Multiple choice

Directions: The last sentence in the following passage has been deleted. Select the sentence, out of the available options, that best suits the end of the passage.

Part of the natural human conditions is to be subject to suffering – to pain, loss, anxiety, sorrow, as well as times of joy, delight and fulfillment. Zen practice teaches that the ways in which we receive our sorrows, the way in which we understand what is happening and respond to anxiety, makes all the difference. What can turn into a long, convoluted time of anguish or depression can also be experienced differently, and instead becomes an accompaniment to a purposeful day. As we sit on the cushion we experience whatever arises. When pain comes, we receive that. When it is time for pain to dissolve, we allow it to go. When joy comes, we let it in. Then we give thanks for it all. As we practice we learn how to thoroughly experience what is happening moment by moment, and soon realize that if we are completely with each moment, the next breath will bring something new. When we do not reject our suffering, or add anything to it, pain is simply pain. It is what we add that turns it into suffering, makes it thick and solid, so that it can’t subside.

  1. Pain is the cause of all human suffering.

  2. Pain gets dissolved when we relax ourselves.

  3. We can never avoid pain, even if put in sincere efforts to understand it.

  4. Suffering is suffering till it turns into pain.

  5. None of the above
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

 The passage discusses that it is our attitude towards pain that can transform pain into suffering. It is our attitude, not relaxation that makes pain go away. When we learn the difference between pain and suffering, many fears, anxieties and sorrows will subside. As there is no appropriate or close option that fits our predication, (5) is the answer.

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