Core Buddhist Pathways

• 237ERituals for Personal and Group Practice

  Analyze various ritual forms that support personal practice, and design simple rituals that effectively guide and inspire group practice.
• 225EHomage and Praise as Practice

  Actively pay homage and express gratitude to those who have taught, guided, and transmitted wisdom—showing appreciation for those who bring us closer to the truth.
• 229EMonastic Traditions

  Analyze the historical development and contemporary roles of monastic communities across Buddhist traditions, evaluate the relationship between ordained and lay practitioners in preserving and transmitting dharma, and demonstrate understanding of how monastic traditions adapt to cultural contexts while maintaining essential functions.
• 232EThe 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.
• 233EAnatta and Identity

  Analyze the Buddhist teaching of anatta (no-self) in relation to cultural identity formation; evaluate how understanding the impermanent nature of identity can reduce sectarianism and nationalism while maintaining healthy cultural appreciation; and synthesize understanding by developing approaches to heritage that honor origins without demanding conformity from others.
• 240EThe Dhammapada

  Analyze key themes in the Dhammapada, and evaluate how these ancient teachings remain relevant to contemporary issues and experiences.
• 302EThree Poisons: Ignorance

  Analyze ignorance as misunderstanding—particularly regarding impermanence, interdependence, and selflessness. Evaluate how ignorance serves as the root of all afflictions and distorted perceptions, and implement practices such as mindfulness, reflection on interdependence, and analytical meditation to weaken habitual confusion and cultivate wisdom and clarity in daily life.
• 221EThe Life Story of the Buddha Shakyamuni

  Sequence and analyze the ten acts of Buddha’s life within their historical and geographical contexts; evaluate the universal themes in Buddha’s journey that relate to contemporary human experience; and synthesize understanding by examining how specific events in Buddha’s life demonstrate key Buddhist principles such as the four noble truths and the middle way.
• 208ESukhavati Sutras

  Compare Pure Land Buddhism with other forms of Buddhism, analyzing how the practice of chanting Amitabha’s name serves both as devotion and meditation and how visualizing a perfect realm can inspire positive daily actions.