After reading the brief autobiographical excerpt from Satomi Myodo, I want you to think about and answer ONE (you can address more, but don't feel obligated to do so) of the following questions:
1. What is the insect, which Satomi's father is watching, doing on p. 177? Does this remind you of anything? Why do you think Satomi is so moved by her father's attention to this insect?
2. On p. 186 Satomi states, "Self-realization or no self-realization, when one considers that all things are always treading the one path of religious practice, it's clear that there is nowhere outside of this from which to intervene. It's fine just as it is." What does she mean? Is there any truth to this sentiment?
3. "That's the flagpole" (188)! What insight has Satomi arrived at when she makes this announcement?
4. Satomi states on p. 190, "All things in the universe have together nurtured small and insignificant me." Is this more of a Mahayana or Therevada statement? Why? Do you think that the universe if benevolent, malevolent, or indifferent to human beings (or the rest of creation for that matter)? [apologies for the insanely general and open-ended secondary question - have fun]
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The flying ant that Satomi's father is observing on page 177, is crawling up a weed, again and again, after repeatedly all most reaching the top, but falling, only to begin trying again.
ReplyDeleteSatomi begins bursting into tears for no apparent reason at first, crying in anguish. This seemed to give her understanding, as "an iron shackle was broken and at once a broad expanse of light burst upon to world," suggesting enlightenment in understanding.
Satomi began bursting into tears and speaking of filial piety in respecting one's parents and acting only to fulfill one's parents' wishes. Satomi speaks about how she is determined to please her father. She desires to continue trying to fulfill her parents' dreams for her of an unlimited future despite their families limited means, even though she became pregnant.
The ant that Satomi's father was watching, was crawling up and around a weed. It is constantly trying to get to the top and gets tired. Suddenly, Satomi starts crying and then says, "...I understand; I really understand!" Satomi realizes, with the "...broad expanse of light burst upon the world," enlightenment. Satomi is taken aback and realizes the importance of respecting one's parents. She speaks of trying to regain her father's love and be a good daughter.
ReplyDeleteThis all reminds me of the process to enlightenment. Through meditation of one's own ways, people reach enlightenment, which is to guide them through life. Here, concentrating on the ant, through it's struggles, was a form of meditation for Satomi and her father.
2. I think what this means is that when someone has decided which path they are going to take in religion, it is very hard for other outside influences to make that person get off their chosen path. For example, if I were to decide that the Buddhist path made the most sense for me to pursue, I probably wouldn't be influenced by, for example, Jewish traditions and practices because I would be so set on that particular path.
ReplyDelete4. Satomi’s statement that all things in the universe have come together to nurture her bears a resemblance to the story of when Mara tempted the Buddha to back down by saying that it was not natural for him to achieve enlightenment. The Buddha put his hand on the earth and the earth replied, “I bear your witness.” Satomi was in essence, recognizing that the earth and the whole universe essentially bore her witness as well. This is a big step for Satomi, for she had always struggled with self-confidence, believing herself to be evil and stupid, and stating this on numerous occasions. Here she recognizes finally what the Buddha had known from the start, that it is natural for humans, and even for herself to achieve enlightenment.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I believe that the universe is indifferent to human beings. People may have good luck or bad luck, but that does not necessarily mean that the world is conspiring in benevolence or malevolence against that person. Based on one’s karma I suppose you could say that the universe is not indifferent to you, that it has a plan for you based on your actions from a past life. This thought might seem malevolent, for no human can be perfect, and it does seem somewhat hard-hearted of the universe to “pay you back” for every bad thing you ever did. Though it also might make the universe seem benevolent, rewarding you for your good deeds as well. However in both of these instances, it is not the universe’s benevolent or malevolent persona which dictates its actions towards you, it is your karma itself—you determine your own fate.
I suppose if one had to be chosen, I would say that the universe is benevolent towards humans: creation has given us every resource we might ever need to survive and even thrive in this world. The universe might be blamed for creating hunger or poverty or catastrophes. But in reality we have created those things ourselves. Again, the universe gave us resources and it’s not his fault that our greed forced us to unevenly distribute them.
Too much of the time we forget to be thankful for everything that creation has given us; we find it easier simply to curse the universe for not creating enough fossil fuels or enough clean water. When really if we took a step back we might realize that the universe must love us for all the gifts it has given. Just as Satomi said, it truly has nurtured small and insignificant us.
Satomi's father was watching an ant. It was struggling to crawl up a weed, and when it almost gets to the top several times, it fails, and has to keep trying. It gets tired, however, it continues to try. Suddenly, Satomi crys and then says, "...I understand; I really understand!" Satomi realizes, with the "... "broad expanse of light burst upon the world," enlightenment. Satomi finally realizes the importance of respecting your parents. She then talks about trying to once again regain her father's love, because she does want to be a good daughter. This all reminds me of the process to enlightenment, through meditation. People struggle to reach enlightenment. And although it may be very difficult, and you may get very tired, you have to be persistent and keep trying. As Satomi and her father concentrate on the ant, and it's struggles, it is a form of meditation for them.
ReplyDelete1. Her father was watching a little ant trying to make its way all the way to the top of a weed. It failed continuously but never stopped trying to get to the top. Satomi starts crying because she hopes that her father can forgive her. I think that the ant trying to get up to the top resembled obstacles in our/her own lives/life. The ant never failed to stop trying so she/we shouldn't either and to keep going no matter what. Even though being pregnant may have felt like the end of the world, it wasn't. Life keeps going and if she could get through that, then she can get through harder times in the long run.
ReplyDeleteOn pg 177, Satomi's father is observing a flying ant. He has been watching this winged ant for some time and realizes a pattern. The ant crawls up a weed, then when it almost reaches the top, the ant falls back down to the bottom. Then the ant tries again and the same things happens. But the ant never gives up, he keeps on trying.
ReplyDeleteBy watching her watching her father observe this ant, it allowed her to realize something. Then all of a sudden Satomi begins to cry, but at first I wondered why? But she goes on and begins to speak about filial piety and how she is supposed to respect and obey her parents and fulfill her mother and father's wishes. Satomi very much wants to make her parents happy, but she feels like she cannot because she made a mistake and got pregnant. She just needs to move on and keeping on trying to succeed in life.
One day, while working in the fields, her father saw an ant trying to get to the top of the weed. The ant keeps on falling but it keeps on trying to reach the top of the weed. After Satomi stared at the ant for some time she realized that the ant represented her. The falls the ant took were like her own obstacles in life like getting pregnant. She didn’t tell her parents she was pregnant but it was obvious something was wrong. By showing Satomi the ant the dad was telling her that she needed to keep going no matter what. After she noticed that her parents knew, she felt extremely ashamed and so she started to cry. Although that experience was unpleasant for Satomi she realized that she must always be sincere and she promised to be filial. She says that she came to a realization (which kind of reminded me of reaching enlightenment); it was difficult for her, but it certainly paid off because she realized the truth about herself. She realized that before this experience she was self-centered and cold-hearted.
ReplyDelete1. Satomi's father sees a flying ant trying to climb up a weed. Each time it is about to reach the top, it falls down again. However, it never gives up, and continues with the same pattern. Satomi is moved by her father;s attention to the ant because she notices that her father has never given up on her, and that he admires her as his daughter even though she made a mistake. This gives her strength to keep on with life and try to get through her tough time.
ReplyDelete3. When Satomi makes this announcement, she has made an intriguing discovery. Until this point, she was having trouble practicing zazen, or meditation. However, when Roshi takes her to a zen meeting, the "teisho" in on Kasho and the flagpole. During the teisho, Satomi sees how the mats are worn out, and has a thought about how she could have fixed them if she was a miko. At this point, she catches herself and notices that this is the flagpole. Whenever she has a random thought brought on by something else, it is a flagpole that must be knocked down. In this way, she can keep knocking down the "flagpoles" and stay focused.
1. On page 177, Satomi's father is observing an ant unable to reach the top of the plant it is crawling on. The ant continuously attempt to crawl up the weed, continuously fails, but never stops trying. After watching her father and the ant, Satomi begins to cry because she realizes and is enlightened to the idea that she cannot stop living her life just because she made a mistake and got pregnant, she must persevere like the ant. She realizes the importance of respect for one's parents and speaks of trying to regain her father's love and trust.
ReplyDelete2. I believe this statement means that individuals tend to focus on one's religious belief and are not open minded toward with this statement because one can practice a particular religion but be open to other practices. I also feel that learning about others beliefs strengthens a your own, because it reminds you what you believe in and why you believe it.
ReplyDelete1. The insect that Satomi Moyoda’s father is looking at is a winged ant that continues to climb up and weed even when it falls every time it gets anywhere near the top.
ReplyDeleteThis kind of reminds me of Thich Nhat Hanh, and how he talks about how he was trying so hard to take out the leaves in the water jar. The ant is Thich Nhat Hanh because he is trying so hard to reach the top of the weed, and wasting all of this time to do it. Eventually the ant will walk away from the weed, and probably try to reach the top of another.
Satomi Moyoda is so moved by her father’s attention to this ant because she realizes that she has reached some peace with herself, and her parents still do love her even if she might have disappointed them by getting pregnant. She realizes that she can still strive to please her parents and herself even though she is not in the best situation at the time. She just has to get back up every time, and continue on her journey.
3.
ReplyDeleteSatomi seemed to be experiencing some difficulty in presenting her mental state of mind to Roshi. When Satomi had tried to describe her mental state, Roshi called what she had said, "makyo," or an illusion by the intense mental effort of meditation (as it says in the footnote). Therefore, Satomi tries again and starts out fresh with a clear mind. While starting off fresh, she finally realized the symbolism of the flagpole. She had realized that the flagpole served as a barrier and by her mentally knocking down these flagpoles she reached hara.
2. I believe she means in her statement that once someone as their path in life, especially as it relates to religion, it is hard for outsiders to sway or influence them in truly effective way. She also means that people in general have a very one track mind and belief system. Therefore people tend not to be open to other traditions. Even though we have spent the entire semester of class learning that to know just one religion is to know none.
ReplyDelete3. Like most of Zen Buddhism, Satomi's statement is pretty difficult to understand. I think that when she says this, Satomi realizes that the flagpole is what casts shadows in our lives, obscuring what is really significant. As she knocks down the flagpoles in her mind, she is able to concentrate fully on reaching enlightenment. She had a way to stop herself from thinking of insignificant things, like how the mats she was sitting on needed mending. Satomi was then determined to reach and retain a higher level of concentration.
ReplyDelete1. Satomi's father is watching a winged ant crawl up the weed, and as soon as it gets to the top, it falls back to the bottom. But the ant never gives up. Satomi starts to cry when she figures out what her father was getting at, because it was so unbearable to her. She realizes that even though she got pregnant, she must move on with her life and even if she falls to the bottom, she must keep trying to get to the top. She thinks she has failed her father in doing so and wants to get his love back.
ReplyDeleteSatomi's father sees an ant that is climbing up a leaf, but everytime it gets close to the top, it falls back down. But each time it fell down, the ant keep climbing back up the leaf again. Satomi is moved by her father's observations because she knows that her parents know about her pregnancy and that she does not need to go through her journey alone. She feels ashamed because she did something terrible, but her parents still loved her and support her. Even though she will fall, she should get back up and try again, but unlike the ant Satomi has support from her family.
ReplyDelete2. When Satomi says that "when all things are always treading the one path of religious practice, it's clear that there is nowhere outside of this from which to intervene." I think that what she's trying to explain is that once someone is set on one path, may it be for a religious purpose or not, it will always be hard to interfere or get that person off of their course, and to leave things where they are because it operates, or the person operates with their beliefs just fine. I think that there is truth to that saying because it's similar to if something isn't broken, then don't fix it.
ReplyDelete1.The ant Satomi's father was watching was trying to climb up a weed, but kept falling down. The ant still kept trying over and over to climb the weed; it would not give up. Satomi's father pointed the ant out to her, which reminded her of her struggles, being pregnant, and that she should not give up, like the ant. She realized her peanuts knew and felt so ashamed she started to cry. She promised to respectful and loyal to her parents. This story reminds me to like the ant never give up, because if you keep trying you will eventually succeed.
ReplyDelete#1.Satomi's father is watching a small ant try to make its way up to the top of the plant it is crawling on, but it is unable to reach the top. The ant continuously tries to crawl up the plant,and it continues to fail. Nevertheless, it never stops trying. After watching her father watch the ant, Satomi suddenly starts crying because she realizes she is like the ant and even though she has fallen down she must get back up and persevere through it. Just because she made a mistake and got pregnant she realizes her life will not end there and she also realizes the respect she must have for her parents and aims to regain her father's love and trust.
ReplyDelete1.
ReplyDeleteOn page 177, Satomi's father is watching a winged ant attempt to climb up a weed, but as it reaches the top, it falls and must begin his climb again. At first, this reminded me of Mara tempting the Buddha--she continuously tried to break him down, but through courage and perseverance, he continued. Similarly, the ant continued to climb the weed, knowing that he could possibly fall again. When Satomi and her father are watching this ant, she realizes that the ant also symbolizes her. Satomi's father's attention to the ant represented his attention to her trials and errors--her parents set up a good life for her, she went to Tokyo, got pregnant, and proceeded to come back home. Although they were ashamed of her, she had to act like the ant and continue to persevere.
When Satomi announces "That's the flagpole" (188), she is connecting it with the koan called "Kasho and the Flagpole". In other words, this koan shows how one must pull down the flagpole to see the reality; everyone is dependent/remoted these days, and one must go through frustration and face the truth of the world. Satomi here is saying that she has to reach enlightenment by tearing the flagpole that is in front of her.
ReplyDelete#1. Satomi's father is watching an ant trying to climb a weed. The ant has tried numerous times to reach the top of the weed but hasn't succeeded. Satomi realized that she was like the little ant. She had climbed to the top by going to an exclusive girls' school and to Tokyo to continue her studies. She has reached the top with her family's support and love. Since she became pregnant, she has reached the bottom with despair. Now she needs to climb back up. I think this compares to how one can gain enlightenment. Reaching enlightenment is like a cycle. We think we reached the top, but then we fall back and have to climb back up. Along the way, we find ourselves and discover what's important in our lives. When the "iron shackle was broken", she sort of discovered herself and found purpose to become a better daughter and a mother.
ReplyDeleteSatomi’s father is watching a determined winged ant climbing a weed. Despite the ant’s multiple failures, it continues to try and reach the top of the weed. The ant restores it’s energy between each attempt. The ant reminded me of Siddhartha Gautama’s cycle of retreat and activity within his Sangha. Satomi must have been moved because the severity of her immoral actions, (engaging in sensuous conduct) must have overwhelmed her at that moment. Also, she must have been moved because she knows that because she is an only child, her parent’s sole desire is to “make something of her,” to raise a successful child: she had failed at doing so. She discovered she must make another attempt at “climbing the weed.”
ReplyDeleteSatomi's father is watching an ant climb up a weed and although it struggles to reach the top, falls over several times, the aunt regains it's energy and perseveres. Satomi's father observes that aunt and finds it remarkable how a tiny aunt can bolster the strength to overcome its challenges. Being able to restore one's energy and "climb up the weed of adversity" is something many individuals struggle with. It is so easy to give up and Satomi's father is inspired by the ant.
ReplyDeleteSatomi's father, having no knowledge of her pregnancy beforehand, shows Satomi and she breaks down into tears. She is also inspired by the ant and realizes how she can apply the message to her own experiences. She, like the ant, has fallen and is struggling to overcome the adversity in her life. If the smallest of living things can persevere, so can she. The ant, in some ways, shows her the epiphany of her own power. Satomi must have faith and trust in "the legs that support her", her parents and herself.
3. She has realized that in the koan “Kasho and the Flagpole” the reason Kasho says to pull down the flagpole is that the flagpole is the human tendency to allow your mind to be diverted by everything you come across and your thoughts to stray wherever they will (“when the merest glance casts a reflection in your mind”)—basically, the insight that a necessary step on the path to enlightenment is to learn to control your thoughts: to not be diverted by what you see, and when something does threaten to divert your thoughts to resist it (that is, to knock down the flagpole that is the distraction.). This is, of course, very difficult to do, because by the time you are resisting something then there is, by definition, something to resist, which means you have failed to resist it completely since it has entered your consciousness enough that you realize it should not have. This doesn't mean the goal is impossible--it's a little bit like the inherent contradiction of eradicating desire that we discussed in class: the difficulty all depends on how you interpret it.
ReplyDelete1) It's interesting that despite the ant frequently trying to get up the weed and continuing to fall down, it keeps going. Satomi's father is reminded of Satomi and is hopeful that she will eventually succeed. However, he does not know that she is pregnant and she thinks of the comparison slightly differently-she is like the ant and keeps failing. She does not know what to do but figures out that she is actually very similar to the ant. The weed is much larger than the ant like the world is much larger than her. Eventually, Satomi is touched by the ant's determination. Life might throw obstacles at her, but it isn't the end and she can still keep going. She also realizes that her father loves and believes in her.
ReplyDelete1.
ReplyDeleteSatomi's father, sees a flying ant continually trying to climb up a weed, but that keeps falling down. Satomi is touched this sight and by her father's words and begins to cry. Soon after she seems to have a small epiphany about life, that one will continually try to climb up the plant and succeed, but is likely fall down. This quote also helps her to realize that her father is willing to support her and she decides that she will not let him down.
The struggles of this ant, continually are interwoven into her life, as she begins to face more and more hardships. She, like the ant, must rest a while then get up and climb again until she reaches the top.
1) An ant is trying to reach the top of a weed, but after almost reaching it top, it continuously falls back down and restarts again. Satomi bursts into tears and realizes that her father has never given up on her, despite a mistake she has made. She realizes that with the support of her family, she can get through her hard times and continue on with her life. Like the ant, she may fall down, but the important thing for her is to get back up and try again until she succeeds.
ReplyDelete1) Satomi’s father is watching a flying ant crawl up a weed again and again because the ant can’t seem to get to the top. This reminds me of the general Buddhist concept of perseverance because they try to reach enlightment repeatedly, although it may take years for them to reach it.
ReplyDelete4. Satomi states on p. 190, "All things in the universe have together nurtured small and insignificant me." Is this more of a Mahayana or Therevada statement? Why? Do you think that the universe if benevolent, malevolent, or indifferent to human beings (or the rest of creation for that matter)? [apologies for the insanely general and open-ended secondary question - have fun]
ReplyDeleteI think this more of a mahayana statement because it puts an emphasis on community. I think the universe is indifferent, because there is both good and bad in it. There is never going to be all good, or all bad. Instead there is a sort of medium.
1) Satomi’s father was looking at a ant that repeatedly tried to climb up a weed although it was unsuccessful each time. i think this is related to the fact that in Buddhism one must have patience, and keep trying to reach their ultimate religious goals.
ReplyDelete#1.)The Insect that Satomi's father is watching, is a winged ant, continuously trying to crawl up a weed in the fields. This motivation of the ant reminds me of the deep motivation and intense focus of reaching enlightenment. This imagery of an ant relentlessly trying to reach the top of the weed, but failing, connects back to when I was little and I was learning how to ride a bike, although I fell (a lot), it made me more motivated. The saying of: What ever doesn't kill you, makes you stronger, is very important in this imagery of deep and motivated focus. I think Satomi is so moved by her father's attention to this insect because she realized that although the ant is having difficulty to its goal, the ant is persistent.Connecting back to her own life, Satomi is very ashamed of her disrespect towards her parents. This imagery and symbolism makes her realize the attention and love that her Father has for her. She verbalizes how grateful and how sorry she is and promised to make him happy. With this realization a description of, "an iron shackle was broken and at once a broad expanse of light burst upon the world." This description is similar to the experiential form of enlightenment. The promises Satomi made and her determination to "repay" her father's love for her, make her a better daughter, and all-around person.
ReplyDeleteSatomi's father is watching an ant attempt to crawl up a weed, But multiple times this ant fails, yet it keeps trying. Why while this Satomi realizes that the ant symbolizes herself, and that it represented her father's attention towards her trails and errors. Through this she realized that she must persevere through all of her obstacles.
ReplyDelete1. The animal Satomi and her father watch is a little ant. The ant tries crawling us a weed again and again, each time only fall back down. Satomi suddenly bursts into tears for no reason and says, "...i understand, i really understand!"
ReplyDeleteThis reminds me of the process to enlightenment, and the many ways one can reach it. The ants struggle forms a sort of meditation for Satomi and her father.
Satomi and her dad watched an ant with wings try time and time again to climb a plant- when it would get tired instead of climbing it would hover in mid air. It was interesting because although the ant had the methods to get to the top of the plant quickly and easily, it kept trying to take the difficult path and failing. Satomi cries out because she realizes that she is similar to the ant, and she hopes her father can forgive her like he forgave the ant.
ReplyDelete1. The insect that Satomi’s father is watching is an ant trying to get to the top of a weed, but every time the ant gets close to the top it slips back down. This action reminds me very much of the path to enlightenment itself. To reach enlightenment one must constantly struggle and persevere. This process is extremely exhausting and often exasperating so, just like the ant, one needs to rest and regain energy before trying again. This image also reminds me of the idea that you have to go back a little before you can move forward. Even though we don’t know for sure, it can be assumed that eventually the ant does make it to the top of the weed. This is hopefully the same outcome with enlightenment. Satomi is moved by her father’s attention to the ant because she knows he is relating the ant to her. This shows that her father cares deeply about her and does not want her to get discouraged even though she is faced with obstacles. Satomi wants to please her father and by showing her the ant, her father proves that he still has faith in her.
ReplyDeleteOn page 177, you read about how his father had found a flying ant crawling up a weed. He had been watching the ant for a while and notices a pattern. Every time the insect crawls up the weed and almost reaches the top, he falls back down to the bottom. Suddenly Satomi starts to cry saying that he understood. She is taken aback and starts to understand the importance of respecting parents. She wants to regain her fathers love even though she got pregnant. This reminds me of the process of enlightenment, through meditation you can reach enlightenment. The ant struggles, by focusing on this, it is a form of meditation for Satomi.
ReplyDelete3. Satomi has finally understood the koan Kasho and the Flagpole. She realizes that it means that one should avoid having distracted thoughts, like a shadow casting over an area from a flagpole. The flagpole is just a distraction and it must be removed in order to reach enlightenment. One must not only look beyond the flagpole but take it down completely and not let something she sees be a distraction.
ReplyDelete4. I think that the statement is a more Mahayana statement because even though it appears that Satomi is a separate individual who the universe cares for, in actuality the idea of the universe caring for her makes everything connected. Compared to the world, Satomi is small and insignificant, but that is only because the world takes care of her by blending her into the ‘ocean’ of the universe. In other words she is only small because she is part of something so huge. I think this statement is also more Mahayana because it talks about the world nurturing her, which is a more Mahayana idea. The idea of compassion and helping those in need is evident in the statement. Clearly Satomi views the universe as benevolent to human beings. However, I think that it is a mixture of benevolent and malevolent with out being indifferent. When I think of the universe I think of our world and human kind. Maybe Satomi is referring to a bigger image of the world but I think about the people that make up the world. So in terms of this idea the universe is benevolent because people can be good and supportive. While on the other hand, there is destruction and suffering making is also malevolent. Suffering, in Buddhism is caused by desire, which is categorized as part of a ‘bigger picture’ but in the end I think it all boils down to human actions. Therefore, there is no existence other then our world because it is all connected, and naturally humans are both caring and evil.
ReplyDeleteThey are watching an ant try and crawl up a weed again and again only to keep failing and falling down. Satomi reaches her sudden enlightenment then, and a "broad expanse of light burst upon the world." She wishes to please her parents and be the best daughter she can be.
ReplyDeleteSatomi and her father are watching ant crawl up a weed. The ant continues to try and reach the top, but fails miserably each time. it is at this point that Satomi finally reaches enlightenment. It reminds me, of buddhism because you are trying to reach enlightenment through your own teachings and following your own path and once you finally reach it is successful. I think she is so moved because the ants constant struggle to get to the top, inspire her to be a better daughter and to be nicer to her parents.
ReplyDelete2. I think this means that we are all on the same ride, almost like a train. We all have a one-way ticket to the same place but their are many trains to choose from. Some people may transfer on and off your train, and some people will be seated right next to you for the whole ride. But each train will wind up in the same place, wherever that place is, and no one can change that.
ReplyDelete1. On page 117, Satomi's father is watching an ant struggling to clim up a weed. Although the ant would fall repeated before almost reaching the top, it would continue to try and try again until he got to the top despite how many times he had to fall before getting there. Satomi began crying because she had compassion for the ant because she understood what the ant was going through and "an iron shackle was broken and at once a broad expanse of light burst upon the world." After this experience, Satomi is determined to fulfill her parents' wishes to the best of her ability in order to please them. The ant's struggle reminds me of the path to enlightenment because in order to reach enlightenment, one must endure much suffering; however, the end result will be worth all the suffering one has endured.
ReplyDelete1) The insect is trying to get up the leaf and try to get to the top but time and time again it fails and slides down the leaf. On can see this is a symbol of unknown greatness. For, the insect has wings but it has not yet learned to use them. It also symbolizes persistence and struggle which are both present in the path to enlightenment. Satomi feels very badly for the ant and has a new revelation in which she decides to obey her parents.
ReplyDelete1. While the image of an ant trying to move up a weed may seem unimportant, it has great significance in Buddhism and in Satomi's life. Satomi has gotten pregnant and is forced to move back in with her parents. This relates to the ant because it refuses to give up even though it is struggling to get up the weed. Satomi is also struggling in her life and the ant is an inspiration for her to remain motivated. It also relates to Buddhism. In Buddhism, suffering is imperative for one to achieve enlightenment. Although it is a struggle to reach enlightenment, one must never give up just as the ant refused to stop climbing up the weed
ReplyDelete1. Satomi's father is watching an winged-ant. The ant is attempting to climb up a flower, and it continually falls down after reaching a certain height. Satomi is touched by her father's comments on the bug because her father is recognizing Satomi's pregnancy. He is also saying that he is proud of her, because she keeps on climbing, despite her many falls. Also like the winged-ant she does not use an easy way out, in the ants case his wings.
ReplyDelete1. Her father shows her a winged-ant crawling up to try to reach the top of the plant. Each time right before the top the ant falls and has to begin over. This brings Satomi to tears. It brings her to tears because she realizes that if her father can notice such a small creature than he has obviously noticed her pregnancy. This also is a symbol for her life. Though the pregnancy may cause her to fall down she should keep going and try again. It shows that the father is not angry or disappointed but only wants to help.
ReplyDelete