Descriptive Essay : Buddha Sits On Top Of Your Living Room Bookshelf Watching Everything

“We gave birth alone, in an apple orchard in Sebastopol, after searching for firewood one usually warm Autumn morning high up in the hills. I cut her navel string with my knife and carried her home in my arms” (Otsuka 55). This is one example of how hard-working and dedicated to their new lives in America the Japanese women were in Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka. They always powered through to the next thing that needed to be done, no matter what or how they felt. Gaman is a Zen Buddhist term from Japanese meaning “to endure with fortitude patience and tolerance”, which is exactly how those women lived their lives. Different cultural values explain why the Japanese women in the novel have different attitudes and behaviors compared to American

I was always fascinated in the Buddhist religion and this class assignment was a great opportunity for me to take advantage of my curiosity. I decided I would visit a Buddhist center. With the company of my mother, I went to the Diamond Way Buddhist Center in Miami. According to my interview with the Buddhist that instructed the meditation service, every Monday and Friday they have a meditation service for the 16th Karmapa meditation from 8:00pm to 8:30pm. This center is part of the Karma Kagyu lineage of Tibetan Buddhism (Anonymous). Upon arriving, I realized that it was in someone’s home. Many Buddhist offer their homes for Buddhist centers and are unpaid for their services. However, they do accept donations. Before entering the house,

Support 1: Thai people will always participate activity in-group. For example, Thais always get together to making merit at the temple. They are always raise money to build Buddha

Meditation is very difficult to describe and can only truly be explained once experienced. It is the practice of mental concentration leading ultimately through a sequence of stages to the final goal of spiritual freedom, nirvana. The purpose of Buddhist meditation is to free ourselves from the delusion and thereby put an end to both ignorance and craving. The Buddhists describe the culminating trance-like state as transient; final Nirvana requires the insight of wisdom. The exercises that are meant to develop wisdom involve meditation on the true nature of reality or the conditioned and unconditioned elements that make up all phenomena. The goal of meditation is to develop a concept in the mind.

The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka provides an interesting perspective to the American experience through the eye of Japanese women around the time of World War 2. The author uses a number of unique writing techniques which originally confused me, but once accustomed created an immersive and intimate reading experience. Otsuka also inserts a number of metaphors and symbols throughout the novel with various possibilities for explanation depending on the opinion of the reader.

The novel, Buddha in the Attic, by Julie Otsuka tells the story of a group of Japanese picture brides and their life in San Francisco leading up to World War II and the Japanese Internment. While describing the women’s lives leading up to internment, Otsuka makes it apparent that there is a lack of reliable information provided about what is happening. In Lloyd Chiasson’s article, Japanese-American Relocation During World War II: A Study of California Editorial Reactions, three California newspapers’ editorials from 1941 and 1942 are analyzed and reveal a bias towards Japanese-Americans. When compared to Otsuka’s novel, Chiasson’s article reveals that the belittling of the Japanese community

Buddhism is a religion that focuses more on the individual and the actions of that individual, which was prevalent to me when I made my way into Portland and set foot in a Buddhist temple. The man I met within the walls of this temple was far from my stereotypical thoughts of Buddhist monks. The man I met looked like your plain old, average Joe, American man. Before I delve into the depths of my visit to this inspiring place, I need to sum up the Buddhist religion and why I chose to study this particular group of people.

My dad was an expert at finding things on maps. Without him I would probably still be looking for it. Adjusting to the sixteen hour time change took up the other half of the day. A heavy rain poured down the whole day, so it was great day to bunker down in the hostel. Day two is when the real fun began. We started our morning with Dim Sum at the most popular restaurant in Hong Kong. With no clue how to order anything we just pointed at items that looked delicious. According Wei, many restaurants have a set menus now and pointing at dishes that roll past you on the cart is a dying tradition (144). Some dishes definitely looked better than they tasted. Lucky for me anything I didn’t like my dad would vacuum up. My dad and I laughed the whole time of my improper way of using chopsticks. In my case I called them stab sticks. I guess our waitress got tired of watching me fail, so she brought me a plastic fork. I wish I knew how to thank her. Wei also explains in her book that you must learn how to use chopsticks as fast as you can. “Restaurants will provide you with a knife and a fork but, unless you suffer from arthritis, it is difficult to explain why a Hong Kong resident cannot handle chopsticks.” (139).Wei and my dad both compared using chopsticks to riding a bike. Once I learned it I will have learned it for life. My dad kept trying to persuade me to try the chicken feet. He finally won me over by saying “when will you ever eat

But I have learned to forgive and accept. I now grow on the seeds of my scars. I build gateways over boundaries, so language barriers and fear may not inhibit me. I channel resilience over intoxicating delusions, so I will persevere rather than hide. I avoided my grandparents with fear of misspeaking. Fear of embarrassment. I valued my dignity above all and neglected my family and culture. I now learn Cantonese and dance in Chinese club because my culture is beautiful. My heritage is my identity. My pride. I will embrace it shamelessly. Loss is inevitable, so I cherish, love, and hold dear the people in my life. So I speak, mistakes and all. Nothing is more crucial than communication, for anything is better than holding back and regretting. I seek deeply for memories, nurturing little details, like when we shared marmalade, or when we played his untuned piano, or when she let me water plastic houseplants, or when I spent hours handwriting Chinese characters I didn’t even understand for their Christmas card. I have gone from giving nothing to giving everything I can. I am nuoh nuoh–the most endearing name I could have ever asked for. Anyone can be a typical character, but who can be fat jelly? Jelly is sweet, comforting, and plump with love. It is original, bubbly, and flexible. It is

As a piece of ethnography, the work is competent, but draws little attention to the classic anthropological methodology of participant observation, characterized by long-term engagement with local cultural practices. Instead the claims made are gathered through an analysis of publications and dialogues within the Thailand Buddhist community, mostly centered on a

I was born in Hong Kong and moved alone to Taiwan to live with my grandmother when I was 12. I struggled to learn the language, Mandarin, and to live and learn alongside children from a very different culture. I was like some alien from outer space in Taiwan – generating stares but not acceptance. However, by being open minded about both my potential and the potential of this little island, I succeeded in adapting. I spoke back to the television set to practice Mandarin; I read books and watched videos to learn Taiwan's culture, history, and literature; and I helped my fellow classmates in our

Buddhism      For over 2000 years Buddhism has existed as an organized religion. By religion we mean that it has a concept of the profane, the sacred, and approaches to the sacred. It has been established in India, China, Japan and other eastern cultures for almost 2000 years and has gained a strong foothold in North America and Europe in the past few centuries. However, one might ask; what fate would Buddhism face had Siddartha Guatama been born in modern times; or more specifically in modern day North America? Would his new found enlightenment be accepted now as it was thousands of years ago?

Buddha was born Siddhartha Gautama in Lumbini, Nepal during the 4th to 6th century B.C. He was born to the King Sakya Sudhodana, who ruled at Kapilavastu in Ancient India, and Queen Maya. After seven days of giving birth to Siddhartha his mother died however, a holy man was to have said that one of two great things would come of the newborn; he would grow up to become a great king or military leader or he would be a great spiritual leader. After the passing of his mother, Buddha grew up in a rich household and lived an extravagant life. According to their beliefs, he married at the age of sixteen to a girl named Yasodhara, which they had a child together. During this time, his father had ordered that he were to live a life of isolation in

that of a river. If you've seen a river you'd have seen that "the water continually flowed

Buddhism arose in northern India in the 6th century BCE. The historical founder of Buddhism, Siddharta Gautama (c.560-480 BCE) was born in a village called Lumbini into a warrior tribe called the Sakyas (from where he derived the title Sakyamuni, meaning 'Sage of the Sakyas'). According to tradition Gautama's father, Suddhodana was the king of a small principality based on the town of Kapilavastu. His mother, Queen Maya, died seven days after Gautama's birth. Following the death of Maya, Suddhodana married Maya's sister, Prajapati, by whom Gautama was brought up in great luxury and sheltered from the harshness of the outside world.