Culture can challenge foreign students

Source: College Media Network

If living at home, Bangladesh native Refayat Haque would not see unmarried men and women publicly holding hands.

It's forbidden. But in America and at GW, the taboos around sex dissimilate, Haque said, giving students from other countries new perspectives on sex and relationships.

"Sex is very taboo and sex before marriage is even worse. Almost everyone is Muslim and they aren't supposed to have premarital sex," Haque said of his home.

With scantily clad men and women on television and couples engaging in public displays of affection in plain sight, the sex culture at Western colleges and universities can challenge the beliefs of international students. In a study on Asian students adjusting to college life in the U.S., Dr. Jun-Chih Gisela of Texas A&M said a lack of familiarity with American customs and culture can sometimes cause international students to feel isolated.

"Many Asian international students feel uncomfortable with the individualism and competitiveness associated with the American culture, " Dr. Lin said in her study.

But for Haque and other international students interviewed, America's sexual culture was less of a shock because they attended international boarding schools before college.

Haque's experiences freshman year led him to the conclusion that certain values held by college students weren't for him.

"I realized what situations were good for me and what's not. My morals and ethics are still how they were at home," he said. "It wasn't hard to adjust, but [it was] a bit weird."

Very simple. If the 21-year skank is hot, than the situation is good, if she's not hot, than it's not.

Hip Hop Monks In Japan

Woah.. never heard a chant in rap style. And also I thought alcoholism was prohibited. Monks don't drink!

Source: CNN

Skateboarding monk shocks China

Source: Ananova

Photographs of a monk skateboarding inside a historic temple have caused controversy in China.

They were taken by a visitor to the Emei Mountain Temple, in Sichuan province, and posted on the internet, reports Huaxi Metropolis News.

The monastery stands near the top of Mount Emei - the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China and the site of the country's first ever Buddhist temple.

Internet users were taken aback by the photographs and posted comments criticising the monk for adopting a "modern fad".

"Monks should seek quietness and riding a skateboard is such a contradictory thing to Buddhist life," said one.

However, a spokesman for the temple said that the outside world did not understand the life of a contemporary monk.

"People get their impressions from TV or movies, where monks are praying all day long, without any motivation or desire," he said.

"But these days monks also enjoy sports like badminton, table tennis and skateboarding in the spare time, as well as praying.

"They even use the internet and mobile phones to promote Buddhism. This is not contradictory to Buddhism but actually is part of the Buddhist spirit."

I'm sick of all these righteous people. It's almost 2010 people. The skateboard is NOT modern fad! It's a 1980s toy.. do people still use skateboards? I haven't seen one in ages.

Also monks have always used technology. I'm sure when the abacus was invented monks were using them. Were people in the streets complaining that monks needed to count on their fingers and seek quietness?

Here in Calgary, I've seen monks at the University. They are invited as guest speakers or they themselves take religious studies and learn about other religions.

I know of temples that have computers there and have their own websites. The notion that monasteries need to be quite and back in the 1800s is false. They are very innovative while still valuing their teachings. Modernizing religion is a good thing, it could bring more people to it in an age where athiestism seems to be the norm.

Communists turn to Confucius

Source: BBC

"Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."


"It does not matter how slowly you go so long as you do not stop."


"Wheresoever you go, go with all your heart."

If you're Chinese, you probably knew the author of these sayings by the time you got to the word "Before". If you're not Chinese, you probably got it by the end. These proverbs are some of the sayings of China's first moral teacher, Confucius (551- 479 BC) - a man whose teachings are now back in fashion in this country.

This week, it was announced that Chow Yun-Fat is to star as Confucius in a state-backed film to mark the 60th anniversary of Communist rule in October. A recent book about Confucius' teachings has sold more than 10 million copies.

For centuries, Confucianism provided the moral foundation for the conduct of life in China. Confucius and his followers designed a system of government and society based on harmony and respect for social order.

But during the early years of Communist rule, Confucianism came under attack. Chairman Mao decreed that there was room for only one belief system in China: his own.

During the decade-long Cultural Revolution, Red Guards attacked the home of Confucius and tried to destroy all forms of religion and tradition. Many were killed for their beliefs.

That's the thing with Confucius. People tend to fall back on his teachings when things go bad. While everything is well and people are making money, greed takes over and people go for more and more without thinking about morals. But no matter how much you bash Confucius or burn down his temple, when it's time to turn back to him, he will still be there.

$19 million in less than 24 hours

Source: AsiaOne

THE congregation at New Creation Church raised a whopping $19 million for the construction of its new premises at Buona Vista - in less than 24 hours.

In a show of support, a record number of 22,000 people turned up for services at the Rock Auditorium at Suntec City Mall three weeks ago.

The donations were collected over four services on Feb 15.

In comparison, a month-long charity drive by NTUC Income, Project Love, raised about $375,000.

Following the success of its fund-raiser, the New Creation Church announced the amount it raised to its members on Feb 22. However, when contacted, the church declined to comment.

New Creation Church-goer Angelique Lee, 26, a full-time student, said her donation was a form of thanksgiving and appreciation "for all that God has blessed me with".

'Attending church has helped to transform my life and make me a better person over time,' she explained.

Graduate student Huang Wei Hsuan, 26, who is not a member of the church, felt that part of the funds could be used to "help those who are really in need, instead of being fully used to construct a new building".

Further proof that the church is recession-proof. People will give their last dollar to the church. They think that this last dollar to the church will save them in the long-term. God is always with them.

I leave you with the wisdom of the late George Carlin


Youtube Link

Chow Yun Fat plays Confucius

Source: Yahoo

Big screen epic "Confucius" has yet to take shape after half a year from the time its Chinese director Hu Mei held a press conference to announce his plans for this movie lat August. One week ago, famous Hong Kong film producer Manfred Wong wrote on his column that Chow Yun Fat will be taking on the role as Confucius in the movie, while the philosopher's lover will be acted by Zhou Xun.

Having been away from the screen for some time, Chow was seen on many occasions recently to promote his new movie. On meeting the Hong Kong press on Mar 3, Chow revealed that he will be acting as Confucius in Hu's new epic and is just waiting to sign the contract with Hu.

Confucius had a lover? Anyone know about this? I thought the topic of great beings having lovers was forbidden. They were too busy being brilliant to have lovers!

Huge Rise in Evangelical Asian Americans

Young, Asian American, and Christian

Berkeley's always been a strange place. I know many Asians either were forced to go there or avoid it like the plague. No surprise that they're still nuts.

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"Asian-American evangelical Christians have become commonplace at elite universities across the US. The trend started in the late '80s and early '90s, and increased as the presence of Asian Americans on campuses grew — specifically East Asians of Chinese and Korean descent. By the 2000s, it had become a phenomenon meriting research papers, books, and articles.

Although Asian Americans only make up about 4 percent of the US population, they constitute about 15 percent of the students at Ivy League colleges, and more than 40 percent at schools like UCLA, UC Irvine, and UC Berkeley, according to a 2007 article, "Asian Americans for Jesus: Changing the Face of Campus Evangelicalism" by Rebecca Kim, an assistant professor of sociology at Pepperdine University. And yet their numbers are disproportionately higher in campus fellowships, sometimes as much as 80 percent."