Religious Education HOMEWORK BOOKLET Year 8 Block B

Transcription

1 Haslingden High School Religious Education HOMEWORK BOOKLET Year 8 Block B Name: Form: Subject Teacher: Date Given: Date to Hand in: Level: Effort: House Points: Comment: Target: Parent / Guardian Comment:

2 The Buddhist Wheel of Life To complete this homework you will need: this booklet pencils and colours for drawing access to the internet a dictionary ( or use ) Introduction An important symbol in Tibetan Buddhism is the Wheel of Life. It is made up of several pictures in a circle. In this homework, you will be studying the symbols found in the Wheel of Life using an interactive website version of the Wheel of Life and then designing some sections of your own version of the Wheel of Life. Turn to the next page for your first task. 1

3 TASK 1 Look at the picture below and read the paragraph at the bottom. Then answer the questions on the next page. monster outside ring the stages of life inside ring possible places of rebirth An important symbol in Tibetan Buddhism is the Wheel of Life. It is made up of several pictures in a circle. The monster which holds the circle is the Lord of Death. The outside ring shows the twelve stages that humans go through from birth to death. Inside this is a series of pictures showing possible places of rebirth. In the centre are three animals a snake, a pigeon and a boar. These are symbols the snake stands for hatred, the pigeon for greed and the boar for ignorance. Pictures like these show Buddhist teachings and are used to help Buddhists meditate. 2

4 TASK 1 QUESTIONS 1. Who is the monster holding the Wheel of Life? 2. How many stages of life are shown in the outside ring? 3. What is shown inside the stages of life? 4. What do the three animals symbolise? the snake - the pigeon - the boar - 5. What do Buddhists believe happens after you die? 6. Why is a wheel a good symbol of this? 3

5 TASK 2 This is the main part of this homework and there are two parts to this task. Part 1 is to look at an interactive Wheel of Life, exploring the symbolism found in it and answering some questions. Part 2 is to complete some parts of your own Wheel of Life and to explain the symbolism in your own drawings Part 1 In this task you will be looking at an interactive wheel of life on the internet, reading about the symbols found in it and answering questions on what you have found. This interactive wheel of life can be found by going to Google, typing in cleo wheel of life and clicking on this link 4

6 You will now see a picture of the Buddhist Wheel of Life. Click on the link that says: click here to explore the painting You can click on different parts of the wheel for a closer look and read some notes about each of these sections. When you have had a good look, answer the questions on the next page. 5

7 TASK 2 PART 1 QUESTIONS 1. What does the moon symbolise? 2. Why is Buddha pointing to the moon? Look at the outside sections of the circle. 3. List the 12 stages of life on the outside, starting with the blind person and going clockwise: the blind person the house with six windows 4. What does the blind person represent? a. What does ignorance mean? 6

8 5. What does the monkey symbolise? 6. Why do you think a picture of a monkey is used to represent the mind? 7. What Buddhist belief is shown by the pictures of a woman giving birth and a man carrying a corpse? Now look at the inside sections of the wheel. 8. Where is someone reborn after a life of anger, hatred and cruelty? 9. What does the picture of the monks teach us about Buddhist beliefs about how to escape endless rebirths? 7

9 TASK 2 PART 2 Having studied the parts of the Wheel of Life, you are now going to be drawing some of the sections for yourself. You need to think carefully about what you are drawing so that you can explain what your pictures show. You will be drawing four sections for the outside part of the wheel, showing stages of life, three symbols for the central circle and a symbol for enlightenment, currently shown by the moon. Each of the sections are numbered, so follow the instructions below. Next to each of your drawings, you should explain what you have drawn. Shapes 1-4 The outside part of the wheel of life shows how different stages of life affect the kind of person you become. In these four shapes you should draw four important events from your own life that have made you into the kind of person you are. These events should include: shape 1 an important event in your family s history shape 2 an important place you have been shape 3 - key milestones in your life starting school, changes in your family (e.g. births, deaths, new step dad/mum), moving house etc shape 4 - important people at different times of life best friend in primary school, cousins you see on holiday, relatives who have helped you grow up 8

10 1 Describe what you have drawn and explain why you chose it. _ Describe what you have drawn and explain why you chose it. 2 9

11 3 Describe what you have drawn and explain why you chose it. Describe what you have drawn and explain why you chose it. 4 10

12 Shape 5 The very inside circle of the wheel contains symbols of greed, ignorance and hatred. You should design your own symbols for each of these and explain why you have chosen them. 5 Symbol for hatred: Why have you chosen this symbol? Symbol for ignorance: Why have you chosen this symbol? Symbol for greed: Why have you chosen this symbol? 11

13 Shape 6 Finally, you should design your own symbol for enlightenment to replace the moon used in the Wheel of Life. Remember enlightenment is the idea that the Buddha came to understand the truth, that he saw clearly why things happened. 6 Describe what you have drawn and explain why you chose it. This is the end of your RE Homework for Block B. 12