World Literature

10 January 2012
We have joined the 21st century at last.

Journal Prompt for 10

January
What you are now comes
from what you have been,
and what you will be is what
you do now.
Siddhartha Gautama
Explain the quotation.
What did the author mean?
What does the quotation mean for your life?
(20 minutes for this prompt)

How does your past

determine your
personality?
Consider:

Birth order
Gender
Socio-economic status
Family ties
Genetics
Experiences
Preferences

What can you

change about
yourself?
How much of who you are is pre-determined by things
outside of your control?

Culture and Change

American culture:
ANYTHING is possible.
Christian culture:
With God, anything is possible.
Chinese culture:
Possibility is determined by fate.

Chinese culture
Birth order and gender
matter.

The importance of a
name
Bible names

Chinese names

Names indicate character

At birth each baby is given a
traits. (Jacob)
name, but that name is
Names describe physical
not used in the home.
characteristics. (Esau)
At home, a child is called by
Names express emotion. (Bena name dependent of
Oni)
birth-order.
Names reflect national status
The oldest daughter is
(Ichabod)
called Big Sister, the
Names could be changed
second daughter Second
(Abram)
Sister, and so on. The
Names could be prophetic
same goes for sons.
(Jezreel)

Adeline Yen Mah

Her name emphasized her value to her
Chinese family.

Loneliness and the

feeling of being
unwanted are the
greatest poverty.
Mother Theresa

Shou Zhu Dai Tu

Sitting by a stump to capture a careless

rabbit.
During the Warring States Period in China, there
lived a farmer in the state of Song who had a tree
stump in his field.
One day while working in the fields, a frightened
rabbit suddenly dashed out nowhere and bump into
the stump accidentally. As a result, it fell dead with
its neck broken.
The farmer happily took the rabbit home and cooked
himself a delicious meal. That night lying on his bed,
he thought: Why do I need to work so hard in the
field? All I have to do is wait for a rabbit to run into
the stump each day. So from then on he gave up
farming, and simply sat by the stump waiting for
another rabbit to come and knocked against it.
No more rabbits appeared, however, but he became
the laughing-stock of state Song.

Homework
Read Watching the Tree pp. 1-29
Explain the meaning of the first chapter title-

how can that meaning be applied in your life?

Is there really a hunger in people throughout
the world to comprehend who we are and how
we fit together? (3) Use current events to
prove your perspective.
What is the only constantand why?
Summarize the concept of I Ching as best you
can from this text only! (no helps)