Day 25: More Bookmark Updates

Climb every Mountain
Originally uploaded by cowgirlrightup.

Climb every mountain,
search high and low
follow every byway,
every path you know.
Climb every mountain,
ford every stream,
follow every rainbow, 'til you find your dream!



A dream that will need
all the love you can give,
Every day of your life
for as long as you live.


~sound of music~

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Today I was not that productive, except for some updates on my del.icio.us bookmark and some reading. It is so hard to stay focused and write or do mindmap!


So, today I came to Flickr again to try to find some inspiration. And, true enough, I found one!


I like this song from The Sound of Music very much. In fact, I like most of the songs from The Sound of Music. Don't think I have any songs I don't like, actually!


Well, I'd better go to bed now. Have appointment with mom tomorrow!

Day 24: Del.icio.us Lit Review

Today I spent the evening with mom and dad. We had a great Indian dinner at Rang Mahal. It has been a long time since I went out with both of them so by the time I came back home it was midnight!

So, I gladly use this as an excuse not to make that much progress today!

However, what I consider progress relating to my dissertation today is I have reviewed and updated my Bookmarks stored on del.icio.us. I quite like this service because I could write notes on it easily and do cross-check. But the coolest feature of it all is the fact that I could check which links I have are also saved by how many people. Also the recommended link function has proved to be very useful to my research needs.

I also like the idea of del.icio.us because it is all about sharing what you have on your bookmarks with the world. By sharing it with the world, I feel that I have done some public service. I sincerely do hope that there will be some person someday come to use my links posted there! Anyway, I'm still not even half way through the links I want to save on my computer to del.iciou.us. It is a long way to go (more than a thousand links!) and there are more links to go everyday!

That's all for now. Good nigdt!

Days 21-23: Importance of Issue, Objectives

My grandma passed away on April 25, 2007. Therefore, Days 21-23 have been pretty hectic for me.

Nevertheless, I managed to bring along a book to read whenever I could and made some progress, although I didn't blog about it.

Most of what I have been reading these past few days was on semiotics. I found this very helpful in trying to help me with my introduction chapter. I rewrote (again!), part of the intro and also made some changes in my objectives.

I plan to get the mindmap look right before I delve into the details in actual writing than just bolstering ahead wildly like I did last time. I told myself I already have most of the materials I need for the intro chapter anyway. The most important thing is I need to get my foundation right.

Because if my research questions or my objectives are not clear, that would result in a lot of wasted time ahead down the road. So I keep tell myself to be patient.

Here is the latest revised version of my mindmaps. It has grown bigger from the previous version, so I have to split the map again.

(Click to see bigger map)

Day 20: New Mindmap (Again!)

Ah, well, without much further fanfare, here it is!

I realize I have to get some more books on semiotics, because I got stuck already at the theoretical level! :-P


I have to keep reminding myself that I'm looking for hidden connotation, and nothing else!


Well, Ciao for now!

Day 19: New Mindmap for Intro Chapter

I don't know how many times I have written and re-written my introduction chapter! The thing is, if I have been working on the same file and on the same computer and with the same software, it wouldn't be too difficult to track.

But my working habit is as erratic as my thought and wild imagination would take me! So, that's too bad indeed. Because I think I may have made a new world record already for the most-rewritten opening chapter dissertation in history! hee hee hee

Well, but this time, I do have a lot of confidence! That's the big difference! I made very little change to my latest installment. And I sort of have pretty clear idea where I am heading to. I'm far from finishing the first intimidating chapter, but at least I don't get stuck at the first two headings anymore (background and importance of issues).

Now, for the first time, I think I am quite articulate about it. At least I am quite firm on my standpoint and know from what angle I'm going to look at Bushido.


Therefore, without any further explanation, let's take a look at my latest installment:

(Click on graphics to see bigger-sized photo)

Today I also discovered in my private collection at home a textbook I bought when I first started this Ph.D. program that I never got around to read yet titled, "Mass Communication Theory." At that time I bought that book out of sheer "hunch" because I felt that since I'm a graduate of School of Communication Arts, I'd better know a thing or two about such theories.


Well, in fact we all have to take those courses as an undergrad. And, I'm so embarrassed to admit to the whole world, I got an A in it. How, I really had no idea! The thing is, after 20 years of not using it at all, consciously, that is, in my line of work, it is really difficult to try to recall any of those theories.


So, you could say that I bought that book that was written by one of the faculty of my School, Faculty of Communication Arts at Chulalongkorn University, out of sheer sense of insecurity! I simply need something to fall back on in case somebody ask me one day!


And, would you believe it, approximately 3 years after I bought that book (without much chance to really read it except for flipping through the first few chapters), I picked it up again today and delved right in enthusiastically with so much hunger. Why? Because now the focus on my dissertation has become chrystalized and I realized that that book was sent to me somehow with a definite purpose! I am going to do a Content Analysis for my Dissertation! And it is described in minute details in the very last chapter of the fateful book!


As I read more and more, I realized that I have been doing content analysis all along without realizing it! Even in my line of work when I was in the private sector. It has become my second nature. We just did not call it that way, that's all. And when you are in the setting of a private sector, the word "theory" did not come up that much. You just work on your own experience and more of a guts feeling or tried and true approach of the information you have from the field.


Needless to say, this boosts up another confidence for me, which I have to watch it carefully, otherwise I would get too carried away and it could get too dangerous now that I am trying to do things in the academic field. I could not operate like a 007 I used to anymore! I need a backup team, so to speak. And my backup team presents itself as all kind of references, and theory!


I start to understand now, how some people, once their engine has started, could continue to work around the clock, especially young people! Although I'm not that young anymore (unless "young-at-heart" also counts!,) I feel that I could go on and on non-stop on my project. I have to remind myself all the time to take a break to eat, exercise, sleep, and do other things that human beings do!


And this reminds me that I should have gone down to exercise long time ago already! Gee, I think I have spent too much time polishing my ideas on my mindmap! Never mind, I know that the clearer I could get my ideas upfront, the easier my work would be later. I don't want to rewrite my intro chapter and in essence rewrite the world record again, that is!

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**N.B.** Just realize I should change my objective a bit from looking for "Mindfulness Theme" to "Mindfulness Motif." I think this is called Mindlessness! :-p

Day 18: Learning from Sensei

These past few days, I’ve had several chances to spend time with sensei and learned many valuable things from him. In fact, I am so very tempted to blog all about it in My Japan Study Blog, but I have to force myself to stay focused on my goal, which is to keep other writings to the minimum, and try to dedicate all my time, energy, and creativity on one project alone—my dissertation!

Bit by bit, I start to realize how easily I could get distracted to write on other things, thinking it is related to my study. Well, it is related to my study! In fact, it will help me in the long term. But, at the moment, if I do not concentrate all my time and energy on this one project alone, I will never make progress according to the time line I wish to make.

So, reluctantly, all I’m gonna do now is just going to list just the topics of what I want to blog about and hope that one day I would be able to come back and expand on that in details, perhaps completed with the reference and further research into the issue, making it into several articles ready for publication!

One of the things that first came to mind when I thought of what I wanted to write is the differnces between Tameshigiri and Suemonogiri. Now, if you don’t practice Koryu Budo, especially the sword discipline, you won’t be familiar with these two terms. Let’s just say both are techniques of “cutting” the rolled up, soaked tatami mats with real samurai sword!

I am fortunate enough to be able to experience both techniques, both here in Thailand and Japan. And learning I got today is very enriching.

The second thing I want to write about is how resourceful and creative I found sensei is when he was teaching the kids. I don’t want to delve into details at this particular moment yet (otherwise it’ll be a spoiler!), but let’s just say that I really admire him for his intuition and creativity to find some relevance or usefulness for the “inner-strength training” of the samurai in the past for the people living in the contemporary world! He got them (and their mothers) fully engaged in the lesson that they could take out from the Dojo and makes real use of it in the everyday’s outside world! If people think ancient samurai inner-strength (กำลังภายใน) skills are irrelevant for today’s hustles-bustles, well, I’ve got a real surprise for them!

Third is what I like to call the “mind” element I notice more and more in each and every class I have with sensei. In Zen they have a word for it, “Isshin Denshin,” or the ability for the master to communicate with the disciple(s) with the mind and not using words and I think I used to blog about it already earlier in one of my blogs somewhere.

When I first read about it, the idea sounded very appealing, with a hint of romance, even, because it sounded as the sentence was taken right out of a novel or something. But to read about it and to actually experience it yourself is totally different issues here. In an attempt to be a good researcher, I tried to observe the non-verbal communication between sensei and other disciples also. It is the same. It is truly amazing how sensei could manage to actually “read” our mind and make himself understood without the use of words.

Well, there is much more I wanna blog about, but I’m a bit tired today. It has been a very long and productive day, I really appreicate the fact that he accepted me as one of his disciples. One guy in our group, a medical doctor from the Royal Navy (he’s still very young), said that he used to take many kind of martial arts before, but it is not very often to run into a master that could produce such inner power/strength like him! Most other peole only focuses on the technique, I think, while sensei focuses only on the development of the mind!

I guess this is it! The Development of the Mind! Sounds exactly like the name of the retreat I always go to Chiang Mai for - - - “The Development of the Mind for Knowledge and Peace & Wisdom!

Day 17: Interview w/ Sensei

Today I brought my list of Bushido Literature from Tokugawa era to my samurai sword class. (How appropriate!)

After class, I asked sensei to look in my list and make some comments. But, first, I asked about Bushido literature from that period in general first. If there are any other more than my list.

Sensei said actually there are a lot more, but only in old book form (he means actual old manuscripts!) that is available for research only in library. And then there are some historical documents at castles and home of samurai. I think he means those that have been turned into museum. But if talking about those that could be obtained from bookstore, he said I have pretty much covered it. This delighted me a bit. At least I felt I have done my homework well!

Then, I told him my problem and at the same time used it to ask him a question. I told him that these books that I have listed, I already have them in English. There are plenty of the English version, some of them have been translated many times, even, by different translators!

The problem is, when I tried to look for the original Japanese version, I found that it is out of print! Why is that, I asked sensei. Or is it because every Japanese household already has one copy (from, say, Tokugawa period), so they do not need to buy a new copy, hence no need for the new reprint of the Japanese version?

I think my logical reasoning didn't work that well, because sensei did not look that convince. He only told me briefly that, if I ask any Japanese, they would know each book I mention by the name. They would know that it is about Bushido. But they would not know what is it that the book is teaching. Then I asked sensei why.

He did not answer me directly, but he answered me in such a way that made me think. Sensei always does this. He always made me think. He only replied briefly that, Thailand also has this similar problem, doesn't she? hmm.... (Deep!)

Then, I told sensei that, although I could not read Japanese yet (I mean, still very pathetic at around may be grade 2's capability), but I feel that I would like to read the original Japanese version also, in addition to the English and Thai one. Perhaps I could detect something similar in Japanese and Thai that the English version might have missed. Because I already noticed a few things in Japanese Buddhism terms and samurai sword training that my Buddhist mindfulness meditation training in Thailand has enabled me to understand.

To this point, sensei totally agreed and gave me full blessings, because he said he believes there are something missing in the English translation (sensei's English reading skill is very good) and that the Thai and Japanese have so much more in common, not only in culture and history, but also in the trianing of the mind.

Upon hearing this, I felt a surge of hope and courage in my heart. Bit by bit, one tiny step after another, I know I am on the right track. It may not be the world's major discovery or a major breakthrough like a cancer's medicine that can save lives, but I just hope it would be useful enough for people's mind to start them on the path out of suffering. All I need is to make people curious and want to try mindfulness themselves, believing that this could be the tool that helps them deal most effectively with their own suffering.

Sounds like the job of an advertiser. But, hey, that's what I've been doing most of my professional life. And this time it should be much easier even, because all I have to do is to tell the truth. I just have to put it together interestingly, that's all. Sounds just like a slogan of my former agency - - Truth Well Told! :)

Day 16: Another Shocking Sign of Time

I used to write in my other Thai blog awhile ago about the demise of Buddhism in Japan and its implication on mindfulness practice and teaching.

This news, however, reminds me again how true Lord Buddha's prediction is of the direction of Buddhism as a religion, not to mention the truth about the Law of Impermanence.

I could perhaps include this in my dissertation when I discuss about Mindfulness in Japan.

Here's the news.

The End of a 1,400-Year-Old Business: "The End of a 1,400-Year-Old Business
What entrepreneurs starting family businesses can learn from the demise of Japanese temple builder Kongo Gumi"

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On another issue, also related to my dissertation, I managed to do a literature review of some sort while having my haircut today! Well, that was after I decided to download Opera Mini Browser on my phone to try and found that my phone's existing browser is actually already better! Anyway, I decided to make some use on its welcome page so I searched for "Literature" on Wikipedia.

And I was happy that I did, because I learned things that I think I could use for my dissertation as follows.

Literature - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LiteraTure • Note created April 21, 2007

Different historical periods have emphasized various characteristics of literature. Early works often had an overt or covert religious or didactic purpose. Moralizing or prescriptive literature stems from such sources. The exotic nature of romance flourished from the Middle Ages onwards, whereas the Age of Reason manufactured nationalistic epics and philosophical tracts.

Interestingly, the authors of Bushido literature I want to study also lived during what was called the Age of Reason in Europe. And they seem to have the same concern of the moral condition of the society and wrote on the same theme!

Now, as to what "genre" they were writing.

Essays

An essay consists of a discussion of a topic from an author's personal point of view, exemplified by works by Francis Bacon or by Charles Lamb.

'Essay' in English derives from the French 'essai', meaning 'attempt'. Thus one can find open-ended, provocative and/or inconclusive essays. The term "essays" first applied to the self-reflective musings of Michel de Montaigne, and even today he has a reputation as the father of this literary form.

Genres related to the essay may include:

• the memoir, telling the story of an author's life from the author's personal point of view
• the epistle: usually a formal, didactic, or elegant letter.

Also interestingly, most, if not all of the Bushido literature I plan to study happens to fall in the same genre also! Yes! I have a feeling I'm on the right track! At first I thought it was an essay. But when I read on, it dawned upon me that ALL of them were written in a memoir style, with a tendency towards being an epistle even! It seems the educated Tokugawa samurai are very sophisticated writer! Their style are very elegant and their choice of words really shows they actually lived up to the standard of Bun and Bu at that time!


At first, I was thinking of "decoding" the mindfulness element as a "theme," in the Bushido literature when I saw what "theme" is being described as.

Themes in literature

Main article: Theme (literature)

Theme is a broad idea in a story, or a message conveyed by a work. This message is usually about life, society or human nature. Themes are usually implied rather than explicitly stated. Deep thematic content is not required in literature; however, some readers would say that all stories inherently project some kind of outlook on life that can be taken as a theme, regardless of whether or not this is the intent of the author. Analysis of changes in dynamic characters can provide insight into a particular theme.

But when I continued to read on the links, I discovered yet something new again!

Motif (literature) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motif_%28literature%29 • Note created April 21, 2007

Motif (literature)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

For other uses, see Motive.

In literature, a motif or motive is a recurring element that has symbolic significance in the story. Motifs are recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help to develop and inform the text’s major themes. The motif can be an idea, an object, a place, or a statement. The green light in The Great Gatsby and the repeated statement, "My father said that the reason for living is getting ready to stay dead," in William Faulkner's As I Lay Dying are examples of motifs. A motif can be something that recurs to develop the theme in a novel: In the beginning of To Kill a Mockingbird the children are told never to shoot a mockingbird because mockingbirds do nothing in their life but sing for people. At the end of the novel the theme of senseless killing is re-visited when Mr. Underwood talks of Tom's death.

A motif differs from a theme in that a theme is an idea set forth by a text, where a motif is a recurring element which symbolizes that idea. The motif can also be more like the central idea behind the theme, such as courage or loyalty.

Also known (redundantly) as a recurrent motif.

I guess this is how the word "hidden motif" was derived from?


Well, from what I found out today so far, looks like I have to set a hypothesis that I believe that

• Mindfulness is one of the key motifs in Tokugawa Bushido literature, whether or not it is the intention of the author.
  

I also read some more interesting entries in Wiki on Literary Criticism and Literary Theory. In the latter entry, I discover semiotics, semiology and semiotic literary criticism. The first two reminded me of that professor in The Da Vinci Code, actually, because it is more of a study of signs, symbols and meaning. The latter, however, is more related to the meaning in literature.

Semiotic literary criticism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semiotic_literary_criticism • Note created April 21, 2007

Semiotic literary criticism

Semiotic literary criticism, also called literary semiotics, is the approach to literary criticism informed by the theory of signs or semiotics. Semiotics, tied closely to the structuralism pioneered by Ferdinand de Saussure, was extremely influential in the development of literary theory out of the formalist approaches of the early twentieth century.

The early forms of literary semiotics grew out of formalist approaches to literature, especially Russian formalism, and structuralist linguistics, especially the Prague school. Notable early semiotic authors included Vladimir Propp, Algirdas Julius Greimas, and Viktor Shklovsky. These critics were concerned with a formal analysis of narrative forms which would resemble a literary mathematics, or at least a literary syntax, as far as possible. They proposed various formal notations for narrative components and transformations and attempted a descriptive taxonomy of existing stories along these lines.

Propp's Morphology of the Folktale (orig. Russian pub. 1928; English trans. 1958) provides an example of the formal and systematic approach. In successive chapters, Propp analyzes the characters, plot events, and other elements of traditional folktales (primarily from Russia and Eastern Europe). For each of these key components he provides a letter designation (with superscripts to designate specific subtypes). He proceeds to analyze individual tales by transposing them into this notation and then to generalize about their structure. For example:

Analysis of a simple, single-move tale of class H-I, of the type: kidnapping of a person.

131. A tsar, three daughters (α). The daughters go walking (β³), overstay in the garden (δ¹). A dragon kidnaps them (A¹). A call for aid (B¹). Quest of three heroes (C↑). Three battles with the dragon (H¹–I¹), rescue of the maidens (K⁴). Return (↓), reward (w°). (Propp 128)

He then gives the complete structure of this story in one line of notation, the analysis complete and ready to be compared systematically with other tales:

αβ³δ¹A¹B¹C↑H¹–I¹K⁴↓w°

Later semiotic approaches to literature have often been less systematic (or, in some special cases such as Roland Barthes's S/Z, they have been so specifically and exhaustively systematic as to render the possibility of a complete literary semiotics doubtful). As structuralist linguistics gave way to a post-structuralist philosophy of language which denied the scientific ambitions of the general theory of signs, semiotic literary criticism became more playful and less systematic in its ambitions. Still, some authors harbor more scientific ambition for their literary schemata than others. Later authors in the semiotic tradition of literary criticism include Tzvetan Todorov, Mikhail Bakhtin, Roland Barthes, Julia Kristeva, Michael Riffaterre, and Umberto Eco.

Mathematic formula! Just what I need for my Bushido Literature's dissertation! Could somebody help me please!!!!???? :-) hee hee hee I just like to make a lot of noise and a big fuzz every time I have to face with anything quantitative, that's all. In fact, I have to admit that the equation looks very sexy to me! If I could only prove that there is that certain hidden "mindfulness motif" that is so consistent one could write formula like that out of those 5-6 books I plan to do content analysis on, I would not hesitate to just go ahead and try to prove that!

Well, I should have gone to bed long time ago because I have two sword classes tomorrow! Therefore, pray for me, World!

Day 15: Why Bushido is Still Relevant

Today I didn't have much time to do research or write because I had to teach spochan to the kids and also take Japanese class myself. (Taihen da!)


But since I made a resolution to myself to make some progress on my dissertation everyday, I managed to put my thoughts together on a mindmap, and also make a mental note of which books I would use as reference to my point. In fact, I used to write some articles about it already in Thai. So, when it's time for me to put it together in my dissertation, it's easier for my to put them all together when I look at it from my mindmap.



Without much further fanfare, here it is:

(Click to see a larger mindmap)

I also did some more speed-reading on a Thai textbook in Thai titled, "Japan Built Its Nation with Patriotism and Loyalty," by Ajarn Yupa Klangsuwan and still could not make up my mind which part(s) of the book would be most useful to me for more in-depth reading and quoting in my dissertation.

In this book (p.115, as footnote 13), Bushido was referred to as a "Law" developed since the Kamakura era (1100s) for the "higher-class" samurai to teach responsibility and preach ideology and was later adopted in mid 19 century as the ethical code of conduct to help build the nation with patriotism and loyalty by focusing on selfless sacrifice.

Although according to this book Bushido was said to have had an influence from Zen, it was labelled as a "Confucius' Thoughts and Way of Life."

Ok, not bad for a busy day like this, ne? :-)

Day 14: Research, Research & Research

Not that I am too lazy to come up with a more appropriate title for today's entry, but this is really what I have been doing all day! I was going full speed and so immersed in doing one research and reading after another that I forgot to eat on time, postponing my excercise, and even skipped my Japanese class!

At the end, my back hurt so much from sitting too many hours today, so I had to go down to excercise anyway.

Among other things that I need to find soonest is how or where I could get the Japanese version of the book titles that I plan to use for my content analysis. But as I continue to comb the web, more questions came up in my mind. It was more as a self-doubt: am I really sure these would be the books I will use? Have I really explored enough? Should I tried investigate Tokugawa's other literature some more?

I finally ended up did more research on Tokugawa society, religion, and thoughts. I also did look up more Bushido resources from that era. I did make many clips and put it on my Google Notebook for future reference. I also spent some time skimming through my saved bookmark in Yahoo My Web and told myself may be I should start first from there because I have at least 50 fine Bushido resources there in store.

Tomorrow I may not have that much time to work on my dissertation because I have my sword class. But at least I think today I did cover a lot of ground.

I will give the list of literature I plan to cover to my sensei this weekend and hear what he thinks. May be he can even lend me his own copy, if he has some! Being a samurai sword teacher, I see no reason why he wouldn't have ALL of them! hee hee hee

They are (in no particular order):

1. Budo Shoshinshu
2. Hagakure
3. The Unfettered Mind
4. The Live-Giving Sword,
5. The Book of Five Rings

Well, actually I have some more in mind. But at least these 5 would be my basic starting point!

Can't wait to roll up my sleeves and delve right into this project!

Oh, my eyes are so tired. I'd better try to get some sleep. Didn't have enough sleep for many days now. My brain just refuses to rest. I will need all the rest I could get for my sword practice tomorrow!

Day 13: Met w/ Advisor, Got New Direction

Is it a co-incident that I happened to have an appointment with my chief advisor on Day 13?

Well, depends how you look at it. There are both good news and bad news.

Bad news first. After an hour of a very fruitful discussion, he gave me a new direction again! In other words, I would not be doing what I have been painstakingly putting together during these past few weeks anymore. But that's normal for Ph.D. students. We do change our topics or directions for thousands of times before it sort of comes together.

But it was not so bad as Apollo 13! What I mean is that, my proposal was not completely shot down. We did not really take it apart. My advisor quite liked it, actually. And he also believed and said, perhaps for the first time, that looks like I'm going to make it this time (!). He told me to keep the Bushido part (which is exactly what I had in mind!), and ditch the Budo practice. That could take the role of background support info.

Now comes the big announcement. He wants me to take the SOCIOLOGY OF LITERATURE's approach! Basically, I'm going to do a content analysis of Bushido literature from Tokugawa period! And may be some other literature by samurais during that time. I have the list of books I want to do already! It is in the Table of Content of the Introduction Chapter I gave him today. But may be I have to do some more research on Japanese literature, just in case that question comes up during my defense...

In fact, it's back to square one. Because this is what I originally proposed to JSPS and got my research grant for: looking for mindfulness elements in Bushido literature from Tokugawa period and analyze it in the social context of Tokugawa society in order to understand it better!

So, I think my advisor purposedly let me trying to find my way around for 3 years, reading everything I could relating to sociology, only to find out that my initial hunch was right in the first place! Gosh, what a clever way to teach! He has been very patient for 3 years, watching me growing up academically. Or have I? hmmm...May be not, because I guess I have forgotten what I read in the first year already! Darned!

Anyway, his approach is similar to my sword sensei, though. He waits until he sees that I'm ready. Then he told me what to do next. Sort of. He did not really tell me what to do, just give me more list of books to read (as usual) and told me to write. However, this time I really have to catch up fast with the reading list which I normally was too lazy to do. Big mistake! The list piles up fast, man! And before you know it, you feel you are never going to make it!

So, the first thing I did after coming back home after seeing him was Googling "Sociology of Literature." I groaned soon after the result came up? Why? First, the field was not covered in Wiki. And for me, if it is not in Wiki, then, something must be really, really wrong!

And, boy, was I right! Gosh, how come my advisor always send me on to the most difficult path? Why is that? Consider this:

The sociological interpretation Of literature is not a favorite son of organized social science. Since the emancipation of the study of literature from the rigid research dicta and historically cogent laws of philology, almost everybody with a fair access to reading and writing feels entitled to offer historical, aesthetic, and sociological criticism and generalization. The academic disciplines which have been traditionally charged with the history and analysis of literature have been caught unaware by the impact of mass literature, the best seller, the popular magazine, the comics and the like, and they have maintained an attitude of haughty indifference to the lower depths of imagination in print. A field and a challenge have thus been left open and the sociologist will have to do something about them.

Frankfurt School: On Sociology of Literature by Leo Lowenthal 1948

http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/lowenthal/1948/literature.htm

If I have more time and energy, I'll update some more about my revised proposal. But I have to do the actual revision first!

Like John Lennon once said, you win some, you lose some. You can't really have it all, I guess. But if you ask me how I felt after my first meeting with my chief advisor for the first time in what seems like aeons, I guess it's pretty ok. At least I got the answers I wanted for today. And I could work with more focus, although it seems I'm going to have even more work load than ever before with the new area I have to cover (soc of lit) and also some other books he mentioned today.

Again, the takeaway from this meeting is

• Keep Bushido, drop Budo.

• Drop Leadership Theory, develop own Operational Term for "Mindfulness" to use in Content Analysis.

• Methodology = Content Analysis.

• Content to be Analyzed = Bushido Literature from Tokugawa Period.

• Analytical Framework to make it Soc of Lit instead of just literature review = "Social Millieux" (or should it be Millieure?)

He also mentioned about Great Tradition and Little Tradition. Oh, there are still many more to read and understand. He emphasized the use of language and its symbolic interpretation. He also listened with interest and expressed agreement when I explained the changing meaning of the word "Nen" in Japanese to him. He said I could include that in my dissertation also.

So, what theories are we looking for now? Social exchange theory? Symbolic theory? Gee, I start to sound more and more like the professor in the Davinci Code who interprets the meaning of stuff in history. But that's what I'm about to set to do, to "decode" Bushido, the code of conduct for the legendary Tokugawa Samurai.

There you go, another title for my dissertation. I should start keeping tab of the ever-changing title of my dissertation, actually. May be that would be the last finishing touch of the whole work even! Don't you think?

Ok, as of today, let it be recorded as:

"Bushido Decoded: Unlocking the Mindfulness Elements in
Tokugawa Samurai's Code of Conduct"

Hmm...I like it. Sounds like "Matrix Reloaded" and "Da Vinci Code" reel into one! hee hee hee Well, we'll see if I could really reload it from the past decode it and deliver what this title promises!

Day 12: Progress Report Wrap-up

It's one of those days where your brain takes a break and won't come back easily!

Anyway I managed to get a few things done: progress report in Thai language that I had to prepare for the National Research Council of Thailand, the special update I prepare for my advisors and I even finished tidied up one bookshelf, a Japanese language studies.

I guess the reason my brain simply would not co-operate is because my lack of sleep! Last night I could not bring myself to sleep and I managed only 2 and a half hours before waking up at my usual time! Then I somehome dragged myself on all day. Now it's almost 2:30 of another day. I can't understand myself sometimes. My body is tired, but when I want to go to sleep, I can't. The brain simply would not shut down. And to think that I DID meditate yesterday already!

Today actually I planned to do a speed-reading on a Thai textbook called Sociology of Religion. It's easier to do speed-reading in your native language of course. Yesterday I flipped through it quickly already once and noticed they have something on Phenomenology that was interesting.

I also read a bit more on Phenomenology today, from the thickest book in my house, something like the Library's Refrerence-Sized Encyclopedia of Sociology. I guess it's around 900++ pages. It's from U.K. Luckily Phenomenology doesn't sound as bad in this book as ethnography! Strange... Looking at all those arguments, I guess those academia did spend a lot of time arguing on abstract ideas that don't mean much to me. How I wish I could tell them that there are many things more important in life, such a mindfulness training! If only they could learn of their real sufferings! May be they would stop their pointless arguments altogether!

I think the real reason I'm struggling so long is I was trying to find some theory that I would really believe in! I think to do a Ph.D., you really have to have a passion in every single detail of your study. I mean, I can't defend my work half-heartedly, can I? It's a like a soldier going to war. I remember a line from a Hollywood movie, Robin Hood. "Is this worth dying for?"

Well, so far, not yet. But lately I have been pretty excited about Transformational Leadership Theory. Because, for the first time, I feel this kind of leader is similar to Lord Buddha, my true hero. It might be strange for other people who has not practiced mindfulness meditation and get to "know" Lord Buddha as I did. Well, I didn't get to know him personally either. All I know is he was a man, a great one. What he discovered was really difficult to practice, but yields immense benefit, even for starters like me. And the more I practiced what he taught, the more I become inspired by him. Have I been transformed? I guess so. Not in a big way yet, but I think I have found all the answer I need in life. I have found the peace within. But I guess I could not use the internal experience as the bibliography for my dissertation!

Day 11: Phenomenological Sociology

Didn't make much progress today. My illness confined me to bed most of the afternoon again. I must ask my doc in next visit if this is the result of my sleep apnea, allergy, hypoxia, hypothyroid, or all of the above. :-p It's not fun living with all those symptoms and more when you try to do a dissertation. It's worst when they all hit you at the same time when you think you just had it going for the first time in 3 long years!

Well, complaints aside, I had a good day because I managed to get another great tip from my friend! This time, in a form of clear explanation of the phenomenological approach that I could perhaps use in my dissertation! It got me excited for the first time! The light at the end of the tunnel seems to be bigger by the day!

However, like in Buddhism's teaching, my joy did not last long. After I checked my Encyclopedia of Sociology, I discovered that Phenomenology is a bad boy of Sociology! Would I ever get away from this curse? Just look at this excerpt:

Phenomenological sociology has not greatly influenced sociology as a whole and has also been subjected to extensive criticism. It has been argued that it deals with trivial topics, is purely descriptive, has had very little empirical application and neglects the notion of social structure. (Abercrombie, Hill & Turner, 2000, p. 262).

I still have to find out more about all this. But one thing that perhaps cheers me up a bit was the "See Also:" part at the bottom of the entry. Among others was the term "Verstehen," the German word for Insight or Understanding that was one of the first terms in sociology that actually thrilled me. Come to think of it, there has been almost no other sociological terms that has ever made an impression on me in a big way, although "Sociological Imagination" came pretty close.

Needless to say, I fell for the word Verstehen not because of its exotic and sexy accent, but because of its close meaning to the idea of Insight as in Insight Meditation in Buddhism which means Vipassana Meditation which is what I really want to talk about in my dissertation.

So we'll see. May be phenomenological sociology would be my answer after all, academically controversial and all that, if I get my advisor's blessings, of course.

Day 10: Methodology Reloaded

Today I am fortunate enough to get a visit from fellow sufferer in this world of dissertation headache. She kindly enlightened me that my case falls right into what we call Phenomenology.

Well, I feel so embarrassed to say that I totally forgot what I studied two years ago in Philosophy of Science course! Well, not exactly all of them. But to make sure I make an accurate next step and stay on the right course, I did look up my trusted online source for all things philosophical--the Standford Encyclopedia of Philosophy--. This is after a visit to Wiki made me more confused than before!

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Phenomenology (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

plato.stanford.edu/entries/phenomenology • Note created April 14, 2007

Phenomenology and Ontology, Epistemology, Logic, Ethics

The discipline of phenomenology forms one basic field in philosophy among others. How is phenomenology distinguished from, and related to, other fields in philosophy?

Traditionally, philosophy includes at least four core fields or disciplines: ontology, epistemology, ethics, logic. Suppose phenomenology joins that list. Consider then these elementary definitions of field:

• Ontology is the study of beings or their being — what is.
• Epistemology is the study of knowledge — how we know.
• Logic is the study of valid reasoning — how to reason.
• Ethics is the study of right and wrong — how we should act.
• Phenomenology is the study of our experience — how we experience.

The domains of study in these five fields are clearly different, and they seem to call for different methods of study.

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So, my friend kindly suggested I should use a phenomenological approach in my dissertation. I would certainly bring this up to my advisor this time. I hope this would not sound too metaphysical for my sociological degree over here!

Oh, sociological is such a difficult field to tackle! It is supposed to be scientific, yet is is very abstract. And all I want to do is a simple thesis to tell the world that mindfulness is indeed a good thing not only to yourself but to the community you live in.

But I guess there is no such thing as a "simple" thesis?

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Now let's look on how I could apply phenomenology to sociological study

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phenomenology

hss.fullerton.edu/sociology/orleans/phenomenology.... • Note created April 14, 2007

PHENOMENOLOGY

Myron Orleans

Encyclopedia of Sociology

Phenomenology is a movement in philosophy that has been adapted by certain sociologists to promote an understanding of the relationship between states of individual consciousness and social life. As an approach within sociology, phenomenology seeks to reveal how human awareness is implicated in the production of social action, social situations and social worlds (Natanson 1970).

Phenomenology was initially developed by Edmund Husserl (1859-1938), a German mathematician who felt that the objectivism of science precluded an adequate apprehension of the world (Husserl 1931, 1970). He presented various philosophical conceptualizations and techniques designed to locate the sources or essences of reality in the human consciousness. It was not until Alfred Schutz (1899-1959) came upon some problems in Max Weber's theory of action that phenomenology entered the domain of sociology (Schutz 1967). Schutz distilled from Husserl's rather dense writings a sociologically relevant approach. Schutz set about describing how subjective meanings give rise to an apparently objective social world (Schutz, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1970. 1996; Schutz and Luckmann 1973; Wagner 1983).

Schutz's migration to the United States prior to World War II, along with that of other phenomenologically inclined scholars, resulted in the transmission of this approach to American academic circles and to its ultimate transformation into interpretive sociology. Two expressions of this approach have been called reality constructionism and ethnomethodology. Reality constructionism synthesizes Schutz's distillation of phenomenology and the corpus of classical sociological thought to account for the possibility of social reality (Berger 1963, 1967; Berger and Berger 1972; Berger and Kellner 1981; Berger and Luckmann 1966; Potter 1996). Ethnomethodology integrates the Parsonian concern for social order into phenomenology and examines the means by which actors make ordinary life possible (Garfinkel 1967; Garfinkel and Sacks 1970). Reality constructionism and ethnomethodology are recognized to be among the most fertile orientations in the field of sociology (Ritzer 1996).

Phenomenology is used in two basic ways in sociology: (1) to theorize about substantive sociological problems and (2) to enhance the adequacy of sociological research methods. Since phenomenology insists that society is a human construction, sociology itself and its theories and methods are also constructions (Cicourel 1964; 1973). Thus, phenomenology seeks to offer a corrective to the field's emphasis on positivist conceptualizations and research methods that may take for granted the very issues that phenomenologists find of interest. Phenomenology presents theoretical techniques and qualitative methods that illuminate the human meanings of social life.

Phenomenology has until recently been viewed as at most a challenger of the more conventional styles of sociological work and at the least an irritant. Increasingly, phenomenology is coming to be viewed as an adjunctive or even integral part of the discipline, contributing useful analytic tools to balance objectivist approaches (Aho 1998; Levesque-Lopman 1988; Luckmann 1978; Psathas 1973; Rogers 1983).

Day 9: Going Quanti? I Must Have Gone Crazy!

It's not difficult to guess that math and I do not look eye to eye!

In fact, thanks to the educational system in Thailand, I did not have much chance to make any eye contact with math and stuff since Grade 9 in High School because I happened to choose the English-French major.

So, the idea of trying to do my dissertation based on a quantitative reseacrh laden with math and statistical equations is a bit appalling, if not surprising.

But, worse comes to worst, it may be my only remaining option?

Today, this idea sort of presented itself to me. Reluctantly, I made a note of it in my Google Notebook. Well, who knows, I may really have to use it later, when all else fails, that is!

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Factors involved in this study are:

• Mindfulness

• Bushido

• Budo

• Transformational Leadership Development

How about:

1. Find the relationship between Mindfulness and Transformational Leadership Development (Using the concept of Mindfulness in Buddhism and Transformational Leadership Theory in Psychology to develop tools to measure such relationship.)

2. Find the relationship between Mindfulness and Bushido during Tokugawa period (by content analysis in the period's Bushido literature)

3. Find the relationship between Mindfulness in Koryu Budo (by observant participation.)

If it can be proved that

• Mindfulness is an important factor that contributes positively to transformational leadership deelopment, and
  

• that same "mindfulness" exists abundantly in Bushido way of living and Budo practice,
  

• then, it may be possible to say that Bushido and Budo contribute positively to transformational leadership development.

Which means, I'm done!



Oh...the suffering of having to go through all this!


Kids, don't try Ph.D. studies at home! :-p


I'd rather be in my Meditation Retreat! :'-(

Day 8: Tokugawa's Bushido vs. Meiji's Bushido

Today, I was mulling over the idea of doing the content analysis of comparing Bushido literature from the two periods. That would fall right into the realm of my advisor in Japan who has recommended me earlier!

During Meiji Era, the samurai class was effectively gone. And so would Bushido literature, theoretically. Therefore, the only book I know is the one by Professor Inazo Nitobe.

The problems are:

1. Would the idea of comparing Bushido literature from two periods alone would be substantive enough for a Ph.D. dissertation?

2. Would Nitobe's book alone enough to represent Meiji's era thinking?

Well, I still have to put "Transformational Leadership" into the equation, mind you!

Arghhhhhhh!!!!!!

Tough decision! Some body help me, please!

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Went to see Than Vor (W. Vajiramedhi), the young scholar monk today at Benjamabopit Temple to make merit & ask him to pray for Grandmom and also to ask his advice on my dissertation.

Upon hearing that I finally found the aspect I would like to talk about--Leadership--, he helped point out to me how Lord Buddha achieved his Leadership Attributes (Barami 10) and what were the tools through which he excercised his Leadership (Tosapolyan 10).

This is one of the reasons I like visiting him. He is such a wealth of treasure, not only on academic stuff, but also on the issue that is most important to me--Mindfulness Practice! Like Lord Buddha once said in Mangala Sutta, to see monks is one of the highest virtues! Indeed it is! :-)

Day 7: World Premiere

Hello World,

Can't Believe I'm starting another blog.

Well, I'll keep it brief to serve its purpose.

I'm logging my daily progress on my dissertation as opposed to emailing it to a few of my closed friends.

My goal? To get over it within a year.

Don't laugh! I've been stuck for more than 3 years.

So, today I decided to open this blog after working on a mindmap to update my advisors on my latest work-in-progress.

Today it's extrememly hot in Bangkok and I have hypoxia again! Darned! Just when I thought I would have it right and get going!

Tonight I hope to be able to update some more.

Please pray for me, world, for my dissertation is for you all.

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Late Addition: To see my update for advisors, which is yet to be finished, go here For some inexplicable reason, I could not send my file from Google Documents to this blog. hmmm.... I wonder why? Is it a signal that I should do more meditation?

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