In this deck you will master two of the most important ethical frameworks in Buddhism: the Five Moral Precepts and the Six Perfections. These are essential knowledge for your AQA GCSE exam. The Five Precepts are guidelines followed by all Buddhists in their daily lives. The Six Perfections, known in Sanskrit as the paramitas, are the qualities developed by a Bodhisattva on the path to full Buddhahood in the Mahayana tradition. By the end of this deck you will be able to state all five precepts in correct order with accurate wording, explain the meaning and application of each one, name all six perfections in both English and Sanskrit, and explain how each perfection is developed and why it matters on the Bodhisattva path.

Let us begin with the Five Moral Precepts. These are the basic ethical guidelines that all Buddhists, whether lay people or monastics, are expected to follow. It is important to understand from the start that the precepts are not commandments. In Christianity, the Ten Commandments are laws given by God that must be obeyed. The Buddhist precepts are different. They are training rules, or guidelines, that Buddhists voluntarily undertake because they understand that following them leads to less suffering for themselves and others. Breaking a precept is not a sin in the Christian sense. It is understood as an unskillful action that creates negative kamma and leads to further suffering. This distinction matters in the exam. If you are asked why the precepts are significant, you should explain that they are freely chosen guidelines rooted in wisdom and compassion, not divine commands.

The first precept is: do not take life. The Pali term for this principle is ahimsa, which means non-harm or non-violence. This precept applies to all living beings, not just humans. Many Buddhists are vegetarian because of this precept, though vegetarianism is not required in all Buddhist traditions. In Theravada Buddhism, monks may eat meat if the animal was not killed specifically for them. In Mahayana Buddhism, vegetarianism is more strongly encouraged. The first precept also has implications for attitudes to war, capital punishment, and euthanasia. A Buddhist following this precept would try to avoid causing harm to any creature, and would consider the intention behind an action carefully. Kamma is created by intentional actions, so an accidental killing carries less kammic weight than a deliberate one. In the exam, the first precept is often used as evidence in questions about the sanctity of life, animal rights, or war.