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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What advice did the author receive as a six year old?
(a) To have a clear mind by avoiding spicy foods.
(b) Not to let life harden her heart.
(c) To care for others in order to make her own life smoother.
(d) Not to listen to advice.

2. What does the author experience after finding her boyfriend "passionately embracing" another woman?
(a) An inability to release her own emotional energy.
(b) Absolute disgust with another human being.
(c) A deep sadness stemming from her unmet need to be loved.
(d) The horror of causing a tragedy after the rush of anger was released.

3. Why does Chodron work with aspirations?
(a) "We may not be able to change our circumstances, but we can think differently always."
(b) "Aspirations are an ancient tradition, created by true spiritual leaders."
(c) "Aspirations keep us on track when our minds seem to want to run wild."
(d) "The best way to serve ourselves is to love and care for others."

4. What does the author call "those who train wholeheartedly in awakening unconditional and relative bodhichitta"?
(a) Winners.
(b) Saints.
(c) True yogis.
(d) Warriors.

5. Who do we first practice Maitri on?
(a) Ourselves.
(b) Animals.
(c) Our enemies.
(d) Our loved ones.

Short Answer Questions

1. What is the "foundation" of bodhichitta training?

2. What hope does Chodron write that we should abandon?

3. Who are the two witnesses that Chodron writes about?

4. The author relates the story of a woman who found herself surrounded by people threatening to throw stones. What did she feel in that moment?

5. What is the second of the three lords of materialism?

Short Essay Questions

1. What ways does Chodron write that meditation can be misused?

2. Why does Chodron describe the experience of a young woman who was in a foreign country, surrounded by people throwing stones at her?

3. What are the qualities of maitri that are cultivated when we meditate?

4. Why does the author include an anecdote about finding her boyfriend "passionately embracing another woman"?

5. What does the Buddhist teaching tell us that all other beings have been over the course of many lifetimes?

6. What are the three lords of materialism?

7. Why does Chodron mention a walled, protected community in Florida?

8. What are the stages of the formal practice of tonglen?

9. What do Martin Luther King and Mother Teresa have in common, according to Chodron?

10. What does Chodron write is the "foundation" of bodhichitta training?

(see the answer keys)

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