Buddhism: notes
HSC Studies of Religion II · exam Thursday 22 October 2026
NotesMaster answersPast questionsPractise
1. Your choices
Ashoka (significant person); Pilgrimage (significant practice); bioethics: First Precept + karma/intention (ethics).
2. Format and mark splits
Format. Since 2021 each Section II question has had three parts covering all three syllabus areas (person or school of thought, ethics, significant practice), in rotating order. The one exception is 2024, which had two ethics parts and one practice part.
Mark splits:
- 2021: 3/6/6
- 2022: 3/6/6
- 2023: 5/5/5
- 2024: 2/5/8
- 2025: 3/5/7
Plan for every area at three lengths:
- 2–3 marks: Outline or Describe. About 60–90 words, one feature or belief, one example.
- 5–6 marks: Explain or Analyse. About 150–200 words, cause and effect, a sacred text plus an example.
- 7–8 marks: Evaluate / To what extent / Assess. About 250–300 words, a judgement in the first sentence, sustained, with a limitation.
3. Skeletons
1. Significant person: Emperor Ashoka (r. c. 268–232 BCE)
Skeleton (7–8 mark Evaluate/To what extent).
- Thesis: Ashoka turned Buddhism from a regional monastic movement into a public ethical force. His example still gives direction for a meaningful life by showing that the Dhamma must be lived through non-violence, compassion and tolerance.
- Topic sentence 1 (conversion → ethic of non-violence): Rock Edict 13 records Kalinga: "one hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed… deep remorse". Ashoka replaced military conquest with "conquest by Dhamma… the best conquest". Link: First Precept; Dhp 5 ("Hatred is never appeased by hatred… By non-hatred alone").
- Topic sentence 2 (compassion in social policy):
- Rock Edict 2: "medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals", wells dug and trees planted.
- Rock Edict 1: the royal kitchen reduced to "two peacocks and a deer".
- Dhammika's introduction notes officers called Dhamma Mahamatras who looked after religious bodies.
- Link: karuna (compassion); Metta Sutta.
- Topic sentence 3 (tolerance and spread):
- Rock Edict 12: honour other religions; condemning others "only harms his own religion".
- Rock Edict 8: his tour to Sambodhi (Bodh Gaya) "instituted Dhamma tours". The Lumbini pillar commemorates his pilgrimage to the Buddha's birthplace. This links him to the practice of pilgrimage.
- Traditional accounts credit missions, including his son Mahinda to Sri Lanka (Pali chronicle tradition, not an edict).
- Topic sentence 4 (contemporary direction): Ashoka's Dhamma chakra is on India's national flag and the lion capital of Sarnath is India's national emblem. Modern socially engaged Buddhists cite him as a model of applying Dhamma to public life.
- Limitation: the edicts barely mention core doctrines such as the Four Noble Truths. Some historians see his Dhamma as civic morality rather than strictly Buddhist teaching (Dhammika's introduction makes a similar point). His influence is therefore strongest on ethics and expression rather than doctrine.
- Judgement language: "to a significant extent… most clearly in ethics… less directly in doctrine".
Model answer, 7 marks → in Master answers
Model answer, 3 marks → in Master answers
2. Ethics: Bioethics (TWO teachings, as required in 2025)
Teaching 1: the First Precept (abstain from taking life) / ahimsa.
- Evidence: Dhp 129–130: "All tremble at violence… Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill."
- Applications: euthanasia generally rejected (it involves the intention to end life); abortion seen as taking life. In Japan the mizuko kuyo ritual for aborted or miscarried foetuses shows awareness of the karmic seriousness of the act and compassion for those involved.
Teaching 2: karma and intention (cetana).
- Evidence: "Intention, I tell you, is kamma. Intending, one does kamma by way of body, speech, & intellect" (Anguttara Nikaya 6.63, Thanissaro trans.); Dhp 1–2 ("Mind precedes all mental states…").
- Application: in end-of-life care, an act motivated by aversion to suffering or a wish for death creates unwholesome karma, while compassionate palliative care does not.
- Organ donation is often seen as dana (generosity) when motivated by compassion. Note: there is no single official Buddhist position, and some Tibetan teachers have concerns about disturbing the body after death.
Alternative teaching 2: compassion (karuna) / metta. The Metta Sutta (Sn 1.8): "Even as a mother protects with her life Her child… cherish all living beings". It supports palliative care, the hospice movement and organ donation.
Model answer, 5 marks → in Master answers
Environmental ethics option (if the question offers it).
- Interdependence (paticcasamuppada); the First Precept extended to all beings.
- Ashoka Rock Edict 2 (trees planted); Dhp 5; Metta Sutta.
- 2023 feedback cited karma applied to environmental ethics.
New evidence ✓ verified
- Bioethics context: the NSW Voluntary Assisted Dying Act 2022 commenced on 28 Nov 2023. There were 1,426 VAD deaths to 30 Jun 2025 (NSW Health). Buddhists in NSW therefore apply the first precept and cetana (intention) to a legal option.
3. Significant practice: Pilgrimage
Skeleton (8 marks; Explain how it expresses beliefs / its significance).
- Thesis: Buddhist pilgrimage turns the life of the Buddha into a path the adherent walks. It expresses the Three Jewels, impermanence, and the possibility of awakening, and it is a means of generating merit and mindfulness.
- Topic sentence 1 (scriptural basis): the Buddha himself named four places "a pious person should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence" (DN 16, Mahaparinibbana Sutta 5.16–22):
- Lumbini, where he was born
- Bodh Gaya, where he was enlightened
- Sarnath, where he set in motion the Wheel of Dhamma
- Kusinara, where he attained parinibbana
- Belief link: going for refuge in the Buddha (the first Jewel).
- Topic sentence 2 (Bodh Gaya, awakening): the Mahabodhi Temple and Bodhi tree express the belief that enlightenment is possible for all ("You yourselves must strive; the Buddhas only point the way", Dhp 276). Ashoka's tour to Sambodhi (Rock Edict 8) is the earliest recorded pilgrimage there. The Mahabodhi Temple Complex is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, inscribed 2002.
- Topic sentence 3 (Sarnath and Kusinara, Dhamma and impermanence): at Sarnath pilgrims honour the first sermon (the Four Noble Truths, the second Jewel). At Kusinara they meditate on anicca: "All conditioned things are impermanent" (Dhp 277).
- Topic sentence 4 (rituals and community): circumambulation (pradakshina, clockwise) of stupas; offerings of flowers, light and incense; prostrations; chanting; dana to monastics, which supports the Sangha (the third Jewel). DN 16 also states that whoever dies with faith on such a pilgrimage is reborn in a happy state (paraphrase), which links pilgrimage to merit and rebirth.
- Judgement: pilgrimage is significant both personally (mindfulness, merit) and communally (supporting the Sangha, uniting Theravada and Mahayana pilgrims at shared sites).
Model answer, 3 marks → in Master answers
Model answer, 5–6 marks → in Master answers
New evidence ✓ verified
- Pilgrimage, Buddha's own warrant (DN 16, Mahaparinibbana Sutta, accesstoinsight.org): "There are four places, Ananda, that a pious person should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence". These are the places of birth, enlightenment, the first sermon and parinibbana. Also: whoever dies on such a pilgrimage "with his heart established in faith… will be reborn in a realm of heavenly happiness" (merit and rebirth).
- NESA 2025 sample answer pattern (pilgrimage): named sites + event + belief (Four Noble Truths). See extras/Band6_Exemplar_Analysis.
4. Quote and evidence bank
Ethics / non-violence
- Dhp 5 "Hatred is never appeased by hatred in this world. By non-hatred alone is hatred appeased. This is a law eternal."
- Dhp 129–130 "All tremble at violence; all fear death… one should not kill nor cause another to kill"
- Dhp 183 "To avoid all evil, to cultivate good, and to cleanse one's mind — this is the teaching of the Buddhas"
- AN 6.63 "Intention, I tell you, is kamma"
- Dhp 1–2 "Mind precedes all mental states"
- Metta Sutta (Sn 1.8) "Even as a mother protects with her life Her child… cherish all living beings"
Practice / beliefs
- DN 16.5.16–22 four places "a pious person should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence"
- Dhp 276 "You yourselves must strive; the Buddhas only point the way"
- Dhp 277 "All conditioned things are impermanent"
- Dhp 202 "no bliss higher than the peace (of Nibbana)"
Ashoka
- Rock Edict 13 (Kalinga: "one hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed"
- "deep remorse"
- "conquest by Dhamma… the best conquest")
- Rock Edict 2 ("medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals")
- Rock Edict 1 ("two peacocks and a deer")
- Rock Edict 12 (condemning others "only harms his own religion")
- Rock Edict 8 (tour to Sambodhi "instituted Dhamma tours")
- Separate Edict: "All men are my children"
Translations: Dhammapada, Buddharakkhita; DN 16, Sister Vajira & Francis Story; AN 6.63, Thanissaro; edicts, Ven. S. Dhammika (all accesstoinsight.org).
5. Stimulus and exam tips
Stimulus integration
- If part (c) has a stimulus (e.g. 2022 "walk in the light", 1 John 1:7; 2024 "sacred threads"), quote one phrase in your first and last sentence, and use its image as a verb in the middle ("Ashoka wove compassion into public life").
- "With reference to the stimulus" (2023 a) means at least two explicit references.
6. Marker feedback
Marker feedback to obey
- 2019: link part (a)(i) to (a)(ii); do not over-describe a practice.
- 2021: (a) "address one component of the significant practice"; (b) "use only one ethical teaching" when the question says ONE.
- 2022–2023: name a teaching, not an issue; integrate the stimulus.
- 2025: TWO teachings must be clearly separate and both explained.
- General: no biography.
Verbatim from the NESA "Marking feedback" sections (exam packs).
2015: Section II — Question 1 – Buddhism
Candidates showed strength in these areas:
- identifying one ethical teaching of Buddhism and its origin
- understanding how the selected ethical teaching guides adherents in their daily living
- providing accurate information addressing how the ‘moral precepts’ to do good are portrayed by ONE significant person or school of thought other than the Buddha
- using clear and relevant evidence to support the response. Candidates need to improve in these areas:
- distinguishing between Buddhist ethical issues and teachings
- avoiding biographical responses that do not address the question
- using the quote in context rather than merely restating it
- structuring a response to address the command word.
2016: Section II — Question 1 – Buddhism
Candidates showed strength in the following area:
- focusing on the impact of their choice of significant person or school of thought from a(i) on the expression Buddhism
- making reference to the quotation
- explaining the teachings in the chosen area of ethics. Candidates need to improve in this area:
- addressing the requirements of the directive rather than providing a detailed narrative
- distinguishing between achievements and impacts on Buddhism
- linking the stimulus to the ethical area
- linking the ethical teachings to one ethical issue.
2017: Section II — Question 1(a) – Buddhism
In better responses, students were able to:
- demonstrate clear links between the Buddhist community and the practice
- emphasise the communal nature of the practice with relevant examples from the practice to support the response.
2017: Section II — Question 1(b) – Buddhism
In better responses, students were able to:
- link specific content regarding the person/school of thought to the intent of the quote
- integrate the stimulus throughout the response
- incorporate text references; for example, scriptures or writings of the person studied.
2018: Section II — Question 23 – Buddhism
In better responses, students were able to:
- clearly and accurately link the teaching (ai) with daily living (aii)
- demonstrate a clear understanding of how the ethical teaching gives guidance to adherents' daily living (aii)
- provide accurate, relevant and detailed information on how the beliefs in the quotation are reflected in the practice (b). Areas for students to improve include:
- avoiding confusing ethical teachings with ethical issues
- clearly linking teaching with daily living
- clearly linking beliefs expressed in the quote with the chosen practice.
2019: Section II — Question 23 – Buddhism
In better responses, students were able to:
- clearly identify and outline a significant practice in Buddhism
- demonstrate a link between the practice and at least one belief
- provide a detailed judgement relating the significant person to the ‘teachings of the Buddha’ (b)
- incorporate relevant examples and terminology. Areas for students to improve include:
- including relevant details rather than making general statements about Buddhism
- avoiding excessive biographical details (b)
- utilising aspects of the stimulus.
2020: Section II — Question 23 – Buddhism
In better responses, students were able to:
- clearly identify a Buddhist belief related to a significant practice, for example, the Three Jewels as expressed in Temple Puja
- accurately provide details of the importance to the individual of the practice (a(i))
- include a reasoned judgement on how the stimulus gives guidance to adherents in a chosen area of ethics. Areas for students to improve include:
- providing a specific belief rather than describing the chosen practice (a(i))
- demonstrating a clear understanding of the importance of the practice for the individual (a(ii))
- providing clear links between the stimulus and a range of ethical issues
- incorporating a sustained integration of the stimulus.
2021: Section II — Questions 23 – Buddhism
In better responses, students were able to:
- clearly identify and provide relevant and accurate points about an action or ritual within a significant practice (a)
- succinctly and accurately state the impact of a significant person or school of thought on Buddhism (b)
- present relevant evidence to support ideas about the impact of a significant person or school of thought on Buddhism (b)
- identify core ethical teachings and clearly articulate the guidance provided for adherents in the chosen area of ethics (c)
- integrate the stimulus to emphasise the guidance given to renewing humanity (c). Areas for students to improve include:
- understanding the difference between a significant practice and the actions or rituals within it (a)
- balancing the amount of content with the mark value of the parts, for example, avoiding excessive time and information on (a)
- avoiding biographical narrative about the significant person or school of thought (b)
- using the stimulus to prompt ideas about connecting ethical teachings to ethical guidance (c).
2022: Section II — Question 23 – Buddhism
In better responses, students were able to:
- accurately describe one ethical teaching from one of the three areas: bioethics, sexual ethics or environmental ethics (a)
- explain the expression of beliefs in the one significant practice selected and integrate relevant details, evidence and terminology to support ideas (b)
- articulate an understanding of how the contribution of one significant person or school of thought encourages people to be the community now (c). Areas for students to improve include:
- identifying a specific ethical teaching rather than describing an issue or the chosen area of ethics as the teaching (a)
- demonstrating an understanding of how the expression of beliefs is reflected in a significant practice (b)
- providing relevant examples and engaging more effectively with the ideas in the stimulus (c).
2023: Section II — Question 23 – Buddhism
In better responses, students were able to:
- accurately explain one ethical teaching and its application in one of the three areas: bioethics, sexual ethics or environmental ethics, using relevant Buddhist terminology and clear examples (a)
- integrate references to the stimulus in their response
- provide accurate details of the relationship between features of one significant practice and its importance for adherents, for example, Temple Puja (b)
- show an understanding of how the contribution of one significant person, or school of thought, is connected to the present expression of Buddhism (c). Areas for students to improve include:
- identifying a specific ethical teaching and providing relevant examples of application in the chosen area of ethics, for example, karma applied to environmental ethics (a)
- relating features of one significant practice to the importance for adherents rather than only providing an expression of beliefs (b)
- providing contemporary examples of how the contribution of one significant person, or school of thought, is evident in Buddhism today, for example, Dalai Lama XIV (c).
2024: Section II — Question 23 – Buddhism
In better responses, students were able to:
- accurately outline one ethical teaching from one of the three areas: bioethics, sexual ethics or environmental ethics (ai)
- clearly and accurately explain how the ethical teachings from (ai) are reflected in the chosen area of ethics (aii)
- explain the expression of beliefs in the significant practice selected and integrate relevant details, evidence and terminology to support ideas (b)
- integrate the statement to connect the practice to the expression of beliefs in Buddhism (b). Areas for students to improve include:
- identifying a specific ethical teaching rather than describing a principal belief or the chosen area of ethics as the teaching (a)(i)
- demonstrating an understanding of how the expression of beliefs is reflected in a significant practice (b)
- supporting explanations with relevant evidence related to the significant practice (b).
2025: Section II — Question 23 – Buddhism
In better responses, students were able to:
- identify and provide relevant points about how a belief in Buddhism is expressed within or throughout a significant practice (a)
- identify two ethical teachings within Buddhism and clearly articulate the guidance provided for adherents in the chosen area of ethics (b)
- make a judgment, succinctly and accurately, on how a significant person or school of thought in Buddhism provides direction for living a meaningful life for adherents (c)
- present relevant evidence to support ideas on how the significant person or school of thought in Buddhism provides direction for living a meaningful life for adherents (c). Areas for students to improve include:
- providing characteristics or features that show the connection between a Buddhist’s belief and practice (a)
- using the mark value as a guide for the requirements of the response, for example, avoiding excessive detail (a)
- incorporating Buddhist examples of religious experience to illustrate how ethical teachings are applied (b)
- avoiding biographical narrative about the significant person or school of thought (c).
General feedback
Verbatim from the NESA "Marking feedback" sections (exam packs).
2025: General feedback
Students should:
- read the question carefully to ensure that they do not miss important components of the question
- maintain a consistent focus on the question throughout the entire response, not just in the introduction or conclusion
- where relevant, support judgements consistently across the response, clearly linking them back to the question
- integrate the stimulus consistently throughout the response, rather than confining references to the introduction or conclusion
- use subject-specific terminology and language relevant to the study of religion to strengthen the response
- ensure that extended responses are clearly expressed, well-organised, and directly address the question
- review the completed response to confirm that all aspects of the question have been thoroughly addressed.
7. Past questions
All Buddhism past questions are on the Past questions tab, sorted by year, each with a link to practise it.