In the Beginning... Trivia Quiz

Answer: boy child

He is generally referred to as Gautama Buddha or Siddhartha Gautama Buddha. His birth place is now a UNESCO site at Lumbini, Nepal. While still living within the palace walls, at age sixteen, he married Yasodharā and they had one son, Rāhula.

Answer: alms

Siddhartha had sneaked out of the place with his servant Channa, who would later become a disciple, and gone to become a mendicant in Rajagaha. However, he was recognized and the king offered the throne to him. Siddhartha refused and left to be trained by hermits teaching various practices.

Answer: near drowning

After spending over a year eating little -- legends say a leaf or a nut per day -- he collapsed on the bank of a river while bathing. This made Siddhartha reflect on his past and reconsider his journey.

Answer: Bodhi Tree

When Siddhartha sat beneath the tree, his companions left, believing him to have given up the cause. Instead, it is here that he is said to have achieved Enlightenment, and thus, here that he became Buddha.

Answer: five

With this teaching, or sutra, Siddhartha was expounding on the four noble truths. These four noble truths are the foundation for Buddhism. They speak of suffering, its cause, respite from suffering, and the path to ending suffering.

Answer: nirvana

Siddhartha believe that nirvana was a state of peace once a person was liberated from the notions of greed, hate, and other human emotions. Nirvana generally means a state free from suffering.

Answer: False

His father, Suddhodana, sent delegations to him asking for his return. At last, one of the delegations delivered the message and Siddhartha returned to his home. Many of his family then became disciples, including his son, Rahula.

Answer: Devadatta

Stories tell us that Devadatta tried three times to kill Siddhartha. The first time Devadatta hired archers to shoot him, but Siddhartha, the Buddha, converted them. The second time Devadatta rolled a large boulder from atop a hill to land on Siddhartha, but it hit another rock and broke into pieces. The third time Devadatta got an elephant drunk, but once turned loose, it did not kill Siddhartha.

As to the other possible answers: Suddhodana was his father, Maha Pajapati was his foster mother, and Nanda was his half-brother.

Answer: eating

Reaching old age, Siddhartha had told his followers that he would soon abandon his earthly body and reach the state of Parinirvana. He was offered a meal from a blacksmith and became very ill. Legends claim that he died the following day under a grove of shala trees, the same trees under which he had been born.

Answer: Hermann Hesse

The novel was translated to English and published in the United States in 1951. This book is a terrific read, and starts when Siddhartha leaves the palace to begin his austerities.