12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 7: Dogen Zenji, the

Question

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Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included  the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji.

(A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included
(B) Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery, which included
(C) Dogen Zenji, who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery, conducted rituals including
(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included
(E) In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

Experts' Global Official Explanation:

Meaning + Modifiers + Tenses + Verb Forms + Grammatical Construction

Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, Dogen Zenji, conducted rituals in his monastery, and these rituals included the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji.

• A comma cannot join two independent clauses; such usage leads to the error of comma splice; to correct this error, the comma must be replaced with semicolon or comma followed by a conjunction such as and, but etc. 
• “who/whose/whom/which/where”, when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past.

A. This answer choice incorrectly uses a comma to join the independent clauses “Dogen Zenji… conducted rituals in his monastery” and “they included the participation of both monks and laymen…”; please remember, a comma cannot join two independent clauses; such usage leads to the error of comma splice; to correct this error, the comma must be replaced with a semicolon or a comma followed by a conjunction such as and, but etc.

B. This answer choice incorrectly modifies “monastery” by using “which included…”, incorrectly implying that the monastery included the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, Dogen Zenji, conducted rituals in his monastery, and these rituals included the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji; please remember, who/whose/whom/which/where when preceded by a comma, refer to the noun just before the comma.

C. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that Dogen Zenji was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, within his monastery; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, Dogen Zenji, conducted rituals in his monastery, and these rituals included the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the present participle (“verb+ing” - “including” in this sentence) to refer to an event that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past.

D. Trap. This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase “in his monastery that included”; the construction of this phrase incorrectly implies that Dogen Zenji’s monastery included the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji; the intended meaning of this sentence is that the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, Dogen Zenji, conducted rituals in his monastery, and these rituals included the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji.

E. Correct.  This answer choice correctly uses “in his monastery” to modify “Dogen Zenji” and correctly uses “that included…” to modify “rituals”, conveying the intended meaning of the sentence- that the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, Dogen Zenji, conducted rituals in his monastery, and these rituals included the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji. Further, Option E avoids the tense error seen in Option C, as it correctly uses the past participle (“included” in this sentence”) to refer to an action that concluded in the past.

E is the best answer choice.

____________________________
  Video Explanation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpnfmJEQ3W8

ANUSHKATYAGII · Answer

(A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included -  They - wrong 
(B) Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery, which included -  which too far from rituals, modifying monastery 
(C) Dogen Zenji, who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery, conducted rituals including -  change of meaning - he conducted other rituals apart from these 
(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included - that wrongly modifies monastery
(E) In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included -  BEST CHOICE

Shwetamed · Answer

E.
that included correctly modifies rituals

A. 'they included' is wrong.
B Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji' is wrong
C. wrongly implies that he was the founder only in his monastery
D. 'that included' wrongly modifies monastery rather than rituals

GmatTest2026 · Answer

Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included  the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji.

(A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included Incorrect 
(B) Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery, which included Incorrect 
(C) Dogen Zenji, who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery, conducted rituals including Incorrect 
(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included Correct 
(E) In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included Incorrect

Schinchan_bh · Answer

(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included

This option provides a clear and grammatically correct structure. It appropriately uses "that included" to introduce the list of rituals, making the sentence easy to read and understand.

arpan7 · Answer

A: two independent clauses joned with comma -> incorrect
B:  in  Dogen Zenji -> incorrect
C:  rituals including  -> means apart from the rituals these were also added -> incorrect
D: Ambiguous, not clear whether monastery included those or the rituals
E: Correct

vishal_gupta · Answer

Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included  the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji.

(A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included (they included is not correct usage to modify rituals. With this usage this clause become independent clause and thus require conjunction to join two parts)
(B) Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery, which included (Dogen Zenji is used as the name of a person and not a place)
(C) Dogen Zenji, who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery, conducted rituals including (in his monastery is incorrecly placed, the rituals are performed in his monastery which should be outside commas) 
 (D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included (Correct. Everything is correct here, modifiers modify its intended part) 
 (E) In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included (In his monastery is incorrectly placed at the starting of sentence.)

sj296 · Answer

The sentence is conveying:
dogen Zenji 
who was the founder of the Soto School of Zen buddhism
Conducted rituals that included......

rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji's monastery.

(A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery,  they  included............ antecedent is not clear. pronoun error

(B)  Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji , the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s  monastery, which  included...................rituals were conducted in the monastery. meaning distorted here.

(C) Dogen Zenji, who was the founder of the Sōtō school of  Zen Buddhism in his monastery , conducted rituals including............meaning change. Ritual were conducted in monastery

(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his  monastery that  included............that seemed to be modifying monastery.

(E)  In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included ...............looks fine.

IMO OA should be E

DongTan · Answer

(A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included.
This option suffers from a lack of clarity. The pronoun "they" is ambiguous and does not clearly refer to the rituals.

(B) Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery, which included.
This option has an unclear sentence structure. It suggests that the rituals were conducted in the monastery, but it is not clear who conducted them.

(C) Dogen Zenji, who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery, conducted rituals including.
This option has an awkward sentence structure. The phrase "who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery" disrupts the flow of the sentence and is not necessary for conveying the intended meaning.

(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included.
This option is the most suitable choice. It introduces Dogen Zenji as the subject and provides necessary information about him being the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism. The phrase "conducted rituals in his monastery that included" effectively conveys the actions performed by Dogen Zenji.

(E) In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included.
This option is fairly similar to option (D), but the placement of the introductory phrase "In his monastery" can create ambiguity. It may suggest that the monastery itself conducted the rituals, rather than Dogen Zenji.

In summary, option (D) provides a clear and concise sentence structure that accurately conveys the intended meaning without introducing unnecessary information or ambiguity.

Archit3110 · Answer

2/3 split 
they , which and included usage is wrong in option A , B & C 
( A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery,  they  included  ; usage of they is wrong 
 (B) Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery,   which  included ; s-v issue 
 (C) Dogen Zenji, who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery, conducted rituals including  -ing verb issue

(E) In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included  usage of his leads to pronoun error , and meaning issue

(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included

option D is correct

SushantPaudel · Answer

Let's check each option:

(A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included

- This option has a pronoun ambiguity issue. "They" could refer to either "rituals" or "his monastery."

(B) Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery, which included

- This option creates a passive construction that is less direct and clear. Also, there is a misplaced modifier; it suggests that rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji.

(C) Dogen Zenji, who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery, conducted rituals including

- This option introduces an unnecessary phrase "in his monastery" and uses the present participle "including," which changes the meaning slightly.

(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included

- This option provides a clear and concise construction. It correctly uses "that" to introduce the modifier.

(E) In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included

- The phrase "In his monastery" doesn't add essential information to the sentence and can be omitted without changing the meaning.

Option (D) is the correct choice.

bv8562 · Answer

Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included  the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji.

(A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included -  Two independent clauses must be joined by a comma and a FANBOYS conjunction 
(B) Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery, which included -  Meaning error: Rituals were NOT conducted in Dogen Zenji, but in the monastery 
(C) Dogen Zenji, who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery, conducted rituals including -  Usage of simple past in "who was the founder" is incorrect. Dogen Zenji is still the founder. 
(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included -  "that" must modify rituals and not monastery. 
(E)  In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included

pooh.2304 · Answer

(E) In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included

This option provides clear and grammatically correct phrasing, maintaining proper subject-verb agreement and clarity in expressing the idea.

limuengaoey · Answer

(A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included --> which they refer to --> wrong
(B) Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery, which included --> which modify monastery. Hence, wrong
(C) Dogen Zenji, who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery, conducted rituals including-> who was is so redundant --> wrong
(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included --> that modify monastery then wrong.
(E) In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included --> concise hence choose E

anubhuti9 · Answer

(A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery,  they  included ==> Wrong due to they pronoun
(B)  Rituals were conducted  in Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery, which included ==>wrong meaning
(C) Dogen Zenji , who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery , conducted rituals including ===> too wordy
(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included
==> correct
(E)  In his monastery,  Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included ==> Improper use of modifier
Correct choice D

brp616 · Answer

Answer is D

A - this is a run on sentence with the use of 'they included,' which does not tie back to the prior sentence or start a new one

B - 'rituals were conducted' - passive voice, immediate no

C - 'who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery' makes it sound like he founded using the bhuddism in his monastery instead of founding as a whole

D - sentence makes sense, 'that included' connects clauses nicely, this is the one

E - Too many commas/split clauses, we can do better with answer D

$!vakumar.m · Answer

Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji.

(A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included - is incorrect because it uses a comma to connect two independent clauses, which is a comma splice error.

(B) Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery, which included - is incorrect because option B suggests that the rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji himself, rather than in his monastery.
(C) Dogen Zenji, who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery, conducted rituals including - is incorrect because option C suggests that Dogen Zenji founded the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery, rather than being the founder of the school who conducted rituals in his monastery.

(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included - uses the correct relative pronoun "that" to introduce the dependent clause, providing essential information about the rituals. Correct.
(E) In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included - less clear and concise than option D. 
Answer D

nivivacious · Answer

(A) Incorrect: This is a run on sentence. The comma should be replaced with a semicolon or a period or the sentence should be restructured.
(B) Incorrect: It suggests that the rituals were conducted inside Dogen Zenji himself which does not make sense. The phrase "Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery" is awkward and confusing.
(C) Incorrect: It suggests that Dogen Zenji was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery which is not the intended meaning. The phrase "in his monastery" should be associated with "conducted rituals" not "the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism."
(D) Correct: This is grammatically correct
(E) Incorrect: While this is grammatically correct, Option D is preferable to this.

Hence D

jaysea · Answer

Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included the participation of both monks and laymen, the practicing of zazen meditation, and the veneration of the metaphysical concepts of Bussho and Uji.

(A) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery, they included - disjointed sentence structure
(B) Rituals were conducted in Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism’s monastery, which included - makes it sound as if the rituals were conducted in the person instead of the monastery
(C) Dogen Zenji, who was the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism in his monastery, conducted rituals including - in his monastery should come after the comma
(D) Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals in his monastery that included - choose D
(E) In his monastery, Dogen Zenji, the founder of the Sōtō school of Zen Buddhism, conducted rituals that included - excessive comma usage

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12 Days of Christmas GMAT Competition - Day 7: Dogen Zenji, the

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615 to 715 in 15 Days (Ria's Strategies)

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My Rewards