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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What kind of perspective does the Dalai Lama urge his followers to try to take?

2. What does the Archbishop say is the natural response when someone hits you?

3. What does Abrams mention his wife's profession is?

4. What does the Dalai Lama say about Archbishop Tutu's father?

5. What does the Dalai Lama say the Virgin Mary is a symbol of?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part III, what does Abrams identify as two of the greatest sources of suffering in our lives?

2. In Part III, what is the paradox of humility?

3. In Part III, why does the Dalai Lama jokingly say he prefers to go to hell?

4. In Part III, what does the Dalai Lama say about his feelings about his own safety and security in Dharamsala?

5. In Part IV, what does Abrams say is necessary in order for people to feel present in each moment?

6. In Part IV, why does Archbishop Tutu say the ability to laugh at himself has served him well in life and allowed him to connect with people?

7. In Part IV, who is the person in Archbishop Tutu's life that has caused him some of the deepest personal pain and why?

8. In Part IV, why did the Dalai Lama laugh so hard when a former Protestant militant in Belfast said the loyalists had always taught him Jesus was Protestant and not Catholic?

9. In Part IV, who does Abrams cite as an inspiration of what real gratitude looks like, and what were this person's circumstances?

10. What decision regarding Archbishop Tutu's children created some tension and anguish between Tutu and his wife, Leah?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Are the Dalai Lama's and Archbishop Desmond Tutu's teachings about forgiveness - and the human capacity for forgiveness - realistic? Write an essay explaining your opinion, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How were Archbishop Desmond Tutu's ideas and concepts of forgiveness shaped by his work in South Africa as one of the leaders of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission following the end of apartheid? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

Essay Topic 3

What distinctions does the Dalai Lama emphasize to ensure that those who forgive past traumas are not harmed again by the very act of forgiveness? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

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