This is an Online Internet Book Club on Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of A Black Buddhist Nun by Faith Adiele. Discuss this book, share your thoughts, make comments, ask questions, offer responses...
Description
A wry account of the road from Harvard scholarship student to ordination as northern Thailand's first black Buddhist nun. Reluctantly leaving behind Pop Tarts and pop culture to battle flying rats, hissing cobras, forest fires, and decomposing corpses, Faith Adiele shows readers in this personal narrative, with accompanying journal entries, that the path to faith is full of conflicts for even the most devout. Residing in a forest temple, she endured nineteen-hour daily meditations, living on a single daily meal, and days without speaking. Internally Adiele battled against loneliness, fear, hunger, sexual desire, resistance to the Buddhist worldview, and her own rebellious Western ego.
Adiele demystifies Eastern philosophy and demonstrates the value of developing any practice—Buddhist or not. This "unlikely, bedraggled nun" moves grudgingly into faith, learning to meditate for seventy-two hours at a stretch. Her witty, defiant twist on the standard coming-of-age tale suggests that we each hold the key to overcoming anger, fear, and addiction; accepting family; redefining success; and re-creating community and quality of life in today's world. 10 illustrations.
Book Club Questions for Meeting Faith (Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of A Black Buddhist Nun (Fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Meeting Faith:
- Did Faith Adiele emphasize any specific themes throughout Meeting Faith? What do you think Faith Adiele is trying to explain with this theme?
- What was unique about the setting of Meeting Faith and how did it affect the storyline?
- Could you relate to any of the characters? If so, which ones and why?
- How do characters change or learn throughout Meeting Faith? What events caused these changes? Have you or someone you know experienced the same thing?
- How does Meeting Faith reveal Faith Adiele's own perspectives about people and the world? For a lively discussion, describe why you think Faith Adiele is liberal or conservative.
- Did certain parts of Meeting Faith affect you emotionally? Why did it evoke those emotions?
- Did Faith Adiele's point of view on things lend new perspective to your own view of the world?
Book Club Questions for Meeting Faith (for Non-Fiction)
Suggested Book Club Questions for Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of A Black Buddhist Nun (Non-fiction)
The following book club questions provide a starting point for creating a reading group discussion on Meeting Faith:
- Did Faith Adiele make persuasive arguments in Meeting Faith? Did Meeting Faith change or reinforce your opinion on the subject?
- What did you learn from Meeting Faith?
- How does Faith Adiele present the information and did you enjoy it?
- How is Faith Adiele biased within Meeting Faith? Is there a political slant to what is being discussed and how does it impact the book?
- What, if anything, does Meeting Faith make you want to read next? Why?
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