Question

Imagine walking away from everything you ever had into an uncertain future. That's what Siddhartha Guatama did in about 528 BCE. In India, he left his cushy role as prince to wander the countryside looking for life's answers. It worked out well for him according to the story of Buddhism. Unhappy with the Hindu religion, Siddhartha traveled around and meditated for quite some time, trying to understand why pain exists. Meditation is still an important part of Buddhism today. Then he found what he was looking for: enlightenment. From then on he was known as the Buddha, or "enlightened one."

Buddhism spread all across India. People liked it as an alternative to Hinduism. It was a simple, peaceful, loving faith, and when people heard about its tenets in other parts of Asia, they took to them as well. Soon Buddhism would be one of the largest religions in the world, spreading throughout India and China, two of the planet's most populous places. People in India liked that Buddhism broke with the caste system, which was a way of keeping social groups separate, and that it called for a way to become free from human suffering.

What does the passage suggest enlightenment is?
Choose one option
A
another word for Buddhism
B
a form of meditation
C
the result of rigorous academic study
D
answers to life’s major questions

Answer 1

D

The passage says Siddhartha meditated trying to understand why pain exists and then “found what he was looking for: enlightenment,” implying enlightenment is the understanding or answers to life’s major questions.