Human personality
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the Theravada and Mahayana Buddhist beliefs about the human personality, why these beliefs are important and how they influence Buddhists today.
Key learning points
- In Theravada Buddhism, a human is understood to be a combination of five elements known as Five Aggregates - (s)kandhas.
- A human is made up of Five Aggregates or (s)kandhas – body, sensation, perception, thoughts and consciousness.
- In Mahayana Buddhism, the (s)kandhas that make up a human are seen as empty. This is known as sunyata.
- Sunyata helps Buddhists to understand that there is no fixed, stable self, and the universe is neither fixed nor stable.
- Buddha-nature is important in Mahayana Buddhism and means all humans have the potential to become enlightened.
Keywords
Five Aggregates - (s)khandas - a human is made up of five elements or ‘heaps’ – body, sensation, perception, thoughts and consciousness
Sunyata - literally ‘emptiness’
Buddhahood - reaching enlightenment
Buddha-nature - the nature of all beings, which means that all beings beings have potential to achieve enlightenment/Buddhahood
Common misconception
Sunyata means that everything is completely non-existent, there is nothing at all, or that the world is a void with no meaning or value.
Sunyata refers to the emptiness of inherent existence, meaning that all things are empty of an independent, permanent or fixed essence.
Teacher tip
The story of Nagasena and the Chariot helps explain the concept of sunyata.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What does the Threefold Way help Buddhists to achieve?
Q2.Which of the following is part of Meditation (Samadhi)?
Q3.Why is Ethics (Sila) important in Buddhism?
Q4.Which of these best describes Wisdom (Panna)?
Q5.How do the three parts of the Threefold Way work together?
Q6.What does Meditation (Samadhi) encourage Buddhists to do?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.According to Theravada Buddhism, a human is made up of Aggregates, also known as (s)kandhas.
Q2.What are the Five Aggregates or (s)kandhas in Theravada Buddhism?
Q3.What does sunyata mean in Mahayana Buddhism?
Q4.According to Mahayana Buddhism, what does Buddha-nature refer to?
Q5.Which analogy is used in Buddhist scripture to explain Buddha-nature?
Q6.What is the goal of many Mahayana Buddhists?
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: Human personality, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 10 religious education lesson on: Human personality, 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.