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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What seems to be the appeal bhakti yoga?
(a) Its many different ways to identify oneself.
(b) Its ease and comfort of practice.
(c) Its humanness rather than a more esoteric approach to religion.
(d) Its universality that may be applied to any religion.

2. What was Confucius' idea about art?
(a) He believed that art put false illusions in people's minds.
(b) He taught that philosophy was superior to art.
(c) He thought that art was a complete waste of time and effort.
(d) He believed that poetry stimulated the mind and music aroused the spirit.

3. What do (1) the brahmin, or seer; (2) the kshatriya, or administrator; (3) the vaishya, or producer; and (4) the shudra, or servant represent?
(a) The levels of education
(b) The divisions of monks
(c) The highest forms of yoga
(d) The stations of life

4. What is more or less the same in all forms of Buddhism?
(a) The theme of a crossing from the sufferings of life to the wisdom of enlightenment.
(b) The rejection of any kind of musical instrument.
(c) The idea that enlightenment is impossible to attain.
(d) The use of elaborate hand gestures to concentrate on prayers.

5. What is the Zen koan?
(a) Sitting in meditation for long hours
(b) Problems like the classic "What is the sound of one hand clapping?"
(c) The elaborate tea ceremony with its slow and graceful movements
(d) Private consultation with a master

6. What happened to Confucius texts?
(a) They were kept secret for 1,000 years.
(b) They became mandatory disciplines for Chinese government officials.
(c) They were lost and handed down only verbally.
(d) They were destroyed by Kublai Khan.

7. What is the tanha?
(a) Loosely translated, it is religious education.
(b) Loosely translated, it is human desire.
(c) Loosely translated, it is suffering.
(d) Loosely translated, it is the fear of death.

8. What is the Hindu concept of galaxies of finer or courser natures?
(a) These are illusions with which man must deal.
(b) These are obstacles to be reasoned out.
(c) These are other life forms in the universe.
(d) These are paths the spirit travels in quest of God.

9. What is the follower of wu wei said to be able to do?
(a) Work without working
(b) Dream without dreaming
(c) Speak without speaking
(d) Think without thinking

10. How does the yogi eliminate distractions of the mind during raja yoga?
(a) The yogi concentrates on one thing to the exclusion of all others.
(b) The yogi concentrates on reading.
(c) The yogi lies flat of his back.
(d) The yogi puts cotton in his ears.

11. How does Sri Ramakrishna illustrate the experience all the great world religions?
(a) He suggests that such questions are frivolous.
(b) Whether you climb a ladder, a rope, or a bamboo pole, you still reach the same goal.
(c) He advocates trying out all religions for the best fit.
(d) He says each experience will reach a different goal.

12. What historical event occurred just as Confucius began teaching?
(a) The birth of Mohammed
(b) The collapse of the Chou Dynasty
(c) The arrival of Marco Polo
(d) The Peloponnesian War

13. What is the sangha?
(a) A permit to travel
(b) A tree that grows in India
(c) A type of beer
(d) A Buddist religious order

14. When does karma come into effect?
(a) When the spirit is in insect form.
(b) When the spirit has reincarnated.
(c) When the spirit occupies a human form.
(d) When the spirit resides in a cow.

15. To what other notable teacher has Confucius been compared?
(a) Jesus
(b) Socrates
(c) Aristotle
(d) Horace Mann

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is credited as the originator of Taoism?

2. Where was Siddhartha sitting as he gained enlightenment?

3. Why does Hinduism stress what the human mind must leave out?

4. What was the conflict of Confucius' teaching and the mood of the times?

5. What is dharma?

(see the answer keys)

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