Growing up in Hong Kong, Noel, was raised as a Buddhist by her parents. They were not strict buddhists, but instead took in a few aspects in which they believed was necessary to live a meaningful life and called themselves Buddhist. The way in which her family practiced buddhism involved the adoption of certain beliefs from the buddhist religion such as karma and reincarnation that they felt were necessary to them.
"Karma is the law of moral causation. The theory of Karma is a fundamental doctrine in Buddhism. This belief was prevalent in India before the advent of the Buddha. Nevertheless, it was the Buddha who explained and formulated this doctrine in the complete form in which we have it today" (Sayadaw). Karma is the idea of "what comes around goes around." It is a cause and effect cycle that promotes the doing of good deeds and being good to others, and good things will happen in return. Noel grew up with this ideal strongly instilled in her, and still believes exemplifies it today. She believes in always being kind to others, no matter how unpleasant another is acting towards her. She possesses a strong belief in always doing the right thing. The belief in karma is not an ideal that has diminished in Noel's life, but has only grown stronger in order to live by a creed of moral righteousness. "Karma is a Sanskrit word from the root "Kri" to do or to make and simply means "action." It operates in the universe as the continuous chain reaction of cause and effect. It is not only confined to causation in the physical sense but also it has moral implications. "A good cause, a good effect; a bad cause a bad effect" is a common saying. In this sense karma is a moral law" (Tsuji).
Another belief, Noel has adopted from the Buddhist religion is the idea of reincarnation or rebirth. "Buddhists hold that the retributive process of karma can span more than one lifetime. Rebirth has always been an important tenet in Buddhism; and it is often referred to as walking the wheel of life (Samsara). It is the process of being born over and over again in different times and different situations, possibly for many thousand times" (Karma and Rebirth). It is believed that if one exemplifies good karma, they will be re-born into a good life, and those who portray bad karma will either be re-born into a bad life or not be re-born at all. Noel believes that by being a morally righteous person and maintaining good karma in her life, she will be re-born into another life after this one.
As far as Buddhist practices go, Noel and her family did not consistently follow the Buddhist practices. In Hong Kong, when she was growing up, her parents would take their family to the Buddhist temple every once in a while to pray, and light incense. "Incense symbolises the fragrance of pure moral conduct and reminds us to cultivate good conduct" (Incense Mediation). Once Noel had moved to American with her family around the time she was beginning middle school, the attendance of Buddhist temples had ceased. This was a result of moving to Tucson, AZ which was a new environment and country in which they did not have a Buddhist temple at the time. To this day, Noel still does not attend Buddhist temples.
Incense Burning at a Buddhist Temple
Image from: http://easywebsite.net/Vietnam.html
Nowadays, Noel still upholds the strong belief in karma and rebirth and has instilled the idea of karma in her children, but allows her children the freedom of having their own beliefs and following their own religious ideals and practices. My family is not very religious and is not a part of any one specific religion but does posses ideals paralleling those in various religions.
Sources:
"Incense Meditation." Buddhist Studies. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhism/meditate/incense.htm (accessed August 9, 2013).
"Karma and Rebirth." The Big View. http://www.thebigview.com/buddhism/karma.html (accessed August 9, 2013).
Sayadaw, Ven. Mahasi. "The Theory of Karma." Buddhist Studies. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/karma.htm (accessed August 9, 2013).
Tsuji, Takashi. "On Reincarnation." Buddhist Studies. http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/reincarnation.htm (accessed August 9, 2013).
In a sense Noel's situation can be compared to what we learned about the Jewish culture. We learned that to be Jewish is not to follow a strict faith requirement. However, these individuals learn certain ideals from a young age which become a part of their every day life. Judaism becomes more than just a religion but rather an entire culture. It seems that Noel does not strictly follow Buddhism but has still held onto certain ideals. The ideas of karma and reincarnation have become a part of his every day life. Growing up in Hong Kong changed who he is forever. As you noted, when Noel reached Arizona he found no temple to practice his faith. This is because buddhism does not play a prominent role in Arizona's culture. Religion does not always have to be seen as an extraordinary faith where one's life on earth determines their eternity. Religion can be seen as a code or a way to live one's life morally. Noel is a perfect example of a cultured individual who does not follow a faith strictly but still practices certain ideals from a faith.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who has mostly been exposed to the ideas of Christian religion growing up it was especially interesting and fascinating for me to read about the tenets of the Buddhist religion and the idea of rebirth and karma. I don’t identify with any specific religion personally and always love learning about how others approach the world so thank you for allowing me to do that through Noel’s story. I especially found the part about how Noel borrows Buddhist beliefs but doesn’t practice strict Buddhism especially relatable because I feel that is how I approach religion personally. Also I really like the image in your post about the “Lesson of Time”, I found it’s explanation of time and the life cycle very enjoyable to read.
ReplyDelete