Cultural Preservation and Celebration

• 209Classic Buddhist Stories and Parables

  Analyze Buddhist stories and parables to extract wisdom for daily living, and differentiate between the forms and functions of history, story, myth, and legend.
• 230Three Yanas: Theravada Buddhism

  Analyze the foundational principles, practices, and scriptural authority of Theravada Buddhism, compare and contrast Theravada approaches to liberation with Mahayana and Vajrayana perspectives, and evaluate how different cultural contexts have shaped the preservation and expression of early Buddhist teachings.
• 232The Three Yanas: Vajrayana Buddhism

  Identify the methodologies specific to Vajrayana Buddhism. Examine how tantric practices integrate ritual, visualization, and guru-disciple relationships, and evaluate how Vajrayana approaches to transformation relate to the foundational teachings preserved in Theravada and Mahayana traditions.
• 432Rituals for Personal and Group Practice

  Analyze various ritual forms that support personal practice, and design simple rituals that effectively guide and inspire group practice.
• 200Lineage Traditions

  Compare how the three main Buddhist traditions (Theravada, Mahayana, Vajrayana) pass down teachings, evaluating the strengths of each approach. Examine your own cultural and family traditions, and analyze which ones benefit people and which might cause harm. Evaluate how these ideas were transmitted to you, and how you transmit them to others, and develop criteria for responsibly choosing which ideas and traditions are worth continuing or changing.
• 212Noble Beings

  Analyze the qualities of noble beings, evaluate which qualities to cultivate personally, and create strategies to incorporate these qualities into daily activities.
• 239Women in Buddhism

  Analyze the Buddha’s teachings on gender equality, and evaluate the historical challenges women have faced in Buddhist traditions despite these teachings.
• 223Sutta/Sutra Structure

  Differentiate between source texts and commentaries, and analyze how these textual categories function within each of the three yanas.
• 228Unseen Beings

  Analyze the role of unseen beings across Buddhist traditions, and differentiate the unique qualities attributed to commonly referenced non-human entities. Evaluate how these symbolic relationships support practitioners’ cultivation of positive qualities such as protection, wisdom, and compassion.
• 235The Power of Language

  Analyze how language shapes cultural understanding and worldview formation; evaluate the challenges and opportunities in translating Buddhist concepts across linguistic and cultural boundaries; and implement communication strategies that demonstrate both confidence in personal understanding and humility about the limitations of language in conveying ultimate meaning.