Q 01/05

Which sacred syllable is traditionally chanted at the start of Hindu prayers, recitations and meditation?

A) Hum

B) Om

C) Ram

D) Yam

Answer · why

B) Om

Om is built from three sounds, a-u-m, which Hindu tradition reads as triads such as earth, atmosphere and heaven, so the one syllable is held to conta...

Q 02/05

Under which tree is the Buddha said to have sat in meditation until he reached enlightenment?

A) Banyan tree

B) Bodhi tree

C) Sal tree

D) Mango tree

Answer · why

B) Bodhi tree

Bodhi tree: the original sacred fig at Bodh Gaya no longer survives, but each time it was cut down it was replanted from its own saplings, so the tree...

Q 03/05

Studies link regular meditation to lower levels of which hormone?

A) Cortisol

B) Melatonin

C) Estrogen

D) Testosterone

Answer · why

A) Cortisol

Cortisol, the body's main stress hormone, fell along with heart rate and inflammation markers in a 2017 pooled analysis of 45 trials; melatonin, by co...

Q 04/05

Tibetan monks build intricate mandalas over days or weeks, then ritually sweep them away, using what material?

A) Dyed wool

B) Wet clay

C) Coloured sand

D) Rice flour

Answer · why

C) Coloured sand

Coloured sand is poured into place through metal funnels called chak-pur; once the mandala is complete the monks sweep it up and tip it into a river, ...

Q 05/05

Zen master Hakuin's famous koan asks a student to hear the sound of what?

A) Falling snow

B) One hand

C) A still bell

D) An empty room

Answer · why

B) One hand

One hand: two hands clapped together make a sound, Hakuin would say, so listen for the sound of one; he set the puzzle to new students in 18th-century...