At least two quotations, then use these quotation in a clear analysis. of how the language reveals the author s beliefs,` biases

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1 Mr Cunningham November 11th 2012 AP English Language Mr Cunningham (weird) Expository project sections 4-7 Thich Nhat Hanh Being Peace Author s beliefs, biases and background: At least two quotations, then use these quotation in a clear analysis of how the language reveals the author s beliefs,` biases background and ethical credibility. Plum Village in France, we receive many letters from the refugee camps in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines, hundreds each week. It is very painful to read them, but we have to do it, we have to be in contact. We try our best to help, but the suffering is enormous, and sometimes we are discouraged. It is said that half the boat people die in the ocean; only half arrive at the shores in Southeast Asia. (Hahn, p12) One day we received a letter telling us about a young girl on a small boat who was raped by a Thai pirate. She was only twelve, and she jumped into the ocean and drowned herself.

2 When you first learn of something like that, you get angry at the pirate. You naturally take the side of the girl. As you look more deeply you will see it differently. If you take the side of the little girl, then it is easy. You only have to take a gun and shoot the pirate. But we cannot do that. In my meditation I saw that if I had been born in the village of the pirate and raised in the same conditions as he was, I am now the pirate. There is a great likelihood that I would become a pirate. I cannot condemn myself so easily. In my meditation, I saw that many babies are born along the Gulf of Siam, hundreds every day, and if we educators, social workers, politicians, and others do not do something about the situation, in 25 years a number of them will become sea pirates. (Hahn, p12) Thich Nhat Hanh reveals in unaffected, clear writing that mirrors the simplicity of his Buddhist beliefs, that he operates a refugee center in France for Asian refugees. He shows the painful and enormous suffering of the refugees with whom he works. He says he sometimes becomes discouraged by suffering. He also suggests that he faces that suffering and deals with the pain; this is one of the four noble truths of Buddhism. He suggests that one face suffering with compassion and meditation. In a passage about a young Thai girl raped by a Thai pirate, he also shows he believes that meditation might help us understand those who cause suffering, avoid condem[ing} and begin to understand instead of tak[ing] a gun and shoot[ing} the pirate. The reader learns one of Hanh s central beliefs, to alleviate suffering and violence we must understand the conditions that breed that violence.

3 Author s Purpose If we are not happy, if we are not peaceful, we cannot share peace and happiness with others, even those we love, those who live under the same roof. If we are peaceful, if we are happy, we can smile and blossom like a flower, and everyone in our family, our entire society, will benefit from our peace. Do we need to make a special effort to enjoy the beauty of the blue sky? Do we have to practice to be able to enjoy it? No, we just enjoy it. Each second, each minute of our lives can be like this. Wherever we are, any time, we have the capacity to enjoy the sunshine, the presence of each other, even the sensation of our breathing. We don't need to go to China to enjoy the blue sky. We don't have to travel into the future to enjoy our breathing. We can be in touch with these things right now. It would be a pity if we are only aware of suffering. (Hahn, p 76) Smiling is very important. If we are not able to smile, then the world will not have peace. It is not by going out for a demonstration against nuclear missiles that we can bring about peace. It is with our capacity of smiling, breathing, and being peace that we can make peace. (Hahn, p 21) Thich Nhat Hanh s purpose is to encourage peace in the world through personal action and real, achievable, practical change in behaviors. He encourages his readers to pay attention to the moment using the natural

4 images of blossom like a flower, enjoy the blue sky, and enjoy the sunshine, so they can notice the beauty and importance of the moment. If we become aware, he writes, we are happy. If we are happy we smile and that joy is infectious. This happiness is the antithesis of suffering and, he argues, we must be aware of both joy and pain to bring change to the world. Audience We are so busy we hardly have time to look at the people we love, even in our own household, and to look at ourselves. Society is organized in a way that even when we have some leisure time, we don't know how to use it to get back in touch with ourselves. We have millions of ways to lose this precious time - we turn on the TV or pick up the telephone, or start the car and go somewhere. We are not used to being with ourselves, and we act as if we don't like ourselves and are trying to escape from ourselves. When you plant lettuce, if it does not grow well, you don't blame the lettuce. You look for reasons it is not doing well. It may need fertilizer, or more water, or

5 less sun. You never blame the lettuce. Yet if we have problems with our friends or family, we blame the other person. But if we know how to take care of them, they will grow well, like the lettuce. Blaming has no positive effect at all, nor does trying to persuade using reason and argument. That is my experience. No blame, no reasoning, no argument, just understanding. If you understand, and you show that you understand, you can love, and the situation will change Thich Nhat Hanh s audience is clearly the citizens of western culture. He includes himself but speaks to modern day Europeans and Americans and points out that, we are so busy we hardly have time to look at the people we love, and we do not look at ourselves. He uses the images of televisions, telephones and cars to connect to his modern audience of overworked under rested citizens of the word. His appeal is ethical as he establishes his credentials as a humanitarian and peacemaker. He uses natural images and metaphors, comparing our family and friends to lettuce we need to plant, cultivate and love. He attempts to nudge his audience through compassion and understanding, not violence and conflict, into a gentle awareness of the possibility of change in the world.

6 Organization Chronological Spatial Narration description example Cause and effect Definition Argument Problem solution Types of writing/structure narration Description Persuasive Expository Order of importance cause and effect There is a story I would like to tell you about a woman who practices the invocation of the Buddha Amitabha's name. She is very tough, and she practices the invocation three times daily, using a wooden drum and a bell, reciting, "Namo Amitabha Buddha" for one hour each time. When she

7 arrives at one thousand times, she invites the bell to sound. (In Vietnamese, we don't say "strike" or "hit" a bell.) Although she has been doing this for ten years, her personality has not changed. She is still quite mean, shouting at people all the time. A friend wanted to teach her a lesson, so one afternoon when she had just lit the incense, invited the bell to sound three times, and was beginning to recite "Namo Amitabha Buddha," he came to her door, and said, "Mrs. Nguyen, Mrs. Nguyen!" She found it very annoying because this was her time of practice, but he just stood at the front gate shouting her name. She said to herself, "I have to struggle against my anger, so I will ignore that," and she went on, "Namo Amitabha Buddha, Namo Amitabha Buddha." The gentleman continued to shout her name, and her anger became more and more oppressive. She struggled against it, wondering, "Should I stop my recitation and go and give him a piece of my mind?" But she continued chanting, and she struggled very hard. Fire mounted in her, but she still tried to chant "Namo Amitabha Buddha." The gentleman knew it, and he continued to shout, "Mrs. Nguyen! Mrs. Nguyen!"

8 She could not bear it any longer. She threw away the bell and the drum. She slammed the door, went out to the gate and said, "Why, why do you behave like that? Why do you call my name hundreds of times like that?" The gentleman smiled at her and said, "I just called your name for ten minutes, and you are so angry. You have been calling the Buddha's name for ten years. Think how angry he must be! In modern society most of us don't want to be in touch with ourselves; we want to be in touch with other things like religion, sports, politics, a book - we want to forget ourselves. Anytime we have leisure, we want to invite something else to enter us, opening ourselves to the television and telling the television to come and colonize us. Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace Please don't wait until the doctors tell you that you are going to have a baby to begin to take care of it. It is already there. Whatever you are, whatever you do, your baby will get it. Anything you eat, any worries that are on your mind will be for him or her. Can you tell me that you cannot smile? Think of the baby, and smile for him, for her, for the future generations. Please don't

9 tell me that a smile and your sorrow just don't go together. It's your sorrow, but what about your baby? It's not his sorrow, its not her sorrow. Thich Nhat Hanh, Being Peace During the last 2,500 years in Buddhist monasteries, a system of seven practices of reconciliation has evolved. Although these techniques were formulated to settle disputes within the circle of monks, i think they might also be of use in our households and in our society. The first practice is Face-to-Face-Sitting. 14 mindfulness trainings Dealing with Anger Aware that anger blocks communication and creates suffering, I am determined to take care of the energy of anger when it arises and to recognise and transform the seeds of anger that lie deep in my consciousness. When anger comes up, I am determined not to do or say anything, but to practise mindful breathing or mindful walking and acknowledge, embrace and look deeply into my anger. I will learn to look with the eyes of compassion on those I think are the cause of my anger.

10 aware that great violence and injustice have been done to the environment and society, I am committed not to live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. I will do my best to select a livelihood that helps realize my ideal of understanding and compassion. Aware of global economic, political and social realities, I will behave responsibly as a consumer and as a citizen, not investing in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Thich Nhat Han s organizes his plea to Western Buddhists and people interested in Buddhism and Buddhists by appealing directly to the reader. He presents a problem, speaking directly to the reader in a familiar casual tone: We are so busy we hardly have time to look at the people we love, even in our own household, and to look at ourselves. Society is organized in a way that even when we have some leisure time, we don't know how to use it to get

11 back in touch with ourselves. We have millions of ways to lose this precious time. He then uses a series of stories, anecdotes and historical allusions to illustrate the evolution of Buddhism, the eightfold path and the four noble truths. He teaches the reader about Siddartha, The Buddha, and his path towards enlightenment. After the history lesson he uses anecdotes to illustrate his points. He illustrates the Buddhist belief we must not hold onto old misguided beliefs in the face of new truth with a story of a father so bereaved by his son s supposed death at the hands of robbers, that the father refuses to accept his son when it s discovered his son was only kidnapped by the robbers, has escaped and returns to his father. Finally he presents fourteen exercises in mindfulness as a solution to the problem. To deal with anger he suggests: When anger comes up, I am determined not to do or say anything, but to practice mindful breathing or mindful walking and acknowledge, embrace and look deeply into my anger. I will learn to look with the eyes of compassion on those I think are the cause of my anger

12 He argues that, he as a consumer and as a citizen, not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Being Peace is an expository text that argues we have the ability to alleviate violence and suffering through becoming aware and trying to help others. Being Peace mixes expository text, narration, argument and description to bring the reader into Thich Nhat Han s world.