Buddhism quiz

More questions about Buddhism

These visible examples show the question style. LearnClash turns the full topic into ranked duels and spaced repetition.

1. 1 Easy

   What object is spun by hand to recite Tibetan prayers?

   Answer: Prayer wheel

   Why: Spinning the cylinder once is traditionally believed to grant the merit of reciting every mantra rolled inside.

2. 2 Medium

   Why did Buddha pick the Middle Way for practice?

   Answer: Extremes of pleasure and pain do not lead to truth.

   Why: In his first sermon at Sarnath the Buddha called both indulgence and extreme self-denial useless, and named the Eightfold Path the middle.

3. 3 Hard

   In Buddhist cosmology, which hell is the lowest and most painful?

   Answer: Avici

   Why: Avici means "without waves": suffering with no pause; rebirth there follows the five worst deeds, such as killing a parent or wounding a Buddha.

4. 4 Easy

   What famous school of Japanese Buddhism centers on direct insight and seated meditation?

   Answer: Zen

   Why: Legend holds that the 6th-century monk Bodhidharma sat facing a wall for nine years to cultivate Zen.

5. 5 Medium

   What is the first of the Four Noble Truths?

   Answer: Suffering

   Why: Dukkha, or suffering, is the diagnosis; craving is the cause, cessation the cure, the Eightfold Path the treatment, all first taught at Sarnath.

6. 6 Hard

   Which hand gesture shows the Buddha touching the earth as his witness?

   Answer: Bhumisparsha mudra

   Why: Seated Buddhas make it with the right hand over the knee, calling the earth to witness against Mara; in Vajrayana it marks the Buddha Akshobhya.