A-LEVEL RELIGIOUS STUDIES RTS3G World Religions 1: Buddhism, OR Hinduism OR Sikhism Report on the Examination 2060 June 2016 Version: 1.0
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RTS3G World Religions 1: Buddhism, OR Hinduism OR Sikhism General Comments The majority of entries for this unit were for the Buddhism option. The standard of entry was similar to last year. The majority of scripts were of a good or very good level of attainment demonstrating thorough, accurate and relevant understanding of the specification content in the AO1 questions and well-focused responses and critical analysis to issues raised by the AO2 questions. Question 1 Themes in Mahayana Buddhism Part 01, an examination of the key differences between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism, was a very popular question. In general, this was answered very well as students showed a thorough and accurate understanding of the main features of Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism. Students showed a good understanding of the key differences but needed to select their material judiciously and balance the information equally between the two traditions. There was sometimes a tendency to digress into too much detail about some of the Mahayana features especially the nature of the bodhisattva path. Some good broad arguments were presented in response to the statement that, the differences between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism are irrelevant to most Buddhists in part 02. Some pointed out that the cultural factors were important as Buddhist belonging to a culture of Mahayana Buddhism would not be concerned with the culture of Therevada Buddhism. Also this was an opportunity to refer to the similarities between the two traditions which some had erroneously presented in part 01. Question 2 Aspects of Buddhist Philosophy Part 03 required an examination of the concept of sunyata and its importance in the teachings of Nagarjuna. Whilst most students were able to provide a very good explanation of the concept of sunyata they did not address as fully the importance of this teaching. For this they needed to refer to the view that Nagarjuna fulfilled or completed the early teachings of the Buddha. For part 04, in response to the statement that, believing in sunyata significantly affects how Buddhists live their lives today, not many took into account the notion of today and how these teachings could be either very significant or not. A belief in sunyata could give a better meaning and purpose to life than the theories of contemporary science or Buddhists today might regard engaged Buddhism ie social action in the community as more important and relevant than contemplating deep and abstract truths like sunyata. Question 3 Meditation Part 05 proved to be quite a challenging question for students as they did not respond to, or link, both parts of the question. The nature of mindfulness especially the four foundations of mindfulness was not known by many students. The practice of mindfulness in vipassana was not fully dealt with in its application to all actions including breathing, walking, standing and sitting etc. Although the role of insight in vipassana is a relevant point, there needed to be more attention given to its practice. The responses to the statement mindfulness is essential to all forms of Buddhist meditation in 3 of 6
part 06 were very varied. The better responses recognised that mindfulness is a core and basic skill for all forms of meditation and used their knowledge about the other forms of meditation, most notably metta and Zen to argue that mindfulness was helpful, but not essential, to all forms of Buddhist meditation. Question 4 Buddhist Ethics Part 07 was the most popular question in this section and was successfully dealt with by most students. The knowledge of the five precepts and eight perfections was good but the implication of these teachings for Buddhists today was not as addressed well. Most acknowledged the implications for gaining good karma and making progress to nibbana but not as many focused on how these precepts are applied in daily life particularly in the contemporary context. The better answers dealt quite fully with the implication of right livelihood for choice of profession today and some insightful comments were made about the difficulties of maintaining right speech in our age of social media. In part 06, the responses to the statement that, The teachings of Buddhism are unrealistic for society today, were on the whole good. The weaker answers tended to be one-sided and based on the view that they were too idealistic, however more balanced appraisals argued that the ethical teachings of Buddhism were very appropriate for today s society with its emphasis on compassion in the light of social injustice and issues arising out of the threat of terrorism. Section B Hinduism Question 5 Foundations of Hinduism In part 09, the relationship between the Indus Valley Civilisation and aspects of Hinduism today was very well answered. Students selected various salient features and archeological evidence of large bathing tanks, clay seals with images of horned gods, offerings in domestic shrines and linked then directly to the practices of puja, ritual bathing and use of murtis in worship found in Hinduism today. In part 10, responses to the statement that, Knowledge of the Indus Valley Civilisation is essential for understanding Hinduism today, elicited some excellent responses which pointed out the speculative nature of the evidence in the Indus Valley and the importance for Hindus in having a sense of continuity with their ancient past in order to fully appreciate current practice. The recognition that are many different ways of understanding a religion and the role of interpreting texts and scriptures was equally important for an understanding of Hinduism today. Question 6 Hindu Dharma In response to part 11, explanations of the Hindu understanding of both the role of women and the importance of the family varied from vague generalisations to detailed specific knowledge and examples of the Hindu way of life. The better answers included references to the ways in which the Hindu beliefs in the notion of Shakti and devotion to goddesses underpinned understandings of the role of women and how the notion of dharma was a guiding factor in family life. The arguments and evidence presented in response to the statement in part 12 that, the Hindu understanding of the role of women is outdated in the 21st century stimulated some interesting responses. Those who recognised the differences within Hindu culture between the traditional life in rural settings and more liberal attitudes in the more developed and urbanised part of India gained the higher levels. The challenge of equality for women within this diverse 4 of 6
culture was also well stated. Question 7 Hinduism and society in the modern world In response to part 13, most students recognised the reforms Gandhi made to the status of untouchables, but did not acknowledge the reforms to Hindu philosophy In part 14, there were some good evaluations of the extent to which Gandhi made a vital contribution but still not enough attention given to his contribution to Hindu thinking and values in the modern world. Question 8 Hindu Philosophy The examination of the differences between Shankacharya and Ramanuja in their understanding of the goal of liberation in part 15 was answered quite well by most students. The better answers linked the teaching of Shankcharya and Ramauja together in their understanding of the role of bhakti yoga and jnana yoga which was rooted in their different understandings of the nature and relationship of the atman to Brahman. The subtle distinctions between the teachings of these two philosophers in this respect were very well explained by some students. In part 16, responses to the statement that, the philosophies of Shankacharya and Ramanuja are in total conflict with each other were well balanced, as most students recognised their fundamental commonalities which to varying extents produced different levels of conflict rather than total conflict. Section C Sikhism Question 9 Sikh identity, marriage and family life The examination of the meaning and significance of the anand karaj ceremony for Sikhs in part 17 was done quite well, although many answered the question with little reference to the actual significance of the ceremony and instead wrote about the importance of marriage for Sikhs. In part 18, similarly the issue raised by the statement that The anand karaj ceremony is an essential basis for marriage and family life in Sikhism, was not fully recognised by some students. These students wrote about the importance of marriage for family life in general rather than the need to have a public ceremony which unites two families and sanctifies the union. Question 10 Key Concepts and beliefs The Sikh understanding of the concepts of maya and karma was well expressed by the small number of students who answered part 19. However, the opportunity to link these two concepts and explain their meaning in depth was not very evident. There were some good responses to the statement in part 20 that, Sikhs must believe in maya and karma to give meaning and purpose to their lives. The better answers recognised that were there many aspects of Sikhism which gave meaning and purpose depending on the priorities and levels of commitment among individual Sikhs. Question 11 Sikh Ethics and Conduct 5 of 6
This was not attempted by any students. Question 12 Equality and sewa Part 23 was the most popular question in this section. Students were well informed about the Gurus teachings on gender and provided good examples from the lives of the Gurus. The better responses to the statement in part 21 that, The teachings of the Gurus on gender are not reflected in Sikh communities in the UK, today referred to actual examples of Sikh communities in Leicester and London where women had key roles in the running of gurdwaras. They also recognised the variation of practice and attitudes towards equality for women amongst the various Sikh communities. Mark Ranges and Award of Grades Grade boundaries and cumulative percentage grades are available on the Results Statistics page of the AQA Website. Converting Marks into UMS marks Convert raw marks into Uniform Mark Scale (UMS) marks by using the link below. UMS conversion calculator 6 of 6