Tibetan Sky Burial and Internal Dilemma

How good are you at practicing cultural relativism?

It’s not hard to admit seeing pictures from the Tibetan Sky Burial immediately made me upset.  My mind was fluttering with words like ‘cruel’, ‘revolting’, ‘disrespectful’, ‘gruesome’.   Now, the person I am dictates from this point I work backward: why am I reacting this way and what is the cause for this specific reaction?  Some, I imagine, move forward with explanations for their reactions instead (i.e., “This is against [ultimate power's] plan”).  It may not even stop there, it might cross into formulating beliefs about Tibetans and fostering contempt/hatred/prejudice for the way they choose to treat their dead.  But the important word is ‘choose’, and I don’t mean that lightly.

For one to label their tradition(s) ‘inhumane’ or ‘wrong’ a precedence would have to be set.  Is this precedence that the dead should be lowered into rectangular ditches within an opulent box?  What about a meager box: would this be showing less respect?  Is burial about money?  What if one can only afford cremation?  Would you like your remains to be the literal equivalent of cigarette ash?  As a smoker who flinches and swats the slightest fleck of ash from attaching to her person, I’d prefer naught.  Shall I be encased in a cold house of marble, alone or with others (depending on burial allowance), for the loss of me to be lamented by loved ones, remembered for all time (highly unlikely).  This seems all too naive and selfish for it to be palatable:  I am organic and thus I am part of a cycle of birth and death and continuous evolution of matter and spirit.

I am organic and thus I am part of a cycle of birth and death and continuous evolution of matter and spirit.  This statement, though composed of twenty-two words, holds a fraction of and is encompassed by my worldview – my beliefs, in flux as they may seem, are present here.  There is a term for that cycle I have used in the past, but I fear using it again will only alienate me from steadfast individuals who aren’t as open to the beliefs of other cultures/religions as I am.  That said, I am here to unite.  This is my purpose – simplified.  Disharmony brings about a prolonged upset to which some shocking pictures will never compare.

Because I consider myself more open-minded than the masses, my reaction has me bothered.  Bothered enough to compose today’s entry.  I am disappointed in my initial reception of these shots.  I am disappointed because I do not approve of this in others, because this is the kind of thing my liberal education, as well as my specific course of study, is supposed to extinguish – this is at least how I see it.  Being conscious of this has left me feeling weak, vulnerable, and a bit hypocritical.  Am I being hard on myself?  My only saving grace was where I went postreaction:  I questioned how this came to be, trying to understand what was seemingly instinctual rather than relax and recline in the ethnocentric notions that too many – whether cognizant of it or not – allow to induce  intolerance, nurturing the spread of discrimination and antipathy.

The title of this page states:  “NOT FOR SENSITIVE SOULS”.  Its major audience was targeted by bull’s eye, and as much as it irks me, I have to be lumped in with that majority.  But what is ironic is that stomaching these pictures is for the sensitive soul.  Understanding these cultural/religious practices is for the sensitive, empathetic soul.  It is through this empathy that I choose to gaze through the lens of my chosen studies (anthropology/religious studies); it is through empathy that we may best educate ourselves in matters of the other; it is empathy that will unite us.

And I find myself lachrymose.  There is so much swelling beneath the surface, and I can’t  fathom how it is to be tackled.  My reaction is linked to what I consider part of a major problem – something embedded within us that fosters discord between peoples.  If I consider part of my purpose here, on this planet, to aid in eliminating such discord, then I’m screwed because I have yet to experience its cessation within my self.  I do not have consistently harmonious relationships with others; I do not have stable dynamics with everyone who plays a role in my life.  And I am not okay with sitting here and dreaming up a day when everything will just snap perfectly into place without contemporaneously acknowledging it is illusory.  I am not okay with doing nothing and yet within me is a voice speaking of the ultimate futility of action – I am sopping with discord.

I find the tenets of Buddhism winding through the back of my mind and how the solutions seem so simple and evident:  Right view; right intention; right speech; right action; right livelihood; right effort; right mindfulness; right concentration.  I am also reminded of Carlos Castaneda’s Journey to Ixtlan: The Lessons of Don Juan and how vital it is to “stop the world” before I can ‘see’.  By ‘stopping the world’ one must remove oneself from the profane experience and perception of his/her world to ‘see’ differently.  All this has been done but in mere flickers.  Consistency is the problem.  But how do I remain fluid when all I know are the troughs, crests, and wave breaks of life?

Ahh, yes.  Don Juan would simply say:  Stop the world.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations – a mental exercise

For *No Reservations* viewers who care: What’s with the change in Bourdain’s image this season?  I am currently watching the Ecuador show and he looks like what a well-to-do business type in his 50′s would look like on a leisurely vacation in a more tropical climate.  What happened to his dangling crucifix earring? -It was such an homage to the 80′s- What happened to his stonewash jeans and tshirts?  Was that just an anomaly?  I hope his style doesn’t permanently alter itself.

He’s still a saucy curmudgeon who refuses to “Just say no” to dishes from other cultures.

On another note: does anyone think it’s funny there’s a disclaimer about inappropriate content and how parental discretion is advised after every commercial break?  Hee.  I don’t see why there’s a need to keep kids in such a bubble for as long as one can.  You’re just putting off the inevitable–or possibly playing a part in the social suicide (or real suicide) of an individual who will never become well-adjusted to real world social norms.

A final question: is it better to live a life where you’re constantly fighting to keep the world that conflicts with your own at bay or is it better to be open to life’s fastballs; to its quirks; to what is different; to ‘the other’ and allow the kind of flexibility–the kind of give–that ultimately supports the structure writ large?  I guess I am hinting at a major part of the reason why I appreciate that Anthony Bourdain: his work is what I consider anthropological work (not in the formal sense, of course) and he makes it accessible to everyday people.  He educates so many in matters of ‘the other’.

Relating through food is an ingenious way to connect us to each other.  I think it can lead to making us a little less inclined to bomb or annihilate another country.  This leads to my idea of making the world a better place.  And for this, Bourdain and all those involved in production have garnered my respect.

The end.

A Self-Reflexive Review As An Anthropology Major

This paper will be a reflection and personal account of the discipline of anthropology as viewed through the lens of an undergraduate major. The following questions will be broached and answered from personal experience: What drew you/continues to draw you to anthropology? How has/will anthropology influence your future career/life? What do you find to be its critical insights and perspectives, as well as theoretical or methodological strengths or weaknesses?

Anthropology was not my original major upon entering university. Halfway through my college career I registered for an introductory course in anthropology to fulfill a general education requirement. During this course I accessed a sliver of a world I had always been a part of but with I was barely familiar. The disappointment of this realization was enough to inspire a change of major. Suddenly the bewilderment of my first two years of university were finally defined through a new collegiate pathway, one of profound importance in regard to my own identity.

Anthropology’s enormous scope has its greatest appeal as it also has its greatest setback. How could one subject possibly study humans not only in the present but through the past as well? Anthropology endeavors to and uses a four-field, holistic approach incorporating archaeological, linguistic, biological, and cultural sub-disciplines. The breadth of the anthropology major is incredibly appealing to me as a mostly indecisive individual who finds it troublesome to stay loyal to one subject  when university offers an array of painfully fascinating courses.

Anthropology is not just a discipline of study, but it is one of application as well. Watching many films exposing the hardships of human beings locally and globally due to ecological, social, economic, political or various other factors has struck and continues to strike at my empathetic core. Learning of the dismal literacy rates, food insecurity, malnutrition, social, political, and religious subjugation and exploitation of peoples, especially among females, around the world was particularly shocking during my first course in anthropology. Over several semesters of anthropology courses I was moved to tears repeatedly due to the plight of humans in lesser developed countries as well as developed countries. Watching was simply not enough for me and I felt a silent call to action in the classroom a few weeks into my introductory course. But before I could delve into any sort of real world application, I knew I had to obtain a proper education in what I wanted to pursue.

The discipline of anthropology is now and from now on will be a permeating influence in my life and career. Anthropology is no longer a concept bound by classroom walls; it has transferred itself to my daily life and my relationships with family, friends, and strangers. The exact point in which this happened is unclear, but I was made aware of how fused I was with what I have learned from this major and how I wish to apply it most clearly midway through my final spring semester at university. Before this moment of clarity, it was unconsciously active in the way I approach understanding the other as well as the self. Hopefully, my anthropological studies will not end here.

In the future, though I am not certain what career path I am to take, I plan to utilize my background knowledge in anthropology as an advantage over my competition. I endeavor to obtain a graduate degree in conflict resolution and I find anthropology to be the most ideal background to further my studies in theory, practice, peace, justice, and international and intercultural conflict resolution. In the future, I also endeavor to be a mother and wife and I will use my knowledge of human variability as a resource to aid in personal or family trials as well as personal and family growth and education.

Anthropology’s critical insights and perspectives lie in its holistic approach and breadth of study. Its attention to variability and focus on acquiring a wealth of knowledge in order to maneuver with greater dexterity within complex and diverse environments is an invaluable asset. Its strengths are in critically approaching social norms and human assumptions. Anthropology is a study that may have its historical flaws, but its strength is in the will of its greatest thinkers and contributors to critically reflect on information and reshape or simply demolish what was thought flawed. Theoretically it covers many antinomies such as: material and ideal; structure and agency; inductive and deductive; synchronic and diachronic, nomothetic and ideographic; society and culture. Methodologically it shows flexibility in using phenomenological and empirical data through various methods (e.g. case studies, focus groups, qualitative and quantitative interviews, surveys, participant observations, etc.) and can approach research etically or emically. Its weakness may lie in the overwhelming quantities of information it has to account for. Thankfully, anthropology does not have a deadline for acquiring human information of the past and present, though that might depend on context.

The theme of taking “the middle road” in more recent decades with the use of practice theory or manipulating and synthesizing theories for a better approach to problem-solving is a direction I would like to see anthropology to continue. This is not enough alone, though, and must be supplemented with new theories or approaches under novel circumstances. Though prediction of where culture may go is not plausible, looking to the past can shed light on what we can expect in the future: Anything is possible.

I see anthropologists as having potential to be like the Bodhisattvas within the religion of Buddhism: enlightened (or just well-educated) beings with such great compassion that they maintain one foot planted within the ether (or the other) and the other foot back on earth (the self) so that others may benefit from their knowledge and one day, too, may be enlightened.

on the road to enlightenment

Goodness, it’s been so long this box no longer even feels like home.  How could I have forsaken you!

I’ve been so focused in my studies I haven’t taken the time to reflect upon what I’ve learned.  I get so tired, mentally, I just want to waste my free time away on things that don’t involve much critical thinking.

I’ve been fairly isolated.  I ventured out with a couple old friends a few weeks back and partook in activities I had not done in at least a year.  It was very strange.  I did a lot of talking and thinking as I always did, but I felt uncomfortable.  I had trouble engaging my peers and I preferred writing my ideas out in general concepts. When I read what I’d written, it was pretty much a review of topics covered in my classes.

What I tapped into during this altered experience just reified how focused I am within academia.  Sometimes it seems like I’m one of those “all or nothing” people.  The more I know myself, the less it seems that I am a multitasker.  Yes, I can do different things within the same period of time, but when it comes to doing something absolutely excellently, I can only focus on one thing.  So far.  My next goal will be to learn to balance all important aspects of my life.  Right now I am just so desperate to complete my BA I can barely think of anything else.

I just had a vision of life being densely packed with many opaque layers.  I’m envisioning it as a sort of flower or fruit.  In this momentary vision, I saw a layer removed.  Age does this.  Experience does this.  In reflection it seems as though my person, my essence, my soul (however you wish to classify it) is born as some thick, densely packed object.  My goal is to reach the center.  That center, to me, is Enlightenment.  But there are so many layers to get through and they are all opaque.  I have no idea what’s in the center (Tootsie Roll pop jokes will be checked at the door, please) and I don’t know how long it will take to get there.  But I know there is an imperative for me to get there.  I don’t know if the imperative is natural/instinctual or learned and it doesn’t seem to matter.  I need to get there.

The path to get there is curious.  I think I am over the attempt to arrive there religiously.  As in through an established world/organized religion.  Right now I’d say I’ve got most of my eggs in the Academic basket, but part of me knows it’s not that simple.  I think  I will spend the rest of my life stumbling along, slowly uncovering layers until that final glorious day.   I  have this feeling that  I may only  uncover that final stratum on the day I die, because no human could continue living life as we know it once the truth has been unmasked.

I often wonder if all my contemplation is alienating me or bringing me closer to the human community.  When I am in social situations, which has become rare these days, I feel as though I am a spectator.  Have I already become the anthropologist, the ethnographer? Being an insider has become difficult.  I feel awkward as a participator at times.  I’m not there right now, mentally.

I feel like a balloon that’s lost its anchor to the earth and is slowly ascending toward infinity.  I wonder when I shall lose grasp of my corporeal vessel.  (I hope it’s not soon.)

Occasionally, I think humans are predictable disappointments.  But I want to focus on what I don’t know about us.  I’m really sick of the world the media glorifies.  And it’s no surprise I am so disappointed in humanity if what I see on popular tv/film/etc is a reflection of society or of its ideals.  I think that’s why I’m so drawn to Anthropology.  I have a desire to learn about cultures that aren’t my own and through the study of other cultures, I hope to understand my own better.  But it doesn’t just stop at culture.  I want to know why we are the way we are.  It’s a pretty lofty ideal.  Maybe I’ll never achieve it, but I think I’ll have some fun traveling on that road.

Question authority?

I’m a bit embarrassed I had to correct my Anthropology professor today in class when he said something to the effect of Zen coming from Confucianism.   Zen Buddhism is a school of Buddhist thought separate from Confucianism.   Though, the Japanese and Chinese are known for incorporating bits of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism into their lives.

I find it disrespectful for a student to correct a professor in public, but the thought of students associating Zen with Confucianism really got under my skin.  I didn’t even spend but a nanosecond contemplating whether I should speak. In fact, I don’t recall thinking much at all.  Just saying, “No, actually…”  If there is no such thing as freewill, I really had no choice in the matter and I should stop feeling guilty.

I haven’t slept in 32 hours.   I am running on empty.  I need sustenance in my stomach and some rest.  I hope the creativity of my narration will make up for my poor kinship chart and slim essay.  Though, I did use 10 pt font vs. 12 pt, so I hope he realizes I’d have taken up more space if I had done the required.   I also hope that he isn’t bitter about my correction in class and doesn’t take it out on my project

We’ll soon find out.

This evenings objectives:

• Grocery Shopping – one cannot live on Ramen noodles and condiments alone.
• Russian Homework – this should take up about 10 minutes of my time
• World Religions HW – generally takes about two hours to complete my reading.  I tend to do it between classes.
• Poem/Prose Composition – For this I might need to partake in some transcendental elixir to get my juices flowing.