Skip to content
    Religious Studies GCSE

    The Middle Way

    What The Middle Way means in Religious Studies GCSE, as defined for AQA.

    Definitions of The Middle Way

    Exam boards and our study guides word this term in slightly different ways. Learn the version your board uses.

    Check what you remember

    Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain The Middle Way in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.

    Reference: AQA

    Buddhism teaches avoiding harmful overindulgence and attachment rather than demanding total sensory deprivation for laypeople.
    AQA · Buddhism - 3.1.1.2 Practices (study guide)
    A balanced approach between luxury and extreme deprivation, which Siddhartha adopted after abandoning the ascetic life.
    AQA · Key Beliefs (study guide)
    The discovery that neither extreme indulgence nor severe deprivation leads to the cessation of suffering.
    AQA · Key Beliefs (study guide)
    The path through which Enlightenment was achieved, after Siddhartha rejected extreme asceticism.
    AQA · Key Beliefs

    Topics that use The Middle Way

    Related terms

    Using The Middle Way in the exam

    Check the command word and mark scheme for your exact question. After comparing your explanation with the reference, use the term in an answer on the linked topic. This practice does not predict an exam mark.

    Practise Religious Studies questions

    Create a free account to answer exam-style questions on this topic and get feedback on your answers.

    Start free

    A week of Premium from your first lesson · Then the free plan continues · No card, no charge

    All Religious Studies GCSE terms