The Spread of Buddhism

Buddhism is a big topic in Holcome’s book.  It was the world’s first great missionary religion.  The main ideal of Buddhism is to reach nirvana.  Buddha identified The Four Noble Truths in his first sermon in India:

• Life if suffering
• The cause of our sufferings is our attachment to certain things in this world
• The way to end our suffering is to break those attachments and desires
• Follow the Eightfold Path to proper living in order to break our attachments and end our suffering

If one follows these truths closely, they will reach nirvana.  Many Chinese were skeptical of following the Buddhist ways because they were not sure what would happen after they reach nirvana.  It was known, although not to all, that once one reaches nirvana and ultimately dies, they come back in another peaceful life.  Also, people already contained the Buddhist Nature within themselves.  All they have to do is to be awakened to it, and they will live a peaceful life and afterlife.  These Noble Truths were not closely followed in Chinese Buddhism.  From China, Buddhism spread to Japan and the rest of East Asia.

I feel that one has to be completely involved in the Buddhist ways in order to get anything out of it, but Buddhism is also said to have a negative view of the world and is more a philosophy than a religion.  Although I do not practice Buddhism or any religion that is like it, I enjoyed reading and learning about Buddhism from Holcome and my classmates, and I hope to learn deeper into the subject.

Nausicaa, Daughter of the Windriders

I read the first volume of a Japanese comic, Nausicca of the Valley of the Wind I, for my East Asian Studies class.  At first, it was hard to get in to, and it started out very slowly with Nausicaa exploring the forest and coming upon an ohmu skin.  It wasn’t until later that I found out what an ohmu was, and it wasn’t until the end of the first volume that I found out its purpose.

The land was polluted and destroyed by the industrial civilizations and the seven days of fire that occurred.  Nausicaa is the princess of The Valley of the Wind, and she is loved by everyone, a great leader to take over after her father.  The Valley is a small kingdom on the edge of the frontier, given frail protection against the poisons of the sea of corruption by the constant winds blowing from the ocean.  The ohmu and the great insects are there to purify the air and land and leave after they have completed their purpose.

At the end, Nausicaa realizes that maybe it is the people who are the real pollution to the planet.  This was very interesting to read and see that it connects the problems of today’s world and pollution to the planet, not just in places like East Asia, but the U.S. as well.  It is also interesting from a gender point of view, how Nausicaa is the main character and she is female.  Gender roles are portrayed very different in the U.S. than in East Asia.

East Asian Culture Experience

I took a trip to a local Japanese gift shop in Pittsburgh on Walnut Street, called Kawaii.  I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got to the store; I had never been in a specialty store like this before.  As soon as I walked in, I was greeted with tiny trinkets and colorful merchandise.  The walls were filled with stickers, key chains, stationary, trinkets, pens, folders; you name it.  Everything was so bright and colorful; it put me in a happy mood.  Most of the merchandise was really cute and adorable that would be great for American kids, although a lot of it was really tiny pieces that would not be good for a small child to get ahold of.  There was a Hello Kitty section, a lot of merchandise with pig-related images on it, and a lot of cat-image-related merchandise.

I purchased some stationery with a pig and heart box image that I thought was really cute.  It came with envelopes with a clear window on the front, that when you fold the stationary paper in such a way and add an extra paper for the address, it adds a fun image to the front window in the envelope.  I don’t think we have any thoughtful stationary items like this that the U.S. produces.  It was a cute little shop that I will most likely be visiting again.

http://www.shopkawaii.com/

Self Introduction

Hi!  My name is Molly, and I am a third-year student in the Interior Architecture Bachelors degree program at Chatham.  I will be graduating in a few months on May 20^th.

I am interested in interior design because I love helping people create spaces that are everything they want them to be.  I also love the sustainability aspect of design that entails creating a healthy and safe environment for the occupants.  I wrote my senior thesis paper on green design and sick building syndrome.  I include sustainable properties in all of my studio designs for class.

I come from a really small town in central Pennsylvania that does not implement recycling and sustainability nearly as much as cities like Pittsburgh do.  Chatham was named the Greenest campus in Pittsburgh by the Princeton Review, and I have changed and gained a lot of green living habits since being here.  I love living in the city because there is always something to do.  But, once in a while it is nice to escape home to the countryside and get away from it all.  I haven’t had much opportunity to travel in my life, but I am looking forward to graduating and traveling the world, as design is universal.  Starting with Taiwan!