Customer Reviews

Meeting Faith: The Forest Journals of a Black Buddhist Nun

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As a biracial child of a struggling, single mother in a remote Washington state farming community populated almost entirely by white farmers, their families and their Mexican employees, Faith Adiele became familiar very early in life with race and class differences. In high school, as part of cultural-exchange programs, she visited Mexico and Thailand. In both countries, her experiences fueled her growing outspokenness on issues of race, poverty, and women's rights.

A bright child and a gifted student, Adiele found her way paved way to Harvard but as her university career began was struggling with a ferocious set of personal demons. She discovered quickly that her own biracial background and rural upbringing made her experience of being an African-American utterly unlike that of her black classmates. "My entire identity was in opposition to what was around me," she says of those days. "I didn't have the tools to dissect what was going on in this very segregated community."

Scared, exhausted and unmotivated, she found herself enrolling in a study-abroad program sponsored by the University of Washington, making her second visit to Thailand to develop a sociology project studying Buddhist nuns. Once there, she made an almost spur-of-the-moment decision to undergo ordination herself, but for scholarly rather than religious reasons: she wanted to experience the nuns' lifestyle firsthand. Doing so, she hoped, would allow her to "challenge traditional anthropological methodology and understand the women I was presuming to write about."

Adiele, a Unitarian who had never before meditated, would later write: "Only after ordaining did I discover -- to my horror -- that I'd chosen to reside in an intensive meditation retreat," meaning that she could expect to spend up to 19 hours a day in contemplative activities. Bald and browless -- like many Buddhist nuns, she was required to shave off the trappings of vanity -- she spent two months in a forest temple, learning the intricacies of purposeful, mindful, seemingly simple living. She rose at 3:30 each morning, donned a heavy, full-length white robe, spent long hours in silent sitting and walking meditation sessions, and got by on a single, pre-noon daily meal of rice and vegetables. The adjustment was a huge struggle for Adiele's very young and, as she puts it, very Western mind and body.

Despite the emotionally and physically unsettling process of settling into monastic life, Adiele found that her time in Thailand offered a peculiar kind of respite. In a place that, in those days, had limited exposure to African Americans, she was merely "different," rather than the target of preconceptions based on race. Most importantly, she discovered that spiritual practice, with its conflicts and struggles, means moving toward self-awareness and inner peace. These lessons, she says, strengthened her resolve to work against racism and sexism. "When I read about the Buddhist quest, I realized that it was also the black quest, [or] the women's quest."

"Meeting Faith" chronicles her months in the temple and her attempts, failures, and painfully-achieved successes at living the Buddhist monastic life. The main text, extracted from the journals she kept in Thailand, is a detailed, often emotional narrative of her experiences. A second column, in the margins, includes instructions and admonitions from the temple's head nun, along with excerpts from Adiele's research materials on Asian women, Thai culture, and the role of women in Theravada Buddhism. The resulting story moves between the author's intensely personal voice, the somewhat detached tone of social-science tomes, the head nun's prodding encouragement, the reverent clarity of Buddhist texts, and the concrete details drawn from other sources. Adiele says the technique allows readers to follow and feel her ordination experience in a far-off, unfamiliar place, and to be "disoriented and overwhelmed" -- just as she was.

"Meeting Faith" is a funny, bittersweet, observant memoir by Adiele, today an English professor at the University of Pittsburgh, that offers a warm and witty accounting of an unusual woman's spiritual journey and search for identity between the vastly different cultures of East and West. I recommend "Meeting Faith" to anyone interested in learning more about Buddhism, its monastic institutions, the role of women in that great tradition or about Thai culture and lifestyles. This was a wonderful, "delicious" read, and a difficult book to put down; I very much look forward to reading anything that Faith Adiele may choose to write in the future.

I recently purchased Faith Adiele's book as a gift for a colleague. The write-up sounded like something that would appeal to him. When it arrived, I thought I would just glance through it to be sure it was appropriate, and found myself immediately hooked. Not only have I become immersed in the writing, but the book arrived at a time of major transition in my life, and Faith's journey has in significant ways come to inform my own. There is also the sense that with the journal notes written in the margins of every page, I have shrewdly gotten two books for the price of one! Highly recommended.

Though I'm not a Buddhist, it's a topic that fascinates me, and Faith's memoir provided a riveting and highly accessible introduction to what it means to live as a Buddhist. I thought the book's format, which weaves in quotations from an amazing array of scholars and commentators, was fantastic -- very engaging and personal. The book was full of insights and surprises. Best of all, the author has a wry and appealing sense of humor about her odyssey in Thailand -- and, more broadly, about the universal quest to find spiritual fulfillment.

As I also grew up in a small town in the Northwest, find Buddhism intriguing and challenging, and detest creepy crawlies, I was captivated by this memoir. Ms. Adiele is braver and more adventurous than I, both spiritually and gustatorily, but she communicates her humanness with such wit and style that I was delighted to be on this journey with her. I recommend her book most highly.

This was a great book about a young woman trying to find herself in today's complicated world. She chooses to ordain as a Buddhist nun in order to do this. The book is not about Buddhism as the title suggests, it is about Faith and how she discovers herself and where she wants to go and what she wants to do with her life. She is a very interesting writer and her style pulls you into the book on the very first page. Sometimes funny and sometimes sad but captivating all the way through.

Having read Adiele's essay in The Best Women's Travel Writing of 2005, I was disappointed in the structure of her book. The side page commentaries were distracting and sometimes didn't match the page they were on. The book contained a lot of factual journal entries but very little depth of insight or application to her life for the future. I found some flashback memories to 'prior to ordination' not attached to the context of that chapter. Some good writing, some good story telling. The book didn't live up to the section chosen for the book mentioned above. Kay Klinkenborg, Springfield, IL

This book was a disappointment for me. Firstly, the notes on the margins of this book made the reading dis-jointed and irritating, as if you were reading a magazine article and not a book. Secondly, the main narrative was disjointed as well, jumping back and forth in time as if building suspense in a detective story or some high-brow literature. Yet, this is meant to be a memoir of a Buddhist nun.
Mmh, maybe this pretentious(?) writing-style has something to do with the motivation of the author to take ordination: At some point she confesses that one motivation for getting ordained was that it would later serve her as a good conversation starter at a cocktail party. Sorry, can it get anymore shallow?
I would have loved to read more about the Thai forest temple but I am not sure I can finish this book

I learned so much from this book--not only about the Buddhist traditions of Thailand and the forest temple where Ms. Adiele stayed, which was fascinating to me, but about how one young American approached the ideas of race, culture, self and spirituality in an unfamiliar setting.

The book's gorgeous design also lends to its power. A fantastic book.

Although Buddhism is one of the major world religions, many of us in the Western world are woefully ignorant of even the basic tenants of this faith. Faith Adiele leads us on an insightful journey into Buddhism, sharing both her personal journey and her understanding of Buddhist discipline. This is a well-written, well organized book that should be of interest to those interested in expanding their religious horizons.

A wonderful and delightful meal of spiritual awareness still does not adequately described Faith Adiele's journal titled, MEETING FAITH.

What started out as a journey to travel abroad through the Rotary Club International Exchange Program lead to an exposure to the Buddhist religion and then to the decision to becoming a Buddhist nun. Faith Adiele's narrative is witty and compelling to read as she invites the reader to her coronation through the forest to Buddhism.

She describes in details her Thailand travel beginnings, her exposure to another country's way of life, her mixed emotions, and a decision to partake a spiritual baptism in becoming a Buddhist nun. Faith is forthcoming and leaves nothing to the imagination. Footnotes listed beside the text give definitions of Thai terminology and explanations for various Buddhist terms used in the book. Faith includes sections of her journal along side the text as well.

Faith's journey was intense because it strips away who you are and takes you to another spiritual level and philosophy of understanding yourself and your environment. The readers are awarded the opportunity to take a significant peek into the rituals and practices of Buddhism.

Knowing two African American friends as well as several celebrities that practice the Buddhist religion, this book gave me more insight and details about their beliefs. I enjoyed reading this book because it was definitely unique and interesting.

Faith Adiele shares with the readers an informative and revealing segment of her "forest journals of a Black Buddhist nun" in MEETING FAITH. I recommend this book for anyone who would like to know more about the practices of Buddhism and the commitment of one woman's travel towards achieving her spiritual goals, which are never-ending.

Reviewed by Kalaani
of The RAWSISTAZ Reviewers