2A Buddhism - Section A: Self, death and afterlife — AQA A-Level Religious Studies
2A Buddhism - Section A: Self, death and afterlife explained
2A Buddhism - Section A: Self, death and afterlife covers 3 specification points, including Better rebirth and Nirvana as goals of life… and The concept of anatta; the five aggregates and….
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Open a point below for its explanation and revision guidance.
The meaning and purpose of life: better rebirth and Nirvana as goals of life and their relative importance; the ideal of the arhat and bodhisattva in Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism.
This topic asks you to weigh two goals that Buddhists may pursue and two ideals that embody them. Better rebirth means a favourable rebirth within saṃsāra, supported by merit-making and ethical living; it is a relative good because the cycle still involves suffering. Nirvana is the final goal, the cessation of greed, hatred and delusion and of further rebirth, and the specification asks you to compare their relative importance. The arhat ideal, prominent in Theravada, is the individual who attains nirvana in this life through the noble eightfold path. The bodhisattva ideal, central to Mahayana, is the being who delays final nirvana out of compassion to help all sentient beings, as expressed in the aspiration to save all beings. Learn how each ideal shapes the meaning and purpose of life, and evaluate which goal each prioritises.
Anatta (no-self): the concept of anatta; the five aggregates and the analogy of the chariot in the Questions of King Milinda, Book II chapter 1.1.
Anatta is the teaching that no permanent, unchanging self or soul exists in any person or thing. What we call a person is a temporary bundle of five aggregates (khandhas): form, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness. Each aggregate is impermanent and dependently arisen, so none can be identified as a fixed self. The Questions of King Milinda, Book II chapter 1.1, records the dialogue in which the monk Nagasena asks King Milinda whether the chariot is its wheels, axle, frame or reins; the king denies each part and the assembled whole is agreed to be a convenient name for the parts. Nagasena applies the same reasoning to 'Nagasena', showing that a name labels a collection of aggregates rather than a permanent owner of them.
Samsara: the cycle of birth, death and rebirth; the nature of karma and its role on the wheel of becoming; the realms of becoming and their significance including literal, metaphorical and psychological interpretations; Tibetan Buddhist beliefs about the 14th Dalai Lama as an expression of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Samsara is the beginningless cycle of birth, death and rebirth driven by craving and ignorance. Karma is intentional action of body, speech and mind; its ethical quality shapes future experience and propels beings around the wheel of becoming (bhavacakra). The wheel depicts six realms of becoming, including the god, human, animal, hungry ghost and hell realms, and each realm can be read literally as a rebirth destination, metaphorically as a symbol of states of experience, or psychologically as moods and attitudes arising in this life. Tibetan Buddhists hold that the 14th Dalai Lama is an expression of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara, embodying compassion and continuing a recognised line of reincarnation.
Your focus
- Explain better rebirth and nirvana as goals of life and compare their relative importance.
- Describe the arhat ideal in Theravada and the bodhisattva ideal in Mahayana.
- Evaluate how each ideal shapes the meaning and purpose of life.
Show all 9 objectives
- State the meaning of anatta and distinguish it from the denial of conventional persons
- Name and explain the five aggregates as impermanent and not-self
- Explain how the chariot analogy in the Questions of King Milinda, Book II chapter 1.1, illustrates no-self
- Explain samsara and the nature of karma as intentional action
- Describe the realms of becoming and evaluate literal, metaphorical and psychological interpretations
- Explain Tibetan Buddhist belief about the 14th Dalai Lama as an expression of Avalokitesvara
2A Buddhism - Section A: Self, death and afterlife exam tips
Marking Points
- Explains better rebirth as a favourable rebirth within saṃsāra achieved through merit-making and ethical conduct, and identifies it as a relative rather than final goal.
- Explains nirvana as the final goal involving the cessation of greed, hatred and delusion and the ending of further rebirth.
- Compares the relative importance of better rebirth and nirvana, noting that better rebirth supports progress while nirvana is the ultimate aim.
- Describes the arhat ideal in Theravada as the individual who attains nirvana through the noble eightfold path.
- Describes the bodhisattva ideal in Mahayana as the being who delays final nirvana out of compassion to help all sentient beings.
- Evaluates how each ideal shapes the meaning and purpose of life and which goal it prioritises.
- Identifies anatta as the teaching that no permanent, unchanging self or soul exists
- Names the five aggregates as form, feeling, perception, mental formations and consciousness
- Explains that each aggregate is impermanent and dependently arisen, so none is the self
- States that the chariot analogy shows a name labels assembled parts rather than a permanent entity
- Applies the chariot reasoning to a person as a conventional label for the five aggregates
- Defines samsara as the cycle of birth, death and rebirth driven by craving and ignorance
- Explains karma as intentional action of body, speech and mind whose ethical quality shapes future experience
- Describes the wheel of becoming and karma's role in propelling beings around it
- Identifies the realms of becoming and explains literal, metaphorical and psychological readings
- States that Tibetan Buddhists regard the 14th Dalai Lama as an expression of the Bodhisattva Avalokitesvara
Examiner Tips
- 💡Use the terms arhat and bodhisattva precisely and link each to its tradition.
- 💡Compare better rebirth and nirvana directly, stating which is relative and which is final.
- 💡Support evaluation with the motivation behind each ideal, such as compassion in the bodhisattva aspiration.
- 💡Learn the five aggregates in order so you can name them precisely in a multiple-choice option
- 💡Link each aggregate to impermanence and dependent arising rather than listing them alone
- 💡Use the chariot analogy to explain the difference between a conventional name and a permanent self
- 💡Read every option for the word 'permanent', since anatta concerns permanence rather than mere existence
- 💡Distinguish the three readings of the realms clearly, since options often test only one interpretation
- 💡Link karma to intention rather than to ritual action alone
- 💡Remember that the Dalai Lama teaching concerns Avalokitesvara and Tibetan Buddhism specifically
- 💡Check whether an option describes the wheel of becoming accurately before selecting it
Common Mistakes
- Treats better rebirth as the final goal; correct this by presenting it as a relative good within saṃsāra while nirvana is the ultimate aim.
- Associates the bodhisattva ideal only with Theravada; place it primarily in Mahayana and the arhat ideal primarily in Theravada.
- Describes the bodhisattva as simply postponing nirvana for personal benefit; explain the motivation of compassion for all sentient beings.
- Ignores the relative importance of the two goals; compare them explicitly rather than listing them separately.
- Confuses anatta with the claim that persons do not exist at all; keep the distinction between conventional existence and a permanent self
- Lists the aggregates incompletely or substitutes Western psychological categories; keep the five khandhas as taught
- Treats the chariot as a proof that a chariot really exists as a whole; keep the point that the whole is a convenient designation
- Attributes the chariot dialogue to the Buddha rather than to Nagasena speaking with King Milinda; keep the speakers as the text presents them
- Treats samsara as a single rebirth rather than a continuing cycle; keep the emphasis on repeated birth, death and rebirth
- Reduces karma to fate or punishment imposed by an external judge; keep it as intentional action producing consequences
- Offers only a literal reading of the realms and ignores metaphorical and psychological interpretations; keep all three readings
- Presents the Dalai Lama's status as a claim all Buddhists accept; keep it as a Tibetan Buddhist belief about Avalokitesvara