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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Archbishop Tutu greet almost every new experience with?

2. What does the Archbishop say is the natural response when someone hits you?

3. Who does Abrams cite as a powerful example of the principles of gratitude and forgiveness?

4. What does the term askaris refer to?

5. What injury does Abrams say his own father suffered recently?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Part III, why does the Dalai Lama jokingly say he prefers to go to hell?

2. In Part III, what does the Dalai Lama say happens when he prays to a certain statue in his home every morning?

3. In Part IV, what does Brother David Steindl-Rast say about the relationship between gratitude and happiness?

4. In Part IV, what does Abrams identify as the Dalai Lama's and Archbishop Tutu's default approach to any subject, no matter how painful?

5. In Part III, what does the Dalai Lama say about his feelings about his own safety and security in Dharamsala?

6. In Part III, what does Abrams identify as two of the greatest sources of suffering in our lives?

7. What decision regarding Archbishop Tutu's children created some tension and anguish between Tutu and his wife, Leah?

8. In Part IV, who is the person in Archbishop Tutu's life that has caused him some of the deepest personal pain and why?

9. In Part IV, why did the Dalai Lama laugh so hard when a former Protestant militant in Belfast said the loyalists had always taught him Jesus was Protestant and not Catholic?

10. In Part III, what is the paradox of humility?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Frequently throughout the book, Abrams emphasizes the ease and humor with with the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu interact with each other. What role does Abrams argue that humor plays in the cultivation of joy, and of the bonds of friendship between these two particular religious leaders? Write an essay explaining your answers, citing specific references to the text to help support your conclusions.

Essay Topic 2

How does generosity of spirit relate to the practice of all the other pillars of joy, according to Abrams? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 3

What distinctions does the Dalai Lama emphasize to ensure that those who forgive past traumas are not harmed again by the very act of forgiveness? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references to the text to help support your answers.

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