Instructions: Read the following instructions before you start this work.

A. The following questions are all essays. Please answer what is being asked.
B. There is no word or length requirement for each item. What is required is only that you give a
substantially correct answer. Trust me when I say that all questions can be answered in as low as three
sentences. You opt for longer answers if that is what you want.
C. EXPLAIN your answer even if the question does not specifically ask for an explanation/
D. When answering, please provide concepts and evidence for it from the readings/modules I gave you.
DO NOT CITE EXTERNAL SOURCES or other concepts I did not make available to you during the
semester. The questions are answerable without further research online. What you have now as
students of my class is sufficient.
E. The following criteria will be the basis of giving points to your answers:
Correctness/Conclusion- 20%, Evidence - 50%, Logical Flow from Question to Evidence to
Conclusion - 30%.
F. Use English only. Proper usage of grammar and spelling may be given additional points.
G. You are advised to use the three-paragraph structure in answering essays. The First paragraph is your
answer to the question. The second paragraph is your evidence that is applicable to answering the
given question. The third paragraph is the logical application of your evidence to the question. You may
use a different structure/style, but this form guarantees that I will easily understand your answer.
H. You may submit your work through direct message or file upload in messenger, or you may cleanly
write your work on pieces of paper, take a photograph of it, and send them to me in messenger. Submit
your COMPLETE work. Piece-meal submissions shall not be acknowledged.
I. If you are submitting through direct message, please indicate your Last Name and Section as the
topmost line of your message. If submitting through file upload, use your Last name and Section as the
file name. If submitting through photographs, indicate your Last name and Section at the top of the first
page of your work.
J. The deadline will be on May 15, 2020.

------------------------------------------------QUESTIONS START HERE---------------------------------------------------

1. Cersei was a government official who won her position through fraud and lies. She loves expensive
branded shoes and always wears gold-plated sweatshirts in order to show to the public that she was
above them in social standing. One day, however, she was removed from her office due to allegations
of corruption. She knows within herself that the allegations are true.

Her government office was her primary source of livelihood, and now she had no other livelihood, she
resorted to stealing jewelry and snatching money in order to sustain her love for branded shoes.

At some point, she eventually felt depressed and unfulfilled with her life. Because of this, she ceased
from her acts of stealing and snatching, and instead, found a job as a restaurant waitress in order to
support herself. She moved into an apartment and brought with her the branded shoes she’d always
loved from the start. To atone for her sins, she devotes a significant amount of her salary as a waitress
to the poor by donating it to charity. This act of goodness leaves her with little for herself, to the extent
that she can only provide one meal for herself everyday.

Cersei still feels unfulfilled. So she decides to approach you, a buddhist Monk, and asks you to help her
remove this feeling of dissatisfaction. What course of action would you impose on Cersei based on the
doctrinal beliefs of Buddhism? State her supposed goal and how she would be able to reach it.
2. The school of Buddhism is generally divided into two; Theravada and Mahayana. Theravada Buddhists
believe that their goal in life is to become Arhats and achieve Nirvana alone through their own efforts.
Once they reach this point, there is no turning back, and once must ascend into this ultimate state of
existence. On the other hand, Mahayana Buddhists believe that even when they reach Nirvana, they
may opt not to ascend into the next existence because they may want to share their knowledge of
Nirvana to other people and ascend along with them.

The Tzu Chi Foundation is a Buddhist Organization, and their beliefs are reflected in the article entitled
“Tzu Chi’s Eight Footprints”, which was sourced from their website. Based on the said article, what
school of Buddhism does the Tzu CHi Foundation belong to, Theravada or Mahayana? Explain.

3. Tyler Rake was the President of Winona, a country found in the middle of the pacific ocean. This
country is so distant from other mainland countries that it hardly worries about external influences
against its form of governance. Hence, Winona has developed into a totalitarian state, where Tyler rake
is the Supreme president, and his will is to be followed by everyone. However, Tyler does not care
about his people, and he fails to enforce laws against murderers, rapists, and thieves. He is corrupt,
and uses the people for his own gain. He is the very definition of an evil President. However, Tyler
wasn’t always evil before, and Winona wasn’t the totalitarian state it is now.

Tyler came from a poor family and he grew up with humble and good-natured parents. But when his
father died in a car crash, his mother married another man. This new step-father was abusive to Tyler
and often beat him up and took his earnings as a window washer. Due to this, Tyler decided that one
day, he will be at the top, and it will be him who will abuse others. An eye for an eye, as he thought
against society.

The present actions of Tyler have led the people to become immoral. Everyone was a thief to each
other, there was lawless violence in the streets, murder was rampant and unacted, and Winona is
generally a horrible place to live in.

If you were a devout follower of Confucianism, how would you suggest saving the country of Winona,
drawing from Confucius’ Philosophy?

4. You are a Taoist Monk, and strictly devoted to the teachings of Lao Tzu. Arsene, a six-year old
approaches you and asks, “What is Taoism?”

In your own words, but based on what you’ve read, how would you explain Taoism in one sentence to a
six-year old boy? Your sentence must include the objective and method of achieving the said objective,
of Taoism. You do not need to explain your answer in this item.

5. Earlier in our class, we discussed the different classifications of religions according to their God/gods.
According to what you’ve read about Hinduism, classify this religion according to the existence of
God/gods, the number of God/gods, and the nature of God/gods. Explain your answer.