Thursday, May 14, 2009

Homework - World Religion

1. How do you greet people in your life?
There are various ways I greet people in my life. Sometimes I just say, "Hello" or "Good morning", or other times I wave, shake hands, or hug.

2. Is it different for different people? How so and why?
Greeting are definitely different for different people. When I am here at HJU, I usually greet people by saying, "Hello", waving, or sometimes bowing slightly. When I greet my good friends, we usually hug or shake hands. Depending on my relationship with the person and depending on the situation, greetings are different.

3. Do you touch people when you talk to them? Why? Or Why not?
I generally do not touch people when I talk to them. Depending on my relationship with the person I am talking to or the subject, I may make physical contact while talking. For example, if I am talking to a good friend and they are feeling sad or crying, I may try to comfort them by hugging them.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

Homework - Buddhism

I had a difficult time thinking of ways my life was affected by Buddhism because I do not know much about it. Here are five things that I thought of.

1. Since I was a child, my family always says "itadakimasu" before eating. I am still not sure what the meaning of it is. My parents and grandparents taught me to say it so it is just a habit for me.

2. In my home, my family has a "hotokesama". Whenever my mother cooks rice or gets fresh fruit, we put it in the hotokesama. It is for my sister.

3. When I was younger, my mother told me to never stick my chopsticks straight up into my rice bowl. She said that this is the way the rice is presented at funerals.

4. This does not affect my everyday life but my family has memorial services for my grandfather. The services are held after one year, three years, seven years, etc.

5. Lastly, when I lived in Hawaii, every new year, my family and I would go to a Buddhism temple for the new year service.