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Buddhism: master answers

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1. How to use master answers

What this page is. Plug-and-play building blocks for writing any answer in this area. Pick the blocks that fit the question, then join them with the question's own words.

Module. A self-contained paragraph-sized block of evidence, labelled with a letter and number (for example J1, B2, S1). Each module gives you evidence (the facts and quotes), its impact (why it matters for adherents) and a judgement line that answers the question. Use one module per paragraph.

Pivot table. A grid showing how to turn the same modules toward different question wordings (for example "impact", "significance", "expresses beliefs"). Find the question's verb or key word, then use the matching line.

Word-count guide (about 30 words per mark in exam conditions):

• 2–3 marks: 60–100 words, one point with evidence
• 4–5 marks: 120–180 words, two points with evidence
• 6–7 marks: 200–260 words, two or three modules and a judgement
• 8–9 marks: 280–350 words, three modules, judgement in every paragraph
• 15-mark response: 650–850 words
• 20-mark response: 850–1100 words

2. How it is marked

How Section II is set. Since 2021, every question has three parts, one on each area (significant person or school of thought; ethics; significant practice), in rotating order. Mark splits: 2021 3/6/6; 2022 3/6/6; 2023 5/5/5; 2024 2/5/8; 2025 3/5/7.

So for every area you need three lengths:

• 2–3 marks: about 60–90 words.
• 5–6 marks: about 150–200 words.
• 7–8 marks: about 250–320 words.

The modules below build all three.

3. What the top band does in Section II

4. Verb × marks engine

5. Ashoka (Significant person)

Core thesis. Emperor Ashoka (r. c. 268–232 BCE) transformed Buddhism from a regional monastic movement into a public ethic. By showing that the Dhamma must be lived through non-violence, compassion and tolerance, he still provides ________ (fill in: the key words from the question or stimulus, e.g. "direction for a meaningful life" or "impact") to a very significant extent, most clearly in ethics and less directly in doctrine.

Ashoka pivot table

Assembled master response, 7 marks. Evaluate how ONE significant person, other than the Buddha, provides direction for a meaningful life for Buddhist adherents (2025).

Evaluate how ONE significant person, other than the Buddha, provides direction for a meaningful life for Buddhist adherents. (2025)

Emperor Ashoka provides strong direction for a meaningful life because he demonstrated that the Dhamma must transform conduct, not only belief. After the conquest of Kalinga, where his own Rock Edict 13 records that "one hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed", he expressed "deep remorse" and declared that "conquest by Dhamma" is "the best conquest". This models the Buddha's teaching that "hatred is never appeased by hatred… by non-hatred alone" (Dhammapada 5): a meaningful life is one of non-violence (ahimsa) and the First Precept. Ashoka then applied compassion (karuna) to public life. Rock Edict 2 records "medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals", wells and trees for travellers, and Rock Edict 1 limited killing in the royal kitchens to "two peacocks and a deer". These showed adherents that the Dhamma reaches all sentient beings. Rock Edict 12 teaches respect for other religions, since condemning them "only harms his own religion", which gives modern Buddhists in multifaith societies such as Australia a model for dialogue. His Dhamma tours to Sambodhi and his pillar at Lumbini also established the pilgrimage that adherents still undertake. However, his edicts rarely discuss the Four Noble Truths or Nibbana, so his direction is primarily ethical rather than soteriological. On balance, Ashoka's direction remains highly significant: he translated the Buddha's ethics into a lived social model that continues to inspire engaged Buddhism. (~250 words)

Assembled master response, 3 marks.

Outline ONE contribution of Ashoka to Buddhism.

Ashoka spread Buddhist ethics through public inscriptions after renouncing war at Kalinga (Rock Edict 13). His edicts promoted non-violence, medical care for humans and animals (Rock Edict 2), and respect for other religions (Rock Edict 12). This established "conquest by Dhamma" as a model for Buddhist rulers and adherents.

1. Model answer, 7 marks

Model answer, 7 marks: Evaluate how ONE significant person, other than the Buddha, provides direction for a meaningful life for Buddhist adherents. (2025)

Emperor Ashoka provides strong direction for a meaningful life because he demonstrated that the Dhamma must transform conduct, not only belief. After the conquest of Kalinga, where his own Rock Edict 13 records that "one hundred and fifty thousand were deported, one hundred thousand were killed", he expressed "deep remorse" and declared that "conquest by Dhamma" is "the best conquest". This models the Buddha's teaching that "hatred is never appeased by hatred… by non-hatred alone" (Dhammapada 5): a meaningful life is one of non-violence (ahimsa) and the First Precept. Ashoka then applied compassion (karuna) to public life. Rock Edict 2 records "medical treatment for humans and medical treatment for animals", wells and trees for travellers, and Rock Edict 1 limited killing in the royal kitchens to "two peacocks and a deer". These showed adherents that the Dhamma reaches all sentient beings. Rock Edict 12 teaches respect for other religions, since condemning them "only harms his own religion", which gives modern Buddhists in multifaith societies such as Australia a model for dialogue. His Dhamma tours to Sambodhi and his pillar at Lumbini also established the pilgrimage that adherents still undertake. However, his edicts rarely discuss the Four Noble Truths or Nibbana, so his direction is primarily ethical rather than soteriological. On balance, Ashoka's direction remains highly significant: he translated the Buddha's ethics into a lived social model that continues to inspire engaged Buddhism. (~250 words)

2. Model answer, 3 marks

Model answer, 3 marks: Outline ONE contribution of Ashoka to Buddhism.

Ashoka spread Buddhist ethics through public inscriptions after renouncing war at Kalinga (Rock Edict 13). His edicts promoted non-violence, medical care for humans and animals (Rock Edict 2), and respect for other religions (Rock Edict 12). This established "conquest by Dhamma" as a model for Buddhist rulers and adherents.

6. Bioethics (Ethics)

Core thesis. Buddhist bioethics is guided above all by the First Precept (ahimsa) and by karma understood as intention (cetana), tempered by compassion (karuna). Together these teachings direct adherents to protect life, to judge medical choices by motive, and to relieve suffering without intending death.

Bioethics pivot table

Assembled master response, 5 marks.

Explain TWO ethical teachings relevant to bioethics. (2025)

The First Precept, to abstain from taking life, flows from ahimsa and the Buddha's teaching that "all tremble at violence… putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill" (Dhammapada 129–130). In bioethics it guides most Buddhists to reject euthanasia and to regard abortion as a serious act of taking life. Some Japanese Buddhists perform the mizuko kuyo ritual, acknowledging the karmic weight of abortion while showing compassion to the parents. The second teaching is karma, defined by intention: "Intention, I tell you, is kamma" (Anguttara Nikaya 6.63). Because intention determines karmic result, Buddhists evaluate medical decisions by motive. Ending a life out of aversion to suffering generates unwholesome karma, whereas compassionate care that relieves pain without intending death, such as palliative care, is wholesome. Together these teachings guide adherents to protect life while acting from compassion. (~150 words)

1. Model answer, 5 marks

Model answer, 5 marks: Explain TWO ethical teachings relevant to bioethics. (2025)

The First Precept, to abstain from taking life, flows from ahimsa and the Buddha's teaching that "all tremble at violence… putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill" (Dhammapada 129–130). In bioethics it guides most Buddhists to reject euthanasia and to regard abortion as a serious act of taking life. Some Japanese Buddhists perform the mizuko kuyo ritual, acknowledging the karmic weight of abortion while showing compassion to the parents. The second teaching is karma, defined by intention: "Intention, I tell you, is kamma" (Anguttara Nikaya 6.63). Because intention determines karmic result, Buddhists evaluate medical decisions by motive. Ending a life out of aversion to suffering generates unwholesome karma, whereas compassionate care that relieves pain without intending death, such as palliative care, is wholesome. Together these teachings guide adherents to protect life while acting from compassion. (~150 words)

7. Pilgrimage (Significant practice)

Core thesis. Buddhist pilgrimage turns the life of the Buddha into a path the adherent walks. At the four sites the Buddha himself named, pilgrims express the Three Jewels, impermanence and the possibility of awakening, and they generate merit and mindfulness for themselves and support the Sangha.

Pilgrimage pivot table

Assembled master responses.

• 3 marks:

Describe how ONE significant practice expresses ONE belief of Buddhism.

In pilgrimage, Buddhists visit the four sites the Buddha named in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta (DN 16), including Bodh Gaya where he attained enlightenment. By meditating and circumambulating the Bodhi tree, pilgrims express the belief that awakening is possible through one's own effort, since "the Buddhas only point the way" (Dhammapada 276). The practice thus expresses refuge in the Buddha as the model of enlightenment.

• 5–6 marks:

Explain how ONE significant practice expresses the beliefs of Buddhism.

Pilgrimage expresses the Three Jewels and the belief in awakening. The Buddha himself recommended four places "a pious person should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence" (DN 16): Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kusinara. Visiting them is therefore an act of refuge in the Buddha. At Bodh Gaya, pilgrims meditate beneath the Bodhi tree, expressing the belief that enlightenment is achievable through effort ("the Buddhas only point the way", Dhp 276). At Sarnath they recall the first teaching of the Four Noble Truths, honouring the Dhamma. At Kusinara, the site of the Buddha's parinibbana, they reflect that "all conditioned things are impermanent" (Dhp 277). Rituals such as clockwise circumambulation of stupas, offerings of flowers that wilt (a reminder of anicca) and dana to monks support the Sangha and generate merit; the Buddha taught that one who dies on such a pilgrimage "with his heart established in faith" will be reborn in a realm of heavenly happiness (DN 16). Pilgrimage thus turns doctrine into embodied experience, deepening mindfulness and strengthening the global Buddhist community.

1. Model answer, 3 marks

Model answer, 3 marks: Describe how ONE significant practice expresses ONE belief of Buddhism.

In pilgrimage, Buddhists visit the four sites the Buddha named in the Mahaparinibbana Sutta (DN 16), including Bodh Gaya where he attained enlightenment. By meditating and circumambulating the Bodhi tree, pilgrims express the belief that awakening is possible through one's own effort, since "the Buddhas only point the way" (Dhammapada 276). The practice thus expresses refuge in the Buddha as the model of enlightenment.

2. Model answer, 5–6 marks

Model answer, 5–6 marks: Explain how ONE significant practice expresses the beliefs of Buddhism.

Pilgrimage expresses the Three Jewels and the belief in awakening. The Buddha himself recommended four places "a pious person should visit and look upon with feelings of reverence" (DN 16): Lumbini, Bodh Gaya, Sarnath and Kusinara. Visiting them is therefore an act of refuge in the Buddha. At Bodh Gaya, pilgrims meditate beneath the Bodhi tree, expressing the belief that enlightenment is achievable through effort ("the Buddhas only point the way", Dhp 276). At Sarnath they recall the first teaching of the Four Noble Truths, honouring the Dhamma. At Kusinara, the site of the Buddha's parinibbana, they reflect that "all conditioned things are impermanent" (Dhp 277). Rituals such as clockwise circumambulation of stupas, offerings of flowers that wilt (a reminder of anicca) and dana to monks support the Sangha and generate merit. Pilgrimage thus turns doctrine into embodied experience, deepening mindfulness and strengthening the global Buddhist community.

8. Linking the three parts (a Band 6 habit)

• Ashoka (person) made the first recorded pilgrimage to Bodh Gaya (RE 8), which links the person to the practice.
• His medical care for humans and animals (RE 2) prefigures Buddhist bioethics (karuna; the First Precept), which links the person to ethics.
• Pilgrimage cultivates the mindfulness and intention that, according to AN 6.63, determine karma, which links the practice to ethics.

Use one linking sentence in each part when the question is multi-part.