Quiz 2: Mahayana grounds and paths
Venerable Thubten Chodron 
Grounds and Paths 
May 2, 2012 
Part of a series of teachings on the text A Brief Presentation of the Grounds and Paths of the Perfection Vehicle, Essence of the Ocean of Profound Meaning by Jetsun Lobsang Dadrin (1867-1937). The questions for a quiz on the Mahayana grounds and paths portion of the teachings.
- What are the two methods to generate bodhicitta? Outline the basic steps of each.
- What is the definition of bodhicitta? What are its two aspirations? What is its focal object? Is great compassion a cause of bodhicitta, a mental factor occurring together with bodhicitta, both, or neither?
- What are stabilizing meditation and analytical meditation? How do they relate to serenity and insight?
- There are four levels of bodhicitta: bodhicitta of belief (faith), bodhicitta with pure special resolve, fully ripening bodhicitta, and bodhicitta free from obscurations. Which of the bodhisattva paths and grounds apply to these four? How do the names of these four relate to the paths and grounds they describe?
- What is the demarcation of entering the Mahayana path of accumulation? What are its three stages? What are distinguishing features of these three stages? What are the major activities a bodhisattva does on the path of accumulation in terms of accumulating merit and generating wisdom?
- How does a bodhisattva meditate in order to generate the union of serenity and insight?
- What is the demarcation of entering the Mahayana path of preparation? What are its four stages? What happens on each of these four stages?
- When hearer arhats enter the Mahayana, at what path do they enter? What do they need to do to progress from the Mahayana path of accumulation to the Mahayana path of preparation, and on up?
Venerable Thubten Chodron
Venerable Chodron emphasizes the practical application of Buddha’s teachings in our daily lives and is especially skilled at explaining them in ways easily understood and practiced by Westerners. She is well known for her warm, humorous, and lucid teachings. She was ordained as a Buddhist nun in 1977 by Kyabje Ling Rinpoche in Dharamsala, India, and in 1986 she received bhikshuni (full) ordination in Taiwan. Read her full bio.
