The Four Noble Truths: the Three Poisons
I can explain the Three Poisons, why knowing how they cause suffering is important and how this influences Buddhists today.
The Four Noble Truths: the Three Poisons
I can explain the Three Poisons, why knowing how they cause suffering is important and how this influences Buddhists today.
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Lesson details
Key learning points
- The Three Poisons are represented on the Wheel of Life as greed (cockerel), ignorance (pig) and hatred (snake).
- Buddhist teachings say that the Three Poisons are the root of suffering (dukkha).
- There are diverse interpretations between Buddhists about the Wheel of Life and the Three Poisons.
- It is important that Buddhists understand the Three Poisons so they can be avoided.
- Belief in the Three Poisons influences Buddhists' thoughts, beliefs and actions in different ways.
Keywords
Three Poisons - causes of dukkha that affect all beings: ignorance, greed and hatred
Ignorance - the inability to see things as they really are
Greed - the attachment to material things and the ongoing selfish desire for more
Hatred - a feeling of intense dislike, anger; wishing others harm
Common misconception
All Buddhists interpret and respond to the Three Poisons in the same way.
How Buddhists interpret and respond to the Three Poisons depends on the school of Buddhism they follow.
To help you plan your year 10 religious education lesson on: The Four Noble Truths: the Three Poisons, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your year 10 religious education lesson on: The Four Noble Truths: the Three Poisons, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 4 religious education lessons from the Buddhism: Beliefs and teachings unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.
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