Incense Essays

"Boom! Boom!" I was startled awake by the heavy drums, followed by a sharp "clang!" of the cymbal. Firecrackers popped wildly amidst the rhythmic noise, and to add to the racket, the monk's prayer was recited repeatedly through a megaphone as he paraded down the streets. As strange as it sounds, this is just one of the many early morning Buddhist rituals for the seventh lunar month, also known as the "Ghost Month." Nothing like this exists in America, but ever since moving two years ago, things have

For whom did the bell toll? For whom did the crowd roar and cheer like a pack of depraved beasts, specks of phlegm and saliva pilfering from their maws and raining upon the fine-grained sands as if a gift from the heavens? For whom did the skies part, the clouds giving way to the ominous pressure of the sun as it bore down upon the combatants of that midday spectacle? For whom did the crows gather, their expectation of death accompanying the load of violence and the adrenaline that coursed through

Besides, the now-semantic meaning of a dead metaphor passes the cancellability test. For example, in the case of “incense”, it is incoherent to say: “The boy knows how to incense his mother, but he does not know how to make her very angry”. That means that to make very angry is now a non-cancellable meaning of the verb “incense”. So, to make very angry is a semantic meaning of “incense”. But, as we have seen earlier, the alleged referential meaning of a definite description does not pass the cancellability

The short story by Andrew Lam, “Who Will Light the Incense When Mother’s Gone,” focuses on a Vietnamese family. As this family immigrates to America, they struggle to assimilate into the culture, while at the same time keeping their own Vietnamese culture alive. Lam’s mother often fears Lam is too far into the American lifestyle. This fear is expressed through the author’s use of the “cowboy” metaphor when he uses the Vietnamese definition as “someone who leaves town to ride alone in the sunset

“Who Will Light Incense When Mother’s Gone?” by Andrew Lam is a story of a mother and son who immigrated to America from Vietnam. Lam often explored and questioned how the value of tradition and culture for the Vietnamese Americans are identified. The themes most talked about in this story are the quest for identity/coming of age, conformity/rebellion, love and the American dream/nightmare. The family has moved to America and although the mother continues to participate in the tradition of the

“Who Will Light Incense When Mother’s Gone?” is a nonfiction text written by Andrew Lam, and published on the Huffington Post. With Lam as the narrator, he tells the story of his Vietnamese-American identity, which often clashed with his mother’s traditional identity. Lam’s narrative utilized the themes of filial love and the quest for identity. He expressed his love and the formerly tense bond between he and his mother, while searching for his own identity as a Vietnamese child in America. Even

In the essay “Who will light incense when Mother’s gone?” written by Andrew Lam, literary themes is recognized as one of the key elements in this essay. The themes of this non-fiction text is rebellion and identity because the author is rebelling against his Vietnamese tradition and being a writer has become a part of his identity. This essay will demonstrate how and why those two literary theme utilizes this non-fiction essay. In the essay “Who will light incense when Mother’s gone?” The theme

I chose to do my essay on the non-fiction essay, “Who Will Light Incense When Mother’s Gone?” by Andrew Lam. The themes I noticed in this non-fiction essay is love, identity, and the American dream. Andrew Lam feels guilt and shame when he heard his mother's remark: “Who will light incense to the dead when I’m gone” (Lam). Lam’s mother is worried that when she dies, their Vietnamese culture will be forgotten due to the modern American culture Lam has adapted to. His aunt replies to her worries and

and the dark brown incense pot, which also makes these two positive spaces more prominent in the photograph. However, the dark green trees also frame the photo, making not only the worshipers, but also the Buddha and the incense pot to be placed in the center of the photo. Also, the sun’s rays highlight the large, white Buddha statue, making it the most prominent feature in the photo. The light of the bright sun highlights the incense pot in the photograph; however, the incense pot is not as prominent

my athame, because I have had it for a long time, and I wanted to get rid of any old energies that it had accumulated. I began by making the incense. I used benzoin, cedar, and rosemary, because these are all good cleansing herbs, according to Scott Cunningham. I wanted to make sure that I included a resin, because I have the best success with incenses that contain some resin. I have a small food processor which I use to grind herbs. I know many people use a mortar and pestle, but I have found

The Fight for Identity in Andrew Lam’s “Who Will Light Incense When Mother’s Gone?” Andrew Lam’s creative nonfiction essay “Who Will Light Incense When Mother’s Gone?” is a testament of finding one’s own identity through having to fight for it. In Lam’s case, he fought against his mother to find his own identity, while his mother fought to save her’s. Lam and his mother both rebelled and conformed in their struggle to find or preserve their own individual identities. Lam’s struggle for his own

The use of incense is because of Psalm 141: 2 “Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!” Another ritual that stood out to me the most was when the priest announced, “ Wis-dom! Let us attend!” prior to the readings and called on the congregation

On Saturday March 24th I went to the Thien Hau Temple in Chinatown. I went to the temple with my friend Bianca and I met up with Tyler in our class. When we were first given the assignment I knew I wanted to visit a Buddhist temple because I know they have beautiful architecture as I’ve passed by a few in Los Angeles. I don’t know a lot about Buddhism except for the few things I learned about it in middle school. I wanted to visit the Hsi Lai temple in Hacienda Heights, but I couldn’t due to time

Taoism also known as Daoism, is an ancient Chinese religion that derives from the philosopher Lao Tzu and his book Tao Te Ching. It is a religion that believes that everything is in harmony with nature. They practice using meditation, martial arts, incense and oils, and much more. Origins: Taoism is an ancient Chinese religion that was made by the Philosopher Lao Tzu. It is believed that Lao Tzu originally wrote a book about Taoism called “Tao

great-grandparents are constantly teaching the younger generations the traditional way of doing things. Younger generations can choose to live out the traditions of their elders or to break them and create their own. Andrew Lam’s “Who Will Light the Incense When Mother’s Gone” is a great example as to how the American way of doing things can become a clash when trying to keep up with old traditions. The rebellious and nonconformity choices of a son towards his mom’s way of doing things can bring conflict

there’s a doe nearby, arousing a mating behavior even if he’s sensing something wrong. The deer spray is amazingly simple to use. You can choose to spray it sporadically or secure it down to scatter its whole contents, hence a “bomb”. Much like the incense sticks, this product also masks odors thereby removing human traces near the bait. Its fragrance sticks to all it comes in contact with - leaves, logs, trees, and grass, setting down a natural scent that trails back to the

From it was the only light that the priest had to perform his sacred duties. The Altar of Incense was a small piece of furniture, 1 ½ by 1 ½ feet, three feet high, made of wood and overlaid with gold. On the altar was continual fire. Each morning and every evening when Aaron the priest went in to care for the lamps of the Golden Candlestick, he offered prayer for the people and burned sweet-smelling incense on the Golden Altar. The horns were at the four corners of the altar. These were also made

There are certain things that spell makers, whether they are working in a group or own their own, will likely need. The following covers most of them, but do not feel that you need to rush out to gather all of these things immediately. You can always improvise and gather the components as you go along, so long as everything that you use is properly consecrated. An Altar This is simply put, a special area upon which to work your magics. They may be ornately carved, beautifully crafted works of art

My grandparents made a sacrifice for their future generations by leaving this village in hope of a better life. As I stare at the filthy, impoverished houses, I can't help but wonder how some poor, Chinese villagers from nowhere had the audacity, grit, and determination to leave the village where years and years of family history are woven into the rich, Southern Chinese soil. I recall Wang Lung from The Good Earth, who became wealthy, forgetting his humble beginnings and everything he valued

until the baby was born to show the Old Mistress of the Hwang House. They were all pleased when they found out it was a baby boy. Soon after, Wang Lung purchased red sugar for his wife and child, fifty eggs and painted them red, and lastly he got incense for the gods. After giving birth, O-Lan went straight back to working in the fields. As they worked in the fields, they knew that people would pay higher prices for grain in the winter, so they began to save the silver they have earned in a hole in