midterm review

I. Please define or describe the following terms or ideas in a few sentences.

1. dukkha

2. The four noble truth

3. The five aggregates

4. Nirvana

5. Eight-fold path

6. Dhamma Cakka Pavattana

7. Dependent arising

8. The four signs(seen by the Buddha)

9. The Mahayana movement

10. Nondualism/emptiness

II.Choose one from the following two questions to answer. Write an organized and clear essay. Your essay should have an introductory paragraph, in which you state your main points (your basic answer to the question). Your essay should have at least two“body“paragraphs, in which you explain your main ideas as fully as possible. You need to present evidence that supports your ideas/points (examples from the readings or other texts), and you need to explain how or why that particular evidence supports your main ideas/points. Your essay should have a concluding paragraph that again summarizes your main points. It’s a good idea to prepare in advance by writing an outline for the question, and by thinking very carefully about what you want to include.

1. Both life stories of the Buddha and Milarepa are considered as archetypal stories of the Buddhist path. How are the two narratives similar? And how are they different against the two distinct social historical and religious contexts?

2.”Matter itself is voidness Voidness itself is matter.( Form is emptiness; emptiness is form”This statement is found in both Vimalakirti’s teaching and the Heart Sutra. Is this a”blatant”form of nihilism? What’s the correct understanding of it? Could you quote specific examples from both texts to illustrate the meaning of this equation?