GINNA NGUYEN
Staff Writer
“Chk chk chk chk chk crack pop pop pop!”
Firecrackers filled the night sky as the clock struck midnight, ushering in Sunday, Jan. 29. “Gung Hay Fat Choy!” Happy New Year! These words filled the air Sunday as the Lunar New Year, celebrated by most Asian heritages, began.
Not far away in Little Saigon in Orange County the Vietnamese community held festivals and individuals united with family.
Sunday, Chinatown in Los Angeles will be filled with merriment and dancing dragons as people gather to celebrate this new year of the dog.
According to International Student Services, Seaver College is the current home to 128 students from Asia and the South Pacific and 16 students from the Middle East, out of a total of approximately 2,900 undergraduates. In 2004, more than 700 undergraduates were of non-western descent.
The percentages of Eastern cultures present in Western communities, such as Los Angeles, are much greater.
The Lunar New Year reminds Pepperdine’s many Asian students, of not only Eastern culture but also of Eastern spirituality, which has impacted Western life for decades.
The impact of Eastern spirituality on Western culture may lead students to seek a stronger sense of spirituality in alternative ways.
Finding a common ground of spirituality between East and West may be a way to connect an Asian to an American or bridge the gap between a Hindu and a Christian.
“Paavan bhaavan sundar meraa Yeshu kaa naam…” sings the spiritually melodic voice of Aradhna. “Holy, attractive, and beautiful is the name of Jesus …” the sitar and the guitar play out their harmony, lifting voices up to Heaven.
The words above are from a song written and performed by Aradhna, a Caucasian Christian music group that has adopted the lyrical style of Indian Bhajan devotional melodies.
The group adopted Bhajan melodies to connect Christianity with the Indian population and brought it back to the United States as a way to connect Indian worship and devotion with Christianity.
Another Eastern form brought to the West is Chado, the Way of Tea. Originating from Zen Buddhist priests in ancient Japan, the ceremonial serving of tea encompasses every part of the body and mind. Practiced now throughout the world, the beauty of this ancient tradition also reaches the soul.
Prior to its cancellation in the fall of 2005, the department of Institute for the Studies of Asian Cultures offered courses in Chado: the Way of Tea.
Two authentic teahouses existed for the students to incorporate the benefits of an ancient Japanese tradition into modern Western life in the Payson Library. Students of these past Chado classes have often referred to their place of study as a spiritual haven.
One such student is senior Jason Matuszak, who studied the art for two years.
“When I perform tea, not only is my heart open to the guest but also my heart is open to God. No words can explain it. This to me is a place to worship because the meaning of God is there,” Matuszak said.
The teahouse facilities are now being given to the Huntington Library in San Marino.
Although one resource of Eastern tradition at Pepperdine is leaving, there is another resource offered through the services of Campus Recreation.
Yoga, the art of twisting, strengthening and stretching the body, is taught three times a week in the Ralph-Strauss Tennis Pavilion. While the focus of the class is to provide a popular means of physical exercise, for some it provides more.
Graduate Law student Tiffany Hester, who attends the campus yoga classes, said she sees her yoga practice as reflective of the necessity to set her mind in the right state so that she may be in active relationship with God.
“When I do yoga, I don’t think about anything but yoga,” Hester said. “Yoga is a way of de-stressing and slowing down; taking time out to be sure I am remaining healthy, not only in the body but in my state of mind. It’s spiritual because my relationship with God is about taking time out of the day to spend only with Him.”
So why the desire to incorporate these Eastern rituals, reflective of just a few of the traditions making their way across the ocean, into Western religion? Many studies have been done that link ritual to an increase in brain activity, leading to a peace of mind. This peace of mind opens the way to the spiritual experience had in religions and cultures worldwide. The biological link between ritual and spirituality is strong, both in theory and practice. Perhaps this link sparks interest in the minds of Americans today. Or perhaps the expansion of the exotic East crossing the Pacific is drawing attention to its meditative ways.
However one finds his or her own spiritual awakening, may this New Year be filled with joy, success, peace and multicultural meditations. “Se-heh Bok Man-hee Badu-seyo.”
02-02-2006
