Upcoming event

On March 22, we will welcome Dr. Claire King from Vanderbilt University, as she discusses gender and popular culture and their relationship in Stealing Buddha's Dinner. The event is scheduled to take place at 12:30 in the Heydel Fine Arts Center.

We would also like to congratulate the door prize winners from our last session: Marjorie Anderson (faculty), Presli Dickerson (student), and Simon Ryan (student).

iRead recap: Dr. Susan Schoenbohm

Susan Schoenbohm was the iRead guest speaker on February 22, 2011. Dr. Schoenbohm is currently the Practice Leader at the Nashville Zen Center. She has taught philosophy at the University of the South and Penn State University, and she teaches Buddhism in the religious Studies Program at Vanderbilt.

Dr. Schoenbohm’s talk was about the history, philosophy, and practices of Buddhism. She explained that there are different forms of Buddhism with different understandings of its teachings. Zen Buddhism is a form of Ch’an which practices Dhyana, sitting meditation, to learn the teachings of Buddha which can not be learned through words or doctrine. Like Buddha, enlightenment can be gained through meditation practices. She brought with her a statue of Buddha and explained in Zen philosophy it is a symbol of meditation. In other Buddhist traditions the statue of Buddha is revered in veneration of the enlightenment experience. However, Buddha is not considered a god and did not claim divinity.

Buddhism was born in Northern India and the early practices drew upon Hindu worship. As it spread throughout Asia, it took different routes and developed different forms. The early teachings of Buddha were transmitted orally and memorized by nuns and monks. Later they were written down but ultimately there were many variations in the teachings. There are two major branches of Buddhism, Theravada, and Mahayana. Mahayana tradition includes seated meditation and does not focus on the writings, but emphasizes what Buddha himself practiced. Practice undergirds all of the teachings. The most important truth in Buddhism is the realization that everything is impermanent. After all of Buddha’s seeking, he could not find anything that lasts forever.

Buddha was a Prince, Siddhartha Gautama, who was destined to be a holy man. His father did not want this so he protected him with a lavish lifestyle and kept him sheltered from the world. One day Buddha wonders from the palace and sees poverty, disease, old age, and death. He is inspired to understand suffering and goes on a spiritual journey in which he develops a philosophy based on Four Noble Truths. The First Noble Truth is called Dukkha meaning bitterness of life and its dissatisfying nature as it is always undergoing impermanence. The Second Noble Truth is the cause of life’s dissatisfactions, clinging to impermanent things. The Third Noble Truth is Nirvana. It is the cure for clinging and leads to freedom from entanglement with impermanent things. Seated meditation, as Buddha practiced, is itself enlightenment. The Fourth Noble Truth is the Eightfold Path, the practice of right thought and finding a balance.

During her talk, Dr. Schoenbohm led a short meditation session for the group. We focused on straight posture, breathing, and freeing our minds from thoughts. By practicing a lot, she told us, we can quiet our minds from fears, hopes, desires, and expectations. Through meditation we can develop understanding and compassion by realizing that we are all interconnected and that loss is inevitable.

Reminder!

iRead is tomorrow at 12:30 PM in the library. Local photographer, Bernie Ash, will be here to talk about his photographs of Vietnam. We will also have a reception with food and drinks. Be sure to join us!

Spring Events

Two events have been scheduled for the spring semester:

On January 25, local professional photographer Bernie Ash will speak about his photographic exhibit- Children of Vietnam. This event will take place at 12:30 in the Lawlor Room of the Vise Library.

On February 22, Susan Schoenbohm, practice leader at the Nashville Zen Center, will talk about the history, philosophy, and practices of Buddhism. This event will take place at 12:30 and is tentatively scheduled in Baird Chapel in Memorial Hall.

Look for more information about these events as they get closer!

iRead recap: Jose Gonzales from the Coalition for Education about Immigration

Jose Gonzales from the Coalition for Education about Immigration (CEI) was the featured speaker. CEI’s mission is to provide the community with clear and accurate information that will help people adopt reasonable, fact-based conclusions about the immigration debate. He provided us with some interesting information about the immigrants in the United States and Tennessee.

In 2005 there were 35 million immigrants which are about 12% of the total population representing diverse social, religious and cultural backgrounds. Immigrants are from many nations and about half of them are from Latin America. Most are young, married, have jobs, and half report speaking English very well. A large percentage is in the United States legally as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Only a small percentage are undocumented.

The majority of foreign born residents are Latino which is the largest and fastest growing minority in the United States. They participate in the economy by working, consuming products and services, and paying taxes, and they are active in the politics as both public servants and voters. More tortillas are sold in America than hot dogs and salsa outsells ketchup!

There are many myths about immigrants such as they are taking away jobs from other Americans and they come here to get on welfare and take advantage of social programs. Mr. Gonzales informed us that unauthorized immigrants are not eligible for these services. Additionally, unauthorized immigrants who have jobs are given a special identification number to pay income taxes and social security withholdings, even though they are not eligible for benefits. Furthermore, many immigrants are entrepreneurs and have their own business which brings jobs to the community.

Many immigrants come to Tennessee for the same reasons as those who are born in the United States: jobs, moderate weather, and good quality of life. They often leave their home countries due to undesirable economic or other bad conditions. Globalization of labor trends is another push factor. When the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was passed by Congress, American agricultural products flooded the Mexican market. Many farmers could not compete so they left to find work on farms in the United States.

Mr. Gonzales ended his presentation with information about the Dream Act. Many children of undocumented immigrants come here at a young age and attend school from kindergarten to graduation with a high school diploma. Even though they have lived here most of their lives, they are not eligible to attend college. The Dream Act would allow them to adjust their legal status to be here legally. If passed, this legislation would enable many bright young immigrants to achieve their dream of a college degree.

This was the last iRead session for the fall semester. The sessions for the spring semester are in the final planning stages and will be announced as soon as they are finalized. The library staff would like to thank everyone who has attended the sessions so far, and we look forward to another semester full of great programs and speakers!

One week left!

There's only one week left until the first iRead session of the year: a video conference with the Bich Minh Nguyen (pronounced bit min win), author of Stealing Buddha's Dinner. The event will take place in Heydel Fine Arts Center (the building behind the Dining Hall) at 12:30 PM on Wednesday, September 29. The event is free for all students, staff, and faculty members, so get there early to get a good seat!

During the conference, Ms. Nguyen will answer questions about the book, so be sure to finish reading the book and think of a couple of great questions to ask her. The library staff looks forward to seeing a packed auditorium!

Fall Program Schedule

It's almost time for the fall semester to begin at Cumberland University. We've been working hard this summer to promote iRead around campus, and now we're excited to present the fall schedule of iRead programs!

All programs will take place from 12:30-1:30 pm.

September 29, 2010- Bich Minh Nguyen, author and Assistant Professor of English at Purdue University, will speak about the book via web conference. This will take place at the Heydel Fine Arts Center

October 26, 2010- Dr. William Brinker, Professor of History at Tennessee Tech University, will present a talk on the consequences of the US withdrawal on the Vietnamese in Vienam. This will take place in Baird Chapel in Memorial Hall.

November 16, 2010- Representative from the Coalition for Education about Immigration. This will take place in Baird Chapel in Memorial Hall.

Mark your calendars and make plans to join us! For more information about any of these programs or the iRead program, please contact us at 615-547-1299 or library@cumberland.edu.