration is developing focus to assist with meditation.

Most Buddhists believe that following the Eightfold Path generates good karma, leading to positive consequences and preventing suffering.

Let's pause and check our understanding and reflect on what we've just heard.

Select the option that is not part of the Eightfold Path.

A, right view, B, right truth, C, right speech, D, right intention.

Pause a video here and press Play when you're ready to check your answer.

Okay, well done to everybody that said B, right truth.

Well done.

Most Buddhists believe that following the Eightfold Path generates good karma, or in Pali language is for karma, leading to positive consequences and preventing suffering.

So now we are in a really good position to complete a practise task to demonstrate your understanding on the Eightfold Path.

Looking at the first four steps of the Eightfold Path, I would like you to give a definition and an example of how a Buddhist might put this in into action in everyday life, so using the examples of understanding, intention, speech, and action.

Pause the video here and press Play when you're ready to check your answers.

Okay, welcome back.

Let's check your answers on that practise task.

Your answer may have included the following points.

For understanding, means knowing the Buddha's teachings.

An example might be spending time studying the Buddha's teachings.

Second point was intention, and that means having the right attitude and commitment to following the Buddha.

An example of how a Buddhist might put this into practise is by putting the knowledge of Buddha's teachings into action by following the Four Noble Truths.

The third point is speech.

This means speaking truthfully.

And putting this into action, a Buddhist might avoid spreading gossip or lies.

And then fourthly, action.

This is about behaving with good intentions, and this would include avoiding harming others.

Fantastic.

Well done on all of your hard work on that practise task.

So this brings us to the last part of the lesson, which is our summary of our learning on Buddhist Dhamma.

So today, we have learned that the Buddha taught three Universal Truths.

These are anicca, anatta, and dukkha.

Most Buddhists believe the Universal Truths are true to all beings within the world and beyond.

The Four Noble Truths outline the cause of suffering.

And lastly, the Eightfold Path offers guidance on how to end suffering.

Fantastic.

Well done on all your hard work today.

And thank you for joining me for today's lesson.