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Chapter 7: The Religious Development of Buddhism
Fill in the Blank
1. The Manushi Buddhas are primarily _________ and cannot be sought out by prayer.
2. The chief interest of the Pure Land schools is__________.
3. The English translation of “Tripitaka” is _________.
4. Lamaism, or Tibetan Buddhism, may also be called the _________, or Holy Words.
5. As Buddhism rose in China and Japan, there was a decline in this country: _________.
6. __________ was the founder and first patriarch of the meditative Chan (Zen) tradition.
7. _________ is the head of the Dge-lugs-pa order of Buddhists.
8. The practice of _________ ended hereditary rule in the Yellow Hat monasteries.
9. _________ is the state religion of Thailand.
10. The Communist Khmer Rouge regime of Pol Pot seized power in _________ and banned
_________.
Multiple Choice
11. Which of the following accurately reflects a philosophy found in early Buddhism?
a. Daily prayer is critically important.
b. Each individual must determine which gods he must appease in each reincarnation.
c. To know or not to know is the only primary concern.
d. Worshipping the Buddhist pantheon is critically important.
12. Which of the following seemed to satisfy the deepest needs of Buddhist followers?
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a. believing in myth and ritual
b. daily meditation
c. practicing self-reflection
d. understanding the path to enlightenment
13. Tradition purports that immediately after the Buddha’s death 500 monks gathered and
chanted the contents of the _________.
a. Bhagavad Gita
b. Brahmanas
c. Tripitaka
d. Visuddhimagga
14. Whether or not a schism occurred when the Second Council met at Vaisali, we know that the
next three centuries produced no fewer than _________ Buddhist sects.
a. 4
b. 8
c. 16
d. 32
15. Who issued the Fourteen Rock Edicts?
a. Asoka
b. Buddha
c. Gautama
d. Magadha
16. What was one of the most important messages of the Fourteen Rock Edicts?
a. Asoka was to be revered as a Buddha
b. attaining the goal of Nirvana
c. followers should practice piety and a common law
d. the importance of the practice of meditation
17. _________ is the Buddhist sect to which most believers in Sri Lanka and Burma belong.
a. Madhyamika
b. Mahayana
c. Theravadin
d. Vajrayana
18. Why is the Sutta Pitaka the most important of the books of the Pali canon?
a. it answers the questions of King Milinda
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b. it explains how Buddhism grew out of Hinduism
c. it is considered to have been divinely inspired
d. the principal voice heard in the discourses is the that of the Buddha
19. According to the Theravada scriptures, which of the following is the first stage of dhyana that
will lead to prajna?
a. a trance of neither ideation nor nonideation
b. the ability to direct one’s thoughts to one object only
c. the suppression of sensual desires
d. unlimited consciousness
20. What is the most elaborately developed form of Buddhism?
a. Buddhagosa
b. Hinayana
c. Mahayana
d. Theravadin
21. Why was the Theravada version of Buddhism alien to Chinese temperament and tradition?
a. the Theraveda devotion to family life
b. the Theraveda emphasis on material well-being
c. the Theraveda emphasis on monasticism
d. the Theraveda kinship with native Chinese mysticism
22. One concept that drew ordinary Chinese people to Buddhism was _________.
a. ancestor worship
b. a satisfying conception of the afterlife
c. focus on the family
d. traditional funeral rites
23. Why were the peoples in North China the first to respond generally to the Mahayana
teachings?
a. their Chinese culture had been disturbed by “barbarian” invaders
b. their racial stock was predominantly pure Chinese
c. they appreciated the simplicity of the Buddhist teachings
d. they displayed an un-Chinese contempt for the world
24. Which of the following is one reason Chinese rulers attempted to control ordination of
monks?
a. to discourage laypeople from Buddhist practice
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b. to encourage people to have more children
c. to keep down the number of people exempt from military service
d. to reduce the number of beggars in the streets
25. The term “Kami” refers to ________.
a. Japanese monks
b. the departed spirit
c. the native gods of Japan
d. the temple keeper
26. Which of the following schools is solely a Japanese phenomenon that emphasizes both
nationalism and social political activism?
a. Nichiren
b. Shingon
c. Tendai
d. Zhen-yan
27. Insight or awakening following meditation is descriptive of the method of salvation in
_________.
a. Chan and Zen
b. Confucionism
c. Han
d. Hinduism
28. The concept of “I and not–I are one” is an attempt by _________ to actualize the unitary
character of reality.
a. Hinduism
b. Jainism
c. Chan
d. Zen
29. The Zen and Chan philosophies purport that for a learner to realize their _________ the
learner must stop distinguishing, separating, defining, analyzing and describing.
a. Buddha nature
b. karmic destiny
c. monastic duty
d. true soul
30. Monks of what nationality ascribe to Marxism?
a. Burmese
b. Chinese
c. Indian
d. Japanese
31. Which of the following represents a belief that is unique to the Tantrists?
a. A prayerful life hinders awakening.
b. In sexual union, the Void is momentarily experienced.
c. Meditation on the sect’s deities must be performed.
d. The contemplation of nature leads to ultimate reality.
32. What caused a schism in early Buddhism at or at some point after the Second Council in
Vaisali?
a. debate over the Buddha’s former lives
b. debate over the interests and character of the historical Buddha
c. debate over the question of moderating the severity of early Buddhist discipline
d. debate over the Way of Purification
33. The Tian-tai Buddhist sects can be regarded as _________.
a. ancient
b. political
c. rationalist
d. tantric
34. Who was the founder of Tendai in Japan?
a. Asanga
b. Saicho
c. Wu Di
d. Zhi-Yi
35. The _________describes the passage from death to rebirth.
a. Bardo Thodol
b. Butsu-dan
c. Madhyamika Karika
d. Theragatha