Book Report- My Spiritual Journey

They book I read throughout the semester was called My Spiritual Journey by His Holiness the Dalai Lama. It is somewhat of an autobiography, in that it is a collection of teachings and stories from His Holiness. It was originally titled My Spiritual Autobiography, but it was changed because although all the statements in the book are the Dalai Lama's, "but given the collaborative effort involved in creating this book, it is not an autobiography in the strictest sense."

The book touches on the Dalai Lama's life, and how he came to be where he is now. It then gives excerpts from his teachings that have been translated by his translator Sofia Stril-Rever. Teachings are given in Three Main Parts, and subsections within each part:

• Part I: As a Human Being
• Our Common Humanity
• My Lives Without Beginning or End
• Part II: As a Buddhist Monk
• Transforming Oneself
• Transforming the World
• Taking Care of the Earth
• Part III: As the Dalai Lama
• In 1959 the Dalai Lama Meets the World
• I Appeal to All the Peoples of the World
• Conclusion: I Place My Home in the Human Heart

Last Post- Flexibilty

So after much distress, blogger finally let me log on. For my post this week, I commented on a fellow student's blog who shared her new Background and Significance section for her final Project Proposal. She briefly talked about how there have been a lot of changes to her project and how there will be more as we enter the field. Here is my response:


Kristen,

I agree that even after all is said and done at the end of the semester, there are so many revisions that still need to be made, many of which we aren't yet aware of and won't be until we're in the midst of it.

I'm coming to the same type of situation for my project. As I reworked my entire proposal last night, I kept finding myself focusing less and less on parenting and more on family interaction, at least when it came to observations I intend to make. This brought me to seriously question, "am I going to be doing exactly what I want to be doing here? Is there something else I would rather learn about?" Because heaven knows I won't have time to learn about everything, though I would very much like to.

So now, what do we do? Well pretty much just take it as it comes and try to be flexible. I loved that the rubric for our proposals took into account flexibility of our projects, because this might be one of the most important aspects of our projects.

This nice thing about going in a group the size we have is that it's large enough to have multiple insights and opinions, but small enough that it's not discouraging or intimidating to talk to the group as a whole about bumps in the road. I'm really excited to work in a group with you and with the other ladies (and my man) and I know that we can all really help each other to be flexible, resilient, and positive when we run into the inevitable situations that will call for these qualities time and time again.

-Julia

Journal Entry 1 million

Oops, I guess I didn't realize we were supposed to continue writing journal entries during project presentations.

Well we're leaving in a month from tomorrow. I'm packing boxes for storage right now. My Tibetan class is over. My project presentation is done. My project proposal final draft is a work in progress.

The good news is that I feel as if I know just what I want to do and I felt like my presentation went alright. That day was a very stressful day, I had a major assignment due for one of my classes, and I was trying to organize a surprise for TJ, as it was our last Tibetan class that night. I didn't have one second of spare time to make brownies so I had to buy some from Sugar and Spice at the Cougareat. That made me late to class. I had a basic outline of what I wanted to talk about in my presentation, just a list of the answers to the points that were required for us to make. I got up to do my presentation and remembered just then (I didn't have time to remember earlier) that I hate presentations and I get extremely nervous while I make them. I'm comfortable talking and making conversation, but when it comes to big groups, I think that I freeze up a little.

Journal Entry- Culture Shock

Today in field study preparation class we talked about culture shock. We talked about an assigned article called "Coping with Culture Shock" by Ferraro.

In this article, there are stages in culture shock that travelers go through:

• The Honeymoon Stage
• Irritation and Hostility
• Gradual Adjustment
• Biculturalism

When we talked about these stages in class, our teacher, Ashley, said that she didn't want to number them because it's not that black and white or straightforward. In fact, we will probably go from one stage to another and then back again, maybe even to square one, throughout our trip.

Current Events

Today in my field study prep course we talked about current events in the Tibetan-in-exile situation, and how they might affect our experience in the field. One major one that was talked about was the current elections that took place recently, and about how the results will be announced a little before the time we will be entering the field, which will mean that the community will be buzzing with the changes and fresh faces in government.

Another subject we talked about was the tug-of-war going on between India and China over Nepal, and how this took a toll on the recent elections. Many exiled Tibetans were not allowed to vote in the recent elections. Is this possibly a result of the recent generous donation China gave to Nepal? Having Nepal on its side, China has an advantage over the Tibet-India alliance.

Another event we talked about was the possible retirement of His Holiness the Dalai Lama from his role as political leader. I just found a brief article moments ago that says that this retirement was accepted, but I will continue to search around for some more depth in this subject.

So after a class full of current events and a few questions about our upcoming lives in McLeod Ganj, I feel as if I'm a square one again. It's a different square one than when I started my journey in developing a project, IRB protocol, finding a mentor, etc etc etc. This square one is purely on a board of knowledge. Knowledge about the religion and politics of the people with whom we will be working. Sure we are learning and researching and trying to piece together enough to understand something, anything, that can help us in the field. But reading and living are two very different things. I can research and read as much as I can, but the plain and simple fact is, I am not living there and don't understand the effect that religion and these current events are having in the lives of the Tibetans. These events are going to affect their lives, and because I will be living with them and working with them, they will affect mine as well.

Potential Problems

Today in my Field Study Prep. course, we had a discussion on potential problems that will inevitably come up in the field that can potentially affect our project or our experience while abroad. At first, I thought "oh ya, I've thought of all of these" but I was soon humbled. There were many problems that I did not think about, some that hadn't even crossed my mind at all!! We brainstormed some on our own on a piece of paper, picked one and thought of a discussion question that relates to that problem, and also brainstormed as a class on the white-board. Here are some potential problems that we came up with as a class (all of the ones I thought of on my own were very obvious problems, and are all mentioned below).

Journal Entry- Studying Up

For my project, I will be working with and communicating primarily with Tibetan families. I have been trying to understand more about the Tibetan exiled situation by watching movies, reading articles, etc. and my facilitator recently sent us an article that talks about His Holiness the Dalai Lama, his plans for political retirement, and China's opinion/role in that decision.

I found this article to be very interesting and it got me thinking about how this announcement, of whether or not His Holiness is going to be able to and when he will retire, is going to have a huge affect on the people I will be working with, and on the area I will be living in. If His Holiness steps aside and the Tibetan constitution is changed to replace his position with "a democratic system in which the political leadership is elected by the [Tibetan] people for a specific term," then that means that the government and lives of the Tibetan people will be dramatically changed. Our Tibetan language teacher spoke to us a little bit about this issue, and he was telling us that he thinks that the Dalai Lama should be able to retire because the Tibetan people need to learn to separate church and state, and leave politics politics and religion religion. He was saying that the Dalai Lama isn't always going to be there to lead the Tibetans, so the Tibetan people need to be a little more independent, at least in politics. TJla then told us that his opinions would be considered very radical, and most likely many other Tibetans would not share that same viewpoint.

If His Holiness steps aside and is able to retire, then I wonder if this would increase or decrease the likelihood of Tibet gaining independence or autonomy. The article talks about how if he does so, then talk and negotiations with Beijing will be easier, but his absence in Tibetan politics would also make many Tibetans anxious and unsure of their future.

I wonder what the result of this debate will be, and what the result of the decision will be. It's interesting to be witnessing history in the making, and even more so to witness Tibetan history in the making, when it's a population I will be working so closely with for the sp/su.

Journal Entry - Inquiry Conference

Although this past week was extremely busy with the state swim meet I was coaching, I was glad that I made it into Inquiry conference for a couple of hours. When I was there, I watched a presentation from Daniel Atwood entitled Men-Tsee-Khang: Contemporary Tibetan medicine in Dharamsala, India. Daniel talked about how Tibetan medicinal practices have kind of shifted from the ancient Tibetan techniques to a more biomedical approach, including some western ideas, along with other influences as technology advances and times change.

Journal Entry- IRB

Dang it's been a long time since I've written a journal entry. Let's see if I can get this ball rolling again.
     These last couple of weeks, I have been working on my IRB protocol. IRB stands for Institutional Review Board.
     "Brigham Young University’s Institutional Review Board is responsible for the review of all human subjects research conducted at BYU, or conducted elsewhere by University faculty, staff, or students. It also reviews research by investigators from other institutions or agencies who are working in conjunction with BYU."
     During my IRB journey, there have been many frustrations, along with many temptations to simplify my project dramatically so my IRB protocol would be easier to compose. I have debated not interviewing children as part of my field study experience so I don't have to fill out as much paper work. I have felt as if everytime I revised my protocol, I still wasn't making any progress and I was doomed to be denied to go anywhere ever.

IRB Draft 1

Application for the Use of Human Subjects

Part A  Application Information (Only typed applications will be reviewed; submit 2, unstapled copies to ORCA in A-285 ASB) 

1.  Title of the Study: Tibetan Parenting: An Ethnographic Study
2.  Principal Investigator: Julia Merrill		3.  Contact Person: (if different from PI):
Title: Undergraduate	Dept: Family Life	Title:	Dept:
Address (+ ZIP):		Address (+ Zip):
Phone:	Email:	Phone:	Email:
4.  Co-Investigator(s): Carolyn Andrews (mentor) (Name & Affiliation)
5.  Research Originated By:   (Check One)            ~ Faculty             X  ~ Student               ~ Staff
6.  Research Purpose(Check All that Apply):      X  ~ Grant          ~ Dissertation        ~ Thesis                ~ ORCA Scholarship       ~ Honors Thesis    X ~  Course Project: Internship?
7.  Correspondence Request:         ~ Mail          X  ~ Call for Pick-Up

Journal Entry- Humility

I read an article for my field study prep class called Eating Christmas in the Kalahari by Richard Borshay Lee. This article was amazing. I really enjoyed reading about how Lee was treated as what he thought to be an outsider, and how he really struggled to understand the

Online Journal- Ophelia Syndrome

"How do I feel?" "What do I think?"

These questions are raised by an article I read called "Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome" by Thomas G. Plummer.

Ophelia Syndrome is when a person is "chronically ignorant, chronically dependent, and chronically submissive." They are not able to think independently and just allow all of their thoughts and actions be dictated by what others tell them to think and do. The author lists several treatments for this:

Treatment 1: Seek Out and Learn From Great Teachers, Regardless of What They Teach

Treatment 2: Dare To Know and Trust Yourself

Treatment 3: Learn to Live With Uncertainty

Treatment 4: Practice Thinking from Different Points of View

Treatment 5: Foster Idle Thinking

Treatment 6: Plan to Step Out of Bounds

Project Proposal- Rough Draft

Tibetan Parenting: An Ethnographic Study

A Field Study Proposal

I. Purpose

     My intention on my field study is to investigate parenting styles in Tibetan families located in McLeod Ganj, India. I specifically intend to learn what Tibetans in this area consider to be good parenting, and how their current exiled situation plays into this. I am also interested in how their religion has an effect on their parenting. Personally, my intentions are to have a deeper understanding of Tibetan Buddhism, and to become closer to understanding the beliefs and rituals that have such a dramatic affect on Tibetan’s lives and family interactions. If I can understand that, then I can better remove myself from my preconceived notions and have a more successful attempt of seeing the world through these peoples’ eyes. It would be a great way for me to completely immerse myself and be able to observe individuals and families in their natural settings. This way, I can get the cross-cultural research that can be beneficial for me as I pursue my education through graduate school and eventually become a counselor. I want to understand different cultures and be able to tie them to my work, because I will be working in the greatest melting pot here in the United States, as well as possibly proceeding in other international studies. Academically, my field study is non-scientific, in that it will be an ethnographic observational study. The question I would like to answer with this study is “what do Tibetan parents in McLeod Ganj, India consider do be good parenting?” This study will be a good experience and help me further my education in Human Development.

Journal Entry- Kundun

Yesterday, I watched a movie called Kundun, which was about the life of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. The movie was well done, and from what I understand, relatively accurate (considering it's still a movie and therefore has limited time). It was enjoyable to watch it and learn about H.H. the Dalai Lama, and to be able to see a little more of the culture and religion that is so strongly present in Tibetan families and communities.

Something that was interesting was the character that represented the oracle in the story, which was brought in on two or three occasions. I did not know that this was a part of Tibetan Buddhism, and I wasn't sure how to react to those scenes because I am not used to seeing a ceremony like that. I know that there will be significant cultural differences, and there will be things I see, taste, hear, and feel that I never imagined I would, but I wonder how I will react. I wonder if I will feel awkward or if I can remove myself from the situation a little and look at it through different eyes. I wonder if these cultural differences will affect my project.

Course Contracts

I recently had a conversation with a woman who handles all of the internships for my department. I will be meeting with her this week to discuss details of how my project can count towards my capstone, and what other classes I can use that align with my project. This has got me thinking about whether or not I may need to change my focus a little bit in order to incorporate more class-friendly attributes in my project. There are a limited amount of classes that are offered that kind of relate to what I want to be studying (parenting styles in Tibetan families), but there are things that I could perhaps incorporate into my life abroad that will be applicable to a class. For example, there is a class called "Teaching English to Children" that I could perhaps fulfill by volunteering in an English teaching center in the community. I will not know much about volunteering opportunities such as this until as late as arriving in the community, so I don't want to take the chance that I won't be able to fulfill the requirements for this class.

However, there is another class called "Religion in the Home" that I can tie into my project pretty well. I would love to incorporate observations about how Tibetan Buddhism affects parenting styles, because it is very much part of the home and culture of Tibetans. I'm wondering if Tibetans consider good parenting to include a thorough teaching and involvement of children in the religion.

It will be interesting to see how my project changes as I come across unexpected "bumps in the road," or how it will change as what I DID expect isn't present or available in the community. How am I going to handle dramatic changes such as these? I need to be able to have a project who's puzzle pieces can shift and change as needed.

IRB Tutorial

Congratulations!

You successfully completed the IRB Tutorial presented by the Brigham Young University Office!

This certificate of completion is presented to:

juliam4 (Julia Merrill)

julia.merrill01@gmail.com
2/14/2011 3:20:17 PM

who is a member of the

FHSS department

Methods Practice Assignment 2

For my second methods practice assignment, I decided to do 45 minutes of observation in a kindergarten classroom, focusing primarily on teacher-student interaction. The reason I chose this is because my observations in the field will be focusing on parenting, and I wanted to get a little experience observing adult and child interactions. It was very enjoyable, and because they have an observation booth set up, the kids and adults are in their natural school environment and act naturally.

After beginning my observations, I decided that I could learn more about the children if I observed their interactions with one another because they were doing that much more frequently than interacting with a teacher. My observations are as follows:
*Note: children and teachers are either referred to as "kid" "child" "teacher" etc, or have names that have been changed.

Methods Practice 1

Method: Interview

Type: very informal/unstructured

Notes: The participant I chose to interview is a Tibetan who has moved to Salt Lake after gaining his primary education in exile in India, and then his secondary education in America. Some notes on the individual's personality throughout the interview are:

Journal Entry/ Annotated Source

For my field study prep course, I was required to find and read an article that touches on the family structure in Tibetan families, specifically with stratification, or hierarchy. I was very glad to be able to find an article that was specifically about this topic, and I was even able to find it in less than an hour!!

"Stratification, Polyandry, and Family Structure in Central Tibet" is an article written by Melvyn C. Goldstein about marriage and family structure in Tibet, and how the decision between monogamy, polyandry, polygamy, etc. is based on social status and the politico-economic rights and obligations that are associated with this status.

Journal Entry

This past week has been very significant in terms of my project development.

As I will be traveling to a Tibetan community, I originally wanted to research and come to some sort of conclusion on what the prominent parenting type is in Tibetan families. I have recently met with a professor of mine, who teaches a methods class in which I'm currently enrolled, and he pointed out to me that this question, specifically the term "parenting types" is very vague and will be hard to determine, seeing as:

• I would have to find families that have children that fit into certain age groups
• I would have to observe many families in their natural settings
• It is very unlikely that I would be able to build up enough rapport with families in the community to make half of the observations I would need to make to draw any kind of conclusion.

Exiled Tibetan Women- Journal Entry

For my field study prep class, we were asked to find an article or source relating to gender, families, or marriage that's related to our area. I looked for a long time and found a few sources on Indian gender roles, but it has been very hard to find much on exiled Tibetan population. This has been a frustration of mine during research; that not a lot is said on the people I will be living with and studying in the upcoming months. I know that I will be studying in India, but because my project deals primarily with the Tibetan population, I wanted to find something that I can really understand in context while I'm abroad.

There is a book called Feminism, Nationalism, and Tibetan Women in Exile written by Alex Butler.

Doc Analysis

Here are my Source Document Analysis Worksheets. I printed them off but I forgot to post them online as well.

Source Document Analysis Worksheet

Brady, Benjamin				Fall, 2008
Author’s name (last, first)				Publication date
Identity and Authenticity: Cultural and Ethnic Implications of Preserving a Tibetan Identity in India
Title
The Journal of Inquiry		Volume 4, pp 3-24
Book series OR Journal		Location and publisher OR volume, issue, pages

1. What is the source’s stated purpose (the argument or thesis)?

The author divides his main argument into three sections. The first is an argument that Tibetan youth who are born and raised in India are ethnically Tibetan. The second is that situation of these youth in question (being “diasporic”) has contributed to the hybridization of their culture and cultural identity. The third and last part of his argument is that this hybridization leads to a sense of authenticity in this particular group, being those who are Tibetans raised in India, and that these are the “true” Tibetans.

Journal Entry

As I have been researching topics that relate to my project, specifically cross-cultural parenting studies, I have found that there are many things that can't be applied to all cultures. Specifically, parenting types and their outcomes, although have been said to be cross-culturally proven, have been found to vary significantly, especially between Caucasian and Asian cultures and communities. This directly applies to my project because maybe the outcomes of different parenting types are completley different, even opposite, of what they are here in the States.

To Be Continued...

Annotated Sources

Annotated Sources

1)      Kelley, M.L., & Tseng, H.M. (1992). Cultural differences in child rearing : a comparison of immigrant chinese and caucasian american mothers. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 23(4), Retrieved from http://jcc.sagepub.com/content/23/4/444.full.pdf+html doi: 10.1177/0022022192234002

-          This study looked at the difference of prominent parent traits (such as nurturing, sensitivity, etc) between middle-class Chinese immigrant mothers and middle-class Caucasian American mothers.

Journal Entry

In my field study prep class, we recently talked about perspectives and culture, and how they relate to each other. In a writing exercise, we were challenged to write what we think the definition of culture is. This was difficult because it seems as if culture isn't something that can be defined by words, or really defined by any means at all, but is to be observed and reflected upon, and is something to which one later refers in sentences such as "it's part of the culture" or in phrases such as "culturally acceptable." The definition I settled on is: culture is a term used to define what and how individuals believe based on their religion, history, geography, etc. and how their actions and lives/lifestyles express those beliefs.

Now when it comes to perspective, I think that culture is viewed differently from different perspectives. An individual views their own culture as the norm and other cultures as unique, kind of how I talk normally and people from England have accents, but from an Englishman's perspective, I have an accent.

Now in relation to my project, it's important to remember that there will be things I do and viewpoints that I have that will be unique to my culture and from the perspective of one in the Tibetan community, will definitely not be considered the norm to them. It goes both ways. There will be things I see that do not seem the norm to me. The way Tibetans parent may be completely different because they have a different culture, and from their perspective, that is the norm.

So, then, it is my goal to be able to see through the Tibetans eyes rather than being an outsider looking in. In order to understand their culture, I'll need to change my perspective.

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Journal Entry 8

As I continue to develop a project to study parenting types in the Tibetan community, I have recently read an article that addressed a lot of questions I had regarding how culture and religion play a part in parenting in Tibetan families. This article states that "Often, young children learn to prostrate themselves, hold their hands in prayer, and make offerings of candles, butter lamps, and incense, even before language occurs..." suggesting that there is a very strong presence of religious beliefs incorporated into parenting. Also in the article, I read about how harmony rather than justice is incorporated into parenting. This reminds me strongly of the approach that His Holiness the Dalai Lama takes in "finding the middle road" as my Tibetan teacher T.J.la puts it, in gaining autonomy from China. Reaching the goal of harmony, not necessarily justice, is what the focus of Tibetan government has seem to have been.

Question Development

Here is my project question brought over from my project development tab, it is still under maintenance, stay tuned.


01/12/2011- Project Question

What is the prominent parent type in Tibetan families located in McLeod Ganj, and does this parenting type fit into a category described by Baumrind, or is it something completely different?

Notes on development: This may be one of the hardest assignments I've had since I came to BYU, not because of an intimidating length requirement or a strict grading rubric, but because it requires me to be decisive and really take responsibility for my project and my learning...

25 Questions

Here are my 25 questions, moved over from Proposal Development to Posts

________
25 Questions Assignment   01/10/2011                                                                                                                          Julia Merrill

                                                                                                                                                                      India Field Study

1.     Does the Baumrind parenting style even work/apply abroad? If so:
2.     What is the most prominent parenting style used in Tibetan families?
3.     Do these parenting styles cause the same effects consistent with Baumrind’s theory?
4.     What kinds of relationships do the Tibetan children have with their mothers?
5.     With their fathers?
6.     Siblings?
7.     Extended family? (more in the picture?)

Journal Entry 7

The group that I will be traveling with to India got together and watched the film Seven Years in Tibet this weekend. That film, along with the reading The Making of Modern Tibet by A. Tom Grunfeld that my field study preparation class assigned us to read, has shed a little light on the history of the area in which we will be studying.

The thing about history is that I don't think it's ever unbiased. It has been written by somebody, and nobody is a completely neutral source. Everyone brings some sort of opinion to the table in any work. There will always be details deemed unimportant by the writer, yet may have importance to another. Something will always be left out or it will be mutated, in a small or large way, sometimes unintentionally, and perhaps sometimes not.

Journal Entry 5

My field study preparation course has recently required us to read some cross-cultural field research sources and then to analyze them, locating and identifying things such as method, audience, sources, etc. One article that I read was one that was written specifically about McLeod Ganj, India, the area in which I will be studying. Although I was supposed to be practicing "speed reading," and therefore read it via "skimming," I found it interesting and plan on reading the remainder of it thoroughly, seeing as it directly relates to my project. From what I gathered while speed-reading the article, I have learned that Tibetan culture rests in the Tibetan people, and their continuation of this culture is the only way to continue their identity as Tibetans, otherwise, they will just be a minority Chinese race.

Journal Entry 4

I loved the notecard exercise.

Specifically, the "Method" notecard. That is something that I have been wondering about as I have thought about my project. I want to find out how Tibetans parent their children, yet I'm not exactly sure the best way is to find this out.
Here are some thoughts concerning this:

Journal Entry 3

NOTE: 25 Questions and Project Question are posted under my Project Development page

First: my thoughts on Inquiry-based learning.
I really liked the excercise we did as a large group class, asking questions about statements posted about questioning. 3 of my questions were:
1) What questions should be asked to find truth?
2) When a question is asked, is the truth found in the answer, or is it found on the path towards the answer?
3) What is the difference between doubting and questioning?

With these questions in mind, I began to develop my project question.

Journal Entry #2

On Friday we looked at pictures of the area in which we will be studying, and it really helped me get an idea of what in my project will be realistic to carry out and what will not. For example, It may be hard to observe parenting style in the market area or in everyday life because I'm not sure how much I will be able to distinguish and separate the group I specifically want to sample in the hub-bub of town.

I know that my project will take form here in the states but I also know that I need to be open to perhaps significant change while abroad because life will be so different and I don't think I'll really know how my day-to-day life and observation opportunitites will vary.

Looking at pictures of the area and getting a feel for the landscape/geography of the town and surrounding areas has helped me get an idea for how I should better carry out my project.

Journal #1

I have been thinking a lot about my project recently. I originally wanted to compare parenting styles used by Tibetans to the styles that have been established and studied here in the US (according to Baumrind). However, after reading the article "What Students Don't Learn Abroad" I decided that this wasn't the approach I really wanted to take. Instead of comparing, I want to strictly observe and learn about their parenting styles as free-standing and original.

Of course, because I have learned and studied the styles taught to me here at BYU, some sort of comparison, whether it be intentional or not, seems inevitable. I would, however, like to try to be as unbiased as possible as I observe and create categories instead of trying to fit my observations into pre-made categories. Instead of using the parenting styles I have studied as set-in-stone-categories, I will use them as very primitive building blocks.