Human destiny: the Arhat and Boddhisatva ideals
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain Buddhist beliefs on human destiny and how these beliefs influence Buddhists today.
Key learning points
- Mahayana means ‘great vehicle’, which refers to the idea of the Bodhisattva path as a ‘vehicle’ to Buddhahood.
- The Theravada Arhat path is sometimes called the 'lesser vehicle', but this is less common due to negative connotations.
- When a person follows the Arhat path, they seek perfection in understanding and enacting the Buddha's teachings.
- An Arhat sees pleasure as a distraction and aims to completely remove craving and desires.
Keywords
Enlightenment - a state of wisdom that enables total clarity and understanding of the truths of existence
Arhat (Arahant) - a perfected person; in Theravada Buddhism, this is a term for a person who has become enlightened
Bodhisattva - in Mahayana Buddhism, this is an enlightened being who remains in the cycle of samsara in order to help others achieve enlightenment
Human destiny - the path a Buddhist will take to achieve enlightenment
Common misconception
Arhats (Arahants) and Bodhisattvas are essentially the same and share identical goals.
An Arhat might be viewed as a fully enlightened being focused on their own liberation, while a Bodhisattva is someone who seeks to bring others along on the path to enlightenment.
Teacher tip
Link with teachings on the six paramitas (perfections).
Licence
Lesson video
Loading...
Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which analogy is used in Mahayana Buddhism to explain the concept of sunyata (emptiness)?
Q2.Which Buddhist scripture includes the parable of the Burning House?
Q3.The term for the belief that the Five Aggregates (skandhas) that make up a human are empty and without independent existence is .
Q4.According to Mahayana Buddhism, the mental obstacles that must be removed to realise Buddha-nature are craving, desire and .
Q5.The analogy that compares Buddha-nature to __________ surrounded by bees is from the Buddhist scripture on tathagatagarbha.
Q6.Mahayana means ‘Greater Vehicle’, and includes Tibetan, Pure Land and Buddhism.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the primary goal of a Theravada Buddhist in terms of human destiny?
Q2.Which of the following is a key practice for a Mahayana Buddhist aiming to become a Bodhisattva?
Q3.Which term refers to the cycle of birth, death and rebirth that Bodhisattvas choose to remain in to help others?
Q4.The path followed by Theravada Buddhists that focuses on personal enlightenment is called the path.
Q5.The quality represented by the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, who is often visualised by Buddhists during meditation, is .
Q6.The term for a perfected person who has reached enlightenment in Theravada Buddhism is an .
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: Human destiny: the Arhat and Boddhisatva ideals, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: Human destiny: the Arhat and Boddhisatva ideals, 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 unit, dive into the full secondary religious education curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.