In History
What was the Buddha's original name?
Siddhartha Gautama
Where are the numbers of Buddhism growing?
North America and Europe
Which late CEO/entrepeneur was influenced by Buddhism while creating his company?
Steve Jobs
Does Buddhism have a god?
No
Which king helped spread Buddhism in the ancient world?
Ashoka of the Mauryan Empire
Where is the 14th Dalai Lama today?
In exile in India, after he fled the Chinese putdown of a Tibetan uprising in 1959
Which famous actor/comedian used Buddhist spirituality to help with his mental health?
(Hint: some of his movies include The Truman Show and How the Grinch Stole Christmas)
Jim Carrey
What is the main goal of Buddhism?
To achieve Nirvana (escape suffering)
When did Buddhism split into two groups?
After the 2nd Buddhist Council
Which country has the highest number of Buddhists?
China
Which famous actor is a practicing Buddhist?
(Some of his movies include Pirates of the Caribbean and Lord of the Rings.)
Orlando Bloom
What causes suffering in the human life?
Greed
Buddhism influenced which generation/movement of American writers? (2 possible answers)
The Beat Generation (Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac)
Transcendentalism (Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau)
When ranking world religions by the number of followers, Buddhism falls in what place?
Fourth (after Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism)
Which US president turned to Buddhist meditation techniques to help him with his health?
Bill Clinton
Name one of the four main sites in a Buddhist pilgrimage.
Lumbini: Buddha's birthplace; Bodh Gaya: where Buddha achieved enlightenment; Sarnath: where the Buddha delivered his first sermon; Kushinagar where Buddha attained Nirvana
Which 1920s book popularized Buddhism in the West and introduced its ideals to many?
Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
Around how many followers does Buddhism have today?
roughly 535 to 550 million
(around half a billion)
Which famous actor's father was the first ever Westerner to become an ordained Buddhist monk?
(This actor was in Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction, Gattaca, Batman & Robin, and also inspired a Fall Out Boy song).
Uma Thurman
Name one of the Three Universal Truths.
Anitya (impermanence): Everything in life is impermanent and always changing.
Duhka (suffering): Since nothing is permanent, a life based on possessing things doesn’t make you happy.
Anatma (no self): There is no eternal, unchanging soul and “self” is just a collection of changing attributes.