Pearson Edexcel International GCSE in Religious Studies · 4RS1 · Free · no account needed

Buddhism

35 units, completely free. Paper 1 examines beliefs and values from the Buddhist perspective (with the non-religious view throughout); Paper 2 (4RS1/2A, “Paper 2A: Buddhism”) examines the religion itself. A centre enters this route as 4RS1A.

Every lesson here ends the same way: learn it, teach it to an AI pupil who asks the awkward question, then defend it against the thinker with the strongest claim on it — free · no account needed.

Paper 1 · Section 1 — The universe, creation and the place of human beings

1.1 · The universe and the place of human beings — Nobody made the world and nobody owns it, so the reason to protect it is that you are not separate from it…
1.2 · Human nature and the human condition — A person is five changing processes and nothing behind them — so what continues after death is a continuation, not a traveller.
1.3 · Selfishness, greed, ignorance and sin — Wrongdoing is not disobedience and not corruption — it is misperceiving how things are, which is why the remedy is seeing clearly rather…
1.4 · Free will, determinism and predestination — Nothing was decided in advance because there is nobody to decide it — and kamma shapes what you are working with without settling what you…
1.5 · Ultimate reality — Buddhism does not say there is no God so much as say you are bleeding — and that nibbana, not a creator, is what it has to offer instead.
1.6 · Belief, uncertainty and unbelief — Buddhism asks to be tested rather than believed — and the honest question is how much of it is the kind of thing a test could reach.
1.7 · The problem of evil and suffering — Buddhism never claims a good God made the world, so it owes no explanation for suffering — only a cause, craving…

Paper 1 · Section 2 — Life and death

2.1 · Death and life after death — Nothing travels from one life to the next, and something genuinely continues — which is why the being your actions shape is somebody…
2.2 · The meaning and purpose of life — The purpose of a Buddhist life is for greed, hatred and delusion to stop — and the answer to how is a method practised all at once…
2.3 · Sanctity of life, abortion and euthanasia — Do not harm, and relieve suffering — two Buddhist principles that genuinely collide here, which is why the tradition weighs the intention…
2.4 · Human relationships — What makes sexual conduct wrong here is the harm it does rather than the category it falls into — and goodwill is something you train…
2.5 · Marriage and partnership — Buddhism never made marriage a religious act — which is why monks bless rather than marry, and why the arguments that occupy other…
2.6 · Divorce and remarriage — There is no bond to dissolve, so the only Buddhist question about a separation is which course causes less harm — and how it is carried out.
2.7 · Family structures and responsibilities — The monks and the families cannot do without each other — which is why a religion founded on leaving home ended up organising the life of…
2.8 · Childlessness and celibacy — Nobody here was ever commanded to have children, and the people the tradition most respects chose to have none…

Paper 1 · Section 3 — Peace and conflict

3.1 · Conflict and war — There is no clause permitting force anywhere in the teaching, which is why Buddhism can call an act necessary and still refuse to call it…
3.2 · Peace, reconciliation and forgiveness — Forgiveness here is not something you give the person who wronged you — it is putting down a poison you are the one carrying.
3.3 · Bullying — The Buddhist case against cruelty is aimed at the person being cruel — which is why it still works when they do not care about the person…
3.4 · Sin and crime — Crime here is a condition rather than a corruption — which is why the characteristic Buddhist response is to go into the prison and teach…
3.5 · Punishment — Punishment here has to earn its keep by what it protects or changes, because there is nobody in the account with the standing to say…
3.6 · Capital punishment — No exception exists anywhere in the teaching, and several Buddhist countries execute people anyway — because the tradition never built…

Paper 1 · Section 4 — Rights, equality and social justice

4.1 · Human rights — Buddhism protects people because of what suffering is rather than because of what a human being is, which is why the same argument reaches…
4.2 · Equal rights and equal opportunities — If nobody has a fixed self there is nothing for a hierarchy to rank, and this tradition has kept a rule ranking nuns below monks anyway.
4.3 · The multi-ethnic society and racial harmony — The fixed group identity a racist believes in is not there to be ranked, which makes this the sharpest argument on the course and the one…
4.4 · The multi-faith society and interfaith relationships — Nothing in this tradition requires anybody else to become Buddhist, which removes the friction before it starts and has still not been…
4.5 · Relationships between rich and poor — Dana is voluntary because it is meant to change the giver as well as reach the poor, which is a real claim and a less reliable system than…

Paper 2 · Section 1 — Origins and their impact on the community: founders, texts and other sources of authority

1.1 · The Buddha: his life and his importance — The life is an argument in four moves — comfort fails, self-punishment fails, a human being finds the way, and then he refuses to stay in…
1.2 · The Tripitaka and its authority — Buddhist scripture claims to be a reliable report rather than divine speech, and almost everything unusual about how Buddhists use it…
1.3 · Leadership in the Sangha: bhikkhus and Bodhisattvas — Monks and laity were made unable to do without each other on purpose, and a teacher who appointed no successor is why Buddhism has…
1.4 · One other significant Buddhist — The question is about what somebody added and whether it still works, and the two obvious ways of judging that…

Paper 2 · Section 2 — Celebration and pilgrimage

2.1 · Wesak — The offerings were chosen because they do not last and there is nobody to receive them, which is why Wesak asks for a recommitment rather…
2.2 · Pilgrimage in Buddhism — Nobody is waiting at the end of a Buddhist pilgrimage, so whatever it achieves happens in the pilgrim — which is why it is optional and…

Paper 2 · Section 3 — Worship and practice

3.1 · Viharas and monasteries — A vihara has no altar and no sanctuary because there is nothing to sacrifice to and nobody living there — it is a residence…
3.2 · Buddhist worship and meditation — With nobody to receive a request, Buddhist practice has to work on the practitioner — which is why an offering is chosen for fading and a…
3.3 · Rites of passage in Buddhist life — Buddhism has no ceremony that makes anybody a Buddhist and a great deal of ceremony at a deathbed, because its rites appear where the…

All of Incandio Religious Studies · Exam Ready · The 4RS1 specification

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