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

2. What emotion does the author NOT list as one that is likely to arise when one feels that meditation is not going well?
(a) Self-loathing.
(b) Frustration.
(c) Anger.
(d) Awareness.

3. With what Buddhist tradition is Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche associated?
(a) The Zen Buddhist tradition.
(b) The Vippassana Buddhist tradition.
(c) The school of tranquility and serenity.
(d) The Tibetan Buddhist tradition.

4. The author states that "coherence of motivation, though a desirable quality in a friend or collaborator, isn't by itself" (82) what?
(a) True.
(b) Satisfying.
(c) Effective.
(d) Decisive.

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

Short Answer Questions

1. On what body process should first-timers focus when meditating?

2. What types of insects were making noise outside of the author's window on the fifth night of his first meditation retreat?

3. The Buddha said that engagement is the product of a what?

4. The Buddah lived and taught how many years ago?

5. The first time the author attended a week-long meditation retreat, he was allowed to speak how many times?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does the author say about ways in which people should NOT "conceive of modules" (86)?

2. What is the nature of the author's characterization of a meditation retreat?

3. How does the author use the example of bodily fluids in order to demonstrate the differences between Western Buddhism and Traditional Buddhism?

4. What is witness consciousness, according to the author?

5. How does the author use the example of the scar experiment?

6. Discuss the author's use of the anecdote regarding his tense jaw.

7. To whom does the author recommend a meditation practice?

8. How does the author go about trying to depict the bliss he feels as a result of meditation?

9. What effect is the author's choice of the word "delusions" intended to have on the reader?

10. Discuss the author's decision to begin the book with an allusion to the film The Matrix.

(see the answer keys)

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