View a FREE sample

This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What does the Dalai Lama say he goes through when he prays five times each day?
(a) A symbolic death and rebirth cycle.
(b) Incense.
(c) Many candles.
(d) Prayer mats.

2. What is the dessert that the Dalai Lama most enjoys?
(a) Chocolate cake.
(b) Lemon meringue pie.
(c) Blueberry pie.
(d) Tibetan rice pudding.

3. What was one of the most difficult decisions Archbishop Tutu and his wife had to make during their marriage?
(a) To send their children to language school in England.
(b) To convert to a different religion.
(c) To send their children to boarding school when they moved back to South Africa from England.
(d) To leave South Africa in exile.

4. How many pillars of joy are there?
(a) 8.
(b) 16.
(c) 10.
(d) 4.

5. Which primatologist believes that peace-making activities are extremely common in the animal kingdom?
(a) Rachel Carson.
(b) Francine Waters.
(c) Frans de Waal.
(d) Jane Goodall.

6. What does the Dalai Lama say forgiveness is a sign of?
(a) Strength.
(b) Intelligence.
(c) Weakness.
(d) Fortitude.

7. What color is the Dalai Lama's home?
(a) White.
(b) Green.
(c) Blue.
(d) Yellow.

8. What did the Dalai Lama say he learned on a flight from Japan to San Francisco?
(a) The human capacity for forgiveness.
(b) The enormous patience it takes to be a parent.
(c) The enduring pleasures of a hot towel over one's eyes.
(d) The hospitality that flight attendants are expected to project.

9. Who is the Dalai Lama's friend from Northern Ireland who he thinks embodies the spirit of forgiveness?
(a) Perry Gordimer.
(b) Amanda Richardson.
(c) Michaela Robinson.
(d) Richard Moore.

10. What does the Dalai Lama say is the advantage to having something go wrong?
(a) People drop their pretenses and act more normal, easing the tension.
(b) It helps people laugh more.
(c) It reminds us of the uncertainty of life.
(d) It helps people to try to solve problems together.

11. Which of the following pillars of joy is a quality of the mind?
(a) Forgiveness.
(b) Education.
(c) Empathy.
(d) Humility.

12. Why does the Dalai Lama say he would prefer hell to heaven?
(a) The devil will be an interesting creature to meet.
(b) He has always liked the heat.
(c) He probably has some good friends there.
(d) He could solve more problems in hell.

13. What does Archbishop Tutu think about developing one's sense of humor?
(a) It can only be taught by one's parents.
(b) It is a skill to be cultivated.
(c) It can only be taught by a comedian.
(d) It is innate.

14. Who was a college classmate of Abrams's who was killed in South Africa?
(a) Gene Rowland.
(b) Mary Robinson.
(c) Amy Biehl.
(d) Robin Gillson.

15. Abrams writes that generosity is not just about giving money but also about giving which of the following?
(a) Attention.
(b) Time.
(c) Forgiveness.
(d) Patience.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why did Mpho Tutu get stripped of her ministry in South Africa?

2. What was the Dalai Lama disguised in when he fled from Tibet in 1959?

3. What position did Nelson Mandela hold when he was imprisoned on Robben Island?

4. In what year did the Dalai Lama start making pilgrimages to different religious traditions?

5. In Buddhism, who are one's most precious spiritual teachers?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 553 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample