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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. How many minutes does the author say he spends meditating each morning?
(a) 40 minutes.
(b) 20 minutes.
(c) 30 minutes.
(d) 15 minutes.

2. What do psychologists call the condition of "being stuck" in the natural human cycle of ultimately futile pleasure-seeking?
(a) The never-ending spiral.
(b) The hamster wheel.
(c) The great illusion.
(d) The hedonic treadmill.

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

4. What is NOT a feeling listed by the author as one that fosters "wars and atrocities" (4)?
(a) Greed.
(b) Sloth.
(c) Despair.
(d) Hatred.

5. The author states that what feeling is linked to our modern environmental mismatch?
(a) Painful self-consciousness.
(b) Shame.
(c) Rage.
(d) Pride.

Short Answer Questions

1. 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?

2. Whom does the author name as the two people who would be on the highest end of the spectrum as far as ease of meditation goes?

3. What is NOT listed among the traditional practices of Asian Buddhists not practiced by Western Buddhists?

4. The author states that natural selection does not want people to be happy, but instead wants them to be what?

5. What two drugs does the author say he imagines produce results similar to the feelings he had after a particularly good session of meditation at his first retreat?

Short Essay Questions

1. What are the differences between concentration meditation and mindfulness meditation?

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

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

4. Discuss an example or anecdote used by the author to demonstrate the value of mindfulness mediation.

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

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

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

8. Discuss the tendency of humans to engage in self-inflation.

9. Discuss the author's purpose in using the example of Thich Quang Duc’s public self-immolation.

10. What is the author's analysis of the human fear of public speaking?

(see the answer keys)

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