Download Yr8-Block-B-Wheel-of.. - Haslingden High School

Haslingden High School
Religious Education
HOMEWORK BOOKLET
Year 8 Block B
Name: ________________________________________ Form: ______
Subject Teacher: ___________________________________________
Date Given: _________________ Date to Hand in:__________________
Level:
Effort:
Comment:
Target:
Parent / Guardian Comment:
House Points:
The Buddhist Wheel of Life
To complete this homework you will need:
this booklet
pencils and colours for drawing
access to the internet
a dictionary ( or use www.dictionary.com )
Introduction
An important symbol in Buddhism is the Wheel of Life.
It is made up of several
pictures in a circle.
In this homework, you will be studying the symbols found in the Wheel of Life using an
interactive website version of the Wheel of Life and then designing some sections of
your own version of the Wheel of Life.
Turn to the next page for your first task.
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TASK 1
Look at the picture below and read the paragraph at the
bottom. Then answer the questions on the next page.
monster
outside ring – the
stages of life
inside ring – possible
places of rebirth
An important symbol in Buddhism is the Wheel of Life. It is made up of several pictures in
a circle. The monster which holds the circle is the Lord of Death. The outside ring shows
the twelve stages that humans go through from birth to death. Inside this is a series of
pictures showing possible places of rebirth. In the centre are three animals – a snake, a
pigeon and a boar. These are symbols – the snake stands for hatred, the pigeon for greed
and the boar for ignorance.
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TASK 1 – QUESTIONS
1. Who is the monster holding the Wheel of Life?
______________________________________________________________
2. How many stages of life are shown in the outside ring?
______________________________________________________________
3. What is shown inside the stages of life?
______________________________________________________________
4. What do the three animals symbolise?
the snake - _________________________________________________
the pigeon - ________________________________________________
the boar - __________________________________________________
5. What do Buddhists believe happens after you die?
______________________________________________________________
6. Why is a wheel a good symbol of this?
________________________________________________________________
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TASK 2
This is the main part of this homework and there are two parts
to this task.

Part 1 is to look at an interactive Wheel of Life,
exploring the symbolism found in it and answering some questions.

Part 2 is to complete some parts of your own Wheel of Life and to explain the
symbolism in your own drawings
Part 1
In this task you will be looking at an interactive wheel of life on the internet, reading
about the symbols found in it and answering questions on what you have found.
This interactive wheel of life can be found by going to Google,
typing in
and clicking on this link
cleo wheel of life
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You will now see a picture of the
Buddhist Wheel of Life. Click on the
link that says:
click here to explore the painting
You can click on different parts of the wheel for a closer look and read some notes
about each of these sections.
When you have had a good look, answer the questions on the next page.
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TASK 2 – PART 1 – QUESTIONS
1. What does the moon symbolise?
______________________________________________________________
2. Why is Buddha pointing to the moon?
______________________________________________________________
 Look at the outside sections of the circle.
3. List the 12 stages of life on the outside, starting with the blind person and
going clockwise:
the blind person
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
the house with six windows
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
monkey stealing fruit
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
4. What does the blind person represent?
______________________________________________________________
a. What does ignorance mean?
__________________________________________________________
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5. What does the monkey symbolise?
______________________________________________________________
6. Why do you think a picture of a monkey is used to represent the mind?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
7. What Buddhist belief is shown by the pictures of a woman giving birth and a
man carrying a corpse?
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
 Now look at the inside sections of the wheel.
8. Where is someone reborn after a life of anger, hatred and cruelty?
______________________________________________________________
9. What does the picture of the monks say about Buddhist beliefs about how to
escape endless rebirths?
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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TASK 2 – PART 2
Having studied the parts of the Wheel of Life, you are now going to
be drawing some of the sections for yourself. You need to think
carefully about what you are drawing so that you can explain what
your pictures show.
You will be drawing four sections for the outside part of the wheel, showing stages of
life, three symbols for the central circle and a symbol for enlightenment, currently
shown by the moon.
Each of the sections are numbered, so follow the instructions below. Next to each of
your drawings, you should explain what you have drawn.
Shapes 1-4
The outside part of the wheel of life shows how different stages of life affect the
kind of person you become. In these four shapes you should draw four important
events from your own life that have made you into the kind of person you are.
These events should include:
shape 1 – an important event in your family’s history
shape 2 – an important place you have been
shape 3 - key milestones in your life – starting school, changes in your family
(e.g. births, deaths, new step dad/mum), moving house etc
shape 4 - important people at different times of life – best friend in primary
school, cousins you see on holiday, relatives who have helped you grow up
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Describe what you have drawn
and explain why you chose it.
1
___________________________________________________________________
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_
Describe what you have drawn
and explain why you chose it.
2
_______________________
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__________________________________________________________________
3
Describe what you have drawn and explain
why you chose it.
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Describe what you have drawn and explain why you chose it.
__________________________________________________________
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4
Shape 5
The very inside circle of the wheel contains symbols of greed, ignorance and hatred.
You should design your own symbols for each of these and explain why you have chosen
them.
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Symbol for hatred: __________________
Why have you chosen this symbol?
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
_________________________________
________________________
Symbol for ignorance: ________________
Symbol for greed: ___________________
Why have you chosen this symbol?
Why have you chosen this symbol?
_________________________________
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________________________
________________________
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Shape 6
Finally, you should design your own symbol for enlightenment to replace the moon used
in the Wheel of Life.
Remember – enlightenment is the idea that the Buddha came to understand the truth,
that he saw clearly why things happened.
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Describe what you have drawn and explain why you chose it.
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
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This is the end of your RE Homework for Block B.
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