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

Multiple Choice Questions

1. When ancient Buddhist writings mention the term sati, what does the word mean in English?
(a) Stillness.
(b) Tranquility.
(c) Mindfulness.
(d) Peace.

2. What is NOT a concern the author attributes to the process of natural selection?
(a) There should be more of a focus on the immediate pleasure than on the way it will soon dissipate.
(b) The pleasure associated with the goals should not last forever.
(c) Aesthetic considerations.
(d) Achieving the goals should bring pleasure.

3. What adverb is used to describe briefly exposing someone to a word or an image, but not long enough for conscious awareness to set in?
(a) Subdermally.
(b) Multilingually.
(c) Undertemporally.
(d) Subliminally.

4. What emotion does the author say he feels when he is getting ready for a public speaking engagement?
(a) Weakness.
(b) Anxiety.
(c) Pride.
(d) Shame.

5. The author states that when the Buddhist techniques work, a person receives not just happiness, but what other element?
(a) Improved health.
(b) Tranquility.
(c) Clarity of vision.
(d) A youthful smile.

6. What does the author say is the only thought people have when eyeing a sugar doughnut?
(a) How eating it will leave them feeling tired or agitated later.
(b) How intensely they will want another one only seconds after eating this one.
(c) How good it will taste.
(d) How eating it will help them relax.

7. On what body process should first-timers focus when meditating?
(a) Phlegm.
(b) Bile.
(c) Blood.
(d) Breath.

8. In what state did the author attend his very first silent meditation retreat?
(a) California.
(b) Massachusetts.
(c) Washington.
(d) Virginia.

9. What is NOT one of the five aggregates named by The Buddha when he first split the self into five aggregates?
(a) The physical body.
(b) Feelings.
(c) Mental formations.
(d) Longings.

10. The Buddha said that engagement is the product of a what?
(a) A shame.
(b) A power.
(c) A feeling.
(d) A lust.

11. What is the title of Chapter 2 of Buddhism is True?
(a) Taking the Red Pill.
(b) When Are Feelings Illusions?.
(c) Paradoxes of Meditation.
(d) The Alleged Nonexistence of Your Self.

12. Western Buddhism eliminates all but which of the following traditional Buddhist traditions?
(a) Meditation on the pus within one's own body.
(b) The use of gongs.
(c) Meditation on one's own rotting corpse.
(d) Meditation on feces within one's body.

13. On what object does the author say people should place themselves during meditation?
(a) A mat.
(b) A bare floor.
(c) A pillow.
(d) A cushion.

14. In most people, the left hemisphere of the brain controls what?
(a) Language.
(b) Emotions.
(c) Decision-making.
(d) Affection.

15. What is the name of the eminent twentieth-century scholar of Buddhism?
(a) Edward Conze.
(b) Jerome Barkow.
(c) Bhikkhu Bodhi.
(d) Aaron Beck.

Short Answer Questions

1. According to Buddhist scripture, what is the name of the braggart who challenged The Buddha's notions of not-self?

2. Which character in the movie referred to in the chapter entitled "Take the Red Pill" realizes that his life has actually been an extended hallucination?

3. Though the author admits that there are paradoxes within Buddhism, he says that there are also paradoxes within which branch of science?

4. Which group of people does the author say especially identified with the film he references within the chapter title "Take the Red Pill"?

5. What is the meaning of the term metta?

(see the answer keys)

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