What does your chosen world religion teach are the means, the path or practices by which a person reaches the goal?
The religion's account of the means: the path, practices and disciplines by which a follower moves from the human condition towards the goal.
An SQA Higher RMPS answer on the means in World Religion, explaining the path and practices a chosen religion prescribes (with Buddhism and the Noble Eightfold Path as the worked example), how the means are organised, and how they move a follower from the human condition towards the goal.
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What this dot point is asking
The third part of the World Religion structure is the means: the path, practices and disciplines by which a follower moves from the human condition towards the goal. The SQA wants you to describe the means accurately and to show how they tackle the causes of the problem. This page uses Buddhism and the Noble Eightfold Path as the worked example, but every World Religion option is framed the same way (condition, goal, means), so the structure transfers to Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism or Sikhism.
The path the religion prescribes
A strong World Religion answer states the means precisely and explains its structure.
- The path has eight factors: right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration.
- It is described as the middle way (majjhima patipada), avoiding both self-indulgence and harsh self-denial, the two extremes the Buddha rejected before his enlightenment.
- The factors are cultivated together: progress in ethics supports meditation, meditation supports wisdom, and wisdom deepens ethics. The path is not a strict sequence.
How the means are organised
The SQA rewards understanding of how the path is grouped, because the grouping shows what each part is for.
- Ethical conduct (sila): right speech, right action and right livelihood. This trains outward behaviour, reducing the harm that springs from greed, hatred and delusion.
- Meditation (samadhi): right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. This trains the mind, calming it and developing the clear awareness needed to see reality as it is.
- Wisdom (panna): right view (seeing the Four Noble Truths and the three marks of existence) and right intention (intentions of renunciation, goodwill and harmlessness). This uproots the ignorance and craving at the heart of the human condition.
How the means answer the condition
The examinable link is from means to cause of the condition.
- The condition was caused by craving and ignorance. Wisdom directly removes ignorance; meditation weakens craving by training and calming the mind; ethics stops new harmful karma being generated.
- Because the means work on the causes, not just the symptoms, following the path leads towards nibbana, the goal. Stating this connection explicitly is what the top marks reward.
How other religions frame the means
You study one religion, but the structure is general. Christianity prescribes means such as faith in Christ, grace, prayer, the sacraments and a moral life shaped by love of God and neighbour, leading to salvation. Islam has the Five Pillars (declaration of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting and pilgrimage) and submission to God's guidance. Hinduism offers margas or "paths", such as the way of action (karma yoga), devotion (bhakti yoga) and knowledge (jnana yoga), towards moksha. In each case the means are the practical answer to the condition and the route to the goal.
Try this
Q1. Into which three groups is the Noble Eightfold Path divided? [3 marks]
- Cue. Ethical conduct (sila), meditation (samadhi) and wisdom (panna).
Q2. Why is the path called the "middle way"? [2 marks]
- Cue. It avoids the two extremes of self-indulgence and harsh self-denial (extreme asceticism).
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of SQA exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
SQA Higher specimen8 marksDescribe the means by which a follower of the religion reaches the goal.Show worked answer →
An 8-mark "describe" question rewards an accurate, developed account of the path. For Buddhism, set out the Noble Eightfold Path and how it is grouped.
Explain that the Fourth Noble Truth is the path (magga) to the cessation of suffering: the Noble Eightfold Path. Name the eight factors and group them into the three divisions of the path: ethical conduct (sila): right speech, right action, right livelihood; meditation (samadhi): right effort, right mindfulness, right concentration; and wisdom (panna): right view and right intention. Add that the path is a "middle way" between indulgence and extreme asceticism, and that the factors are practised together, not in strict sequence. Four to five developed points reach the top band.
SQA Higher specimen10 marksTo what extent are the means an effective way to overcome the human condition?Show worked answer →
A 10-mark evaluation needs argument on both sides and a judgement. "Effective" is the issue.
Argue that the means are effective: the Eightfold Path works on conduct, mind and wisdom together, directly attacking craving and ignorance, the causes of suffering; meditation is now widely recognised to reduce distress, which supports the claim. Then weigh the difficulties: the path is demanding, full success may take many lifetimes, and critics argue ethical and meditative effort cannot finally remove suffering caused by external forces. Bring in an alternative, for instance a Pure Land Buddhist who relies on the Buddha Amitabha's grace, or a non-religious critic. Conclude with a reasoned judgement, such as that the means are effective as a method of mental and moral training even if total liberation is hard to verify.
Related dot points
- The religion's analysis of the human condition: the fundamental problem facing human beings, its causes, and why the religion sees it as the starting point for the spiritual life.
An SQA Higher RMPS answer on the human condition in World Religion, explaining how a chosen religion (with Buddhism as the worked example) diagnoses the fundamental problem facing humanity, its causes such as ignorance, craving or sin, and why this diagnosis is the starting point for the goal and the means.
- The religion's account of the goal: the ultimate aim of the spiritual life, what it consists of, and how it answers the problem set out in the human condition.
An SQA Higher RMPS answer on the goal in World Religion, explaining the ultimate aim a chosen religion sets (with Buddhism as the worked example), what nibbana, salvation or liberation consists of, and how the goal directly answers the diagnosis of the human condition.
- The religion's beliefs about the nature of the divine, God or ultimate reality, and how those beliefs underpin its account of the human condition, the goal and the means.
An SQA Higher RMPS answer on beliefs about the divine in World Religion, explaining how a chosen religion understands God, the divine or ultimate reality (with Buddhism's non-theistic stance and the theistic contrast as the worked example), and how those beliefs shape the human condition, the goal and the means.
- Religion and Justice: the nature and causes of crime, the aims of punishment (retribution, deterrence, protection, reformation, reparation), capital punishment, and religious and non-religious responses.
An SQA Higher RMPS answer on Religion and Justice (crime and punishment), covering the causes of crime, the five aims of punishment, the death penalty debate, and how religious and non-religious viewpoints respond to questions of justice.
- Free Will and Determinism: hard determinism, libertarianism and compatibilism, the bearing on moral responsibility, and religious and non-religious responses.
An SQA Higher RMPS answer on Free Will and Determinism, covering hard determinism, libertarianism and compatibilism, what each says about moral responsibility, and how religious and non-religious viewpoints respond, with the skills to evaluate them.