faith

Daring Steps: Traversing the Path of the Buddha

alicia — Tue, 07 Dec 2010 00:00:00 +0000

In his interview last summer with Jet Mort, Ringu Tulku—teacher, author, and Rinpoche—detailed the necessity of helping, healing, and harmony to grant meaning to otherwise meaningless lives. His book Daring Steps advances all three through its thorough and accessible description of the Buddhist path. The three vehicles—yanas—are described: Shravakayana (Theravada), Mahayana and Vajrayana, or tantra. The author emphasizes that the three are aspects of one entity at different levels, not separate. Many Western Buddhists omit the direction in the Shravakayana system, believing that knowledge of the Vajrayana is sufficient. Ringu Tulku gently disabuses novices of this notion with an amazing array of references to methods and instructions.

The characteristic of Daring Steps that I most appreciate is its consistent relevance to the reader’s life. Ringu Tulku alternates description of the Dharma with the essence of the Buddha’s enlightenment and contemporary anecdote. Shravakayana contains the foundation for all further studies: the Four Noble Truths are in the Theravada. The most simplified Western version of the Four Noble Truths tends to be written as follows:

"To live is to suffer.
Attachment brings suffering.
An end to suffering can be achieved.
There is a path to the cessation of suffering."

Shravakayana focuses on meditation and concentration, the eighth of the Eightfold Path. Its resulting emphasis on a monastic life renders it less attainable to the majority of the population, those who must live and work in the world. In the first century AD, individuals including the philosopher-monk Nagarjuna, Asanga, and Vasubandhu changed Buddhist practice to a more accessible version. This revised practice came to be called Mahayana, or “Greater Vehicle,” due to its capacity to reach a greater number of individuals in varying walks of life.

Vajrayana Buddhism is a more complicated system that formed over centuries of practice and contains many inconsistencies. A distinguishing characteristic of Vajrayana is ritual, which is utilized as a substitute for more challenging meditations. (If I have offended any readers who follow Vajrayana, I humbly beg their pardon and ask them to remember that I am a neophyte.)

Do not take this overview as an indication that Daring Steps is an esoteric history. Far from it—in example, here is a passage from Ringu Tulku’s direction regarding Right Thought: “We have to adopt the habit of being joyful. When we are very depressed and narrow, very sad, we cannot expect to become joyful just by wishfully thinking, ‘Now I am very sad, but something will happen.’ As if joy might fall from the sky.” Don’t wait for this book to fall from the sky: it is a highly recommended addition to the shelf of any library containing texts on meditation or world faiths.

Written by: Erika Mikkalo, December 6th 2010

Sins of the Mother

annette — Sat, 02 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0000

By Victoria Christopher Murray

Touchstone Books

Will we eventually be accountable for the decisions we made in the past? This is essentially the idea that Murray explores throughout her book Sins of the Mother. Through the use of multiple first-person narratives, Murray follows the actions and reactions of her characters after the young daughter of her protagonist and converted sinner, Jasmine Bush, is kidnapped.

I only realised half-way through reading the book that Sins of the Mother is the fifth instalment by Murray to follow Jasmine Larson Bush. Though I consider it a stand-alone book, and have not read any of her previous work, many of the references to Jasmine’s “sin-filled” past, without much follow-up substantiating these references, led me to believe that there were earlier instalments.

Sins of the Mother explores the struggle of faith that Jasmine Larson Bush and her family encounter upon the abduction of her young daughter. Primarily a Christian book, Murray’s characters have their faith, their relationship with God and with each other, put to the test as they search relentlessly and almost hopelessly for Jacqueline. As this book is a continuation of Jasmine’s life, it is predominantly a story of her spiritual development.

I found this book gripping, and quite a page-turner in its suspense, and the strength of the characters born out of their faith, quite admirable. However, I found a lot more aspects of the book frustrating and lacking. One of the most notable aspects of this book is its reference to an African-American, Christian community in New York City. Jasmine is the wife of the pastor of one of the largest churches, and because of this status has the respect and awe of her community. It was frustrating that there were multiple references to money, opulent lifestyles and spending habits, and importance put on status in the community as opposed to character development. Jasmine came off as a fickle woman, who thrived in her role as the wife of an important pastor and the mother of his children. Jasmine’s success was that she was the wife of someone important. Her character was shallow and after the abduction of her daughter, the stereotype of the neurotic damsel in distress who depends on the comfort and strength of men to console her.

Murray writes this book from several character perspectives, allowing for the “development” of several characters whose lives are intertwined and immediately impacted by Jacqueline’s abduction. However, the characters weren’t very complex, their reactions to their circumstances predictable and their roles stereotypical, and I found the multiple first-person narratives made the story drag on for much longer than it needed to. The emphasis on a glitz and glamour lifestyle as adding value to one’s life, particularly for up and coming Christians, limited character development, and the incessant references to sex, money and the status that comes with having it, is the biggest shortcoming of this book. Women in this book are mothers, partners and wives. Other than the character Alexis, who tries to exert her autonomy, but to little avail, women are as strong as the men who support them, and their identities thusly defined.

Written by: Toni Francis, October 1st 2010

Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 08:00:00 +0000

By Gregory Boyle

Free Press

At times, I could almost hear my heart breaking as I read Tattoos on the Heart by Father Gregory Boyle, a Jesuit priest who works with hardened gang members in Los Angeles and assists with reintegrating them back into society through his organization Homeboy Industries. Boyle founded Homeboy Industries to provide encouragement and support in the form of jobs and vocational training to former gang members who have expressed a desire to rehabilitate themselves.

Not only did my heart break more than once while reading Tattoos on the Heart, I found myself inspired by Boyle’s recounting of his experiences during the past twenty years in the barrios of East L.A. What kept this book from being flat out disheartening in terms of the obstacles that Boyle and the gang members are up against (Boyle has officiated at the funerals of hundreds of children, adolescents, and adults over the years as a result of gang violence) is Boyle’s sense of humor and faith that glimmers in the stories that he tells. His stories reminded me of homilies strung together to create a beautiful testimony to faith and humanity amongst tragedy and despair.

Boyle is also well schooled in the street language of his homies, which adds even more reality and credibility to his retelling of events. This is a priest who used to ride around on his bike to some of the most dangerous parts of L.A. at all times of the day or night to tend to his flock. Boyle doesn’t share these stories as a means to laud his bravery or piety, but to tell the stories of lost generations of individuals who find themselves in a seemingly unbroken cycle of violence, and to remind us of their humanity. Many of these former gang members were abused by parents or left to raise themselves with no resources or role models. Boyle writes of taking some of his homies to a sit down restaurant for the first time and how these normal day-to-day experiences that we take for granted are as foreign to them as riding a spaceship. Boyle also tells of the death threats he has received as a result of his work from people who don’t believe gang members can or should be rehabilitated.

According to the text, there are:

1,100 gangs encompassing 85,000 members in Los Angeles County, and Boyle Heights had the highest concentration of gang activity in the city. Since Father Greg—also known affectionately as G-dog—started Homeboy Industries more than twenty years ago, it has served members of more than half the gangs in Los Angeles.

I laughed and cried while reading this book. Boyle has a master’s degree in English and has received numerous awards, including the California Peace Prize. He sprinkles quotes of famous spiritual leaders of all faiths throughout his text, including Mother Theresa and Thich Nhat Hanh, the Buddhist monk, poet and peace activist. While I found this book painful to read at times, I also found it to be transformative.

Written by: Gita Tewari, July 16th 2010

Fish Out of Water

admin — Sat, 26 Jun 2010 00:01:00 +0000

Directed by Ky Dickens

First Run Features

In Fish Out of Water, Ky Dickens recalls her effort to reconcile her devout, Christian faith with her homosexuality. She claims she feels like a “fish out of water,” because, after coming out during her senior year of college at Vanderbilt, she was ostracized from her academic community, but, at the same time, didn’t quit feel an affinity to the gay community at large. To remedy this intense feeling of conflict within her self, Dickens set out to study the Christian scriptures, mostly by traveling the country to consult leaders of the Christian faith. What she discovered during her journey was that many people lean blindly on the Bible—believing, for instance, that the Bible ordains that homosexuality is a sin, but, for the most part, these same people have very little idea about what actually is written in the Bible.

Therefore, Dickens’s objective in the documentary is to examine, through a series of interviews with key Christian leaders, the seven verses (of over 6,000 total) that are cited as the key verses used to buttress Christians’ condemnation of homosexuality and, specifically, same-sex marriage. Especially revelatory are the four verses analyzed from the Old Testament (the final three are from the New Testament scriptures written by Paul in Romans, 1 Timothy, and 1 Corinthians). In the creation story that begins Genesis, biblical scholars discuss how God created Eve as the “fit helper”—ezer kenegdo, a “corresponding helper”—for “Adam” (meaning human of no gender). Eve was not created as his servant or slave, but as a life companion, in which Adam can find strength to live life to the fullest. Not only does this explication turn misogynist interpretations of the Bible their heads, but it also works to clarify that the primary function of this creative coupling was to not “be fruitful and multiply,” but to live harmoniously. Eve was not meant to be the vessel for man’s reproduction, neither does this injunction to “be fruitful and multiply” connote that sexual relations, of whichever sort, that do not seek to reproduce are “unnatural.”

Another fascinating discussion focuses on the Sodom and Gomorrah story, which is cited by the ignorant masses as proof that homosexuality is “unnatural” and that “sodomites” will be subject to the wrath of God. The moral underlying the tale is not about the unnaturalness of homosexuality, but the consequences of failing to provide hospitality to strangers. Lot offers two strangers shelter for the night, to the dismay of the local villagers, who turn violent from what appears to be sheer boredom. They want to “know” (ie, rape) the two strangers, who turn out to be angels—and these angels unleash their fury upon the villagers, while allowing Lot and his family (his wife, who turns to salt, and his two daughters) to flee the village before it is destroyed. The two daughters, eager to create their own tribe, decide to get their father drunk and then rape him in order to procreate to begin their own tribe. Via analysis of this story, it becomes apparent how irrelevant and ineffective this verse is in a bigot’s arsenal against homosexuality—because it has nothing to do with same-sex relationships or marriage.

Overall, Dickens offers us a more satisfying take on the conflict between the Christian faith and homosexuality than other pieces, especially the tepid For The Bible Tells Me So, which had little substance in relation to is political bite. The focus on exegesis rather than politics renders the documentary a much stronger weapon against blind faith and bigotry. Fish Out of Water is a heartfelt but serious film for those who, like Dickens, long to ease the conflict between their religion and their sexuality. As well, it could prove a quite powerful tool if utilized in pedagogical settings, to dispel misconceptions of scripture in society.

Written by: Marcie Bianco, June 25th 2010

Aquila

admin — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 00:00:00 +0000

Edited by Jelte ten Holt

For those familiar with women’s “lifestyle” magazines, the call to be “sexy” in some way or another is not new. We women need to have “sexy” everything: attitude, legs, skin, armpits, you name it. So pervasive is this message that I’m surprised that no one has spontaneously combusted from sexual arousal at the sight of a women’s magazine devotee. And then we have the new Aquila magazine, whose key buzzwords are modesty and fabulousness.

As the “world’s first English fashion and lifestyle magazine for cosmopolitan Muslim women in Asia” that is based in Singapore, Aquila serves up the standard menu of any glossy: tips on make-up, shopping, book and film reviews, and some lightweight advice on career-building.

Aimed at readers from Malaysia, Indonesia, and Singapore, modesty and fabulousness are far from alien concepts: Muslim women of all ages, hijabis in particular, in Southeast Asia are intensely responsive to new faith-based sartorial trends, perhaps more so than women who do not cover their hair.

That said, Islamic consumerism, as cynical as it sounds, is a fairly new phenomenon in which women in the region form an active role. Aquila is an obvious byproduct of the purchasing power of Muslim women in Southeast Asia, but whether or not it aims to be representative of its target audience is quite another matter. So let us explore this issue by breaking it down to three parts, based on how well it’s doing for its intended readers thus far:

The good: The one thing I can generously say about Aquila is that there seems to be an intention that it offers something for everybody: from articles on face creams to an as yet developed page on “science,” which I hope will be a more informative take on scientific breakthroughs, instead of the science of eye creams and hair serum.

The bad: The beating heart of any self-respecting popular publication is the opinion piece. Often brief and pseudo-philosophical, the op-ed is, for me, what makes fashion magazines human and less banal. But that was what I thought before I came across the first opinion piece on Aquila. Entitled “Leap of Faith,” it reveals the thoughts of a Muslim man whose moral dilemma about his daughter dating a non-Muslim seems to completely eclipse his social drinking habits, at his favorite drinking hole no less! The piece ended on a cryptic note that suggested a sense hypocrisy that plagues the urban, middle-class and the selectively liberal Muslim communities in Southeast Asia, but lacked any insight or depth in what is a serious issue that very much concerns the intended reader.

The could-be-better: Though brand-spanking-new with the impressive accolade of being a kind of landmark magazine for Southeast Asian Muslim women, Aquila looks more like a half-built project with little pizazz. The graphics leave plenty to be desired, but then that wouldn’t be such an issue if it had more substantial content. I get the feeling that Aquila isn’t really targeted at parents, as it lists “kids” as a “lifestyle” issue that sits at the bottom of the drop down list. But I shouldn’t really be asking for the moon here, as most fashion and beauty magazines rarely figure parenthood as a particularly “trendy” subject.

In sum, Aquila is far from divinely inspired. It is a bland derivative of many beaten dead horses called women’s fashion magazines, except with less exposed flesh. It reminds me why I’ve stopped reading such things for good. I’m also not entirely convinced that it is trying hard to be representative of the young, upwardly mobile Muslim women who are taking Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia by storm. If the magazine’s not so modest vision of being “the world’s most trusted authority on the intelligence of affluent Muslims” is anything to go by, I would suggest Asian Muslim women to read elsewhere for fabulous inspiration.

Written by: Alicia Izharuddin, June 2nd 2010

Louder Than Words: Emily

admin — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 09:00:00 +0000

By Emily Smucker

HCI Teens

There were two things that drew me to this book. Firstly, the title is Emily and, hey, that’s my name, too! Secondly, and more importantly, the story revolves around a young girl called Emily whose life is plagued by physical illnesses, which she endearingly calls “Emily flu.” Could this book possibly be written about me?

Alas, whilst I just suffer from chronic hypochondria, literary Emily has a genuine disease; the rare and incurable West Nile Virus. But even if your name isn’t Emily, and even if you’re fit and healthy, chances are you’ll be able to draw something positive from this tale.

Emily is a true story, an autobiography of one teenage girl and what it’s like when you’re forced to take a back seat in life. From school work to holidays, Emily is dealt a harsh hand. Drawing on her Mennonite faith, Emily uses her religion as a crutch to help her deal with the roller coaster of emotions that comes with her illness. Zapped of energy and plagued with dizzy spells, every day life is a nightmare for Emily, who yearns for the things we take for granted and often complain about, such as the ability to attend school and have achy legs from an arduous day at work. Written in diary form with short entries, Emily is the perfect book to dip into if you’re not an avid reader, although it can, at times, be void of much storyline and substance, so it may not be to everyone’s taste.

Emily’s enduring spirit and sense of determination displays a strong, focused view of the female gender. A quirky read—at times focusing on the monotonous activities of daily life, reflecting Emily’s isolation and confinement, which will make you think twice before moaning about your busy work schedule.

Written by: Emily Ray, December 29th 2009