The Spiritual Journey that Never Ends

In this last required post for this course, I would like to circle back to the very first English post that we wrote at the beginning of last semester - why are you interested in learning Japanese?

At that time, I just thought of a bunch of things I really liked about Japan: food, architecture, calligraphy, etc. It seems that the intensity of one's interest in a language is positively correlated to the things that associate with this language that "click" with our personal desires.

But it doesn't answer the question: what do I find fulfilling in learning this language and its related expressions of human life?

The answer for me is spiritual.

My entrance into real Japanese culture is through the spiritual journey into Zen Buddhism. That summer in Kyoto is one of the turning points of my life. All the beautiful things that express Zen (peaceful mind) and speak to me from the soul.

Temples: I sat in the courtyard of Ryoanji and appreciated the simple yet deep intricacy of the stone garden. Kinkakuji is a place to feel eternity by watching the golden pavilion from faraway in awe (or fear) of its standing on its own.

Nature: lakes, trees, mountains, seas, birds, I hear the voice of life speaking to me through spirit. I remember in Wakayama, as I sat on the bus that drove on the tortuous roads in the mountains and looked at the vast blue sea, I forgot all my worries and felt great inner peace.

Ceremonies: during the Gion Matsuri, tea ceremony, celebration in the Shinto shrine, it was full of joy, serenity, sincerity, and hope from all the earnest souls.

But more importantly, things that impress our souls are the most ordinary, or sometimes even tragic.

I remember sitting in a small ramen place located in a narrow street in Kyoto, watching the chef preparing the ramen with care. There was nothing special in how he handles the noodles, but the loving and responsible attitude towards every single bowl of ramen was conveyed to me every second. I also recalled every time I bought postcards or presents, I really enjoyed the moment the shopkeeper was wrapping the gifts. That was a tranquil moment of mutual appreciation for us: the gratitude that the presents are treated with care from the customer and the happiness that the customer is satisfied with this gift from the shopkeeper.

The two history courses I took on Japanese history with Garon-sensei are very depressing and tragic-driven. One is on the bombing (atomic bomb, air raids, etc) of Japanese cities, and the other is on modern Japanese history, in which I read a bunch of books on the lost decade of the 1990s. War, death, recession, loss of hope, I heard all those voices speaking to me from the readings and videos. I heard the silent endurance of suffering and was really saddened. But the most assuring is that, even if there was all darkness during the worst times, there was always a narrow beam of light of hope, seen from the people who continued to stay together and support each other, thinking for each other's good when their very own lives are at stake.

The detective novels, especially those by Higashino Keigo, are also very grim, in the sense that he explored the evil of human nature and presented it in all possible places of a detective story. Be it motives of crime, deeds during a crime, and thoughts/interactions with other people after a crime, the sins of human nature lie bare to the eye - both shocking and grieving. But I think that, evil and good are just separated by a thin piece of paper. Extreme evil is ultimately a result of pursuing excessive goodness. Perhaps the author hopes us to be awakened by our very nature, and hence acknowledge and strive to be good.

The novels and excerpts of Haruki Murakami write straight to the deepest corners of one's soul. The unfortunate reality is that the deepest part of our soul is also the darkest, because never has there been light shone on it. But it is always reassuring that Murakami wraps it in a subtle package, telling the uncomfortable truth with sadness yet always end in hope.

Anime and drama, such as the Death Note, Liar Game, Kaiji, Hanzawa Naoki, many of them ask the questions of who we are as human beings, and what are we looking for in this life. There is never an answer, but thinking about those issues always brings some enlightenment.

I could go on and on but I am sure you got what I mean. "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So is with everyone born of the Spirit." Learning Japanese, to me, is a spiritual journey in which one's soul witnesses, communicates, and seeks in one's life. This process is of great joy, enlightenment and pleasure.

At the end of the semester year, learning Japanese also circles back to my original starting point (makes one wonder at life in awe more), as I "ended up" adopting Christianity as truth and personal faith. On the surface it seems that I have formally ended learning Japanese in school, but the spiritual journey actually never ends and is in fact taking me to see and appreciate more things. And it is the very reason that I am able to come up with a satisfying answer to why I study Japanese.

Good luck to everyone embarking on his/her own journey with Japanese! (:

ビデオブログ ーー 子供の病気

今日健康（けんこう）について話そうと思う。子供の時、気分がよく悪（わる）くなった。３歳（さい）の時から一年に少なくとも３回ぐらい入院していた。十歳まで喘息（ぜんそく）もあった。その時、せきも出たし、風邪（かぜ）も引いたし、嫌（いや）な生活（せいかつ）だった。よく効（き）く薬を飲んでも、あまり良（よ）くならなかった。病院によく行ったから、医者は私をよく知っていた。先生は‘私はいい子供だ’って言った、苦（にが）い薬をよく飲むし、泣（な）かなかったからだと思う。学校に行けなかったから、祖母は私によく本を読んでくれた。その時、漢字（かんじ）や中国の詩（し）や計算（けいさん）を自分で勉強していた。習字（しゅうじ）も興味（きょうみ）を持つようになった。４歳の時から毎日練習（れんしゅう）している。今体が健康になった。毎日運動（うんどう）したり、体にいい食べ物を食べたりしている。そういえば、変なアレルギーがある。’seafood’の中で、魚だけ食べられない。いつそのアレルギーが始（はじ）まったか分からない。とりあえず、勉強が忙（いそが）しくても、健康のために体にいい習慣（しゅうかん）を守（まも）るのは大切（たいせつ）だ。みんなも健康に気をつけてね！

言葉（ことば）のリスト：

喘息（ぜんそく）：asthma

効く（きく）：to be effective

苦い（にがい）：bitter

詩（し）：poem

計算（けいさん）：calculation (arithmetic)

習字（しゅうじ）：calligraphy

興味（きょうみ）：interest

習慣（しゅうかん）：habit

守る（まもる）：to preserve

PE 6: Reflection and Goal Statement

This semester my main goal for PE is to improve the naturalness of speech, use a variety of grammar structures to say longer sentences, and get used to casual speech. I have tried to keep up with the following:
1. Go to Japanese table every week. Now I start to go to the Forbe's table on Monday too, it is really helpful for training my listening skills and improving the speed of my speech. I also learnt a lot of useful short phrases.
2. Watch one anime episode every week. Currently following Kaiji, and sometimes I would watch drama episodes like Hanzawa Naoki. But recently I have been a bit slack on this, need to keep up.
3. Go to sensei's office hours every week. I have tried to make it twice each week, one to practice casual speech and the other for general conversation. But near midterm period I have been slack too.

What I will do for the next half of the semester:
1. Continue the above practice and don't slack.
2. Self-study some Nakama 2 chapters and try to practice the grammar structures with sensei.
3. Have more conversations with friends.

Miscellaneous:
Some preparation work for continuing to learn Japanese after graduation (if possible), such as asking sensei about what materials to follow for the 2nd year and up classes.

故卿（３）ーーお花見（はなみ）

三月に春になって、いろいろな花が咲（さ）きました！
今週末、祖母といっしょに湖（みずうみ）のそばにある公園で散歩したとき、たくさん桜（さくら）が咲いていてビックリしました。

花見をした人が大勢いましたけど、うれしかったです！

ほかの自然も美（うつく）しいですね！

この橋は一番いい花見のところです。でも桜はまだ咲いていませんけど、残念ですね。

さあ、いつか写真を撮るのを習いたいね。。。

故卿（２）ーー山

ウーシーに低い山がたくさんあります。その中に有名なのが二つあります。父は山に登るのが好きだから、暇な時山の公園に行きました。

山に登る前に、ふもとで古い通りを通りました。ここにたくさん店があるから、お土産を買うことができます。人は散歩したり、買い物に行ったりします。

この山は'Hui Shan'という山で、４００ｍの高度(altitude)です。３０分ぐらい登りました。自然はとてもきれいで、空気がよかったですよ。

山に登った後で、美味しい食べ物をたべるのは気持ちがいいです！＾＿＾

これは故卿の一番美味しい食べ物(Xiaolongbao)です。みなさん、食べたいですか。

今度ウーシーの近くの町に旅行するのを書きます。じゃあ、また！

故卿（１）－－梅見（うめみ）

春休みに帰国しました。故卿(Hometown)はシャンハイ(Shanghai)の西の方にある小さいまちのウーシー(Wuxi)です。今ちょうど春です。故卿にたくさん自然があるから、祖母といっしょに旅行して、楽しかったです。

This is the beginning of the series of my hometown entries.

故卿にたくさん公園があって、入園料もあまり払わなくてもいいです。今日梅園（ばいえん）に行きました。梅の花は一年に一度咲きます。咲く時間はよく二月の終わりから三月までです。いろいろな色があります。たとえば、白やピンクがあります。緑（みどり）もありますよ！

みなさん、どう思いますか。

禅（ぜん）と習字（しゅうじ）

４歳（さい）から習字（しゅうじ）を練習（れんしゅう）しています、今もときどき書きます。
Calligraphy to me is a form of training the mind. The usual style I practice requires rigorous attention to symmetry and structural layout of both individual characters and the whole piece. Hence, we restrain our mind to be peacefully balanced and focused throughout the writing process.

Recently, due to my interest in Japanese culture, particularly Zen, I started to look into another way of mind training by Bokuseki.

墨跡（ぼくせき）, a form of Japanese Zen calligraphy, is often characterized by assertive and abstract brush strokes to demonstrate the calligrapher's pure state of mind.

The work below is by a Zen calligrapher, 一休宗純（いっきゅ　そうじゅん）. There are no restrictions as to the structure or style of each character. His work shows the free flow of thoughts and the undisrupted nature of his mental state.

My favorite Chinese calligrapher, also the most well known in history, Wang Xizhi, wrote his best piece while he was drunk and mentally free, the Orchid Pavilion Gathering.

I grew really interested in this form of calligraphy and practiced a bit. Below is a quote I found online from my favorite Japanese writer, Haruki Murakami (春樹村上).

While practicing, it does make you feel your thoughts are flowing more freely!

Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.

将来の子供

こんにちは。みなさん、将来の子供について、どう思いますか。

私は一人っ子で、寂しいから、子供は双子の男の子と女の子が欲しいです。じゃあ、何を期待していますか。まず、言語は大切だから、中国語と日本語と英語を習わなければならないと思います。それから、子供はたくさん文化が分かって、面白いことをすることができますね。そして、いろいろな趣味があったほうがいいと思います。だから、子供の小さい時ピアノとバイオリンを習って、習字を練習したほうがいいです。私は子供と一緒にそれを勉強しています。それに、毎日美味しい料理を研究して、作ろうと思います。子供が大好きだから、毎日の生活は楽しみです。

今度はデザートの作り方を話したいです。じゃあ、また！

(Need to excuse myself for my appearance, because of pimples......)

JPN 102 PE Goal Statement

This semester, I will work towards the goal of:

• Speak more smoothly, such as making fewer pitch pattern mistakes and improving intonation
• Use more grammar structures in daily conversation
• Pay attention to the use of casual speech depending on the context

To achieve this, I will do the following every week:

• Go to sensei's office hours to practice conversations
• Do at least one anime shadowing with longer sentences each week
• Watch at least one anime episode each week and listen to the pitch pattern

頑張ります！

ニューヨークでおすすめの日本食レストラン

中休みにニューヨークの友達のアパートに三泊しました。その時、近くの有名な大戸屋(Ootoya)に行きました。私は魚アレルギーでお刺身を食べられないから、カツトジ(Katsu Toji)を注文しました。大戸屋でデザートも美味しかったです。ですから、お菓子作りを研究しようと思います。

Ootoya

食事した後で、帰りにKinokunyaに寄って、東野圭吾の作品を二冊買いました。漢字の意味はまあまあ分かるのに文法が全然分かりません。残念です。）：

夜になって、どの居酒屋でも人でいっぱいでした。Aburiyaですきやきをたべました。美味しかったです！

すきやき

最近天気がだいぶ悪くなって、気温が急に下がりました。みなさん気をつけて！プリンストンで大雪が降りました、とてもきれいですね。

暴風雪の後

今学期は最後の学期なので、私は毎日よりいっそう日本語を練習しています。それに、経済について、つい何でも勉強したくなります。授業を選ぶのはとても大変です。一年生はPIIに行くことができるんですが、羨ましいです。

じゃあ、また！

すばらしい日の出（ひので）

試験（しけん）が終わった（おわった）！！

今朝（けさ）私は日の出（ひので）を見る（みる）ために早起き（はやおき）した。なんと美しい（うつくしい）日の出でしょう！

新しい日なので、希望（きぼう）を失って（うしなって）はいけない！＾＾

マチャを作ります

今夜はマチャを飲みたいですから、マチャを作りました。奈良で買う茶筅はおととしの夏にちはるさんにもらいました。マチャは宇治で買いました。ちょっと苦いですが、美味しいです。

私が下手ですから、もっとマチャを作るのを練習しなければなりませんね。