Codex of FaithsAn illustrated atlas of belief

Codex of Faiths · codexoffaiths.com

Buddhism: quiz worksheet

A printable worksheet for the classroom: 8 multiple-choice questions on Buddhism, with an answer key and explanations on the last page.

Take the quiz online
Name: Date: Score: / 8

Circle the letter of the best answer.

  1. Where did Siddhartha Gautama awaken, Buddhists believe?

    1. A Sarnath
    2. B Lumbini
    3. C Bodh Gaya
    4. D Kushinagar

  2. The first of the Four Noble Truths is about…

    1. A Dukkha: suffering and unsatisfactoriness
    2. B The end of suffering
    3. C Rebirth in a pure land
    4. D The path to awakening

  3. The eight spokes of the dharma wheel stand for…

    1. A Eight lives of the Buddha
    2. B The Noble Eightfold Path
    3. C The eight great disciples
    4. D The eight directions

  4. Which collection of scriptures does Theravada Buddhism keep?

    1. A The Daozang
    2. B The Pali Canon
    3. C The Lotus Sutra alone
    4. D The Kangyur

  5. The ideal of the bodhisattva, who seeks awakening for all beings, is central to…

    1. A Early Buddhism only
    2. B Jainism
    3. C Theravada
    4. D Mahayana

  6. Which Indian emperor turned to the Dharma after his bloody conquest of Kalinga?

    1. A Kanishka
    2. B Akbar
    3. C Chandragupta
    4. D Ashoka

  7. What does anatta mean?

    1. A Not-self: nothing in a person is a fixed self
    2. B Loving-kindness
    3. C Taking refuge
    4. D Non-violence

  8. According to Pew, which major religion was the only one whose numbers fell between 2010 and 2020?

    1. A Judaism
    2. B Christianity
    3. C Buddhism
    4. D Hinduism

Answer key

  1. C · Bodh Gaya. He was born at Lumbini, awoke beneath a fig tree at Bodh Gaya, gave his first sermon at Sarnath and died at Kushinagar.
  2. A · Dukkha: suffering and unsatisfactoriness. There is dukkha; it arises from craving; it can cease; and a path leads there.
  3. B · The Noble Eightfold Path. The wheel recalls the teaching set in motion at the first sermon.
  4. B · The Pali Canon. The Pali Canon, the “three baskets”, was written down in Sri Lanka in the 1st century BCE.
  5. D · Mahayana. Theravada holds up the arahant; Mahayana adds later sutras and the bodhisattva ideal.
  6. D · Ashoka. Ashoka’s support around 260 BCE made Buddhism an imperial religion; his edicts promote ethics and tolerance.
  7. A · Not-self: nothing in a person is a fixed self. Buddhism teaches that no part of a person is a fixed, unchanging self.
  8. C · Buddhism. Buddhists fell from 343 million to 324 million, mostly through ageing and people leaving religion in East Asia.

From Codex of Faiths, codexoffaiths.com. You may print and copy this worksheet for teaching.