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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is the viewpoint of the Theravada Buddhist?
(a) It denies the idea of reincarnation.
(b) It proposes a collective attempt to reach nirvana.
(c) It insists that the path to enlightenment is up to the individual.
(d) It teaches that only monks can reach enlightenment.

2. How might the rise of Buddhism be compared to the Protestant Reformation?
(a) It started by Siddhartha nailing theses to a temple door.
(b) It started because people could not read.
(c) It was a reaction to the excesses of the Hinduism of the day.
(d) It started as a rebellion against a human head of religion.

3. Eventually, how do Hindu minds conceive of God?
(a) The Gods transcend the anthropomorphic and become total abstractions.
(b) The Gods transcend the anthropomorphic and become statues.
(c) The Gods transcend the anthropomorphic and become animals.
(d) The Gods transcend the anthropomorphic and become constellations.

4. What is the purpose of the Tao senses?
(a) Making an honest living
(b) Waking up to reality
(c) Making judgments
(d) Perfecting the te or power as it vitalizes the human being

5. After pleasure seeking, what does Hinduism see as the next major life goal?
(a) Travel and culture
(b) Spiritual enlightenment
(c) Worldly success
(d) Overcoming illness

6. How many senses are involved in the Tao concept of power?
(a) Four
(b) Six
(c) Two
(d) Three

7. What did Confucius propose as a better way for society?
(a) Redirect thinking into a conscious reorientation of traditional behaviors
(b) Reinstate the Chou Dynasty and go back to the way things were
(c) Form political parties to work out differences
(d) Forget old traditions and create new ones

8. How did the followers of the Buddha categorize his teachings?
(a) As a religion of regulations
(b) As a religion of infinite compassion
(c) As a religion of suffering
(d) As a religion of sacrifice

9. What did the Buddha think about religious rituals?
(a) He thought they had been neglected.
(b) He invented new ones for his day.
(c) He ridiculed rites as mere superstitions.
(d) He taught they were necessary exercises.

10. Who is Siddhartha Gautama of the Sakya?
(a) The founder of Sikhism.
(b) The author of the Hindu Vidas.
(c) The first Hindu.
(d) The awakened one, the Buddha.

11. What is the irony of Buddhism and India?
(a) Buddhism flourishes all over Asia except in India where Buddhism was born.
(b) Buddhism was never understood in India.
(c) Buddhism replaced the centuries old practice of Hinduism in India.
(d) Buddhism never flourished in India.

12. What is it that Taoists reject?
(a) Group dynamics of equality
(b) All forms of competition or ambition to stand out
(c) Quietude as a means of simplifying life
(d) Work without working

13. Where was Siddhartha sitting as he gained enlightenment?
(a) On a royal throne.
(b) In a Hindu temple.
(c) Under the bo tree.
(d) On the banks of the Ganges.

14. What is the main departure of Tibetan Buddhism?
(a) No begging for food
(b) Prayer wheels and magic bells
(c) Doing away with monks' robes
(d) It enables achieving nirvana within a single lifetime.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. What sense of Taoism has been most successfully exported to the West?

2. What is the Chinese concept of ch'i?

3. What happened to Confucius texts?

4. How is the idea of heaven and earth viewed in Confucianism?

5. In Taoism, what is the concept of wu wei?

(see the answer keys)

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