![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/09\/132.jpg?resize=116%2C155\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
During the recent mid-autumn festival night, I was in charge of handling lantern riddles. I came up with 100 English Dharma riddles. The idea was to share the Dharma. However, in the process of coordinating the event with the help of Pureland Practice Fellowship volunteers, I realised that those who know the answers already know them, while those who don’t know won’t know.<\/span> Using the riddles to share the Dharma suddenly didn’t seem so great an idea.<\/p>\n A while later, it struck me that it isn’t so straightforward logic – as the riddles definitely did catch the attention of many, leading to mini Dharma discussions among the visitors, who try to come up with the answers. Many do come forth to the prize redemption counter to give their speculated answers a shot. I sincerely hope the riddles stirred up some curiosity to learn more about the Dharma. For fun, below are the 100 questions. See how many you can answer correctly!<\/span> (Click ‘read more’ and for all the questions and their answers.)<\/p>\n Questions<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. The Triple Gem is the Buddha, _______ and Sangha. 11. All Buddhas have perfect _________ for all beings. 21. What does Amituofo’s name mean? 31. The Triptaka is the collection of ________ , _________ and __________ 41. Karma is the law of moral _____ and ______ 51. The Buddha’s teachings can be summarised as to avoid all evil, to do all good, and to _____________. 61. Gratitude to our parents is important as they are our first source of _________ 71. What is the shortest sutra in the world? 81. Perfect compassion must be for ___ beings. 91. A _____ in Zen practice is like a spiritual riddle. Answers<\/strong><\/p>\n 1. The Triple Gem is the Buddha, Dharma and Sangha. 11. All Buddhas have perfect compassion for all beings. 21. What does Amituofo’s name mean? Infinite Light and Life 31. The Triptaka is the collection of Sutras, Vinaya and Abhidharma. 41. Karma is the law of moral cause and effect. 51. The Buddha’s teachings can be summarised as to avoid all evil, to do all good, and to purify the mind. 61. Gratitude to our parents is important as they are our first source of kindness. 71. What is the shortest sutra in the world? Heart Sutra 81. Perfect compassion must be for all beings. 91. A koan in Zen practice is like a spiritual riddle. During the recent mid-autumn festival night, I was in charge of handling lantern riddles. I came up with 100 English…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[523],"class_list":["post-7445","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mix","tag-curiosity","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7445","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7445"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7445\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7445"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7445"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/moonpointer.com\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7445"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n2. How many Buddhas are there in the whole universe?
\n3. The three lower realms are hell, __________ and animals.
\n4. The three higher realms are humans, _________ and gods.
\n5. The Buddha is a _________ of humans and gods.
\n6. The Buddha was born in ancient _________
\n7. The most evil being is called ________
\n8. How many beings have Buddha-nature?
\n9. The next Buddha is called __________
\n10. ________ are those who will eventually become Buddhas.<\/p>\n
\n12. If we conquer our _______ Mara, the ________ Mara will be powerless.
\n13. Which Bodhisattva is best known for vowing to empty the hells of suffering beings?
\n14. The Three Poisons are ______________
\n15. The antidotes to the Three Poisons are ________________
\n16. If the Buddha is like a great spiritual doctor, the Dharma he teaches is like __________
\n17. Enlightenment is to break free from the cycle of _________
\n18. What is the First Noble Truth?
\n19. What are the Four Immeasurable Minds?
\n20. The eight spokes on Dharma wheels represent the _____________<\/p>\n
\n22. In what direction is Amituofo’s Pureland?
\n23. How many Purelands are there?
\n24. Which Buddha’s Pureland will all Buddhas teach about?
\n25. If Amituofo is a great teacher, his Pureland is like a great ______
\n26. Birth in Pureland is precious because once there, ___________ is guaranteed.
\n27. Are there animals in Pureland?
\n28. Who are the assistant Bodhisattvas of Amituofo?
\n29. Guanyin Bodhisattva is actually an ancient ______
\n30. The eyes in the hands of Guanyin Bodhisattva represent ________<\/p>\n
\n32. In the novel Xiyouji (Journey to the West), the three disciples of Master Xuanzang represent the three ________
\n33. The taking of harmful drugs breaks which precept?
\n34. The fifth precept is important because if not observed, which precepts might be broken?
\n35. If our actions are like a car in motion, the precepts are the car’s _____
\n36. What qualities do the four great Bodhisattvas represent?
\n37. It is said that there are _______ methods to practise the Dharma.
\n38. The first of the Six Perfections is _______
\n39. The last of the Six Perfections is _______
\n40. The Six Perfections lead to __________<\/p>\n
\n42. Who governs the law of karma?
\n43. Karmically, we are according to\u00a0 what we have ______, and will be according to what we ___.
\n44. Observing the ________ prevents the creation of negative karma.
\n45. Emptiness in Buddhism refers to being empty of ______
\n46. Rebirth is the cycle of _______, _______, ________ and ________.
\n47. What is the lotus a symbol of?
\n48. What does the offering of light represents?
\n49. What does the offering of flowers represents?
\n50. The greatest wish of all Buddhas is that all beings can become ________.<\/p>\n
\n52. Our intentions are created by which of the Five Aggregates?
\n53. The Middle Path avoids which two extremes?
\n54. How many more times will we be reborn if we do not progress towards enlightenment?
\n55. Just as loving-kindness counters hate, compassion counters _____
\n56. Appreciative joy or rejoice counters _______
\n57. Hatred cannot be ceased by hatred; hatred can only be ceased by ________
\n58. The name of our original teacher of Buddhism is ____________
\n59. The eight worldly conditions include gain and loss, fame and defame, praise and blame, and ____________
\n60. The six realms of existence are also called the _____ planes of existence.<\/p>\n
\n62. What does the offering of fruits represent?
\n63. What does the offering of incense represent?
\n64. What does the offering of water represent?
\n65. Buddhists practise bowing to cultivate _______ and to express __________
\n66. What are any other two terms similar in meaning to Nirvana?
\n67. What are the Three Provisions for birth in Pureland?
\n68. Namo in ‘Namo Amituofo’ means ________
\n69. How many great vows did Amituofo make?
\n70. Beings in Pureland are born from ___ grades of ______<\/p>\n
\n72. There are Buddhas in the ___ directions.
\n73. ________ is the aspiration to guide all beings to Buddhahood.
\n74. Manjushri Bodhisattva represents the perfect _______ of all Buddhas.
\n75. Samanthabhadra Bodhisattva represents the perfect _______ of all Buddhas.
\n76. One who has great ______ might be reborn as a hungry ghost.
\n77. One who has great ______ might be reborn as an animal.
\n78. Is there an eternal hell?
\n79. The Buddha taught the _______, which the Sangha practises.
\n80. The ___________\u00a0 path is the path to Buddhahood.<\/p>\n
\n82. How many aspects of existence do Buddhas have?
\n83. Which aspect of the Buddhas pervade all space and time?
\n84. Which quality wishes all beings to be well and happy?
\n85. Mother sentient beings refer to _____ beings.
\n86. Our relation to the Buddha is not of master and servant, but ______ and ________
\n87. The teaching of dependent origination is also the teaching of ________
\n88. Meditation should not be for special powers but for the gaining of ________
\n89. Is it true that vegetarianism helps to prevent global warming?
\n90. What quality helps to counter greed?<\/p>\n
\n92. Who is the longest teaching founder of a world religion?
\n93. Which sutra is all Buddhas particularly mindful and protective of?
\n94. Which is the world\u2019s first university?
\n95. All Bodhisattvas vow to guide ____ beings to Buddhahood.
\n96. We should respect all beings because they are all future ________
\n97. How many manifestations can each Buddha have?
\n98. Emptiness, according to the Heart Sutra, is the same as _______
\n99. Form, according to the Heart Sutra, is the same as ________
\n100. Guanyin Bodhisattva represents the perfect ___________ of all Buddhas.<\/p>\n
\n2. How many Buddhas are there in the whole universe? Countless
\n3. The three lower realms are hell, hungry ghosts and animals.
\n4. The three higher realms are humans, asuras\/demi-gods and gods.
\n5. The Buddha is a teacher of humans and gods.
\n6. The Buddha was born in ancient India.
\n7. The most evil being is called Mara.
\n8. How many beings have Buddha-nature? All
\n9. The next Buddha is called Maitreya.
\n10. Bodhisattvas are those who will eventually become Buddhas.<\/p>\n
\n12. If we conquer our inner Mara, the outer Mara will be powerless.
\n13. Which Bodhisattva is best known for vowing to empty the hells of suffering beings? Ksitigarbha\/Dizang
\n14. The Three Poisons are greed (attachment), hatred (aversion) and delusion (ignorance).
\n15. The antidotes to the Three Poisons are generosity, loving-kindness, and wisdom.
\n16. If the Buddha is like a great spiritual doctor, the Dharma he teaches is like great medicine.
\n17. Enlightenment is to break free from the cycle of rebirth.
\n18. What is the First Noble Truth? There is suffering in life.
\n19. What are the Four Immeasurable Minds? Loving-kindness, compassion, rejoice, equanimity
\n20. The eight spokes on Dharma wheels represent the Noble Eightfold Path.<\/p>\n
\n22. In what direction is Amituofo’s Pureland? West
\n23. How many Purelands are there? Countless
\n24. Which Buddha’s Pureland will all Buddhas teach about? Amituofo’s
\n25. If Amituofo is a great teacher, his Pureland is like a great school.
\n26. Birth in Pureland is precious because once there, enlightenment is guaranteed.
\n27. Are there animals in Pureland? No
\n28. Who are the assistant Bodhisattvas of Amituofo? Guanyin (Avalokiteshvara) and Dashizhi (Mahastamaprapta)
\n29. Guanyin Bodhisattva is actually an ancient Buddha.
\n30. The eyes in the hands of Guanyin Bodhisattva represent wisdom.<\/p>\n
\n32. In the novel Xiyouji (Journey to the West), the three disciples of Master Xuanzang represent the three poisons.
\n33. The taking of harmful drugs breaks which precept? Fifth
\n34. The fifth precept is important because if not observed, which precepts might be broken? All
\n35. If our actions are like a car in motion, the precepts are the car’s brakes.
\n36. What qualities do the four great Bodhisattvas represent? Compassion, wisdom, aspiration and practice
\n37. It is said that there are 84,000\/countless methods to practise the Dharma.
\n38. The first of the Six Perfections is Generosity.
\n39. The last of the Six Perfections is Wisdom.
\n40. The Six Perfections lead to Buddhahood.<\/p>\n
\n42. Who governs the law of karma? Nobody\/Nature
\n43. Karmically, we are according to\u00a0 what we have done, and will be according to what we do.
\n44. Observing the precepts prevents the creation of negative karma.
\n45. Emptiness in Buddhism refers to being empty of self.
\n46. Rebirth is the cycle of birth, ageing, sickness and death.
\n47. What is the lotus a symbol of? Purity
\n48. What does the offering of light represents? Wisdom
\n49. What does the offering of flowers represents? Impermanence
\n50. The greatest wish of all Buddhas is that all beings can become Buddhas.<\/p>\n
\n52. Our intentions are created by which of the Five Aggregates? Mental formations
\n53. The Middle Path avoids which two extremes? Sense indulgence and self-mortification
\n54. How many more times will we be reborn if we do not progress towards enlightenment? Countless
\n55. Just as loving-kindness counters hate, compassion counters cruelty.
\n56. Appreciative joy or rejoice counters jealousy.
\n57. Hatred cannot be ceased by hatred; hatred can only be ceased by love.
\n58. The name of our original teacher of Buddhism is Shakyamuni Buddha.
\n59. The eight worldly conditions include gain and loss, fame and defame, praise and blame, pleasure and pain.
\n60. The six realms of existence are also called the 31 planes of existence.<\/p>\n
\n62. What does the offering of fruits represent? Karma\/Cause and effect
\n63. What does the offering of incense represent? Virtues
\n64. What does the offering of water represent? Calmness\/Clarity
\n65. Buddhists practise bowing to cultivate humility and to express reverence\/gratitude.
\n66. What are any other two terms similar in meaning to Nirvana? Enlightenment\/Liberation
\n67. What are the Three Provisions for birth in Pureland? Faith, Aspiration and Practice
\n68. Namo in ‘Namo Amituofo’ means homage to\/refuge in.
\n69. How many great vows did Amituofo make? 48
\n70. Beings in Pureland are born from 9 grades of lotuses.<\/p>\n
\n72. There are Buddhas in the all\/six\/ten directions.
\n73. Bodhicitta is the aspiration to guide all beings to Buddhahood.
\n74. Manjushri Bodhisattva represents the perfect wisdom of all Buddhas.
\n75. Samanthabhadra Bodhisattva represents the perfect aspiration(s) of all Buddhas.
\n76. One who has great greed\/craving might be reborn as a hungry ghost.
\n77. One who has great ignorance might be reborn as an animal.
\n78. Is there an eternal hell? No
\n79. The Buddha taught the Dharma, which the Sangha practises.
\n80. The Bodhisattva path is the path to Buddhahood.<\/p>\n
\n82. How many aspects of existence do Buddhas have? Three
\n83. Which aspect of the Buddhas pervade all space and time? Dharmakaya
\n84. Which quality wishes all beings to be well and happy? Loving-kindness
\n85. Mother sentient beings refer to all beings.
\n86. Our relation to the Buddha is not of master and servant, but teacher and student.
\n87. The teaching of dependent origination is also the teaching of emptiness.
\n88. Meditation should not be for special powers but for the gaining of wisdom.
\n89. Is it true that vegetarianism helps to prevent global warming? Yes
\n90. What quality helps to counter greed? Generosity<\/p>\n
\n92. Who is the longest teaching founder of a world religion? The Buddha
\n93. Which sutra is all Buddhas particularly mindful and protective of? Amitabha Sutra
\n94. Which is the world\u2019s first university? Nalanda
\n95. All Bodhisattvas vow to guide all beings to Buddhahood.
\n96. We should respect all beings because they are all future Buddhas.
\n97. How many manifestations can each Buddha have? Countless
\n98. Emptiness, according to the Heart Sutra, is the same as form.
\n99. Form, according to the Heart Sutra, is the same as emptiness.
\n100. Guanyin Bodhisattva represents the perfect compassion of all Buddhas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"