Download Name Student # Buddhism 1. What do accounts say about the

Name ___________________________
Student # ________________________
Buddhism
1. What do accounts say about the origins and early life of the founder of Buddhism?
2. What happened to Siddhartha Gautama when he was twenty-nine year old, and why was it
significant to Buddhism?
3. What truth did Siddhartha Gautama learn from his meditation and ascetic practice?
4. Why does Buddhism follow the Middle Way and what does that mean?
5. What is the key mood of Buddhist enlightenment?
6. What is the significance of the Deer Park Sermon?
7. What are Buddha’s Four Noble Truths?
8. What are the precepts of the Noble Eightfold Path?
9. Have the students discuss the nature of reality. What do they think it is?
What problems do we have with defining the true nature of what is real?
10. What is karma?
11. What is the connection between karma and reincarnation?
12. What is the primary goal of Buddhist meditation?
13. How does meditation play a beneficial and essential role in Buddhism?
14. What does Zen Buddhism suggest is the difference between becoming a good person and
becoming a human being?
15. What does nirvana mean?
16. What are the four Great Unlimitables?
17. What is the cause of suffering in Buddhist thought? How can suffering be eliminated?
18. What does the Lotus flower symbolize and suggest about the spirit of Buddhism in the
Mahayanist sect?
19. What does the story of Buddha’s death say about his ultimate beliefs and his integrity of
spirit?
20. How do the Theravada Buddhists differ from the Mahayana Buddhists in belief?
21. Who is the Dalai Lama and how is he chosen?
22. How did Buddhism become important to Japanese culture?
23. What is Zen Buddhism? What is its primary goal?
24. What does the Zen goal of emptiness contribute to attaining enlightenment?
Christianity/Vocabulary
Christianity
Jesus
monotheism
disciples
resurrection
Protestant Reformation
trinity
Bible
sacraments
Hinduism
Vocabulary
Hinduism
caste system
Brahman
samsara
reincarnation
karma
moksha
temple
puja
shrine
Vedas
1. Explain at least two ways a typical Hindu might begin his/her religious day.
2. What are the Vedas? What role do they play in Hinduism today?
3. What is reincarnation?
4. What were Buddhism and Jainism reacting against within the Hindu faith?
5. What is the caste system?
6. In the period from 500 B.C.E. to 800 C.E., how did the Hindus deal with the challenges of the
Buddhists and the Jains?
7. Who is Shankara and what is significant about his teachings? Is his position one that is
commonly accepted by most Hindus today?
8. What important Hindu lesson does the warrior Arjuna learn from the god Krishna in the
Bhagavad Gita?
9. What are the Hindu stages of life that a man should expect to pass through in his lifetime in
the pursuit of spiritual fulfillment?
10. What is the role of astrology in Hinduism?
11. What is the significance of the Ganges River in Hinduism?
12. Which day of the week is traditionally considered the Hindu Sabbath?
13. Where did the term “Hinduism” originate and when?
Islam
1. Who is the founder of Islam?
2. What does the word Islam mean?
3. Approximately how much of the world’s current population is Muslim?
Where does the religion rank in terms of followers with other religions of the world?
4. Whom do the Muslims worship?
5. Where can one find the revelations of Allah as received by Muhammad?
6. Why was Muhammad not warmly received in his own city when he returned with his divine
revelation?
7. Why was Muhammad’s flight to Medina so important to the future of Islam?
8. What is the Qur’an, and why should it be read in Arabic?
9. What is Shari’ah? How does it relate to Muslim daily life?
10. Why is it common for Muslim women to wear scarves on their heads in the mosque or in
public?
11. What are the five Pillars of Islam?
12. Name two examples of actions forbidden by Islamic law.
13. Describe some of the key rituals and festivals associated with the pilgrimage to Mecca.
14. What are the distinguishing features of each major Islamic sect?
15. How have Islamic peoples recovered power and independence in the last four decades?
Judaism
1. What is the significance of Canaan and where is it today?
2. What is monotheism? How does it define Judaism?
3. What was Abraham’s Covenant with God?
4. What did Moses contribute to Judaism after his meeting with God on Mount Sinai?
5. What is the Torah?
6. Who are Saul, David and Solomon, and what did they do to help establish a Jewish homeland?
7. What happened to the Israelites between the reign of Solomon and the building of the second
Temple?
8. What are the three parts of the Hebrew Bible?
9. How did the Jews fare under Roman rule?
10. How did Judaism change as it became synagogue-centered rather than temple-centered after
70 C.E.?
11. What is the purpose of the Talmud?
12. What impact did Islam have on the evolution of Judaism?
13. What is the role of education in Judaism?
14. What are the diverse roles of the synagogue today?
15. What is the importance of the Jewish Sabbath?
16. What are the most sacred of the High Holy Days during the Jewish religious year?
17. What three laws take precedent over the preservation of a human life?
18. What does being kosher mean?
19. How does Jerusalem serve as a central theme in Judaism?
20. What is the Zionist movement? What was its main goal?