Elimination of Anger, Ignorance and Greed – A Path to Enlightenment

Project #1 – Values

Kimberly Webb

23rd February 2020

Intercultural Communications 2150 – Section 502

Tamra K. Phillips
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Overview

Buddhism is a global religion that dates back to sometime around 500 BC. Its teachings are

based upon the tenant that a human life is one of suffering. Their lessons center around selflessness

and detachment in pursuit of enlightenment and an elimination of that suffering. I had the opportunity

to attend a meditation service at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, a Jodo Shinshu sect of Buddhism.

While there, I had the opportunity to meditate, listen to chants, and hear about what Buddhists seek to

overcome through mindful meditation. After reviewing Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Value Orientations,

I was able to see how the cultural values of Buddhism vary significantly from those of a traditional

Western society. While the two differ greatly, there are discernable differences in their views of human

nature, and their preferred personality type.

Religion

The Buddha was born into royalty. For the first 29 years of his life the Buddha lived as a prince,

shielded from the harsh realities of the world. Eventually, he left his family and his life of comfort.

Instead of living a life of luxury, he sought to “find the answers to these questions of life (Salt Lake

Buddhist Temple, n.d.).” After many years of seeking the Truth, the Buddha found enlightenment. He

then went on to teach other about the truths of life that he had found. These principles, known as the

Four Noble Truths, are the fundamental principles that Buddhism today is based on.

The first Noble Truth is Dukkha, which tells us that human life is full of suffering. This truth is

not as pessimistic as it seems to be. Rather than focusing on the inevitable suffering of this life, Dukkha

tells us that there is a way for us to live a life free of suffering. The second Noble Truth, Samudaya,

states that our suffering is not pointless – it has a reason. According to Samudaya, suffering derives

from our own, seemingly never ending, desires. The third Noble Truth is Nirodha. Nirodha tells us that
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in order for us to reach nirvana, or true enlightenment, we must rid ourselves of our worldly desires.

The fourth and final Noble Truth is Magga. Magga, also known as the Middle Path or the Noble

Eightfold Path, serves as the way to nirvana. This path walks in between the extremities of complete

pleasure and of giving up all pleasures entirely.

Religious Function

I had the opportunity to attend a meditation service at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple.

Buddhists believe that one aspect of the Eightfold Path to help reach enlightenment is meditation; the

meditation service that I attended first was centered around this tenant of Buddhism.

When I first arrived at the temple, a kind woman named Dot who was leading the service came

and asked me if she could show me how to perform Oshoko. We walked towards the alter at the front

of the temple together, where she showed me how to properly bow and light incense before taking a

seat. In this act of Oshoko, the incense is representative of ourselves and is meant to symbolize

acknowledgement and gratitude for our existence.

The meditation service started briefly after I completed Oshoko. The service began with mindful

meditation. Mindful meditation is meant to heighten awareness of yourself, your body, your thoughts,

and your emotions. I was surprised that this meditation took place seated in the pews of the temple, as

opposed to on the ground. Following the meditation, the priest leading the service began to chant. The

others in the temple shortly followed suit and began chanting with him. I wasn’t entirely sure how to

react to the chanting at first. I had never been in a religious gathering that involved chanting prior to

this. I found a Japanese to English translation for the chants in the book the temple had provided and

followed along as the rest of the congregation chanted. The chants that the group did on that day

talked in particular about the Eightfold Path, and their gratitude to have the lessons of the Buddha. The
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sentiment behind the chants reminded me a lot of the sentiments in the songs I have heard in more

traditionally Western religions. After the chants were done, the group meditated once again.

The meditation service finished with some thoughts from the same woman who showed me to

Oshoko, Dot. Dot discussed the importance of mindful meditation and the role that it plays in the

Eightfold Path on the way to enlightenment. Specifically, Dot focused on the three things that Buddhists

are trying to overcome through mindful meditation: anger, ignorance, and greed. While she was

speaking, Dot said that it is important to remember that human beings are not perfect and that

everyone will experience those emotions. The important thing, she said, is not to avoid those feelings

entirely, but to recognize them when they occur and then to simply keep moving forward.

Value Theory

In 1961, anthropologists Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck developed a communication framework

meant to aid the study of communication differences across cultures. Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck

centered their framework upon understanding the importance of cultural values and the role that they

play in communication. “Values are the most deeply felt beliefs shared by a cultural group; they reflect

a shared perception of what ought to be, and not what is (Martin & Nakayama, 2018).”

Different sets of values can often be the cause of intercultural tension and miscommunication.

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck developed their value orientations as a way to help mitigate conflict and to

better understand the cultural values of different groups of people. There are five important questions

that make up Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Value Orientations:

• What is human nature?

• What is the relationship between humans and nature?

• What is the relationship between humans?

• What is the preferred personality?

• What is the orientation toward time? (Martin & Nakayama, 2018)

Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck believe that there are three responses that can be given to each of these

question in relation to values. While they acknowledge that any singular response is possible within a

culture, there is a dominant cultural response regarding these values. These answers provide us with a

better understanding of the values within different cultural groups (Martin & Nakayama, 2018).

Analysis

While an overarching Buddhist alignment was clear in all of Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s Value

Orientations, there were two that stuck out to me in particular, human nature and preferred

personality. These two were likely the most obvious to me because the Buddhist value orientation in

these models is in stark contrast to the traditional Western values that I have been raised around.

When asked “What is human nature?” Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck stated that the three

potentially answers were basically good, a mixture of good and evil, and basically evil. Prior to my

experience at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple, I had only had exposure to Christian religions, where the

value orientation falls in ‘a mixture of good and evil.’ These organizations focus on how to diminish the

evil, with the recognition that it is there. Buddhism, on the other hand, is of the belief that human

nature is basically good. This can be showcased by referencing Dot’s words on anger, ignorance, and

greed. While Dot acknowledge that these are traits that we need to work to overcome, she did not

brand people who fall victim to them as ‘evil.’ Dot focused on the good that comes from working

through these pitfalls, whereas most Western societies focus on the evils within the pitfall itself. These

different approaches showcase the differing value orientations of the two in regard to human nature.

The three answers that Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck anticipated to the question, “What is the

preferred personality?” were; ‘doing’ with stress on action, ‘growing’ with stress on spiritual growth,

and ‘being’ with stress on who you are. The Buddhist emphasis on meditation easily shows the way in
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which they answer this question: Their value orientation is based off of growing and improving

spiritually. Of the hour-long meditation service, I attended, about half of it was spent in quiet,

introspective meditation, with the intention to further grow spiritually.

Reflection

Before I walked into the meditation service I was physically shaking inside of my car. While I

knew that I was welcome inside the temple, I was overwhelmed with anxiety. I knew that this

experience was going to be different than any other religious experience I had ever had. Part of me

wanted to drive away and attend a service more closely aligned with what I had experienced in the past.

Ultimately, I was able to calm myself down and remind myself that I had chosen to go to the Salt Lake

Buddhist Temple for a reason. I would learn more from this cultural experience than from another

simply because it was so different from anything that I had experienced in the past.

I am grateful that I was able to talk myself inside the temple, because my intuition was right.

My experience at the Salt Lake Buddhist Temple was unlike any other religious experience I have had. It

was completely counter to the services I have attended in Western society, and it opened my eyes to a

new way of thinking about religion. It also helped me to see that although new cultures may be

intimidating at times, if treated with respect, they are not something to be afraid of.
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Works Cited
Martin, J. N., & Nakayama, T. K. (2018). Intercultural Communication in Contexts. In J. N. Martin, & T. K.
Nakayama, Intercultural Communication in Contexts (pp. 94-102). New York: McGraw-Hill
Education.

Salt Lake Buddhist Temple. (n.d.). Buddhism Guide. Retrieved from Salt Lake Buddhist Temple:
[Link]