Service Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Service Marketing - Essay Example From the report it is clear that a service is an activity or benefit that one party can offer to another which is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. In the goods continuum the distinction between products and services is far from clear as one traverses from tangibility to intangibility. The lack of distinction is particularly prominent mid way through this continuum where tangibility and intangibility may gel indistinguishably. However the fact remains that the tangibility dimension of the offering is a critical distinction and can identify a service offering. For instance, in a hotel stay once the stay has been completed nothing tangible is left with customer for preservation except experience, hence hotel stay is a typical person processing service offering. This study stresses that services are not physical. They can neither be possessed nor seen or felt. The tangible indicators of service are few, if any, and they are not good enough indicators to reduce consumer uncertainty. This increases the work of service marketers who must diligently determine how to effectively communicate the service process and the final outcome the consumer will receive -most importantly the quality. The production of the services can't be separated from its consumption. For instance, the production and consumption of a medical examination happen together. One can not store services for future use.

Qualities that a ‘good’ teacher should have Essay Example for Free

Qualities that a ‘good’ teacher should have Essay Task 1 – List 5 qualities that a ‘good’ teacher should have and give reasons for your choices. Which of these qualities do you consider to be more important, and why? 1. a good teacher should really love teaching because in my opinion you cannot be a good teacher if you do not like what you do. 2. a good teacher should be lively and entertaining because children do not like boring teachers, they need somebody who changes learning into pleasure. as my experience schooled children love games and it is one of the best way of encouraging them to take part in the lesson. 3. a good teacher is able to motivate learners as motivation is one of the most important aspects while learning. children who are well motivated are eager to learn thus they learn more. 4. a good teacher should have good rapport and interaction with the class because it is crucial to have a nice atmosphere in the classroom. I believe that children cannot be scared of the teacher, they must like him/her and then they are open and more involved in the lessons. 5. a good teacher should be able to correct student without offending them or affecting their motivation as if he/she does it then the children do not want to take part in the lessons because they are scared of making mistakes. i always tell my students that they shouldnt be scared of making mistakes as nobody is perfect and Im there to correct them. and explain that they are learners so they cant know all of the answers correctly. As far as I am concerned, I really believe that all of the qualities I chose are equal. you really need to have all of them to be a good teacher. it is really difficult for me to decide which one is more important and which one is less important. Task 2 – State what you consider to be the five most important roles of a teacher. Describe each role and say why you think it is important. 1. organizer teacher organizes to do various activities. it is important as children need instruction, need to be organized into groups or pairs. teacher must initiate and finish activities and give feedback. 2. participant teacher participates in the lesson as an equal. it is good  method as children can see that the teacher wants to be a part of the class so it is a good way of gaining trust. 3. observer teacher monitors what is going on in the classroom. it is important as teacher must know the improvement of the students and what needs to be revise. 4. model teacher (native speaker) is the source of real, live English. it is important because sometimes it is the only way for the students to encounter foreign language with foreign accent. native speaker is also a good source of cultural information. 5. assessor teacher gives feedback, correction, evaluates and grades. children want to know whether they make mistakes or not, as they want to improve their skills and try not to make the same mistake again. Task 3 – List 5 qualities you would expect to find in a ‘good’ learner. Which of these qualities do you consider to be more important, and why? 1. a desire to learn it is crucial to want to learn a language as if the students find learning language useless they simply dont want to take part in any activities and they dont want to study. 2. a willingness to ask questions students must ask questions as it is the way of finding more information and also practise their speaking skills. 3. a willingness to listen to the language listening to the language can improve not only listening but also speaking skills. it also helps to gain foreign accent. 4. an ability to think about their own learning process and methods every students is different and prefers different methods of learning. it is important for students to realize which method is the most helpful and useful for them while learning language. 5. an acceptance of error correction students must realize that when teacher corrects them he/she does it not to embarrass them but to improve their learning. students should try not to make the same mistakes over and over again. Task 4 – What are some of the major differences you would expect to find between adult and young learners? Young learners are sometimes less motivated than adults. what is more, young learners are more receptive to the new sounds and grammar. it is widely known that young learners can acquire foreign language faster than adults.  adults has longer history of learning experience than young learners, and they believe they can succeed with the language. Task 5 – List the levels of language ability that learners are often grouped into and give a brief summation of each level: beginner from zero knowledge of English to a very basic one which cannot be quickly or easily activated. elementary students are able to form basic sentence structures and communicate on simple topics. low/pre-intermediate able to communicate and understand a great variety of topics but lacking general fluency and depth of language awareness. still likely to make many errors even with basic structures. intermediate able to understand and communicate on a wide range of issues using limited vocabulary store but still lacking in accuracy and fluency. upper intermediate should be able to actively communicate on almost all topics using a great range of language but still lacking in accuracy. advanced students should have a very good knowledge of the English language and now will be studying more suitable language items. Task 6 – Give as many reasons as possible why students are motivated to study English. The reasons that you give do not have to be in the unit reading material. students are motivated to study English because they realize that English is an international language and you can communicate with almost everyobody all over the world using this language. they know English can improve their future career prospects. they realize it can make their travel abroad much easier. they also want to study English to improve their grades and achieve success in exams. they study because they want to communicate with prints, parents, colleagues. very often they just want to learn language because they are interested in English and English culture.

Analysis of Structuralism in 47 Ronin

Analysis of Structuralism in 47 Ronin THE ANALYSIS OF STRUCTURALISM IN A WESTERN FILM ENTITLED 47 RONIN DIRECTED BY CARL RINSCH AS THE IMAGING OF AMERICAN DREAM Capritia Dirgantari ABSTRACT Media or medium in singular form is the main means of mass communication that addressed to society. The author chooses 47 Ronin directed by Carl Rinsch to be the focus of this analysis which specified to discuss the ‘American dream’ that reflecting from this film. The objectives of this analysis are to identify, describe and analyze influences that given by media to the society. The author uses descriptive as the method of this analysis and applies Structuralism theory to examine the scenes of this film that represents the ‘American dream’. Structuralism theory emphasizes how films deliver its meaning by the utilization of languages that are used to establish purposes in communication. The result findings show that film as one of media represents ‘American dream’ that related to the society mindset, unconsciously or consciously. The author hopes the readers get better understanding of Structuralism theory in analyzing a film and comprehend the m eaning of ‘American dream’ that influencing the societies. Keywords: Media, Film, American dream, Structuralism INTRODUCTION The influence of mass media has grown exponentially with the advance of technology. First there were books, newspapers, magazines, photography, sound recordings, films, radio, television, and internet.Nowadays, everyone depends on information and communication to keep their lives moving through their daily activities like work, education, entertainment, personal relationships, and the other stuff with which we are involved.Societies gather much information that they needed from those media sources. Raymond Williams estimates that media can be defined in three senses: historical sense; technical sense; and etymological sense. Historical sense is an intervening substance or agency and technical sense means medium as communicating message to public. Williams also defines etymological sense of the media as a capitalist sense which developed during the nineteenth century (Williams, 1983). Media became profitable enterprises during this era because its commercials features produce generati ng business for example like advertisements, video clips, and films. America was one of the capitalist states that introduce the famous term of ‘American Dream’ and tons of films have been made in here. The author chooses a western film entitled 47 Ronin directed by Carl Rinsch as the main focus of this analysis to interpret how big ‘American Dream’ influences the public from the structure of this film. 47 Ronin is a 2013 American fantasy action film representing a fictional account of the real group of ronin—a samurai with no master—in 18th era of Japan, who revenged the death of their lord commonly called as ChÃ…Â «shingura. This film was directed by Carl Rinsch and produced by Universal Studios. 47 Ronin costs $152 million for making all scenes and visuals which crowned as the second most expensive box office ever behind The 13th Warrior film (Kit, 2012). Another favored feature of this film is the protagonist character was acted by famous actor Keanu Reeves and other five Japanese actors: Sanada Hiroyuki; Rinko Kikuchi; Tadanobu Asano; Jin Akanishi; and Kou Shibasaki. Universal Studios chooses those five Japanese actors to create better storyline and more genuine than choosing actors who was too mainstream in the United States, even though the scenario in this film giving no resemblance to the origin story of ChÃ…Â «shingura. This film broadly tells about a group of ronin who revenge to the death of their master. The story begins when Lord Asano accompany with samurai of Ako, find an unknown boy—Kai—and allow him to stay in province of Ako. Years later, Lord Asano arranges welcoming event dedicated to the arrival of the Shogun and Lord Kira in Ako. After that, conflicts emerge until Lord Asano penalized to obligating suicide by the Shogun’s order, called as Lord Ieayashu. Time after time the groups of ronin realize this tragedy happened because of Lord Kira, then the group of ronin led by Oishi and Kai sets up for revenge against the Shoguns order (Dresner, 2013). The author chooses this film because it reflects the definition of ‘American Dream’. The definition of ‘American dream’ in this analysis is someone’s struggle for achieving a high position to become recognizable by other people and it has triggered the passion of people from generation to generation (americanradioworks.publicradio.org, 2015). American dream popularized by American people and it is also valid for everyone from other countries to find their opportunities in foreign countries. The American dream offers the freedom of each people to make decisions that render better life; the freedom to wish better dreams; the freedom to gaining prosperity; and the opportunity to lead a dignified life (Adams, 1931). Hence, the author uses Structuralism theory in order to find out the main purpose of this analysis. The structuralism film theory explains in what manner films deliver its meaning by the utilization of languages that are used to establish purp oses in communication (Storey, 2009). An example of this is to understand how combination of scenes can create an additional idea, in this case ‘the American Dream’ portrayed in this film and affecting the societies. ANALYSIS This chapter intends to analyze the implicit meanings from ‘American Dream’ in scenes of 47 Ronin by using Structuralism theory. Structuralism assumes a film or any other kind of media as a signifying system, a set of patterns or relationships within the society. First of all, the author gives a brief explanation about Structuralism theory used in media. Ferdinand de Saussure, the founder of modern structural linguistics in the 1960s, in his essay ‘Object of Study’ theorized his structuralism assessment of language and he also shows the basis of structuralism theory (Eagleton 84). This essay states the role of communication tracts which substituted from one person to other person. Saussure explains that someone must omit the individual act to understand this communication tract, which he has concluded it as social phenomenon (Saussure, 1959). This study related to Claude Levi-Strauss’ the ‘unconscious foundations’ of culture, he argues th at to understand this structure we could correctly comprehend the meaning by discovering the value of myths (Levi-Strauss, 1968: 209). Myths purpose to provide stories that bring peace towards the existence of people. To understand the social meaning of a myth, Will Wright introduces the power of Western which symbolizes deep conceptualization of American social beliefs that contain of three stages: ‘classic’; ‘transition theme’; and ‘professional’ (Wright, 1975). The author describes each stage that mentioned above by proving some scenes taken from 47 Ronin film. According to Wright, the ‘classic’ stage divided into sixteen narrative ‘functions’ (Propp, 1968) which are: The hero enters a social group This happens in the prologue of 47 ronin film when Lord Asano the leader of Ako province saved Kai the protagonist character to live along with Ako society. The hero is unknown to the society In the early beginning of this film, there are scenes that explain the unknown background of the protagonist character. The narrator said, â€Å"No one knows where is he come from or how he arrived in Ako province†. The hero is revealed to have an exceptional ability After Lord Asano takes Kai to his territory, he said that he saw something special inside Kai that no one has seen before. The society recognizes a difference between themselves and the hero. The hero is given a special status This occurs when Oishi, a ronin who asked help from Kai which at the first time Oishi underestimates him. And this recognition continues when Oishi gave him a sword which is inherited from Basho, a comrade who died. The society does not completely accept the hero Unfortunately, one of the other ronin did not accept Kai’s existence in this group. He assumed that Kai is not a samurai and have no clear background of his life. There is a conflict of interests between the villain and the society Meanwhile the antagonist character, Lord Kira has ulterior motive to reigns the Ako province by using witchcraft. The villains are stronger than society. The society is weak In this film, Lord Kira has stronger troops and supernatural beings that can give adverse spells to Ako society. Contrast with Ako society who does not accept any witchcraft and they just rely on human strength. There is a strong respect between the hero and the villain Both Lord Asano and Lord Kira has mutual respect as the leader of province and each year they arrange a friendly competition. The villains threaten the society After Lord Kira made Lord Asano committed suicide—in this context commonly known as hara-kiri, Ako society has no power to avenge his death because it has a big risk to their future. The hero avoids involvement in the conflict When Oishi asked Kai for help, Kai denied it because he feels underestimate at the first time. But then Oishi gives explanation that he was wrong. The villains endanger a friend of the hero Lord Kira launched his second attack by trapping the ronin in a village. This raid laid to two victims of ronin. The hero fights the villains In climax, Kai fight the supernatural beings and Oishi fight Lord Kira. The hero defeats villains The result is the protagonist wins this battle. The society is safe After beheaded Lord Kira’s head, ronin come home and Ako society is safe. The society accepts the hero Ako society and other provinces are accepting Kai as one of the hero who saved Ako province. It is more visible again when Lord Ieyashu gives salute and respect Kai and other ronin as samurai. The hero loses or gives up his special status In the final scene shows that Kai doing hara-kiri as well as the other ronin does in order to uphold the honor as a samurai. These entire sixteen narrative functions give important role to finding the ‘American Dream’ that contains in this film. The author found that entire narrative functions represent the steps of someone’s struggle to achieve recognizable position within the society. And the second stage is ‘transition theme.’ According to Wright, ‘transition theme’ describes about the transition that happened in the protagonist character (Wright, 1975). For example in 47 Ronin, after Kai got banished to a foreign ship, he adapted with his surroundings by keep fighting with other bandits which contrast with his first personality in Ako province. The last is ‘professional’ stage which means as the official position of the protagonist that gives professional identity. This is happened when Kai got recognizable position from the society of Ako province as samurai. Each of the stages that mentioned by Will Wright are interrelated and what has been e xperienced by the protagonist symbolize the definition of ‘American dream.’ According to James Truslow Adams’ book entitled The Epic of America, he states that the American dream is â€Å"a dream which life should be better for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement† (Adams, 1931: 214-215). That is to say, anyone have their right for having big dreams which led them strive to realizing their dreams and how fast they could achieve it depends on the ability of each person. CONCLUSION This conclusion intends to follow up the result of this analysis. Structuralism theory that used to analyze a film entitled 47 Ronin is capable in revealing how the western film industries influence the viewers through the three stages mentioned by Will Wright. Each type of these stages articulates its own mythic version of how to achieve the American dream. The first stage is classical plot, it defines the structure of human achievement by bestowing the relationship, respect, and dignity to differentiate yourself from others. The second stage transition theme argues that companionship and love are alongside with the social status of someone and this stage also reveals how someone’s life change and get a different social status. The last stage is professional plot. This stage argues that respect and companionship are to be achieved only by becoming one of the professional groups. The member of professional group must accept any obligation, responsible of the task that is offer ed, has solidarity to the team, and not competing with the same comrades in any social values. These three stages are representing the ‘American dream’ that is influencing the society nowadays. According to Levi-Strauss, he mentioned that the myth of a society through their structure reveals the communication of a theoretical demand to the members of that society (Wright, 1975: 17). Film portrays reality and reality portrays films. Moreover, the readers should notice that the world is the stage itself and everyone is merely the player. People have their own way to achieve their goals whether they become villain to the society like in ‘transitional theme’, become the professional’ group of the society or maybe become both of them. Hopefully, this analysis can give deeper insight to the readers by knowing influences given by the media especially in a film like 47 Ronin. REFERENCES Adams, James Truslow. The Epic of America. New York: Simon Publications, 2001. Dresner, Jonathan. The Many Things 47 Ronin Gets Wrong About Shogun-Era Japan (And the One Thing It Gets Right). http://www.historynewsnetwork.org/article/154304 USA: 2013. Eagleton, Terry. Literary Theory: An Introduction. Minnesota: The University of Minnesota Press, 2001. Ellis, Kate, Ellen Guettler. A Better Life: Creating The American Dream. http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/americandream/ USA: American Public Media, 2015. Kit, Borys. Universal Pushes Back Keanu Reeves 47 Ronin. New York: The Hollywood Reporter, 2012. Levi-Strauss, Claude. Structural Anthropology. Hammondsworth: Penguin Books, 1968. Saussure, Ferdinand. Course in General Linguistics. New York: Philosophical Library, 1959. Storey, John. Cultural Theories and Popular Culture: An Introduction. 5th Ed. Pearson, 2009. Williams, Raymond. A Vocabulary of Culture and Society. Rev. Ed. New York: Oxford University Press,1983. Wright, Will. Sixguns and Society: A Structural Study of the Western. California: University of California Press, 1975.

Forming the Pomegranate :: Fruits Foods Papers

Forming the Pomegranate pome ·gran ·ate Punica granatum Punicaceae Derived from Old French pome grenate: pome for apple and grenate, having many seeds. And there is also Latin: grantus, granum, grain, seed. This skin of a pomegranate is like tissue, the inside of the body, like blood clotting. Soft tissue. At least twenty-seven different hues of red. Or any other number, perhaps it is more. Pomegranate red when a lip is bitten, the inside of the mouth--soft tissues of the mouth. The fruit's body is deformed, rough, parched. Gentle dents, the kind found upon a child's skull--the way the cranial bones fuse together. Parched, callused: I think of browning manuscripts in libraries; I think of hands. I have one here I am trying to dry, letting it shrivel, concave upon itself. I am letting the dark, damp seeds inside wither. I place it in the fall of the sun, beneath my window. The pomegranate fits my hand, my palm that agrees to the rises and slopes of the fruit. My fingers curling across the indentations, uneven red ground. When Demeter, the goddess of the earth, lost her daughter Persephone, she made winter. The god of the underworld, pale Hades, saw the beautiful child (one can never help with whom they fall in love) and from his chariot he clasp the girl, descending into his dark land. He would have said I loved her because she was so light. Upon the earth the people were confused by the new cold and still Demeter refused spring until her daughter was returned. The other gods demanded of Hades the release of Persephone. In that dark land, soil as sky and all creatures a languid shade of gray, Persephone ate of a pomegranate. She ate six seeds and those small seeds, Hades' artifice, bound her to him for six months of the year, always. And so she rose to Demeter and still must return again to her melancholy groom, every year the same footsteps, the same chariot of black horses. Pomegranate beneath the soil, a muted shade of gray and seeds also a color she did not recognize. Pomegranate, which is regarded as food for the dead. I learned this fruit's story: pomegranate's origins in Iran, in the Himalayas. Later certain travelers carried its seeds on their journeys across the Mediterranean. It now claims many lands: India, Southeast Asia, the East Indies, tropical Africa.

Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal Chapter 18

Chapter 18 I have been out among you, eating and talking and walking and walking and walking, for hours without having to turn because of a wall in my way. The angel woke me this morning with a new set of clothes, strange to the feel but familiar to the sight (from television). Jeans, sweatshirt, and sneakers, as well as some socks and boxer shorts. â€Å"Put these on. I'm taking you out for a walk,† said Raziel. â€Å"As if I were a dog,† I said. â€Å"Exactly as if you were a dog.† The angel was also wearing modern American garb, and although he was still strikingly handsome, he looked so uncomfortable that the clothes might have been held to his body with flaming spikes. â€Å"Where are we going?† â€Å"I told you, out.† â€Å"Where did you get the clothes?† â€Å"I called down and Jesus brought them up. There is a clothing store in the hotel. Come now.† Raziel closed the door behind us and put the room key in his jeans pocket with the money. I wondered if he'd ever had pockets before. I wouldn't have thought to use them. I didn't say a word as we rode the elevator down to the lobby and made our way out the front doors. I didn't want to ruin it, to say something that would bring the angel to his senses. The noise in the street was glorious: the cars, the jackhammers, the insane people babbling to themselves. The light! The smells! I felt as if I must have been in shock when we first traveled here from Jerusalem. I didn't remember it being so vivid. I started to skip down the street and the angel caught me by the shoulder; his fingers dug into my muscles like talons. â€Å"You know that you can't get away, that if you run I can catch you and snap your legs so you will never run again. You know that if you should escape even for a few minutes, you cannot hide from me. You know that I can find you, as I once found everyone of your kind? You know these things?† â€Å"Yes, let go of me. Let's walk.† â€Å"I hate walking. Have you ever seen an eagle look at a pigeon? That's how I feel about you and your walking.† I should point out, I suppose, what Raziel was talking about when he said that he once found everyone of my kind. It seems that he did a stint, centuries ago, as the Angel of Death, but was relieved of his duties because he was not particularly good at them. He admits that he's a sucker for a hard-luck story (perhaps that explains his fascination with soap operas). Anyway, when you read in the Torah about Noah living to be nine hundred and Moses living to be a hundred and forty, well, guess who led the chorus line in the â€Å"Off This Mortal Coil† shuffle? That's where he got the black-winged aspect that I've talked about before. Even though they fired him, they let him keep the outfit. (Can you believe that Noah was able to postpone death for eight hundred years by telling the angel that he was behind in his paperwork? Would that Raziel could be that incompetent at his current task.) â€Å"Look, Raziel! Pizza!† I pointed to a sign. â€Å"Buy us pizza!† He took some money out of his pocket and handed it to me. â€Å"You do it. You can do it, right?† â€Å"Yes, we had commerce in my time,† I said sarcastically. â€Å"We didn't have pizza, but we had commerce.† â€Å"Good, can you use that machine?† He pointed to a box that held newspapers behind glass. â€Å"If it doesn't open with that little handle, then no.† The angel looked perturbed. â€Å"How is it that you can receive the gift of tongues and suddenly understand all languages, and there is no gift that can tell you how things work in this time? Tell me that.† â€Å"Look, maybe if you didn't hog the remote all the time I would learn how to use these things.† I meant that I could have learned more about the outside world from television, but Raziel thought I meant that I needed more practice pushing the channel buttons. â€Å"Knowing how to use the television isn't enough. You have to know how everything in this world works.† And with that the angel turned and stared through the window of the pizza place at the men tossing disks of dough into the air. â€Å"Why, Raziel? Why do I need to know about how this world works? If anything, you've tried to keep me from learning anything.† â€Å"Not anymore. Let's go eat pizza.† â€Å"Raziel?† He wouldn't explain any further, but for the rest of the day we wandered the city, spending money, talking to people, learning. In the late afternoon Raziel inquired of a bus driver as to where we might go to meet Spider-Man. I could have gone another two thousand years without seeing the kind of disappointment I saw on Raziel's face when the bus driver gave his answer. We returned here to the room where Raziel said, â€Å"I miss destroying cities full of humans.† â€Å"I know what you mean,† I said, even though it was my best friend who had caused that sort of thing to go out of fashion, and not a moment too soon. But the angel needed to hear it. There's a difference between bearing false witness and saving someone's feelings. Even Joshua knew that. â€Å"Joshua, you're scaring me,† I said, talking to the disembodied voice that floated before me in the temple. â€Å"Where are you?† â€Å"I am everywhere and nowhere,† Joshua's voice said. â€Å"How come your voice is in front of me then?† I didn't like this at all. Yes, my years with Joshua had jaded me in regard to supernatural experiences, but my meditation hadn't yet brought me to the place where I wouldn't react to my friend being invisible. â€Å"I suppose it is the nature of a voice that it must come from somewhere, but only so that it may be let go.† Gaspar had been sitting in the temple and at the sound of our voices he rose and came over to me. He didn't appear to be angry, but then, he never did. â€Å"Why?† Gaspar said to me, meaning, Why are you talking and disturbing everyone's meditation with your infernal noise, you barbarian? â€Å"Joshua has attained enlightenment,† I said. Gaspar said nothing, meaning, So? That's the idea, you unworthy spawn of a razor-burned yak. I could tell that's what he meant by the tone in his voice. â€Å"So he's invisible.† â€Å"Mu,† Joshua's voice said. Mu meaning nothing beyond nothingness in Chinese. In an act of distinctly uncontrolled spontaneity, Gaspar screamed like a little girl and jumped four feet straight in the air. Monks stopped chanting and looked up. â€Å"What was that?† â€Å"That's Joshua.† â€Å"I am free of self, free of ego,† Joshua said. There was a little squeak and then a nasty stench infused us. I looked at Gaspar and he shook his head. He looked at me and I shrugged. â€Å"Was that you?† Gaspar asked Joshua. â€Å"Me in the sense that I am part of all things, or me in the sense of I am the one who poofed the gefilte gas?† asked Josh. â€Å"The latter,† said Gaspar. â€Å"No,† said Josh. â€Å"You lie,† I said, as amazed at that as I was at the fact that I couldn't see my friend. â€Å"I should stop talking now. Having a voice separates me from all that is.† With that he was quiet, and Gaspar looked as if he were about to panic. â€Å"Don't go away, Joshua,† the abbot said. â€Å"Stay as you are if you must, but come to the tea chamber at dawn tomorrow.† Gaspar looked to me. â€Å"You come too.† â€Å"I have to train on the poles in the morning,† I said. â€Å"You are excused,† Gaspar said. â€Å"And if Joshua talks to you anymore tonight, try to persuade him to share our existence.† Then he hurried off in a very unenlightened way. That night I was falling asleep when I heard a squeak in the hall outside of my cell, then an incredibly foul odor jolted me awake. â€Å"Joshua?† I crawled out of my cell into the hall. There were narrow slots high in the walls through which moonlight could sift, but I saw nothing but faint blue light on the stone. â€Å"Joshua, is that you?† â€Å"How could you tell?† Joshua's disembodied voice said. â€Å"Well, honestly, you stink, Josh.† â€Å"The last time we went to the village for alms, a woman gave Number Fourteen and me a thousand-year-old egg. It didn't sit well.† â€Å"Can't imagine why. I don't think you're supposed to eat an egg after, oh, two hundred years or so.† â€Å"They bury them, leave them there, then dig them up.† â€Å"Is that why I can't see you?† â€Å"No, that's because of my meditation. I've let go of everything. I've achieved perfect freedom.† â€Å"You've been free ever since we left Galilee.† â€Å"It's not the same. That's what I came to tell you, that I can't free our people from the rule of Romans.† â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Because that's not true freedom. Any freedom that can be given can be taken away. Moses didn't need to ask Pharaoh to release our people, our people didn't need to be released from the Babylonians, and they don't need to be released from the Romans. I can't give them freedom. Freedom is in their hearts, they merely have to find it.† â€Å"So you're saying you're not the Messiah?† â€Å"How can I be? How can a humble being presume to grant something that is not his to give?† â€Å"If not you, who, Josh? Angels and miracles, your ability to heal and comfort? Who else is chosen if not you?† â€Å"I don't know. I don't know anything. I wanted to say good-bye. I'll be with you, as part of all things, but you won't perceive me until you become enlightened. You can't imagine how this feels, Biff. You are everything, you love everything, you need nothing.† â€Å"Okay. You won't be needing your shoes then, right?† â€Å"Possessions stand between you and freedom.† â€Å"Sounded like a yes to me. Do me one favor though, okay?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"Listen to what Gaspar has to say to you tomorrow.† And give me time to think up an intelligent answer to someone who's invisible and crazy, I thought to myself. Joshua was innocent, but he wasn't stupid. I had to come up with something to save the Messiah so he could save the rest of us. â€Å"I'm going to the temple to sit. I'll see you in the morning.† â€Å"Not if I see you first.† â€Å"Funny,† said Josh. Gaspar looked especially old that morning when I met him in the tea room. His personal quarters consisted of a cell no bigger than my own, but it was located just off the tea room and had a door which he could close. It was cold in the morning in the monastery and I could see our breath as Gaspar boiled the water for tea. Soon I saw a third puff of breath coming from my side of the table, although there was no person there. â€Å"Good morning, Joshua,† Gaspar said. â€Å"Did you sleep, or are you free from that need?† â€Å"No, I don't need sleep anymore,† said Josh. â€Å"You'll excuse Twenty-one and I, as we still require nourishment.† Gaspar poured us some tea and fetched two rice balls from a shelf where he kept the tea. He held one out for me and I took it. â€Å"I don't have my bowl with me,† I said, worried that Gaspar would be angry with me. How was I to know? The monks always ate breakfast together. This was out of order. â€Å"Your hands are clean,† said Gaspar. Then he sipped his tea and sat peacefully for a while, not saying a word. Soon the room heated up from the charcoal brazier that Gaspar had used to heat the tea and I was no longer able to see Joshua's breath. Evidently he'd also overcome the gastric distress of the thousand-year-old egg. I began to get nervous, aware that Number Three would be waiting for Joshua and me in the courtyard to start our exercises. I was about to say something when Gaspar held up a finger to mark silence. â€Å"Joshua,† Gaspar said, â€Å"do you know what a bodhisattva is?† â€Å"No, master, I don't.† â€Å"Gautama Buddha was a bodhisattva. The twenty-seven patriarchs since Gautama Buddha were also bodhisattvas. Some say that I, myself, am a bodhisattva, but the claim is not mine.† â€Å"There are no Buddhas,† said Joshua. â€Å"Indeed,† said Gaspar, â€Å"but when one reaches the place of Buddhahood and realizes that there is no Buddha because everything is Buddha, when one reaches enlightenment, but makes a decision that he will not evolve to nirvana until all sentient beings have preceded him there, then he is a bodhisattva. A savior. A bodhisattva, by making this decision, grasps the only thing that can ever be grasped: compassion for the suffering of his fellow humans. Do you understand?† â€Å"I think so,† said Joshua. â€Å"But the decision to become a bodhisattva sounds like an act of ego, a denial of enlightenment.† â€Å"Indeed it is, Joshua. It is an act of self-love.† â€Å"Are you asking me to become a bodhisattva?† â€Å"If I were to say to you, love your neighbor as you love yourself, would I be telling you to be selfish?† There was silence for a moment, and as I looked at the place where Joshua's voice was originating, he gradually started to become visible again. â€Å"No,† said Joshua. â€Å"Why?† asked Gaspar. â€Å"Love thy neighbor as thou lovest thyself† – and here there was a long pause when I could imagine Joshua looking to the sky for an answer, as he so often did, then: â€Å"for he is thee, and thou art he, and everything that is ever worth loving is everything.† Joshua solidified before our eyes, fully dressed, looking no worse for the wear. Gaspar smiled and those extra years that he had been carrying on his face seemed to fade away. There was a peace in his aspect and for a moment he could have been as young as we were. â€Å"That is correct, Joshua. You are truly an enlightened being.† â€Å"I will be a bodhisattva to my people,† Joshua said. â€Å"Good, now go shave the yak,† said Gaspar. I dropped my rice ball. â€Å"What?† â€Å"And you, find Number Three and commence your training on the posts.† â€Å"Let me shave the yak,† I said. â€Å"I've done it before.† Joshua put his hand on my shoulder. â€Å"I'll be fine.† Gaspar said: â€Å"And on the next moon, after alms, you shall both go with the group into the mountains for a special meditation. Your training begins tonight. You shall receive no meals for two days and you must bring me your blankets before sundown. â€Å"But I've already been enlightened,† protested Josh. â€Å"Good. Shave the yak,† said the master. I suppose I shouldn't have been surprised when Joshua showed up the next day at the communal dining room with a bale of yak hair and not a scratch on him. The other monks didn't seem surprised in the least. In fact, they hardly looked up from their rice and tea. (In my years at Gaspar's monastery, I found it was astoundingly difficult to surprise a Buddhist monk, especially one who had been trained in kung fu. So alert were they to the moment that one had to become nearly invisible and completely silent to sneak up on a monk, and even then simply jumping out and shouting â€Å"boo† wasn't enough to shake their chakras. To get a real reaction, you pretty much had to poleax one of them with a fighting staff, and if he heard the staff whistling through the air, there was a good chance he'd catch it, take it away from you, and pound you into damp pulp with it. So, no, they weren't surprised when Joshua delivered the fuzz harvest unscathed.) â€Å"How?† I asked, that being pretty much what I wanted to know. â€Å"I told her what I was doing,† said Joshua. â€Å"She stood perfectly still.† â€Å"You just told her what you were going to do?† â€Å"Yes.† â€Å"She wasn't afraid, so she didn't resist. All fear comes from trying to see the future, Biff. If you know what is coming, you aren't afraid.† â€Å"That's not true. I knew what was coming – namely that you were going to get stomped by the yak and that I'm not nearly as good at healing as you are – and I was afraid.† â€Å"Oh, then I'm wrong. Sorry. She must just not like you.† â€Å"That's more like it,† I said, vindicated. Joshua sat on the floor across from me. Like me, he wasn't permitted to eat anything, but we were allowed tea. â€Å"Hungry?† â€Å"Yes, you?† â€Å"Starving. How did you sleep last night, without your blanket, I mean?† â€Å"It was cold, but I used the training and I was able to sleep.† â€Å"I tried, but I shivered all night long. It's not even winter yet, Josh. When the snow falls we'll freeze to death without a blanket. I hate the cold.† â€Å"You have to be the cold,† said Joshua. â€Å"I liked you better before you got enlightened,† I said. Now Gaspar started to oversee our training personally. He was there every second as we leapt from post to post, and he drilled us mercilessly through the complex hand and foot movements we practiced as part of our kung fu regimen. (I had a funny feeling that I'd seen the movements before as he taught them to us, then I remembered Joy doing her complex dances in Balthasar's fortress. Had Gaspar taught the wizard, or vice versa?) As we sat in meditation, sometimes all through the night, he stood behind us with his bamboo rod and periodically struck us on the back of the head for no reason I could discern. â€Å"Why's he keep doing that? I didn't do anything,† I complained to Joshua over tea. â€Å"He's not hitting you to punish you, he's hitting you to keep you in the moment.† â€Å"Well, I'm in the moment now, and at the moment I'd like to beat the crap out of him.† â€Å"You don't mean that.† â€Å"Oh, what? I'm supposed to want to be the crap I beat out of him?† â€Å"Yes, Biff,† Joshua said somberly. â€Å"You must be the crap.† But he couldn't keep a straight face and he started to snicker as he sipped his tea, finally spraying the hot liquid out his nostrils and collapsing into a fit of laughter. All of the other monks, who evidently had been listening in, started giggling as well. A couple of them rolled around on the floor holding their sides. It's very difficult to stay angry when a room full of bald guys in orange robes start giggling. Buddhism. Gaspar made us wait two months before taking us on the special meditation pilgrimage, so it was well into winter before we made that monumental trek. Snow fell so deep on the mountainside that we literally had to tunnel our way out to the courtyard every morning for exercise. Before we were allowed to begin, Joshua and I had to shovel all of the snow out of the courtyard, which meant that some days it was well past noon before we were able to start drilling. Other days the wind whipped down out of the mountains so viciously that we couldn't see more than a few inches past our faces, and Gaspar would devise exercises that we could practice inside. Joshua and I were not given our blankets back, so I, for one, spent every night shivering myself to sleep. Although the high windows were shuttered and charcoal braziers were lit in the rooms that were occupied, there was never anything approaching physical comfort during the winter. To my relief, the other monks were not unaffected by the cold, and I noticed that the accepted posture for breakfast was to wrap your entire body around your steaming cup of tea, so not so much as a mote of precious heat might escape. Someone entering the dining hall, seeing us all balled up in our orange robes, might have thought he stumbled into a steaming patch of giant pumpkins. At least the others, including Joshua, seemed to find some relief from the chill during their meditations, having reached that state, I'm told, where they could, indeed, generate their own heat. I was still learning the discipline. Sometimes I considered climbing to the back of the temple where the cave became narrow and hund reds of fuzzy bats hibernated on the ceiling in a great seething mass of fur and sinew. The smell might have been horrid, but it would have been warm. When the day finally came for us to take the pilgrimage, I was no closer to generating my own heat than I had been at the start, so I was relieved when Gaspar led five of us to a cabinet and issued yak-wool leggings and boots to each of us. â€Å"Life is suffering,† said Gaspar as he handed Joshua his leggings, â€Å"but it is more expedient to go through it with one's legs intact.† We left just after dawn on a crystal clear morning after a night of brutal wind that had blown much of the snow off the base of the mountain. Gaspar led five of us down the mountain to the village. Sometimes we trod in the snow up to our waists, other times we hopped across the tops of exposed stones, suddenly making our training on the tops of the posts seem much more practical than I had ever thought possible. On the mountainside, a slip from one of the stones might have sent us plunging into a powder-filled ravine to suffocate under fifty feet of snow. The villagers received us with great celebration, coming out of their stone and sod houses to fill our bowls with rice and root vegetables, ringing small brass bells and blowing the yak horn in our honor before quickly retreating back to their fires and slamming their doors against the cold. It was festive, but it was brief. Gaspar led us to the home of the toothless old woman who Joshua and I had met so long ago and we all bedded down in the straw of her small barn amid her goats and a pair of yaks. (Her yaks were much smaller than the one we kept at the monastery, more the size of normal cattle. I found out later that ours was the progeny of the wild yaks that lived in the high plateaus, while hers were from stock that had been domesticated for a thousand years.) After the others had gone to sleep, I snuck into the old woman's house in search of some food. It was a small stone house with two rooms. The front one was dimly lit by a single window covered with a tanned and stretched animal hide that transmitted the light of the full moon as a dull yellow glow. I could only make out shapes, not actual objects, but I felt my way around the room until I laid my hand on what had to be a bag of turnips. I dug one of the knobby vegetables from the bag, brushed the dirt from the surface with my palm, then sunk in my teeth and crunched away a mouthful of crisp, earthy bliss. I had never even cared for turnips up to that time, but I had just decided that I was going to sit there until I had transferred the entire contents of that bag to my stomach, when I heard a noise in the back room. I stopped chewing and listened. Suddenly I could see someone standing in the doorway between the two rooms. I drew in my breath and held it. Then I heard the old woman's voice, speaking Chinese with her peculiar accent: â€Å"To take the life of a human or one like a human. To take a thing that is not given. To claim to have superhuman powers.† I was slow, but suddenly I realized that the old woman was reciting the rules for which a monk could be expelled from the monastery. As she came into the dim light from the window she said, â€Å"To have intercourse with anyone, even down to an animal.† And at that second, I realized that the toothless old woman was completely naked. A mouthful of chewed turnip rolled out of my mouth and down the front of my robe. The old woman, close now, reached out, I thought to catch the mess, but instead she caught what was under my robe. â€Å"Do you have superhuman powers?† the old woman said, pulling on my manhood, which, much to my amazement, nodded an answer. I need to say here that it had been over two years since we had left Balthasar's fortress, and another six months before that since the demon had come and killed all of the girls but Joy – thus curtailing my regular supply of sexual companions. I want to go on record that I had been steadfast in adhering to the rules of the monastery, allowing only those nocturnal emissions as were expelled during dreams (although I had gotten pretty good in directing my dreams in that direction, so all that mental discipline and meditation wasn't completely useless). So, that said, I was in a weakened state of resistance when the old woman, leathery and toothless as she might have been, compelled me by threat and intimidation to share with her what the Chinese call the Forbidden Monkey Dance. Five times. Imagine my chagrin when the man who would save the world found me in the morning with a twisted burl of Chinese crone-flesh orally affixed to my fleshy pagoda of expandable joy, even as I snored away in transcendent turnip-digesting oblivion. â€Å"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!† said Joshua, turning to the wall and throwing his robe over his head. â€Å"Ahhhhhhhhhhh!† I said, roused from my slumber by the disgusted exclamation of my friend. â€Å"Ahhhhhhhhhh!† said the old woman, I think. (Her speech was generously obstructed, if I do say so myself.) â€Å"Jeez, Biff,† Joshua stuttered. â€Å"You can't†¦I mean†¦Lust is†¦Jeez, Biff!† â€Å"What?† I said, like I didn't know what. â€Å"You've ruined sex for me for all time,† Joshua said. â€Å"Whenever I think of it, this picture will always come up in my mind.† â€Å"So,† I said, pushing the old woman away and shooing her into the back room. â€Å"So†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Joshua turned around and looked me in the eye, then grinned widely enough to threaten the integrity of his ears. â€Å"So thanks.† I stood and bowed. â€Å"I am here only to serve,† I said, grinning back. â€Å"Gaspar sent me to look for you. He's ready to leave.† â€Å"Okay, I'd better, you know, say good-bye.† I gestured toward the back room. Joshua shuddered. â€Å"No offense,† he said to the old woman, who was out of sight in the other room. â€Å"I was just surprised.† â€Å"Want a turnip?† I said, holding up one of the knobby treats. Joshua turned and started out the door. â€Å"Jeez, Biff,† he was saying as he left.

Dont Ask, Dont Tell Policy essays

Dont Ask, Dont Tell Policy essays The Dont Ask, Dont Tell policy of the armed forces should be enforced as to prevent personnel from not accomplishing a mission due to an interruption of morale. This policy is actually a compromise concerning the service of gays and lesbians in the United States military. In 1993, President Bill Clinton attempted to overturn the then-existing policy which mandated the immediate discharge of any military personnel found to be homosexual (Dont 2001). Although Clinton had significant support by gay rights advocates, the move was strongly opposed by the majority of military, political and religious leaders (Dont 2001). Thus, the compromise policy was agreed upon which allows homosexuals to serve as long as their sexual preferences are not openly declared and they do not engage in any homosexual activities (Dont 2001). Furthermore, military authorities must not actively seek out gay and lesbian service members (Dont 2001). The Dont Ask, Dont Tell, Dont Pursue policy ignited heated debates concerning gays and lesbians in the military. Before 1993, one of the questions on the militarys enlistment contract was Are you a homosexual, and if anyone answered yes, they were immediately disqualified (Conan 2003). Moreover, should military personnel discovered to be homosexual are in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (Conan 2003). According to Title 10 U.S.C. # 654, unit cohesion is one of the most critical elements in combat capability. In other words, the bonds of trust among individual service members that make the combat effectiveness of a military unit greater than the sum of the combat effectiveness of the individual unit members (Policy 2006). The military community exists as a specialized society with its own laws, rules, customs, and traditions, including numerous restrictions on p...