Key Idea: Buddhist doctrine is a single connected analysis: dependent origination grounds the Three Marks, the Three Marks state the problem, the Four Noble Truths diagnose and prescribe, and the Eightfold Path is the fourth Truth. An essay that lists these separately has missed that they are derived from one another.
Tested as
- The Three Marks; the Truths and the Path
- Which of the Three Jewels matters most
- Comparing Theravada and Mahayana on the goal
Watch for
- Anatta read as meaning nobody exists
- Nirvana described as a heaven or as annihilation
- Treating the Path as separate from the Truths
Use
- Anicca, dukkha, anatta; skandhas; tanha
- Three Poisons: ignorance, desire and aversion
- Bodhisattva; Avalokiteshvara, Amitabha, Manjushri, the Taras
| Doctrine | What it states | What it grounds |
|---|---|---|
| Dependent origination | Nothing arises independently; everything comes about in dependence on conditions | The Three Marks, and the possibility of cessation |
| Anicca | Impermanence — nothing that arises remains | Dukkha: what is impermanent cannot finally satisfy |
| Anatta | No permanent, unchanging self is found | Why craving is protecting something that was never there |
| The Four Noble Truths | Dukkha; its cause, tanha; its cessation; the Path | Buddhist practice as a remedy rather than an observation |
| Eschatology | Theravada: no creator god claimed; enlightenment frees from samsara. Mahayana: Buddhahood for the sake of others | The difference between the arahant and the bodhisattva ideals |
Important: Anatta does not deny that a person exists. It denies a permanent, unchanging essence; what exists is a continuity of changing processes, the five skandhas. Nirvana is not annihilation. What ceases is craving, ignorance and aversion — the Three Poisons — and the arahant lives, teaches and acts after attaining it.
Examine the relationship between the Three Marks of Existence and the Four Noble Truths.
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
To what extent does Mahayana Buddhism differ from Theravada in what it teaches about the goal?
🔒 Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.
What does dependent origination claim? That nothing arises independently: everything comes about in dependence on conditions, and ceases when they do. It grounds the Three Marks and makes cessation possible.
What are the Three Poisons? Ignorance, desire and aversion — the states of mind Buddhist analysis identifies as the roots of unwholesome action.
Name three bodhisattvas. Avalokiteshvara, Amitabha, Manjushri — and the Taras, whom the guide names as female bodhisattvas.
Why is nirvana described negatively? Because a positive description would import a self that anatta denies. The negative language is a safeguard, not a claim that nothing is attained.
Exam tips
- Derive the Three Marks from dependent origination. Listing them separately loses the connection.
- Anatta denies a permanent self, not a person. Say the sentence exactly.
- The Eightfold Path IS the fourth Truth. Treating them as two teachings is the commonest error.
- On the goal, distinguish the arahant from the bodhisattva and say what each implies for the laity.